beauty – Peaceful Reader

Talents

This week at school we had two mornings filled with our talent show. It was amazing and as I watched I was overwhelmed by all the talent we have in our school. We had dancers, very funny comedy routines, dynamic singers, piano players, tiny musicians, and one young man who solved his Rubic’s Cube while jumping on a pogo stick.

As teachers we put together a synchronized routine following these two routines from YouTube. We did a good job of and had lots of teachers involved.

I started thinking about my own talents that I could share and came up with a very short list:

I am a very good reader

I can mix a great drink

I am an adequate cook

None of these are talent show worthy. Long ago I was in a small town beauty contest (not my idea) and had to come up with an act. I wrote an interesting parody about friendship and read it aloud; people laughed and I won third place. Not bad for a brunette. My talents will have to remain low-key.

I am ready for the year to end but it is always bittersweet; this group of 6th graders were in 2nd grade when I became the librarian at Hansen. There are more than a few of them that I will miss a great deal.

In other talented news I made this dish, Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, this morning for a picnic and it was delicious. I’m reading two books right now; The Inquisition by Taran Matharu (the 2nd in the series) and Eat to beat disease by William Li. Recently my husband and daughter watched his excellent TedTalk, Can we eat to starve cancer?, and I watched What the Health on Netflix one afternoon. I was pretty disgusted how major health organizations are sponsored by meat/diary/fast food companies. If you have a chance both of these videos are worth your time.

Happy June!

Cool products I've discovered

Happy Friday!

I’ve been writing this post for about a month or so in my head. If you are a fellow blogger you know what I mean. For every one post I write I’ve written ten in my head; they just don’t always make it from my mind to the keyboard.

I just received some amazing soap in the mail and that is the catalyst to push this from head to hand to you.

1. Soapy Soap Company or Designmysoap.com: My stepdaughter works in Brooklyn as a producer for Gimlet Media podcasts and recently Reply All did a show featuring the guys in Indiana who created this company. She and I talked about how cool it would be to design our own soap and then we just got on the computer and did it. We both picked different products for our soaps and we each bought the white oak soap rest (it was on sale that day, what can I say). It was fun to sort through the different bases, essential oils, and add-ins (think oatmeal) and then you get to make your own label. It’s all organic so this is like my next birthday gift to everyone on my list. She sent me a message yesterday and said hers arrived and it smelled fantastic-she even had a nice little thank you note in her box. Mine arrived today (jumping up and down and whiffing the box and it smelled lovely even from outside. I love good soap and good smells and this is perfectly priced. There were freebies inside my box as well.

2. Native Deodorant: Another cool product that I read an article about listing it as the best deodorant around. I’ve always used an organic brand and never needed it much or gave it too much thought. In the last few years as I’ve AGED I noticed that I was a bit more stanky after a day at work and my clothes were not happy. Most recently I’d been using a cute little bottle of spray by Honest and honestly it wasn’t working. So after reading this article about the top ten best deodorants I ordered and switched. I’ve never been happier about wisping this under my arms-it smells amazing and I smell good all through the day. No more stinky as I pull my dress over my head. We’re all a little happier when that happens right? I bought two scents (lavender/rose and coconut/vanilla) and they’ve lasted quite awhile. I think I’ve had them for about 6 months. All natural + free shipping and made in San Francisco.

3. Shea Moisture Lotion: One day while browsing at our local Walgreens my lovely daughter always on the lookout for new face products picked this brand up, read the label (she does this with everything!-I’m so proud), and stood up to tell me all about it. The company is based in Sierra Leone which is a country close to our hearts because my husband spent time there as a young child while his parents worked with Inter-University Council for Higher Education Overseas. It isn’t a stable country and one that desperately needs help so if I can help in this tiny way by supporting a local company I’m in. The anti-aging cream for me has frankincense and myrrh extracts added. It smells lovely and my face is smooth.

I’m not a fan of advertising running all over my blog and am easily annoyed by ads on other blogs. This is my little bit of free advertising for companies that are independent and environmentally-friendly. Give them a try.

My own design:

29 days of book love…

A classic collection of poems by a master of American verse

Selected Poems of Langston Hughes

This book contains a selection of the poems of Langston Hughes chosen by himself from his earlier volumes.

I bought this book years ago while I was student teaching. I used it to teach at a difficult high school with struggling students. Some of the students got into Langston, some of them were bored, and one student fell in LOVE. He’d never heard of Langston and was amazed-truly-to discover a black artist with such talent. It was a good moment for me as a young teacher to see the light shine in his eyes.

Harlem Night Song

Come,

Let us roam the night together

Singing.

I Love you.

Across

the Harlem roof-tops

Moon is shining.

Night sky is blue.

Stars are great drops

of golden dew.

Down the street

A band is playing.

I love you.

Come,

Let us roam the night together

Singing.

I think he has an interesting eye, poetic sarcasm, and the ability to say it like it is but in beautiful verse.

Democracy

Democracy will not come

Today, this year

Nor ever

Through compromise and fear.

I have as much right

As the other fellow has

To stand

On my own two feet

And own the land.

I tire so of hearing people say,

Let things take their course.

Tomorrow is another day.

I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.

I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.

Freedom

Is a strong seed

Planted

In great need.

I live here, too.

I want freedom

Just as you.

Sadly Langston’s poems still resonate today as relevant not historical. We need to consistently be working on the racism that prevails in our country. Today. Now. We can’t wait for future generations, we can’t let more young black men or women die just because of the color of their skin.

His poetry is powerful stuff. This is the book I pick up when I need some inspiration.

Happy Birthday Groovy Girl!

She’s 11 today! She was a 3 # baby and So full of life! She giggled then just like she does now. She’s a princess, a dancer, a gymnastic, musically-talented, an outdoor girl, a jumping on my furniture girl, a mighty girl who has big dreams for tomorrow and her future. I thank God every day for her bright personality!

We gave her a new bike with gears and hand brakes for her big day. She was thrilled as it has been on her list for awhile.

Birthdays are such a fun time to reminisce about their baby time and their birth story and Groovy Girl never tires of hearing about the day she was born.