Green Smoothies: The Weight Loss & Detox Secret

I've always been intrigued by smoothies. Like everyone else, I want to eat healthier and be healthier but smoothies always seem to take more effort than they are really worth. So, when I received a copy of the Green Smoothies ebook, I figured I would give it a try. 

There are 8 chapters in the beginning of the book that give you a little information about green smoothies. Ranging from the health benefits of these smoothies to tips on how to make your smoothie tastier, these short chapters should not be skipped. They are only two or three pages each anyway. 

The bulk of the book is made up of various recipes. I haven't had a chance to try every single recipe but they all sound very delicious. My favorite recipes are the ones with nuts in them. Since my daughter got braces in April, she isn't supposed to eat nuts. This is an easy way to make sure she gets the nutritional value from the nuts without taking the chance that she will break a bracket or something. 

I'm looking forward to trying more of the green smoothie recipes. Healthy living, here I come! 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

The Dream Ten: Where's Tony?

Where's Tony? is the second book in the Dream Ten series by A.D. Erving. Thankfully, for those of us that did not read the first book, there are player profiles in the front and back of the book to try to help us keep track of the book's key characters.

The Dream Ten series are various stories about a New York City youth basketball team. In this particular book, one of their players has gone missing after a semi-final game in the Lower-NYC All-Star League Winter Classic. Concerned, his teammates forgo practicing for their next match-up in order to find him. 

When I heard the book was about basketball, I was a little concerned. I'm not a huge basketball fan but I can read anything so I cracked it open. There actually is very little basketball in the story. The plot mostly revolves around the inner workings of the team and their friendships with each other. There were some super over-dramatic parts (the opening chapter tells us we will meet the devil) but kids that age tend to be Drama Bombs. Overall, it was a decent read. However, I think the book is more appropriate for boys in a 7-10 age range instead of the 7-14 age range it has listed. And, while the book does have some basketball, it feels a little disingenuous to call it a sports book. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Self-Inflicted Wounds

On Saturday, I finished reading Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation by Aisha Tyler. Let me start this off by saying I have a bit of a girl crush on this lady. While I may have seen her in some random show (she was Jake's mom on Glee?!), I really became a fan just from her voice (she is Lana in Archer). From there, I found her comedy act, which is hilarious. (As a warning, her act is a bit on the risque side but, in my opinion, that just makes it better.) From there, I found her podcast. And that led me to her books. Yes, she has more than one. But this is the one I chose to read first. Self-Inflicted Wounds is a comedic re-telling of Ms. Tyler's life. Each chapter is a story. Each story is always funny and always has a moral to learn. Generally, the moral is "If you don't even try, you will never succeed." I wish I could name my favorite story but they are all too good to compare. Though I do admit I fully laughed out loud when she broke her arm snowboarding after her husband told her not to. ("Don't tell me what to do!") I also found myself chuckling at her stories of her college a cappella group days. Mostly because, despite the 6 year age difference between us, a cappella groups were still the same when I was in college. My school didn't have an a cappella group though or I probably would have joined.

When I finished the book on Saturday afternoon, I was actually a bit sad that it was over. However, I did recommend the book to my almost-12-year old daughter. Yes, there are a few references to binge drinking and sex but there isn't anything particularly graphic in the book. Some people might think it makes me a bad mother. I think the message of "Work Hard - Try Everything - Don't Give Up Easily" is something that needs to be handed down to the next generation. Kids don't look at their parents and see how hard they have worked to attain what they did. Heck, they can't even look at most celebrities to see the hard work. Here is someplace that she can read about the failures and the successes. Here she can learn that one failed attempt doesn't make you a failure. It just means you get to fix your mistakes and try again.

Movie review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

CWACOM
The animated movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" appeared in theaters on September 18, 2009. Unfortunately, we were not able to watch it in the theater. Luckily, the Blu-Ray version came out on January 5, 2010. My 7-year old daughter had been bugging us to rent it as soon as she saw the Coming Soon sign on the local Redbox. We ended up renting it through Netflix instead.

I wasn't expecting a lot from the movie since I loved the book when I was a child and, as I recall, there isn't much of a plot to it. Surprisingly, the movie is quite good. The writers managed to take the thin book and turn it into an intriguing story with believable, yet funny, characters. Not only were the characters awesome, but the animation was also very good. Most people, nowadays, are looking for cutting edge "realistic" animation. While "Cloudy" isn't particularly cutting edge, the animation is clean and, to put it simply, pretty. The cherry on top is the crop of recognizable actors that were brought on board to give life to the characters. (My favorite is Neil Patrick Harris as Steve the monkey.)

"Cloudy" is definitely a must-see movie. The kids will enjoy it and I think the adults will love it as well. Good fun for everyone!