Book: French Women Don't Gat Fat

by Mireille Guiliano

This book was pretty good. Basically, each chapter talks about different things that work together to keep French women skinny. It's not a drastic diet book. It's more like a gradual eating healthy grouping of suggestions. I found quite a few very easy to implement.

When mentioning certain topics like chocolate, water and exercise, she explains why these things work. For example; Instead of just stating "you need to drink more water to lose weight", she gives details about how our bodies lose water and how drinking more water has more to do with replenishing the body and cleaning out the toxins than anything.

There are many other things she talks about. Most are common sense. But she talks about combining all these small changes and how they will add up, helping you to meet your weight loss goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

She has inserted quite a few recipes to aid you in your quest for good health. Most I wouldn't try. But some sound like something I could enjoy.

Great book.

Book: Me Talk Pretty One Day

by David Sedaris
I have read many books by this author in the past. In fact, I own some.:
- When You're Engulfed In Flames
- Holidays On Ice
- Barrel Fever
- Me Talk Pretty One Day

When our monthly Book Group decided to read this book, I was excited. I had read it before and remembered enjoying it. David Sedaris' books are collections of short essays. Everything he writes about, stems from some experience he's had. For instance, he writes a lot about his family and the ways in which they annoy him. Which I find hilarious. Like the last chapter in this particular book, where he tells about his father's messy eating habits.

But, when I began to read it again, I was mildly amused, but it wasn't the funny book that I remembered. The first 4 chapters were quite hard to get through. It got a bit better as I read more, but I guess over the past couple years, my taste in books has changed. If you are looking to read some of his stuff, don't start with "Me Talk Pretty One Day". I recommend the first one on the list above, because it is the one that got me interested in his books. Then you can decide if you're up for more Sedaris or not.

Downhill Skiing...Quick Learner

A couple weeks ago, my cousin Brittany was visiting Winnipeg. So I decided to join a bunch of my family members at Holiday Mountain for a few hours of downhill skiing.

Our two car loads left just before lunch time that Sunday afternoon. Lori driving one and Me driving the other. Naturally I made a few fun car CDs for the 90 minute drive. As we sang along to songs like "My Humps" and "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny" it occurred to me. This would be my first time downhill skiing. I got a little nervous.

Once we arrived, I got a little more nervous. Not so much that I was going to be ill, just enough to let me know that my body was opposing the fact that I was about to throw myself down a slippery hill strapped to a couple of waxed sticks. We walked in, paid and grabbed our gear. Out of the 12 of us, 4 got snow boards and the rest got skiis. I was nervous enough about skiing...I wasn't about to try snowboarding.

So, after I got to the top of the bunny hill conveyor belt (yes, the bunny hill), I stood there...looking down...wondering if I was going to break a leg on my way down. I decided that I was just going to go and figure it out on my way down. So, there I went. Down. Straight down the hill. Screaming, I picked up speed too fast and freaked myself out. I saw the lodge coming closer and closer so I panicked and decided to use my ass as a break. It worked...but in the process, I lost one of my skii poles. While I waited for someone to bring it to me, I thought "I should just go inside and wait for everyone to be done."

Then, I saw this little girl having the time of her life. She looked to be about 6 years old. At that point I told myself I'd go down 2 more times, and then decide if I would go sit down and wait for everyone else to be done. After all, if a 6 year old isn't scared of this, why should I be?!

The second time down, I learned how to control myself so I didn't fall. I skiied past the lodge, and when I made my way back into the line. Lori asked "where did you go? One minute you were going down, the next, you were gone."And the third time, I figured out how to slow down and stop.

After my group had handed in their gear, I was still skiing. This ended up being something that I love. Maybe next time I'll try something other than the bunny hill.