Skip to main content

Under the Tuscan Sun

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.21.2006

Blog book giveaway:
My Thursday book giveaway is A SOUNDING BRASS by Shelley Bates.
My Monday book giveaway is WAKING LAZARUS by TL Hines.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for A SOUNDING BRASS and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.

I'd love to go to Italy: I've been watching a few movies now that I turned in my manuscript to my editor. I finally got to see Under the Tuscan Sun. Beautiful scenes, and very quirky characters.

It was as funny as I thought it would be—a nice, light movie. Not a romance, more of a travel chick-lit. Certainly not slow-paced, yet interspersed with dramatic shots of Italy’s landscape.

I loved the ending the best--when she looks around at the house and realizes what she's gotten for herself. It was a very poignant moment.

And man, I want to look like Diane Lane when I’m inching toward 40.

TMI:

Diet:
I’ve been so good about doing my Denise Austin exercise programs that I injured my quad muscle. Yeah, I’m brilliant. Please pray it heals quickly.

And speaking of prayers and healing, my good knee (not the surgery knee) is clicking. It’s not painful, and I have friends whose knees click and they still play volleyball, but I just don’t like it. And it does hurt sometimes when I do certain bending movements. Please pray it heals. I’m doing more leg exercises to help strengthen the muscles around the knee.

My eating has been okay, but I can’t seem to get my calorie count below 1600-1700 a day. Much of those calories are vegetables, so I guess that’s good, but my calorie count for my height and weight and bone structure is supposed to be 1300-1400 a day. Man, I need more discipline.

Oh, and I’ve been eating less salt. I don’t have high blood pressure, but I’m doing it out of vanity. When I eat more salt, my body bloats and I feel fat, but if I eat less salt, my body doesn’t bloat. Isn’t that just the most pathetic reason you’ve ever heard?

Blogging: I decided to not post on Saturdays. I think I post too often. I mean, people have enough to read without hearing from me seven days a week. Fridays will be my Blog Bible Study posts.

Comments

Angie Poole said…
People tell me I look EXACTLY like Diane Lane. I hear it all the time. Well, the inching toward 40 part anyway.
Just Nancy said…
I love that movie! My daughter and I rented it one time when my husband went on a business trip. My girlfriend was shocked that I would let my teenage daughter what THAT movie! I don't really know what the problem was. I'm over 40 and would love to look like Diane Lane, even a little! Oh, and I love your blog.
Ruth said…
I think your reason for not eating salt is perfectly valid, and I think it's great that you have the self-discipline to do that. I have a huge salt weakness (love them chips!)...but eating too much salty, processed food bloats me up too (and high bp isn't an issue with me either).
Thanks Camy, now I know what to rent this weekend. Sometimes I think I've already rented everything.

PS. Now what am I going to read on Saturdays?
Mary DeMuth said…
Camy,

You need to come visit. We live ONE HOUR away from Italy, not much farther to Tuscany. And this part of France used to be Italy, so where we live looks like it too.
Delia said…
Our 16 yr old is in England visiting our oldest right now and they're going to Italy during the first week of July. I'm so jealous! I told her to take lots and lots of pictures and video. But she refused to "lug" around the video camera. :( I'll be okay with just pictures though.

I don't have a BP problem, but I'm supposed to watch my salt intake because my feet and ankles swell with too much salt or caffeine. (Notice I say supposed to, lol.)
Delia said…
And I don't think you post too often.
Julie Carobini said…
Just before we were married, my (Italian) husband visited Paris and I went to London. We promised each other we'd go to Italy the following year...but baby #1 showed up. Fifteen years later, and three kids, we've yet to go. I'm thinking it's time!
Anonymous said…
Then I guess we both need more discipline: me for exercising, you for eating or as the case is not eating.

That'll be my prayer for both of us. Also for both your knees but especially the one that starting to give you problems.

Maybe I was influenced by my early years of having little to eat but I usually eat to exist. Sometimes, I have to remind myself to do so. There have been a few times when I'd wolf down anything, including sweet stuff. At other times, like right now, just thinking of something sweet makes me shudder.
Yeah, I want to look like her too when I inch toward 40. Oh, wait! I'm already there. Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
Myra Johnson said…
I loved Under the Tuscan Sun! Made me wish I could move to Italy and live in a house like that. Of course, I'd want it already fixed up when I moved in, but wow! The scenery! (Forty??? I seem to remember being forty once. A looooong time ago!)

Popular Posts

She insulted a hat 👒 and ruined her Season

Welcome! My name is Camille Elliot, and I write Christian Regency Suspense with slow-burn romance and a touch of the supernatural. Thank you for— “Cut!” Lissa, one of my characters, shouts and stomps onto the stage. I stare at her. “I’m not filming a commercial.” “It doesn’t matter. You’re being boring.” I shift uncomfortably, because she’s probably right. “Well then, what should I say? I’m writing a blog post for someone who doesn’t know anything about my books.” “If you start with pleasantries, I will hide your tea,” she threatens. “ All of it.” I gasp in horror. “You wouldn’t!” “Try me!” “I was just going to ask readers to subscribe to my newsletter.” “I shall topple into the shrubbery as I fall dead asleep on my feet.” “Rude,” I mutter. “Maybe start with an explosion. Or at least a hideous hat that ruins my reputation forever.” “Your reputation wasn’t ruined,” I protest. “You were simply unfortunately overheard.” “As I insulted a hat.” “Then maybe you shouldn’t insu...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Mansfield Park (BBC 1986)

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Blog book giveaway: To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there. Valley of Betrayal by Tricia Goyer It Happens Every Spring by Gary Chapman and Catherine Palmer Jane Austen miniseries I love Jane Austen. She’s my favorite classic writer, and I even bought audiobooks of her novels and listen to them again and again. I also love Amazon.com and visit my Gold Box every day (not that I buy that often). One day I had a deal for the entire set of DVDs of miniseries produced by BBC of Jane Austen’s novels. No, I didn’t buy the set—but it made me curious, and so I put the miniseries on my Netflix queue. The miniseries are all rather old. I just finished Mansfield Park . I’m quite divided on it. Costumes: score 4. They were mostly really rather nice, appropriate to the character’s background and income, and not too flamboyant, although there were several places the women’s headgear was just way over the top. Acting: score 4. I l...

How to Start the Lady Wynwood’s Spies Series (with Free Prequels & Bonus Extras)

New to Lady Wynwood’s Spies? Start Here I’m a fan of both Pride and Prejudice and Mission: Impossible , and I loved the idea of noblewomen working as undercover agents, so I wrote this Christian Regency romantic suspense series for readers just like me. Lady Wynwood’s Spies is a multi-volume adventure filled with faith, suspense, and romance. Unlike many historical romances that stand alone, each volume continues a larger story, pulling you further into the same grand conspiracy. Along the way, the series draws you deeper into the characters’ struggles and triumphs, giving you a richer, more immersive experience. If you love stories where you don’t have to say goodbye to the characters after just one book, this series was written for you. Below is your complete reader guide to the books, prequels, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes extras. Whether you’re just curious or ready to dive in, this roadmap will help you find the perfect place to start. ✨ Lady Wynwood’s Spies Reader...