A Different Kind of Nook

It appears to me that technology is going to force me to accept it whether I like it or not. Everything, as a friend of mine has told me, is going digital these days. I'm begining to think that some day we may even have digital food. I wonder if that means we'd have digital weight issues? Perhaps we could go on a digital diet? I dropped into one of my favorite places to browse today, Barnes and Noble Bookstore. Didn't find anything that made me walk to the register with it and carry it home today, but I love looking solely for the sake of looking. There is also something comfortable and inviting about being around all those shelves of books. If I didn't know myself I might start to believe that perhaps I was meant to be a librarian, and yes I know my friends have had to pause from reading this to catch their breath from laughing so hard. What I did find somewhat amusing

and a little intriguing was a 'e-book' reader that Barnes and Nobles has started taking reservations for. (Reserve Now and will be shipped to you in late November). This little jewel is called 'NOOK'. It appears to be about the size of a hard back book to me. Measurements listed are: height 7.7 inches, width 4.9 inches, depth .5 inches and weight 11.2 oz. It also has a 3.5 inch color touch screen LCD monitor that is picture perfect and clear even in bright sunlight. Per the store hype this little guy will allow you to have any book in their list of over one million books in the palm of your hand at any given time. The average price for loading their books down to this device is said to be $9.99. I must admit to being extremely intrigued by this device, although I find it sad that technology is trying to do away with yet another thing I love, which is a good old fashioned book that is in the palm of my hands. It does appear it would save room for those who want to rid their lives of clutter. The 'Nook' as sold holds up to one thousand

five hundred e-books, magazines, or newspapers. There is a memory card that can be added that will allow for seventeen thousand five hundred magazines, newspapers, or e-books. That is a lot of room if you think about how much space that would actually take up in your house. Yet at $9.99 a book times 17,500 that would also be $174825.00 before taxes too. YIKES.. I suppose we all probably spend a lot on books in our lifetimes though. There are these places I've heard of called Libraries though that one can visit, borrow the book and take it back to them and they actually store it. Hum. You technical people out there probably all ready know this, but you can also have e-books on your IPod's, mp3 players and even your IPHONE (that is for you Joe). With this being said I am not really how sure I am that this little guy will be a success, but I would actually like one. I am not going to dish out the $259.00 at this time to buy one though. If you are interested in more information on the 'Nook' you can go to http://www.nook.com/.

Which Magazine is Better?

So today as I was merchandising a lady came up to me to see if I had a copy of Life & Styles, US, OK or In Touch. She went on to tell me that her teen age daughter was at home with the flu and she wanted to get her a magazine to help pass the time. I pulled out five magazines. The four she had mentioned and of course People magazine as well and I offered them to the woman. She took four of them and pushed the People magazine back at me. You know what she said? She said People magazine wasn't appropriate for a teen age girl. Huh? Can anyone out there tell me the answer to this next question? Is People really anymore inappropriate for a teen age girl than US? How about OK? In Touch? Life & Styles? Since I merchandise I see these magazines all the time and I even read them from time to time and I can honestly say in my opinion People is often a little more dignified than the others, but I can't honestly say any of them are teen age girl worthy. Now kudos to any parent for trying to do what is wright and monitor what your children read and watch, but I just don't get this one. Do you?

The Colors of My Mind

When you're out walking and you're looking at gorgeous scenery like this one above you can't help but think of days gone by. Today as I was walking I thought of a song by Dolly Parton, "Coat of Many Colors". My grandmother Jezzie use to love that song and she gave me a 45 of it when I was quite young. I bet I played that thing until it was warped. I also thought of a conversation I had with my mom the other day at lunch about my grandmother Jezzie. It's amazing at what I remember and what my mother never knew until that conversation. My grandmother also liked the song "Abra Abra Cadabra" and "Little Pink Houses". These are not songs you would have thought someone of my grandmothers generation would have liked and my mom had no clue she did. I remember the conversation with my grandmother about these songs like it was yesterday. I am sure on some level my grandmother was just attempting to find a level playing field on which to communicate with a teenage granddaughter. My grandmother Jezzie was unique though on many levels and could quiet often surprise you. She loved wrestling. She was a woman to admire on many levels. She had married a man who all ready had more than enough children on his own. He was also sixteen years older than my grandmother and amazingly she outlived him by exactly sixteen years. My grandpa was a Baptist minister and his wife had run off and left him with children and in need of a help mate. I think she did an excellent job not only of being there for him, but for his children. I often heard my grandmother speak of how should could not have loved her step children anymore if they had been her own. She went on to have eight "surviving" children of her own with my grandpa. I say surviving because I also remember her mentioning miscarriages. Miscarriages were not uncommon for that day. Women often worked hard in the fields long into their pregnancies and sometimes right up until delivery. My grandmother never had much money and I can count the things that she gave me on one hand as I was growing up. A watch, a purse, a few records... But she didn't' need money because the many colorful moments with her are etched in my mind. Isn't that what counts in life that so many forget way too often? The memories we have and are allowed to carry with us even when someone is gone. My grandmother died in 1986, but in my mind I can still see her face and hear her voice. I still remember the smile and the hugs. Yes she was sick the last couple of years of her life and I remember those bad times and I have images I could drudge up of that time, but I prefer to bring forth the wonderful memories I have. The ones that as this beautiful scenery are now the colors of my mind and shall be forever. The fall colors are a reminder of change to come and a life winding down. In the spring the flowers and the tree buds will bring everything all new. Unlike the tree leaves though my memories will hopefully never die and shall live on.

Happy 6th Birthday Ashley!!!!

Your aunt Sheila loves you lots! Have a great birthday.

A Little Common Sense

Have you ever known someone and thought to yourself: “Damn that boy is book smart, but he doesn’t have the sense the good Lord gave a goose”? Seems to me these days particularly this statement applies quiet well in “young” management. I mean companies are hiring management personal based on their college credits and how well they did in school. I am not saying that schooling is not important or even that it isn’t a good thing, but somewhere down the line this “next” generation has not learned from anything from the school of hard nocks to go along with it. I am not sure where our society is going so wrong to tell you the truth. I could go on about how I think it’s that we are spoiling our children. I could tell you I think it’s because a lot of them haven’t been taken out behind the woodshed for things they really should have been. I could go on for hours on how it is that we are now siding with our children against teachers and schools in topics we shouldn’t. (Even though there are times I think we should side with our children against teachers.) I could say it’s that to me it seems times have gotten selfish. I mean children are only little for so long. Parents should be taking time to enjoy their children and should be devoting their time to their children while they are little. Instead I have unfortunately known several people who feel their needs to go out and do stuff or buy stuff supersede their need to spend alone time with their children. Or if these people are home with their children they are still not spending time with them but with someone else. I find that sad because I think the opportunity that they are passing up is one they will regret some day, but then again it’s not my life. Common sense is simply what I would call following your gut instinct or survival instinct. I mean common sense would tell you not to put your hand on top of a hot grill that you had just put the fire out on. It would tell a man not to comment on weight gain that his wife has. Common sense would tell management that employees who respect you will go farther for you and do things they wouldn’t normally do to help you out. It would also tell management that the smarter the people are around you and the more you take their advice the farther up the ladder you will climb. I believe if you go look up Donald Trumps latest book on success, if memory serves, it has a statement in there for him about how the people below him are smarter than him and that is what makes him so successful. The statement is something to that nature anyway. Successful people know that being stubborn and wanting your own way and thinking you are always right is pathetically wrong. I wasn’t really thinking along the paths of work though when I decided to write about common sense today though. I guess I allowed myself to get a little side tracked, but then I am good at getting side tracked. My thoughts on it were simply about my own journey and how I have been trying to apply common sense to my weight loss. Here are a few common sense things that I should have thought of a long time ago. One, if you aren’t hungry then don’t eat. I know that sounds like it is simple enough doesn’t it? Well, how many times have you eaten things simply out of boredom or because someone brought something into the office or because it was simply in front of you? I mean your mind and stomach told you it wasn’t hungry but there you sat stuffing your face anyway. This accounts for a lot of unnecessary eating. Two, if you don’t buy it or have it in your possession you can’t give into the temptation to eat it. Elementary I would say. Three, never shop when you’re hungry and always have a list with you of what you intend to buy. Get into the store buy only what is on your list and get out as quickly as possible. Four, before eating, drink an eight to sixteen ounce glass of water. People often mistake the bodies need for water as hunger. Five, ask yourself why you are about to eat whatever it is. Are you eating because it’s what you’re hungry for or is it out of comfort need? Six, one should not eat late at night. When you eat late at night your body doesn’t have time to properly digest the food and burn off excess prior to your going to bed. Seven, get an adequate amount of sleep. When your body is sleep deprived it holds onto fats and calories as an energy source. Studies have shown that people who do not get enough rest usually have weight issues. Lastly I would say the most common sense item I could say is remind yourself why you’re losing weight and ask yourself how important whatever item is that you’re about to eat. Food is a fuel source and should be seen as nothing else. That is what it comes down to. Your body needs fuel. This doesn’t mean one should never indulge in foods they enjoy. Heck I think it’s necessary to indulge every once in a while, but as I have been told over and over by doctors it all comes down to moderation. Simply put the most common sense thing to remember is simple math. To lose weight you must burn more calories than you take in on any given day. Muscle will burn more calories than fat. So if you exercise and maintain a proper diet you’ll get there. I keep reminding myself of that over and over and over. Also your body adjust to whatever you are putting it through. It’s your body’s basic survival instinct. So if one wants to continue to lose weight you must mix things up and change. If you simply walk you will lose weight for a few months, but your body will become accustomed to the lower calories and the walking and will balance out. So you must add to it or mix up and walk less then more. Throw in some strength training and weights. If you really want to get there you can. I know how hard it is to convince one’s self of this. I know how hard it is to fight every day to continue to believe it. I know that sitting on the sofa wanting it didn’t get me anywhere. I know there were no magic pills or short cuts. So I hope if you’re trying to stop smoking or lose weight or just get happy that you’ve found a few words of wisdom in my consummate babble. Either way, life in general on work or weight loss or basically anything else comes down to one thing: A little common sense.

As The Season's Change

As the seasons change so do our lives. No one, no matter how hard they try is ever the same person they were at the beginning of the year when the year winds down and comes to a close. I’d like to hope I’ve grown a little wiser and a little stronger. I would love to believe I am somehow a better person for having lived through whatever trials and tribulations the year has brought. This particular year has been a big year for me in reflecting on my life and trying to make myself better physically and emotionally. I started walking way back in the end of February or early March. Hard to recall the exact timing now although I suppose I could go back through my post and find the date and time if I tried. Lord knows I have written about my walking on more than one occasion. So far in walking and diet I have lost 93 pounds since February 2009. It feels great on one hand. I mean I have a lot more energy and I like myself better. On the other hand though it is a little frightening to believe that I have been so heavy as to have so much weight I needed to lose. To top that weight loss you really have to realize how heavy I really have been at one time. I mean 93 pounds since February is a small person in itself. I have actually lost a total of 163 pounds since November 2007. So a good size person has dropped off my body. Let us not even mention that I still want to lose a lot more. So yes my life is changing physically and if one doesn’t believe that changes you emotionally then you just can’t even begin to imagine how different my life perspective is. As I have stated it has been a year of reflection. As I walk you just never know where my mind will take me. Today it took me back to my childhood and growing up on Sandpoint Road here in Fort Wayne Indiana. It took me back to a time when my mom’s brothers and sisters gathered in a field with a horse shoe pit and my Uncles took turns throwing horse shoes. I’ve played horse shoes. I find it relaxing and would gladly play today. My uncle Monroe was always known for his abilities at playing this particular game. He’s no longer with us. That summer that went through my mind also had my uncle Roger there in memory before he actually became my uncle. I believe it was the year he and my aunt actually tied the knot but you know the memory does sometimes play tricks on a body. I remember it was late in the summer and almost fall. Life seemed so simple in those days but then again I wasn’t very old so that would probably explain that. I loved the fall when I was younger. The promise of a new school year and the changing of the leaves were both beautiful to me then. Now I really can’t stand the fall. It’s pretty but what it signifies in my mind now is that old man winter is working his way to our door. It means that the wonderful warmth of the sun will hide for months and outdoor activities that I have come to love so much will have to be tucked away and replaced with the stale and boring inside replicas of those events. One such thing is my walking. Now if you don’t know I am one of those people that have a horrendous fear of ice. No I don’t mean the kind you put in your glass to drink a beverage on, but rather the kind you walk on or drive on. OK, well I guess it is the same kind of ice, I am just not afraid of it in a glass. Yes, I would even classify it as a phobia. For anyone who has never had a phobia let me tell you there isn’t much more frightening? For me when I see or perceive ice on the ground I literally freeze in place. I also can feel my heart start to speed up and my chest start to tighten. For all its amusement I literally have to tell my legs to move to. I say a prayer before I start walking and I say a prayer before I drive. It’s a gripping fear that never leaves my mind until I get to where I no longer have to worry about walking on or driving on the ice. So for me winter brings on a new level of anxiety. With anxiety comes the need for comfort and what do over weight people most often turn to for comfort? Yep, you got it… food. Not me this year though I have my WII to work out with. I have my exercise bike and a manual treadmill. I would like an electric treadmill, but budget wise I don’t think that one is going to happen any time soon. Plus I have friends and family and I’ve gone back to reading. So yes new anxiety over a winter of blah. I just hope it’s a short winter with very little snow and ice and that warm weather will come around soon so I can get out and walk again. I mean right now I can and hopefully will be able to through November, but you just never know in this great state. I set out to make some found memories of friends and family this summer. I accomplished that. I set out to be healthier and I think I am headed in the right direction, but no matter what else happens or has happened as the seasons change so do our lives.

No Disrespect But This is a Hot Vamp!

With all the hype about "Twilight" and "True Blood" I thought I would take a moment to throw in my own two cents worth. My vote for "hottest" Vampire would have to be Mick St. John played by Alex O'Loughlin. I think he would have been great in either of the movies as Eric, Bill or even Edward. Maybe a little long in the tooth for Edward, but I would have watched it. O'Loughlin's show didn't last very long that he played St. John but it is worth a watch. I think the writers fell short of the shows true potential, but as I've often stated, since I am so shy and all, this is an actor I would watch sit on a stage and do nothing for hours at a time. OK, I curbed the way I say it just a little bit in case my aunt is reading this. LOL... of course it probably wouldn't surprise her any. I have the whole series of "Moonlight" on DVD if anyone wants to watch it. It's sure to give you a few pleasant dreams if you're looking for tall, dark and dreamy. The rest of you can have Edward and Eric and Bill.. as long as I get Mick. That is just my two cents on the subject. Check it out!