Obesity Does a Double Whammy for Women.

Did you know that overweight women get paid less than over weight men?  I read an article about this subject and was appalled.  It is a documented fact.  Not just women over 50 but all overweight women don’t get paid as much as an overweight man.  (Link to the article will be at the end of the posting.)

Another double whammy for women over 50

Women my age are ostracized for not having the beautiful new bodies of a 20 year old.  Men my age go for the younger women because they are having a mid life crises and only younger women can make them feel alive again.    

There’s more:  I have walked past over weight men and they have snubbed their nose at me, even though they are far larger than I am.  Younger women look at me at as if to say, why don’t you exercise?  I exercise for one hour twice a week, and eat organically. 

I was slim until I hit menopause, then within one year 60 lbs pasted itself to my stomach area and became its own appendage.     Sit ups and exercise do nothing to the stomach area, only jiggle it around but it does not get rid of it.  The rest of my body is tone, my legs, arms even my buttock is toned. 

Now I read in the article, the whammy for women is not only the loss of male companionship but the loss of revenue.  How can we get to the root of a problem without the money to back it up?  To see a doctor if something is wrong or get medication.  What about eating special foods that help us such as Jenny Craig?  This is a terrible tragedy and a double standard that really makes me so mad I can hardly stand it. 

Last year I lost about 30 lbs.  It was wonderful, my clothes fit better and I started to get interest from men.  But I notice something strange.  The men who showed any interest were ones that didn’t have a job or car, or they worked as a short order cook and didn’t make enough money and I felt wanted me to take care of them. 

What a complete turn around from when I was growing up.   When I was younger I wanted to be rescued; now I feel the men want me to rescue them. 

I just read some of the comments and found various differences of opinions on the term curvy and obese.  One comment in particular stated that she was thin but her overweight secretary seems to find a reason not to work, due to a doctor appointment or a weight related reason.  I have worked at my job for six years and only took off one day.  The rest of the time I have work through sickness, snow, hardships and doctors appointments.  I work around my schedule because I know if I don’t work I don’t get paid for that day.  

I have never used my weight as an excuse not to work. 

Any way there is a lot to think about when it comes to this subject.  Each person has to decide what to do for their own lives.  My hope is that as I continue to lose weight and document my struggles, my experiences will help another to needs some understanding, guidance and caring.  It is worth losing the weight and being the best you can be.  It is worth the struggles each day.  It is worth it, because you are worth it.  

Share, laugh, love, grow and bond with other women.  Take care.  

Link to article here.  3 strikes against curvy women.

The Diligent Writers Critiquing Group.

That’s the name of the group that I started.   I couldn’t find a critiquing group, so I decided to start one up.  It took courage because I’ve never done anything like it before.  I did an announcement with my other writing group.  I did get some response of interest.  The few that contacted me stayed in contact until we could find a location and then I came up with a date. 

We did have some trouble at first but we persevered. 

We had our first meeting on Saturday at a local restaurant.  I’m happy to say it went really good.  The group was a total of three.  We each had a few minutes to introduce ourselves and talk about our work in progress.   We exchanged ideas and websites, and then we each got a chance to read our work and get critiqued on it. 

I don’t know about the others but I appreciated their opinions and suggestions.     

We spent two hours of what I call fun.  It felt really good to be around fellow writers and the writing process.  How we get ideas, name our characters, and all kinds of other great stuff.  I met two new writers and like them already. 

I feel really glad that I started the group and hope that more writers come join us.   I think this is one of the best things I will have ever done.  Yeah me. 

If you have a critiquing group or another group that you started and wish to share, tell us about it.   Was it scary to start it and what did it take to get it started.  Your experience can help another to do something similar or the same.  Join in the discussion and share.  Grow, laugh and bond with others.  Take care. 

Book Review: Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda

This book was fantastic.  Upon reading the first chapter I was hooked.  The writing is fresh, the pictures in my mind clear and the suspense was out of this world.  The ending of the book will leave you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page.

That last line was on the book, I agree with it full heartedly.  This was my first time reading this authors work and I really enjoyed his story telling.  I just cannot say enough without giving the whole thing away.  Must read. 

To find out more about the author Andrew Xia Fukuka click here for his website.  Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda

National Novel Writing Month:

November is National Novel Writing Month.   What is National Novel Writing Month?  or NaNoWrMo for short you ask.   It’s where a lot of writers across the nation take the full month of November to write everyday and at the end of the month write out a manuscript. 

This will be my first time participating and I’m scared and excited at the same time.  The minimum amount of words is 50,000 but the average novel is 100,000 words.  So in my estimation 50,000 words is the beginning of a novel or the foundation, and the revisions will ad the other 50,000 words.  That includes the explanation, description, subplots and more, tightening up everything and making the novel the best it can be.  That will take the rest of the year to clean up.  (Maybe)

I think it is a great thing to participate in.   Writers group all over the world are gearing up with word counts widgets, and ways to keep track. 

To get to 50,000 words in one month the writer must write around 1,600 or 1,700 per day every day even Saturday and Sunday.   It’s a great way to become disciplined.  Some will write more some less.  Using the word count is a great gage on how you are doing.    

In some of the online writing groups that I belong to, we are advertising our intent to participate and becoming buddies to urge each other on.  I have started on a plot outline and some characters in preparation.  Everyone wish me luck.  I will write on my progress throughout the month and what I’ve learned. 

I want to confess that this will be my first attempt to complete a manuscript in one month.  I am truly challenging myself on this.  I have never completed much in my life. If I where to accomplish this one task, than in my estimation I will have overcome something in my life that has held me back for years.  Once done this is just the beginning.  

If you’re participating in NaNoWrMo and wish to buddy up with me let me know or look for me on the website.   Together we can accomplish anything.  Here’s to your success.  If you have a story to share, or going through something similar we would love to hear it.    Until next time.   

Book Review: Wolf’s Cross by S. A. Swann

This is a new author that I found at the Library.  The back cover sounded interesting and upon reading the first chapter I knew it would be good.  I was surprised at what a good writer and story this book was. 

I did a little research about the author and found some interesting facts.  First he lived in Cleveland as I do.  He has written 19 books using different names and has more books coming. 

Wolf's Cross was written in the characters of both a female Maria, and male, Josef.  The story line is about werewolves and is very well written.   I really enjoyed it.  It was filled with action and suspense.  If you are interested in this genre then this is the book for you.   I believe it is the second in a series.   I don’t know if there are any more coming but feel that there is more to the story. 

Good Job.  To find out more click here for S. A. Swann website.  http://www.sandrewswann.com/

Book Review: Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan.

It was on a Saturday at Borders Books, my favorite store, that I met Harry Dolan.  He was the Author of the day for book signing and to meet the public.   I was getting ready to leave the store.  I had my books bought and paid for when I heard the announcement that Harry Dolan will be meeting with the public in 10 minutes. 

I had never heard of Mr. Harry Dolan before but I was excited because I was in a position to stay and meet a real live author that had his book published and I could hear his story and ask questions.  I debated a moment but decided to stay.  When will I ever get another chance like this? I was very glad I stayed. 

What I didn’t know was that I would be the only person in the audience that day.  I was nervous to meet him face to face but Mr. Dolan and his lovely girlfriend sat with me and we had a very nice conversation. 

I was very impressed.  Harry Dolan was very approachable.  He is very gentle and soft spoken, happy to talk about his work and once he found out I was a writer, he actually asked questions about me,    He asked what I was working on and we discussed being a writer and our favorite authors.   I really had a nice time.   I went and bought the book and he signed it for me.  My first and only author signed book.   (Yeah)

While I was at the store with Harry and after I purchased the book, I read the first chapter.  The first chapter set the pace for the rest of the book.  As with my usual reviews, I don’t say anything about the book plot.  I want you to read it for yourself, but I will say that I was guessing at who the killer was until the very end.  Harry did a fantastic job at all the twist and turns and kept the reader wondering until the final revelation.  Even then there was guessing.  

The other day I was in the book store again, getting more books, and stopped off in the small café to sit for a moment to take a look at the new books I just purchased.  Across from me was a woman looking at Harry Dolan’s book ‘Bad Things Happen.’  I resisted the urge to tell her to buy it because she already looked quite enthralled. 

I loved the book and look forward to other Harry Dolan books in the future.  Get yours today. 

To find out more about Harry Dolan and read the first two chapters of his book click here for his website. 

 www.harrydolan.com

 

Writers Group.

I attended my writers group on Tuesday night.  Our speaker was a self published author.   He had some interesting things to say about being self published.   The first thing to note is the gentleman has four books all self published,  He explain what he did wrong and how he learned to do things a better way.    Then he proceeded to explain how the self publishing business isn’t the taboo it used to be. 

Did you know that with the online, platform, ebooks, Facebook, twitter and other social networks sites going on that agents are not marketing books the way that they used to do.  

In my research of how to approach an agent, I read blog after blog that the writer must have a platform in place with a large readership before they consider a manuscript.  That is the first consideration, now it seems we, the author, need to have an almost perfect manuscript before even submitting. 

Is this because an editor can take away from the profits? The next point is the author needs to be able to market their own work through professional websites and platforms.  I also hear that a lot of publishing houses that used to only cater to the agents is beginning to publish books for the self publisher. 

(whether this is true or not only time will tell.) 

There are a number of companies that do marketing, publishing, editing and designing trailers, to place on utube, and so forth for the self publishing author.  Just be careful when dealing with them, they may practice shady deals.  Always check with your lawyer first.

If all this is true, why do we need an agent?  Is getting an agent the ultimate in becoming a writer?  This is something to be considered. 

Whether all this is true or not is the opinion of each individual.  I believe there are many ways to write, produce, promote, and market and a hole slew of things regarding the genre of writing.   It depends on what your goals are.  

Doing your research is vital no matter what way you choose.  But being the best writer is the first priority of it all.  You still have the chance to become what you desire at any age.  

Attending a writers group can guide you in how best to approach your endeavors.  The group can be supportive and helpful, and rich in resources.  My writers group is one of the best decisions I have made.  Look for one today, you can find them online, at your local Libraries and recreation centers.  Or simply put an ad out in a local paper.  It’s a start.  

What is your opinion on being self published?  What happened to you and what have you learned?  Share, laugh, accept, grow and bond with other women.   Take care. 

Girls Zumba Night Out.

What is Zumba you ask.  Zumba is the funest exercise around.  Just ask the women who are addicted to it.  Zumba does Salsa and Belly dance moves among other Latin moves and put them into a wonderful exercise program.  It’s fun, fast and challenging.  I love it. 

Once a month our group schedules a Zumba night at a local club, to promote it and to get another day of exercise in, and to visit everyone outside of the exercise arena.   We bring food for everyone if they wish, along with a can to donate to the homeless.  This month we had four Zumba instructors who participated and we had a lot of ladies shaking what they got on that floor, we were all having a blast. 

It was my first time and it was great.  I’m really a home body, but since I got involved with Zumba again I thought I would give it a try.  The club was large and was filled with a lot of Zumba ladies from four different instructors.   The time was from 6:00pm until 10:00pm.  We did a lot of Zumba.  

I arrived at 7:00 and immediately got into the program and joined the others.  I was unfamiliar with this instructor but still was able to keep up.  Everyone was laughing, sweating, moving to the rhythm of the Latin beat.  I even saw a few men trying to do it in the corner, plus a few women.  The women said that it looked good and fun.  We told them to try it and become addicted, like the rest of us.  At one point we all paired into couples, girl couples to dance a certain step, which goes to show the Latin steps can be used for dancing.  

I stayed about one hour ate some delicious food and left for the evening.   Being my first and as memorable as it was I am sure this Zumba Night Out will not be my only one.    

Being involved with exercise or any kind of group is beneficial and special as long as you are passionate and gets you out of the house.  Zumba is only one of the things I am involved with.  Since I started writing I am involved with a writing group and I started a critiquing group, which I will talk about soon. 

Do you have a group that you want to share with us?  What is it about the group that makes you happy?  What have you learned that changed you and your life?  I believe it is important to have your own interest outside of our relationships and children.   The group doesn’t have to cost anything.  If you can’t find a group you need, them start one. 

If you started one and want to share it here, we can set up a link to your site.  Live the best life you can.  Share, laugh, cry, grow and bond with other women.   Take care. 

 All pictures by Pictures.com pictures.com  If you see a picture you want removed let me know and it will be removed immediately.