C.M. Brown's Blog, page 27

GET HEALTHY BLOG HOP

Hosted by Stephen Tremp Alex J. Cavanaugh L. Diane Wolfe &  Michael Di Gesu





The Objective: Share with everyone something you have done that affected your health in a positive way. You can share an awesome low cal low fat tasty recipe. Post simple tips to lose weight. Or a testimony on what has helped like joining Weight Watchers. Recommend a routine like P90X or Insanity. Or stretches one can do while sitting in their office chair working or writing. We’re sure people have countless great tips and ideas they would love to share.
Since my medical in June 2012, I have lost 10kg (22.04 lbs)!
My doctor told me he wanted me to loose 10kg by the time I have my yearly checkup this year and I have done just that!
I found that writing and blogging took up a lot of my time and I wasn't getting enough exercise.
I took a hard look at my lifestyle and made a few changes.

[image error] I started Leondro Carvalho's Brazil Beachbody Program which:REDUCES your hips and thighs, and melts away stubborn saddlebagsSHAPES your gluteal muscles to get you a perfectly round derriereLIFTS your bum so it looks great from every angle
It sounds like the pitch to so many other exercise programs, I have tried over the years, but never stuck to. My husband always complains about the ab machine, the cross trainer and the kick boxing bag which takes up space downstairs, unused.

But, I knew I had to find something I would enjoy and not get bored with, so I first tried Playstation's Active 2, but found the moves too hard on my body.

 I started the Beachbody Program and followed the set routines religiously for the first 6 weeks. I found that it really suited me and I enjoyed the mix of exercise routines joined with dance, making it fun and enjoyable to maintain.

At first I followed the program closely, which suggested a routine program every day for about an hour with one day a week of rest. Now I suit myself which workout from the choice of seven, I wish to do. I usually spend 45 mins to an hour three times a week (over the weekend), working through the harder workouts and then try to squeeze in one to two half hour workouts into my schedule during the week.

I am feeling fitter and happier, and love how I can see the changes the program is making to my body at the end of every week.

I haven't really changed my diet too much, which never has been too bad. I still have a drink or two, or three and eat the same meals served for the family. The only thing I do differently now, is I try to not eat too much and I don't take the second helpings or eat a lot of snack foods and have increased my fruit intake. But, if I feel like a treat or a bit of chocolate I eat it and enjoy the moment without any guilt, knowing if I keep up the Beachbody program, my weight will continue to drop or at least be maintained.

EXPRESS YOURSELF

HOSTED BY  Dani@Entertaining Interests & Jackie@Bouquet of Books
This week Jackie and Dani have asked us to reveal some of our favourite author quotes!


Twilight, again. Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end.

(I bet you can guess who wrote this quote and which book it is from?)


“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
  (Confucius)

 “Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
(Robert Louis Stevenson)

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
(Stephen King)

“Here’s to books, the cheapest vacation you can buy.”
(Charlaine Harris)

 
These quotes are possibly a mix of how I feel about my life and how I like to live it. I love the gifts of nature and I spend a lot of time watching the clouds and the stars, sunrises and sunsets.

Most of the time I enjoy my job and I love watching the faces of my students as they light up with understanding when they learn something new.

And, I just love Stephen King's and Charlaine Harris's quotes about writing and reading,they are both so true!

TEASER TUESDAY

 
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by
http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/of Should Be Reading.Anyone can play along!Just do the followingGrab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE ANY SPOILERS!
Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away!


You don't want to ruin the book for others!


Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) byCassandra Clare BLURB: Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.
My Teaser:
 At last she was there, close enough that he could see where the grass and flowers bent beneath the tread of her shoes. He reached out for her, and she for him. Their hands closed on each other's, and for a moment they stood smiling, and her fingers were warm in his.   

3 UP RESPONSE

HOSTED BY Randi Lee @ The Emotional Process of Writing a Novel
I have just visited the site of Michelle @ The Sunflower's Scribbles and read her post revealing her 3Ups about moi!
I have never visited her site before and she has nevervisited mine, and I would just like to firstly thankMichelle, for her kind wordsandRandi Lee for engineering thisunique blog hop!
It is a lovely and positive wayto make new friendsand contactsin the blogging world!

3 - UPs Blog Hop /Chain

HOSTED BY Randi Lee @ The Emotional Process of Writing a Novel

You’ll only have to visit one blog one time and you’ve done your part.
Here's where “3 Ups” comes in. The way it will work is like this: each blogger will pick the blogger listed below them, visit his or her site, read a post or two, and then tell them three things they like about the person or his or her blog. Easy enough, right? And how good will you feel after making someone else’s day?
The list will remain open, of course. Everyone is welcome to join at any time.

 There are several ways in which you can give your 3 Ups: via the “comments” section of your individual’s blog, through a direct e-mail/contact, or by posting the 3 Ups on your own blog and linking back to your individual.

I have been paired with Jenn @ Scribbles From Jenn
I have spent some time checking out her site and have listed my 3 Ups about Jenn and her site:


 Jen is kind and caring, and thinks of others. She recently posted, asking for Red Cross donations to help those with need after the horrific tornado disaster in Oklahoma. She loves clam chowder, and her posts for the last A-Z challenge included lots of ummy recipes for cookies! My mouth was watering, just looking at all the pics.Jen has a great passion for writing and keeps notes in journals of characters she engages with in her everyday life. Lots of ideas come to Jen as she opens her eyes in the morning, but sometimes by the time she has a moment to record them, they are messed up by her daily routine.This is something we have in common, I do exactly the same thing!  Make sure you visit Randi Lee 
@ The Emotional Process of Writing a Novel
and add your name to the 3 Ups Blog Hop List!

Remember this hop is different.  Randi pairs up bloggers to another participant. You only need to visit one blog and post about the person you are paired with. This hop will hopefully, continue to grow as time moves on and with support, it could grow into something big!

EXPRESS YOURSELF

HOSTED BY JACKIE @ BOUQUET OF BOOKS                               AND DANI @ ENTERTAINING INTERESTS
WHAT ARE YOU READING?

I have just finished The Nightlife: New York
(The Nightlife #1) byTravis Luedke
on my kindle. 
It is a great adult, vampire read!

But have also recently started reading The
Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) byCassandra Clare  This is the third book in the series - The Infernal Devices and even though I have only read about 50 pages, I am really enjoying it! Smashing demons, black ichor, love triangles, death, a demonic worm, a ruined wedding dress and lots of underlying tension between the characters, has certainly packed a great punch for the start of the book!   

TEASER TUESDAY

 
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by
http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/of Should Be Reading.Anyone can play along!Just do the followingGrab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE ANY SPOILERS!
Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away!


You don't want to ruin the book for others!
  
The Nightlife: New York  (The Nightlife #1) byTravis Luedke
Blurb: 
 Vampires, strippers, escorts, night clubs, gangs, pimps and corrupt cops, the Nightlife of New York is never boring.

Is she a beautiful blond guardian angel as he imagined, or something else entirely? When Michelle saves Aaron's life she shares the benefits of her blood (after getting him shot accidentally). He awakes a changed man, living in a purgatory of eternal night, never to see the sunrise again.

Michelle drags Aaron through a hardcore learning curve of vampiric slavery. Forced to adapt to servitude, Aaron is subject to her authority of compulsion. She orders him around like a puppet on a string, a dog on a very short leash. First things first, he must learn to feed properly without creating bloodslaves (humans addicted to the powerful drug-like effect of their venomous bite).

And then she puts him to work-a male escort in the sex trade-same as Michelle. Aaron walks a tightrope of strictly controlled feeding regiments and intensely erotic sexual adventures while catering to the neurotic control-freak tendencies of his new master. It's do or die, Michelle vows to eliminate him if he proves too difficult to control. The real kicker-amidst all these shocking and degrading adjustments, Aaron finds he's falling in love.

Can he maintain and keep a sliver of his humanity intact? Innocence is a luxury few can afford in the decadent nightlife of New York. In a world where sex, blood, and power over women is so readily accessible, Aaron struggles against the predatory instincts deeply rooted in his new psyche. He must find his way quickly, practicing rigid self-control, or risk the consequences of Michelle's wrath.

My Teaser
 Aaron's jaw dropped.   He stood in complete awe of the scene taking place before him.   He had difficulty accepting these bizarre events for reality.   As the shimmery cocktail dressed wonder woman fired her stolen Taser, Aaron recognized the bulldog was not truly as slow as he had seemed.   He had a pistol drawn and moving upward in a sweeping arc.

Luedke, Travis (2012-08-18). The Nightlife: New York (The Nightlife Series) (Kindle Locations 219-221). Travis Luedke. Kindle Edition.

WRITERS FOR WRITERS

Stephen Tremp , Christine Rains ,  C. M. Brown , and M.Pax Writers helping other writers to succeed.
Twitter hashtag: #W4WS
Find us on Facebook An initiative to promote writers and their books (that’s you)!W4W's is held the third Monday each month!
To sign up, join the Linky List HERE!  This month our selected authors are: Laura Eno http://lauraeno.com/blog/


   Marian Allen http://www.marianallen.com/


Simply TWEET and RE-TWEET 
the authors tweets from the posts on their sites!
and /or
Visit the Writer's for Writer's Facebook page and show your support!
  

BEST AND WORST MOVIE REMAKES BLOGFEST

Hosted by:Alex J. Cavanaugh   http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/ Stephen Tremp  http://authorstephentremp.blogspot.com/ Father Dragon Al  http://fatherdragon.blogspot.com/Livia Peterson  http://leaveittolivia.blogspot.com/
When Hollywood runs out of ideas, they remake older films. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it fails miserably.
List the best remake you’ve ever seen and the worst.
Added bonus – list the worst and/or best song remake you’ve ever heard! My worst remake choice would be Fame.The original was made in 1980 and was nominated for a number of Academy Awards and won two in the music categories.
                                    

The remake released in 2009 was a real fizz-er!Dream It!Earn It!Live It!Although it grossed over $73,000,000 world wide,it just did not have the appeal of the original.   The best movie remake for me would beThe Three Muskateers!This movie has been remade several times.One of the first being times being in the silent film era.For this hop I am  comparing the 2011 remake to the movie made in 1993, staring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Chris O'Donnell.  
The Three Musketeers (1993) (Home Video Trailer) - Video Dailymotion
  
The 2011 version was an excellent remake, staring Matthew Mac Fadyen, Milla Jovovich and Ray Stevenson.
With the tag line of 'Every Legend Has a New Beginning'this remake grossed over $20 billion at the box office. 
                       

  

With Milla Jovovich (aka, Alice - Resident Evil), included among the cast, how could it go wrong!
 

EXPRESS YOURSELF

EXPRESS YOURSELF WEEKLY MEME HOSTED by JACKIE @ Bouquet of Books and  Dani @ Entertaining Interests
This week the girls have asked participants to reveal the celebrity they would most want to meet!

My choice would have to be Johnny Depp. How could one go past such a fascinating actor! He is such a hunk of a man, and I also like his strange, dark characters. It would be fantastic to meet him, but I would feel so awestruck that I would be a total dummy. I would most likely jumble my words and become a real dingbat in his presence.