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The Four Roots of Optimum Wellness
There are four essential parts to being healthy that I call roots. If you make healthy choices in each root area, you will achieve optimum wellness—feeling supported, watered, nourished and full of energy. Root One: Diet It is not a coincidence that disease is on the increase at the same time our diets consist of more artificial and sugar-laden ingredients, plus meats and dairy laced with antibiotics and hormones. Cancer has now become the number one killer. For a start, here’s a list of things to avoid in foods: Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats) High fructose corn syrup Artificial colors, preservatives, flavors and sweeteners Meats given antibiotics,…
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Erin Condren’s Colorful World
Who knew staying organized could be so much fun? I came across Erin Condren’s company a few years back from one of the moms in my daughter’s class. She gave a birthday gift to my daughter that had the cutest personalized sticker label on the outside of the bag in all of these wonderful colors and polka dots. It was love at first site! I asked her where she purchased them and she introduced me to the colorful world of Erin Condren products. I had the chance to interview Ms. Condren about her journey of starting her company from the ground up. She explained that it started out as…
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A Little Book About Feelings Teaches Emotional Literacy
Emotional literacy is not something we hear about in the media. Sure, we hear about the importance of literacy and encouraging a love of reading and writing for our children. But the ability to understand our emotions and express our feelings is an important skill that needs to be learned in childhood. Emotional literacy is defined as the ability to recognize, understand and appropriately express our emotions. Feel.org states that becoming emotionally literate is learning the alphabet, grammar and vocabulary of our emotional lives. (Source: www.feel.org). A recent poll by USA Today showed that when parents were asked what they most wanted to change in their children’s schools, 75% of…
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Artist Jennifer Mercede
Creating and publishing a children’s book can take months and even years to see the light. I wrote Gerry the Giraffe about five years ago and had the story on the back burner until I came across an illustration of a giraffe in a Land of Nod catalogue. The picture of the giraffe was so unique and wonderful that I wanted to see Gerry come to life with this illustrator! By chance, the following month the illustrator’s name was mentioned in the updated Land of Nod catalogue so I proceeded to find out more about this creative artist. I contacted Jennifer Mercede and we spoke about the possibility of doing a book and app together. This…
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Tips to Get Organized
If you ask most moms what they never have enough of and the answer just might be time. As moms we are constantly on the go – attempting to do our best as a mom, a wife and a friend. One of the ways that we can save time is by organizing our lives. Now, I am not one of those people naturally organized so I set upon a quest to find ways to unify my life better. The first person I asked for advice was my good friend Christine, who has one of those houses that can be photographed for a magazine at any time of the day. Can…
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The Upham Hotel & Country House in Santa Barbara, California
This past weekend, we had the chance to stay at The Upham Hotel & Country House in Santa Barbara that has the quaintness of a Bed & Breakfast but the accessibility of a hotel. Most of the B & Bs in the United States are older properties turned into guesthouses. Many of the B & B Inn owners have kept up-to-date and offer free parking, spa services and nightly wine or cheese hours. In the case of The Upham Hotel, they offered milk and cookies at night which was such a treat and a full continental breakfast in the morning. The History of Bed & Breakfast Inns: This custom…
