Habit Changers: A review

Habit Changers: 81 Game-Changing Mantras to Mindfully Realize Your Goals

Author M.J. Ryan posits that the biggest obstacle to change lies in our most deeply ingrained habits. She suggests we can rewire our thinking by using what she calls habit changers - simple, one-line statements used as mantras to reprogram the brain’s automatic responses. 

The book is a quick read, as each mantra has its own page, enabling the reader to pick and choose the advice appropriate to his/her needs. For me, the benefit of the book was not having a new "to-do" of reciting something each day, but to use the individual mantras to look at situations in a different way. Sometimes all we need is a different approach to a problem. For example, the mantra "Drop the Story" suggests that sometimes the story we tell ourselves (I'm not getting new business because the market is bad) is an excuse. If we drop the story and look at other factors (I am not networking, I am not supporting my sales staff appropriately), we can find a solution. Other useful reminders from the book: If everything is a priority, nothing is; Intention and impact are not one. 

I enjoyed the book and it gave me food for thought. I don't know that I will be reciting any daily mantras, but I am encouraged to apply the relevant advice to situations that I want to change. 

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this unbiased review.

A Beautiful Book

This book is absolutely gorgeous. The author goes into detail about how and why to use natural dyes in projects and accompanies each lesson with a photograph.  I am very visual, so it inspires and helps me to see end results. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about creating with nature.

I received a review copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.

New Review - The VB6 Cookbook by Mark Bittman

After a nice long, needed break from blogging, I was enticed back by the opportunity to review this book.  And I'm glad I did!  While the concept of VB6 is a bit gimmicky (eating vegan prior to 6pm each day, then having in moderation, anything) the book has good information.  The most useful for me is the first section of the book, which outlines pantry staples, how to use them, and other reference information.  The recipes in the book are helpful too, but as the owner of many, many cookbooks and the follower some amazing blogs like Tasty Yummies, I don't have as much of a need for those. Looking for help with eating better?  Try out the VB6 Cookbook!

Mark Bittman bio - click here

 "I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review."

Review: When to Speak Up & When to Shut Up

When to Speak Up & When to Shut Up  by Dr. Michael D. Sedler is a book I probably need to read frequently, as I suffer from foot in mouth disease.  Dr. Sedler discusses how to discern your motives for speaking out and then whether silence would be more or less beneficial.  He also acknowledges that you may have to speak out in difficult situations, when you know people don't want to hear something.  However, when you weigh the cost of silence against the risks of speaking the truth, you will know what to do.  It isn't easy to stay quiet when you are dying to interject your opinion, but sometimes it is the right thing. 

I enjoyed all of this book except for the last chapter, which was more of an auto-biography of the author. While I appreciate his wanting to clarify where he comes from, it really didn't add anything to the book.  Other than that, the book is well worth a look.

I received a review copy at no cost from Chosen Books in exchange for my unbiased opinion.  If you have read my other reviews, you know I don't hesitate to speak out when I don't like a book!

Review: Greater

The premise of Greater by Steven Furtick is that no matter what kind of life you are living, you could live a greater life by surrendering your plans and life to God. However, this doesn't mean you have to do something huge that the whole world hears about.  You just need to do what He calls you to do. Furtick states "Maybe God will call you to make a major life change.  Or maybe He simply wants you to come at your present life with a greater passion from a fresh perspective."

The book is written from a biblical perspective and offers encouraging advice.  I don't think it is a book that I am going to rush out and tell all of my friends they have to read, but for those seeking encouragement to move out of their comfort zone in some way, this book is worth reading.  For more information on the book you can visit the Greater book site.

 FTC disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  All opinions are my own,

Getting to know my juicer again with the allergy diagnosis.  Tried this new juice the other day and it was delicious.  The lemon and parsley added just the right zing.  What about you?  Do you juice?  Send some recipes my way!

Who Knew?

It has been quite a food journey since my blogging break.  I got into some serious blood testing etc. which was expensive but has turned out to be worth it.  The good news is I may not be allergic to eggs.  It was other ingredients in the banana bread and cupcakes that I never would have suspected: Pineapple and Banana.  The overall allergy list that came back is really strange, but the irrefutable fact is that since I have eliminated all of these, my symptoms have almost disappeared.  And since some of these sneak into foods, when I accidentally have some, my body lets me know it.  Ouch.  So for now (or forever) it's goodbye gluten, dairy, pineapple, banana, cranberry, asparagus (sob), broccoli, ginger, fennel and vanilla.  The vanilla is a killer, as it is often listed as "other natural flavors" and is major ingredient in gluten free baked goods.  It's a learning process.  Wish me luck!

Christian Book Reviews - 2 books

I'm back, at least for a little while!  The folks at Bethany House were nice enough to send me Angels Are For Real by Judith MacNutt and Spirit Wars by Kris Vallotton.  Both books were good in their own right.  I loved the book on angels - it presented MacNutt's views on angels in a readable, comprehensive manner.  Billy Graham's book on angels is much more detailed on the biblical background and purpose of angels, but it is a hard read.  This would be a good starter book.  Spirit Wars is a book I would have been very skeptical of several years ago.  However, the more I study and experience, the more real spiritual warfare becomes.  Forewarned is forearmed.  I recommend both of these books for those interested in venturing into these two areas of spirituality.

I recieved a free copies of these books from Bethany House to review.  The opinions are my own.

Time for an Official Break

As much as I would like to think I can keep the blog up along with everything else, the fact that my last post was in Oct. 2011 would indicate otherwise.  So, I will be taking a brief hiatus until I can get my ducks in a row.  When I come back I hope to be more organized (hah!) and have some cool topics to discuss.  If you are subscribed to me, you will get a new post when I come back.  Hope to see you in April!  Anne

A New Way of Living

Where have I been?  Working on solving the food allergy problem, working (the paid kind) and being a taxi service for my family.  Whew.  The good news: I love my family and it is well worth it.  The bad news:  looks like I am allergic to not only gluten, but dairy and eggs as well.  I am going to have to find a whole new way of cooking and eating.  I never cheat on gluten, as I know the consequences.  I was wondering if the occasional egg would hurt.  Answer is yes - had a scary reaction to one in some GF banana bread I made for R's birthday.  Had it again with the GF cupcakes I served for her party, as one of her classmates is allergic to wheat.  The dairy seems to kill my stomach, while the eggs cause full on hives, nausea and dizziness.  So, any of you out there who are gluten, dairy and egg free, send in your suggestions and resources!

I'd Rather Deliver Pizza

How's this for a way to make money?

CLOO' is a service designed to help city dwellers make some spare cash by renting out their bathrooms to people who are desperate to find a clean place to pee. Hey, times are tough, and, where there's a need, there's a market.

You can see how the service works in the video at the link above. In their own words:

CLOO' is based on one simple truth- we all have to pee. Though in urban cities finding a clean, available restroom is difficult & frustrating. That's where CLOO' comes in.

CLOO' is a community of registered users who choose to share their bathrooms and make city-living easier, while earning a small profit. Using social media connections, CLOO' shows what friends you have in common with the host, turning a stranger's loo into a friend of a friend's loo.

The next time you're desperate to find a bathroom near you, you can use CLOO' and the power of your social networks to find friends of friends who will let you use their bathroom for a buck or two.

This Makes Me Smile

Found this on a great blog called CMYBacon

Titled "Impatient".

PURE organic bars

Last week I had a fail with the PURE cherry bar (yummy, but not looking good on the allergy front).  Today I tried their chocolate brownie bar.  WOW!  Love it.  I will die if cocoa turns out to be one of my allergies.  Just sayin'.

Next week is when I officially start adding things back.  (yes, the chocolate was a bit of a cheat, but you do what you've gotta do).  I had a reaction a few days ago that seemed to be linked to limes, which were not a banned food.  Hmmmm.  Avoiding them for the next week then trying again to see if it was a fluke.  I figure I'll add back the easy ones first - not too hard to eat a cherry or a lime.  Then on to the complicated stuff like dairy, soy and corn.

Finally, An Energy Bar that Tastes Good!

Well, as you could tell from the previous post, Lara bars were not a huge success.  Today I tried the Pure Organic Cherry Cashew bar.  Yum!  This I can live with.  A little itchy now though - maybe cherries are one of my culprits.  Nooooooooooo!  I'll keep you posted.

Lara Bars

Ever heard of Lara Bars?  They are everything-free.  As far as I can tell they all have the same ingredients: dates, nuts, and sometimes some unsweetened fruit.  Then they put a different color wrapper on them and tell you they are different flavors.  That said, the lemon was not bad.  However, the banana bread flavor tastes like burned banana bread.  Not the taste I was going for.

On the plus side of this diet, rice milk, frozen strawberry, kale and agave nectar smoothies are really good - no kidding!  The color is not too appealing, but the strawberry sorbet flavor more than makes up for it.

Lessons Learned for Tuesday

Decaf coffee is not worth it.

Millet rice cereal contains barley malt (man, does my face itch now!)

Back to Nature Sesame Seed GF Rice Thin Crackers are actually very tasty and have none of the things I can't eat  - hooray!  My old GF cracker standbys contained soy.

Rice milk is fine on cereal, but only if it is cold.

So there you have it.  Learn from it, grasshoppers.

A (Hopefully Temporary) New Way of Life

After a visit to my wonderful doctor (not kidding, I really do love her!) I am now on what is technically called an elimination diet.  I call it the "eat nothing that tastes good" diet.  In an effort to get to the root of some of the health problems I have been having, I have to spend 4 weeks NOT eating the following:

Oranges and orange juice, all dairy and eggs, wheat, corn, barley, spelt, kamut (don't even know what that is), rye, pork, beef/veal, sausage, cold cuts, hot dogs, shellfish, any soy products, peanuts and peanut butter, corn, butter, margarine, shortening, any processed oils, salad dressing, spreads, alcohol, coffee, soft drinks, refined sugar, white/brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, chocolate, ketchup, relish, chutney, soy sauce, bbq sauce, teriyaki sauce, etc.  Bored yet?

Did you know that baking powder usually contains corn starch?  That the vinegar in ketchup, mayo and mustard is usually made from wheat or corn?  Canned tuna often has soy in it?  I know that now.

I'm not going to kid you, this is hard.  Thankful I like grilled chicken and veggies and rice.  I'll be expanding my (non-yogurt based) smoothie menu and reintroducing myself to my juicer, if only for the sake of variety.  Wish me luck!  At the end of the 4 weeks I reintroduce each type of food, about 1 new one every 3 days, to test for reactions.  I've got a bad feeling about dairy.....

Time Lapse

I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted.  Lots going on work-wise, which is good, but it doesn't leave much time for blogging.  Oh well.  Making this one brief, just stopping in to say hi.  I'll leave you with a fun picture from our trip to Alaska:

Put Your Dream to the Test - Book Review

Put Your Dream to the Test

10 Questions to Help You See It and Seize It

By John Maxwell 
Published by Thomas Nelson

New York Times and Business Week best-selling author John C. Maxwell states “It’s one thing to have a dream.  It’s another to do the things needed to achieve it.”  In his book Put Your Dream to the Test, Maxwell outlines the critical thinking necessary not only to achieve your dream, but to ascertain if your dream is something you truly want vs. an abstract idea. 

If you are like me, you often have multiple “dreams” percolating in your thoughts.  What struck me most about this book was that it forced me to look at them and decide if they were just ideas or ideas worth pursuing.  Dreams are much more than to-do lists.  The book provides a list of what you must do to quantify, evaluate the stakes, and accomplish your dream, but makes clear it must be something that an “inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it.”

Have a dream?  Read this book.

FTC required notice: Booksneeze has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

What Do You Know About BPA?

More on the Big Cleanse:  looking at other websites and getting ideas for gaining control of my health.  Found this post on fastcompany about how to reduce BPA, which  is a potentially toxic estrogen-mimicking compound used in plastic production that has been linked to breast cancer, early puberty, infertility, and other maladies. It's dangerous enough that it has been banned in baby bottles in Europe, Canada, and even China--but not in the U.S.  So, how important do you think it is to reduce them in your life?  Is this something I should do for the health of my family, or is it over-reacting?