October 30, 2019 TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

You want to know the worst part about being a TEACHER?? When you're  a mom too. WHY?? Because you are always teaching. Most people come home from their job and forget about it.  NOT ME. Right now  I'm helping my son with THREE reports.  He also has to make some kind of edible cell project. (SCREAM) I don't want to help with reports or learn to make an edible cell. And this is just THIS week. Boy is he lucky--his mom is not only an English teacher but also an Art teacher. See how this sucks for me. I get to edit papers--TEACH HIM HOW TO WRITE A PAPER--  AND WORKS CITED PAGE AND create a CELL. When I get home from school--I'm Tired. The last thing I want to do is MORE SCHOOL WORK. (TAKING A DEEP BREATH NOW) Turning this vent into a positive.  Repeating--I'm very lucky. I am alive. I get to help my son write three reports and create a cell--over and over til it sticks! Or runaway!
Just finished Harlan Coben's new book Run Away and it doesn't disappoint. I just love reading his books because they hook you from page one and the ride twists and turns until the bitter end. In this book, Simon & Ingrid Greene have the perfect family. Or so it seems. Soon after their daughter, Paige goes off to college everything changes. The next think they know, she's hooked up with a drug addict boyfriend and she disappears. One day Simon is sitting on a bench in Central Park and he sees  a girl playing guitar. It's Paige. When she realizes it's her father, she runs away and Simon is arrested for beating her boyfriend. Paige disappears again but this time her parents will stop at nothing to get her back. Interweaved in this plot are several subplots--a hitman has been hired to kill several men including Paige's boyfriend. There's a detective trying to link the murders. There are plenty of drug dealers and a cult mixed up in this mess. Find out what happens to Paige and how all these things are related when you read this page turner for yourself. It's about 370 pages or a 3 mile run that you won't be able to put down.

October 26, 2019 I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN

 I put off decorating for Halloween this year--HOPING--that my youngest was FINALLY  over his obsession with Halloween. I didn't buy the spider webs or mention it at all--thinking to myself--YES!! But it was actually a NO.  So--I dragged out ALL the Halloween CRAP AGAIN and begrudgingly started decorating.  An hour and a half later--the house was ready for  Halloween. I even tried to ignore the WHOLE COSTUME THING.   Didn't want to deal with that either--BUT-- finally had to face the fact--I WAS GOING TO MAKE A SQUIDWARD COSTUME--SOMEHOW.  Yup--Finished it just in the nick of time too. Why am I telling you this????? Because I've been a jerk. A--NEGATIVE--NANNY--WHINER. Instead of appreciating my life--I got lost in the shuffle. I'm actually VERY lucky. I still have someone at home who loves Halloween. I GET to make a costume for someone WHO IS SUPER EXCITED TO WEAR IT. AND I get to hang out and have fun with kids on Halloween. YUP. Good Times. It really is ONLY a matter of perspective.
Raymond Jeffe's perspective on life changes after he meets Milly Guterman in Catherine Ryan Hyde's new book Have You Seen Luis Velez? Set in New York City, Raymond is a seventeen year old boy who lives in an apartment building with his new family. His mom has remarried--and he feels like he just doesn't fit in with his new family. To make matters worse, his best friend moves away, leaving him friendless. One morning as Raymond is leaving his apartment, he hears a call for help in the hallway. This is where he meets Milly Guterman, a blind, ninety-two year old neighbor. She is desperate to find her caretaker and asks Raymond for help. Raymond agrees to help Milly and then is  determined to find her caretaker Luis Velez. After looking in a phonebook, Raymond realizes the task is going to be harder than he anticipated. Will Raymond find Luis Velez? And why would he just disappear? Find out the answers to these questions and so much more when you read this heartwarming story about an unlikely friendship and the power of kindness. It's about 300 pages or a 3.5 mile run that worth every step. Enjoy.

October 20, 2019 AND THE HEALING HAS BEGUN

Thank you...Thank you. Had a wonderful time painting in the garden today.  Prevent-Heal-Thrive hosted a Holistic Fall Retreat today that was amazing. People had the opportunity to NOT only paint--but also learn about Integrative Treatments. People rotated through several clinics throughout the day to learn about--Healing from the Core--Therapeutic Hypnosis--Acupuncture.  They also practiced Yoga --Guided Meditation--Tai Chi Chuan. This event was inspired by a dear friend who lost her battle with cancer in February.  The goal of Prevent-Heal-Thrive is  to "Improve the lives of those living with cancer through evidence-based complementary therapies and integrative healthcare." This organization is different in that they want to help people affected by cancer obtain services that meet their individual needs, services that insurance might not pay for or that they simply can not afford.  If you missed this event--no worries--they are sponsoring a Festive Five K Run Walk or Roll Plus a One Mile Conga Line that sounds like a lot of fun.
I'm also having a lot of fun reading Louise Penny's latest installment of the Gamache series called  A Better Man. In this book,  Gamache returns to the Surete du Quebec. He is no longer the Chief Inspector as he has been demoted to the head of  homicide. Jean-Guy Beauvoir, the current head of homicide as well as Gamache's devoted son-in-law, has two weeks left on the job before relocating to Paris. Gamache and Beauvoir are faced with flooding all over the province, especially in Three Pines where Gamache resides with his wife and quirky neighbors. In addition to flooding, Vivienne Godin has gone missing. Her father, desperate for answers, implores the detectives to investigate Godin's husband, a known domestic abuser. After the body is found, mistakes are made collecting evidence that threaten to harm the case and let the killer walk. Find out more when you read this fifteenth installment of a series that keeps getting better and better. If you haven't read any of these books-I recommend you start at the beginning and work your way through so that you can get to know all the characters. They are all well-written and fun to read.  This mystery is about 450 pages or a 4 mile run that's hard to put down. Enjoy

October 12, 2019 DON'T BE AFRAID

Terrified. That's probably the best word to describe it. YUP. The day I agreed to take over the art department at my school. Terrified--Nervous--Excited. The art department has an excellent reputation which is why--I WAS AND STILL AM-- TERRIFIED. I don't want to be the ONE to lead us down the ROAD TO RUIN. Seriously--I was an Art history major and an Art minor. Yes--I've taken many classes over the years but-- I'm NO PICASSO.   COULD I REALLY TEACH ART???? I've finally realized that I don't have to be PICASSO.  Just because someone is a GREAT ARTIST doesn't mean they can teach. I'm a TEACHER. I can teach. So what if it's a bit of a learning curve--CHANGE IS GOOD. I'm having fun. I get to work with charcoal, ink, paint, pastel and introduce students to a whole new world. I get to teach them HOW TO SEE--like an artist SEES. And if I'm lucky--I'll inspire some budding artists and help change the way they see the world. ISN'T THAT COOL. Don't get me wrong--I'm still terrified and nervous but SUPER DUPER EXCITED. 

Lincoln Moser, the main character of Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo's new book Chances Are...., is also excited but for a very different reason. Lincoln is headed to his family's beach house on Martha's Vineyard for a reunion with his college buddies, Teddy and Mickey.  It's the first time the trio has been back to the house in forty years--without Jacy.  Jacy was also part of a their college group even though she hailed from Greenwich and had no business hanging around a bunch of scholarship boys. Jacy's been missing since she walked away from the house headed to the ferry all those years ago. Her mysterious disappearance has haunted the trio for forty years. Will they finally discover what happened to Jacy now that they're older and wiser? While each man harbors secrets, could one of them be involved in her disappearance? Find out when you read this well written wonderful story for yourself. I really enjoyed this book. This book is a mystery but it's so much more. It's about friendship and the comfort their shared history brings. It's about old friends--people who can not be replaced. They're the ones who know where you're from and how you've grown and changed. This lovely story is about 300 pages or a 4 mile run that I was sad to see end. 

October 4, 2019 SITTIN' ON THE DOCK OF A BAY

Hype. I hate when a book gets TOO hyped up. Everyone is talking about it so you think IT MUST BE GREAT.  It hangs out on The New York Times Best Seller List--FOREVER. You order it from the library AND IT NEVER COMES because the list of people waiting for it is ENDLESS.  AFTER SEVERAL  months --someone lets you borrow it. FINALLY. I know you're thinking--why didn't  I just buy the book right?? I can't. I ONLY buy books that I want to keep in my collection. That means I have read it--loved it--and HAVE to HAVE  IT. That's my rule--or I'd have to rent out a storage unit for my books and that doesn't make sense. BACK TO THE BOOK.  I finally have THE BOOK and can't wait to read it. And that's where the HYPE sort of ruins it. My expectations are HUGE. Don't get me wrong-- I really liked the book--but I wanted to LOVE IT. I wanted to add it to MY LIST of best books EVER--that DAMN HYPE. That's what happened when I read Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. 

Set in North Carolina, the marshlands are as much a character in this beautifully written novel as Kya, a young girl who is forced to fend for herself. At the tender age of six, her mother abandons the family, followed by her older siblings, leaving her to live with her abusive alcoholic father. By the time she is ten years old, she is completely alone in the marshlands. Kya has never been to school and only learns to read and write after her brother's friend Tate takes an interest in helping her. Because she has spent most of her years alone in the swamp, the locals refer to her as the swamp girl. People avoid her when she comes to town and treat her like garbage-- except for Tate. After a popular football player is found dead in the marsh, Kye becomes the obvious suspect and is put on trial for murder. Find out what happens to Kya, Tate and the Marsh when you read this deeply moving novel that's  part coming of age story, mystery, love story and meditation on nature. It's about 400 pages--4 mile run--that I think you will enjoy.

October 3, 2019 THE WAY I FEEL

Art is transformative. It has been proven to reduce stress--increase self esteem--foster growth and create a sense of well-being. When you get in the ZONE--It's a type of meditation.You really get lost in the process. Completely focused--calm-in control. It's a wonderful feeling. The problem is--GETTING THERE. In order to get there--you have to--COMMIT --LET GO--SEE. That's what I tell my students. Committing is really scary. But once that's accomplished--let go of insecurity and doubt. STOP worrying about it. The last and most difficult thing to do is SEE. It sounds easy enough but it's not. The  BRAIN has a funny way of  creating pictures in the mind for any images we've seen before--BUT they're actually NOT what we really SEE. Example--think of a tree and your brain will conjure up an image BUT go look at a tree.  What you see is really quite different. The trick is to--trick the brain--be more intuitive--AND-- that takes practice.
The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende is a wonderful story that spans several generations and continents. Alma Belasco's is a lucky little girl. Because of her mother's intuition, she is sent from her homeland, Poland,  to live with her aunt and uncle in San Francisco in 1939 and narrowly  escapes the horror of World War II. There she meets Ichimei Fukuda, son of their Japanese gardener.  While Alma and Ichimei's friendship turns to love, the Japanese attack  Pearl Harbor and the Fukuda family is sent to live in an Internment Camp. This lovely story unfolds as Alma reveals her past to her care worker Irina and grandson Seth while living at Lark House, a nursing home in San Francisco. Find out how Alma and Ichimei find each other again and what ultimately becomes of their forbidden love when you read this beautifully written novel. It's about 350 pages or a 4 mile run that melts away.