After earning a BA (summa cum laude) in History and English from York University (1998), Theresa Runstedtler spent a few years working as a professional dancer, model, and actress in Toronto, Canada. She had already been performing professionally since her junior year in college, splitting her time between studies as a scholarship student, dancing for the Toronto Raptors Dance Pak and other freelance gigs. She says it was such an interesting time to be a part of the scene in “Hollywood North.”
Although she loved the creative energy and camaraderie of working with other performers, Theresa decided to go back to school for radio and television production at Ryerson University in the hopes of establishing a more lucrative and “legitimate” career on the other side of the camera. (Her parents and former professors were very skeptical about my work as an entertainer, so she was searching for something more “respectable” to make them proud.) However, realizing that she lacked the passion for media production, she dropped out of Ryerson and spent a year working in the public relations department of what was then CTV Sportsnet (now Rogers Sportsnet).
Still in search of her dream job, Theresa left Canada in 2001 and returned to school, earning a PhD in African American studies and History from Yale University. During her grad school years, she was a proud member of GESO. Since 2007 Theresa has been an Assistant Professor of American studies at the University at Buffalo (SUNY). For the 2011-2012 academic year she will be a Mellon postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.
In his day, Jack Johnson–born in Texas, the son of former slaves–was the most famous black man on the planet. As the first African American World Heavyweight Champion (1908-1915), he publicly challenged white supremacy at home and abroad, enjoying the same audacious lifestyle of conspicuous consumption, masculine bravado, and interracial love wherever he traveled. Jack Johnson, Rebel Sojourner provides the first in-depth exploration of Johnson’s battles against the color line in places as far-flung as Sydney, London, Cape Town, Paris, Havana, and Mexico City. In relating this dramatic story, Theresa Runstedtler constructs a global history of race, gender, and empire in the early twentieth century.
Vero Beach will get a taste of easy Mediterranean recipes when a South Florida native introduces the Treasure Coast to her new cookbook, “Nahima’s Hands: Unique Mediterranean Cuisine.”
Andrea Cassell, 55, will sign copies of the book and let guests taste her favorite dishes at the Vero Beach Book Center on July 16.
Cassell, who lives with her husband in Wichita, Kan., said the book was inspired by her grandmother Nahima Albert, a Syrian immigrant who raised her and taught her how to make most of the recipes in the book. After Cassell’s mother went back to work as a first-grade teacher, her grandmother took care of her.
“She would prepare food for my mom when she got home from work, and from watching my grandmother cook, I captured all that love and giving from an early age,” said Cassell, a mother of four. “She was extraordinary. She was 101 years old and was never on medication, never colored her hair and always had a smile on her face.”
Nahima was born Sept. 21, 1908. In a time of arranged marriages, she was matched at age 15 with her husband Antonio, and they were married in 1926. They moved to a number of countries and ended up in Miami, where they owned Tony’s Curb Market.
“I remember going to my grandparents’s grocery store as a kid and knowing and chatting with all the employees. I think that’s where I formed my outgoing personality and love for people and for food,” said Cassell, who was a Miami Dolphins Cheerleader in the early 1970s.
Mrs. Tony, as neighborhood residents often called Nahima, died in 2009. Cassell wrote the book to capture the memory of her grandmother, using what she learned from Nahima to create recipes to fill out the book.
“It’s an easy cookbook with easy ingredients,” Cassell said. “All the recipes in the book are Mediterranean and healthy. Nothing is fried.”
Creating the recipes was easy; writing them down was difficult for Cassell.
“I’m not used to cooking with measurements so I had to make everything five or six times to make it work,” she said.
The book features appetizers, salads, dressings and marinades, soups and stews, grains and legumes, vegetable dishes, meat dishes, dessert and breads. There’s also a slow cooker section and wine pairings to go along with many of the dishes.
But the book is about more than just good food to Cassell.
“When you have someone who passed away, the memory can last forever,” Cassell said. “But how many people can hold that memory in their hands every day? I hold my grandmother in my hands every day with my book, so I can never forget her.”
NAHIMA’S TRADITIONAL ROLLED GRAPE LEAVES (WHADDA ADEESH)
Serves 10 or more
Ingredients
1 16-ounce jar grape leaves
1½ pounds ground sirloin or chuck
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup rice, washed and drained
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup lemon juice
4 large tomatoes, finely diced
Directions
1 In a large bowl, combine meat, rice, garlic, salt, pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix well.
2 Lay grape leaves on a plate smooth side down; cut stems. Place leaves one at a time on a flat surface. Spread with 1 tablespoon of mixture. Fold sides in and roll leaf very tightly. Repeat method until all leaves are rolled.
3 Left-over leaves can be used to line the bottom of your pan. Line rolled grape leaves in pan side by side. Cover the bottom.
4 Place second row in the opposite direction. Cover with a heavy plate to keep them in place while cooking. Add water to cover the plate. Contemporary method: Use chicken broth instead of water for extra flavor. Bring to a boil.
5 Cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes until rice is done. Remove plate. Pour lemon juice over leaves.
6 Cool 5-10 minutes, then remove leaves gently to avoid breakage. Place on platter and garnish with sliced lemons.
NAHIMA’S TRADITIONAL WHEAT AND PARSLEY SALAD (TABBOULEH)
Serves 6
Ingredients
¾ cup fine bulgur wheat
¾ cup finely chopped green onions
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped (optional)
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup diced cucumber
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Black olives to garnish
Directions
1 Place bulgur wheat in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak for 20 minutes. Drain excess water if necessary.
2 Mix wheat with onion. Add mint, parsley, tomato, cucumber, seasonings, oil and lemon juice. Tabbouleh should have a distinctive lemony flavor.
3 Serve chilled and decorated with black olives. Tabbouleh is eaten scooped up in bread or, more traditionally, in fresh lettuce leaves.
Alise Cayen is currently an award-winning English Teacher, Dance teacher and Police Academy Magnet Coordinator at Reseda High School in Southern California.
This multi-faceted, multi-talented woman is also a former model, pageant queen, and a former professional cheerleader for the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders. In addition to teaching, Alise is an established television producer. Her first book, entitled Patty Pom-Poms, was released in the summer of 2009, and recently won a 5-star rating by the Readers’ Favorite Awards.
Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer by Mireya Mayor with a foreword by Jane Goodall (National Geographic, $26)
Anyone who thinks it is impossible to reinvent themselves and dramatically change courses should put this book at the top of their reading list.
Miraya Mayor was a former Miami Dolphins Cheerleader. She added Fulbright scholar, National Science Foundation Fellow, and two-time Emmy Award-nominated television producer to her resume. One of her biggest challenges, however, was when she emerged as a National Geographic Explorer.
Mireya grew up in a home that was controlled by an overprotective Cuban immigrant mother, a woman who even barred 7-year-old Mireya from joining the Girl Scouts since she felt camping would be “far too dangerous.” After graduating from high school, the young woman became an actress, then a slot as a Miami Dolphins Cheerleader. Her passion for animals prompted her to take an anthropology class in college which led to work that established her as a renowned primatologist and eventual quintessential explorer. From swimming with white sharks to tracking gorillas in the Congo, her life has been anything but dull. Her new book documents her unrelenting determination, incredible sense of adventure and fierce love for animals. “Pink Boots and a Machete” is informative, exciting, and just the ticket for animal lovers and armchair adventurers.
Dance studio and retail owner, Ashley Worrell, published her book, Half-Time Highlights: A Guide to Dancing in the NBA/NFL in April 2010. A native of Kansas City, and a graduate of Missouri Western State University, Ashley has been dancing since the age of three. Her studies have included tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, drill/pom, and social/partner dancing. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Administration with an emphasis in Commercial/Private Business, she moved to Dallas to pursue training and a career in dance. Her professional experience includes dancing for NBA teams, such as the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs, as well as her hometown NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs. Now that she has been a dance studio owner for several years, her goal was to publish a reference guide for dancers wanting to dance in the NBA and NFL. “When I began the audition process, I was clueless. At the time, there was nothing to reference or help me along the journey. I hope this book will help others realize the dedication it takes to dance at that level and motivate them to achieve their goals.”
Miranda Lobs wears many hats. First and foremost, the energetic resident of the Panther Valley community is a wife and a proud stay-at-home mom to three young children.
But demanding as that job is, she doesn’t stop there. She is a psychologist. She is a dancer, She is a former NFL Cheerleader. And, most recently, she has added to her resume the title of published author.
Lobs, a native of Florida, is the author of “What No One Ever Told Me About Motherhood,:” published in 2009 by Tate Publishing. The 148-page paperback is a breezy, light and amusing look at the female side of parenting, from a viewpoint which is also honest, sometimes painfully so.
“I don’t want to scare people,” Lobs said in a recent interview. “But there are things even your best friends don’t tell you beforehand. “
Lobs’ research for the book began with an email survey of friends and acquaintances, asking the question, “What did no one ever tell you about motherhood?” Some of the answers she received are quoted in the book. She also kept a journal during her early days as a stay-at-home mom, and the book ultimately evolved. It was her second book. The first, written while she was still in college and is thus far unpublished, is about dating and relationships.
“Before you have kids,” Lobs said, “you know everything – or at least you think you do. You see other parents with their kids misbehaving in public and you say, ‘That’s never going to be me. My kids will never behave like that.’ And then you have kids and one day you realize that everything is not in your control. Motherhood is nothing if not unpredictable.”
The book includes chapters dealing with becoming a parent, the early days of parenthood, which may not match the idyllic storybook image a new mother has, and then the nitty-gritty of dealing with having young children. A light and amusing book, it looks at issues not from the perspective of the professional, handing down advice from on high, but from that of the real live woman who is living with those issues every day. Practical, realistic and comfortable, it may be very reassuring to the young mother who thinks she’s the only one with these problems. It’s also an amusing look back for someone who has been there herself.
Lobs earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Florida, with a major in psychology. Subsequently she earned a Master of Arts with the same major. After college, she worked as a psychologist, conducting psychological testing for clinical trials in the pharmaceutical industry.
A dancer from early childhood, Lobs had taught dance since the age of 16, and was a member of a prize-winning competitive dance team while at college. While working in the field of psychological testing, she decided to try out to become a Cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins football team. Her husband, Josh, was particularly supportive of her efforts because becoming a Cheerleader would give her access to tickets to Dolphins games.
Out of about 600 women who tried out, Lobs was one of the 40 who were selected. Out of those 40, she eventually became one of 16 who toured as an elite show squad. She enjoyed the experience but resigned after a year, when she learned that she was expecting her first child, Joshua, who is now six.
The Lobs family moved to New Jersey in December 2006, where Josh works for Novartis, a pharmaceuticals firm. Along with Joshua, the household includes Jonathan, 4, and Julia, 2. Lobs’s book speaks honestly about her problems with conceiving her first child, and the surprising ease with which she conceived her younger two, as a caveat to young mothers.not to take anything for granted.
In addition to raising her children, Lobs works as a dance director for the New Jersey Football Classic cheerleading squad. She also continues to write. Information about purchasing ““What No One Ever Told Me About Motherhood” can be found at the website www.mirandalobs.com or at www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore.
D-I-S-Cover communication success — decrease conflict and increase happiness with your children today! Whether your children are 2 or 22, it’s never too late to understand their personality style and why they do what they do. Recognizing personality differences, this book equips moms with a fresh new awareness, conflict resolutions, and creative discipline suggestions. “Personality Insights for Moms!” is a fun, easy-read you won’t want to put down. Recommended for every mom who cares about her child!
“Personality Insights for Moms,” by Susan Crook has been selected for the prestigious 2006 Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award in four categories, 1) PARENTING BOOK; 2) EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTS; 3) CHILDREN’S HEALTH & WELL-BEING; 4) GIFTS FOR MOMS. Parent to Parent is the only award program to ever be honored by Disney.com.
Before she went to Stanford, before she was a cheerleader for the Chicago Bulls and before all the rest, Erika Kendrick was Chicago’s Girl Scout cookie queen.
She was 9 the first time she won the crown, the first black girl in Chicago to be the top cookie-seller.
When she angled for her third straight title at age 11, I wrote a story about her, and every January when cookie season rolls around I wonder: Whatever happened to the cookie queen?
Here’s what:
She walks into the Willis Tower Corner Bakery in a hip-hugging black skirt and shiny black stiletto ankle boots.
Buried in her big black bag, under the red-and-white pompons she carries everywhere like charms, is a copy of her novel, “Appetite,” whose first page includes this:
“I whip my achy nakedness around to the crescendo of a bellowing snore. Yikes! A strange man is stretched out on the floor beside me entwined in half my sheet — clearly one of the puzzle pieces misplaced somewhere between the first Bacardi Mojito and last call’s obligatory double shot of Patron.”
This is not the geeky girl in braces I remember.
But at 35, Kendrick is still a Girl Scout. Really. Still pays dues. Teaches Girl Scouts. Says everything she needed to know in life — leadership, networking, teamwork — she learned as a Brownie.
“I’m a Girl Scout nerd,” she says. “Forever.”
Kendrick was visiting Chicago last week, and when I asked to meet, she suggested the tower she still calls Sears. As a girl, she loved to doodle it the way other girls sketch horses.
“This building,” she says, “oh my God, has always represented, ‘I gotta get the hell out of here.’ My mom or dad would take me, or we’d go on a field trip, and being up at the top was, ‘Oh my God, there’s so much out there.’ I lived in a house on the South Side, looked out at a tree.”
Kendrick did get out, but the trail, as she describes it over coffee, has been hilly.
St. Ignatius College Prep to Stanford. Stanford to a Chicago hospital on suicide watch, diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Back to Stanford. Graduation. Then another collapse, more therapy. Then a year as a Luvabull.
“Dancing breathed new life into me,” she says of her cheerleading days. “I thought, OK, I feel normal, whatever that means.”
She felt normal enough to earn an MBA at the University of Illinois. Then the sadness sucked her down again.
“I felt,” she says, “just very lost and empty.”
She drank too much, smoked too much pot and finally went through rehab.
“I don’t have an off switch,” she says, “whether it’s Haagen-Dazs or vodka.”
Then eight years ago, Kendrick moved to New York. The moment she first stepped out of the subway, she cried. She felt happy.
Her breakdowns had taught her that she was most vulnerable when she couldn’t express herself creatively. New York, she sensed, had energy big enough to match hers and would let her feel creative in a way no other place could.
So far, she says, it has.
Random House has published her two novels, “Confessions of a Rookie Cheerleader” and “Appetite.” She’s ready to embark on a college motivational speaking tour. Every other Saturday she teaches writing and self-esteem classes to Girl Scouts.
“I’m always working,” she says. “Unless I’m on a date. And even then I’m thinking about work.”
She also teaches seminars on dating.
“I love dating,” she says. “And then you’ve got banter for Friday night with martinis with your girlfriends: ‘He did what?’ ”
She says she no longer drinks, though. She eats no meat, meditates and plays basketball, all disciplines that, coupled with a creative life, have helped her manage her moods without medication.
“But that’s me,” she’s careful to say. “I don’t say meds are bad.”
In every success story, there’s a seed of trouble. In every story about trouble, there’s a seed of better times. The former cookie queen has lived both.
And as for cookies?
“At 35,” she says, “you’ve got to start watching the Samoas and Do-Si-Dos. But I sneak and eat them.”
She flings her arms out like a cheerleader.
“My favorites are still the thin mints. Oh. My. Goodness.”
After earning a BA (summa cum laude) in History and English from York University (1998), Theresa Runstedtler spent a few years working as a professional dancer, model, and actress in Toronto, Canada. She had already been performing professionally since her junior year in college, splitting her time between studies as a scholarship student, dancing for the Toronto Raptors Dance Pak and other freelance gigs. She says it was such an interesting time to be a part of the scene in “Hollywood North.”
Miranda Lobs wears many hats. First and foremost, the energetic resident of the Panther Valley community is a wife and a proud stay-at-home mom to three young children.
