Gisele Bundchen Had a Water Birth

Gisele Bundchen is revealing new details about the birth of her son, Benjamin. The baby (father is Bundchen’s husband NFL quarterback Tom Brady) was born on December 8^th, but not at a Boston-area hospital that previous reports stated. Instead, Bundchen gave birth at the couple’s Beacon Hill penthouse, in the bathtub. The supermodel confirmed the water birth while giving an interview to the Brazilian magazine Fantástico. People.com reports that Bundchen is also back to work, shooting a campaign for Brazilian fashion label Colicci in Boston.

Photo Credit: Jim Kellam/Scope/LFI

Chick Lit Author: Carol Mason

Carol Mason always had the desire to write. Even though she suffered through some very non-glamorous jobs in the beginning, she always knew the passion for writing was there, she just wasn’t so sure on what she wanted to write. After her husband, Tony, convinced her to get a degree that was related to writing, Mason got her degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnical University in Toronto- and decided she wanted to write a book. After many rejections but never giving up hope, The Secrets of Married Women was bought by Hodder, and has since sold to 12 countries and is translated into 8 languages.

Carol Mason now has two books published, The Secrets of Married Women and Send Me a Lover, with a third soon to be published. The Love Market is due out in stores on Valentine’s Day 2010. Mason currently lives in British Columbia with her husband and their cat and dog, Sadie and Rosie.

Click Here to Visit Carol’s Website!

Does Walking Increase the Size of Your Legs?

I hit up the gym about three times a week or so, but the equipment is pretty sparse due to the fact that is within my apartment complex. Sure there are two treadmills, a bike, elliptical, and some free weights- but it’s nothing compared to the big chain gyms. I’ll take what I can get though, and rely on magazines and the internet to keep mixing up my workouts and giving me new ideas.

My only problem with the treadmill is that I don’t like to run. I have bad knees and a bad ankle from my cheerleading days in high school, so running for just a few minutes can cause me a lot of pain. To still get a good workout, I decided to take up walking. I started power walking but didn’t feel like I was getting too much out of it, so I switched to walking on an incline. And I have met my match. As of right now, I walk at a brisk pace, and slowly creep up the incline, until a reach a level 8. Once I get to that 8, I am winded, my legs are burning, and I feel like I may collapse on the treadmill, so after about three minutes I start to lower the incline again and eventually cool down. After I complete 30 minutes, I am drenched with sweat, my heart rate is definitely up, and my legs feel like jello. But I feel great, because I know I just gave myself a great workout.

I did get worried that by walking on an incline that I would actually be making my legs (especially my thighs) bigger and bulkier, but one click on the internet showed me that is not true. About.com gave a pretty straightforward answer on my dilemma, explaining that walking, along with a variety of other aerobic exercises, uses the body’s slow-twitch fibers, which are designed for sustained activity and will not grow in size. To get lean and toned legs, walking on an incline is highly recommended. To burn more calories, increase your speed or the incline or both! Good luck!

ABC Cancels Ugly Betty

People.com has reported that the popular ABC show Ugly Betty has been cancelled by the network. Executive producer Silvio Horta and ABC president Steve McPherson said this in a joint statement, “We’ve mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty’s final season, and are announcing now as we want to allow the show ample time to write a satisfying conclusion. We are extremely proud of this groundbreaking series, and felt it was important to give the fans a proper farewell.” The hour long comedy, starring Emmy Award winner America Ferrera, first premiered in September 2006.

Photo Credit: Eric Liebowitz/ABC/AP

Taylor Swift to Pen Greeting Cards

Country super star Taylor Swift has a new job- writing greeting cards! The 20 year old singer will work on a signature line of card creations for the company American Greetings, Usmagazine reports. The cards will be available mid-February. Swift said, “I’ve always been fascinated by how we express feelings to each other. My idea of a great song is a song that says how I feel, better than I could. I feel the same way about cards.”She will also create gift packing and stationary for the company.

Photo Credit: Frederick Breedon/Getty

Jennifer Lopez to Guest Star on How I Met Your Mother

People.com has reported that Jennifer Lopez will be guest starring on the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother in a March episode. Executive producer and co-creator of the series Carter Bays says, “We’re looking forward to a week of revealing outfits and sexy dance moves the likes of which this show hasn’t seen since Regis Philbin guest starred.” The press release states that Lopez will be playing Anita Appleby, an outspoken self-help guru who makes it her mission to break caddish Barney (played by Neil Patrick Harris) of his womanizing ways.

Lopez has also been rumored to guest star in another hit comedy, Glee. That appearance has not yet been confirmed.

Photo Credit: JasonKempin/Getty

Will Ferrell Welcomes Third Son

Will Ferrell and wife Viveca Paulin welcomed their third son on Saturday morning, People.com has reported. Axel Ferrell was born just hours after the comedian performed “Free Bird” on the final show of the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. Baby Ferrell joins older brothers Magnus, 5 ½, and Mattias, 3.

Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty

Jane Lynch to Marry Partner

Jane Lynch, who stars in the hot new TV show Glee is getting married! Usmagazine reports that the actress, 49, is engaged to her longtime girlfriend, psychologist Lara Embry. The couple plans to wed in May.

Photo Credit: Jordan Strauss/WireImage

Cheryl Burke Splits with Boyfriend

Cheryl Burke, who is a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars¸ has split with her boyfriend, model Maxwell Zagorski. People.com reported the split, confirmed by Burke’s rep. The reason for the breakup? A source close to the couple said it was the distance, as Burke, 25, lives in L.A, and Zagorski, 22, lives in New York.  Burke was introduced to Zagorski, who has modeled for Levi and Abercrombie and Fitch, by former Dancing contestant Lance Bass last winter.

Photo Credit: Isaac Brekken/WireImage

Interview with Eva Pasco

Q: Why did you decide to start writing?

 

As you know, I never stopped writing since my childhood escapades on a pink Tom Thumb typewriter where my vivid imagination conjured mysteries and even my own espionage series.  My writing merely took a turn for the practical in college and throughout my teaching career.  I resumed writing creatively again because I became restless to find my own niche in the Second Act of Life like my protagonist Carla Matteo—art imitating life.  I fell back on what came natural to me.

 

 

Q: What gave you the idea for your novel Underlying Notes?

 

A perfume aficionado, fragrance has always been an important thread weaving through my life.  One day I stumbled upon an online perfume forum and registered.  This membership escalated my curiosity about undiscovered fragrances to a frenzy, expanding my perfume collection discreetly stashed in cupboards and decorative boxes.   Meanwhile, I grew tired of reading magazine articles about the exploits of middle aged women who took up roller blading, deep sea diving, or  achieved mystical enlightenment by scaling mountains in Tibet—I’m serious!  That’s when Carla Matteo stepped into my field of vision wafting insecurities, inhibitions, quirks, anxieties, and fears.  I knew I wanted to tell a story about an ordinary woman with foibles, restless to find her own niche, parlaying a fragrance addiction to embark on an introspective journey of self-discovery.

 

Q: What did you find most difficult about writing?

 

Since Underlying Notes is my debut novel, the primary difficulty I had at first was accepting my own unconventional methodology.  I don’t schedule a set time to write, and there can be a lapse of days before I resume where I left off, though I’m constantly incubating and fermenting ideas and dialog in my head.  I would berate myself for working at the speed of a glacier—retreating to a previous paragraph for the purpose of editing and revising, then advancing a paragraph or two for the day. I constantly go back to the very beginning to keep every nuance fresh in my mind and to be sure all details fit together with precision.  After completing my novel to satisfaction with very little editing required, I’ve not only accepted, but embraced this excruciating methodology which best suits my writing proclivities.

 

Q: On the other hand, what was your favorite part about writing?

 

By far my favorite aspect about writing is when words just spill onto a page with coherence, and the elusive word I’m looking for seems to present itself as a eureka moment.  I also feel exhilarated and exonerated at the completion of each chapter because I’ve been able to fabricate a cohesive piece crucial to the story purely from the figment of my imagination.  

 

 

Q: How did you take the news that your novel was being published?

 

To say I was “overjoyed” is an understatement.  I did an awful lot of jumping up and down that day.  When I eventually landed back on earth, reality hit. Publication is just the beginning of an author’s journey. 

 

 

Q: Are you currently working on another book?

 

I am seven chapters into my next Chick Lit novel with a protagonist on the cusp of forty.  The setting is a fictitious town in northern Rhode Island where local history plays a significant role in moving the plot forward. 

 

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your down time?

 

Not privy to much down time, I do enjoy my morning workout lifting weights and hopping on the elliptical trainer in my office.  I spend a considerable part of the day networking and writing ezine articles about Rhode Island.  I also contribute weekly nostalgic memoirs and rambles to a Sixties site where I have my own profile page.

 

Q: What’s one of your favorite authors or books? 

 

Though I’ve adhered to my own cardinal rule not to read books in the same genre I write so as not to unduly influence storyline or style, there is one author in particular who resonates with me—Anne Lamott,  whose perfect wording exposes  life’s imperfect moments.

 

Q: What would be your advice to aspiring authors?

 

I won’t be the first to dispense advice which must sound like a cliché:  “Believe in your own merits as a storyteller.”  This belief in yourself will enable you to persevere  when you encounter setbacks.

 

Q: What is or do you think would be your favorite place to travel?

 

I’ve never been fond of flying, so don’t know how far I’d get as the crow flies.  My favorite place to be is by the ocean, strolling along the shore at sunrise or sunset.   My fantasy place to travel is Morocco simply because its aura captivated me in the movie classic, Casablanca.

 Click Here to Visit Eva’s Myspace Page!

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