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Cherry Almond Granola (or Baked Muesli)
A Mom’s Quest for a Healthy Breakfast: On my quest to better health for my family, I have tried to stop buying boxed cereals. Good bye Raisin Bran, Honey Bunches, and Cheerios. You served us well for the past 11 years. Sure, you’re convenient, but now that I’m older and wiser I’ve come to the realization that I can do better. Let’s face it…you’re processed. And what about all that sugar? It would be great if my kids liked steel-cut oatmeal, but I missed that boat. It’s hard to convert a kid that has been brought up on the sweet instant kind. So what else is there to serve…
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The Lost Art of Classic Jazz
When you think of jazz, most of us conjure up the smooth sounds of Kenny G, possibly Ray Charles and his woeful blues, or maybe the sultry tones of Diana Krall. But there are entire genres of jazz—styles that are important to our Nation’s history—that are unheard of by new generations of music fans. The classic styles of Dixieland, ragtime and stride are virtually lost to young listeners who aren’t being exposed to the “party music” that played during the 1890s to 1930s. From the age of 13, my father has been a classic jazz junkie so I grew up listening to this music. Blaring from our hi fi…
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Disney Brave Storybook App Review and Giveaway
Disney’s Brave movie received an Academy Award for “Best Animated Film” last week. I had a chance to review Disney Publishing’s two Brave apps, “Brave: Storybook Deluxe” and “Brave Interactive Comic,” (both rated 4 stars on iTunes!) that features the original characters, storyline, and new activities for kids. Brave: Storybook Deluxe The Brave: Storybook Delux app for the iPhone or iPad contains a complete retelling of the film for children ages 5 and up, following Merida through a courageous voyage to defy an age-old tradition and forge her own destiny. The app features beautiful art, character voices, dynamic animation, and surprising interactive elements. My daughter and I had a blast playing the different games they offered such…
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In the Spotlight with Ritual Wellness
Many of us have heard about the benefits of juicing and cleansing. A leader in the natural health field, Dr. Mercola, whose website is a reliable source of health articles, optimal wellness products, and medical news, www.mercola.com is a real advocate of juicing. He cites these three important reasons to incorporate juicing into your health plan: Juicing helps you absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. This is important because most of us have impaired digestion as a result of making less-than-optimal food choices over many years. This limits your body’s ability to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. Juicing will help to “pre-digest” them for you,…
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Relationships: What Mark Did You Make?
Teaching Values: Checking in with your kids each day is a great way to help them remember their values and to focus on the type of person that they want to be. And a great question to ask each night is, “What mark did you make today?” You see, every time you are with someone you leave a mark – either a “gold heart” or a “grungy mark” depending on how you treated them. The Golden Rule: When I was a young girl, my Dad loved to talk about the Golden Rule – “to treat others as I would want to be treated”. The Golden Rule was really about…
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Musings: Light Baggage Only Please!
Light Baggage Only Please! is the title of a book that I am slowly, but surely, working on for my daughter. When she was about three years old I watched a program on Oprah about a woman who was dying of terminal cancer and was leaving video tapes for her infant daughter so that she could tell her all the things she would have wanted to tell her if she were still alive when the daughter was grown. She talked about going on a first date, dreams she had for her, etc. Let’s just say I didn’t have a tear left after watching that program – but it got me…
