Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Perfection
Saturday, July 26, 2008
My progress
Well yesterday could had been better. I got up and went walking and the road we live on is hilly and I didn't even walk a mile and it took 15 mins to walk it. I think it was not even a half mile. My husband said not to be too hard on myself cause 1. I just started walking again 2. The road we live on has a big hill. Maybe I can start walking after work and that would make a full 30 mins a day. I wished there was someone close by to teach me pilates I would love to do pilates a few times a week to work my body that way I'm doing it right. Maybe if marty goes to work maybe I could go to the cookeville pilates studio once a week. And maybe if I could do floor pilates work on my own maybe that would be enough pilates for the week.
Yesterday I pretty well stayed within my points but, martys aunt made spagetti. Any sort of pasta is my weakness. I actually had a smartones spagetti meal I could had eaten Instead but didn't. It's just I love spagetti!!! I think I'm doing much better today but I thought I might do some firm workout tonight since I wasn't able to go walking this morning. I thought I'd try and do one of my firm videos a few nights a week. While hubby is showering. I may have to stop and make Leah behave. LOL she can be a mess. But I love her. We sat on the porch swing before I had to give her a bath and hubby and I was snuggling while Leah played and she saw us hugging up to each other. She wanted to sit between us like a caperone. LOL. We began hugging up to her too. It was so cute. It felt so good just to cuddle up to my two fave people. Like I wanted time to stop for us to enjoy that moment. Leah began kissing her daddy then she would kiss me. Then it was kissing and
hugging her daddy or mommy!! I love being a mother. I only wished I had more time. I dread if hubby goes back to work. I'll probably have to find a new babysitter. Which is probably best anyways Martys aunt has watched her in the past and she is babysitting way too many kids as it is. I might check with my bestfriend Cherri she's at home all day anyways. It would give her some extra cash too. Hubby asked if his 18 year old cousin,Wayne could babysit and I told him noway in this life!!! He's a young boy and I think it's inapporiate for a young boy to watch any little girl. There is something I don't trust about him. I would rather pay someone I know that I trust than do that. Somewhere I know my child is safe.
Sent from my iPod Touch
Thursday, July 24, 2008
I joined in...
Sunday, July 20, 2008
I'll be Your umbrella
Rihanna - Umbrella lyrics
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Three Moons Over Milford
Monday, July 14, 2008
Getting on the stick
I'm sitting here watching Sex & The City at work. I'm so bored out of my mind. So, I've been recording Sex & The City and Scrubs on Mrs. Anderson's Tivo.
Well, I lost 4 lbs this week. A pretty good loss for my 1st week on Weight Watchers. The loss alone has gotten me on this high where I actually want to eat healthy and exercise. I'm feeling pretty good about it. I made me some chilli but I added some morning star crumblers instead of the regular ground beef that I usually cook with. I have no idea how much points they are but, it couldn't be as much as the regular chilli I usually make. I usually eat breakfast once I get to work but this morning Mrs. Anderson's nephews came so, it was after 10am before I ever ate.
I've been reading different weight loss blogs for motivation throughout my day. It's been a great motivation for me but, when I updated my iPod this weekend it took off my RSS Reader off my iPod :-( ugh I think I'm going to buy an app for my iPod off iTunes called b-Line I believe?? I thought I would get that to read the blogs I read. Ahh.. Going through withdrawals here I love reading them for support, tips and even getting new recipes for Weight Watchers.
Sent from my iPod Touch
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Week 1 Weigh In
Starting Weight: 280
Current Weight:271
Saturday, July 12, 2008
100 Calorie Packs are they really Healthy for You????
Yesterday, I watched the Today Show when I got to work. They had a doctor on there that had written a book about how food fuels our metabalism. He said that eating fruits high in sugar are better for you than processed foods that's high in sugar which I agree with. But he was saying to stay away from all of the 100 calorie packs. I agree that the more carbs you eat the more carbs you want but, if you do it smartly I think you could have a little snack just don't eat the whole box of 'em. But, I always make sure I eat my fruits first. That's why I love Weight Watchers. You can eat healthy while eat the foods that you love. I really feel that if you deprive yourself of what you crave your setting yourself up for failure. So here is my theory eat the foods you love but, do it smartly. Find low calorie/ low point foods finds and always remember portion control.
Sent from my iPod
Friday, July 11, 2008
Today's Journal
Target Food POINTS values remaining
7
Morning
1 Tbsp sugar
1
1 serving Smart Balance Omega spread, light
1
2 slice Weight Watchers Singles
2
1 packet Quaker Oats Instant oatmeal weight control - maple brown sugar
3
Subtotal
7
Midday
1 serving oscar myer roast beef
1
1 cup Iceberg lettuce
0
1 serving Light Flat Out Bread
1
1 serving Diet Dr. Pepper
0
3 slice tomato(es)
0
Subtotal
2
Evening
1 medium orange(s)
1
6 items Hostess 100 Calorie Carrot mini cakes
3.5
1 medium corn on the cob
1
2 large kiwifruit
1.5
1 serving Smart Ones Fajita Chicken Supreme
5
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
3
1 serving Diet Dr. Pepper
0
Subtotal
15
Snack
Subtotal
0
Total Food POINTS values used
24
Food POINTS Balance over (-) under (+)
+7
Exercise
30 min walking, brisk
3
Total Activity POINTS values earned
3
Check off these important items daily
Water 40 oz.
Milk & Milk Products 2 servings
Fruits & Vegetables 5+ Servings
Multivitamin herbalife vitamin
Notes: yea me!! I stayed on track all day!! I even stayed on track once I got home!! even went for a walk yea!!
Failure is NOT an Option for me
Today has been a pretty good day for me although I should be drinking more water. But, I'm working on that. I seem to do well at work as long as I pack my Breakfast & lunch as healthy as I can. Living with my husband's family can be stressful at times and DH aunt acts ticked off if I don't eat what she cooks. But, it is my body right? Last night I actually felt guilty for not eating that junk so what did I do? I ate it!! As I was eating it I felt like such a failure. With each little I felt like I was cheating on a lover.
For supper we had homemade country biscuits with gravy and northern beans which I hate. I hate almost all beans. There was also some kind of meat porkchops perhaps. Which looked like it was rolled in flour and fried in grease of course. I don't even like foods like that so why in the world did I even eat it??
I've been walking around the local Elementary School which is not even a five minute walk from the house. My little girl came and got in our bed last night and around 7am she began gabbing and my hubby was playing with her and said honey did you know her diaper was off!! I started to laugh. He said all I could see was her butt in my face. It was hilarious. Im trying to pottytrain her but, I work all day and its close to 6pm when I get home. My hubby mostly watches her with the help of his aunt but it doesn't seem like they ever helped with the potty training. If I could just get her potty train I would be happy with myself on the parenting front. She was broke from a pacifer by the time she was 3 months old. The bottle took a little longer than I liked. She held onto it longer than most little kids I think cause of dh car wreck. She didn't have either parent for close to 2 weeks and I think she used the bottle for some sort of security. She's now able
to drink from a real cup without spilling it well,most of the time. Although she still drinks from a sippy to help prevent so many spills. Okay enough of weight loss & my parenting woes. I have 45 mins before I get off work. Planning on taking a walk before i get to the house.
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The Reality of Hamburgers
Yesterday I believe I done fairly well on Weight Watchers for the first time in 2 years. My husband wanted a hamburger so, I ate one too. Usually, I eat 2 burgers but, if I'm gonna loose weight I know I'm going to have to cut back. I was reading the nutrition info on the box and it had like 380 calories & 28g of fat. Omg. I can't believe I have been putting stuff like that in my body. This isn't counting the toppings. I believe I'm gonna try to start going to Weight Watchers Meetings but, hopefully I can find something close by. I might also try and do weight watchers on the go. I think I'll have to buy a palm pilot for it. I might could find one online really cheap. I've been coming into work at 9 am and I can stay late to work extra hours. This morning I came in and Mrs. Andersons best friend & her nephew was here. So, I thought while she was visiting with friends & family I would clean really good. It seems I was busy for 2 hours straight. So maybe
since I was so busy maybe it will make up for not walking this morning. I'm wanting to get up early to go walking before I come into work.
Todays Food journal
Hamburger--9points
Bun--2points
Lettuce--0 points
Tomatoe--1point
WW Cheese--1points
Dt. Dr. Pepper 0points
100 cal. Carrot cake--1point
Bananna --2 points
I have 19 points left for the day for me to eat. I am work and I have a kiwi & orange left to eat before I go home.
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Food Journal entry for July 8,2008
Daily Target 34
Breakfast:
2 organic waffles - 4 points
1 tbsp smart bal. Lgt omega -1 points
1/4 c csry's syrup. -0 points
1 large bananna - 1 points
Lunch: points
Flatt out bread -1 points
Roast beef -1 points
WW Cheese -1 points
2 tomatoe slices - 0 points
Lettuce -0 points
Dt. Dr. Pepper - 0 points
Med. Apple. -1 points
Snacks:
Cantelope -1 points
100 calorie carrot cake -1 points
Supper
Dt dr. Pepper -0 points
Lettuce -0 points
Tomatoe -0 points
WW cheese -1 points
Burger -9 points
Bun 2 points
Pickles -0 points
Mayo -1 points
Ketchup -1 points
French fries -6 points
Dessert:
WW turtle sundae 3 points
Total Daily Points Eaten:35
My Thoughts: Oppsies I went over by one point according to my calculations. I had an extra slice of tomatoes this morning so I think I may have added a point so maybe I am okay. But, I do know that I still have some cutting back to do. This is just the beginning. What do all the Skinny minnies who can eat and eat cram their faces full of food yet never gain a pound. Its just not Fair. I feel like I have eaten more today than I have in months so,maybe thats my problem. While I was at work and Mrs. Anderson,the lady I take care was resting I done some squats and various exercises to get moving around. I don't have to be at work till 9 am in the morning so,I thought I would still get up at my regular time and go for a walk. Its should be nice!!
Sent from my iPod
Monday, July 7, 2008
Well, I searched online for a program to rip my DVDs that converts it into a iTunes readable file. The program is called Magic DVD Ripper and it normally costs $50.00. But I got it free!!! I downloaded 3 movies onto my iPod touch I borrowed from my sister,Crystal. Here are the movies I downloaded so far:
Castaway
The Notebook
Sweet Home Alabama
Raise Your Voice
Fast & The Furious
Twister
Titanic
Sent from my iPod
The Good Witch
I finished watching "The Good Witch" this morning at Mrs. Anderson's house. She had Dish Network her box has a DVR built into it. So I look on the guide for stuff to record & I've been watching it at work when I've got time. Anyways I finished "The Good Witch" it was a pretty good movie. I like movies that Lifetime & Hallmark puts out.
Ehr
Anyways the movie was about a lady who inherited an old run down house and she moves in and wins over a family and helps them with some issues each of them have. A grumpy lady tries to run her out of town. But finally she wins the towns people over too.
Sent from my iPod
A new start
I read a post that Roni posted on Weight Watchen. She said there was different levels of Food Journaling. Which, is so true!! I know that if I don't journal my foods then how will I ever know what I'm doing wrong. We can't do anything as far as grocery shopping goes cause, I don't get paid till tomorrow
I know I have to loose this weight and I don't think I ever will unless I just do what needs to be done. Such as journaling, planning my meals ahead and exercising. Since I've not gotten paid in 3 weeks I've not went to the grocery store and done any real grocery shopping. We've got plenty of food but, its not so healthy. This is my first day of Jornaling.
July 07,2008--
Today's Weigh-In:
Breakfast: Points
4 slices of white bread
4 tbsp of butter
4 slices of cheese
12 oz. Can Dr. Pepper
Snacks: Points
3 chocolate oatmeal cookies
Daily Water intake: 20 Oz.
Fruits & Veggies: none
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Hubby's Visit to Disability Doctor
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Bookman & Bookwoman's Top Book Reads for the summer
I watched Talk of The Town on News Channel 5 today while I had to work at Mrs. Anderson's house. I saw a preview of the show about what where the top books to read for the summer so,i especially wanted to watch today. If you know anything about me you would know that I love to read books.Bookwoman and bookman are the owners of a local used Bookstore in Nashville.They are open daily and have over 100,000 books in stock. I plan to read several books from this list. Some look like some real page turners.
They are located at:
BookMan/BookWoman Books
1713 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37212
The top Books are:
A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander
From Publishers Weekly
In Alexander's charming third novel of romantic suspense set in late Victorian England (after The Poisoned Season), Lady Emily Ashton is at a country house party when someone shoots her noxious host, Lord Basil Fortescue, with a dueling pistol. After the husband of a good friend is accused of the murder, Emily determines to find the real killer. The only clue, a threatening letter promising a political assassination, drives Emily to Vienna, where she meets the painter Gustav Klimt and shares stolen moments with her fiancé, diplomat Colin Hargreaves. But Emily never forgets her urgent mission—in the service of which she must match wits with double agents and anarchists as well as ally herself temporarily with Colin's former lover, the sexually sophisticated Kristiana von Lange. The appealing Emily at times comes across as too modern for even the most unconventional Victorian character, and the plot sags in mid-story despite several clever subplots. Still, the book's entertaining voice and accurate period detail will seduce most readers.
The Road to Eden's Ridge by M.L. Rose
From Publishers Weekly
Lindsey Briggs leaves her fiance at the altar in her small Maine town and heads for Nashville to pursue her lifelong dream of being a country singer-songwriter in this quietly sentimental novel. After burying her musical inclinations under a Harvard education, 20-something Lindsey experiences an epiphany less than an hour before her wedding, standing in front of the mirror and listening to a recording of herself singing a song shed written half a lifetime before. She packs up her car and heads south, away from Eden's Ridge and the grandmother who raised her after her parents were killed in a car accident when she was a baby. Once in Nashville, armed with a guitar and a band of new friends, Lindsey encounters Ben McBride, the country singer who once visited her grandfather 50 years ago at his farm in Maine, and of whom she has an old photograph, a reminder of her grandfather's past and her own. What Lindsey doesn't know is the extent of McBride's involvement with her family and the secrets buried in her own life. Rose is the pseudonym for Myra McLary (Water in the Well) and Linda Weeks, who together breathe realism into their settings and life into their characters. Lindsey's lyrics, contributed by Nashville songwriters, leave depth and subtlety to be desired, but her passion for living and need to follow her heart make her a character with whom women readers will easily identify.
Phantom Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries)
by John Sandford
From Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Sandford's solid 18th Prey novel (after Invisible Prey), Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Lucas Davenport, who's received numerous promotions in the course of the series, ought to be taking the desk aspects of his job more seriously. But the man remains more comfortable working a stakeout, interviewing suspects and taking down bad guys than he is filling out personnel evaluation forms on his staff—which explains why he's still getting shot at, peeping at a cocaine dealer's wife hoping for a glimpse of her husband and, at his wife's behest, looking into the unsolved kidnapping and presumed murder of a wealthy young woman into the goth scene. It becomes clear that a serial killer is targeting goths as well as anyone, including Lucas, who gets in the way. While some pretty murky psychology encumbers the plot, Sandford delivers the kind of riveting action that keeps thriller fans turning the pages.
Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
by James Lee Burke
Much beloved Louisiana lawman Dave Robicheaux is back again, this time in the brand new setting of the rugged Montana mountains.
Whacked by Jules Asner
From Publishers Weekly
Asner—ex-model, wife of director Steven Soderbergh and E! Entertainment Television personality—debuts with a dishy mix of Tinseltown hackdom, chick lit and, surprisingly, a chilling plot. Dani Hale is an L.A. TV writer for crime show Flesh and Bone who has an inordinate interest in all things forensic—one shared by technical adviser Rich Pisani, a retired LAPD cop. None of this stuff bothered me, Dani boasts about crime scene analysis. But what does bother her is slow-to-commit boyfriend and director Dave; the pretty actress he's directing, Chloe Johnson (whom Asner slyly credits as having worked with Soderbergh); her Crate and Barrel saleswoman mom; and work rival Evil Janet. But where other chick lit heroines fret about their fears, Dani hacks into e-mails and cellphones to alleviate hers. After discovering Dave has been cheating on her, Dani plots revenge on him, freckled harlot-starlet Chloe and office boor Evil Janet, but things quickly spiral out of control. Asner juggles horror and giggles and wraps it up with a subtle kicker, and though Rich's role is underwritten, the novel is still tons of fun.
Curse of the Spellmans: A Novel by Lisa Lutz
Lisa Lutz, author of The Spellman Files, is back with another story of the shenanigans of the Spellman family: The Curse of the Spellmans. The "parental unit" started a private investigation business when Dad retired from police work. His wife assists him and their two daughters, Isabel, (Izzy) a 30-year-old with a habit of being arrested, and Rae, a 15-year-old Cheetos-loving teen, would like to think that they help out in the family business. Especially where Izzy is concerned, this is a stretch. Brother David is a successful attorney who has nothing to do with the family enterprise. He has troubles of his own.
Izzy has been living in the apartment of a friend while he is away. When he returns unexpectedly, it quickly becomes clear that being roommates with an old, cigar-smoking, poker-playing, big drinker isn't going to work. Izzy moves home temporarily and then the fun begins. She decides that their new next door neighbor, John Brown, whose landscape gardening business she judges to be a cover, is somehow making women disappear. She gets herself invited to dinner, discovers a locked room, believes his name is phony, follows him everywhere, has a restraining order against her, and still she can't let it go.
Meanwhile, Rae has befriended a great guy, a cop named Henry Stone, who is almost too good to be true. The reader starts pulling for him and Izzy to get together right away, even though he doesn't deserve the aggravation. Lutz keeps the ball rolling faster and faster with David's problems, her parents' frequent vacations, which they refer to as "disappearances," and the fact that everyone in the family has secrets from one another. If there is any curse at work here, it is that all the family members are terminally nosy. What they discover about each other and the other players keeps you turning pages and hoping that Lutz is hard at work on the next installment of this zany family's misadventures. --Valerie RyanFrom Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In the two years that have passed since the action in Lutz's hit debut, The Spellman Files (2007), zany Isabel Spellman, who works for the family PI firm in San Francisco, has become a somewhat responsible member of society. Unfortunately, she's also become obsessed with Subject (aka John Brown), a next-door neighbor who she's convinced has an evil secret she must expose, even if it means losing her PI license. Adding further hilarity is The Stone and Spellman Show, transcripts of recordings revealing 15-year-old sister Rae's fascination with her middle-aged best friend, stoic SFPD inspector Henry Stone, who endures Rae's adoration with liberal doses of Doctor Who watching. Henry's link to the Spellman family's fortunes suggests he might be a good candidate for Isabel's Ex-boyfriend #11 when Subject fails to make the grade. Fans of The Spellman Files will laugh just as loudly at the comic antics chronicled in this sparkling sequel.
Chasing Darkness: An Elvis Cole Novel
by Robert Crais
After the fabulous success of THE WATCHMAN, Crais comes roaring back with his Elvis Cole series. Elvis was a hero when he cleared an innocent man of a murder charge. But when that innocent man is found dead three years later holding photos of the victim, Elvis is the one on trial.
Nothing to Lose -- Jack Reacher Novels
by Lee Childs
From Publishers Weekly
At the start of bestseller Child's solid 12th Jack Reacher novel (after Bad Luck and Trouble), the ex-military policeman hitchhikes into Colorado, where he finds himself crossing the metaphorical and physical line that divides the small towns of Hope and Despair. Despair lives up to its name; all Reacher wants is a cup of coffee, but what he gets is attacked by four thugs and thrown in jail on a vagrancy charge. After he's kicked out of town, Reacher reacts in his usual manner—he goes back and whips everybody's butt and busts up the town's police force. In the process, he discovers, with the help of a good-looking lady cop from Hope, that a nearby metal processing plant is part of a plan that involves the war in Iraq and an apocalyptic sect bent on ushering in the end-time. With his powerful sense of justice, dogged determination and the physical and mental skills to overcome what to most would be overwhelming odds, Jack Reacher makes an irresistible modern knight-errant.
Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts
he bestselling author of WHERE THE HEART IS returns with a heartrending tale of two children in search of a place to call home.
Lutie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Lutie lives in the god-forsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father. While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind.
MADE IN THE U.S.A. is the alternately heartbreaking and life-affirming story of two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair and frightening the world is before they come to a place they can finally call home.
Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
From Publishers Weekly
A chance encounter with an old flame in Giffin's bittersweet, sometimes mawkish fourth novel causes Ellen Dempsey to consider anew what could have been. Shortly after marrying Andy, Ellen runs into Leo, her intense first love. Leo, a moody writer, has secretly preoccupied Ellen ever since he broke her heart, so after seeing him again, Ellen wonders if her perfect life is truly what she wants or simply what she was expected to want. This scenario is complicated by Ellen's past: the early death of her mother and subsequent disintegration of her family have left Ellen insecure and saddled with unresolved feelings of guilt. These feelings intensify when Andy's career takes the newlyweds from Ellen's beloved New York City to suburban Atlanta. As Ellen's feelings of inadequacy and resentment grow, her marriage begins to crumble. The novel is sometimes bogged down by characters so rooted in type that they, and the story line, can only move in the most obvious trajectory. However, Giffin's self-aware narrator and focus on troubled relationships will satisfy those looking for a light women's lit fix.
The Right Mistake: The Further Philosophical Investigations of Socrates Fortlow by Walter Mosley
Living in South Central L.A., Socrates Fortlow is a sixty-year-old ex-convict, still strong enough to kill men with his bare hands. Now freed after serving twenty-seven years in prison, he is filled with profound guilt about his own crimes and disheartened by the chaos of the streets. Along with his gambler friend Billy Psalms, Socrates calls together local people of all races from their different social stations—lawyers, gangsters, preachers, Buddhists, businessmen—to conduct meetings of a Thinkers’ Club, where all can discuss the unanswerable questions in life.The street philosopher enjoins his friends to explore—even in the knowledge that there’s nothing that they personally can do to change the ways of the world—what might be done anyway, what it would take to change themselves. Infiltrated by undercover cops, and threatened by strain from within, tensions rise as hot-blooded gangsters and respectable deacons fight over issues of personal and social responsibility. But simply by asking questions about racial authenticity, street justice, infidelity, poverty, and the possibility of mutual understanding, Socrates and his unlikely crew actually begin to make a difference.
In turns outraged and affectionate, The Right Mistake offers a profoundly literary and ultimately redemptive exploration of the possibility of moral action in a violent and fallen world.
Killer View by Ridley Pearson
Torn between professional responsibility and the desperate urge to find his friend, Walt is further challenged by an unexplained illness at a local water-bottling plant that sends workers to the hospital and sets off biohazard warnings. Following threads of questionable evidence through the glitter of Sun Valley leads Walt to an unlikely—and darker—source, and reveals a crime played out on a much larger scale than he originally envisioned. Waist-deep in snow and knee-deep in lies, the life of his friend in the balance, Walt begins to suspect that the whole operation is controlled by people of great wealth and power, which leaves him where he started: out in the cold.
From adrenaline-charged start to explosive finish, Killer View is heart-stopping suspense at its very best.
Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel
by Lauren Weisberger
Product Description
The bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing returns with the story of three best friends who vow to change their entire lives...and change them fast.
Emmy is newly single, and not by choice. She was this close to the ring and the baby she's wanted her whole life when her boyfriend left her for his twenty-three-year-old personal trainer -- whose fees are paid by Emmy. With her plans for the perfect white wedding in the trash, Emmy is now ordering takeout for one. Her friends insist an around-the-world sex-fueled adventure will solve all her problems -- could they be right?
Leigh, a young star in the publishing business, is within striking distance of landing her dream job as senior editor and marrying her dream guy. And to top it all off, she has just purchased her dream apartment. Only when Leigh begins to edit the enfant terrible of the literary world, the brilliant and brooding Jesse Chapman, does she start to notice some cracks in her perfect life...
Adriana is the drop-dead-gorgeous daughter of a famous supermodel. She possesses the kind of feminine wiles made only in Brazil, and she never hesitates to use them. But she's about to turn thirty and -- as her mother keeps reminding her -- she won't have her pick of the men forever. Everyone knows beauty is ephemeral and there's always someone younger and prettier right around the corner. Suddenly she's wondering...does Mother know best?
These three very different girls have been best friends for a decade in the greatest city on earth. As they near thirty, they're looking toward their future...but despite all they've earned -- first-class travel, career promotions, invites to all the right parties, and luxuries small and large -- they're not quite sure they like what they see...
One Saturday night at the Waverly Inn, Adriana and Emmy make a pact: within a single year, each will drastically change her life. Leigh watches from the sidelines, not making any promises, but she'll soon discover she has the most to lose. Their friendship is forever, but everything else is on the table. Three best friends. Two resolutions. One year to pull it off.Middle Tennessee, 1775-1825: Progress and Popular Democracy on the Southwestern Frontier
by Kristofer Ray
From frontier to organized settlements, the Middle Tennessee homeland and market developed quickly and produced waves of land speculation, great wealth and divisive politics in this precise history.
iACTUATE: 100 days of Inspiration
by Olusegun 'Sheq' Aranmolate
here are times when we are able to appreciate the benefits of being fit: physically, mentally and emotionally. Those times when we simply want to go outside for a long vigorous jog, volunteer in our community, donate money to charity, or start working on our dream projects. However, most of us have also experienced those down times—times of lethargy, when we seem to lack the energy and the zeal to be productive, or to even love life. These feelings are normal because from time to time we all get overwhelmed with several demanding situations in our lives. Nevertheless, we don’t always have to feel that way.
iACTUATE: 100 days of Inspiration, Volume One is a deeply thought-out book that deals with these and many other situations. iACTUATE: 100 days of Inspiration is the first volume of a series of motivational books by author Olusegun ‘Sheg’ Aranmolate that provides its reader with one-hundred famous inspirational quotes and one-hundred brilliantly written succinct messages that truly inspire them to improve themselves. Every message in the book depicts Olusegun’s experiences and personal journey through life so far.
In each message, he particularly illustrates how making little differences can change our outlook on life. In this book, Olusegun also provides his readers with a set of one-hundred simple mental and physical activities that strengthen the mind and the body. The several sections in the book dedicated to goal-setting and self-reflection makes iACTUATE a great personal journal that encourages overall mental, physical, emotional and even spiritual growth. iACTUATE: 100 days of Inspiration is an exceptional piece of work, very uplifting and a must read for everyone.
The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson
From Publishers Weekly
Prize-winning Brit Winterson applies her fantastical touch to a sci-fi, postapocalyptic setting. Heroine Billie Crusoe appears in three different end-of-the-world scenarios, allowing Winterson to explore the repetitive and destructive nature of human history and an inability (or unwillingness) of people to learn from previous mistakes. In the first section, inhabitants of the pollution-choked planet Orbus have discovered Planet Blue (Earth), and soon set about launching an asteroid at it to kill the dinosaurs that would prevent them from colonizing the planet. The second and third sections are set on Earth in 1774 and then in the Post-3 War era. Though passionate condemnations of global warming and war appear frequently, the book also contains a triptych love story: Billie meets Spike, a female Robo sapien capable of emotion and evolution, and falls (reluctantly) in love with her. In each of the scenarios, Billie and Spike (or versions of them) fall in love anew while encroaching annihilation looms in the background. Winterson's lapses into polemic can be tedious, but her prose—as stunning, lyrical and evocative as ever—and intelligence easily carry the book.
Certain Girls: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner
From Publishers Weekly
Following the story collection The Guy Not Taken, Weiner turns in a hilarious sequel to her 2001 bestselling first novel, Good in Bed, revisiting the memorable and feisty Candace Cannie Shapiro. Flashing forward 13 years, the novel follows Cannie as she navigates the adolescent rebellion of her about-to-be bat mitzvahed daughter, Joy, and juggles her writing career; her relationship with her physician husband, Peter Krushelevansky; her ongoing weight struggles; and the occasional impasse with Joy's biological father, Bruce Guberman. Joy, whose premature birth resulted in her wearing hearing aids, has her own amusing take on her mother's overinvolvement in her life as the novel, with some contrivance, alternates perspectives. As her bat mitzvah approaches, Joy tries to make contact with her long absent maternal grandfather and seeks more time with Bruce. In addition, unbeknownst to Joy, Peter has expressed a desire to have a baby with Cannie, which means looking for a surrogate mother. Throughout, Weiner offers her signature snappy observations: (good looks function as a get-out-of-everything-free card) and spot-on insights into human nature, with a few twists thrown in for good measure. She expends some energy getting readers up to speed on Good, but readers already involved with Cannie will enjoy this, despite Joy's equally strong voice.
Richard and John: Kings at War by Frank McLynn
Legend and lore surround the history of kings Richard and John, from the ballads of Robin Hood and the novels of Sir Walter Scott to Hollywood movies and television. In the myth-making, King Richard, defender of Christendom in the Holy Land, was the “good king,” and his younger brother John was the evil usurper of the kingdom, who lost not only the Crown jewels but also the power of the crown. How much, though, do these popular stereotypes correspond with reality? Frank McLynn, known for a wide range of historical studies, has returned to the original sources to discover what Richard and John, these warring sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, were really like, and how their history measures up to their myth. In riveting prose, and with attention to the sources, he turns the tables on modern revisionist historians, showing exactly how incompetent a king John was, despite his intellectual gifts, and how impressive Richard was, despite his long absence from the throne. This is history at its best-revealing and readable.
Hubert's Freaks: The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus
by Gregory Gibson
rom Publishers Weekly
From the late 1950s until her death in 1971, renowned photographer Diane Arbus took pictures of oddball performers at the now-forgotten Hubert's Museum, a typical freak show in New York City's seedy Times Square. One frequent subject was Charlie Lucas, first a freak himself, later an inside talker. In 2003, Bob Langmuir, an anxiety-ridden, pill-popping, obsessive antiquarian book dealer from Philadelphia, unearthed a collection of photographs and memorabilia, including Lucas's journals and what he thought were Arbus's photos. This trove of genuine American kookiness came to dominate his life. Following Langmuir's quest—from the slums of Philadelphia to the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art—as he gathered, priced and ultimately came to understand this collection, author Gibson (Gone Boy: A Walkabout), himself an antiquarian book dealer, effortlessly twists these strands together with an emotional wallop. His toil in Hubert's vineyard, Gibson writes of Langmuir, amounted to no more or less than the continuing archaeology of the old, weird America. Gibson's laser focus on Langmuir's shifting state of mind as he struggles to master his personal demons and navigate the pitfalls of his own obsession gives this story its heart and opens a window onto a lost part of the American soul. 21 b&w photos.