Book Arrival: The Christmas Kitchen by Tammy Maltby with Anne Christian Buchanan

The Christmas Kitchen by Tammy Maltby with Anne Christian Buchanan


I received this book for a FIRST Wild Card Tour.

Publisher: Howard Books
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 132

The Heart of the Home

Even in today's busy times, the kitchen is the heart of the home. Author Tammy Maltby believes the true meaning of Christmas is realized when families gather to share activities that make Christmas "the most wonderful time of the year." More than any other holiday, Christmas is when family and friends gather for a cup of hot chocolate, fresh-baked cookies, and lots of laughter.

Look inside this holiday treasure for:

- Easy-to-do holiday recipes

- Hints for new traditions

- Personal gift ideas

- Kid-friendly activities

- Simple decorating tips

The Christmas Kitchen is more than a recipe book, it's a book designed to help you enjoy the holiday season, not be burdened by it. Take a few minutes each day to browse these pages for the help you've been looking for.

Merry Christmas and may your kitchen be filled, first, with the sweet aroma of love, and then with the spices of the season.

Book Arrival: The Whole Food Guide to Strong Bones by Annemarie Colbin

The Whole Food Guide to Strong Bones: A Holistic Approach by Annemarie Colbin, PH.D.

I received this book through FSB Associates for review.

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Release Date: February 2, 2009
Binding: Paperback

A pioneering nutritionist shows you:

• How to strengthen bones with the food you eat
• How to rebuild bone mass naturally
• Why estrogen therapy, calcium supplements & prescription medications are not the answer
• Which foods weaken the bones& diminish bone mass

It's essential to maintain strong bones to keep an active lifestyle, but aside from taking a daily calcium supplement, is there really anything you can do to improve your bone health? With this complete program for stronger bones created by health educator Annemarie Colbin, you'll learn the best foods to eat to build bone mass and find out which foods actually weaken bones. You'll also discover how exercise and finding personal balance can improve your health and prevent fragility fractures, menopause-related bone loss, and osteoporosis.

Learn:

• What puts you at risk for bone fracture
• Why medication and estrogen therapy may not work for you
• How the nutrients in whole foods build bone mass
• 85 easy recipes that maximize the bone-building effects of whole foods

Review: Spinning Forward by Terri Dulong

Spinning Forward by Terri DuLong


My rating: 4.5/5.0







About the Book (from Goodreads.com):

Sydney Webster's comfortable New England life comes crashing down when her husband dies suddenly, leaving her penniless and evicted. She had no idea about his huge gambling debts, and is getting no sympathy from her hurt and angry twenty something daughter. With nowhere else to turn, Sydney takes shelter at a college friend's B&B in Cedar key, Florida, where she begins to form a plan. As Syd turns her talent at spinning wool and knitting into a retail venture, other doors begin to open. She steps into the embrace of a community rich with love, laughter, friendship...and secrets. And soon she faces a choice: spin a safety net, or spin forward and never look back. Entertaining and heart warming, this superb debut will win readers over with its real-life challenges and quirky and compelling characters.

My Review:

I read this book during the read-a-thon and it was a true joy to read. I enjoyed the character of Sydney. She's a fifty-something that has just lost her husband and her house and has to start over completely. Who wouldn't be floundering after all of that? Add to it that she was just going through the motions of life and doesn't really know what to do and you have a great character who struggles to grow and change through the book.

I was captivated by the small town of Cedar Key. I live on the coast myself and even though my area is growing, it once had that small-town feel, so I felt right at home. I adored the supporting characters. Allison, her best friend. Dora who ends up being a big help and even the eccentric characters in the story really make it. Everyone plays a role in Sydney's new life and they are all interesting characters themselves, who I look forward to reading more about.

There are several things that contribute to the storyline and I don't want to give away anything about the plot. But suffice it to say it's very engaging and interesting the whole way through. I couldn't put it down and I enjoyed every minute I read. Sometimes you get bogged down when reading a book straight through during a read-a-thon, but that did not happen with Spinning Forward. When I finished I immediately wanted to go back and hear more about the characters which since this is book one in the Cedar Key series, I guess I will get to and I look forward to it.

Challenges:
100+ Book Challenge
Fall Into Reading Challenge 2009

Teaser Tuesday - October 27

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

At that moment, as if he felt our eyes on him, the ugly, despicable paparazzo we called Cat shot past security and sprinted around the back of the limo. His long, bleached-white hair with two-inch black roots flipped in the breeze as he ran, his gangly arms pumping. In one hand he clutched his ever-present camera.

From Last Breath by Brandilynn and Amberly Collins. I'm reading this for a FIRST Wild Card Tour for the book on Friday so look for my review then. I read the first in the series yesterday, Always Watching and it was good.

Awesome Author Challenge 2010

Alyce at At Home With Books came up with a great challenge I will be participating in in 2010. It's the Awesome Author Challenge! Here's what Alyce has to say about this challenge:

The idea behind this challenge is to read works by authors who have been recommended to you time and again, yet somehow you haven't managed to read any books by those authors. These are the authors that everyone else tells you are awesome, thus the "Awesome Author Challenge" title.
The Rules:

The challenge starts January 1, 2010 and ends December 31, 2010.

Crossover from other challenges is allowed.

Choose the level at which you would like to participate, post about it and come back and leave a link to your post in Mister Linky.

Titles and authors do not have to be predetermined, and can change at any time.

Books can come from any genre or reading level, the only requirement is that you have heard great things about the author, but haven't yet read any of their works.

The Levels:
Easy: Choose three authors and read at least one title from each author.
Moderate: Choose six authors and read at least one title from each author.
Challenging: Choose ten authors and read at least one title from each author.
Over-Achieving: Anything over ten authors.

I'm choosing Challenging and here are some of the authors I plan on trying:

1. Elizabeth Kostova - read The Swan Thieves 5/11/2010
2. Kate White - read Hush - 4/20/2010
3. Alyson Noel - read Evermore - 8/7/2010
4. Carrie Jones
5. Kate Brian - read Private 1/7/2010
6. Carrie Ryan - read The Forest of Hands and Teeth - 6/13/2010
7. Ann Brashares - read My Name Is Memory 6/3/2010
8. Nick Hornby
9. Candace Bushnell - The Carrie Diaries - 6/25/2010
10. Laurie Halse-Anderson - Fever, 1793 and Prom - May 2010

That's who I'm thinking at the moment, mostly young adult authors it seems, but young adult is so big right now and so great. I may end up going with over-achieving but we'll see. I tend to find new authors while blog hopping so that's why I may add.

Go and check out the other participants at At Home With Books and join in too!

Article: Remedy SuperStress with Chocolate by Roberta Lee M.D.

Remedy SuperStress with Chocolate
By Roberta Lee M.D.,
Author of The SuperStress Solution

If you love chocolate, you're not alone. It turns out that the average person in the United States consumes approximately 12 pounds of chocolate a year. That might sound like a lot of chocolate, but I actually recommend that my patients -- especially those who are chronically stressed or what I would describe as SuperStressed -- indulge in 1 ounce of high quality and high cocoa mass chocolate a day, and that actually adds up to well more than 12 pounds over the course of the year. Sure, chocolate is a calorie laden food (with most of the calories coming from the cocoa butter), but in my opinion, the benefits of this treat outweigh the caloric load as long as you keep the portions small. Here are the benefits:

• On a gram for gram basis, chocolate has a terrifically high concentration of antioxidants known as flavonoids. More than berries and spinach, even. Flavonoids have been shown to lower high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes.

• Chocolate is rich in magnesium and potassium, two minerals that help promote the "relaxation response," as well as iron and zinc, which are minerals that many people don't often get enough of during the course of the day. Chocolate also contains a good amount of selenium, which enhances immune health.

• Chocolate contains several psychoactive compounds being studied and debated as responsible for the mood lift many of us experience when eating it. First, there's phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural trace amine that is a stimulant that is elevated in the brain when we are in love and is low when we are depressed. Secondly, there's theobromine, a compound that imparts energy and a sense of alertness. Finally, chocolate contains a small amount of a chemical known as N-arachidonoylethanolamine, a substance that keeps our endogenous happiness molecules -- or endorphins -- from breaking down. In other words, if we are happy, we just might stay happier longer with a little chocolate.

Of course, there's also ample consumer-proven evidence that chocolate tastes good, and that eating it can provide a little respite -- an oasis of pleasure and calm -- from our otherwise hectic days! And to me, that's what's so special about this sweet treat. I find chocolate has the ability to enhance sensory recruitment in every way. It's so inexpensive to have a piece of chocolate and it's so pleasurable, that if that's something you like and that's part of what living well is about, I say: go for it. The ideal cocoa mass is 75% or more -- this will be clear on the label and is most often found in dark chocolate -- and the ideal portion is 1 ounce (about 1/3 of an average bar or roughly the size of the palm of a woman's hand). Doctor's orders!

To reduce stress, and avoid SuperStress, try this today: Simple as it sounds; focused breathing -- during which you think about your breath as you inhale and exhale -- is a very effective stress-management technique. A slow, full breath triggers physical and cognitive changes that promote relaxation. Deep breathing helps release tension and anxiety and is a great energizer because the deeper the breath, the more your body is flooded with life-fueling oxygen. A full breath begins with the diaphragm pushing downward so that the stomach extends out. As your lungs fill with air, your chest expands. When you exhale, the reverse occurs -- your chest settles first and then your stomach. When anxiety strikes or you find yourself focusing on negative thoughts, immediately exhale through your mouth. Now, open your lungs, and breathe in through your nose, drawing in a fresh, cleansing air to the count of four. Exhale again slowly to the count of five. Repeat four times.

Copyright © 2009 Roberta Lee M.D., author of The SuperStress Solution

Author Bio
Roberta Lee, M.D., author of The SuperStress Solution, is vice chair of the Department of Integrative Medicine, director of Continuing Medical Education, and co-director of the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at Beth Israel's Continuum Center for Health and Healing at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Lee attended George Washington University Medical School and is one of the four graduates in the first class from the Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona conducted by Andrew Weil, M.D.

For more information please visit www.superstresssolution.com

I'll be getting a review copy of this book and really look forward to reading it.