Eating Skinny

It seems we are always on the look out for skinny foods i.e. foods we can eat all we want of without the risk of weight gain. So we eat sandwiches without mayo. (mustard lovers don't count). And we eat everything without butter. Which bread has the least calories? If you are with weight watchers then you want the foods with the least carbs. How crazy is that? They don't even consider calories anymore when they designate food points.

I just discovered a new way to eat wraps and cut out the carbs from the tortilla completely. It is a simple idea. Wrap your meat, vegies, cheese and etc in a lettuce leaf. What fun. I'm constantly on the look our for cheese with the fewest points. I love cheese. I have also found a new love for fruit. Fruit has zero points. So...can one eat all the fruit they want? Probably not because no matter how you slice the pie fruit has calories. However vegies are zero points too with far fewer calories. Oh, I forgot the ranch dressing has tons of calories and points.

How do you eat skinny?

Happy eating.

Endorphins + music =

I say it equals a more creative mind, an ability to analyze and yes, to write. Jazzercise on Saturday mornings always gets my mind moving. I started this blog half way through the hard cardios. I love my early morning Jazz.

"Endorphins are neurotransmitters produced in the brain that reduce pain," says Alan Hirsch, MD, neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. "They have also been known to induce euphoria." Drugs such as morphine, heroine and cocaine are classic endorphin-releasing entities, according to Dr. Hirsch. But luckily for us, there are less-addictive ways of experiencing such sweet rhapsody.

For some, the effects of endorphins can last up to 12 hours. Have you ever wondered why people exercise? Perhaps it's too feel this wonderful high without the drugs. Maybe it is because they are more productive after they workout.

Can you get an endorphin high without exercise? Well, of course you can. Have you ever heard the old saying, "laughter is the best medicine,"? Have you ever had a laughing attack that left you breathless but in an incredibly great mood?

Other possibilities: I have read that eating hot food can produce endorphins--the hotter the better.

How about the power of positive thought? Do we feel awful when negativity takes over our thought process. So it follows that positive thoughts might just produce endorphins in our bodies.

Other sources of endorphins are chocolate, the sun and reading, seeing or hearing something beautiful.

Yes, I've saved the best for last. A little sex or maybe a lot will give you an endorphin high. And being a romance writer this hits home to me.

A person doesn't have to sweat and run 4 miles every day to get the healthy benefits of the endorphins.

What gives you an endorphin high?

If you have time, stop by the rogues angels blog: http://www.roguesangels.blogspot.com/

Black Cats and Love Potions

Why are we afraid of Friday the 13th?

Fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities combine to make one super unlucky day.

A particularly bad Friday the 13th occurred in the middle ages. On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.

There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died and the Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned.

In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.

Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.

If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names. (ok, so that one gave me the chills.)

What are your favorite superstitions?

This is one of my favorites. It has worked on all of the babies born into the Gerety/Young households with one exception. Me.

To predict the sex of a baby: Suspend a wedding band held by a piece of thread over the palm of the pregnant girl. If the ring swings in an oval or circular motion the baby will be a girl. If the ring swings in a straight line the baby will be a boy

And what do you think of Friday the 13th.

Life in the Fast Lane

My gosh how things have changed. I sold my first book in 1998. There was no facebook, myspace, or twitter just to name a few. There were no blog tours or goodreads. How on earth did an author promote their books?

Back in the dark ages we had book signings and tours that went from city to city, costing way too much money and did they sell a lot of books? I don't know. Do blog tours sell books, maybe but once again I don't know.

I do know I love to write and I don't like spending hours and hours trying to figure out how to promote my books. I want to meet lots of people online and find a fan group. I know this will take time but I do think it will be worth it in the long run.

Wow, I think I blogged about promotion just a little bit ago. But it is on my mind as I near the big R (retirement). Yeah!!! I have 19 and ½ days left. I digress again. I am so looking forward to having time to myself, to be creative, to finish projects. I think this is another blog.

Must be time to finish. Dark Ages, smark ages, how to make friends online and have hundreds of followers on my blog.

If you have any sage advice or not so sage advice, please leave a comment.

Beyond "Just Do It"

Beyond just do it.

As the Nike logo says, "just do it" can be the key to success. But sometimes achieving success and maintaining it goes beyond sitting in the chair and hammering out words. An author has to believe in her/himself. And how does one go about this task in a world of rejection letters.

Support groups. Everyone needs friends, family and writers need to add to this critique partners. These are people who will tell you the truth, good or bad. But they will know and understand how to do this in a non-hurtful way. I have wonderful critique partners. Too bad I don't have anything for them to critique (lop-sided smile). Maybe in a month…(big smile).

Goal setting. Stick to a plan Stan and keep on truckin'. Goals have to be realistic and attainable. They have to have to be set in a time frame. Once I set my mind to do something, I create a plan. I'm not much on writing it down (or plotting) but I will always have a plan in my head. But paper is good.

I digress. (as usual)

After I read my first romance book and then many more, I began thinking I could write a book. There were stories in my head. I had always had stories in my head. One day I was talking with my mother about writing and thinking I could write, and she told me to do it then. Years later, I've eleven published books and two anthologies.

How do you go beyond "just do it?" Is there a support group you count on?