Happy Canadian ThanksGiving

Lots of turkey, family and friends this past weekend. Not enough exercise. I was just too busy getting the house clean, turkey & ham cooked and so on for this ThanksGiving. Had fresh potatoes, carrots and beets right out of my garden. Dug them right out from under 6 inches of snow, but they were well worth it. And yes I did say 6" of the white stuff. Snowed early here this year. I was driving home on the highway when it hit and it was horrible. Thick, white, heavy stuff that made visibility impossible. The joys of living out in the country and driving those highways. So back to that not enough exercise comment above. I've got to do something and do something soon. My hips hurt all the time now. Especially if I have been sitting for a long period of time. And lately, I've done too much of that. I am implementing a new technology for our company have had to travel lately to another city to show some of the business folks how to use the product. 

Since this city is only 3 hours away from my home, I've had to drive. Spending three solid hours in my truck seat causes pain. And then 5 days of sitting in training rooms, training users to use the technology doesn't help either. I have almost a fully equipped gym in my basement because I live in the country and getting to a gym isn't easy (actually convenient would be the honest truth). And obviously getting up early in the morning to use the stuff isn't so easy for me either. I'm actually looking forward to the time change so that I can just get up the same time I am now. It's all in the mind but with the clock stating an hour earlier, I will be able to get up and then head to the basement to do one of my DVD's or stomp on my treadmill. I have never dealt well with the spring clock change and manage much better in the fall. So I am going to sign off now and head downstairs and get walking. I hope you are all doing great! Have a fantastic day!

Not being Stressed

Nothing happens for ages and then it happens all at once. We have visitors coming next weekend and my girlie is returning home after nine months in New Zealand. Mass panic ensues, quick, clean everything, and God, I promised to paint Madeline's room. Did I say that? I heard someone say it and immediately thought you idiot! Because I'm still not fully recovered it has to be taken very slowly. So, a race against the clock but very, very slowly. Lots of resting in bed in between, it's the only way I can do it. Monumentally frustrating because I'd love to go tearing around like a maniac and do everything all at once. That is my nature. I have had to school myself in patience. Saw one of those e-cards on pinterest that said, Why does patience have to be a virtue? Why can't 'hurry up' be a virtue? That's me. But there are consolations. I have my little buddy here on his quilt (used to be my quilt) on the end of the bed keeping me company and trying to eat my cheese straws whenever I'm not looking and I've had the time to try out some more crochet. I'm not terribly good at it but I'm quite pleased with it so far. This also requires patience and serves to slow me right down, music on the laptop, cat on the bed, rain falling, falling (and falling some more) outside, could be a hell of a lot worse. Everything that needs to get done will get done, a lesson in not stressing I'm thinking.

Lose Weight while Breastfeeding

Soon after delivery, a large number of women become desperate to return to their pre-pregnancy shape. It is very important to them and it's a common belief that nursing helps women to lose fat gradually. However, health experts have failed to reach a consensus on this issue. In a 1980's study, researchers noted that while majority of lactating women lost weight gradually during the breastfeeding period, about 22% nursing women actually gained weight during the period. Does breastfeeding cause weight loss? Health experts in weight loss for women have observed that the extent of weight loss during breastfeeding is largely determined by the amount of weight gained by a woman during pregnancy. If you put on excess weight during pregnancy, greater than the recommended pregnancy weight, you might have a tiring time losing weight while breastfeeding. Moreover, compared to younger women, older women might find it more difficult to lose weight after pregnancy. Although, nursing your baby will not guarantee weight loss, nonetheless it cannot be ignored that breastfeeding itself is calorie-burning exercise. You might lose about 500 calories daily while nursing your baby.

Healthy weight loss while breastfeeding. Plan a realistic weight loss program to lose weight gradually while nursing. It is advisable to wait for at least 10 months before adopting weight loss diets and exercises. You should not begin weaning your baby early for the sake of returning to your pre-pregnancy shape fast. The toxins stored in the body fat are rapidly released in your bloodstream as you start losing weight at a fast pace. The high toxin content in your blood will enter the milk in your breast, increasing the toxin content in your breast milk. To prevent weight gain, simply eliminate sugary delicacies and refined carbohydrates from your diet. Nursing women need at least 1800 calories per day. Therefore, the 1200-calorie diet plan are not meant for breastfeeding moms. Healthy eating and light postpartum exercises will help you to lose weight gradually. Increase the duration and intensity of your workouts slowly. Once your baby starts weaning naturally, your calorie requirement will fall naturally. You will feel less hungry, and your body weight will fall gradually.

Claire Corbett

There are a lot of different threads and all of them are managed well and given enough space to be explored properly. There's the, somewhat stereotypical, lonely ex-cop private investigator with the career back story, ex-wife and kid he adores but hardly sees. There's a complicated tangle of Peri, her employees and their child. And woven in all of that is the research corporations, new religions, surgeons, corrupt officials, social welfare groups, police, armed forces and alternative societies that make up this city. One of the things I thought was particularly well achieved was the description of the science of creating fliers. I think writers need to go one of two ways when it comes to the science part of the fiction, either explain it fully and comprehensively or leave it totally alone. The reader is given the information through Zeke's visit to the doctor in charge of his son's impending surgery, and it is explained in detail. For me, it totally worked and seemed completely realistic and not at all impossible. But the very best part of the book is the description of flight. I really can't stress enough how real it feels, I could see everything Peri sees, feel everything she feels, I was so up with Peri soaring through the air. And I learned a lot. I had no idea air is so complicated! It is really worth picking up a copy for this reading experience alone.

When We have Wings

The dream of being able to fly is now physical reality, but only the rich and powerful can afford the surgery, drugs and gene manipulation to become fliers. Peri, a poor girl from the regions, will sacrifice anything to get her wings and join this elite, but the price is higher than she could have imagined. So why then does she throw it all away? Feel the exhilaration and terror of flight - over vertiginous skyscrapers, into wild storms and across hypnotic wilderness, in this beautiful and daringly imaginative novel that explores the limits of self-transformation. When We Have Wings is told in alternating narrative voices, of Peri Almond a poor girl gifted wings by her wealthy employees, and the aptly named Zeke Fowler a high profile private investigator who will never be a flier. The first two chapters contain quite large information dumps which was a lot to hold onto as I was introduced to the two points of view and this dystopia-type future world. Although after this, Claire Corbett devotes time to telling the tale and world building, which is fantastic and really adds to a sense of being immersed in the story.

It's a bit hard to pick the genre, like a lot of speculative fiction it's got a bit of everything. It has a kind of crime / mystery / thriller format but it has a science fiction / fantasy element. And there's a tiny bit of almost zombie type stuff in that the messing around with genetics can lead to horrific, unintended consequences. So it's hard to categorise but I really enjoyed the blending of the genres. It tackles some controversial issues such as the ethics behind genetically modifying humans, and what it might mean for society if different species of humans were created. It also tackles surrogacy and many of the complications around it including the use / abuse of poor and disadvantaged women who are desperate for economic freedom, and what a surrogate mother's rights might be to the baby she carries. Even though it tackles issues like this, it really leans more towards the crime / thriller / mystery angle so perhaps it's not particularly literary in the most traditional sense, but it does have depth and it's a brilliant and original story that is perfectly realised. To be continued...

In Love with Sepia

My husband, one of the most unromantic man in the world (doesn't do birthdays, doesn't do anniversaries) bought me flowers right after Father's Day. I'd told him what a great Dad he'd been till now. To be a great Dad it helps if there is a great wife and mother is what he said as he handed me the flowers. Not bad for an unromantic guy! Beautiful alstromeirias. He won't remember but I had these in my wedding bouquet all those many years ago. Still playing around with my camera settings, it has a retro setting which I was a bit sniffy about until I tried it. I'm totally converted now. Another setting for Sepia. Normally I'd disdain using this kind of thing in-camera, that's what we've got Photoshop for after all. But I do so like this shade of brown. Couldn't resist photographing the beautiful paper the flowers came in, um, don't remember what this setting was. Maybe I might be in love with sepia after all. I mean, how cool is that? I have somewhere some pictures from an old book on flowers that look just like this but i can't find them. Will see if I can dig them out to show you. Till the next time.