Thoughts For The Day, by, Serendipity Author, Richard Parenti

Thought for the day, by, Richard Parenti Thoughts for the day are simple, yet effective ways to explore possibilities in your own life and ponder on the powerful meaning of words, feel the inspiration. Serendipity Media Group is proud to share Mr. Parenti’s thought provoking quotes. “If your happiness depends on what other people say or do… you are in deep trouble.” “The wise man and woman gives 99% of their attention to how they feel about what they want, while continuously reaching for the next best feeling thought, and 1% to inspired action, thus enjoying the journey and staying in their power!” “When you find yourself in alignment with your source energy, outside conditions won’t matter.” “You can change your vibration about people or events in your life or in the world simply by finding the beauty in it all… and realizing that the imperfection you are observing is perfect as it is, as it cannot be any other way.” “Feeling good is the ultimate manifestation, because it feels good to feel good, especially when it comes from within, without any outside action.” Richard Parenti has more than thirty-four years of experience with mentors and yoga masters in the science of emotional mastery. He is the author of “Emotional Sobriety: Feel-Good Secrets for Everyone” published by Balboa Press. He is also contributor to Manifesting Magnificence: A Personal Growth Workbook, Serendipity Media Group, 2015. After returning from a 40-day silent retreat in the Himalayan Mountains in India he authored "Naked Before God" and "Your True Self" both of which appeared in Himalayan Path Magazine. In 2007 he was recognized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of Northern California for having the ideal yoga class for people with multiple sclerosis. Since 2000 he has been the spiritual director of the Yoga Health Institute in Modesto, California. http://www.yoga-ehealth.com/ http://www.emotionalsobriety.biz/

Meet Anita Rani: Using The Law of Attraction & Dreamboards To Live Fully

Anita Rani: Using The Law of Attraction Dreamboards To Live Fully At every given moment, we have a choice on how to live life: by default as a victim or with intention as a creator. On October 1, 2007, doctors diagnosed my mom with cancer, and five weeks later she passed away, not even giving us a second to grasp what had just happened. From this period of time, the only memory that resonates in my mind comes from three days before she passed away. All I can remember is seeing her, weak from her last strong chemo treatment and unable to speak, spending hours slowly writing her last words, “Life is full of surprises, enjoy fully.” At that moment, something hit me. It was like I had just awakened from the biggest nightmare of my victimized life. I realized these were no ordinary words, but inspiration and wisdom that would carry me into my life’s purpose and would eventually become my mantra. Though I did make many of my own decisions, they stemmed from my inner dialogue that I, a woman, was nothing special, only the male species were the "chosen" ones. Family, friends, culture and movies heavily influenced me. A lie that I came to believe by none other than myself. Even after creating my first successful online business in 2005, DivaVillage.com, and being featured on Oprah.com as a chosen community leader (to help raise awareness for Oprah Winfrey’s and Eckhart Tolle's online course, “A New Earth”) I was still not fully ready to embrace my true essence, the magnificent beauty that runs through my veins. I continued to hide behind the men in my life, letting them stand in my “light” and making my success theirs. After seeing my mom pass away at just 60 years old and then becoming a single mom to three kids after 18 years of marriage, I realized life is way too short to live small. If I continued on this path, I would be misguiding my kids, dishonoring my mother, and, most of all, disrespecting myself! I wanted to create, love and live! I wanted to make a difference in the world. I had a dream: To live life purposefully and to awaken to a higher way of thinking, living, and believing! I realized at that moment that it was time to do what made ME happy. I started to follow the advice of self-help gurus and created my first real Dreamboard an organized visual representation of all your dreams and goals. I spent over two weeks going through magazines, cutting images and creating intentions. This board displayed all the dreams I wanted to experience, from various energy healings and ayurvedic massages, to cabana huts in Koh Samui, Thailand. Three weeks after I created my Dreamboard, I got a call from my brother asking me to join him on vacation. My first thought was, “There is no way I can go! I have 3 kids, a business, and employees to attend to. I have too much to do and not enough money.” Still, my brother demanded I find a way to do it because he was booking a first class ticket for me, reserving a fully paid private cabana in an exclusive resort with unlimited food and all the premium services I wanted. Needless to say, I found a way. I went and experienced my dream come true: yoga under a tree, past life regression, healing sessions, tai chi, enchanting tea with a tea master, and at least 2 massages a day – all expenses paid! Two weeks after I came back, I was sharing my experiences with a friend on the phone and happened to be taking a closer look at the picture of cabanas on my Dreamboard. I realized that I had gone to the exact location of the pictures on my Dreamboard and didn’t even know it! After I successfully manifested my dreams and goals depicted on this Dreamboard, I knew there was some power behind it that I wanted to share with the online world. Thus, I dedicated the next three years to finding a way to motivate others through my experience, and with the help of my team we launched DreamItAlive.com on 11-11-11. We can’t control each step of our lives, but we have the power to create our dreams and the direction of our life. Though I learned it the hard way, I am here to help you understand that you are not alone. You have the force of the universe, the power of Law, guiding you to achieve what your heart truly desires. All you have to do is BELIEVE! We can go through life by other’s guidance, or we can harness the Law, known as the Law of Attraction (LOA), and focus on intentionally bringing more positive things into our life while minimizing the negative. Everything has a vibration. From the foods we eat, the friends we associate with, to the thoughts we have--they all create a vibrational frequency. The Law of Attraction states that “like attracts like”, and therefore we attract experiences into our life that match the vibrational frequency that we vibrate at. Just to go a bit deeper into LOA, we have two minds: the conscious and the subconscious. The conscious mind works through logic and reasoning, and the subconscious mind works through what we constantly feel, think about and repetitively focus on. The subconscious does NOT know what is or is not real, and it has the ability to attract physical things and experiences with which we vibrationally match. Given this information about our subconscious, the more we repetitively visualize what we desire with positive emotion, the faster our desires manifest into reality. Another thing to help the manifestation process is to keep your frequency at its highest potential by engaging in life Activities that emit the same emotions as the ones we experience while visualizing our desires, dreams and goals. In other words, the more we experience the feeling of having what we want, the faster we will have it. For example, if you have a dream/goal to build a business that will help the world; you should visualize it daily with the joy of achieving this dream. You can also speed up the manifestation process by engaging in life activities that allow you to experience the same authentic feeling of joy as you did when visualizing. This is the Law of Attraction in action. However, keep in mind when dreams do not show up as fast as we want them to or just don't show up at all, chances are we have a block or a resistance to them which delays or detracts the dream from ever showing up. In order for LOA to work, we need to be fully ready and open. So if we have struggles "attracting" the perfect relationship into our life, chances are we might be dealing with some self-love issues. Before we try to love others, we first must love ourselves! Always remember, feelings like enthusiasm, love, joy, bliss, hope, courage, gratitude, freedom and trust emit high frequencies. Stay away from feelings that emit a lower vibrational frequency, which will push your desires away, such as fear, grief, guilt, worry, disappointment, resentment, insecurity and sadness. Visualize what you truly want on a daily basis and be enthusiastic about it. Engage in life activities that match that same enthusiasm and get ready to attract the life of your dreams. GET HIGHER! Excited to announce that Anita Rani, Co-Founder of Dreamitalive.com (a virtual Dreamboard Community) is a contributor in the upcoming Manifesting Magnificence: A Personal Growth Workbook, due out on 1/1/15, A Serendipity Press (Serendipity Media Group Publication). 559-449-1970

The Hamburger Tree, by, Maria Pacheco

The Hamburger Tree is a bilingual children's book inspired by a true story.  Maria Pacheco is a West Coast Author passionate about multi-cultural enrichment. In 2014, Maria's book received the Superior Award in an Oral Interpretation Competition. Maria is a successful guest speaker having shared her book, The Hamburger Tree, with hundreds of fans in the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Grow your imagination with this fun, timeless adventure sure to please children and adults alike.

Press Release for Manifesting Magnificence: A Personal Growth Workbook, by, Gina Meyers (and friends)

Manifesting Magnificence is a personal growth workbook with uplifting exercises to promote positive benefits in the areas of mind, body, and spirit.

Who is the book for: 

 A Personal Growth workbook for parents, teachers, married, divorced, single people, anyone who is looking for an easy plan to get their life jump started, energized, moving forward in the direction of their visions and dreams.

Intention for the book: 

The books main purpose an inspirational workbook on how to access our dreams/visions for our future. We have to be clear on our future and visualize it and be free of negative thought patterns to achieve our dreams of manifesting magnificence.

Who is the book written by: 

The book is a collaboration of authors, teachers, spiritual leaders, therapists, artists who have techniques to promote personal growth through a series of fun exercises, worksheets, organizational tips, positive affirmations, meditations, physical and mental exercises, thoughts to contemplate, inspiration through others stories. 

Book is published by:

Serendipity Media Group

Release Date: 1/1/15

Categories: Personal growth, self-esteem, meditation, nutrition, mind, body, spirit.

Book will be published in softcover as well as e book format.

E Book:

Many of the authors will have their section available in e book prior to publication of the workbook. Please see first in the series: Manifesting Magnificence: An Easy Guide To Meditation by, Richard Parenti.

Below is an example of one of our contributors, Richard Parenti and his Feel Good Secrets from A-Z Exercise, as found in his book, Emotional Sobriety: Feel-Good Secrets for Everyone published by, Balboa Press: A Division of Hay House.

“Often a situation presents itself to you and you’re knee-jerk reaction feels good, but then you sabotage yourself by finding a way to talk yourself out of following through for one reason or another.”-Richard, Yoga Health Institute

A sample of feel good secrets from A-Z Exercise. Think of a positive uplifting word for each letter of the alphabet.

A Awesome

B Beautiful

C Clever

D Delicious

E Exhilarating

F Fabulous

G Great

H Happy

Meet Richard Parenti, author of Emotional Sobriety

As a Hay House author, and real life survivor and thriver, Richard Parenti knows how to power up or rather level up his language to elevate and change his moods, feelings, and thoughts.

Serendipity Media Group is proud to announce that Mr. Parenti is a contribting positive incantation specialist sharing his, Thoughts For The Day.

Thought For The Day:

"When you find yourself in alignment with your source energy, outside conditions won't matter."

"The wise man or woman gives 99% of their attention to how they feel about what they want, while continually reaching for the next best feeling thought, and 1% to inspired action, thus enjoying
Journey and staying in their power."-Richard, Yoga Health Institute

Emotional Sobriety
If you would like Thoughts For A Day in your inbox or to be a part of Richard's Mindset Group in Manteca, email serendipitymediagroup@gmail.com.

Meet New Jersey wife and mother, Author Michelle Tighe

Meet New Jersey wife and mother, Michelle Tighe. She is not just a typical New Jersey Housewife, she is one tough cookie. She has worked in the legal field as a legal secretary for many years and had a dream. It wasn’t a typical run of the mill dream, it was a dream to one day be an author. So she took pen to paper, after some down time, and she went to work. She worked and worked diligently on her story, until she really liked it, then she put it away. She waited a few years and thought, “hey, this is kind of a cute story, why not turn it into a children’s book?” From that one dream, her wish was fulfilled and like the characters in Erin’s Adventures In Dreamsville, Michelle’s dream like Erin’s came alive.  Erin's Adventures In Dreamsville link to Amazon to purchase

Erin's Adventures In Dreamsville is available for automatic download onto your kindle and will be available in April of 2014 in softcover. http://amzn.com/0615931472.

Buy Erin's Adventures In Dreamsville via Pay Pal

Buy Erin's Adventures In Dreamsville via Pay Pal

Please send name and address to:
serendipitymediagroup@gmail.com or write to PO Box 3882 Clovis, Ca. 93613

$30.00 plus $3 shipping and handling for one book.
$25.00 each plus $3 shipping and handling for two books.
$19.99 each for three or more, plus $3.00 shipping and handling.




Quantity Discount


One Book $30.00 USD
Two Books Each $25.00 USD
Three or More Books Each $19.99 USD

Excerpt from Erin's Adventures In Dreamsville and holiday recipe, Ireland's Charming Cinnamon Cookies

 Introduction:

Little did Erin O'Malley know that she was about to experience the most life altering year of her existence. The sudden passing of her Aunt Ireland would bring bittersweet emotions along with newfound friends. Their special tea parties and blissful Sundays spent baking would always remain treasured memories in Erin's heart. However, this was not the only treasure which Erin bared, for Erin's aunt left a part of her legacy underneath a blue blanket in the closet. Curiosity of the unknown only heightened the excitement of what Erin was about to reveal about her aunt as well as herself. Either way, nothing or no one could have prepared her for what came next, like her aunt's secret life and Erin’s purpose in it all.

 Excerpt from Chapter One:

Erin recalled peering out of the window, remembering a certain instance with her aunt.  “Come to the kitchen!” Aunt Ireland yelled.  Erin skipped into the kitchen, where her aunt had a beautiful tray of Erin’s favorite cookies, cinnamon sugar.  Erin sat at the kitchen table eating her cookies and sipping an icy, cold glass of milk.  While Erin was gobbling down her goodies, her aunt would be preparing the tray with dainty teacups for tea time.  The sight of the silver tray sent Erin from her chair and immediately to her aunt’s side.  “Is this what I think it is?” Erin asked.  Aunt Ireland had nodded “yes,” picked up the tray, and lead Erin into the Florida room.  The Florida room was one of Erin’s favorite places in the house, because the French doors led to a balcony, which overlooked the enchanting woods.  Erin recalled Aunt Ireland placing the tray on the white, wrought iron table and taking her hand, as they moved towards an old, wooden chest.  Erin always smiled at the cheerful paintings of children playing in colorful autumn leaves.  There was another painting that she was extremely fond of, which consisted of children sledding beside a quaint, snowy cottage.  She particularly loved the way the smoke bellowed from the chimney, while a small family gathered out front, enjoying mugs of something delicious.  Erin liked to imagine it was hot chocolate with lots of mini marshmallows.

Ireland's Charming Cinnamon Cookies:

3 tbsp. white sugar 

1tbsp. ground cinnamon 

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup butter (softened)

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups of all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Pinch of nutmeg

1. Preheat oven @ 300 degrees F.

2. Combine 3 tsp. white sugar and cinnamon with pinch of nutmeg in a bowl and set aside.

3. Blend dark brown sugar and white sugar in a large bowl with mixture on medium speed. Add butter and blend until grainy. Add eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until light and fluffy. 

4. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl. Add to sugar mixture, mixing at low speed just long enough to combine. Over mixing will make the cookies tough!

5. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, then roll each ball into cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 300 degrees F for 18-20 minutes. Remove from sheets and let cool on racks. Caution: Eating these cookies may cause you to smile and be surrounded by family and friends!

About The Author, Michelle Tighe

Michelle Tighe, a New Jersey native, graduated from Gloucester City High School and has worked as a Legal Secretary for the past seventeen years. She is happily married and has a son. Michelle has always enjoyed writing poetry and reading. She is excited to pursue her lifelong dream of publishing Erin’s Adventures in Dreamsville, a children’s book.Serendipity Media Group Publishing

For Sale in softcover and e book format.

Hope For Ethiopia

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then look out because these pictures will give you a lot of bang for your buck.

As a writer, I have always been completely mesmerized by other cultures and how other people live on this same planet that I live on in the year 2013. My heart has always led me on the “journey of the unknown”. These discoveries that I have made along the journey have made me the woman I am today—aware, excited, hopeful. At the same time, I have also been disappointed, discouraged, but never without hope. I believe that there are many ways to live, but only one way to love and that is wholeheartedly. No ones’ life is easy—granted, but our lives can be better by taking simple steps every day towards being compassionate. Being compassionate means taking the time to smile, taking the time to listen, and taking the time to pay attention. As Mother Teresa so aptly said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

 

The photo was taken in Ethiopia by a distant cousin (Jakhan Alioto-Nguyen).

copyright Serendipity Media Group, Inc. 2013 all rights reserved. 

 

Meet Serendipity Authors

Meet author Gina Meyers, Love at First Bite, The Unofficial Twilight Cookbook, Magic of Bewitched, and The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook series.   

Gina Meyers is best known for her popular culture television trivia and cooking expertise books related to the Twilight saga and the iconic television show Bewitched. Gina, a California native, is a graduate of California State University, Fresno, with a Bachelor's Degree in Business, with a concentration in Marketing. She also holds an Emergency Teaching Credential and has taken culinary classes at the renowned Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France.  She is the proud winner of the prestigious Gourmand International Cookbook Award for Best Charity Cookbook, Hope For Haiti. (Awards ceremony, March 2012, Folies Bergère,Paris, France). Fans of hit TV sitcom, “The Office”, might remember Kevin Malone’s character making a reference to “Edward Cullen’s Cornflake Chicken”. “I just finished reading the Julia Child’s cookbook and now I am halfway through the Twilight Cookbook, I just made “Edward Cullen’s Cornflake Chicken.” Yes, there is an Edward Cullen’s Cornflake Chicken in Love At First Bite, The Unofficial Twilight Cookbook. There also is a Twilight Tribute Punch concoction. Stars of The Twilight movie, drank Gina's Twilight Tribute Punch on The Alan Carr Chatty Man Late Night Talk Show in London, England. Kellan Lutz, (also known as Emmett Cullen,) loved the Twilight Tribute Punch so much he even drank Ashley Green's (also known as Alice Cullen) punch!
From an early age, Gina found she had a passion for the culinary arts,experimenting in the kitchen with baking breads, muffins, cookies and cakes. From 1997 to present, Gina teaches a variety of fun and informative cooking  classes for children and adults. Gina is happy to be publisher and creative consultant for Serendipity Media Group, Inc.


Meet Author Liz Longo, A Bird And Its Albatross: A Tale of Renewal 

 Liz Longo is a native New Yorker. Her Italian family arrived on Ellis Island in the start of the 1900’s with two simple dollars and not a word of English either.  The boat broke down on the way but that’s another story.  As a result, Liz very much relates to and appreciates the ever changing population, bringing new smiles, flavors and spices to the city. Inspired by the New York Public Library’s French Book Art/Livres D’Artists, Artist and Poets in Dialogue exhibit in 2006 of artist collaborations between 1874 and 1999, Liz maintains “The merge of these art forms reveals the beautiful depth of humanity’s soul, we can collaborate peace...a masterpiece, if we are supportive of each other’s simple existence.”   

Meet  Patricia Florio, My Two Mothers

Patricia Florio was born in Brooklyn, where most of the story of My Two Mothers takes place. After raising four children, she went back to school to study court reporting, and worked as a court reporter in the federal system in the United  States Bankruptcy Court, but the writing bug always lingered inside.  After a few courses in Creative Nonfiction, Patricia balanced family, work, and school and attended Rutgers University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies.  She then went on to Wilkes University's Low Residency Creative Writing program and stayed on the Nonfiction track, and graduated with an MA and MFA creating  My Two Mothers as her MA thesis, and wrote her academic MFA capstone on Survivors in Memoir after reading 30 plus memoirs in the genre. Patricia is a Norman Mailer finalist in the 2012 Fellowship Contest where she studied under Dr. J. Michael Lennon, Norman Mailer's biographer.  She has had many short stories published.  Summer issue of 2013 in Newtown Literary, a Queens Literary Journal for Golden Boy.

 Meet Author Eddie Lucas, Living Room Legends: Chats With TV's Famous Faces  

Eddie Lucas is a baby-boomer, writer, educator, and vintage TV historian. Lucas, a 1983 graduate of the University of Central Florida, has completed extensive courses in Radio and Television Broadcasting and Journalism, and has spent thousands of hours reading every article, interview, and book available on the history and background of television—its writers, producers, the iconic studios who produced them, such as Desilu and Screen Gems, even down to most minute details, such as episode titles, special guest stars, and original air dates. Lucas says: “As a classic television fan and historian, I wanted to delve deeper and find out more about some of my favorite TV shows and the stars we baby boomers all grew up watching. I wanted to go beyond what had previously been written in articles and books to find the answers to questions that casual, as well as die-hard fans have always wanted to ask. I wanted to capture in their own words, their first-hand accounts and personal experiences, and preserve for posterity the historical significance of their time on some of the most beloved shows in television history.”

 Meet Author Cheyne Yeager, Martin Brilliant Color 

 Cheyne Yeager is a writer and an illustrator. He grew up and attended art school in Atlanta, Georgia. He has a passion for color and enjoys spending most of his time in the North Carolina Mountains where he finds inspiration to write and paint. 



 Meet author Linda Ferrari, Bundles of Binding Time 



 Linda has worked as an educator for many years at every level. She has taught  English, reading, and math to students in elementary school, high school, college, and adult school. She has been a substitute teacher, classroom teacher, mentor, and coach. Although retired, Linda has returned to education as a coach and curriculum director. She makes her home in the San Joaquin Valley and is happy she lives close to her children and grandchildren. 

Meet author Michelle Tighe, Erin's Adventures in Dreamsville

Michelle Tighe, a New Jersey native, graduated from Gloucester City High School and has worked as a Legal Secretary for the past seventeen years. She is happily married and has a son. Michelle has always enjoyed writing poetry and reading. She is excited to pursue her lifelong dream of publishing Erin’s Adventures in Dreamsville, a children’s book. 

Erin's Adventures in Dreamsville, by, Michelle Tighe, A sneak peak!

Erin's Adventures in Dreamsville. In case you are wondering what it is about, here's a sneak peek!

Little did Erin O‟Malley know she was about to experience the most life-altering year of her existence! The sudden passing of her Aunt Ireland would bring bittersweet emotions along with newly found friends. Special tea parties and blissful Sundays spent baking would always remain treasured memories in Erin‟s heart. However, this was not the only treasure which Erin bared. Her aunt left a part of her legacy underneath a blue blanket in Erin's closet. Curiosity of the unknown only heightened the excitement of what Erin was about to reveal about her aunt as well as herself. Either way, nothing or no one could have prepared prepared her for what came next, like her aunt's secret life and Erin's purpose in it all.

Erin's Adventures in Dreamsville is a Serendipity Media Inc. publication. Available Fall 2013.

For more information on Serendipity Media Group, Inc.,Serendipity Media Group

Martin Brilliant Color, by, Cheyne Yeager Book Trailer

Martin Brilliant Color, by, Cheyne Yeager

Martin Brilliant Color, by, Cheyne Yeager

Martin and his friends go on an oceanic adventure. What they initially find are buckets of colored paint. Eventually, Martin and his friends put on a play and share what they've learned along the journey. Beautifully illustrated by Cheyne Yeager. Copyright 2012 Serendipity Publishing. 


Inside each book that Serendipity publishes, there is a message. First time author Cheyne Yeager has made a statement in his first book, a statement that speaks volumes and is meant to teach us all a lesson. Question to ponder: Are we really so different after all? Let's start a conversation.... Let's share a message.... Be true to who you are like Martin because you never know who might be taking notice, listening, or simply wanting to "fit" in. Lesson: We are all different, unique, slightly odd, quirky in our own sort of cute way, but that doesn't make us less love able, it actually makes us more love able. If as human beings we can become capable of embracing our differences, we can see that we truly have a lot in common. A rainbow of possibilities! 

Marketing 411: Your formula for success

Marketing 411: Your formula for success

Marketing is a strategic exchange of products and services. Marketing creates a plan that causes a predetermined desired goal or result by focusing on externally related needs of a potential consumer who will find value in your product or service. Marketing is the creative execution of a plan to sell to an intended consumer a product or service. Niche marketing is honing in on a specific market also known as a specialized group of consumers. Marketing is an exchange between a marketer who has goals and objectives and a market also known as a consumer who has wants and needs. The exchange can be an exchange of ideas, money, products, services, but the exchange must have value. A consumer must perceive that the marketer’s product or service has value. A marketer has to take into consideration a number of components such as competition, price, and information in determining if their product is the most valuable to the consumer. The consumer or market must want to buy the product or service because they feel a need for the service or product.

Value is derived by three components: 1) physical, 2) functional, and 3) psychological. 

Gina Meyers has been a television consultant for Popstar! Magazine , Columbia Pictures Television, as well as Nickelodeon Magazine. She is a featured regular on national radio and television programs as a cooking expert and is the San Jose Cooking Examiner. Gina has also worked for Xerox and Google Corporation. Gina has a Business Degree in Marketing and an emergency teaching credential. She has penned over ten successful cookbooks and books of inspiration. 

New Hope Cookbook, Louisiana Inspired by, Gina Meyers & Liz Longo

New Hope Cookbook, Louisiana Inspired is more than a cookbook. It is a collection of colorful and environmentally conscious illustrations by Brooklyn artist, Liz Longo. It is collaboration between Gina Meyers, her concept of a children’s book about how children cope with disaster as well as French inspired recipes and basic French words and phrases. New Hope Cookbook, Louisiana Inspired, takes the reader on a culinary and historical journey as the story starts in Stacy’s mothers’ Louisiana restaurant, Mama’s Feel Good Kitchen. The story unfolds with children writing pen pal letters to their friends in other states trying to explain the oil spill in a lighthearted way and at the same time sharing the musical, cultural and historical story of Louisiana. Gina’s daughter Lauren Meyers, shares her thoughts on Louisiana when Gina and her family traveled there in December of 2010 for book signing events and meeting the children of Louisiana. Liz illustrates pictures of her daughter Izzy and her friend when they heard that the “oil spill had been capped.” Lucas Meyers, Gina’s son is featured as “Luke” in the story.

A New Year, A New You!

A New Year, a new you!

I am not much for resolutions. Studies have shown that most people do not stick with their resolutions anyways. Gyms are full to the brim the first three weeks in January, and after that people have a tendency to fall back into their usual patterns of behavior. I am not a psychologist, nor do I play one on TV, rather I am a human being that has mastered the art of living without a resolution to change what already works for me. The key to making any New Years resolution stick is truly in the “defining”. My children are very lucky, they don’t have “chores”, rather the word we use in defining “chores” is “responsibilities”. The same goes for “resolutions” I use the word “dream board”. Before I met my husband in 1995, I created a simple dream board with magazine clippings of what I desired for my future. These are the things that were on the first dream board, or some of the things in no particular order. 1) A new house, 2) a wedding, 3) a committed relationship, 4) to be a published author, specifically, to publish my Magic of Bewitched Book.

How do you organize your “dreams” or “resolutions”? The easiest way for me is to cut pictures and words out of magazines and newspapers and tape or glue them onto a large poster board. Because poster boards take up a lot of room, I usually take a digital photo of the “dream board”, store it on my computer and use it as a visualization technique of “exciting things to come”. So far in the past sixteen years, I can say with all honesty and no hesitation, I have and continue to make all of my resolutions come true.