Readers’ Workouts – 2/23

by Carol4 Comments
Here are my steps for the week. You can really tell which days I work 9-5 and which are my short days.   My current plan is to do a core workout on Monday, cardio on Tuesday (60 mins), upper body on Wednesday, cardio on Thursday (60 mins), total body workout on Friday and cardio on Saturday (60+ mins). Tuesday - Walk with the dog. Shoveled the driveway. Wednesday - Arm/shoulder workout Thursday - 15 mins walking, 60 mins running on treadmill Friday - 28 mins total body workout, except I skipped the pulsing lunges - my knee is almost all better, but not quite. Walking/Running doesn't bother it, but stairs do. Saturday - 6.5 miles at the park - the weather was gorgeous!! Sunday - Walk with the dog (and Amber and David) Monday - 15 mins abs I usually listen to a book while I'm walking, jogging, whatever. This week I finished Sounds Like Me by Sara Bareilles and The Bughouse Affair by Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller. 2016 miles: 77.29 How was...
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City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett

by Carol3 Comments
First a bit of advice, read City of Stairs first. Yes, City of Blades may be almost able to stand on its own, but Stairs is so good and will give you such a better feeling for the main characters in this book and the world they live in. Although City of Blades is the second in the trilogy, it feels different from Stairs. Stairs was action and magic and politics. Blades is a little darker, sadder, tougher, but just as good, if not better. Our main character this time around is retired General Turyin Mulagesh. she may be one of my favorite heroines. She's over-50, an alcoholic, one-armed (due to an incident in Stairs), a bit lonely, and full of regrets. But, man, she is tough and smart and caring and tenacious and totally capable of killing you in multiple ways. She is awesome, period. I may still have a bit of a crush on Sigrud, but Turyin even outshines him. She...
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Thursday’s Tale: Magic Words

by Carol2 Comments
I love books that expose kids to other cultures, to other ways of looking at this world. Magic Words is a good introduction to the Inuit people. It's a gorgeous book. I read the eBook, but wish I had the paperback. The illustrations are richly colored and imaginative and invoke the feeling of the Inuit culture. According to the book, the illustrations began as ink drawings that were retraced and softened with 6B extra soft charcoal pencil. You know, before Amber started drawing I think I was pretty sure all pencils were #2 and the directions on standardized tests to use a #2 were silly. Anyway, the finished drawings were scanned and colored digitally. They are vibrant and just gorgeous. The poem talks of a past time when people could become animals and animals could become people and they all spoke the same language. And the words they were powerful and could have unintended consequences - a good reminder to be mindful...
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The Missing Link in the Diet Industry: Guest post by Dede Barbanti, author of Transform: The Secret to Unlocking the Perfect You

by CarolNo Comments
The Missing Link in the Diet Industry It’s unfortunate, but the diet industry has tricked people into believing that they have to continuously consume their breakthrough product, pill, shake, boxed meals or follow their program if they want to lose weight. Most popular diet programs or products give you that glimmer of hope that maybe this time this one thing will be different and you’ll finally get the results you so desperately seek; but most of those programs will completely destroy your metabolism. They severely limit your calories by replacing nutritious meals with shakes or by changing your appetite with some type of diet pill. Or they provide you with sodium-and preservative-filled prepackaged meals to make it easier for you to stay on track, but they cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars in the long run. And they never show you how to tackle the real problems that cause the merry-go-round. The diet industry is a multibillion-dollar industry for a reason,...
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Readers’ Workouts – 2/16

by Carol4 Comments
Here are my steps for the week. Apparently I forgot to charge my fitbit and it died partway through Tuesday without me noticing - before I shoveled the driveway of course. I still made my week overall, though. :)   My current plan is to do a core workout on Monday, cardio on Tuesday (60 mins), upper body on Wednesday, cardio on Thursday (60 mins), total body workout on Friday and cardio on Saturday (60+ mins). Tuesday - Shoveled the driveway Thursday - 38 mins elliptical Friday - Arm/shoulder workout Saturday - 68 mins elliptical Sunday - Bowling Monday - Core workout I usually listen to a book while I'm walking, jogging, whatever. This week I finished to City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett and started Sounds Like Me by Sara Bareilles. 2016 miles: 62.1 How was your week? Readers’ Workouts is hosted by Joy at Joy’s Book Blog. Thanks!...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Ash Lad who Made the Princess Say, “You’re a Liar!”

by Carol2 Comments
"The Ash Lad who Made the Princess Say, 'You're a Liar!'" is Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norwegian Folktales. Ash Lad, Askeladden in Norwegian,  sometimes also known as Boots, is the main character in many Norwegian stories. In some ways, he represents the small man who succeeds where all others fail. He always wins in the end, often winning the princess and half the kingdom. He is often portrayed as the youngest of three brothers, as in this story. Early in a typical tale, the older brothers appear to have much greater chances of success in life. For example, one brother might be extremely well read, whereas another might be extremely competent in another area. In contrast, the Ash Lad is looked down upon as a seemingly drowsy ne'er do well, perhaps even as a loner or misunderstood eccentric, who spends too much time sitting by the fireplace lost in thought as he is...
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