Legacy of Pearl

On Reading

LegacyOfPearl — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:40:17 -0800

“

Reading is a means of thinking with another person's mind; it forces you to stretch your own.” --Charles Scribner, Jr.

”

On Sisterhood

LegacyOfPearl — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:33:22 -0700

It was another busy rainy day. First I sold raffle tickets early morning at my son's school, then worked until 8pm and finally went to my bookclub to see my girls. Waving at you N, K, C and K2! :) The last part brought the life back to me, but I'm ready to go to bed now.

As you can see, I'm putting my new boots to good use. I wanted to add pearls to the wrap dress, swap my cardigan to gold and tuck my jeans in the boots based on Angie's suggestion on YLF. This way I could show a quick day to evening transformation before I left work, but I was late and couldn't wait any longer to get out to see everyone. I got out with what I had on at work all day. Next time...

Our bookclub read "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. What an inspiring story for women of all ages!

Now that I talked with my "urban sisters" the whole evening and such an inspiring book about a group of women, I'll end today's short post with what I was reminded today over at the YLF forum by Vani.

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end. BUT.........

Sisters are there...

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Book Club: The Necklace by Chreyl Jarvis

LegacyOfPearl — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:15:02 -0800

After finishing the book, I wouldn't say this is a masterpiece, but the true story behind the book is still interesting. I love reading about the idea come alive, perspectives of different women on sharing, friendship, life, their reasons to become a part of the group and their individual interpretations of different points that were being discussed at times. While I enjoyed the time I spent with this book, this is not the way I'd tell this story. Although the author lis successful in keeping the point of view objective, she leaves a lot of details while explaining some of the details unnecessarily.

Overall, I think this is a good book for a book club to spark discussions or to take along on a flight to pass the time with an interesting true story.

Amazon's Editorial Review for this book says "One day in Ventura, California, Jonell McLain saw a beautiful diamond necklace in a jewelry store window and wondered: Why are personal luxuries so plentiful yet accessible to so few? What if we shared what we desired? Several weeks, dozens of phone calls, and one great leap of faith later, Jonell and twelve other women bought the necklace together–to be passed along among them all.

The dazzling treasure weaves in and out of each woman’s life, reflecting her past, defining her present, making promises for her future. Lending sparkle in surprising and unexpected ways, the necklace comes to mean something dramatically different to each of the thirteen women. With vastly dissimilar histories and lives, they transcend their individual personalities and politics to join together in an uncommon journey–and what started as a quirky social experiment becomes something far richer and deeper."

After reading this editorial, I instantly wanted to share it with my book club. A topic like this would spark a wonderful discussion. While I can't imagine myself desiring such a necklace, I could see how women would be drawn to it and the sharing that comes with it. I was intrigued to read it and share how I feel with my friends.

Teach your toddler to be independent with Montessori techniques

LegacyOfPearl — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:36:54 -0800

In the process of finding my son a preschool, I have read about many options on different teaching methods. Montessori was an early winner and I wasintrigued by the approach. After reading a number of Montessori books, I'm completely drawn into this style of teaching.

Teach Me to Do It Myself by Maja Pitamic has been the best read out of all. If you have a preschooler, this is the book to own. It has so many good ideas on how to teach independence on life skills like eating, getting dressed, potty training.In addition, it has many other work and play activities that is sure to keep you and your little one busy.

Hope you like it as much as I do and find the techniques successful. Below are some other Montessori books that I enjoyed reading.

Book Club: Micheal Pollan -- A Naive Omnivore's Food and Botany Guru

LegacyOfPearl — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:35:51 -0800

We are what we eat and even though we're designed to digest a bunch of junk, the effects of them on our body is irreversable.

I have been a great fan of Michael Pollan's books since the day I heard about The Omnivore's Dilemma. Over the years, I really enjoyed reading all his books and educating myself further on this subject.

If you find yourself interested in botany and mainly food, below is my prioritized reviews on all of Pollan's books on food and botany. Hope you enjoy reading some of them as much as I did.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals: If you're ready to start reading about the food industry and how the modern age food chain works, this is a perfect first book. It definitely made me think about where my food comes from and how I can help with my own actions to encourgae family and friends to adopt better practices when it comes to what they eat. A brutally honest and awakening book.
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto: "Eat food!" was the message from the beginning. It is a wonderfully written critisism if our nutrient-oriented point of view on food. The best lines in the book for me was when he claims that one doesn't have to know about licopen to understand tomatoes cooked in olive oil is really good. What a great thing to say!
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World: This is a fascinating tale of how plants and people help each other evolve based on four common desires: sugar, beauty, intoxication and power. There are some beautiful historical stories and facts in there. Very impressive research and journalism.
Second Nature: A Gardener's Education: My least favorite of the four books I read. Most probably because of having non a big interest on gardening.
The Omnivore's Dilemma for Kids: The Secrets Behind What You Eat: Just ordered this and looking forward to reading it with my son.
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual:This title is on pre-order at Amazon.com (see below) and will be released on December 29th. I can't wait to get a copy of it.