I just finished watching this incredible documentary, Food Matters. I highly recommend it for anyone serious about taking control of their health and family’s health. (You can find it on Netflix!)

Food Matters is a feature length documentary film informing you on the best choices you can make for you and your family’s health. In a collection of interviews with leading Nutritionists, Naturopaths, Scientists, M.D.’s and Medical Journalists you will discover…

• How to use food as medicine
• Who needs vitamins?
• Is organic better?
• How safe is our food?
• Natural treatments for lowering Cholesterol
• Foods that fight Anxiety and Depression
• Natural therapies for Cancer
• Which drugs might do more harm than good?
• The best ways to detox, lose weight and keep it off!

Thank you to Danielle Knox and the The Balancing Act team for a great interview! I had a ton of fun shooting  Juice Plus and Designing Spaces! Can’t wait to get back to Florida!

Ladies…if you haven’t watched The Balancing Act…it’s worth checking out! It’s loaded with informative content to make our lives just a little bit easier! The shows focus is on trends and tips that feature advice from the country´s leading experts. They also cover topics, headlines, and the latest innovations in health, family, finances, travel, pets, cuisine, beauty & fashion, and the environment!

The Balancing Act airs nationally on Lifetime Television
Monday – Friday at 7am ET/PT

I love finding things that make me say.."I wish I’d thought of that!" Check out these personalized books by Flatten Me..what a special gift to give a young loved one!                       

Whenever I give my soul room to breathe, everyone around me gets nicer. ~ Liz Strauss

If today were my last day on Earth and I could share 500 words of brilliance with the world, here are the important things I’d want to pass along to others…

Life – it’s what we do between the time we get here and when we go. We only get one, and despite what other folks might suppose, it’s ours to determine what to do with it.

We don’t measure life in hours and minutes. We measure life in memories and moments.

What do you think of when you read this sentence? "It was the time of my life."

We don’t say that often enough.

Life either happens to us, or we take hold of life and live it. Here are 10 ways start living your life.

1. Give yourself permission to claim your life. You’re the only one who can decide you’re in charge of your life. Turn off the editors, the "shoulds, have tos, and musts", and the rules that didn’t come from you.
2. Define what living means to you. Picture yourself at the end of your life looking back. What words would you want to describe how you lived and who you are?
3. Stop living in the future. Every time you think "when I have time I will," stop. Ask yourself, "Why not now?" Choose your life every morning.
4. Surround yourself with people who enjoy living. They’ve obviously discovered how to have live. Why not hang with the pros?
5. Lay down your pain and your anger. Carrying them around makes living harder and less fun. It doesn’t bring anything, and it steals a lot.
6. Let the other guy win. Don’t argue about things that you don’t care about. Unless there’s a threat, let folks prove what they need to prove. Why waste living time trying to fix what doesn’t matter?
7. Create energy. Jump to forgiveness and love, then figure things out. Most conclusions we imagine are both wrong and negative. Negative conclusions lead us to prepare a defense. Being defensive isn’t living. It’s hiding from life.
8. Learn the physical symptoms of when your head and heart become disconnected. We know when we’re behaving badly. Key into to how it feels physically. Know the symptoms, and you can stop the behavior. Living will feel safer because you won’t be shooting yourself in the foot.
9. Take small risks that push your boundaries in every way. When we stretch just a bit intellectually, physically, emotionally, we grow. Living is growing. Even our cells know that.
10. Value and protect the people and places you care about. Let the people you care about come first, and let everyone know that you do. Re-read numbers 1 and 2.

We come into life with whatever we’ve got. We’re in charge after that. It took me a while to figure that out – that my life isn’t what happens to me – I could take hold of it.
I want to have the time of my life. Have the time of your life.

We have an exciting new offer for our Murad Facebook Fans! We here at the Murad quarters are always developing and improving our products! We value your thoughts and opinions greatly and know YOU can give us the BEST feedback possible! If you are currently experiencing age spots, dull dehydrated skin, fine lines and wrinkles, and are between the ages of 35-60 and would like to be a part of a FREE two month testimonial group, please contact us at.healthyskin@murad.com.

Please allow 3 business days for a response

The holiday season is right around the corner, and it reminds me of how special it is to be surrounded by your loved ones. Family traditions are a golden way to create lasting memories and exciting times with your children.

Tickle Monster and Boogie Monster are now my family’s tradition, because it brings us closer when we laugh, dance, and have a great time. Sometimes it’s nice to have a fun break together from our busy lives where we can just enjoy the moment!

It was great to talk about my children, our futures, and how we hope to touch other families with our special tradition. You can read the full interview here!

What are some of your favorite family traditions? Please do share your story!

I am honored that “Boogie Monster” has been awarded the coveted Gold Moonbeam Award for exemplary children’s books. It is truly rewarding to provide fun and interactive stories to inspire families to play and laugh together. You can read an excerpt from the press release below!

The Moonbeam Awards were created by Michigan-based book marketing firm Jenkins Group to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their authors, illustrators, and publishers. Moonbeam Award winners represent the best books published for children and young adults during the previous year, and medalists receive gold, silver and bronze medals and stickers depicting a mother and child reading together, silhouetted by a full moon.

Judging panels of librarians, teachers, students, and book reviewers chose medalists in 38 categories, and winning books came from a diverse group of long-established publishers, small presses, associations, and self-publishers. The awards attracted over 800 entries from throughout North American and English-speaking world, and medals will go to books representing 33 U.S. states, 5 Canadian provinces, and 3 countries overseas.

You can read the entire press release here.

It’s so important to have fun in life! That is what I would like kids and parents to take away from my second book, Boogie Monster. It teaches us to get up, get moving, and have a blast with your loved ones.

I sure didn’t miss a beat during my weekend in NYC!

I had a wonderful time meeting smiling families at the Diva Moms event, as told by these fun pics and blog.

I also enjoyed sharing Boogie Monster on People.com, and CW Morning News. Be sure to check out all of the excitement!

Hi NYC Friends! Come see me tomorrow from 11:30 – 1 pm at the Diva Moms Boogie Monster book reading event.

Bring your kids and dancing shoes to Moon Soup 1059 2nd Ave (at 56th St), New York, NY.

See you there!