Heart Healthy Monday

Web link for Her Heart A Woman’s Guide to Her Heart Health

Heart Healthy Tip:  Take time for a Mindful Monday – eat slowly to enjoy the flavors of your meal. You’ll also be more aware of when you’re full.

Heart Healthy Recipe:
Pasta Beef Soup


½ lb ground round
1 cup chopped onion
3 cups cooked Ruote, fusilli or Farfalle pasta (bowtie, corkscrew or wagon wheel)
3 cups spaghetti sauce
½ tsp ground oregano
14 oz cans beef broth (low salt if possible)
1 can (15 oz) can red kidney beans
Using oil spray, coat a large pan and place over medium high heat until hot. Add the meat and onion and cook until browned, crumbling meat while it cooks. Drain grease and pat dry with paper towels. Put the meat back into the pan and add cooked pasta and remaining ingredients. Cook until heated through.

Easy as Pi, The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day by Jamie Buchan

Amazon.com link for Easy As Pi
We are a people of numbers. We have phone numbers, house numbers, Social Security numbers, medical records numbers, lot numbers, and serial numbers. Even our computers and electronic devices function with numbers – you get the idea. Easy as Pi gives the read a glimpse into the world of numbers and how society uses them.
A brief summary of the divisions in Easy as Pi:
Numbers in our language – phrases using numbers explained
Numbers in Fiction – Movies, books and TV shows with numbers in the title
Numbers in Culture – gambling, Social Security, scams, etc.
Numbers in Mythology and Religion – numerology and significance of numbers in the Bible
Numbers in Math and Science – types of numbers, statistics, and oddities

This is not a mathematics instruction book. In Easy as Pi, I learned of the Piraha tribe, a small tribe in Brazil with a numbering system consisting of one, two and many – that’s all. I also learned about life without “0”, and all about Pi. Why did Ray Bradbury name his book Fahrenheit 451? Little snippets of information that help you gain insight into how important numbers are in our lives.  Books like these are a fun interaction for families.  Parents can quiz children or children can quiz their parents. 

This is another wonderful book in the Reader's Digest Series.  I have also reviewed:
I used to Know That by Caroline Taggart
A Certain "Je Ne Sais Quoi by Chloe Rhodes

Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber

Amazon.com link for Hannah's List

Hannah, the wife of Dr. Michael Everett, died of ovarian cancer. Before she died she gave a letter to her brother, Michael’s best friend, to be given to her husband on the first anniversary of her death. The letter contained heartwarming instructions to carry on with his life and to marry again. In the letter she also gave him a list of three women she wanted him to consider. One was her cousin, one her oncology nurse and the last was an artist friend.

Hannah’s List is a light romance and an easy read. The set-up to the story with the heartwarming letter and Michael’s reaction endears the character to the reader. Each of the women in the story has their own reasons for considering a relationship with Michael and as a typical reader I picked my own favorite. Their back stories added to the easy flow of the story and created a satisfying story conclusion.

This was the first time I have read a book by Debbie Macomber, although I have several more of her books in my to-be- read shelf. I am now eagerly looking forward to reading the others.

Mokele-Mbembe Mystery Beast of the Congo Basin by William J. Gibbons

Amazon.com Link to purchase Mokele-Mbembe
Book Description: Explorer, cryptozoologist, and creationist Bill Gibbons has traveled to remote corners of the world in search of strange and unknown creatures. But Bill's heart is in Africa, where monstrous dinosaur-like creatures are still rumored to inhabit the vast swamps of the Congo Basin. In Mokele-Mbembe: Mystery Beast of the Congo Basin, Gibbons provides a fascinating insight into several expeditions that have ventured forth in search of suspected living dinosaurs, include several of his own.

My Review: William J. Gibbons’ story of Mokele-Mbembe absolutely held my attention with his expeditions to Africa in search of strange creatures. Mr. Gibbons takes the reader alongside the explorers with his descriptive interpretation of his journeys.

Mokele-Mbembe: Mystery Beast of the Congo Basin begins with a history of recorded accounts from ancient texts to books throughout modern history with descriptions of huge water creatures.

The author’s own expeditions occurred from 1979-1992. His thorough descriptions of the locals, (especially the Pygmy people), the surroundings, and the dangers were especially interesting as they explored the areas in the jungles, swamps and hidden areas of Africa. He explains the many trials they experienced with travel problems, wild animals, illnesses, and corrupt politicians demanding bribes just to explore the area.

This is not a scientific study, but an exploration of the area with eye witness accounts. He freely points out which sightings he believed were not credible, but many, if not most, are quite credible. There is one interesting method they used with the eye witnesses. They presented a book with animals from the area and the locals identified them. He then gave them pictures of animals not known to be in Africa and the witnesses could not identify any of them. He then gave them a book of dinosaurs. Mokele-Mbembe gives a fascinating account of the responses they received from the third book.

As if the exciting tale of exploration was not interesting enough, it was an added treat to read about William Gibbons’ conversion in Africa from occult practice to Christianity. He gives his beautiful testimony in the book and talks about other missionaries in the area.

No matter what you believe, Mokele-Mbembe: Mystery Beast of the Congo Basin is a fascinating story.

Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann

Link to purchase Indivisible

Indivisible is a psychological drama with interesting characters and edgy plot. Each of the main characters has a past from which they are trying to break free. Kristen Heitzmann’s superb writing handles several different plot lines without confusing or cluttering the story.


This is not a light Christian read, but if you like thrillers, crime or psychological dramas you will be pleased with Indivisible. Reading the short parts of the book about the animal cruelty is difficult, but the book is balanced with a wonderful side plot about a timid semi-wild animal and its bonding with a human.

I highly recommend Indivisible for readers not afraid of the thriller/crime genre. You won’t find the coarse language or steamy scenes that usually go along with that genre, but you will find an exciting plot with flawed people, redemption, and forgiveness. The main characters are either people of faith or those just learning what that means.

Here is a link to hear an interview with the author:  Kristen Heitzmann

Brushing Up on Math is Easy as Pi By Jamie Buchan

I will post my review for Easy as Pi by this weekend, but I thought I would give you a little taste of the book with this article by the author.

Jamie Buchan, Author of Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day

"World War II? I don't know much about it. You've lost me. I'm sorry, I was always terrible at history. I just don't have the brain for it!"

Few people would willingly admit to this level of ignorance about key events that shaped the world. But when it comes to math -- which shapes not only the world but the entire universe -- many otherwise highly intelligent and educated people will happily proclaim ignorance. In many cases, there's the implication that math is boring and difficult -- the exclusive domain of the severely geeky.

This may seem merely frustrating for mathematicians and scientists in social settings, but it has serious and wide-ranging consequences. On an everyday level, a lack of confidence about math makes it hard to split a bill, work on a spreadsheet, or help a child with homework (and this can easily become a vicious circle, since anxiety about math can be passed on to the next generation).

If you feel like you're math averse, be not afraid: the book Easy as Pi can help. Math itself is based on a limited number of very logical rules and, whether we like it or not, it surrounds us in everything we do. As Pythagoras (the guy behind the famous Theorem) remarked: "Number is the ruler of forms and ideas, and the cause of gods and demons." The head of a sunflower has evolved with mathematical precision into a double-spiral pattern that packs the most seeds into the smallest available space. The computer on which you're reading this, and every electronic device -- from cheap digital watches counting seconds and minutes to NASA's Columbia supercomputer, which simulates the collisions of entire galaxies -- is powered by a vastly complex system of ones and zeros, which only works at all because they can be interpreted mathematically.
Just like our explorations of science, humanity's understanding of math has advanced amazingly since we were counting how many mammoth hides it takes to wallpaper a cave. The concept of zero -- a number representing nothing -- is taken for granted today (apart from anything else, how could all that electronics work otherwise?). However, for centuries it was a thorny philosophical and mathematical question. Roman numerals stopped being used in Europe when medieval Italians learned the zero from the Arabs, who in turn had picked it up from India. The ancient Greeks gave us much of our understanding of geometry, and the Romans put it into practice with structural engineering. We've come a long way. The Pirahã tribe, a few hundred people living in a remote area of Brazil, reminds us just how far -- with almost no contact with outside cultures, their math is limited to counting "one, two, many."

Numbers have also slipped into our language and culture in various ways -- the third degree, the fourth estate, and fifth columnists spring to mind. And have you ever been asked to "deep six" something? Intelligence agencies use "numbers stations" -- radio stations broadcasting strings of numbers -- to communicate in code with spies in other countries. And they've gained a cult following of fascinated civilian listeners. The controversial conviction of the Cuban Five came after FBI agents found a decryption program for a Cuban numbers station on their computers.

The influence of numbers in our everyday life also seeps into our superstitions. The number 666 -- still feared by many people as the "number of the beast" -- is believed to be based on gematria, a form of numerically encoding Hebrew words, which is also at the root of claims about a "Bible code." Math anxiety and ignorance allows people who practice numerology and astrology to make a lot of money by claiming to imbue numbers with a spiritual and cosmic significance. Not only is this completely unproven, it masks the far greater beauty of a mathematically ordered universe.

To sum it all up, math and numbers are everywhere, and they are embedded in our lives in every respect. Anxiety about them is really worth trying to overcome. The benefits they bring us are countless.

© 2010 Jamie Buchan, author of Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day
(Used with permission)
Author Bio
Jamie Buchan was educated at Westminster School and is completing a Master of Arts degree in Architectural Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Many of his family members are involved in books: his great-grandfather John Buchan is the prolific novelist famous for The Thirty-Nine Steps; his grandfather D.J. Enright is a well-known Movement poet; and his uncle James Buchan is an award-winning novelist and historical writer. Both of his parents work in publishing.

What About Me? by William G. Bentrim

What About Me? by William G. Bentrim 
Book Description:  A sick or injured child can disrupt the best of families. Parents are frequently so focused on the sick child that well siblings may feel abandoned. In spite of the love they feel for their sibling, a well child may be annoyed with all the attention their sick sibling receives. The well child may feel guilty about their anger or annoyance. Conflicting emotions can overwhelm the healthiest child. This book hopes to demonstrate to the healthy child that their feelings are normal, acceptable and guilt is not necessary. The book also hopes to alleviate any of the well child's feelings of alienation and loneliness by reassuring them of their parents love.

My Review:  William G. Bentrim creates special books for children. He uses kindness and sensitivity to create stories for children going through difficult times. Using the same type of bear characters from some of his previous books, Mr. Bentrim shows much wisdom in his approach to difficult subjects that cause stress in children.


What About Me? is for children with a sibling with a sickness or injury and explores the feelings of guilt, neglect, or jealously they may experience when the parents are busy caring for the sibling. As he did in his previous books, the author has resources and coping tools for the parent to use. What I appreciate most about Mr. Bentrims books and parental helps is that he always encourages the help of grandparents and other relatives. Family – that is what is important in his books.

I have also reviewed these books by William G. Bentrim:

I Like to Whine
Mommy’s Black Eye
Daddy Goes on a Trip
The Adventures of Hardy Belch

Book Giveaways

My first blogaversary has just passed and I thought I would have a couple of giveaways. The first will be for four of my reader copies. They have been read once by me and are in good condition. I will choose four winners and the books given will be:

A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

The Truth in a Lie by R. Chase Raiford

Fill out the form below. Tell me which book you would like to win. If you would like to enter for all of the books, Just write "All Four".

US only. No PO Boxes. The contest will end May 26, 2010 at midnight. I will email the winner and you will have 48 hours to reply with your mailing address.

Cooking from the Garden: Best Recipes from Kitchen Gardener by Ruth Lively

Amazon.com link for Cooking from the Garden
Cooking from the Garden takes the best recipes from a publication called The Kitchen Gardener, published from 1996 to 2001. Recipe categories include:


Starters, Snacks & Drinks,
Breakfast, Brunch & Egg Dishes
Sauces, Salsas & Vinaigrettes
Salads
Breads and Sandwiches
Soups
Side Dishes
Pasta, Grains & Beans
Main Dishes
Desserts and Sweets
Preserving

This is definitely a make-it-from-scratch cookbook that includes recipes for homemade ketchup, Thyme Mayonnaise, dressings and sauces. The recipes have easy to follow instructions and a short list of a few basic ingredients. There are no photographs of finished dishes, but there are tips and menu ideas. Most of the recipes contain ingredients that can be grown most anywhere or can be found at a local farmers market. These are good, wholesome family recipes.

Heart Healthy Monday

I guess I should just admit that I forgot Hearth Healthy Monday last week.  I didn't remember until Wednesday so I just posted a couple of extra book reviews. 

HH Web Link - Here is some information from the BCBS website: Facts About Coronary Artery Disease

 HH Tip is from the HeartHealthyMonday.com (w/permission):  Beverages today are loaded with calories and sugar.  Start this week by reading nutrition labels and choosing low-fat milk or water instead of soda or
energy drinks.
 
A healthy way to start to the day or a cool afternoon snack for those in warm weather:
Mango Shake


2 C lowfat milk
4 Tbsp frozen mango juice (or 1 fresh mango, pitted)
1 small banana
2 ice cubes
Put all ingredients into blender. Blend until foamy. Serve immediately.

Variations
Instead of mango juice, try orange, papaya, or strawberry juice.

Pantry Friendly Mexican Cooking by LeAnn Bird

Amazon.com link for Pantry Friendly Mexican Cooking

About the Book: Even if you don’t think you know how to boil water, you can create mouthwatering, authentic Mexican dishes — in less time than it takes to order out! Pantry-Friendly Mexican Cooking collects nearly 100 delicious recipes, each with its own unique story. And it shows you how to save money by buying exactly the ingredients you need and storing them correctly to easily make dozens of dishes. There are no exotic ingredients to buy, no special stores to visit. Just authentic, delicious and quick meals perfect anytime!

My Review: With a list of basic ingredients to keep in your pantry and the addition of a little meat and some fresh ingredients, you are set to become a pantry friendly cook. There are recipes for making your own flour or corn tortillas or keep some store-bought around.  All of the ingredients are easy to find in the stores.

There are recipes for sauces, salsas, main dishes, sides, soups and desserts. Just a few of the recipes are:

Mango Salsa
Breakfast Burritos
Carnitas
Chicken Enchiladas
Deep Fried Green Chili Burrito
Sopapillas
Caramel Corn Puffs
Kickin’ Fruit Platter
Jalapeno Syrup
And much more…

The book is big at 8 ½” by 11” and the print is easy to read. There are pictures on each page of the finished dish. Yum! We will be having Breakfast Burritos in the morning.

Felting for Kids: Fun Toys, Cool Accessories by Gry Hojgaard Jacobsen and Sif Hojgaard Hoverby

Amazon.com link for Felting for Kids

About the Book: Discover the delights of wet felting with more than 40 quick and easy projects for both boys and girls. Discover the wonderful world of wet felting with this exciting collection of fabulous toys and accessories for kids. Choose from more than 44 projects in four fun collections - Baby, Princess, Love, and Cool - that make the techniques of wet felting easy and fun to learn.
About the Author: Sisters Gry Hojgaard Jacobsen and Sif Hojgaard Hoverby are co-owners of Gry & Sif, a company that specializes in beautiful Scandinavian style designs.

My Review: What a fun way to create toys and useful items for children! This book starts by showing you how to create your own felted wool fabric. With some raw wool, a few tools (one of which is bubble wrap), and eighteen photographs to show the process, the book clearly explains how to make felted fabric. At the end of the book there is a page of resources for the raw wool if it is not readily available. Of course, you can also purchase the felt to make the designs in the book.


For babies, there are patterns for items like balls, blocks, pillows, cars, a mobile and much more. For older children there are bags, boxes, a floor runner, and toys. There are big beautiful and colorful pictures for each of the projects. The projects would not only be fun to make, but also fun to work on with your children or grandchildren.

After the Hangover, The Conservatives’ Road to Recovery by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.

Amazon.com link for After the Hangover

Book Description:  An insider’s investigation of the state of the post-Bush Conservative movement in the United States today.

R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.—intimately familiar with the ideology and personalities of the conservative movement in the United States from the inside—analyzes who was right and what went wrong. And, in the process, he outlines the conservative agenda for the “next ascendancy.”



My Review: I hoped that After the Hangover would provide a look inside American political history and those involved in shaping it, but I found little insight into American conservatism. The book is more about Mr. Tyrrell and individuals he knows.


In an effort to sound l intellectual, the author leaves the average book lover scrambling for a dictionary. My eyes glazed over in several sections and I was tempted to start skimming. I thought the writing was so dry that it was difficult to finish, but I did.

One section of the book has a long entry about his friend William F. Buckley. Unfortunately, he used his book to express a strong dislike for Mr. Buckley’s son where he details the son’s bad behavior at his father’s funeral. Mr. Tyrrell’s tirade was rude, unpleasant, and the entry served no purpose except to air Mr. Buckley’s family “dirty laundry”. He did a disservice to his friend.

The end of the book is the author’s proposed agenda for the future of conservatives. He agrees with Steve Forbes’ flat tax, an altered Social Security program, and health care reforms. Quite honestly, his agenda is simplistic and rather mainstream.

Bad to the Bone, Memoir of a Rebel Doggie Blogger by Bo Hoefinger

Amazon.com Link for Bad to the Bone  
Book Description: Let's get this clear right away: I'm a dog. I'm 1'10" and weigh 63 lbs, and although I'm a mutt on the outside, I'm a purebred on the inside. My good nature comes from the Golden Retriever side of the family, while my stubbornness is clearly from my Chowchow bloodlines. I've got Rastafarian ears, a black tongue for licking, and paws that should be on a dog twice my size.


I type 60 words a minute.

My name is Bo, and this is my story.



My Review:  Meet Bo, a golden retriever/chow mix breed shelter dog. Bo has written his life story, and I enjoyed it thoroughly! Bad to the Bone is written from Bo’s point of view. We meet his “parents”, his feline friend (who almost didn’t make it into the family), and read about all of his adventures.

Bo’s humor will turn around the story of his injured paw and will make you laugh, as will his dream about being on a compilation of game shows. Also in Bo’s memoir is the inclusion of special pages with articles such as Why I Love My Mother (“She feeds me.” is listed three times),  Canine Bingo, Ask the Magic Bo Ball, States I’ve Peed In, and many more. There are also photos of Bo and a Q & A with him.


Bad to the Bone is laugh-out-loud funny (and I don’t laugh out loud while reading very often) and a heartwarming story of why more people should go to their local shelter when they want a dog. Obviously Bo’s parent love and enjoy him, and he has brought as much joy as any pedigree pup could.

Wildflower Bride by Mary Connealy

Amazon.com link for Wildflower Bride
Book Description: Welcome to the wilds of Montana, where humor, romance, and suspenseride the range. Glowing Sun, a white woman raised by the Flathead tribe, has vague memories of her former life, including a name—Abby Lind. When she’s forced to sever all links with her adopted family, Abby wonders if she’ll ever find a home again. Tenderhearted Wade Sawyer, responsible for Abby’s survival during the village massacre, convinces the knife-wielding woman to return with him to the Sawyer Ranch, never realizing danger lurks behind every corner. Can they survive long enough to fall in love?


My Review: Wade Sawyer is a good and heroic character in this western story. He is a man of faith who has a favorite verse, Psalm 27:1, and he keeps it in his heart. Often he would run just the words in his mind “Who shall I fear?” as a reminder to be brave.

This wasn’t my favorite book of the Montana Marriages series. While I liked the character of Wade, he was about the only person that I cared about. There were just too many unpleasant people in this book. Of course I expected the “bad guys” to be – well – bad, but even some of the main characters were disagreeable as if that demonstrated a show of strength. Abby Lind was a very rude person considering she was a woman of faith. Wade’s father was a cantankerous old man, although his attitude was a good part of the storyline and was logical. I found one of the scenes with Belle and Silas uncomfortable when they were having a borderline violent physical confrontation one minute and kissing the next.

This is still a book I would recommend if you enjoy Christian romance set in the old west. Her descriptions of the area and events are good, and the story flows very well.