Grab Bag Health Boosters:

These 9 tips contain a broad spectrum of really effective habits. I have added my own thoughts and suggestions on #3. Be sure to hit the full screen button in the lower right hand corner of the player.

Grab Bag Soul Searching:

Here is an AMAZING and eye-opening talk about the research behind love and happiness and connectedness. There is something here for everyone to take away. It touches on self-worth, vulnerability, and the attempts to numb our disappointments. Watch for yourself, your loved ones, and for the parenting aspect of all of us… (these principles apply to how we interact with adult children, too).

Here is how this talk is introduced on TED:

Brené Brown studies human connection — our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.

Here’s a teaser on the section about parenting:

We perfect, most dangerously, our children…… They are hard-wired for struggle when they get here. When we hold these perfect babies in our hands, our job is NOT to say,  “Look at her, she’s perfect”, and make sure she makes the tennis team by 7 and Yale by 18….. Our job is to say, “You know what? You’re imperfect and wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging”. That’s our job. Show me a generation of kids raised like that and we’ll end the problems we see today.

She makes such a good point. I think so many of us feel as if it is our job as parents to keep the “perfect child” that was born to us on a path of least resistance, and to optimize her perfection and save her from exposure to any faults or challenges. On the contrary… we would do well to spend less energy “smoothing the road to success” and better serve our kids by making sure they feel loved and connected and worthy in the face of their imperfections, struggles and failures.

But don’t assume this is a lesson on how to parent….. it’s a lesson on how to live:

Truly immerse yourself in this wisdom… go with the Full Screen option in the lower right corner.

Many thanks to Austin H. and Nancy H. for sharing this with me.

Grab Bag Jurassic Spark:

In the current issue of National Geographic magazine is a truly provoking article about where we stand with current science technology to resurrect extinct species.

That’s right. I said RESURRECT EXTINCT SPECIES. À la Jurrasic Park.

Kind of.

I’m not going to give away the punchline. I suggest you read

this article,

because the bottom line is… we are there. And we need to go into this with 6,973,738,433 (current pop. of the world…. did I miss anybody?)  pairs of eyes wide open.

And to quote a line from the song “The Way We Were”….

“Could we? …..Should we?”

You won’t get all the fabulous photos I’m seeing in the magazine with this online article, so I’ll give you a few substitutes here:

Grab Bag App Applause:

Did not even have time to try this app, called RePix, but the reviews are great, it’s on Apple’s “Hot” list, and it looks incredible.

Take your photos and turn them into art like this:

Grab Bag Sweater Better:

Thought these were so cute:

Sweater Embellishments: Take an old sweater. Cut a slit in along the shoulder down about 7″. Fold over raw edge and sew in place. Sew a piece of ribbon about 15″ long to one side of neckline and another ribbon to the other side of the neckline. Tie together!

Cut a section of a long sleeve shirt or sweater and use fabric glue to hold lace in place. Stitch the lace into place, and wash inside out, hang to dry.

Grab Bag Brian Game:

Looks like a simple kids’ game, but is a fun puzzle strategy session:

Grab Bag Funny Stuff:

And this one has a HILARIOUS story behind it that is worth reading (click on the photo) … the caption to this photo reads, “Knock, Knock, mother f*****”: