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19 Things About Michigan You May Not Know

10/28/2014

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The world's largest manufacturer of magic supplies is located in Colon, Michigan.
The city of Novi's name comes from its designation as Stagecoach Stop # 6 or No.VI.
Michigan is the only place in the world with a floating post office. The J.W. Westcott II is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to ships while they are not at dock, and has been operating for over a 100 years.
Michigan has more shoreline than any other state except Alaska.
Michigan has about 150 lighthouses, the most of any U.S. state. Many of them are considered haunted!
Books are in our blood: Michigan's Consitution was the first to establish public libraries.
Michigan was the first state to guarantee every child the right to tax-paid high school education.
Four flags have flown over Michigan: French, English, Spanish and United States.
Isle Royal Park is home to a predator-prey relationship between wolves and moose that is unlike any other in the world (join us on our 5-day "Wolves of Isle Royale with Never Cry Wolf" trip to learn more).
The historic Soo Locks in Sault Ste Marie handle more tonnage each year than the Suez and Panama Canals combined.
Grand Haven has singing sand: when you walk on the sand particles, they make a whistling sound.
The Lake Superior shoreline, if laid out in a straight line, could connect Duluth and the Bahama Islands.
Forest covers more than 52 percent of the state with more than 18.5 million acres.
The Great Lakes hold over 80 percent of North America’s fresh water—and more than 20 percent of the world’s.
Authors from Michigan include Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji, The Polar Express), Jeffrey Eugenides (The Virgin Suicides, Middlesex), Jim Harrison (Legends of the Fall), Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty), Terry McMillan (Waiting to Exhale), Robert McKee (Story) and many more.
When the Mackinac Bridge first opened in 1957, the fare was $3.75 — today's fare for a standard car is $4. That’s like paying $28.71 in 1957! Why so much? A ferry ticket cost $3.75 in 1957, so drivers could either pay $3.75 to ride the boat across the Straits of Mackinac (which took a long time) or pay the same price and drive across in just a few minutes.
In August of 1923, three of the most famous American entrepreneurs made their first camping trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The three men were Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, and the trip would eventually spur much economic activity in the U.P.! (Time to schedule your own genius camping trip in the U.P.?)
Isle Royale National Park has fewer visitors per year than Yosemite has in one day, making it the least visited national park in the country (did I mention we have a trip there this summer?).
Michigan produces more dog sleds than any other state.

What's your favorite fact about Michigan? Leave it in the comments below.

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Books your book club will love you for picking

10/27/2014

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It's a point of pride: picking the one book everyone in your book club swoons over. Perhaps it's a bit like the ivory-billed woodpecker — something so rare that we're not even sure it still exists —but you can't help but try. If you're anything like me, you have a sick need to be the valedictorian of everything: organizing the laundry room, go-cart racing, and of course, picking that awesome book for book club that had everyone in tears (both laughter and mourning).

Here are some classic book club picks, along with some new releases, that will have the girls raising their wine glasses to toast your impeccable taste:

Bossypants by Tina Fey: Smart, short and laugh-til-wine-comes-out-your-nose funny, you have to try really hard not to like Bossypants. Half memoir, half how-to life manual, Fey's book includes a prayer for her teenage daughter, my favorite line of which is: "May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers." Read it. Now.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant: You'd need a shoehorn to stuff any more estrogen into this biblical novel. The Red Tent tells the first-person story of Dinah, beginning with the story of her four mothers (her father, Jacob, has four wives), and then on to Dinah's story. "Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate, immediate connection," says Amazon.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen: "Despite her often clichéd prose and the predictability of the story's ending, Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes and freaks who populate her book," said Publisher's Weekly. Agreed. This is a lovely, fast read, especially for animal lovers. Make a night of it, and watch the movie after the book discussion.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: Another one to read before you see the movie. This page turner of a book has a plot unlike any other I've read: it uses diary enteries and quick-change surprises to keep you guessing until the very end. My book club was divided on it; several of them found both the main characters unlikable (which of course doesn't mean it's not a good book). Seriously, this book is so much fun, you'll want to talk all about it with someone once you're done.
Tiny, Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed: I could go into great detail about how amazing this collection of essays is, how well-written, smart, achingly honest & funny I found it — but I won't. Because for some reason whenever someone tells me, "OMG it's the best book/movie/thing ever!," suddenly it's completely ruined for me (I still don't see what the big deal about Slumdog Millionaire is), and that is the LAST thing I want for you. So just read the book. Need more convincing? Read NYMag's The Self-Help Book Women Love to Give Each Other.

In the end, of course there is no one book that everyone loves. But isn't that the beauty of book club? Getting to read books that you don't love, but that you're better off for having read?

What book have you picked that knocked it out of the park in your book club? Leave it in the comments below.

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Why every woman should shoot a gun.

10/7/2014

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Want to learn more about firearms? Join us Nov. 22 for a workshop in a supportive, safe environment.

Politically speaking, I try to keep my distance from issues concerning gun control. As a former soldier and born-and-bred Oklahoma girl, I'm more familiar with firearms than most people (and in fact I own two rifles, one an old Czech rifle my grandfather brought home from WWII, and the other a birthday gift from an old flame). But as a mother and a citizen (I was active in the Million Mom March campaign when my daughter was a toddler), I am generally for stricter gun laws.

That being said, shooting a firearm is an experience that everyone should try at least once. Not only will it give you a better understanding of how weapons work, it might give you some perspective on why so many people are literally up in arms about the gun control issue.

5 reasons why every woman should fire a gun

You're just curious. Firing a gun is a huge part of our culture in America; so much power and emotion seem to be wrapped up in guns, and you've just always wanted to try it. After all, it is your constitutional right to own a firearm.
You believe in gun control, but want to know what all the fuss is about. You'll have a better foundation from which to object to or support issues surround gun control if you've actually fired one youreself.
Women have better aim. It's true. I first heard this in bootcamp. As a rule we tend to have better fine motor skills, and squeezing a trigger without moving your muzzle away from the target has a lot to do with fine motor skill coordination. But more importantly, we're not born believing that, because of our gender, we obviously know how to shoot a gun. So we're more open to proper instruction — and not simply "how do I do that?" but "why should I do it that way?"
Self-defense. Research shows that guns hardley ever a viable method for self defense, except in the most dire of cases. You're much (MUCH) more likely to be killed by your own gun rather than stop a bad guy. But gun safety and knowledge put you that much closer to properly using a gun, and thus reducing your chances for being accidentally (or otherwise) shot.
It's fun. It really is an amazing and empowering experience to fire a weapon down range at a target after you've received the proper training. I can list all the cerebral reasons about gun safety and politics, but when it comes down to it, firing a gun can feel amazing.

Want to learn how to fire a gun properly? Join us Nov. 22 for a firearms workshop where you'll learn he basics of pistol safety, how a pistol works, proper stance, grip, sight alignment and trigger squeeze in a classroom environment.

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Adventure travel: You, but better

10/1/2014

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We're always being told about things that we should be doing that are good for us — whether it's eating healthy, staying active, investing in organic foods or spending time with the kids at the family dinner table.

But what about travel? Can traveling be good for your physical, mental and spiritual health? When done right, hell yeah. So I've put together this list of reasons why travel, especially travel that gets you out of your comfort zone, should move from your bucket list right to the top of your planning list for today.

Travel builds your confidence. When you stay at home visiting the same places you always go, seeing the same things you always see, doing the same things you've always done, you never grow. You never figure out how to move forward, try new things and learn new ideas — all of which are critical for building courage and determination.
Being outside has multiple health benefits. The research is pretty impressive: Increased vitamin D levels, physical movement, improved mood and concentration, and less pain and depression. Not bad for spending some time in the fresh air (especially when compared with the side effects of many medications used to treat illness).
Travel encourages empathy and presence. Try driving around your neighborhood sometime and pretend like it's the first time you've seen the trees, houses and signs. I can guarantee you that you'll pick up on things you never noticed before. Also, when you see how other people live, you tend to have more empathy for their troubles and struggles.
You're only as old as you feel. The simple act of putting yourself out there, of trying something scary (even if it’s just sleeping in a tent) will allow your inner heroine to emerge faster than anything else. Trust me.
Exercise + nature = supercharged brain. Whether it's stress, multi-tasking, problem solving or prioritizing, your brain is powered by the endorphins and other chemicals that can only be produced when you exercise and when you get outdoors.
You get comfortable with unpredictability. Change is hard for a lot of people, but when you're a traveler (or a parent, for that matter), you begin to understand that change is inevitable, and you might as well go with the flow instead of trying to fight it all the time.
Getting dirty is a good thing. It teaches you to let go, to accept life on its own terms and to roll with the punches. Whether you're on the back of a mountain bike (my all-time favorite way to get dirty) or just getting a little sweaty hiking up a hill, dirty = healthy.

One of my favorite quotes of all time is when Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." What are you waiting for? The money? The right time? Life to get less stressful? Find your way out of those obstacles in whatever way you can, and start looking for adventure.

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