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Chick Lit Author: Janice Kaplan
Chick Lit Authors

Chick Lit Author: Janice Kaplan

Janice Kaplan holds many titles, among them include: writer, television producer, and magazine editor. Kaplan began her career as an on-air sports reporter for CBS Radio, and then moved on to be a producer at ABC-TV’s Good Morning America, where she won awards for investigative reporting. She was also a columnist at Seventeen magazine and contributing editor at Vogue. Kaplan graduated from Yale University and won Yale’s Murray Fellowship for writing.
Janice Kaplan is the author and co-author of 11 books, including the chick lit titles The Botox Diaries, The Men I Didn’t Marry, and Mine Are Spectacular!. She currently lives in Larchmont, New York with her husband and has two sons attending Yale.

December 21, 2009
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Your Shape Featuring Jenny McCarthy
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Your Shape Featuring Jenny McCarthy

The new fitness game I want to get for the Wii is Your Shape featuring Jenny McCarthy. This personalized workout routine comes with a motion tracking camera, so your every move can be detected and guided. Jenny McCarthy is the workout buddy/trainer along the way; she is there to motivate, inspire, and even bring a few laughs while guiding your workout. The camera brings that extra component that we haven’t seen before, so instead of just monitoring your balance or making sure you are completing reps, it can make any corrections you need to be getting the most out of your workout. Some other features include:
Personalization. You will begin by completing a fitness test to gauge your current fitness level. After that, you can choose what you are hoping to achieve (toning thighs, strengthening upper body, etc). After that, the game will design a specific workout routine for you based on your current level, goals, and schedule.
Controller Free Workout. Unlike the Wii Fit, you do not have to hold a controller or any other hardware while working out. This is where the camera comes in. Your image will be projected onto the TV screen, and the motion sensor will be monitoring your moves, leaving your hands free to complete the exercises.
Wide Selection of Exercises. Your Shape comes with over 400 workout moves, so it will not be repetitive and boring after time.
Ability to Add in Workout Tools. You don’t have to use free weights, balance balls, or other workout gear, but if you have them, Jenny will add that to your workout routine.

December 20, 2009
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Worst Appetizers For You
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Worst Appetizers For You

When I go out to eat at a restaurant, I usually order an appetizer so I don’t get as much food. I don’t eat a lot in one sitting, and I don’t like being wasteful, especially for a meal that isn’t so yummy reheated. Lately, appetizers are looking more and more like entrees, huge chunks of food filling my plate- and my stomach! It can be even worse for some diners that order an appetizer in addition to their main meal- they can consume between 500-600 calories by choosing to get both! So how can you avoid this situation? The writers of the best-selling book Eat This, Not That! have put together a list of some of the worst starters you can order at restaurants. Be prepared before you order, and if you just have to order both and appetizer and entrée, try splitting the entrée in half right when you get it. Put one half in a to-go box, that way it won’t be on your plate so you can mindlessly pick at it even when you are full. Yahoo! Health also helped list some appetizers you should think twice about before ordering. Check out these worst appetizers:
Worst Kid’s Side
Bob Evans Smiley Face Potatoes
524 calories
31 g fat (6 g saturated)
646 mg sodium

Worst Drive-Through Side

Arby’s Large Mozzarella Sticks
637 calories
42 g fat (19 g saturated)
2,047 mg sodium

Worst Chicken Appetizer

Denny’s Buffalo Chicken Strips
730 calories
32 g fat (0 g saturated)
2,940 mg sodium

Worst “Healthy” Starter

P.F. Chang’s Chicken Noodle Soup
759 calories
24 g fat (4 g saturated)
4,135 mg sodium
92 g carbohydrates
Worst Dip Appetizer

Chili’s Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Chips
930 calories
77 g fat (34 g saturated)
3,130 mg sodium
Worst Potato Side

Dairy Queen’s Chili Cheese Fries
1,240 calories
71 g fat (28 g saturated, 0.5 g trans fat)
2,550 mg sodium
Worst Appetizer in America
On the Border’s Firecracker Stuffed Jalapenos with Chili Con Queso
1,950 calories
134 g fat (36 g saturated)
6,540 mg sodium

Check out Eat This, Not That! or head to Yahoo! Health for some healthier alternatives!

December 20, 2009
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Beauty Review: Mascara
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Beauty Review: Mascara

If you’re like me, you are constantly trying out new mascara’s to find that perfect one for your lashes. Unfortunately, I was not given the gift of long, beautiful eyelashes, so instead I turn my attentions to going through different mascara’s like water. What is the best kind? Do vibrating mascaras really de-clump the clumps? I saw that Shape Magazine came out with an article explaining the different types of brushes and what their main focuses are, so I can tie in some of that information with my experience.

First, what did not work for me. Covergirls’s Lash Blast. My lashes were neither lengthened nor volumized. And, this mascara was incredibly hard for me to get off with my usual makeup remover. I would not recommend that for anyone!

One of my new favorites is L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. On one end of the wand is a white primer, and that goes on the lashes first. On the opposite end is black mascara, with “tubes” that slide on to your lashes, giving more length. I found this one to work really for me; it definitely gives more definition to my lashes. The only problem I have found so far with it is getting it off! When you use your makeup remover you can see the tubes coming off, but it is somewhat difficult to break them away from the lashes. Other than that, I really enjoy the length, though the volume was lacking.

Another new favorite is Maybelline’s Pulse Perfection Mascara. This has the vibrating wand, and I found it to give me both length and volume. When there is a clump of mascara, I put the bristles over the clump and hit the vibrating button, moving the wand slowly over the lashes. The clump disappears almost instantly! This mascara was a tad on the expensive side, but the results were worth it to me.

My absolute favorite has got to be Maybelline’s XX-Treme Length Microfiber Mascara. It is similar to the Double Extend, with one side of the wand being primer, the other lengthening mascara, but the results (to me) are phenomenal. This is has been my #1 mascara for years, and Maybelline keeps improving and inventing new features to make it even better. (There is now Discipline Gel that helps uncross lashes!) And it is simple to get off with makeup remover, no pulling or tugging on my lashes. I will recommend this to anyone wanting to get some more length to their lashes!

Shape’s mascara article recommended using small bristles if you have short lashes, because it will be easier to get closer to the eye. And the smaller the bristles, the more control you will have. You can go to http://www.shape.com/beauty_and_style/makeup/eyes/lashes_and_brows/mascara_brush_basics to view their full article.

December 19, 2009
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Beyonce Releasing First Fragrance
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Beyonce Releasing First Fragrance

Want to smell like Beyonce? Well now you can. The mutli-talented celebrity is releasing her first fragrance, Beyonce Heat, to hit stores in February. How did she come up with the name? Her work. She says, “A lot of my performances have had fire involved, so we thought ‘Heat.’ Also, red is one of my favorite colors, as is gold.” She expresses how proud she is of her newest project and how hands on she was in the decision making processes. “Everything, from the bottle design to the name and the ideas for the commercials–that’s me. When I commit to something, I do it 100 percent.” People.com reports the fragrance has top notes of red vanilla orchid, magnolia, neroli and blush peach, will include eaux de parfum in three sizes, as well as a sparkling body lotion, priced between $39-$59.

December 18, 2009
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Chick Lit Author: Jen Lancaster
Chick Lit Authors

Chick Lit Author: Jen Lancaster

Then, she was laid off from the wonderful, high paying job that kept her highlights glowing. And carrying her Prada bag into the unemployment office didn’t help her out at all. Neither did applying for 300 jobs in a few short weeks. The economy was suffering after 9/11, and that is apparent to Lancaster after one whole year of being unemployed. Another blow- husband Fletch is laid off. After having to give up the penthouse, the salon, and most of her designer labels, Lancaster decided to start a website to vent about her unemployment state. The site quickly gained followers and popularity.
After having to continually borrow money from her parents to keep up with rent and groceries, Fletch finally got a job and Lancaster decided to take some time off from her temp jobs to focus on writing. Her website made her realize that she just may be good at it. After landing a literacy agent, Lancaster’s first essay is published. Soon after that, her first novel, Bitter is the New Black, is published.
Jen Lancaster’s published titles are: Bitter Is the New Black, Bright Lights, Big Ass, Such a Pretty Fat, and Pretty in Plaid.

December 13, 2009
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Chick Lit Author: Carole Matthews
Chick Lit Authors

Chick Lit Author: Carole Matthews

Carole Matthews was born in St. Helens, Merseyside, and became an avid reader as a young girl. She had many career dreams- being a teacher, travel guide, hairdresser, but never thought of being a writer. She moved to London from Liverpool and worked a flurry of unsatisfying jobs- secretary, shop assistant, ice cream lady, and had the first thought of writing a book about her experiences when she was working at a mad holistic clinic. Though she never got around to writing that book, she did enter a short story competition for a magazine- and won! She used her winning money on taking a writing course, fell in love with everything about it, got an agent, and sold her first book- Let’s Meet on Platform 8- a week later.
Now, Carole Matthews is an international bestselling author, appearing on the Sunday Times and USA Today bestseller lists. She has won multiple awards, and her books have been published in 24 countries. Her titles include: The Chocolate Lover’s Club, Welcome to the Real World, With or Without You, More to Life Than This, A Minor Indiscretion, Let’s Meet on Platform 8, The Sweetest Taboo, The Scent of Scandal, Bare Necessity, For Better for Worse, Girls Night In, and Girls Night Out.

December 12, 2009
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Chick Lit Author: Kasey Michaels
Chick Lit Authors

Chick Lit Author: Kasey Michaels

Kasey Michaels is a New York Times and USA Today best selling author with over 100 titles published. She has written Regency romances, Regency historicals, category books including novellas and continuities and a few series “launch” books, and single title contemporaries.

Michaels began writing when her eldest son was 8 years old, and suffered kidney failure. She was surrounded by sick children, including her own, and she noticed that many of the hospital nurses and other mothers would read romance novels, a way for them to escape the realities. She had written her first book, The Belligerent Miss Boynton, before her sons kidney failure, with little thought to making it a career. Her second book, The Tenacious Miss Tamerlane, was written over the course of 9 months while her son waited for his first transplant. After that second book, her writing career began to take off. Michaels says that she has learned “that one of the best ways to keep your sanity is to escape reality every once in a while.”

Some of Kasey Michael’s popular chick lit titles include: Too Good to Be True, Love to Love You Baby, Be My Baby Tonight, This Must Be Love, and This Can’t Be Love. Please visit Michael’s official website for the complete list of her titles.

December 11, 2009
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Workout That Doesn’t Require Equipment
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Workout That Doesn’t Require Equipment

Want to keep up with your workouts, but don’t have the proper gear at home? And you’re too cold to walk or drive to the gym, which is the position I’m finding myself in at the moment! I’ve been searching for some good home workouts that I can do while I’m snowed in, and my favorite right now comes from Women’s Health Magazine. This routine requires no equipment, just your own body weight and motivation.

December 10, 2009
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