Next week…. one single post that just may change your life.
Until then…
Grab Bag Perception Workshop:
Two weeks ago I profiled my friend Holley Jacobs and her book “Silver Linings“. Holley has a great website and Facebook page, honed by her experience with breast cancer, but truly expanded to be filled with inspiration for all. And so I discovered this great video on The Silver Pen Facebook page….
I have always tried to remind myself that
perception IS reality.
This brilliant commencement speech, set to a fantastic video, sets that observation so beautifully. This is 9 minute workshop in the power of perception to change your world.
Thanks for sharing, Holley 🙂
Grab Bag Say Cheese:
Maybe I’m really late to this party, but it was only about a year ago that my sister served up some
Cambazola cheese
one day, and my cheesy world has been in a new orbit ever since.
I will be honest when I say I don’t eat a ton of cheese… it’s in the “treat” category. So when I do, I want the best cheese possible.
Cambazola, as the name would imply, is the love-child of a creamy Camembert with the blue bite of a Gorgonzola. The result is a cheese that is really flavorful while not dominating your palate.
If I’m gonna eat cheese, this crazy-good stuff is at the top of the list.
It comes in two versions: “Classic” and “Black Label“. Here is what a cheese-head-expert website, Cheese Feed, says about the differences:
‘The Black Label is aged longer than the Classic Cambozola and in cold cellars. This process and extra aging yields a richer cheese with a very creamy texture. The distinctive gray rind has a more pungent scent and adds a slightly more pungent “blue” flavor. Classic Cambozola is a good choice for those that typically shy away from blues. It’s mild flavor will spark the curiosity of novice blue-cheese tasters, while the Cambozola Black Label will entice those with more adventurous palettes.
Grab Bag Start With an A:
From edutopia.com (website of The George Lucas Educational Foundation – definitely worth a look), this excerpt of Matt Levinson’s article is written about school and how starting the year right by establishing positive forward-thinking can lead to great outcomes.
But I also found it so resonating for those of us well beyond lockers and lunch boxes, and immediately wanted to ingrain it as a philosophy when approaching any new complex and long-term project or goal.
You can read Matt’s article in it’s entirety here.
Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, has a wonderful talk on how to give an A to students. On the first day of class, he tells all of his students that they will receive an A, and all they have to do for it is write him a letter — from the perspective of the end of the year, looking back — explaining what they did to earn that A. He marvels at the insights students share in these letters and the way that they fall in love with the person they have become. He also shares that, by putting the A up front, he has taken steps to build relationships with his students. For Benjamin Zander, it’s all about how he views his students, starting from a place of asset and not deficit. He starts with the A.
The beginning of every school year brings optimism. We have hopes and dreams for our children, and we enter into the school year with the belief in a child’s capacity to grow, prosper and excel. We start with the A.
Many thanks to JoAnn N. for sharing her many valuable resources with me 🙂
Grab Bag Skin Sense:
First, let’s get one thing straight: “Anti-aging” is not about looking forever young. It’s about protecting ourselves against environmental elements that contribute to damage and the resulting pre-mature aging of our skin.
Here is an All-Star Top Twelve list of elements to look for in products we use for our skin, courtesy of Marie Veronique Skincare. Check your products to see if your best skin defense includes these all-star skin savers:
Top 12 Must-Have, Anti-Aging, Skincare Ingredients
1. Non-nano zinc oxide
Why: • Zinc oxide prevents free radical damage by reflecting UV rays.
• Better yet, non-nano zinc oxide provides the most stable and safe form of UVA and UVB broad-spectrum protection.2. Vitamin A
Best sources: Stabilized Retinol or natural sources, like beta carotene
AKA: Antioxidant
Why: • Reverses signs of photoaging, you know, things like age spots and uneven darkening of the skin
• Promotes collagen production—your natural sag and wrinkle fighter
• Prevents moisture loss by strengthening your skin barrier
Note: One important thing about retinol: • Too much of it can overwhelm the system. The body converts retinol as needed so a 1% concentration is simply more than you’ll ever use. And 2% is mere grandstanding.3. Vitamin C
Best sources: l-ascorbic acid AKA: Antioxidant
Why: • Prevents free radicals from aging your skin
• Promotes collagen production—your natural sag and wrinkle fighter
• Lightens skin
• Maintains capillary integrity
Note: 3 things are required for Vitamin C to be effective at repairing damage and producing collagen:
• It must be the water-soluble form of Vitamin C—ascorbic acid—as it’s the only form that neutralizes the most prolific and damaging free radicals.
• It must be fresh, that is, not in liquid form.
• It must be in concentrations of 10% or more.4. Vitamin E
Best sources: sunflower oil, broccoli seed oil, papaya seed oil, avocado oil, kiwi seed oil
AKA: Antioxidant
Why: • Prevents free radicals from aging your skin
• Smoothes and hydrates skin by reducing epidermal moisture loss
• Promotes wound healing and protects cell membranes5. Noni
AKA: Antioxidant (more like a super-antioxidant)
Why: • Stimulates cell growth in the epidermis (the outer layer of skin) so it becomes thicker, less wrinkled, smoother and fuller
• Promotes wound healing6. SOD (Super Oxide Dismutase)
AKA: Antioxidant
Why: • Neutralizes the most damaging of the free radicals, the super oxide anion7. Resveratrol
AKA: Antioxidant
Why: • Addresses causes of aging at the source by protecting processes related to cell development and function8. Astaxanthin
AKA: Antioxidant
Why: • Decreases wrinkle formation
• Reduces visible signs of UV-aging9. Omega-3s
Best sources: flax seed oil, chia seed oil, krill oil, emu oil AKA: Essential fatty acids
Why: • Play an important role in keeping skin young and healthy
• Mitigate UV damage
• Help control inflammation
Note: It’s important to have a good balance of Omega-3s to Omega-6s. Omega-6s are easier to come by, and while they are important to maintaining good barrier function, Omega-3s offer the most anti-aging benefits.10. Ceramides
AKA: Lipids
Why: • Keep moisture in and pollutants and bacteria out
• Minimize dryness, maximize suppleness
Note: Ceramides are one of the most important constituents of the top layer of skin, the stratum corneum—where they comprise 50% of the lipids present. As we age, we start to produce less, so we need to supplement topically.11. Peptides
AKA: Synthetic peptides
Why: • Boost collagen production and inhibits collagen breakdown to strengthen your skin
• Encourage cell growth in the epidermis (the outer layer of skin), improving your skin’s overall appearance
• Inhibit melanin production, decreasing pigmentation and blotchiness12. Biopeptides
AKA: Natural peptides from biological sources, like the sea
Why: • Give your skin a proverbial “kick in the butt”
• Rejuvenate your skin by stimulating the skin’s regenerative processes, helping the skin to function as it did at a younger age
• Get more Skin Care 101 and learn about the science behind aging skin and how sun exposure ages your skin.
Grab Bag Sweet Stuff:
I had seen photos of this unlikely couple before, but this video is new to me…. and a real smile-sparker.
Many thanks to mi madre for sending this to me 🙂
Grab Bag Brain Game:
Can you answer these questions correctly? Answers can be found in Comments, below.
1. Johnny’s mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child’s name?
2. A clerk at a butcher shop stands five feet ten inches tall and wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?
3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?
4. How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?
5. What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly?
6. Billie was born on December 28th, yet her birthday always falls in the summer. How is this possible?
7. In British Columbia you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?
8. If you were running a race and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?
9. Which is correct to say, “The yolk of the egg is white” or “The yolk of the egg are white?”
10. A farmer has five haystacks in one field and four haystacks in another. How many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in one field?
Grab Bag Funny Stuff:
LK's Grab Bag 
Answers:
1. Johnny.
2. Meat.
3. Mt. Everest. It just wasn’t discovered yet.
4. There is no dirt in a hole.
5. Incorrectly (except when it is spelled incorrecktly).
6. Billie lives in the southern hemisphere.
7. You can’t take a picture with a wooden leg. You need a camera (or iPad or cell phone) to take a picture.
8. You would be in 2nd place. You passed the person in second place, not first.
9. Neither. Egg yolks are yellow.
10. One. If he combines all his haystacks, they all become one big stack.
An “A+” for this blog every post! Just finished reading A Glass of Water – expect the book-talk planned will be paired with “This is Water” commencement speech and video. Cheers! JoAnn
I felt very inclined to comment this week because I absolutely LOVE that commencement speech! And that video with the animals! And yes, you are totally late to the game, but love the shout out to Cambazola. A definite favorite of mine.