The current answers about well-being

The people of Gallup Press keep giving us what I consider the best of popular, strength-based non-fiction and they have done it again. If you wonder about "happiness", I still recommend reading Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman and if you want to learn about how you can increase your sense of "well-being", then the new book by Tom Rath and Jim Harter is a must read, too.

The title of the book is Well Being: The five essential elements. Those elements include: social, financial, career, physical and community well-being. I often make the comment that some authors turn what-should-be-a-brochure into a book, but this book makes the most of every page so all of the text is likely to be worth your time.

As with others in the StrengthsFinder series, each book comes with a code so that you can access the online Wellbeing Finder. After answering a series of questions, you will receive summaries of your current levels of wellbeing based on this model. You can continue to retake the Wellbeing Finder for six months and you are offered options for reminders that can help facilate your action plan for improved wellbeing. Is this of interest to you?

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caron@studio22azwa.com

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Did you read The Help yet?

Two weeks ago, I was at a meeting with 8 women and 3 of us were reading The Help by first time novelist, Kathryn Stockett. It remains on all of the bestseller lists for many reasons.


If you have not already enjoyed the book, I will not give away its content or the possible messages that you may take away from reading it but I will tell you that it is entertaining while it also immerses you into our recent American past. Then, ideally, it will challenge even your present worldview.

Kathryn 'Kitty' Stockett was born in 1969 and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. She attended the University of Alabama where she earned a degree in English and Creative Writing. Kathryn and her family now live in Atlanta.









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Pass this book on ... need a passport?

For my birthday, my Texan sister-in-law sent me Half the Sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. For us in the United States who are not (yet) world travelers to Africa and Asia, this book is one that has a chance to broaden your worldview and move you to action.

The real-world content includes graphic & disturbing examples of how girls and women are treated in some cultures and it also shares stories of heroism and the commitment of individual aid workers in remote villages. As you read this text, you are likely to gasp with horror and then cry with hope and inspiration - I did.

After completing the book, I know that many of you will want to make a difference and the authors make it easy by providing you with a list of aid organizations to support. Since the authors also challenge us to visit villages of the world so that we can understand and serve more effectively, now is an ideal time to get a passport. In May prices go up by $35 per person.

My family is currently focused on serving members of our local community but I believe that globalization has already made us part of a global community; isolationism is no longer an option. As members of that larger community, we ought to do something.

I am only one, but I am one.
I can’t do everything, but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do.
And, by the grace of God, I will do.
- author unknown

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Make a Difference Locally

http://www.trendsettersthrougheducation.org/

support service learning and leadership in an after-school program (my mom and I are part of this)

http://www.affcf.org/

support foster children by providing them grants for things that the government cannot provide/show them that caring adults really are thinking of them (Raoul is part of this)

Make a Difference Internationally

http://www.ijm.org/ support International Justice Mission ~ this Christian-based organization fights sex trafficking

http://www.kiva.org/ support an entrepreneur in a developing country through Kiva ~ you can even give someone a gift certificate as a gift!

http://www.penniesforpeace.org/ Greg Mortenson's group that provides education in Pakistan and Afghanistan - some of the Trendsetters (Trendsetters through Education above) are collecting pennies to help build schools and purchase school supplies

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Max and the Diaper Fairy

If you hurry, right now you can catch the Diaper Fairy at Brilliant Sky Toys & Books in Ahwatukee! She is reading her story and spreading (edible) fairy dust for toddlers who are ready to give up their diapers and share them with the children of the world who need them.

Melissa Hart is the local author of Max and the Diaper Fairy. It is a story about Max - a little boy who is ready for "big boy underwear". Empowered Max decides to give up his diapers, donate them to babies around the world and accept the big boy underwear that the Diaper Fairy brings during her magical appearance. This story offers parents a positive tool to help with potty training and it also shares a message of toddler empowerment coupled with altruism; there truly is a diaper shortage and diaper banks around the world are in need of diapers for children.

If you miss Melissa today at Brilliant Sky Toys & Books, visit her website for upcoming events. A magical little pixie mentioned to me that the Diaper Fairy may be at another bookstore near you very soon ~

Today:

Max and the Diaper Fairy

Brilliant Sky Toys & Books

4929 E Chandler Boulevard #401

Phoenix Arizona 85048

To purchase Melissa's book and other products on-line

or to learn more about Diaper Banks and diaper donation, visit:

http://www.maxandthediaperfairy.com/

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caron@studio22azwa.com

Freeeeeeeee & Fun - Books +

Early in my college life, I got headaches when I walked into libraries; I don't know if it was fear of the Dewey Decimal System, not being able to have a Diet Coke at my side or dusty stacks but .... I have changed my mind. I love libraries! And, they are freeeeeeeeee.

Today I multi-purposed and took my daughter to our new neighborhood library so that we could explore the books & videos and check out the state of the art meeting rooms available to the public. There is something nostalgic about old libraries and something super sophisticated about the new ones; if you live in, or visit, Peoria (AZ) be sure to stop by our Sunrise Mountain Branch on Lake Pleasant Parkway for a first class experience in literature and more.

If you have young children, you'll want to attend one of Madam Paculi's storytimes. The library has free WIFI for your laptop and lots of terminals, too. The seating options near the indoor/outdoor play area are designed so that everyone can enjoy the library in their own way; I saw some moms holding children on their laps reading as others sat reading their own books while their children ran with bare feet through the grassy circle. The books & more concept has come a long way since the days of "shhhh!"

Oh, what a bargain!

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PS - Did you see the movie Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler? If so, do you remember the part where he wants something for freeeeeeeeeeEEEEEE? We keep repeating that line in our household and laughing.

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PPS - This week Tamarha, my forever friend & co-author of the original Fun Places to Go with Kids in Metro Phoenix, told me that it is the 50th anniversary of Strunk & White. Tamarha, what do you think Strunk & White would think of my atypical grammar & punctuation?

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Libraries of the World


International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
www.ifla.org/VI/2/p2/national-libraries.htm

National Libraries
www.nationallibraries.org

Libraries of the United States of America

American Library Association
www.ala.org

Library of Congress
www.loc.gov

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