Have you ever read books that make you say "I cannot believe what remarkable timing this was!" This past week I experienced not one title that made me say this, but
two!
First up was
Cinch! by Cynthia Sass. I decided I wanted to read this book after the author cleverly wrote an article in a magazine and gave a few of her recipes from the book. Get this, Cinch! is about a healthy eating plan that
PROMOTES EATING CHOCOLATE EVERY DAY!!!! Any food plan that tells you to eat chocolate every day has got to be worth at least looking at, right?
Well I believe it was definitely worth reading. Basically the plan is a Mediterranean diet which I absolutely love but had a hard time figuring out on my own. The book is very detailed as to what foods to eat and when. There are many tasty-looking recipes included, but the author also gives you the tools to build your own recipes as well. I'm actually trying the 5 Day Fast Forward plan and have already survived the first day. I'll report back my results at the end. I've never really been a huge fan of fad diets, but this is an eating plan that sounds doable not just for me, but one I can get my family on board with. (DH actually told me my dinner last night smelled really good!) It is sensible, it promotes eating real food (as opposed to manufactured food products),no food groups are eliminated, it is based on lots of scientific research, and has already been proven to be successful at helping people lose weight.
The other amazing book I read this week was recommended by my buddy Monika. Somehow I missed it in all the Flylady chatter, but it is
Switch by the Heath Brothers. I love reading about the psychology of motivation and change, and this is about dealing with change. There are so many ways I can apply the techniques from this book, but I'm most excited to see how I can affect change in my classroom and personally at home. After reading this I think I can make my ACTION plans actually work (I have an elephant problem). And now I truly belive that
Cinch! will work for me because it gives me all the tools I need to deal with the change in lifestyle. What an inspirational week for reading!
. I'm really excited to try some of these -I'm thinking I can easily adapt some of these projects for my classroom too! I have so many how-to books on art. Maybe its time I stop reading about art techniques and get practicing. Hmmmmm.
. I love the realistic pictures. They aren't your standard pictures: these are styled, magazine quality photos. It will be perfect for my Montessori Classroom and I am already thinking what extensions I can make to go along with this book. I'm hoping that "Clever Concepts" splashed across the cover means that there will be other books in this series. If they are of the same visual quality then I'm sure each and every one will be part of my curriculum! In fact, a review of this book will probably show up on my other blog........
. It was a nookbook freebie on bn.com (gotta love freebies!) I'm glad I got it for free because I didn't enjoy it much. One of the reasons it took me so long to finish was because I was forever going back and trying to figure out what just happened as there were a lot of abrupt time & setting changes -I kept thinking I missed pages because the story stopped making sense to me! The main character was likeable enough, but I could have sworn that during most of the book she liked being in the apothecary, but at the end she stated she hated it. Still not sure which it was and I'm not about to reread the story to figure that out. She also had not one potential suitors, but three. That confused me as well as I couldn't make up my mind who I was supposed to be rooting for. Too bad I don't have the main character's infallable memory!
I LOVED IT!!!! I was thrilled to find a new story of circumnavigators. Honestly, I'm totally jealous of their journey & wish I had made something like that happen before I became a mom. After reading this though, I think I'm prepared to take some more adventurous journeys. I'm sure ms. caboo will join my own Lost Girls group, anyone else care to hop on board?
. It was fun watching Anne take on her first teaching job. I'm not sure I could have done the same thing when I was 16! I'm looking forward to seeing what hijinks Anne gets up to once she goes on to college in the next book.
. First, let me suggest that you DO NOT read this book if you are hungry. Yes, there are lots of yummy recipes. I am just dying to try the Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystalized Ginger and the Cornbread with Cream. Each recipe is prefaced by an essay about how the recipe comes into the author's life. Great for those who love reading about food. The author achieved what most bloggers secretly dream about: her blog turned into a book deal :D
. I loved the PBS series that came out in the late 80's, but I never got around to reading the books. When I was trolling the cheap nookbook section, I found the whole ebook set available for 99 cents. Anne of Green Gables is absolutely charming! I can't believe that a girl like me who loved the Little House series somehow missed out on reading about the adventures of Anne Shirley. After reading the first book, I realize that the TV series was so well done because it was faithful to the original story. Hmmmm, I wonder if I can instant watch the series on Netflix.........
For my 1st entry in the book challenge I present I Am What I Am
by the lovely and delightful John Barrowman. Some of you may know him as Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Torchwood. But before that role John was already an accomplished entertainer on stage and film.
.) John's personality is BIG and that shines through his writing. John is the life of every party he goes to, and pretty much everywhere John goes is a party, even when he's working (which appears to be all the time). I bet John would just LOVE to come to a #flyinglushes gathering.........
, John Barrowman
, Music Music Music
) Then I'll head over to Netflix to see if I can spend An Evening with John Barrowman
. 
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