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Review Brooks & Crowley
February 2018
781-277-7321
www.brooksandcrowley.com
439 Washington Street Dedham, MA 02026
*Services Throughout Massachusetts
turned into dust bowls or mud puddles, held a lot of good memories for me. In fact, my first year as a season-ticket holder was in the last year that the old stadium was still standing. As everyone knows, the new stadium was built right next to the old one, and when construction was finished, they tore the old one down. Many people think we local fans are pretty spoiled when it comes to our team. Many Patriots fans have only seen games in Gillette Stadium, with its fancy working bathrooms and paved parking lots. And while it’s true that we’ve had many championship seasons these past few years, we had to go through a lot to get to this point. The long period of drought we had to overcome has made us all stronger. Patriot fans paid our dues and stuck with our team through it all, and it has definitely paid off. These Patriots teams are different. They play to win, and they play for all 60 minutes of the game. They don’t make excuses and don’t accept anything less than excellence from their players. The Patriots work hard and make smart choices on the field. They didn’t become great teams overnight. They had to work at it, and they took a long time doing it. Their results speak for themselves. The Patriots’ coaches prepare them, spending hundreds of hours doing so. They don’t chase the next shiny object and would rather have a good player who is able to perform every game than a more talented player who is injury-prone or inconsistent. Our clients never get to see — or have to endure — all the preparation and work that goes into bringing a case to successful conclusion. But we have seen time and time again that the extra effort pays off many times over. Just like our favorite football team, we strive to give all our clients the best results possible by living through our motto: Results Matter. –Steve Brooks
ROUGH BEGINNINGS YIELDED GREAT RESULTS
Bowl XX in New Orleans. Nearly everyone in my college dorm gathered to watch the Cinderella-story Patriots take on the heavily favored Chicago Bears. Wynton Marsalis played the national anthem, and Bart Starr performed the coin toss. Our team scored first on a field goal within the first two minutes, and we were on our way to victory. Unfortunately for the Patriots, there were 58 more minutes left in the game, during which the Bears ended up dominating the Patriots by a score of 46-10. This heartbreaking loss was consistent with other Boston teams, since we had felt the “curse of the Bambino” with our Red Sox for a long time. I’m sure everyone remembers Bucky Dent’s home run in 1978, and who could forget Bill Buckner’s error during the 1986 World Series, which happened exactly nine months after the Patriots’ historic Super Bowl defeat? I remember supporting my team from the cold metal benches of Schaefer Stadium, later called Sullivan Stadium and Foxboro Stadium. The old stadium, with its dirt parking lots that either
When February comes around, there’s usually one thing on every football fan’s mind: the Super Bowl. I was in Orlando over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend with my family watching the Patriots’ division playoff game, and it got me thinking how far the Patriots have come to get where they are today. I thought back on it and realized I’ve been able to witness a lot of the growth the team has experienced over the years. Having gone through decades of watching mediocre Patriots teams as a teenager, I’ve had to witness my favorite players get beaten every year while hoping we would finally catch a break. Although we had some great players, the Patriots could never seem to get very far and almost never made it to the playoffs. While Gillette Stadium sells out regularly now, there were many Sundays where home games were blacked-out by the local network television station because not enough tickets were sold. Finally in the 1985 season, our 11-5 wild-card team was able to win three playoff games on the road and make it to the big game: Super
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The Science Behind Supplements What Works and What to Avoid
If you walk into your local nutritional supply store, it won’t take you long to realize there are way too many supplements on the market. Some contain basic essentials like vitamins and fish oils. Others advertise themselves with wild names like “MassiveMuscle” or “Core CRSHR,” and they contain a laundry list of chemicals. It would be hard for an expert to figure out the benefits of each supplement, let alone a regular person trying to boost their nutrient intake and get the most out of their workout. However, there are a few solid rules of thumb to follow if you don’t want to buy a jar full of placebos. Rule 1: You Can’t Go Wrong With Vitamins Vitamins and minerals are the catalysts for nearly every process in your body. Without a solid foundation of vitamins, higher-octane supplements won’t work as well. Unless you are the strictest eater around, you’re probably not With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you’re probably wracking your brain for the perfect recipe to bake for your loved one. There’s nothing wrong with store-bought chocolate, but there’s no topping the personal touch of some homemade baked goods. If you have kids, baking alongside them can be just as rewarding as enjoying the fruits of your labor. As an added bonus, baking is a hands-on opportunity where your child can learn all sorts of important concepts. Here is a short list of some of the educational lessons hiding in your kitchen. MATH Baking is a numbers game. Just take a look at any recipe, and you’ll recognize the importance of math in building a beautiful cake. Having children
getting all the nutrients you need from your diet. Look for natural or organic vitamins that contain a variety of useful compounds, like vitamin D, B vitamins, iron, and magnesium. Rule 2: Read the Ingredients (All of ‘Em) According to Harvard Health, supplements are the “Wild West of American health.” Companies have to do very little to get their products approved and on the shelf. Because of this, the buyer needs to be vigilant to avoid getting duped. Before you toss a supplement in your cart, be sure to read every ingredient, including the inactive ones. Alternatively, do some research before you shop to find trusted brands. Rule 3: Different Bodies Need Different Supplements Many supplements are tailored to specific types of workouts. If, for instance, you are doing high- measure out ingredients helps them learn about fractions and ratios. You can also test your kids by doubling or halving a recipe for multiplication and division practice. With older kids, practice unit conversions by asking, for example, how many pints are in half a gallon. FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS Not unlike computer science, baking requires a strict order of operations. The wet and dry ingredients often need to be mixed separately and then folded together. It only takes one deviation from the instructions for a pastry to go from delicious to disgusting. Spending time in the kitchen, then, is a great way for kids to learn the importance of reading directions carefully and comprehending what they’ve just read.
intensity workouts, you may want to consider adding some whey or creatine to your regimen. Your body metabolizes these compounds quickly during workouts, so keeping your levels high will enhance growth and speed up recovery. Except for basic multivitamins, there are no one- size-fits-all supplements. Rule 4: Don’t Overlook Natural Compounds Natural supplements, like fish oil, bone broth protein, and probiotics, have loads of benefits for the body. As an added bonus, you rarely need to worry about side effects, provided you don’t take more than is recommended. Take a look at your supplements and ask yourself where synthetic compounds can be replaced with natural ones.
Education in the Kitchen What Your Child Can Learn From Baking
CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING Cuisine is a fundamental part of every culture. Introducing your child to dishes from around the world will expand their horizons. Want your child to be a less picky eater? Involving them in the cooking process is the surest way to get them excited about trying new flavors and ingredients. NUTRITION Now, you might not think that baking cookies will encourage greater nutritional awareness, but hear us out. Sugar is often buried within packaged foods. When you bake something at home, a child gets to see, firsthand, just how much sugar goes into certain sweets. Meanwhile, cooking savory dishes also allows them to learn what constitutes a balanced, healthy diet.
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Discovering True ‘Grit’
achieve their goals, and that’s what helps them reach their goals if they don’t have innate talent.
all that well in class. “Why?” she wondered. She followed her curiosity to Penn State’s psychology program. There, she studied several demographics, including cadets at West Point, young teachers, and sales representatives. After numerous psychological studies, Duckworth discovered that “grit” was the common denominator in successful people. Duckworth defines grit as “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.” People who display grit don’t start a project and abandon it a month later. They devote themselves to an overarching goal that drives everything they do. She explained that someone who practices grit goes through life like a marathon, not a sprint.
While this provides a strong case that those born with grit will succeed, grit doesn’t factor luck and opportunity into the equation, something that Duckworth is transparent about in her book. She says those who aren’t born with grit can develop it in four simple steps. First, identify an interest that can blossom into a passion. Second, practice that passion, a lot. Third, develop the belief that your passion has purpose. While it’s not an overnight transformation, these guidelines can at least give us hope, which is the fourth step: Hold on to hope that you can succeed. Our biggest takeaway from “Grit”? Look at failures as milestones on the journey to success. Getting gritty means failing and learning from it. Any of us can get gritty if we’re willing to put in a little elbow grease.
If you’ve ever been told you won’t succeed because you lack talent, bring a copy of “Grit” to your next meeting.
Perhaps most instructive is Duckworth’s equation (she was a math teacher, after all):
Talent x effort = skill. Skill x effort = achievement.
While teaching high school math, author Angela Duckworth noticed some of her highest-achieving students weren’t the ones with the highest IQs, while some of her “smartest” students weren’t doing
“Effort counts twice” could be the battle cry of grit. Gritty people are willing to put in the extra effort to
Laugh Out Loud
Citrus Grilled Shrimp
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Paleo
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
• • • •
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• • • • •
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 pound raw shrimp peeled and deveined 4 cups mixed, cubed vegetables of your choice (squash zucchini, bell peppers, onions, etc.)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon raw honey
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Instructions
1. Whisk the oil, lime, lemon, honey, coriander, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well-combined. Add the shrimp and veggies to the bowl and toss to coat. 2. Thread the shrimp and vegetables onto skewers.
3. Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium- high heat. Grill until shrimp turn pink and vegetables are charred. 4. Serve immediately.
https://ultimatepaleoguide.com/citrus-grilled-shrimp/
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
439 Washington Street Dedham, MA 02026
Inside This Issue
1
Working Hard Pays Off
The Truth About Workout Supplements
2
Cook Your Way to Better Grades
3
Do You Have the Success Gene?
Citrus Grilled Shrimp
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NCAA’s Beanpot Tournament
Beanpot Tournament!
February means one thing for college hockey fans in Boston: the Beanpot Tournament! That’s right, Boston’s annual four-team college hockey tournament is back for its 66th year. The tournament takes place on consecutive Mondays starting Feb. 5 at the TD Garden. There’s nothing like the first night of the tournament. Each team’s fans are excited as all four teams have a chance to advance to the final. Cheer on Harvard Crimson as they defend their title from the Boston College Eagles, Northeastern Huskies, and Boston University Terriers. Not a Crimson fan? Whichever your favorite team, come root for them as they pit themselves against the other three. Regular season records don’t matter once the puck drops at the Beanpot. However, every championship game to date has featured either Boston College or Boston University. Harvard and Northeastern have never met in the Beanpot final. Could this be the year? While many of the games have ended in overtime, several hundred fans got a seriously extended stay when they were stranded at the Garden for several days during the Blizzard of ’78!
If you’re looking to make a day of it, head over to The Fours on Canal Street. It’s been recognized by Sports Illustrated as the best sports bar in America, and it’s just across the street from the Garden. Not only will you be able to enjoy amazing food, you’ll get to relish the company of others who all have college hockey on the brain. The issue this year and last is that the first day of the tournament falls on the day after the Super Bowl. Such is the life of the spoiled Boston sports fan these days! Don’t have tickets yet? That’s not a problem! Tickets are available on vividseats.com at affordable prices. Vivid Seats has a 100-percent buyer guarantee and promises you’ll have your tickets before game day.
BEANPOT TOURNAMENT Semifinals: Monday, Feb. 5 at 5:00 p.m. Finals: Monday, Feb. 12 at 4:30 p.m.
TD Garden 100 Legends Way Boston, MA 02114
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