Where I’m confused trying to find a healthy diet

I’m still trying to figure out what’s a healthy, good diet to follow. It seems I’m not alone. Luther M. Siler was pretty honest in his own struggle with weight (which absolutely made me worry about him and, Luther, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re doing better) and the ever-growing visitors to my post on the pros and cons of a plant-based diet made me think there are more of us out there trying to figure out what’s a healthy diet.

Finding an answer seems as easy as finding ears on a snake.

Check out this post: http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct/inuit-paradox or, if you’re busy, let me summarize. The Inuit of Canada, who survive on basically meat and fat, are incredibly healthy. And they only eat meat and fat.

So what’s a healthy diet? This article by lifehacker tries to explain why it’s just so difficult to find an answer. It seems every type of diet out there promises health, more energy and better sense of wellbeing. They also warn of dire consequences if you ignore their direction. Finding a solution that works seems an exercise in frustration.

So, what will I do? So far, I’m still hesitant to leave my veggies for good. They’ve sort of become my friends. But I’m going to try and start eating some animal protein and see what happens. If I see any amazing results or clear conclusions, I promise to let you know…but don’t hold your breath.

If you have any ideas or thoughts, send them this way!

The Best of 2016

My top 5 posts for 2016 according to you aren’t all from this year. There are some that are from previous years but refuse to fade away.

5. If we were having coffee… Where I ramble about my hubby and his friend making a dog house for our pooches.

4. Sneak Review: The Girl on The Train. Readers couldn’t get enough of this book review.

3. The Lipstick Fiasco. An oldie and a true story that seems to hit the right notes with readers.

2. 5 Worst Things you can do if your Wi-fi is running slow. This was a true story again and one that readers can’t get enough of.

1. The Importance of Tags: for Bloggers. This one has been in the top 5 for several years running and is still there for good reason.

 

But those are only my little top posts, what about others?

(credit: SL Blogger Support)

This is the best bloggers blogging in 2016 according to Island Editions.

Even more for those bloggers out there, ProBlogger has their top 2016 posts on how to find readers and on writing awesome content in their excellent blog.

These are the top books to read from 2016 according to Crystin Goodwind, author and blogger extraordinaire.

These are the top 10 books of 2016 according to Luther M. Siler, another author and blogger extraordinaire.

Finally, one of my favourite sites, All About Romance, chose their top books for 2016 in this post.

Here’s hoping 2016 was an awesome year for you! 😀

Of coffee and weather woes

We’re getting freezing rain. For those of you who are happily unaware of what freezing rain is, let me explain. It’s sucky. That’s what it is.

It’s basically water falling as rain but solidifying into solid ice as soon as it touches anything solid. Everything ends up covered by a sheet of ice. Trees, walkways, roofs, roads…everything.

(credit:SevereWeatherWiki – Wikispaces)

For freezing rain to happen, there has to be a delicate combination of a warm air mass, followed by a colder layer mass to almost freeze it and just the right temperature in the air. The temperature is crucial, if it’s not right, it will melt. Here, in Canada, the temperature is often right.

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Now, if you’re from the part of our lovely planet that’s warm, you might wonder why we Canadians moan about our weather over and over. I mean, how bad can it be?

Let’s just say that it’s a good thing we’re used to it. Canadian winters are…special. Along with freezing rain, we get lovely things like black ice, really cold temperatures, frostbite and blizzards.

My dogs, however, love winter. The colder it gets, the better they like it.

But we Canadians love to moan about the weather. Doing so creates a bond as we curse and grumble at the snow…usually over a cup of coffee. We even throw in some humour to lighten the dark days. Check out Infinitefreetime‘s version of Black Ice and you’ll see what I mean.

Sniffle, sniffle

I’m sick. I sound like a cross between a frog and a duck. And I don’t really breathe, I sniff air into my lungs. Ironically, I don’t feel that badly. My head hurts and I feel a little lightheaded but I don’t feel bad. Still, it’s pretty apparent that I look sick because my co-workers treat me like I have some sort of plague.

Now, I might have mentioned I work with the public…the young public. And sniff as I might, they are completely and innocently oblivious to my illness. Instead, they are even more demanding and loud than usual.

I can’t complain. There are people at work with vertigo issues that keeps them falling over and they can’t drive, there are those who are sick all the time, and there are those who struggle with sickness much more debilitating than a sniffle.

Still, you should have heard me trying to speak to my parents yesterday. Between my accent, the plugged nose, the fact that we weren’t speaking in English and my sneezes, I have no idea what I sounded like.

Sniff!

 

 

Summertime Madness Book Tag

Alas…It already looks like summer is leaving us here in good old Canada. Today, it’s grey, damp and rainy. I won’t complain because we’ve had a lovely summer even if it only lasts two months here. Plus, I got tagged by Melissa Barker-Simpson for this lovely Summertime Book Tag and I can’t wait to share in. (thank you for thinking of me Melissa!)

Here are the questions (and none of them are crazy exam-like questions):

• Show a book with a summery cover.

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And yes, I read this one and absolutely loved, loved it. Mary Balogh is amazing.

• Pick one fictional place that would be the perfect destination for a summer vacation!

I would love to visit England for the summer. I’ve been and it’s just beautiful, full of incredible culture and wonderful people. True, my hubby is British, so I’m a little biased. If I had to choose another destination, I’d love to see the East Coast of Canada. Halifax and Nova Scotia. They’re gorgeous places and I’ve never been.

• You’re about to go on a flight to your summer vacation. But you want to read a book that lasts for the whole flight, what novella do you choose?

Depends how long the flight is. If we’re talking only a couple of hours, then I’d reread a book. Right now I’m rereading the Archangel series by Nalini Singh. It’s one of those I keep reading over and over.

If the flight was transatlantic, about 6 or 8 hours, then I’d choose a new book. I’d like to take something I haven’t read yet. Right now I’m reading a Chaos novel by Kristen Ashley. It’s nice and thick, she’s a reliable author and I’d love to have a few hours to just read and read.

On a very long  flight, I’d love to take something out of genre that I would read. I like to read Jodi Picoult…Its not my usual thing but I like the way she writes. Or something completely different for me. Just take a chance and test something off the shelf. You never know what you’ll find!

Okay…one thing is obvious, I sure can ramble! Time to shorten these answers!

• You have a case of summertime sadness what happy book do you pick up to shine a smile on your face?

Anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I just finished one by her and she’s outstanding. Though, for honesty’s sake, I’d have to add that reading anything romance cheers me up.

• You’re sitting at the beach all alone…which fictional character would be your beach babe?

Ah….beach babe?…….Ah…….ahem….let’s see….ah….

• To match your ice cream you want an icy cool sidekick! Which fictional side kick do you pick?

Ah…side kick? I thought these questions were going to be easy!….ah….I’m going to choose my doggies…and thank Callum for the idea!

• Share the Summertime Happiness! Who do you TAG?

Oh…here we are! The end! Hm…who do I tag…hee hee…the power…hee hee. I choose….Infinitefreetime, aka Luther M. Siler. Ha!

 

Those awesome posts!

Another rush of those amazing posts came my way and I couldn’t resist but to collect a few of them and line them up for you. See if you like them. My hope is you find a couple useful or at least interesting.

I haven’t kept my writer’s block a secret from anyone. If you have this, you know how painful it can be. This post is from Nathan Bransford on the subject. He has his own version of a break through. If Nathan Bransford doesn’t do it, here is the latest help on that subject from The Write Practice, by Marcy McKay. Finally, Tiny Buddha has this great post on how to keep dreaming when others have discouraged you.

Free right now, in Amazon, this book is a great help to Write better. Check it out and get it…free! And a HUGE thanks to Winter Bayne for this tip!

We had a ton of announcements this week. Here’s Rose B. Fisher’s, an update from Natacha Guyot, Sourcerer has this one for self-promotion, here’s Infinitefreetime’s, Amos M. Carpenter had a big announcement here, Brittney Sahin has hers here, Chris McMullen has found a ton of awesome Math Blogs here and Ronovan made some changes here.

Looking for a way to improve your stats? Here’s a great post from The Positive Writer with 7 Great Blogging Tips.

If you need a laugh, check out this post from Elfkat I found thanks to Chris the Story Reading Ape.

And, finally, a little something to make you smile,

(credit: amazon.com)

Posts I loved this week

Truly genius, this week’s posts are classy and informative. Is it me or do they keep getting better?

A fantastic idea that started at Considerings passed on via Gene’O, I loved everything from the idea to the posts on it. I really hope we get those 1000 blogs and start something. Compassion is a beautiful goal. A huge thank you to Gene’O for including me.

Getting an editor is a personal choice. David J. Delaney talks about his in this fantastic post.

This one is a great post for creating a balanced character, not 100% evil or 100% good rather a realistic mix. Check out all the tips and how-to’s at Writers Helping Writers.

I don’t spend that much time on Twitter but this post on annoying Tweets made me laugh. If you’re looking for a chuckle or spend time with that famous Blue Bird, check it out on Writer Unboxed.

A huge, HUGE congrats to Luther M. Siler who’s now in print!  Skylights is available right here and it’s in print for your reading pleasure. And yet another congrats for the completion of The Benevolence Archives: The Sanctum of the Sphere! Awesome week!

If you’re a writer, Write To Done has their top 10 Blogs for Writers 2015 out. They have strict guidelines for their selection, links and brief descriptions with pros for each, so I was in heaven.

This one was just a lovely, lovely post to read. I read it early in the morning before heading to work and it sent me off with a goofy grin on my face. There’s something really special about Part Time Monster‘s writing. I’ve noticed it before and this post has it right in spades. The writing is honest, fresh, refreshing and has a thread of vulnerability that grabs me every time.

It’s funny. I cringe when I see someone get hurt in a movie but, if they hurt an animal, I have to walk out and, if it’s a dog, I walk out crying. Stories like this need to be passed and shared. No animal should suffer at our hands. A big, huge thanks to Izzy for that supportive post. Keep up the great work!

I’ve ranted about Scrivener before. Check out 3 features that make it ideal for a First Draft  from the Spring Shack and see even more reasons for loving that program.

Finally, cute and lovely, this post both cheered me up and made me smile. I loved everything from the pictures to the concept because it’s so true. Thank you for that gem, Margarita Morris!

 

Posts I loved this week

10 Amazing Pictures of Libraries was a post that I adored. Not only was it a countdown (something I love) but it had great pictures and they were of books! The only thing better would be to be there in person. A huge thanks to Interesting Literature for that wonderful post!

All About Romance, one of my favourite book sites, picked the top books of 2014 and they’re not to be missed. Here is the post if you’re looking for the best of last year in romance. And if you’re looking forward, here’s their post on Eagerly Awaited January books.

The annual report from WordPress for this humble blog. I loved all the stats and numbers.

Another countdown of romance books comes from Book Chick With Kick and it counts down the best 20 from 2014. If you’re like me and can’t get enough great books, check it out. She’s also included the cover, links and summaries to help you find another great read!

Margarita Morris shared what she read in 2014 and I loved it. One because I love hearing what someone likes to read and also because it gives me ideas for books. Yeey!

Need to waste some time? Check out this site with free Jigsaw puzzles that you can do on your computer. For free!

I love annual reports and none is more thorough than Sourcerer’s. It describes how the year went, then analyzes it with graphs and goals for the upcoming year. And while you’re there, check out this new announcement and this one and this one from Sourcerer! My favourite authors and bloggers are all in Sourcerer! This is going to be sooo good!

A fantastic take on those tough reviews, this post by D. Emery Bunn made me admire him even more. What an absolutely awesome point of view!

If you, like me, love coffee, reading and meeting new bloggers don’t miss this great share link-up from Part Time Monster. Good times coming our way!

Check out this book review by Infinitefreetime and see exactly why reading this blog is an obsession for me. When I write a review, I think about the book and that’s it. Infinitefreetime manages to bring his quirky humour into it and turn the review into a story I can’t stop reading.

And finally, here’s hoping 2015 makes your dreams writing or reading or blogging come true!

In which I give #WordPress advice

Absolutely so true! Great post, Luther! Let’s hope WordPress listens!

Welcome to infinitefreetime dot com

(Note: I typed this in the old editor, too.)

Dear WordPress:

Let’s talk about your new stats screen for a bit.  I put up a one-sentence post a few hours ago to confirm that other people feel the same way I do, and it’s amassed eighteen comments and twenty likes in that time, so I’m pretty sure I’m not on my own here.  I’ve been actively blogging on your site for about a year and a half, although I’ve had the account for several years longer than that, and I spend a lot of time obsessing about my stats.  An unhealthy amount of time, in fact.

You recently changed your stats page, and by a number of indications you seem to be interested in user feedback on it.  However, using your feedback form really didn’t give me a chance to explain what I actually dislike about it.  It could be…

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Posts I loved this week

From exciting new announcements to awesome roundups, this week has everything! If you’re off, have a happy, restful holiday and if you’re around, we’ll be chatting soon! Thanks to everyone for creating awesome posts that enable me to write this one!

The top 11 posts from Infinitefreetime. Here’s the top 11 reasons why this blog has exploded onto the web.

Check out the new look for Sourcerer! Isn’t it awesome? Easy to navigate, accessible, neat and still has that awesome header. I love it! Plus, it has exciting new changes!!

If you’re considering querying agents, this post is for you. From Writers in the Storm, a nifty check list to help you prep that all-important letter.

If you’re into photography, That Montreal Girl is a great blog for you. Check out this beautiful shot in black and white.

For those indie authors considering putting their books on print, Musings and Marvels has some options for you that won’t break the bank.

New, exciting and upcoming, these books are getting released in the next few months. Book Chick with Kick has them organized by month with links and covers. A huge thank you to her for getting them all organized like that and sharing them with us!

A huge congratulations to David C. Cassidy, fantastic author, blogger and photographer to name a few, for his new release The Dark. So exciting and now available here.

Amos M. Carpenter hit it right on the head with this post about the holiday season. So true!

Finally, OMG! I’m so excited about this one. Melissa Barker-Simpson’s new announcement had me doing a little happy dance! How awesome is that!

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P.S. Did you find any awesome posts that I missed? Let me know!