150123 Winter Reading List

Posted on January 23, 2015 by naomi

Winter, you are a beautiful devil and the perfect excuse to curl up with the book I’ve been dying to read.

For months my fellow bloggers at Write Owls have been recommending Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, but I have yet to see what they are raving about. I confess I’m not generally drawn to “romance novels”, but Stacy, who is not a romance-novel-sort-of-girl, loved it and that was enough assurance for me. So it’s on my list for the butt-freezing weather that’s predicted. (Though at the moment it feels like spring and my garden is beginning to believe it actually is).

Along with Eleanor & Park, I plan to burn through the following:

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (MG)
Batman: Year One & The Dark Knight Retuns (Hello, Batman!)
The Embassy of Cambodia, a novella by the ever brilliant Zadie Smith
Riot by Shashi Tharoor
&
Interaction of Color by Josef Albers

Seems like an eclectic and exciting reading list to me.

Cheers!

Watcha reading? Share below!

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150111 Afternoon Fuel

Posted on January 11, 2015 by naomi

I am currently addicted to a banana-vanilla smoothie I found in Jane Clarke’s cookbook Bodyfoods for Busy People. Jane recommends it for headaches and migraines, and I have to say when you are hitting your head against the wall with writer’s block, it just might help that as well.

Her recipe simply calls for two bananas and vanilla yogurt. For my version I switched it up a bit and used non-fat plain Greek yogurt for an extra punch of protein. Sprinkle ground flax seed or hemp hearts and you’ve got a very sweet treat.

Ingredients:

2 medium bananas
6oz plain non-fat Greek Yogurt
splash of vanilla
Honey to taste (about a tsp–more or less depending on how sweet you like things)

Ground flax seed and hemp hearts

Method:
Stick bananas, yogurt, honey and vanilla in blender and blend till smooth.

Garnish with ground flax seed and hemp hearts if you choose to use them

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141001 Afternoon Fuel

Posted on October 1, 2014 by naomi

Today’s fuel is simple and easy: Stick a date in your mouth and chew. How sweet is that!

 

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140929 Autumn Reading List

Posted on September 29, 2014 by naomi

Breathe in…that’s the smell of autumn.

There’s something about the change in temperature and the way the sun illuminates everything that triggers my sense of smell. Strange, I guess. I’ve always tried to put into words what the season actually smells like. Continue reading →

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Ironclad Genius

Posted on September 16, 2014 by naomi

There are few things in life that have a profound affect on you–that evoke goosebumps–each time you experience it. Usually, at least for me, the first experience may be epic, but thereafter the goosebumps fade. The video for Iron by artist and musician Woodkid is one of those few things. Seriously one of the most beautiful and thought provoking videos ever…I still have goosebumps.

Woodkid “Iron” from WOODKID on Vimeo.

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140910 Afternoon Fuel: Iced Yorba Mate Latte

Posted on September 10, 2014 by naomi

Out of coffee one afternoon, I decided to make a cup of tea to wake myself up while I used my extra–but not always guaranteed–time to write. Sure, water would have done the trick; it’s wonderful for an energy boost. But I was craving the bite, or maybe just the caffeine, of something plant based.

Hunting through the cupboard I found some Yorba Mate (slightly less caffeinated than coffee) and set to work making what ended up being an iced chai-esque drink. Quite tasty and mind-opening.

Here’s what I used and how I made it. Forgive my Tassajarian-style measurements and instructions, but I believe a cuppa should be open to interpretation.

Ingredients

about 12oz of boiling water
1 tea bag of Yorba Mate (or if you’re hipper than I, whole leaf tea)
about 1 tsp of honey or other sweetener of your choice (or none at all)
a dash or two of almond milk or creamer-type thing of choice
a small dash of cinnamon.

To make:

Place tea bag in boiling water and stir in sweetener of choice, letting the tea seep for a few minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea. Remove tea bag and place in the fridge. Chill to desired temperature ( I make mine in the morning so it is nice & cold for the afternoon). Pour in milk and sprinkle cinnamon. Sit. Enjoy. Write. Be refreshed.

Have an amazingYorba Mate recipe? Feel free to share!

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International Literacy Day

Posted on September 8, 2014 by naomi

Today is International Literacy Day! Crack that book, inhale the fumes of knowledge. Let’s read, be it solitary or to one another.

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140904 Children’s Book Discoveries

Posted on September 8, 2014 by naomi

It’s Library Card Sign-up Month, as by friend Laura has noted. In celebration of the joy of books–especially those that can be checked out–I’d like to share a few of my recent discoveries from my local library. Below, my curated selection: Continue reading →

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Mountains of Awesomeness!

Posted on March 12, 2012 by naomi

Music videos are magnificent films…

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Pre-Winter Reading List

Posted on November 14, 2011 by naomi

I read to write. I think many writers do.

My nightstand is always piled with books I want to read or that I feel I should read for one reason or another. It has become a habit for me to read more than one book at a time; at the moment there are 11 I am making my way through. They are as follows: Continue reading →

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