I am an avid listener of the Elvis Duran Morning Show. I listen to them every morning on my drive to work, and find them to be hysterical. I love listening to Carolina’s ‘Rage Page,’ I’m always hearing about new fashion or beauty products through her. This morning, she was talking about Toms Shoes. With every pair of shoes you purchase through Toms Shoes, Toms will donate one pair of shoes to a child in need. What’s better than giving yourself some new shoes and supporting a child at the same time? You can check out Toms website at http://www.toms.com/. Be sure to check out the ‘Our Movement’ section. In April 8th, Toms hosted ‘One Day Without Shoes,’ where people around the country went barefoot for the day to see how difficult it is not to have shoes. Even celebrities such as Kristen Bell went barefoot for a day! Be sure to purchase your next pair of shoes through Toms, and thanks to Carolina and the Elvis Duran Morning Show for bringing awareness to a great cause.
Spring is here (yea!) and t-shirts and sleeveless shirts are being unearthed from the dungeons in storage. But are your arms ready for the warm weather, or do you have a littler extra jiggle you need to get rid of? Shape.com has put out a De-Jiggle Arm Workout Plan to help tone up and firm your arms in time for the nice weather. There is a great triceps anatomy lesson to take advantage of, and the exercises will make your arms sore! But it’s worth it to look your best in those sleeveless tanks, so head over to Shape.com and download your workout plan.
Talk show host Larry King has filed for divorce from his wife Shawn Southwick King. King’s spokesperson released this statement through People.com, “His major concern is the welfare of his children, and beyond that he's not going to comment about the divorce.”
Chase Crawford will no longer be getting Footloose. The 24 year-old actor, who had signed on to play the role of Ren McCormack (originally played by Kevin Bacon) is now backing out of the gig. People.com reports the actor will be too busy shooting his hit CW show, Gossip Girl. Zac Efron has also reportedly turned down the role, for fear of being typecast. Now, Paramount Pictures must decide how to fill the role, either with an unknown actor or launching a nationwide search for Crawford’s replacement.
Q: Where did the idea come from for Perfect on Paper? If you move to San Francisco after college and live there for enough time, there are a number of common experiences you will eventually share with nearly everyone else there – for better or for worse. As I began to notice these things, I found myself thinking I need to write a book, which then evolved into That’s something that would totally go in my book. A great example of this is my good friend Alison, who was a little stressed out when she started dating her now husband, who is several years older than we are. When they first started dating, she wasn’t sure how she felt about the age difference. “I mean, he has a parking space,” she said one day. “He’s like a grown up!” As soon as the words were out her mouth, I pointed at her and said “That could totally go in my book!” (Unless you have a trust fund or are an investment banker, having a parking space in San Francisco is a major rite of passage.) So when I started writing Perfect on Paper, all I really knew was that I wanted to tell a funny story that included many of these common experiences. I had a general idea of how it would begin, but that was about it. Once I got going, however, the story sort of took on a life of its own. And then one day I was done! Q: My copy of your book is in the mail, on its way to me. What can you tell me about this story and the characters? If you’ve never lived in San Francisco, I hope it (and they) will make you feel like you have. And if you have lived in San Francisco, I hope it (and they) will make you feel right at home. Q: I did read that the main character in Perfect on Paper works in PR, and you have previously worked in PR. Are there more similarities between you and your character? I like to say that Waverly Bryson’s life is like my life—if my life were more exciting. While some of my friends have said that reading Perfect on Paper is like listening to me talk for 311 pages (if they could stand that), in many ways we are very different. For example, we can both be quite chatty and like to make random observations, and we both tend to stick our foot in our mouths when we get nervous. We both love U2, chocolate and American Idol, and we’ve both been on some laughably bad dates. But she’s not athletic at all, whereas I play soccer several times a week and love watching sports too. She practically gets left at the altar; I’ve never even been engaged. Her mom died when she was a baby; my parents are happily married. She’s an only child; I have three siblings and six nieces and nephews. Waverly missed out on the big family that I’ve always enjoyed, but I felt it made the story more interesting to have her as an only child with a rocky relationship with her dad. Q: What made you decide to write a novel? One day I quit my job and had no idea what I wanted to do next other than not work in PR anymore, so I bought a ticket to go to Argentina by myself for a couple weeks. And after two weeks I loved it so much there that I decided to stay for an entire year. Then I realized that if I was ever going to write the book I’d thought about so many times, that was that time. So I just started writing and writing and writing, and eventually I had the first draft of what would eventually become Perfect on Paper. Q: Do you have more writings in the works? Ha ha ha my publisher keeps asking me that question too! The answer is yes, but “in the works” must be loosely interpreted. I have had many readers ask me to write a sequel though. Everyone wants to know what happens to Waverly! Q: You played semi-pro soccer while living in Argentina . How was that experience and why did you stop? I could write an entire novel just answering this question! The short answer is that it was an amazing experience, and I came home because I had finished writing Perfect on Paper and wanted to get it published. Q: People have said you are a role model for women. What does that mean to you? It means SO MUCH. Whenever I hear that, it validates all the hard decisions I’ve made over the past few years, the biggest of which was to give up a steady paycheck. It hasn’t been an easy road for me, and I don’t think people realize that when they take the time to tell me that I have impacted their lives, that they are impacting my life too. Q: What has been the best experience for you since publishing Perfect on Paper? While I’ve experienced some pretty amazing things because of Perfect on Paper, there are two that stand out: The first was seeing a total stranger reading my book at a café in San Francisco. I nearly had a heart attack! And if that weren’t amazing enough, when I told her who I was, I found out that she was as excited to meet me as I was to meet her! She said she absolutely loved my book and was already on page 178 (had just started it the night before). Then she showed me literally 25 pages she had dog-eared because she thought they were so funny. She asked me to sign the book and wanted to know when I was writing the sequel because she’d be first in line to buy it! The second amazing experience was stumbling across a Facebook post a college student at Boston University made about me after I spoke at a sorority there a few weeks ago. (A bunch of the girls added Waverly Bryson as a friend.) The day after I spoke, I realized that several of them were posting things about me, and one of the girls posted that she wanted to be me. It nearly made me cry. Q: Where do you think would be the best place to travel to? I love to travel so much that this question is pretty much impossible to answer. There are just too many places I want to see! Right now Croatia and Guatemala are on my list, as are Switzerland and Slovenia. And Tunisia. I just got a new passport last week – I can’t believe I have zero stamps! My old one had like one page left. Domestically, I’ve never been to the Deep South and have always thought that would be an interesting trip. And Alaska. And North Carolina. And Martha’s Vineyard. Did I mention I love to travel? Q: What would be your best advice for aspiring writers? I guess I would say that if there is a book inside of you, just sit down and write it. Write and write and write, and when you can’t think of what to write next, go back and edit what you’ve already written. If you do that consistently, eventually you will have a book. And no matter what happens after that, nothing can take away the profound sense of personal accomplishment that comes with typing the words THE END.
The April edition of Fitness Magazine had a great section on what foods you should toss and which you should stock up on. Many of those highlighted were foods that pertain to me, in particular though was tuna fish. I usually feel pretty healthy when I decide to go with tuna for lunch, but the canned albacore tuna isn’t as healthy as I thought. Instead of buying the canned variety, you should stock up on chunk like tuna packets, because they have plenty of nutrients and proteins, but about 1/3 the amount of mercury found in the canned tuna. I know I will be switching!
Deborah Blumenthal is a journalist and nutritionist, and writes books for adults, young adults, and children. She also routinely writes for The New York Times and has written columns on topics such as health, fitness, beauty, and travel. Other feature stories of Blumenthal’s have been printed in newspapers and magazines, including: New York’s Daily News, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Self, and Vogue. Deborah Blumenthal has four published works for adults: The New York Book of Beauty, Beauty: The Little Black Book for New York Glamour Girls, Fat Chance, and What Men Want. Blumenthal currently lives in New York City.
Rich and Tash have the love that everyone craves. A completely honest relationship, these lovers have it all: trust, commitment, sensitivity, and passion in the bedroom. When Rich’s friends tag along for the private wedding at a French ski resort, one unwelcome guest tags along: one of Rich’s ex-lovers, Jane. While Tash is under the belief that Rich has been honest with her about anything and everything, including his past conquests, this is one old flame that Rich hasn’t told a soul about. Jane is the little sister of his pal Ted, and used to be a fat ugly mess during their college years. But now, Jane has transformed herself into a beauty, and has her sights set on Rich. Still Thinking of You by Adele Parks is a luscious read filled with colorful characters, devious plot twists, and a tearful ending. I liked that each supporting character (Rich’s gang of friends) got to tell their own story from there inside point of views. Each friend is struggling with their own issues: bankruptcy, infidelity, trying to start a family, and that brings even more to the love story between Rich and Tash. The novel started off a little too slow, I think there was a lot of information that wasn’t necessarily needed, but if you keep pushing through, you will find an incredible story. Still Thinking of You gives readers romance, deception, and a bit of relationship advice as well. A fantastic read for chick lit fans.
