Weight loss irks

Ok, I have been inundated with the Biggest Loser and all these other weight loss shows and topics on news sites and the T.V.  While I know many people love The Biggest Loser, and it is inspirational to many people, I just don't like it.  I have seen parts of the show, but the parts I saw I didn't enjoy and I have chosen not to continue watching.  I did look online to see how long the people on The Biggest Loser have to lose their weight because I was curious and sure enough I saw people on yahoo telling someone how to lose up to 15 lbs a week.

Which brings me to the reason I am blogging.  People giving specific (and often full of BS) weight loss online.  Yes, you can find good suggestions for almost anything online, but people need to be very careful what they follow based on advice they "found online".  For granted, I am about to dispense with some weight loss advice, so I am kind of doing exactly what I tell people not to do lol.  Honestly though, life-long weight loss isn't a game or a show.

In the past year I've lost almost 90 lbs (and I am still working on losing more).  Basically, what I've done (besides respecting my weight allergy) is balance healthy eating with working out.  I make substitutions when I can, like yogurt based salad dressing or low-fat cottage cheese for higher fat versions.  Also, I eat food I enjoy, but balance it out with healthier things.  I love pizza, and a local place makes gluten- free pizza.  I still let myself have pizza, I just don't have it often.  And I work out.

If someone wants to lose weight, he or she should do some research, probably talk to his or her doctor, and decide on something that he or she can live with for the rest of her life.  The best bet is probably not to find some weirdo on yahoo telling you how to lose 15 lbs a week by drinking half your body weight in ounces of water per day.

When bad covers happen to good books.

I just have to wonder how some covers make it onto books, and why the publishers think these books will appeal to librarians let alone teens whom are going to read and/or purchase the book.  You would think publishers would want to maximize the potential of a book and give it a great cover so that it would pump up sales.  I know, as a librarian, the cover a book can give me pause as to deciding if I will purchase it or not.
Sometimes the covers look dated already, sometimes the colors are off, sometimes the picture is too flat.  Sometimes it is a mix of all of those and more.
Here are some book covers that just leave me thinking, why?

The Lighting Thief and more YA movie news.

Saw the Lightning Thief last night.  It had some really fun parts but on a whole was kind of meh.  The boy who plays Percy Jackson was really awesome though, and I love seeing Sean Bean in almost anything.  The most upsetting thing about the movie though was seeing Pierce Brosnan's hairy upper arms.  Yuck!  Also, I do not see how this movie got a PG rating, but Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was saddled with a PG-13 back in 1984.  I am glad that this movie has added more interest for the books in my library, but I just wish it had been higher quality.  The sad thing is that I still think I enjoyed this movie more than I liked Avatar.

Also, in other YA news I've heard that they have optioned rights a movie version of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, and also the book Heist Society by Ally Carter.

I am also looking forward to Beastly starring Vanessa Hudgens.  I haven't read that book (although I'd love to if I could find some time!)  and am somewhat excited by the news that the Stephanie Plum movie is finally in the works with Katherine Heigl set to star.  I think I may be about the last woman on Earth to have read the Stephanie Plum books, but I did read and enjoy the first one and can't wait to read the second one!

A Good Day

Today was a really good day.  Not because anything great happened, but because it just was.

I got back on track with my diet and ate both healthy food, and very tasty food.  That makes me feel good about myself and hopeful about this coming year.

For those that don't know, in this past year I lost about 80 lbs.  I worked hard, watched what I ate, and avoided foods I was allergic to.  I walked home from work a few times a week, then when more of the weight came off I got a bike and started biking to work a few times a week.  I walked to the gym, and pretty much anywhere else I could walk.

Today was the first day, since the surgery, that I've really felt like I've gotten back on the track I was on to work on losing more weight.  I have a healthy goal in my head and I am on my way there.  And I can't wait for the warm weather so I can get back outside!

the feeling of meh...

There must be something wrong with me, because with books lately all I've been feeling is meh.  The past two books I've read have left me feeling completely uninspired.  The last book I really devoured was The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott.  I am working on a book now that was highly recommended by teens on the YALSA list as one of the Best Books for Young Adults, but so far the first chapter or so has been only ok.  Is it the time of year, is it burn-out from work and school, have I hit a saturation point when it comes to YA books and I need to break for a bit?  I don't know what it is.

 I just hope I can get through it and get back to finding some books that I just LOVE!  I miss being really excited about a book, not being able to put it down, and then telling everyone that the must read it right now the minute I put it down.  I want a book that will be up reading until 4 am and then only put down cause my eyes won't stay open.

Maybe I should take a picture of my "to be read" shelf and post it so people can give me recommendations.  Or does anyone have any recommendations to get me out of my meh zone?

Percy Jackson Movie

As many others are, I am psyched for the Percy Jackson movie.  I've seen previews that look pretty awesome and the star looks a little like Zac Efron mixed with an elf, but in a good way.  There is one thing that is worrying me a but about the movie though; the age of the actors.  I saw the girl who is going to play Annabeth (who is beautiful, but not blonde like she is in the book) on Law and Order Criminal Intent playing someone definitely older than a teenager.  And, while Brandon T Jackson is awesome, he is also much older than I'd have pictured Grover.

With my slight trepidation about these age issues, I am still looking forward to the movie, and you can be that I will most likely be there at a midnight showing (if they have one) just like I am for each and every Harry Potter movie (even though the Half-Blood Prince blew big ones).

Wish You Were Read by Todd Strasser

A teen girl writes on her blog that she wishes the popular Lucy would die.  The next day, Lucy disappears.  The community of Soundview is a sleep town full of rich kids, and at first people think Lucy just took off, but Lucy's ex-best friend Madison doesn't buy it.  As the days go by, and Lucy continues to be missing, the town grows more scared.  Then the blogger wishes someone else dead, Lucy's boyfriend Adam, and he disappears too and Madison decides to take action.

I've read good reviews of this book, but to me the writing fell flat.  Madison was not likable, and in fact came across as really flaky.  She's got a crush on Tyler; who is obviously supposed to be a possible suspect.  Lucy disappeared when Madison and Tyler failed to wait until she went into her house when they took her home after a party as part of a "Safe Rides" program.  Madison knows Lucy would not run away, but she's too wrapped up in her crush with Tyler to really bother looking to her friends.  It feels almost Heatherish with the clique full of people who are frenemies, but without the biting wit.