At the library you can always find me searching through the new titles in the children’s section. I love picking books that are going to teach and show my children something different. I want them to know and understand different topics including families that aren’t your typical mom and dad. I don’t shy away from books that deal with topics that are deemed controversial. For me, if it’s age appropriate and tackles the topic in a respectable and loving manner, then I’m checking the book out and reading it with my children.
The “My Family” picture books by Claudia Harrington was a great find at the library. I was quickly drawn to them and super excited. I didn’t think twice about putting them in the check out pile. I was able to find 3 titles out of the 6 in the series.
by Claudia Harrington, Illustrated by Zoe Persico
Here’s a brief synopsis of these titles above: Lenny is the class reporter in these books and he follows his classmates home for a school project. He learns about Elsie and her life with her two moms, Connor and his life with his dad and military mom, and Jasmine and her life with her two dads.
These are the other three book titles in the series.
Honestly, what I loved the most about these books is the innocence that is conveyed through the character’s story of who does what within their families respectively. Each character’s way of life is what they’re accustomed to and they can’t wait to share it with their friend. I loved that!
I highly recommend these books. You should check them out at your local library and if they don’t have it, request it!
I’m a strong believer in giving to charities that will help people and animals in need. I donate to charities like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital , Autism Speaks, Feeding America, PETA and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has a student series and I’m proud that schools in my area are participating with this campaign. I set up a page and you can click on the link below. Any donation and I mean any is greatly, hugely appreciated! THANK YOU!
I’m continuing with my book finds because it’s very dear to me. My girls and I love juvenile chapter book series and when we sit down to read a book with chapters before bedtime we usually read one or a couple of chapters every night until we’re done with the book. This allows us time to read several other easy to read or picture books before lights out. I strive to read up to three books per night depending on how long each book is.
The first book series that we fell in love with was on a summer reading list and we quickly found it at the library.
As soon as we finished the first book of these two fun-loving and mischievous friends, we couldn’t wait to check out book #2. The series, so far, goes up to book #10, which left my daughters baffled and in despair for book #11.
“But why isn’t there a book 11?” they asked me and I said, “Because the author probably hasn’t finished writing it. We have to be patient and find another series to read in the meantime.”
And that’s exactly what we did.
Sophie Mouse to the rescue!
The Adventures of Sophie Mouse
by Poppy Green, Illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell
We stumbled upon this wonderful book series at the library when my youngest daughter spotted a nickname version of her own name on the front cover of the book. They absolutely go bonkers whenever they see their names on the front cover of books.
This series is a great introduction to chapter books. It’s completely adorable and there are beautiful black and white illustrations within the book. The stories are endearing and the main character, Sophie Mouse, is an artist who simply loves adventures and sharing them with her dear friends, Hattie Frog and Owen Snake. So far the series is up to book 6, but book 7 has a release date for this year so I’ll be requesting a hold on a copy at my library so my girls and I can get a chance to read it as soon as possible. We can’t wait!
I highly recommend these books. You should check them out at your local library and if they don’t have it, request it!
I received a letter from a girl and I’d like to share just a small part of it with you: “Dear Lupita,” it reads, “I think you’re really lucky to be this Black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy Dencia’s Whitenicious cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me.”
My heart bled a little when I read those words. I could never have guessed that my first job out of school would be so powerful in and of itself and that it would propel me to be such an image of hope in the same way that the women of The Color Purple were to me.
I remember a time when I too felt unbeautiful. I put on the TV and only saw pale skin, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned. The morning would come and I would be so excited about seeing my new skin that I would refuse to look down at myself until I was in front of a mirror because I wanted to see my fair face first. And every day I experienced the same disappointment of being just as dark as I had been the day before. I tried to negotiate with God: I told him I would stop stealing sugar cubes at night if he gave me what I wanted; I would listen to my mother’s every word and never lose my school sweater again if he just made me a little lighter. But I guess God was unimpressed with my bargaining chips because He never listened.
And when I was a teenager my self-hate grew worse, as you can imagine happens with adolescence. My mother reminded me often that she thought that I was beautiful but that was no consolation: She’s my mother, of course she’s supposed to think I am beautiful. And then Alek Wek came on the international scene. A celebrated model, she was dark as night, she was on all of the runways and in every magazine and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was. Even Oprah called her beautiful and that made it a fact. I couldn’t believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me as beautiful. My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome and all of a sudden, Oprah was telling me it wasn’t. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. But a flower couldn’t help but bloom inside of me. When I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty, but around me the preference for light skin prevailed. To the beholders that I thought mattered, I was still unbeautiful. And my mother again would say to me, “You can’t eat beauty. It doesn’t feed you.” And these words plagued and bothered me; I didn’t really understand them until finally I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something that I just had to be.
And what my mother meant when she said you can’t eat beauty was that you can’t rely on how you look to sustain you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion for yourself and for those around you. That kind of beauty enflames the heart and enchants the soul. It is what got Patsey in so much trouble with her master, but it is also what has kept her story alive to this day. We remember the beauty of her spirit even after the beauty of her body has faded away.
And so I hope that my presence on your screens and in the magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside. There is no shade to that beauty.
I came across a PSA video on Huff Post Women that I believe needs to be shared immediately around the world because the message it’s trying to convey is done splendidly. The video is sponsored by Everlast and I commend them for it.
I live an existential life. I’m very comfortable and happy living that way. It’s one of the things that I’m a hundred and ten percent sure about. I learned in college, through literature, that you can simple believe in just living. It’s not very complicated. There’s no stress in that, hence why I quickly adopted it into my life. You choose the path you want to take. No one or nothing else chooses it for you. You live your life by making your own decisions and when an obstacle appears, you figure it out to the best of your knowledge or ability because it’s your life. When someone asks me, “What do you believe in?” I didn’t know what to say before in the past, but with years come wisdom. I’m now able to express what I believe in.
I believe in love. I believe in helping those in need, even when you don’t have a lot of money to your name. I believe in harming none. I believe in education. I believe in equality. I believe in happiness. And I believe in respect. Ultimately, I respect the beliefs of others, even when I’m ridiculed and made to feel as if I’m doing something wrong. I do get bullied and I do stay quiet, out of respect, which can be incredibly hard to do. But, once in a while, when I truly know that my words might get a benefit of the doubt, only then do I speak out and defend myself.
I live an existential life.
I believe that I’m living the life that I’m supposed to live because I’ve chosen that path.
I believe that no one has the right to say that their beliefs are superior to yours.
I believe in staying true to oneself because in there lies your own happiness.
“The truth will set you free.”
Maybe one day, I will be completely accepted, without any explanation, but for now all I can do is live my life, the way I choose to live it, existentially happy.
With the right words, a sentence or more can become inspiring messages full of wisdom, love, strength, and hope. A sentence can be transformed into a powerful quote or mantra and it can be spoken, sung, read, memorized, etc. When a person connects with an inspiring message or even one single word, they hold onto it fast because their deep emotions suddenly have a precise description. You breathe a sigh of relief and think, “that’s exactly how I feel,” and then you adopt those words into your heart and mind.I know we’ve all shared that moment more than once.
Here are a few inspiring messages that are currently taking up residence in my heart:
I’ve been spending a lot of time over at Pinterest browsing and creating boards for myself since I’m in a writer’s rut at the moment. I’ve mentioned before that we’re house hunting so browsing through pins on home decor is immensely inspiring. Putting together a visual board online allows me to see what I want for my future. I try my best not to pin things that are out of my league, financially speaking, but if it’s an idea that can be done another way that fits my budget then it gets pinned onto my board. So far I’m obsessed with the chevron pattern, which is weird, because I have nothing in my current dwelling with that pattern, but after seeing it as a design on a single wall complimenting a room or even on the floor as a design, I was hooked and can’t wait to try my hand at it. Hopefully, it doesn’t turn out to be a disaster or a “nailed it” picture (type in “nailed it” in Pinterest and you’ll see what I’m talking about.) Check out some of the pins that I’ve been currently obsessing over:
I just saw this short documentary about Zach Sobiech and it made me go through so many emotions. Happiness, sadness, inspired, sadness, and glad to have seen this so I can share it with you all. I also made a donation in Zach’s name because we have to find a cure for cancer. We have to find it NOW before more people like Zach get taken away too soon. Spread the word, spread the love. Let’s find a cure. Help research.
themercadoproject 