Animal Vegetable Miracle



 

 



I just finished Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Barbara writes a lot of fiction but this book is a nonfiction about how her and her husband wanted to change their life and how they eat. They left their busy city life to move to the country where they raised their own food or bought only locally grown food. What started as a one year quest turned into something bigger. In the process they found the passion to save long forgotten seeds and started Seed Savers Exchange. The passion she has for the finding and saving long forgotten seeds of flowers and vegetables is just inspiring.

It definitely made me more aware of the difference between heirloom and hybrid. I'm going to use a lot more heirloom vegetables this summer. I'm not so sure about the saving seeds part...one step at a time. But I loved the book!

Here is the book description from Amazon:

Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they’d only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an enthralling narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.

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To check her out go to:
www.kingsolver.com

You can buy happinesss....and it's cheap

I just finished the book "You can buy happiness (and it's cheap) by Tammy Strobel.

I really loved this book. It was so inspirational. It's about the life of a couple who is living the American dream; they have a nice place to live full of lots of stuff and own nice new cars. The problem was that they were commuting an hour or more to work a long work day to pay for all their stuff. So they decided to make a change: move to a small place, get rid of their stuff and sell their cars. Their goal was to live in a tiny house and live a simplified life.

 

 

They now are not living the American dream. They are living the simplified dream. No more long commutes or long hours. They have a very affordable house (tiny house), enjoy life, bike everywhere, and live simplified. We should all take away from this that we don't need lots of "stuff" to make us happy. Lets live the uncomplicated, simplified, self-sustaining dream.

If you want to check her out, she has a website
www.rowdykittens.com

Feelings of failure

 

 

 

 

Well the last few days have just sucked! I don't know if it's the weather or just the stress and frustration of everyday life. I haven't complimented anyone yet and I have done quite a bit of cursing the past few days. Yesterday was the worse because my computer was acting up and I was trying to finish an assignment.  

I need some encouragement to get back on the road to success. I need to find a better outlet for my frustrations. Hmmm....eat? If I have my mouth stuffed I can't say anything. It's a great concept but I already have a bunch of "winter" weight to lose. Guess I will have to give it some thought.

On a brighter note, I'm just finishing a book by Tammy Strobel called "You Can Buy Happiness (and it's Cheap)"
Stayed tuned for a summary and a review.

"One Thousand Gifts" Book Review

Tonight I finished reading "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. At first I didn't care for her writing style, which is more of a poetic style, but after getting into the book, it grew on me. The book is about her journey to find "grace" in a life filled with tragedy and stress and writing down one thousand things to be grateful for. I would highly recommend this book; it is good. If you have difficulty with her "way of writing," read 2 or 3 chapters and then go back. It kind of grows on you after awhile.

In her last chapter, after her long journey on finding Gods grace, she wrote something very powerful.

" I can hear Him, what He is telling the whole world: this is for you. The earth under your feet, the rain over your face upturned, the stars spinning all around you in the brazen glory: this is for you. These are for you---gifts---these are for you---grace---these are for you---God. So count the ways He loves, a thousand, more, never stop, that when you wake in the morning you can't help turn humbly to the east, unfold your hand to the heavens, and though you tremble and though you wonder, though the world is ugly, it is beautiful, and you can slow and you can trust and you can receive each moment as grace."

You can check out her book site at www.onethousandgifts.com  or her blog where you will get a feel of her writing style at www.aholyexperience.com