Live to Love on the Edge Blog

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Travel Tuesday – Buckingham Palace and Mews

Today’s Tuesday is some more photos from my trip to London. This time I’m taking you to Buckingham Palace and the Mews where the Royal horses, carriages and the like are stored.

First thing — the Queen’s Apartments in the Palace are only open in August and September when the Royal Family retires to Scotland for the summer months. During the winter you have to content yourself with views of the exterior, the changing of the guard and the museums at the Palace.

We watched the changing of the guard (some of the last slides you’ll see), but it was packed. We clearly had to get there a lot earlier than we did, but despite the crowd, we were able to see the nearly 45 minute long ceremony as the one group of guards is replaced. Mind you, it’s not just the guards, but their band and everything that is changed. So, there’s a lot of pomp with all the turnover.

We also had an opportunity to visit the Royal Mews and it was really interesting. We got to see some of the horses (huge huge animals) that pull the carriages as well as various carriages, limos, carts, etc. The most interesting one — a golden carriage made for Richard III. It was stunning and the artwork on the doors, etc. was amazing.

It was interesting to see all the different carriages as well as learn how some are postillion driven (riders are on the horses pulling the carriages) versus being driven by a driver on the wagon. A bit of trivia I know I’ll put to use in one of those historical flashbacks in a future novel!

Hope you enjoy these photos. If you can’t see the slideshow below, you can click on this link to visit my Facebook Page or copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2060062&id=1130005412&l=7c6a9b55a9

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Guilty Pleasure Monday – Matthew Fox

We’ve done some LOST hotties before (Josh Holloway and Daniel Dae Kim), but it somehow seems appropriate to do yet another LOST hottie today since the show just ended.

I have to confess that my immediate reaction wasn’t “What a Hottie!” I thought Matthew was kind of cute, but I’d seen him looking better (the ill-fated HAUNTED about a cop who has a near death experience and comes back with special powers.)

But Matthew got better and better looking as the show went on and can hold his own with any of the other gorgeous men on the show. I hope that we’ll get to see lots more of him in other projects in the future!

****SPOILERS AHEAD for LOST FANS****

As for the LOST series finale, what are your thoughts on it? I had said to my husband long ago that I thought the island was purgatory and that the people were dead and could not move on until they had either redeemed themselves or had closure about the issues in their lives. LOL! I guess I wasn’t so far off the money.

What I’m missing is — What was this “sideways” world? Another holding station before going to heaven?

If you have any thoughts about it, please share them!

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Fun Friday – Flash Opera!

Thanks to my buddy Karin for this Friday’s inspiration and video!

As noted on Youtube, “On Saturday, April 24th, the Opera Company of Philadelphia teamed up with the Reading Terminal Market Italian Festival for a large-scale “Flash Opera” event! Over 30 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and principal cast members of LA TRAVIATA performed the famed “Brindisi” in the aisles of Reading Terminal Market, entertaining hundreds of Philadelphians, and proving that the perfect accompaniment for all things Italian is a little Verdi! The Opera Company sincerely thanks members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and cast for generously volunteering their time and talents… BRAVI TUTTI!! LA TRAVIATA runs from May 7 – 16 at the Academy of Music. For tickets/info: 215-893-1018 / 215-893-1018 or go to operaphila.org.”

I can only imagine the shock and amusement as people were eating their cheesesteaks or sticky buns from the Amish!

If you can’t see the video below, you can click here to see the Flash Opera Singing Event by the Philadelphia Opera Company or cut and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zmwRitYO3w

Hope you all have a safe and wonderful weekend.

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Thoughtful Thursday – New York Minutes

I love New York City and I guess by New York City I mean the island of Manhattan. It’s one of the big reasons I decided to set THE CALLING vampire series in Manhattan — I wanted to give you a flavor for the different parts of the city. If you’ve been reading the books, you know that the stories move from Tribeca to SoHo to Spanish Harlem. In future books in the series (ARDOR CALLS and VENGEANCE CALLS – dates of release to be known shortly), you’ll see shots of Midtown and Times Square.

I thought I’d share on these Thursdays some little known facts about Manhattan and also about some of the Jersey Shore locations in the SINS series.

Today’s New York Minute is about Sixth Avenue also known as Avenue of the Americas. Much like hearing someone say Houston St. (like the city in Texas) instead of like “Howston”, it’s a dead giveaway that you’re a tourist if you say Avenue of the Americas. It’s also very confusing since most New Yorkers call it Sixth Avenue.

The problem began in 1945 when Fiorella LaGuardia, one of the city’s most beloved mayors, renamed Sixth Avenue. In the years since then, the lamp posts bore plaques donated by the OAS – Organization of American States to symbolize each of the countries in the Americas. I remember seeing them as a kid whenever we came into “the city” for some event. Unfortunately, the plaques were lost when the city put in new lamp posts in the early 1990s.

Forgotten NY has wonderful shots of these plaques. You can click here to see the Sixth Avenue country plaques.

There are also a number of statues all along Sixth Avenue to honor famous people from the Americas. From the western most edge of Bryant Park (also along Sixth) to where Sixth runs into Central Park, there are gorgeous bronzes to be admired. This is a statue of Jose Marti, a leader for Cuban Independence from Spain. The statue sits at the entrance to Central Park on Sixth Avenue.

Above Central Park, Sixth Avenue once again changes names, this time to Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard, also creating confusion with the use of two names!

Beneath Sixth Avenue run a number of things –The IND Sixth Avenue subway lines (B D F V trains) as well as the PATH Trains to New Jersey. As for how long Sixth Avenue is — it’s one of the longest in the city running from as far south as Canal Street at the southernmost part of Manhattan up through Harlem.

Want to know more? You can read more about Sixth Avenue by clicking here and visiting Forgotten NY!

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Wicked Wednesday – Darkness Calls

DARKNESS CALLS by Caridad PineiroSometimes a character just screams and screams at you to write their story. That happened to me recently with Dr. Liliana Carrera who gets her wish this November in STRONGER THAN SIN.

One of the first times it happened with me was with Diana Reyes from THE CALLING vampire novels.
I was actually in the middle of finishing up a baseball series (never published) for the Encanto line when Diana started her campaign to get me to write her story.

She was so loud in my head that I actually set aside the book on which I was working! What came to mind for Diana was a story about a determined and prickly FBI Agent who encounters a man who is determined to protect her no matter how much she tells him she doesn’t need it. At the time I had no plans on having that man — Ryder Latimer — be a vampire. But as Diana and Ryder stayed in the back of my brain while I finished the other book, it became apparent that the nature of their conflict demanded that one of them be dead. Or should I say undead.

With the first few chapters polished, my then agent sent it off. Nearly a year later – no bites. (VBG – Big pun intended.)

My agent and I parted ways since it became apparent I was not going to be the next Latina Terry McMillan. (I think every Latina author would be rich if they had a penny for each time they’d heard that phrase!)

Despite the lack of enthusiasm for DARKNESS CALLS and the general comments that there was no interest in vampire stories (LOL!), I knew I had to write this book. The characters kept calling to me, screaming that they needed to see the light of the day. Over a Christmas break from work, I went home and started writing. A couple of weeks later, the book was done and an amazing thing happened.

An editor from Harlequin wanted to see it. She liked my writing and the premise intrigued her. She sent it on to a colleague to read and the next thing I knew . . . I had a publisher for the book of my heart!

So there is a lesson there — persistence pays off. Never give up on those dreams.

Today I’m sharing with you the original version of a scene from the book — a Director’s Cut. We changed up some things along the way to publication, but I think you’ll find that both this scene and the one that ultimately made it into the final version are true to Diana and Ryder.

If you cannot see the e-reader version below, you can click here for the DARKNESS CALLS Director’s Cut or cut and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.scribd.com/full/31600879?access_key=key-h0k8kg2o9cwynduurtu

Darkness Calls Director’s Cut

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Tuesday Tip – Weight Loss Progress & Tricks

Both my husband and I used to say, give us good bread, tasty cheese and a yummy bottle of wine and we’d be set for life.

The truth is, we’ve found that only two of the three have been good for us — the dairy and wine part. The carbs, not so good.

In our desire to pursue a healthier lifestyle and control our weight, cholesterol, etc. we’ve been decidedly better at choosing what to eat, namely, lower fat dairy, lean meats, more vegetables and fruits and the occasional glass of red wine (and yes, I know 100% grape juice has the same benefits!)

But when it came to weight loss, the one sure thing that helped and also reduced our belly fat — lowering our carbohydrate intake. We haven’t totally eliminated it, but we are much more conscious of eating high fiber, whole grain, low calorie carbohydrate products.

Of course, each person’s metabolism is different, so it’s a give and take to find out what works best for you. To help you, here are some more tips for you to consider.

Chocolate milk is a wonderful choice. I had hubby substitute it for those expensive high protein supplements and not only is it working, it’s natural! You can read more about the health benefits of milk by clicking here.

Substitute tea and iced tea for coffee or soda. Tea is packed with antioxidants and the polyphenols in tea can help ward off cancer and diabetes while providing a gentle boost of energy. Just make sure not to steep the tea too long to avoid releasing tannins which can cause stomach upset and constipation. Here’s more on the benefits of tea in your diet!

Use honey in your tea or for your other sweetening needs. Honey is one of nature’s wonder products and you can find out more about the health benefits of honey here. I had tried using agave nectar and found it quite sweet. In retrospect, and beyond all the hype about its wonders, I’m starting to hear a lot of negative things about agave nectar. So, if you’ve got diabetes or problems with your tri-glycerides, you may want to avoid it.

In my case, I had reached a plateau where I was stuck at a certain weight. No matter what I did eating wise, I could not get that scale to budge which I have to do for health reasons and not for vanity’s sake. The solution for me — increasing my weight training by adding more weight and increasing the work during my aerobic workout by likewise adding resistance. Both helped me bust through a plateau! I’ve lost 13 pounds and am looking to keep on losing until I am a recommended weight for my height.

You can read some other tricks for busting through a plateau by clicking on this link!

I hope you found this Tuesday Tip helpful! I’ll keep you posted on my progress and if you’ve got any suggestions of your own about losing weight and getting healthier, please share them in the comments section. And as always, check with your doctor about what you can and can’t do in terms of diet and exercise.

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