Acts of Random Kindness to You

As a teacher, I spend a great amount of time looking at books, reading books, and picking just the right book to get kids interested in reading and writing. As an aunt, I always want to be sure I know that my nieces and nephews can each express themselves in their own way. So, I was super excited when I had the chance to look at and review “The Daily Doodle” written by  Janet Lee (who just happens to have her PH. D and might know a bit of something about children).

The first thing I noticed about this book was that it was colorful and fun looking. My niece was immediately drawn to the colors and pictures on the cover. So, we decided to explore it together. The first few pages are full of ideas and thoughts for parents and ‘kudos’ to the author as she also remembered to write a letter to the kids. My niece loved me reading the letter directly to her and we hadn’t even gotten to the fun part yet.

Once you get into the book itself, it has pages and pages of activities geared toward self expression for children. Each pages has a topic and then there is lots of room for the child to draw or write whatever it is they feel about that topic. I was curious to see what my niece thought about bedtime because unlike her teenage brother who loves to sleep, putting this 6 year old to bed is nothing short of a miracle. So, we turned to that page and I read the title, “Bedtime”. I told her to write or draw whatever she wanted and at first she was hesitant, so I acted busy doing something else and she began. She colored and drew for a good 15 minutes before showing me the picture of a “playground” of all things. It gave me a great place to ask, “Why?”  She explained to me that every night when she goes to bed she is mad because she has to stop playing. She wants to play and not sleep so much. Can you imagine the discussion from this one simple activity?

It got me excited because some of the pages could really allow a child to express themselves and give their parent/teacher/counselor a jumping point for discussion. My niece and I were both very impressed by the book. We decided we would do one activity a day, but I can also see that it could be used on an as needed basis or any way that someone felt it would fit their situation.

So, if you have an opportunity to buy one fun, but useful book for your child, I would without hesitation recommend that you check out, “The Daily Doodle” written by Janet Lee or check out her webpage for other books at www.drjanetlee.com or on Amazon.com

You The Owner’s Manual

By: Michael F. Roizen, MD

Mehemet C. Oz, MD

If you literally want to learn how to make your body both healthier and younger, then this is the book for you to read. Both my mind and my body will benefit from my recent reading of the book, You The Owner’s Manual. This book is so full of good information that it is hard to know where to begin when telling people about it. At times, the information made me cringe as I just knew the authors were talking about my bad habits and at times the book made me smile because I knew that was an area I was strong in when it came to my health and body. I guess we all have strengths and weaknesses, right?

Regardless of the feelings I had while reading this book, one thing that really impressed me was that it held my interest and was completely easy to understand. The authors went out of their way to make this a book for every person. In this, they were successful. I am not usually one for a straight nonfiction, medical type book, but this one was different.

Chapters in the book ranged from the way your home impacts your health to that dreaded “C” word, cancer, to a great diet and workout plan. It stopped at every part of your body in between as well. You The Owner’s Manual did not just tell you what you were doing wrong, but it also gave you advice on how to fix those habits immediately and what impact that would have on your “Real Age”.

I learned quickly while reading this book that age actually has little to do with the number of birthdays that you have had and rather, it has to do with how old your body is feeling and responding to the ways you are treating it.

When you look at the book, you may think it is way too much to read and absorb on such a topic, but this book is really all about the most important person in your life, YOU. For that reason alone, you can’t afford to miss it. If you have not read it, I would highly reccomend it to you and every family member that you care about. From the brutal honest truth about what is going on in your veins to the sometimes corny jokes made by the authors, this is a must read for anyone that wants to get healthier, but needs that little extra push. Get your copy of You The Owner’s Manual and start getting younger today.