Barbara Vey

This, that and the other thing Monday
January 21, 2008

Monday's I like to give kudo's, high fives and note newsworthy items from the world of publishing (e-mail stuff to me), but knowing my readers as I do, we usually need a visual.  So, my pic of the week is Bob Harper, trainer in The Biggest Loser show (and my choice if I could afford a trainer).  I've used his workout dvd (which always makes me sweat, though I'm not sure it's the way in which it was intended).  




New Year's Day I was invited to do an internet/radio talkshow with Rowena Cherry called Cherry Pickings.  If you missed it, you can still listen to it here.  It is in an MP3 format so you can download it to a portable device and listen while you walk, exercise or lounge in the tub.  It was great fun to do and another thing I can cross off my to do list.





And since I haven't received any other news in the past week, I'm going to tell you all about the book I read last week.  In Friday's blog I mentioned that I read a book the weekend before, but I left the book at my mom's and couldn't remember the name of it.  Now, I can be forgiven because I usually have at least 3 books going at the same time (both paper books and audio).   So now I can tell you the mystery book is Distracting the Duchess by Emily Bryan.

Lady Artemisia, Duchess of Southwycke was a wealthy widow who was able to spend her time painting nude (don't call them naked) males.  When Trevelyn Deveridge, working undercover, needed information from the Duchess, he was willing to bare all in service to his country...as her model.  

This book had me hooked from the first sentence, "I'm going to  have to shorten his willie."  I dare anyone to try to not read on after seeing those words.  Often people say, "I couldn't put it down," but once I started I was entranced.  When I finally closed it, hours later, my brother said, "Did you just finish that whole book?"  (This from the man who has to take a break from reading a magazine article).  

As historical romances go, this is a cut above.  The political intrigue, mysterious characters and a former spy struggling with dementia make this arresting tale thrilling, inspiring and sensual all at the same time.  I won't forget this author's name again. 

Now, as I promised, here's our Monday edition for healthier living for 2008.  Remember, just posting a comment enters you in the monthly drawing for a Subway gift card.  Here's Gerri Russell's take on dieting:

Why are we either “on” a diet, or “off” a diet? I want to challenge your thinking about this phenomenon this week. What’s wrong with the “I messed up. I’ll start again next week” attitude? Is there any rule that says you must be perfect on a diet? I know I wasn’t perfect while losing my weight. Barbara probably wasn’t either, yet both of us were successful. 

Perhaps it’s the way our brains want to rationalize things. Why? This is what we are saying to ourselves: Let’s say you accidentally run a red light on your way to work one morning. Does that mean you now have to run red lights for the rest of the day? No. That would be a little crazy, but that’s exactly the way we look at lapses in our diet.

So try something different this week. Instead of tossing out your dreams because of one mistake, ask yourself what you can do next to get yourself back to that healthy lifestyle. Sometimes drinking a glass of water can be all it takes to turn things back around.

Keep living the dream!

Well, Gerri, I may have made one or two mistakes along the way <grin> but as I see it, I'm in this for life, so I just keep plugging along, doing what I can.  And I never use the word diet, I prefer life changes.  

Here's a quick recipe (the only kind I use) for a light, easy dessert that's always a big hit when I take it to get-togethers.  Pineapple Angel Food cake.  1 box of Angel food cake mix and 1 large can of crushed pineapple.  Mix together and bake in a 9x13 pan for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  That's it...nothing else.  Just the 2 ingredients.  Try it with fat-free whipped topping and you can have a big, old honking piece for hardly any calories.

If you'd like to comment on how you're doing with your weight loss or tips or interesting things you may have learned, now's your chance.

Remember that Mondays I like to pass on news from the publishing world, so email me with your kudos, awards, noteworthy items and I'll put in as much as I can.

BTW, my MySpace site now has 548 friends.  If you'd like to join the insanity, come on over and befriend me.

Bottom Line:  Never eat more than you can lift. -- Miss Piggy

Posted by Barbara Vey on January 21, 2008 | Comments (8)