Sarah Thebarge's The Invisible Girls...A Memoir

A Food for the Soul...A Book for a Cause

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Jericho Books. I received a product sample to facilitate my review of a wonderfully written book by Sarah Thebarge, The Invisible Girls.

The story started with her interesting train ride from Portland suburbs toward downtown.  She was reading a book when 2 sparkling brown eyes peeked in the corner of her book and disappeared.  And again. And again.  Till she realized that a preschool Somali girl seated right across her were playing peekaboo with her.  Sarah winked at her.  The little girl tried to figure out how to wink back, but ended up with both eyes in a prolonged blink instead.  Sarah looked around and saw the girl's mom, with her toddler standing in between her legs trying to sleep in an upright position.  She thought, somebody needs to hold that tired little girl, which she found her arms stretched out towards her.  The little girl climbed to her lap, and were out in no time.

The scene unfolded quickly. It has short chapters. Merely 3-4 pages each. Something that I like the most.  The synopsis evolved around her battle with breast cancer, and her intervention with a Somali refugee family.  I like how these stories were woven into one.  Back to back.  Chapter after chapter. The transition blended so smoothly.  The book is indeed very inspirational, heart-wrenching and filled with humor.

I love how she lived her life, her choices, and decisions.  She is not a perfect woman.  As a matter of fact, she has her share of imperfections just like each one of us.  She is a fighter, a dreamer, and a charitable woman.

She fought breast cancer even when she has lost her fiancé and other support system.  She managed to return to her feet after 18 months of grueling and painful cancer treatments.  I love that she has not lost faith in God, despite of her questions as to why bad things happen to good people.  At this point I'd like to give credit to her parents who have raised her and her siblings with tough love,  God being the center of their family.  This has given her enough courage to keep battling even if the thought of death at a very young age is at the back of her mind.

I personally admire her courageous decision to leave her successful career, an Ivy League education, and a failed relationship in Connecticut to start anew.  Her move to Portland has given her a fresh start with an unforeseen mission in life that encouraged her to move on and continue life as it is.  I believe her battle with cancer, and the story behind it, has given her enough anchorage in life with her intervention and rescue of Hadhi and her girls.

Hadhi is a Somali refugee, who had battles of her own.  She was a victim of battery & was abandoned by her husband, which left her raising 5 daughters; namely, Fahri, Abdallah, Sadaka, Lelo, and Chaki, in a culture unknown to them. They were the Invisible Girls because they kept themselves hidden from the outside world due to language barrier, safety issues, and uneducated of the culture they live in. Sarah bridged this gap for them.  She helped them survive the American culture.  I loved how she educated them on personal hygiene, and the positive and humorous feedbacks from the girls.  Her high hopes to help this family has given her a meaningful reason to give her life a second chance.  Paralleled to her life's own experience, being invisible to people after her bilateral mastectomy. 

Sarah Thebarge has a good heart.  Her love for the girls are unconditional. She has started to blog about them in hopes to help them learn the true meaning of Thanksgiving and its tradition. Now she has written this book as a memoir of their invisibility to the eyes of the several.  Please know that a portion of the books' proceeds go to the girls' college education.  Let us all reach out and help in our own little ways.

Disclosure:  I was provided of a free hardbound copy of the book to facilitate an honest, unbiased and rational review.  The complimentary copy did not influence my review in any way.  I reviewed the book in the hopes to help encourage my readers to read and/or gift the book.  Portions of the proceeds go to the college education of Hadhi's girls.

The book can be purchased thru My Amazon Affiliate Link or thru other local retailers.
Thank you for your support!



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The Hobbit {A Blog Hop}

I'm in on another interesting blog hop with my fellow Bento Bloggers and Friends.

This time to welcome the premier showing of "The Hobbit" in theaters today.

In my own honest opinion, this must be the toughest blog hop I've ever done.
I can't believe I've done a back to back hop.  Thought I wouldn't be able to deliver today since not a single idea is popping in my mind.  Since I am doing this lunch for my son, and there are no other ingredients I have on hand, Mr G brainstormed for his main entree. And I think, he's awesome.  He even mentioned that this is his most favorite lunch ever.

Ho-Ho-Ho!!! A Holiday Blog HOP

It is that time of the year again when the globe is lit with festive tea lights, air filled with holiday music, people dressed in fancy attires, everywhere smelled of scrumptious cuisines and delicacies, children opening presents, while everyone shopped and ate till they drop.

My families are Catholics and we live to its practices and doctrines by heart.  We grew up with the Christmas traditions of the Nativity, Christmas Eve Mass, Noche Buena, Christmas carols, Santa Claus and its reindeers and elves, exchange gifts, joyful celebrations, and everything else Christmas-sy.  My children believe in Santa Claus, and so did I when I was growing up.

To celebrate the holiday tradition, my Bento Bloggers and Friends Group are hosting a weekly blog hop with a FESTIVUS Theme.  Nothing religious.  Since there are a huge number of participants, we decided to break the hop into 4 weeks with 16-17 participants on each week.  It's the second week, so if you haven't seen the first week, find a link at the BBF Blog where you can revisit all the passed Christmas lunches.

I was originally going to make use of a book to inspire my entry for this week's hop. But things were not well for us to brainstorm a lunch based on a book.  For the spirit of Christmas, we have to celebrate and observe the holiday season with my fellow BBFs.

For this hop, I have packed a simple lunch to represent the ornaments we put up every year. It doesn't look as much festive as you see them at my home, but my children enjoyed them pretty much.

Missy A had a Gingerbread Lunch with a family of Gingerbread cookie (Dad, Mom, and Boy & Girl) all stacked together, which symbolizes togetherness. She also had a Sun Butter & Jelly sandwich with gingerbread rings as ornaments.  The grapes served as the festive lights that we wrap around our big tree and cozy home on Christmas holiday. All packed on her Lunchbots Trio container box.

World Animal Day Hop: A Seahorse & Friends

October 4, 2012 is World Animal Day.

That calls for another Blog Hop.

My fellow Bento Bloggers and Friends prepared lunches of varying animals on each hop. So brace yourselves as we amuse you and your kids with the different animal lunches showcased on this special day.  This is like virtual animal museum of the Bento World.

Ahoy, Matey! ~ Talk Like A Pirate Lunch Hop

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day

Bento Booty Treasure Hunt

at Bento Bloggers & Friends.

Listen up, mateys! 

If ye wants to sail with me, 

then ye've gots to prove 

ye gots what it takes! 

Summer Mealtime: Dinosaurs

Today we learned about Dinosaurs. 

We didn't have much time to read last night due to my busy schedules.  However, they were able to pick out a book to read on their own before bedtime. Did I tell you yet, that I might start to teach phonics and reading to Kindergartners anytime this July, if all things push through. It's something that I've been formally doing for my children.  And something that I find accomplishments other than bento-ing.

To make up from last night, I brought out book this morning to read for them while they're eating breakfast.  I, of course, made them a dino breakfast to celebrate.

Summer Mealtime: A Place to Bloom

Today we went to the library to loan more books to read for the week.  We choose books at random without any clue what kind of message the book brings. We give each book a chance to relay its message. I read aloud to them on a regular basis. So I don't worry much about that. I try to answer every questions they might have. Then I throw questions to them if they have none. We try to make it interactive for added fun. It's been our nighttime routine. Nobody goes to bed without reading a single book in a day.  Except for daddy, who patiently waits till it's time for prayers and bed. 

Last night we read the book, "A Place to Bloom" by Lorianne Siomades.  It's a little book with such big message. The message conveys to us that the world doesn't exist for us alone, but for all of God's creatures as well, large and small, people and animals.  The things that we take for granted may be precious to someone else, whether it's food on our tables, or the trees in the park.  We should learn to share whatever we have, even if it has to be our own place to bloom.  We especially love this book for its rhyme and lovely illustrations.  It helps readers think about others and the world around them.

There are so many things to consider when creating a lunch for this particular book. So I asked my girl what's her favorite part of the book. She said that it's when the little girl found a worn out bear that has been thrown away, brought it with her, and became her very best friend.  She loves bears so this is what I got for her breakfast.

Summer Mealtime: I ♥ HEART!

Have I told you that we're participating in our Public Library's Summer Reading Program? Yep! And we decided to pursue on making our meals inspired by every book we read for the record. We figured it's a great way to connect with the book.  Not only that, but it helps retain the lesson of each story. An absolute wonderful learning tool for the kids and adults alike.

For this post, I have decided to make lunches from the book, 

"The Magic School Bus Has A Heart".

In this book, Ms. Frizzle's class is learning about the heart.  They are going to see a movie, but they end up on a heart-pounding adventure when Keesha trips and falls.  The class learned the circulatory system in Keesha's body, just before they went for the movie, and celebrated her birthday.

Summer Mealtime: Inspired by The Magic School Bus and the Shark Adventure

My kids are huge fans of The Magic School Bus Series. Big G started reading those series back in Kindergarten, and still enjoys it now that I'm reading it to his Sissy.  Since I have the right tools in hand, we decided to make a breakfast the following day to talk more about it.  And further connect with the story.

I would have to thank an amazing fellow bento blogger, Keitha from Keitha's Chaos, for inspiring me to make lunches out of the books we read. My children are voracious readers, and I'd like to inspire them better by making meals out of it.  But you see, mama's not a food artist, as my fellow Bento Bloggers & Friends. I just try to put together healthy lunches and make them appear as appealing as it could be.  So bare with me.

Ms. Frizzle and her class were painting a big picture of the ocean life, when Keesha asked if she could paint a mermaid's purse. Unknown to all, Ms. Frizle decided to take the class on a trip to the ocean to find out what a Mermaid's Purse is all about. Turns out those are shark egg cases.

So here's the lunch I made for both of them, which reminded them of the whole MSB trip with Ms. Frizz, as she's fondly called by the class.

Summer Blog Hop: In The Tall, Tall Grass

Summer is our most awaited season of the year. 

It means a lot of things in our household.

School break

Picnics & Gatherings

Zoos & Amusement Parks

Gardening & Sand Play

Beaches & Vacation Galore

Those are easy to plan. But linking which lunches to prepare are pretty challenging.

When I think of summer, I get vast ideas of it but wouldn't exactly know how to execute. So I turned to summer-themed books to make them come alive.

Lunch is served!