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Showing posts from August, 2010

What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Day 18 of going low carb - cravings gone!

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.28.2010 So remember yesterday I said I’d increase my carbs a little and see how I felt? Well, I gave in to a craving and had too much quinoa (which isn’t that bad, if I’m going to overdo, it might as well be quinoa, which is pretty good for you). I overshot my new carb range by about 50 grams. Well then today, I have NO carb cravings. ZERO. Zilch. Nada. It’s like it magically disappeared. This makes me very happy for numerous reasons. One, I’m not contemplating stealing Captain Caffeine’s breakfast muffin. Two, maybe my carb cravings the past few days really were because my body needed more carbs because of my running. Three, in listening to my body rather than distrusting it (since it’s never been entirely trustworthy before) it doesn’t look like I harmed myself or my nutrient program. And today, I ate within my calorie and my carb range! Hooray! The things that make me happy these days ... Captain Caffeine is happier since I’m not moaning an...
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Day 17 of going low carb - increasing my carbs

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.27.2010 I’ve been worried about eating enough carbs with the amount of running I do, so I went searching and read in Runner’s World magazine that for every hour of running, you should eat 50-100g of carbs. This is counting all your carbs, including non-starchy veggies. I was a little shocked because their sample meal plan had something like 400g of carbs for the day! After talking it over with Captain Caffeine, I’m going to increase my carbs a little more. While on one hand, I want to keep my carbs low to combat my insulin resistance, on the other hand, I’ve been craving starchy carbs much more in the past couple days. It’s like my body is crying out for it. Problem is, I don’t really trust my body anymore—not after the whole insulin resistance thing, where I was craving carbs then, too, but it was spiking my insulin. But the Captain pointed out that I’ve been two weeks on a low carb diet, and the cravings went away. Now, they’re back—but he reaso...
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Excerpt - Silent Protector by Barbara Phinney

Silent Protector by Barbara Phinney His life as a U.S. marshal was something Pastor Ian McNeal had left behind…until he's asked to care for little Charlie Troop. The boy witnessed a terrible crime and hasn't spoken since—except to his Auntie Liz, the one adult he trusts. Ian just wants to find the truth, something only Charlie can reveal. But Charlie isn't talking, and Liz is determined to protect Charlie against anyone who'd hurt, frighten or pressure him—including Ian. Yet with a killer dead set on making sure Charlie never speaks again, a protector like Ian is just what Liz and Charlie need.. Excerpt of chapter one: Someone was trying to run her off the road! Liz Tate gripped the rental car's steering wheel tightly, her heart pounding in her ears as she struggled to keep the car straight. And not careening off the edge of the newly built causeway and into the deep water to her right. Please, Lord, help me! The SUV beside her, some dark blue thi...
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Day 15 of going low carb - regaining my appetite

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.25.2010 Before, I mentioned that the supplements had made me feel not very hungry . That blessing/curse lasted about 2 weeks, because I’m regaining my appetite. It was kind of nice not being hungry, but at the same time, I was worried and stressed that I wasn’t eating enough, especially with the number of miles I was running. I think I prefer being hungry, even though I now have to pay more attention to how much I eat. Before, I had to force myself to eat much of the time, which wasn’t a pleasant feeling. On the flip side, now that I’ve regained my appetite, the cravings for food have come back. Yesterday, I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich so badly I almost took out Captain Caffeine in order to eat his (I think I could take him, especially if I am rabid with carb deprivation). Today, I wanted pancakes. And I still dream about chocolate chip cookies. Captain Caffeine said yesterday, “How is blogging about this low carb thing making you less crank...
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Day 14 of going low carb - no gluten = Cranky Camy

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.24.2010 I have never been this long gluten free before. It wasn’t hard for the first week, but the past couple or days have been terrible. All you people who have to live gluten free, I hail you as heroes. Or suffering in a gastronomic dungeon. Take your pick. I miss wheat noodles and pasta most of all. Come on, I’m Asian. What is Asian food without noodles? Chow mein (ever had Hong Kong style crispy noodles? No? You are deprived), hand-pulled noodles in black bean sauce, soba, and my all-time favorite, RAMEN. We ate at Chinese food the other day and while I was appeased with chow fun (rice noodles), I was also a little sad as Captain Caffeine happily downed his Hong Kong style crispy noodles. And I haven’t had pasta in TWO WEEKS. We love whole wheat noodles and my favorite dinner is a healthy stir fry of chicken with vegetables and garlic, a little marsala wine, a little lemon, a few nuts like cashews or pistachios, and voila! yumminess on a p...
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We are finally using our compost!

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.23.2010 We started composting our vegetable scraps a loooooong time ago and it has finally become actual compost as opposed to “unidentifiable dirty objects in the compost bin.” And today we finally used our very own compost! I wanted to plant chamomile seeds, so I picked a sunny section of the yard and Captain Caffeine laid down the compost. Here's Captain Caffeine laying down the compost for me. We found lots of non compost stuff in the compost. I think this is a fruit sticker. You can see a piece of plastic that somehow got into the compost, too. The compost formed large chunks that kind of look like horse turds, no? You can see the fragments of old credit cards from our shredder. I dumped the shredded paper into the compost without realizing Captain Caffeine had shredded a card. And we couldn't garden without Snickers, Defender of the Backyard. Here she is, thinking she has seen a squirrel. I say "thinking" because oft...
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Day 11 of going low carb - too few carbs/calories

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.21.2010 Well, I’ve been monitoring how I’m feeling, and I’m tired. I think I need to eat more. (Hooray!) I’ve been feeling exhausted at night and first thing in the morning, although I’m feeling okay during the rest of the day. My body also feels the need to sleep more than usual, which is not a good sign for me. I usually listen to my body’s sleep needs as a good indicator of health. I’m running a total of about 20 miles a week now, and the program mentions that if you’re “very active,” then you should increase your carb count. I wasn’t entirely positive what they consider “very active,” since I’m not a professional athlete or anything like that, but after dragging a little yesterday and this morning, I’m going to increase my carb count by a little bit, like maybe 5-10 grams per meal, and see how I feel. This will probably help with my calorie count, too. So whether it’s my carbs or my calories, this increase in carb grams should help my flaggi...
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Review - Good Girls Don't Have to Dress Bad by Shari Braendel

Good Girls Don't Have to Dress Bad by Shari Braendel In Good Girls Don’t Have to Dress Bad, Shari Braendel teaches you how to appreciate the body God gave you and how to always look your best-from conquering the battle of finding the right swimsuit, to choosing how many bangles you should wear or how big your purse should be, to wearing the right style jeans that will best flatter your thighs or hips, to finding the best places to shop to suit your unique personal style. Many of us are watching reality TV shows to get a clue on how to dress right and look good. We hungrily purchase fashion magazines any time the cover article has something to do with how we can hide our despised body parts. We make mad dashes to the local department store to pick up the new anti-wrinkle cream Oprah promised will take ten years away from our face. We care about how we look. Why is that? Because we’re women, and women love to look and feel good. God made us that way. And this is not a bad thi...
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Interview and excerpt - Vanishing Act by Liz Johnson

Vanishing Act by Liz Johnson Eighteen months ago, Nora James watched as her father was shot in an alley—and then she fled. She changed her name, her appearance and her job, hoping to keep her father's shooter at bay. For months, it worked…but now her luck has run out. A ruthless assassin is on her trail, and soon Nora, now known as Danielle, will be found. But this time, she has FBI agent Nate Andersen by her side—right? The handsome agent would give his life to protect Danielle, but he's wary of giving his heart…until a deadly confrontation leaves him with both on the line. Excerpt of chapter one: Nathan Andersen needed a nap. Badly. He yawned for the millionth time, fighting eyelids that threatened to close even as his car swerved down the highway at midnight. A sudden tremor against his leg nearly sent him through the roof, and he dove into his pocket for his cell phone. "Agent Andersen." "Hey, Boss." "Someone's burning the m...
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Day 8 of going low carb - meeting my calorie count

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.18.2010 After thinking about it, I will recant what I said yesterday. While I want carbs, because I like carbs, I’m not craving carbs. I don’t feel that urgency to have starch like I used to. I still long for potato chips and French bread, but the oomph! inside of me to have them is not there. Before, I’d just listen to that oomph! and have the starch. Now, the oomph! is gone. If I stopped this low-carb diet today, sure, I’d eat potato chips. (Actually, I miss pasta more.) But I don’t feel that grinding craving to have them that I used to. Before, I’d dutifully eat the carrots and celery and cucumbers to try to distract me from the cravings, but I’d eventually give in and have the chips. Now, I eat the carrots and celery and cucumbers mostly because I need my non-starchy vegetable carb count to be higher, but what’s missing is that gnawing wanting for chips after I’m done eating the veggies. Sure, I’d like chips just cuz they taste good, bu...
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Day 7 of going low carb - still not hungry

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.17.2010 This is a purple carrot I got in my basket of veggies from the organic co-op this week! Isn’t it cool? It’s a little sweeter and lacks that slightly bitter edge a regular raw carrot can have. Kind of like a beet crossed with a carrot. I’m not sure if it’s the supplements or the diet, but I’m really not very hungry. I have a feeling it’s the supplements, because I was low carb for about 2 days before starting the supplements, and I only noticed the no appetite thing after I started the supplements. Also, I should clarify that even though this is “low carb,” it’s not NO carb. I’m eating about 100-150 grams of carbohydrates every day in the form of vegetables, fruit, dairy, and whole grains. I don’t want to eat this way long term—it’s only for about a month, and then I can slowly raise my fruit/dairy/whole grain carb counts higher than 16-20 grams per meal and 7-10 grams per snack. (Luckily, I don’t have to count my nonstarchy vegetable carb gr...
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I ran 13 miles!

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.16.2010 I’m training for the Honolulu Marathon , and I do one long run a week, building up to 26 miles. Last week, I did 13 miles! That’s half a marathon! Hooray for me! I was really slow (13 miles in 216 minutes = 16.6 minutes per mile) but I don’t care! I’m just glad I could do it! According to Jeff Galloway , the key to the long run is going 2 minutes slower than your projected marathon pace. The last time I tried to do a long run, I think I started out too fast because I started dragging around mile 7. This time I was determined to stay fresh, so I set my interval timer to go 20 seconds running/ 40 seconds walking to force myself to slow down. It worked really well, and I switched to 30 seconds running/30 seconds walking at mile 4 because I was able to keep my slow pace. I did the :30/:30 interval for the rest of the run and I felt great! In fact, I felt so good that for the last two miles, I even skipped a few walking breaks . I tend to swea...
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Day 4 of going low carb - not hungry

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.14.2010 I’m amazed at how NOT HUNGRY I was today. I really had to force myself to eat today. I was hungry at dinner, but I ate a lot less than I expected to. I also chose not to eat a second corn tortilla even though I had planned my carb count to be able to have two. Instead, I ate only one. WEIRD. I am turning into someone I do not know. Then again, I was not given the option of eating tortilla chips as opposed to a low fat corn tortilla. I also was not offered potato chips or French fries or a bowl of fettuccine alfredo, so who knows if I would have still been this strange state of “not hungry” if given the opportunity to have a piece of French bread smothered in brie. I’m also a bit concerned because I’m seriously under my calorie range today again. This never happens to me in my normal life. The thing is, I’m totally full. I don’t even want to think about eating more. If a pizza showed up in front of me, I’d have maybe one bite and then pu...
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Day 3 of going low carb

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.13.2010 It seems the only way I can release my frustrations is by blogging about it, so lucky you, you get to hear all about it. (I’ll probably become less homicidal calm down in a week or two, so no worries about months of whining about this diet.) I thought about carbs ALL DAY. I had to be more deliberate about my cooking to find something both I and Captain Caffeine could eat. He’s a trooper, lovely man, so I settled on chicken vegetable soup. It wasn’t the tastiest soup I’ve made, unfortunately. (Next time I’m using the pressure cooker to make broth and then adding the chicken rather than throwing the raw chicken pieces in water in the crockpot for a few hours—the broth just wasn’t as flavorful as when I make broth with the pressure cooker.) I wanted to go out and buy a donut. Around dinnertime, I found I wasn’t that hungry. I don’t know if it was the new supplements making me feel fuller, or if I really wasn’t hungry, or if I was just so ...
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Excerpt - Protective Custody by Lynette Eason

Protective Custody by Lynette Eason Guarding witnesses? All in a day's work for deputy U.S. marshal Carly Masterson. Protecting the judge who was indirectly responsible for her mentor's death? That's another story. Still, she won't let harm come to Judge Nicholas Floyd, or the niece and nephew in his care. She's determined to do the job right, and not let her emotions take over—no matter how wonderful it feels to be accepted by the little family. Can she let go of the past and learn to trust again before danger finds them once more? Excerpt of chapter one: In the downtown courthouse, Deputy U.S. Marshal Carly Masterson eyed the three bloody fingerprints on the cracked door and pulled her weapon. Blood on the door to the judge's chambers. Not a good sign. Her partner, Mason Stone, followed her actions. In a low whisper, he asked, "Is he in there?" Heart picking up speed, Carly toed the door open. Without a sound, it opened inward, exp...
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Day 2 of going low carb

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.12.2010 I started some new supplements and the program has me go on a diet that is low carb, gluten-free, and no sugar. A no sugar diet is supposed to combat potential insulin resistance, which often goes hand in hand with perimenopause and hypothyroidism, my own personal evil trifecta. I don’t have all of the symptoms of hypothyroidism—and none of the more serious symptoms—but because I have slightly elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, I thought it would be safe to follow a gluten-free plan for a few weeks, according to the program’s recommendations for people with hypothyroidism. The going no sugar wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I don’t eat many sweets because we’re getting such great fruit from our organic co-op, which includes low Glycemic Index (GI) berries. A couple months ago, I forbade Captain Caffeine from buying any more sweets—he can only eat cookies and desserts that he makes himself or gets for free—so our house...
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Guest blog and excerpt - MISSION OF HOPE by Allie Pleiter

Mission of Hope by Allie Pleiter No one knows who he is or where he's from. But witnesses throughout San Francisco report a masked man in black is bringing supplies—and badly needed hope—to homeless earthquake survivors. Some believe that the city's gallant rescuer is a gentleman of wealth. But others whisper that he is a working-class man with courage as great as his faith. And rumor has it that one of the city's most spirited society belles is helping him against her family's wishes. What can be confirmed is that the masked messenger will need more than a miracle to escape those on his trail—and win the woman risking everything to save him…. Guest blog post by the Allie-nator! When God slams a door... You know that old saying, “When God closes a door he opens a window”? What do you do when God slams a door? As in bone-shattering, life-halting, stop-in-your-tracks slam shut? You pay close attention. At least that’s what I’ve learned. It’s what my hero Q...
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