Hard to believe. I’ve been very busy with my usual pursuits: Work (busy as ever!)

Travel (a family trip to Montreal)
Secrettes rehearsals (it’s our EP release this Friday! Everyone’s invited!)
I’ve also been keeping up with training, and working on some freelance writing for a new client. Don’t I have great excuses?

Coming up soon, two book reviews:

Outside the Lines, by Amy Hatvany

Deadlocked (Book 12 of the Sookie Stackhouse series) by Charlaine Harris

And just for fun, here’s Jon Hamm in Ask a Grown Man:

Stage two was a lot shorter than stage one, but the workouts were longer and tougher. I started stage two on Monday, April 2 and finished on Wednesday, April 18, performing three workouts per week.

Stage two (every paragraph so far begins with “stage two”) consists of two different workouts: (A) and (B), that are alternated for a total of eight workouts. There are no special workouts at the end of this stage, but like stage one, it is recommended that you take a complete week off from training to help your muscles repair and rebuild. To be honest I was more than ready (and happy) to take a break after this stage!

I didn’t like this stage as much as stage one, for a couple of reasons. First, every workout has dreaded lunges (workout B has two different kinds of lunges!). Like most people I know, I don’t like lunges. I especially don’t like Bulgarian Split Squats, which is basically a lunge where you put your back foot up on a weight bench and carry a super heavy weight plate whilst lunging. But enough complaining. I know they are effective and I will continue to lunge all the live long day.

The only other reason I’m not singing praises of joy for stage two is that workout B has 15 minutes of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) at the end. Normally I don’t mind (and even like) HIIT, but I’m going though a bit of a rough patch with my Piriformis muscle and it’s not the most comfortable activity. More on that in another post.

Here are my stage two results:

And here are my charts:

As you can see, I didn’t go up in strength as much as I did during stage one, but I did feel like I was making improvements from workout to workout, which is the important thing.

I won’t be sharing my stage three results for a while, because I’m taking a break from The New Rules of Lifting for Women.

Why?

I’ve signed up for 12 sessions of personal training at my gym!

I had a fitness assessment and it appears that my body structure is whack (for the lack of a better word), and some of the muscles in my glutes and core aren’t firing the way they are supposed to, which may be the cause of my Piriformis pain. At this point, I will do WHATEVER it takes to cure this problem, so I signed up to re-train my brain and muscles to work the way they are supposed to. I have three sessions a week for the first two weeks, two sessions a week for the next two weeks, and then the last two sessions are combined into a personal training plan that I’ll follow for the four weeks after that.

I had my first session yesterday morning before work. I’m pumped, pun intended!

This year I’m attending three weddings and I’m a bridesmaid in two of those weddings. I’ve only been a bridesmaid once before, so it’s very exciting. I’m pumped!

The first wedding is this coming Saturday, here in Toronto. My second wedding is in June in Ottawa, and the third and final wedding is this September, also in Toronto. Well-spaced out, don’t you think?

Bridesmaid Beauties, Photo Credit: Ashlie

This past Sunday was my beautiful sister-in-law’s “M”s bridal shower. It was so much fun; four hours zipped by and felt like one!

The bride-to-be (middle) wore her mother’s (my MIL) wedding dress from the 70s and had it retooled to look more modern. Such a great idea. I spent a small fortune having my wedding dress cleaned and preserved, so I hope that one day I’ll a) get to wear it again (it would work for a fancy event) or b) my not-yet-in-existence daughter will wear it.

I stole this photo from Facebook. But look! Candy!!!

The theme of the day was candy and there was definitely no shortage of it! The Maid of Honour went all out filling glass jars with colourful bulk candies.

We ate food, played games and opened gifts. Some people think watching someone open housewares is boring, but I find it fascinating (as long as it doesn’t last *too* long). It’s interesting to me what people choose to register for, and how they decorate their homes. Let’s analyze each other!

Writing this post has got me thinking about my own wedding, which wasn’t too long ago (last October). It was the most perfect day. And I know all brides think their wedding was the best, but … mine really was. We just got our professional photos in, so I’ll post some soon.

These captions really crack me up. And anthropomorphism is always usually hilarious, so I thought I would share the pictures with you.

None of you know this (yet), but I am a BzzAgent, which means that companies often give me samples of new or existing products to try and report back on. I am not paid for sharing my opinions on these products, but I do receive the samples for free. I am not trying to sell anything, and any opinion I share is my own and completely honest. /End disclaimer. (HTML jokes = nerdy!)

This month I had the opportunity to try some new products from Burt’s Bees, a fairly well-known company in the natural beauty-care world. They have a new skin-care line for sensitive skin, called Burt’s Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin. For some reason I keep typing “Burt’s Beers.” I tried to find a picture of Burt (from Sesame Street) drinking beer, but there isn’t one. Moving on…

BzzAgent sent me one full-size container of Burt’s Bees Sensitive Facial Cleaner and one full-size container of Burt’s Bees Sensitive Daily Moisturizer, along with several samples of the Daily Moisturizer to pass along to friends, family, strangers, whoever…

Here’s the Bzz:
Burt’s Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin is a new line of natural skin products distinctly formulated to cleanse and moisturize your vulnerable skin without causing redness or irritation. This line contains 99% natural ingredients, including Cotton Extract (moisturizes, increases softness, support’s skin’s barrier function, evens out skin tone), Rice Extract (supports cellular turnover), Aloe (soothes skin), Eyebright (contains tannins, which are thought to decrease inflammation), and White Genepi (known for anti-inflammatory properties).

The Burt’s Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin line:

• Is naturally gentle and skin-friendly for daily use.
• Contains Cotton Extract to soften and shield from potential irritants such as harsh soaps or cleaners.
• Is Fragrance-Free and Hypo-Allergenic.
• Is Dermatologist-Tested and Allergy-Tested.
• Can be found at Shopper’s Drug Mart and Walmart nationwide.
• Is 99% natural.

The line includes:

Sensitive Facial Cleanser
Sensitive Daily Moisturizer
Sensitive Eye Cream
Sensitive Night Cream

Ah, so many products. It’s tough being a woman and/or a metrosexual man.

My review:
I found the Facial Cleanser to be the least irritating face wash I’ve ever tried. It’s so creamy and soft, and it smells good too. I’m so used to using products with harsh scrubbing beads and exfoliating crystals that this was a nice change. It left my skin feeling smooth and dreamy. I do aspire to use products with mostly natural ingredients, although I usually let convenience win.

The Daily Moisturizer was also impressive. My skin felt soft and well-moisturized all day, and this is pretty impressive because the weather here is constantly changing. It also improved my skin tone. This may sound weird, but I felt like the Cotton Extract made my skin appear whiter than it already is (in a natural way, not a white sunscreen kind of way), if that’s even possible. Speaking of sunscreen, this moisturizer didn’t have an SPF, and for that reason I would never buy this product, which is unfortunate for Burt’s Bees. Sorry Burt, I don’t want to look like a catcher’s mitt when I’m 50.

Here’s what some of my family, friends and colleagues had to say about the moisturizing lotion:

loved how light weight it was. Seemed to be effective in combating dry skin throughout the day. Did it protect against SPF? That’s a must. Had a not too pleasant smell; almost antiseptic smelling.

It left my skin feeling firm!

My hands stayed soft for longer

Great moisturizer. Loved the smell.

This moisturizer was quick to absorb. I’d buy it!

I love that Burt’s Bees products are all natural, and finally there is something for my skin, which is VERY sensitive. I can’t wait to try the rest of the line.

Thanks friends!

So, would you try this product? Why or why not?

Don’t click away just yet. Lots of YA books have crossed over to the adult market! Just think of The Hunger Games trilogy or the Twilight series… ack, even I think Twilight is click-away material! What about Harry Potter? Ta-da… only a monster wouldn’t love Harry Potter. (You know who you are.)

Over the past few weeks I read The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part I and The Secret Circle: The Captive Part II and The Power, by L.J. Smith. Originally published in 1992 as three separate books, these books were repackaged in 2008 as two books.

“Snazzy*” covers! (I’ve only seen the first cover, as I read both books on my e-reader and that manly face above was just a black screen on my library copy.)

I decided to read these books when I was browsing the Internet, and discovered that two of my favourite television shows (The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle – both for teens, and yet so appealing to adult women) were based on books written by the same author. Who is this magical author and how did both of her stories get picked up by the CW?

I am not going to answer these questions. But here’s an interesting juicy tidbit of gossip: L.J. Smith only wrote The Vampire Diaries series up to Midnight, and did not write any of The Stefan Diaries (a spinoff series). Alloy Entertainment (who owns half the copyright) has hired an anonymous ghostwriter to keep writing the series.  Who would be satisfied being an anonymous ghostwriter**?

Back to the books! They are about a girl, Cassie, who moves to New Salem with her mother from California, only to discover that she is part of a coven of witches that date back to the original witches of Salem.

Here are the Amazon book descriptions for both books:

The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part I:
The circle’s power has lured her home.

Forced to move from sunny California to gloomy New England, Cassie longs for her old life. Even so, she feels a strange kinship to a terrifying group of teens who seem to rule her school. Initiated into the coven of witches that’s controlled New Salem for hundreds of years, she’s drawn into the Secret Circle, a thrill that’s both intoxicating and deadly. But when she falls for the mysterious and intriguing Adam, Cassie must choose whether to resist temptation or risk dark forces to get what she wants—even if it means that one wrong move could ultimately destroy her.

The Secret Circle: The Captive Part II and The Power:
Cassie has joined the most alluring—and deadly—in-crowd imaginable. But power comes with a price, and it’s more dangerous than she knows. Torn between the dueling desires of the two leaders of the Secret Circle, she must ultimately choose between saving all of New Salem, and her own dangerous love for the bewitching Adam, which threatens to tear the circle apart. In the ultimate battle between good and evil, will Cassie’s supernatural powers be strong enough to lead the coven out of danger? Or will she foil prey to the dark forces within?

. . . will she sacrifice her love for the circle to survive?

For the most part, I enjoyed reading these books. Cassie is a relatable character and she’s easy to root for from start to finish. She has a bit of trouble standing up for herself at first, but it’s predictable behaviour for any new kid at school.

At the beginning of the books, there are quite a few student deaths at the school. It’s clear this is a serious subject but in the plot it’s not really treated as such. Most of the members of the circle know what’s behind these deaths but brush them off after the funerals, turning their attention to more important subjects, like the school Halloween dance. And one of the girls who is killed is the little sister of two members of the circle! The plot focuses more on finding a way to stop more people from being killed, which is obviously necessary to move things along, but it’s a little unrealistic.

There is a love triangle between Cassie, Adam and his girlfriend Diana, who has taken Cassie under her wing. I wish that Cassie and Adam’s relationship had more time to develop. It seems like they had a connection, did some illicit kissing and then immediately decided their love was forbidden. I also found some of the wording on the subject of love to be quite cheesy.

The most interesting parts of these books focused on history: the history of the Salem witches and the history of the families in the circle. Some of the circle member’s parents are alive and some were killed in a freak hurricane in 1976. Some of the circle members also had “crones” (Grandmothers) in their families, which provided some insight into the family trees as well as some comic relief.

These books were interesting enough. There was one mention of a beeper which really dated them and amused me to no end. I’m not sure why the publisher wouldn’t correct this in the 2008 printing! I would recommend these books as easy reads for teens or really easy reads for adult women who find teen dramas entertaining. For that, I am giving these books four smileys out of five potential big smileys .

Books: The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part I and The Secret Circle: The Captive Part II and The Power

Review: _

*By the way, if I write “snazzy” in quotes like this, does it make it cool, or is it just plain nerdy with or without the quotes?

**While typing this I realized that I have done some anonymous ghostwriting in the past. Now I understand. The things we do for money!

I finished stage one of The New Rules of Lifting for Women! Here’s my introductory post on the subject in case you missed it.

I started stage one on Monday, February 13 and finished on Monday, March 19, performing three workouts per week: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

When I first told my family and friends that I was beginning this program, I received mixed opinions. Most people were impressed and supportive, but I had a few people warn me about the dangers that may befall women who take up this masculine pastime: not appearing feminine, looking like a man, taking it too far, etc. To this, I have to say, OH MY GOD. If you think this, please step out of the 80s and into the now.

Stage one of The New Rules of Lifting for Women consists of two different workouts: (A) and (B), that are alternated for a total of 16 workouts, with two “special” workouts at the end. I completed my special workouts on March 21 and March 23, and the week after was a complete break from lifting (the book suggests taking a week off between stages to help your muscles repair and build).

Without further ado, here are my results:

In general I am very happy with these results. For the record they may not be totally accurate as I take my own measurements, but they are as close to accurate as I am going to get.

And here are my charts for Workout A and Workout B:

The list below details how I improved my strength:

SQUAT
Starting weight: 30 lbs
Finishing weight: 75 lbs
Note: I also figured out how to use the squat machine, which has a nice padded thing that velcros on to the bar to protect your neck.

SEATED ROW
Starting weight: 50 lbs
Finishing weight: 110 lbs

STEP-UP
Starting weight: 20 lbs (10 lbs per hand)
Finishing weight: 50 lbs (25 lbs per hand)

DEADLIFT
Starting weight: 30 lbs
Finishing weight: 75 lbs

DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESS
Starting weight: 10 lbs (per hand)
Finishing weight: 20 lbs (per hand)

WIDE-GRIP LAT PULLDOWN
Starting weight: 40 lbs
Finishing weight: 70 lbs

LUNGE
Starting weight: 10 lbs (per hand)
Finishing weight: 22.5 lbs (per hand)

For the Special Workouts, you take the weight you started with and instead of doing a specific number of reps, you do as many as you can. These workouts show you how much you’ve improved over the past 16 workouts.

Here are the results from my Special Workouts:

Impressive, non? To be honest I felt a little silly doing rep after rep during these special workouts. But they served a purpose, and that purpose is making me feel good about myself.

I wouldn’t say that weight training is my new favourite activity or anything, but I do like it a lot. I especially like looking fit and feeling strong. I wish I would have done this YEARS ago!

I find lifting (if you are giving it your all) to be harder than cardio, and definitely more intense. After a set of lunges or step-ups, my heart is RACING.

Stage Two started on Monday. This stage is a lot shorter: it’s two different workouts, alternated for a total of eight workouts. Some of the exercises in this stage have really bizarre names, such as the “Cable Horizontal Wood-Chop” and the “Dumbbell Prone Cuban Snatch.”

Wish me luck!

I read On the Road for one of my (three) book clubs. This club met last Sunday afternoon in AMC Theatre lobby at Yonge and Dundas square. We decided to head up to Milestones to talk about the book and imbibe in some beverages whilst waiting for our movie of choice (The Vow, don’t judge) to begin.

Of the three girls in the club, I was the only one who finished the book. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. I had to download it twice from the library (EPUBs disappear from your reader after three weeks), and in the week before our club met, I forced myself to read it while walking around (and around) the block during my lunch hour.

Reading this book was painful. I wouldn’t say I disliked absolutely everything about it. Mostly everything would be more accurate. First, this style of writing — rambling, I guess you could call it — really bothers me. Call me a square, but cohesive, structured sentences just make reading more enjoyable. Next, I felt like too much time was spent on certain moments in time, and not enough attention was paid to others. For example, I don’t need a thousand words describing every toot-y sound a jazz musician is making. Just say you were there enjoying the music, and get on with it.

Moving on, and this deserves it’s own essay, On the Road is incredibly misogynistic. This was one of the topics brought up in my book club. The women in the book don’t have any character depth, and the feelings and opinions of most of these women are not taken seriously and flippantly brushed aside. The men in the book are supposed to be liberal-minded, but they treat women as nothing more than opinion-less housewives who don’t have a place outside of the home.

Most teenagers who read this book are so wrapped up in the “cool”ness of the Beat Generation, that they don’t see this book for what it is. Is it cool to a) be an alcoholic b) live a polygamous lifestyle c) constantly pack up without warning and leave your wife and children, to aimlessly wander the country d) steal from other hardworking people e) be a dead-beat dad?

Those questions are all rhetorical, by the way.

This book is on many influential must-read lists, but the writing style is such a huge turn-off. For that, I am giving it one neutral face our of five potential big smileys .

Book: On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Review: _ _ _ _

Here’s me as Mona Lisa.

I’m quite Dumbledore-esque in this one.

This is just brutal. Why is my female companion so calm?

The best pictures are my husband as a baby. I almost died laughing at these! Imagine that’s how our future sons popped out… looking like weird little old European men. Anything is possible! I think it’s the adult nose on the baby face. And the funny collared outfit.

I feel like there’s a story here. In the first picture, he’s just a happy little baby. In the second picture, he sees his reflection for the first time, shocked. In the third picture, he recoils, horrified.

Joanna, in response to this post, writes: This is, as usual, a very interesting ltlite blog. There is no doubt in my mind that a ltlite collection of your writings, bound into an attractive bedside book would do more than chicken noodle soup to restore great health and good spirits. (Think of all those chicken noodle soup books of Jack Cansfield.) Try it.

Thank you Joanna; I have to agree with you. Is there a publisher out there who thinks my eight posts (nine if you include this one) would make an attractive bedside book? I didn’t think I was at that stage yet, but I’m ready if you are!

Natocar, in response to this post, writes: My acdvie for a best man speech: (1) Write some bullet point notes. (2) Keep it under a minute unless your a professional speaker. (3) Make a joke yet keep it clean. Grandma does not want to hear about the threesome you and the best man had with Sally on spring break.

Thank you Natocar. I’m not sure what this has to do with anything, but it’s good advice nonetheless. Best men – listen up! Grandma does not want to hear about your sex life!

Jean, in response to this post, writes: I relaly relaly love Princess Catherine’s style. It’s like she doesn’t even try. I like that about her. I also like the cut of Giada’s dress as well.

Thank you for your comment Jean. However, Princess Catherine did not attend the Oscars so I don’t believe you even watched. Liar!

Tallula, in response to this post, writes: Nice interview. I saw you at WordCamp Dallas. That’s awseome that you’re speaking and doing so much cool stuff online. Keep it up dude.

Thanks “dude,” but you must be thinking of someone else.

Radhesh, in response to this post, writes: Here Here!!! Nothing irks me more than being made to feel as though I am lazy for not cbnnrioutitg. And at the same time nothing makes me prouder than my Military husband coming home to a clean home, somewhat happy children and a cooked meal. I chose this life, and I love it….Great post !!

Good for you Radhesh; there is nothing wrong with being a housewife and if your kids are “somewhat happy,” that’s good enough for me.

Kaique, in response to this post, writes: something about Chuck that I was astulobely not at all threatened or nervous about letting him into my condo. Actually, that says something about YOU. He was a STRANGER that you met on the internet and had a drink with, ONCE .and you let him into your condo?! Not trying to judge = just trying to show you how overly trusting you are. You are putting yourself in unsafe positions and you dont realize it. Read about boundaries and please be more careful! (No, this is not your mother. Just another former online-dater who is worrying about you

What the hell, Kaique? Why are you getting all up in my personal business? Not to mention posting it on the internet… If I want to let strange men into my condo, that’s between me, the strange men, and my husband. Please step off.