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Cool Books

As a kid I was never a huge fan of reading. I know it sounds horrible to say but I just didn't. I would rather have been outside playing manhunt with my friends, climbing trees or digging in the dirt. Well I guess not everything has changed, I still prefer being outside to being cooped up inside. The one thing that has changed for me though is my love of reading. I think the biggest factor in my new found love is the books themselves. Growing up and going through school, we were always told what to read, when to read and how long it should take us to read. Now finding topics that I'm interested in, enjoying the few quiet moments that I get, I actually enjoy picking up these things that through school had caused me (and my parents for that matter) so much stress. A book that I just finished, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is on the top of my "I'm glad I started to like reading because I would have missed out on something great" list. This book, for anyone who was alive during the tragedies of 9/11, is heartwarming, tragic, and beautiful all at the same time. So...if you're looking for a great read, I highly recommend it!

My Organic Parents

As a kid growing up, my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all had large gardens. My parents even went as far as to raise our own hogs and chickens. Mom would go out in the back yard and pick grapes from our grape vines and make some of the best jams and jellies you could ever get your hands on. My dad would feed our hogs the best produce he could find. It was just how we lived back then. My two brothers and I had no idea the reasons or ideals behind all of this. We didn't think twice about cleaning out the chicken coups or feeding the hogs. We'd go in with the chickens on a daily basis and collect enough eggs for all of us to eat. We'd pick enough tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, you name it, for all of us feast off of with plenty of leftovers.  Now as an adult with two kids of my own, I've realized what an effort my parents went through to provide us with preservative, pesticide and herbicide free foods. I took it for granted back then but I must admit, I'm so thankful now. It's difficult sometimes with hectic schedules, soccer practice, ballet recitals and band concerts to have your own little personal farm in the backyard or to cook at all for that matter. Then I think back again to my parents, each working full-time, canning all of our fruits and veggies for the winter on the weekends. How in the world did they manage that? They were pretty amazing people. I guess the point is that they knew then that home-grown, home-made is the best. As my dad would say, "If I don't know what's in it, I'm not eating it." So, thanks mom and dad now I buy organic, until I have my own farm.
If you want to read more about how organic compares to conventionally grown or raised foods, check out the link below from the Mayo Clinic.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255

Animals, Music and Fun

These are a few of my kids' favorite things. Music -life's soundtrack, the transporter from ordinary to extraordinary, the ketchup to your hamburger, the mustard to your hotdog...well, you get the idea. Animals-the creatures with no agenda. Fun-you are born knowing it and have to work really hard to have it as an adult. More later...