It seems hard to believe that it’s been 18 years since the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. So many lives lost then and now, as our First Responders and other NYC residents in lower Manhattan battle 9-11 related illnesses. Never forget that radical Islamic extremists attacked us that day and continue to want to do us and our allies harm with their twisted religious views. God bless those we lost and those who rushed in to help others. God bless the USA and keep her safe from those who would do her harm. Thank you to all our First Responders and our military men, women, and families who sacrifice so much to keep us safe.
All posts by Caridad
#TransformationTuesday – What’s the best workout?
A lot of you have been asking what I’ve been doing to lose so much weight – almost 37 pounds since the start of the year. First I have to say diet is a key factor. For me, it was drastically cutting back on the carbs that I normally ate. No more Friday night casual pizza meals. No more Sunday pasta. Rice. Bread. Yes, I dream of them but only eat them on occasion because clearly my body just packs them on as pounds.
As for workouts, the best workout for you is one that you can do on a regular basis. There is nothing worse than setting unreasonable goals for yourself that you can’t keep. That will just set you up for failure. So how about starting off slow? If you normally walk ten minutes a day, try doing it for twenty or do it twice. Exercise is cumulative. Same things for lifting weights. I didn’t start off deadlifting 125 pounds, it took time to get there.
How do I work out? I mix things up! Twice a week I do the elliptical for 40 minutes, but I also walk at least 4 miles a day. I walk to and from my office once I get to the city and then every hour I get up and stretch my legs. I also do strength training twice a week. That involves a combination of weights, suspension exercises, as well as flexibility and balance routines. Friday night is a rest night. On the weekends I try to get in two long walks, usually at least 2 or 3 miles during each of the walks. My morning walk is brisk. My afternoon/evening stroll is leisurely.
I hope that helps you plan for your transformation!
#MatineeMonday – Mindhunter on Netflix
I love crime thrillers and police procedurals and Netflix’s MINDHUNTER checks both of those boxes for me. The series premiered in 2017 and Season 2 was just released this August. According to Wikipedia the series is based on a true-crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit which was written by John E. Douglas, a real FBI profiler, and Mark Olshaker.
In Season 1 the stories revolve around three FBI agents who will come to develop the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI Academy. The FBI Agents interview killers who have committed multiple crimes and try to analyze their motivations, psyches, etc. It’s fascinating to see just how matter-of-fact these men can be about what they did and some of it is pretty gruesome so this series is not for the faint of heart.
Season 2 varies from this setup as we instead get to see more about the lives of the FBI Agents (fictional by the way) and as the agents take what they’ve learned to apply it to various crimes, including the Atlanta Child Murders. There are also snippets involving the BTK killer and his crimes so I’m sure we’ll see more of that in the future, although that’s over two decades until he’s captured.
The series is fascinating as are the killers who we are introduced to and who we’re glad are behind bars and not still loose on the street. You can watch MINDHUNTER on Netflix at https://www.netflix.com/title/80114855.
Screen Capture courtesy of Netflix trailer Season 2. Used under Fair Use for review and commentary.
#ThrowbackThursday – A long ago summer
With my daughter’s wedding coming up, family is very much on the brain, both those that we so happy will be joining us as well as those that are gone. This is a picture of me with my siblings and my parents. I am so looking forward to having the siblings at the wedding, but sadly my parents are long gone. This photo was snapped on a visit to a park out on Long Island. It was a great day filled with fun, friends, and family.
#WisdomWednesday – You can lose a battle, but still win the war!
I did a video log about two weeks ago about how hard August was proving with my weight loss goals. Much harder than July which I expected to be far worse what with two conferences sandwiched in the middle of the month. August was a bear. Work, writing deadlines, and workout disruptions all had me barely losing anything in the first two weeks. It was truly depressing. Worse, I found myself slipping into that self-destructive mode I’ve experienced more than once and which usually leads to me gaining back all the weight I’ve lost. After wallowing in potato chips, baked potatoes, and bread, I decided that this time would be different. I might be losing the battle in August, but I was going to win the war in the end because I want to be healthier. Armed with that, I yanked myself out of that wallow and somehow managed to lose 3.2 pounds in August. Not the five pounds I wanted to lose, but not a weight gain either. I’m happy with that and determined to keep on going. I also had some good news since at my yearly physical I got great results with all my work-ups. I’m basically healthy as a horse and plan on getting even better! Thanks to all of you for following along on my lifestyle journey. If you’ve got news about your journey, please take a moment to share.
Original Dumbbell Image by Mac Kenzie from Pixabay
#TuesdayTreat – Check out my daughter in Forbes Magazine!
I was going to talk about my transformation but decided it would be a lot more fun to talk about my amazing daughter! I am so proud of her for all that she’s accomplished in life and how she’s touched so many lives in a positive way. That’s not to say she’s perfect since she and I both know she has her faults. But she’s fearless in going after what she wants and I’m proud of her for that. I’m also proud because she and her new project, Korean From Context aka K.F.C., were just featured in Forbes! Yep, you read that right. FORBES! So amazing. To check out the article in which she’s featured, please visit bit.ly/KFSSammie. If would like to learn another language while falling in love, or love K-Dramas and K-Pop, please visit Sammie at:
- https://www.koreanfromcontext.com/
https://www.instagram.com/koreanfromcontext/
#FreebieFriday and Grab Bag #Giveaway
It’s another day for a fun giveaway as well as a freebie. The prize for this week is a grab bag of some books by moi, RaeAnne Thayne, Cristen Harber, Cindy Kirk and Tracey Lyons! Plus there’s some swag, a What Happens in Summer T-shirt plus a $10 Amazon gift card. LOL! To enter, visit my Facebook Fan Page and just tag a friend on the giveaway post, one friend tag per comment. Each comment is an entry. You can also share the giveaway post for extra entries and finally, if you’d like, please like and follow my fan page! You can enter until midnight EST Wednesday, September 4 (OMG how can it be September already!). Look for another giveaway and freebie next Friday as well. Don’t be sad if you don’t win because everyone is a winner since they can download a free copy of DARKNESS CALLS, my vampire suspense and the first book in The Calling is Reborn Vampire Novel Series. To download your copy, please visit bit.ly/DarknessCalls. Don’t miss out on this RT Bookclub Top Pick and Affaire de Coeur Finalist for Best Paranormal Romance!
While I have your attention, ONE SUMMER NIGHT is now specially priced for 99 cents at various retailers. Find links to purchase here: https://books2read.com/onesummernight .
