morning:
noon:
night:
"I think creativity is entirely a spiritual practice. It has defined my entire life to think of it that way. To me, it feels like a holy calling and one that I am grateful for."
~ Elizabeth Gilbert
Book Talk
morning :: noon :: night
So I turned 37 a couple of weeks ago, and forgot to mention it--I was too busy eating good Indian food and chocolate cake, taking a nap, and reading an incredibly interesting book all day. I was completely spoiled and appreciated, and I'm looking forward to my best year yet. (I always say that, and it always turns out to be true!)
Do you have any dreams you toss around in your mind? Any alter-egos you wonder about? Every once in a while I imagine myself as a full-time writer.
I love my homeschooling mama life, don't get me wrong, but every once in a while I like to daydream about working in snippets longer than 15 minutes. I don't actually think I'd enjoy the life of a full-time writer long-term--I need to be doing plenty of living so that I have something worthwhile to write about, after all!
But thanks to a generous mother-in-law and a hardworking husband, I get to indulge that dream for just a few days. Book writing and conference preparing will be my main focus during this time, so I thought blogging in a bit of a different style might be best.
Taking a cue from virtual friends like Amanda and Heather, I'm going to bring you snippets of my writing life morning, noon, and night. Here we go -
morning:
noon:
night:
“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet,
then you must write it.”
~ Toni Morrison
how NOT to make an ebook bundle work for you
On an almost daily basis, I turn down opportunities to recommend, sell, or review products on my blogs. So when I do choose to promote something, you know it's something I believe is mutually beneficial to both you as a reader as well as me as a writer.
That's the case today with the wellness digital bundle sale--for the next week this sale is available, allowing you to get 21 wellness ebooks for just $21. (over a $210 value!)
But there's one thing you should know--how not to make an ebook bundle work for you:
- download and unzip all the files
- feel completely overwhelmed
- try to read them all this month & make a complete overhaul to your lifestyle in every area
- fail miserably and feel worse than ever before!
Instead, here's how you can make an ebook bundle work for you:
- look through all the titles to see which ones interest you most (I'm drawn to the ones about natural dentistry and repairing cavities myself!)
- download and unzip all the files
- take a look at the entire book list: Are there ones you know you're unlikely to ever read? Make a friend's day by gifting it to her (yes, you can do that--providing you know you're not going to read it yourself--otherwise it would be a copyright violation. Then just delete it from your files so you remember.)
- choose one book to start with and put it on your e-reader or desktop
- when you're done, repeat with another! Take breaks when you need them, and your set with inspiration for a whole year!
This ebook bundle is all about health & wellness, perfect if you're trying to:
- Lose weight
- Quit sugar
- Plan and cook healthy meals
- Remove chemicals from your life
- Implement a fitness program you can actually stick to
- Improve oral health
- Make your own beauty products
- Get your kids on board with healthful eating
- Save money on a real food diet
- Create a sustainable and healthy lifestyle for your family…
Here's the entire ebook list:
- I Quit Sugar E-Book from SarahWilson.com.au
- I Quit Sugar Cookbook from SarahWilson.com.au
- 1-Month Meal Plan and Shopping List from WellnessMama.com
- Slow-Cooker Freezer Meals from MamaandBabyLove.com
- Against the Grain from ModernAlternativeMama.com
- Salad Dressings and Sauces Digital Cookbook- WellnessMama.com
- Gluten Free Grain Free Baking from MamaandBabyLove.com
- Real Food Real Frugal from RealFoodRealFrugal.com
- Toadally Primal Smoothie Book- PrimalSmoothies.com
- The Modern No-Nonsense Guide to Paleo: Shopping, Kitchens, Lunches from PaleononPaleo.com
- Nourishing Diet from DynoMom.com
- Decadent Desserts Grain Free Digital Cookbook-WellnessMama.com
- Food Philosophy 2.0 from FemFusionFitness.com
- Fitness for Intimacy from FemFusionFitness.com
- Tips and Tricks ToRemineralize and Repair Your Cavities Now from CureToothDecay.com
- 15 Questions to Ask Your Dentist (to find a natural one) from OraWellness.com
- Paleo Approach to Parenting from PaleoParents.com
- Breast to Bib (Nutrition for Babies) from ModernAlternativeMama.com
- Natural Beauty Recipes for the Whole Family from WellnessMama.com
- Mindset for Moms from MindsetforMoms.com (yay!!)
- Natural Cleaning Recipes and Checklists from WellnessMama.com
Another cool aspect of this sale is that 10% of the proceeds will be donated to Food for the Poor to help improve the wellness of others around the world as well as your own!
Find out more and purchase your bundle here for just $21.
Note: The Wellness Bundle is available for one week only! Due to the steeply discounted price, all sales are final. The Wellness Bundle will be available from February 25, 2012 until March 4, 2012.
what we're reading & loving
What the Martins are reading and loving these days:
Trishna, age 9:
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin by Jean Fritz -Trishna loves learning all things electricity-related, and Benjamin Franklin is one of her favorite characters to study. This is such an inspiring account of his life for kids--funny, too!
Jonathan, age 8:
May B. by Caroline Starr Rose - Jonathan can be spotted with a chapter book several times a day. Yesterday he had chosen May B., a frontier story written in free verse, to reread. (It also happens to be written by one of my dearest friends.)
Elijah, age 7:
Dick and Jane early readers - Elijah is just beginning to embark on his own personal reading journey. Dick and Jane sometimes get a bad rap these days, but I prefer them to Bob books, and I love this one that introduces some diversity to the neighborhood!
Reading together:
The Four Seasons of Brambley Hedge by Jill Barklem - We only just discovered these and they're so sweet! Reminds me of Beatrix Potter's work.
Steve:
Steve recently finished The Hobbit and is beginning a book I read last month, Heaven is for Real. He does most of his reading while traveling for work.
Jamie:
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles Lamb - I checked this out from the library to see if I should buy a copy for our homeschool library, and I think I will! A good refresher on these plays, written for older children.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - Would you believe I never remember reading this before, even as a literature major at university? I'm loving it!
The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery - I mentioned these five volumes a few years ago when I wrote about the books that had changed my life.
This year I'm doing a reread along with my friend Carrie (author of May B. mentioned above), and you can join in! If you love Anne with an "e," you'll love these. Head here for more details.
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over
the man who can't read them."
~ Mark Twain
