Frances Ellen Speaks!

Archive for January, 2012

1. Stealing the Dragon by Tim Maleeny (suspense intrigue thriller)
2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (sort of a historical memoir)
3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (historical romantic time travel) My favorites in this series were the first and the second, Dragonfly in Amber
4. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire) by George R.R. Martin (fantasy) This entire series is not to be missed.
5. The Other Bolelyn Girl by Philippa Gregory Don’t think history, think a really fine read.
6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer Now if you DO like a little (history) mixed in with your (humor), try this book on for size. The entire book is written in letters. Sounds boring doesn’t it? Trust me, it’s not.
7. If you love Renoir, then you will love Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland. (fictionalized biography) It’s not a book about his entire life, but instead covers the period during which he was painting the luncheon masterpiece, one of his most recognizable  works.
8. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (thriller) You’ve never known a character like Lisbeth Salander.
9. Bloodsworn: Bound by Magic by Kathy Lane (fantasy romance suspense) What more can I say?
10. If you’ve never read a Janet Evanovich book, run to the nearest bookstore or tiptoe to Amazon.com and start off with One for the Money If you like human, colorful, (laugh out loud) characters, you’ll love her books. Easy reading, don’t be expecting Pride and Prejudice. These are just fun books in a series.

The most popular New Year’s Resolution year after year? Try to lose weight.

Here’s the newest suggestion that has come down the pike for the year 2012 and I’m going to give it a whirl since it has to do with carbohydrates. And I love my carbs.

Eat your three meals, as usual, but don’t eat any carbohydrates with your dinner. That means you can eat a sandwich for lunch with actual bread and you can have a slice of toast for breakfast with an egg or two.

At dinner, fill up on proteins and veggies. If you start with a salad or a vegetable beef soup, for instance, you will feel quite full without potatoes, etc. with your main meal.

For your sweet tooth, later in the evening, raid the freezer and munch on a sugarless fudgesicle.

If it’s salt you crave, crank up the microwave and pop a single serving of popcorn. I know technically that’s considered a carbohydrate, but what harm can an itty-bit of popcorn do if it assuages your hunger?

Of course, one of the other ways to lose weight that’s being touted loudly these days is to eat five or six small meals throughout the day. Maybe that works for some people, but personally, that means I’d have to think about food all day long. To tell you the truth, I get busy and forget to eat all those tiny meals, so that doesn’t work for me.

The bottom line–there’s no panacea. It’s still about eating less and exercising more, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try new ways of taking off the weight.