How I Changed My Life by Remembering Who I Was Before the Pain

Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/Bj9e9aPktJ4/

“If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” ~Unknown

For a skinny, curly haired five-year-old girl, life was magical.

Buried in books and living in my imagination, I was constantly scribbling stories and dreaming of far away places. My inquisitive mind and persistent curiosity led me further than I ever thought possible. I was a little girl with big dreams, in a world where nothing seemed impossible, where life was bliss.

Then school started.

It wasn’t easy. In fact, at times it was horrifying. And not academically, no, I enjoyed it very much. But being different and not trying to fit in made me an easy target for bullying.

Despite my efforts to look less noticeable, my peers constantly teased me for wearing glasses and for being a bookworm and a nerd.

I was once pushed in the classroom during an art project and suffered a concussion. Kids planted firecrackers in my jacket pockets and hood, and regularly threw them at me.

My math teacher, who called me “stupid” on several occasions and told me that brains and beauty don’t go together, regularly humiliated me in front of the whole class.<…

Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/Bj9e9aPktJ4/

“If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” ~Unknown

For a skinny, curly haired five-year-old girl, life was magical.

Buried in books and living in my imagination, I was constantly scribbling stories and dreaming of far away places. My inquisitive mind and persistent curiosity led me further than I ever thought possible. I was a little girl with big dreams, in a world where nothing seemed impossible, where life was bliss.

Then school started.

It wasn’t easy. In fact, at times it was horrifying. And not academically, no, I enjoyed it very much. But being different and not trying to fit in made me an easy target for bullying.

Despite my efforts to look less noticeable, my peers constantly teased me for wearing glasses and for being a bookworm and a nerd.

I was once pushed in the classroom during an art project and suffered a concussion. Kids planted firecrackers in my jacket pockets and hood, and regularly threw them at me.

My math teacher, who called me “stupid” on several occasions and told me that brains and beauty don’t go together, regularly humiliated me in front of the whole class.<…

Farm Of The Future: What Grows In Las Vegas Stays In Las Vegas

Source http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/01/23/509718598/farm-of-the-future-what-grows-in-las-vegas-stays-in-las-vegas?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

Urban Seed plans to grow 25 different crops, from bell peppers to beets to alpine strawberries, in high-tech greenhouses smack in the middle of Las Vegas.

Crops like radishes, jicama and cilantro will soon be grown close to the Strip, so restaurants will have immediate access to fresh ingredients, instead of having to wait for trucks from California.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Urban Seed)

Source http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/01/23/509718598/farm-of-the-future-what-grows-in-las-vegas-stays-in-las-vegas?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

Urban Seed plans to grow 25 different crops, from bell peppers to beets to alpine strawberries, in high-tech greenhouses smack in the middle of Las Vegas.

Crops like radishes, jicama and cilantro will soon be grown close to the Strip, so restaurants will have immediate access to fresh ingredients, instead of having to wait for trucks from California.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Urban Seed)

In the Mood for Comfort Food? Read This First.

Source http://www.summertomato.com/comfort-food

Photo by sand_and_sky

Photo by sand_and_sky

I just experienced my first East Coast blizzard and it was so exciting. While my dog Toaster frolicked in fresh powder and my husband tried to become a living snowman, I was on a singular mission to warm the house with an 8-hour braised pork shoulder seasoned with chilies and Mexican spices.

Of all the things that trigger cravings for comfort food, cold weather is pretty universal. Being cold is deeply uncomfortable, and our natural instinct is to want to warm ourselves both inside and out.

But while your instinct to maintain your core temperature may explain why you don’t yearn for salad and gazpacho in the dead of winter, it doesn’t condemn you to four months of pancakes and mac n’ cheese. If you understand what your brain is ultimately after, you can tend to your deepest needs without diving head first into the cookie jar.

Source http://www.summertomato.com/comfort-food

Photo by sand_and_sky

Photo by sand_and_sky

I just experienced my first East Coast blizzard and it was so exciting. While my dog Toaster frolicked in fresh powder and my husband tried to become a living snowman, I was on a singular mission to warm the house with an 8-hour braised pork shoulder seasoned with chilies and Mexican spices.

Of all the things that trigger cravings for comfort food, cold weather is pretty universal. Being cold is deeply uncomfortable, and our natural instinct is to want to warm ourselves both inside and out.

But while your instinct to maintain your core temperature may explain why you don’t yearn for salad and gazpacho in the dead of winter, it doesn’t condemn you to four months of pancakes and mac n’ cheese. If you understand what your brain is ultimately after, you can tend to your deepest needs without diving head first into the cookie jar.

The Actual Cost of Owning a Thing

Source http://www.theminimalists.com/cost/

By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus ·

Pull any item off a retail shelf, carry it to the corrals of cash registers, and you can exchange the money you’ve earned to bring the thing home with you.

But the true cost of a thing goes well beyond the price on the pricetag.

The cost of…
Storing the thing.
Maintaining the thing.
Cleaning the thing.
Watering the thing.
Feeding the thing.
Charging the thing.
Accessorizing the thing.
Refueling the thing.
Changing the oil of thing.
Replacing the batteries of the thing.
Fixing the thing.
Repainting the thing.
Taking care of the thing.
Thinking about the thing.
Worrying about the thing.
Protecting the thing.
Replacing the thing.

When you add it all up, the actual cost of …

Source http://www.theminimalists.com/cost/

By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus ·

Pull any item off a retail shelf, carry it to the corrals of cash registers, and you can exchange the money you’ve earned to bring the thing home with you.

But the true cost of a thing goes well beyond the price on the pricetag.

The cost of…
Storing the thing.
Maintaining the thing.
Cleaning the thing.
Watering the thing.
Feeding the thing.
Charging the thing.
Accessorizing the thing.
Refueling the thing.
Changing the oil of thing.
Replacing the batteries of the thing.
Fixing the thing.
Repainting the thing.
Taking care of the thing.
Thinking about the thing.
Worrying about the thing.
Protecting the thing.
Replacing the thing.

When you add it all up, the actual cost of …

Sugar politics: catching up

Source http://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/01/sugar-politics-catching-up/

Last week was a big one for comments about sugars.  I’m traveling this week but here’s a quick round-up.

Source http://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/01/sugar-politics-catching-up/

Last week was a big one for comments about sugars.  I’m traveling this week but here’s a quick round-up.

Camp Nerd Fitness 2016 Video… Okay, I cried. Twice.

Source https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/rising-heroes-closes-tomorrow-are-you-in/

Camp Nerd Fitness is the most magical week of the year around here.

The last Camp took place this past fall – and while over 400 rebels made the trip to Georgia from around the world – we know MOST rebels won’t be able to make it out to the live weekend.

I don’t think I can capture how powerful Camp is in words (campers usually make me cry several times a day at Camp with their stories). Luckily for me I don’t have to use my words. Today, I can show you.

Below is our official Camp Nerd Fitness 2016 video that was filmed and produced by the talented Grant Peelle this past fall in the mountains of Georgia.

It does an amazing job of capturing this indescribable spirit of camaraderie and passion. It also shows how Camp Nerd Fitness laid the groundwork and gave us the inspiration to push forward with Rising Heroes.

Take 5 minutes and watch (full screen if you can), it’ll be worth it!

As I mentioned above, Camp Nerd Fitness is truly a magical experience, but we know not everyone can make it out to the event in person.

<span style="font-we…

Source https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/rising-heroes-closes-tomorrow-are-you-in/

Camp Nerd Fitness is the most magical week of the year around here.

The last Camp took place this past fall – and while over 400 rebels made the trip to Georgia from around the world – we know MOST rebels won’t be able to make it out to the live weekend.

I don’t think I can capture how powerful Camp is in words (campers usually make me cry several times a day at Camp with their stories). Luckily for me I don’t have to use my words. Today, I can show you.

Below is our official Camp Nerd Fitness 2016 video that was filmed and produced by the talented Grant Peelle this past fall in the mountains of Georgia.

It does an amazing job of capturing this indescribable spirit of camaraderie and passion. It also shows how Camp Nerd Fitness laid the groundwork and gave us the inspiration to push forward with Rising Heroes.

Take 5 minutes and watch (full screen if you can), it’ll be worth it!

As I mentioned above, Camp Nerd Fitness is truly a magical experience, but we know not everyone can make it out to the event in person.

<span style="font-we…

Surviving Loss: You Always Have Choice

Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/UpPze8oFY08/

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” ~Stephen Covey

One ordinary night after an ordinary day of work and family, I went to bed a mother, wife, teacher, writer-person.

I remember falling asleep between sentences exchanged with my husband after an evening spent with just the two of us on our patio, something we rarely seemed to find the time to do in our busy lives. We promised each other that we’d make a concerted effort to have more of these “dates.”

The next morning, on what was supposed to be another ordinary day, I got out of bed and found my husband collapsed on the living room floor.

Our three young children slept in the nearby bedrooms as the 911 operator guided me through chest compressions.

Our babies, ages six, three, and one, slept as the firemen wheeled their father out of our home. They were sleeping when my parents rushed over so I could follow the ambulance to the hospital. I imagine they were still asleep when I was told by a doctor that there was “nothing they could do.”

The moment I officially became a thirty-four-year-old widow.

Widow.

It’s a word that sticks to your tongue, something you want to knock on wood to prevent. It makes people …

Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/UpPze8oFY08/

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” ~Stephen Covey

One ordinary night after an ordinary day of work and family, I went to bed a mother, wife, teacher, writer-person.

I remember falling asleep between sentences exchanged with my husband after an evening spent with just the two of us on our patio, something we rarely seemed to find the time to do in our busy lives. We promised each other that we’d make a concerted effort to have more of these “dates.”

The next morning, on what was supposed to be another ordinary day, I got out of bed and found my husband collapsed on the living room floor.

Our three young children slept in the nearby bedrooms as the 911 operator guided me through chest compressions.

Our babies, ages six, three, and one, slept as the firemen wheeled their father out of our home. They were sleeping when my parents rushed over so I could follow the ambulance to the hospital. I imagine they were still asleep when I was told by a doctor that there was “nothing they could do.”

The moment I officially became a thirty-four-year-old widow.

Widow.

It’s a word that sticks to your tongue, something you want to knock on wood to prevent. It makes people …

Some progress in healthier school meals

Source http://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/01/some-progress-in-healthier-school-meals/

I am late in getting to this report on school meals from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations, which came out in early December. 

Their jointly sponsored Kids Safe and Healthful Foods Project took a good hard look at how schools were faring under the Obama administration’s rules for healthier lunches, breakfasts, and snacks. 

Some of their findings:

  • 6 in 10 directors said they faced only a few or no ongoing obstacles to meeting updated breakfast requirements; 4 in 10 said the same of the lunch guidelines.
  • For breakfast and lunch, the commonly cited challenges were sodium and whole grain targets.
  • Most programs use a mix of strategies—three, on average—to encourage students to eat nutritious meals (e.g., salad bars).
  • Holding taste tests with students and redistributing uneaten, sealed foods were among the most effective ways to reduce waste (but only about 40% of schools were doing this). 
  • Programs preparing more foods from scratch and increased the use of salad bars were more likely to report that student participation rose or was unchanged from 2011-2015.
  • <span style="color: #000000…

Source http://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/01/some-progress-in-healthier-school-meals/

I am late in getting to this report on school meals from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations, which came out in early December. 

Their jointly sponsored Kids Safe and Healthful Foods Project took a good hard look at how schools were faring under the Obama administration’s rules for healthier lunches, breakfasts, and snacks. 

Some of their findings:

  • 6 in 10 directors said they faced only a few or no ongoing obstacles to meeting updated breakfast requirements; 4 in 10 said the same of the lunch guidelines.
  • For breakfast and lunch, the commonly cited challenges were sodium and whole grain targets.
  • Most programs use a mix of strategies—three, on average—to encourage students to eat nutritious meals (e.g., salad bars).
  • Holding taste tests with students and redistributing uneaten, sealed foods were among the most effective ways to reduce waste (but only about 40% of schools were doing this). 
  • Programs preparing more foods from scratch and increased the use of salad bars were more likely to report that student participation rose or was unchanged from 2011-2015.
  • <span style="color: #000000…

10 Overlooked Reasons Why Every Woman Should Strength Train

Source http://www.niashanks.com/every-woman-strength-train/

why every woman should strength trainLose fat and get sexy. The end.

While that’s what most sources say why women should strength train, there are additional (perhaps better) benefits women can reap from weight training. Sure, you’ll see below how it can help you lose fat and tone up, but, you’ll also see how strength training can help you build a better brain (huh?), better bones, better boobs (say what?), sleep better, and basically improve every aspect of your life while making you a better human.

It’s a tall order, but I’m ready to prove it using a combination of science and real world experience. Let’s start with a lesser known strength training benefit.

1. Strength training may improve your cognition.

A 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society [1] had a group of individuals between 55-85 with mild cognitive impairment perform two strength training workouts per week for six months. Trainees began with weights that were 80% of their maximum and were increased as they got stronger.

Dr. Mavros observed an improvement in cognitive function was related to the strength gains and the beneficial effects they observed led them to recommend strength training to all. Furthermore, MRI scans revealed areas o…

Source http://www.niashanks.com/every-woman-strength-train/

why every woman should strength trainLose fat and get sexy. The end.

While that’s what most sources say why women should strength train, there are additional (perhaps better) benefits women can reap from weight training. Sure, you’ll see below how it can help you lose fat and tone up, but, you’ll also see how strength training can help you build a better brain (huh?), better bones, better boobs (say what?), sleep better, and basically improve every aspect of your life while making you a better human.

It’s a tall order, but I’m ready to prove it using a combination of science and real world experience. Let’s start with a lesser known strength training benefit.

1. Strength training may improve your cognition.

A 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society [1] had a group of individuals between 55-85 with mild cognitive impairment perform two strength training workouts per week for six months. Trainees began with weights that were 80% of their maximum and were increased as they got stronger.

Dr. Mavros observed an improvement in cognitive function was related to the strength gains and the beneficial effects they observed led them to recommend strength training to all. Furthermore, MRI scans revealed areas o…

Weekend reading: Caring about Hunger

Source http://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/01/weekend-reading-caring-about-hunger/

George Kent.  Caring about Hunger.  Irene Publishing, 2016

Kent is a former professor of political science at the University of Hawai’i who in his retirement is teaching at the University of Sydney in Australia and Saybrook University in California.  His book is about the causes of hunger and how to overcome them.   He’s been at this for a long time and can boil the causes down to brief summaries.

  • Disjunction: Hunger and poverty persist largely because the people who have the power to solve the problems are not the ones who have the problems.
  • Compassion: On the whole, the people who have the power do not have much compassion for the powerless.
  • Material interests: The powerful serve mainly the powerful, not the powerless, because the powerless cannot do much for the benefit of the powerful.

Much of the book focuses on compassion and what he calls “caring.”

  • Hunger is less likely to occur where people care about one another’s well being.
  • Caring behavior is strengthened when people work and play together.
  • Hunger in any community is likely to be reduced by encouraging people to work and play together, …

Source http://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/01/weekend-reading-caring-about-hunger/

George Kent.  Caring about Hunger.  Irene Publishing, 2016

Kent is a former professor of political science at the University of Hawai’i who in his retirement is teaching at the University of Sydney in Australia and Saybrook University in California.  His book is about the causes of hunger and how to overcome them.   He’s been at this for a long time and can boil the causes down to brief summaries.

  • Disjunction: Hunger and poverty persist largely because the people who have the power to solve the problems are not the ones who have the problems.
  • Compassion: On the whole, the people who have the power do not have much compassion for the powerless.
  • Material interests: The powerful serve mainly the powerful, not the powerless, because the powerless cannot do much for the benefit of the powerful.

Much of the book focuses on compassion and what he calls “caring.”

  • Hunger is less likely to occur where people care about one another’s well being.
  • Caring behavior is strengthened when people work and play together.
  • Hunger in any community is likely to be reduced by encouraging people to work and play together, …

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