Being Human - UK version

I've been enjoying the UK version - not so much the American show - now I hear that (SPOILER ALERT - DON'T READ ON IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW) Mitchell, George and Nina are all on to other things. Now I love Annie, but how's she going to carry the show all on her own?

This is depressing.

I'm glad for Mitchell going off to Australia to do The Hobbit but why does Nina have to get killed.. . ?

I read all this on accident...well, to tell you the truth, I was warned by a spoiler alert but I didn't heed the warning. And, now, I'm :(

Anyone else out there watch the UK version?

I think the acting is better and the show less predictable. But, if you haven't been watching it, you can Netflix it and watch a few episodes to see what you think and, if you do, let me know what you think then we can commiserate together :( :( :(

The Oregon Book Awards - April 23, 2012

Literary Arts and The Oregonian Invite You to Make Your Choice!

This year's Oregon Book Awards finalists have been announced! To see a complete list, visit www.literary-arts.org and read the works. Don't forget to cast a vote for your favorite.

The Oregonian will calculate the votes and the winner of the Readers' Choice Award will be announced at the ceremony in April. It's a great opportunity to read amazing literature by Oregon authors.

Don't Forget: The 25th Oregon Book Awards ceremony takes place April 23, 2012 at the Gerding Theater at the Armory.

Movie Review Monday - The Grey

My husband picked this film because he has a man-crush on Liam Neeson (well as an actor) he thinks he's the Cats Meow or at least the epitome of what an actor should be. And . . . that may be all well and good and even true but The Grey took more than a few liberties in the name of entertainment.

First off, when they say in the film that wolves are the only animals that hunt for revenge, I'd say right away you have to think of humans as the only animal who hunts for revenge. I'm not saying that a wolf or even a dog won't remember that someone has committed an act of abuse against it, it will and it might even get mad enough to turn on its owner if it continues. But, I've never heard of one hunting for revenge.

Next, with all the dead bodies laying around, those wolves would have been feasting for weeks - and since the bodies were buried in the snow partially they wouldn't have rotted too quickly. Why would the wolves waste precious energy and risk wolf lives to go hunt people who were going to fight back with fire, sticks and knives, when they had a cache of easy picking food available? They wouldn't have.

And when they swung across the crevice, I doubt anyone would have made it (and if they had made it across the great divide) I'm not too hopeful they would have survived the impact . . . had the clothesline been able to hold their weight.

But the worst offense of all to my survivor girl instincts was when John and Pete plummeted into the icy water, they would have died of hypothermia within a couple of minutes...at the most. And where the heck did Liam get the dry clothes? Because if those weren't dry clothes he would have definitely died for hypothermia.

All in all I have to say this was a suspenseful fantasy more than fiction. I think the acting was good but . . . and this is a BIG but...I wouldn't recommend the film. It was too fraught with fantasy for my liking...

I know, I know, I love zombie, vampire and werewolf movies so what the heck am I talking about? Well, this movie was compared to ALIVE - and meant to simulate real life, no vampire, zombie or werewolf movie makes that claim, at least none that I know of.

Sew Simple Valentine's Day

It's less than two weeks away so we'd better get busy if we want to create any homemade gifts.

Here's one we all can make and even the kids can do it with us.

Take some felt and cut a simple strip.



Then take some red yarn and a needle with a large eye.


Simply thread the yarn back and forth through the felt.

Use whatever heart shape you have around the house, to cut out a red felt heart (I used a keyring) then glue or sew a red heart piece of felt on the white "bookmark"


WAH-LAH! A homemade gift from the heart ;)

Thought for Thursday: Gluten Free Diets - A Fad or Fiction?

When I was growing up I never heard anyone say they didn't eat gluten. Heck, I didn't even know what gluten was. But now, nearly all my girlfriends are on some sort of gluten free diet. So, I decided to do a little research to find out what exactly they were talking about.

First I had to find out what gluten was/is.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat.

Then I had to see why it's such a problem wheat is in some of my favorite foods like brea, cookies, cakes, and a whole lot more. And then I read that some practitioners also say oats could be an allergen. OMG!!! that cuts out an entire category of foods - at least in my opinion. So, why would people be willing to give up these yummilicious goodies?

I read further.

Gluten intolerance is associated with Celiac Disease, which is most common in Caucasians and people of European ancestry. And, of course, women are affected more often than men. Thus, the probable reason why most of my friends are on this sort of diet - most of my friends are women.

But then I read that the symptomology can be hard to pin down because gluten intolerance can present different symptoms for different people. So some of my friends might even be gluten intolerant and not even know it.

But - in general - here is a list of problems associated with the disease known as celiac disease which damages the lining of the small intestine:

A person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food he or she eats.

People with celiac disease are more likely to have:

Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Sjogren syndrome, Addison's disease, Down syndrome, Intestinal cancer, Intestinal lymphoma, Lactose intolerance, Thyroid disease, and Type 1 diabetes.

I had no idea it could wreck such havoc on a person.

I wanted to find out what the common problems are. I read that they are gastrointestinal. Some of the signs are:

Abdominal pain, bloating, gas, or indigestion,

Constipation,

Decreased appetite but it might also be increased or unchanged

Diarrhea, either constant or off and on

Lactose intolerance

Nausea and vomiting

Stools that float, are foul smelling, bloody, or “fatty”

Unexplained weight loss (although people can be overweight or of normal weight)

And, if left untreated, the following symptoms may appear over time:

Bruising easily

Depression or anxiety

Fatigue

Growth delay in children

Hair loss

Itchy skin (dermatitis herpetiformis)

Missed menstrual periods

Mouth ulcers

Muscle cramps and joint pain

Nosebleeds

Seizures

Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet

Unexplained short height

Only 1 in 133 Americans suffer from gluten intolerance but it is difficult to diagnose so some people might misdiagnose themselves.

I thought WOW!!! this is one disease I barely knew anything about.

I thought it was on the increase due to stress or some other common concern with our modern day lives but I had no idea of all the consequences.

Word for Wednesday

Word: Quintessential

I was writing my blogpost and I was thinking this is a quintessential example but then I thought...quintessential...I'd better make sure so I looked it up...

Can you guess what the actual meaning of the word is?


No.


Well, scroll down and you'll see it.



A little further. . .


Quintessential means "Representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class: "the quintessential tough guy"."

So, I guess I was write. Sometimes it's just hard to think of a perfect example of what a word means so that you can explain it easily that's why I like doing the Word for Wednesday.

Clydesdale and Athena Divisions

So I'm new to all this marathon racing stuff. I just started running really about a year ago with my husband. We were trying to get some cardio workouts in and get back into shape, after spending the last couple decades raising three kids. It was finally time for us, since the kids were all grown up.

Anyway, we started out walking a block then running a block. When we finally made it all the way to Starbucks, yes, that was the goal, we nearly jumped up and down. We probably would have too, if we hadn't been so tired from the run.

Now I'm training for my very first marathon or 26.2 miles at fifty!

It's a serious challenge and I've been working to build up my endurance but I had no idea there were so many divisions for racing. I sort of knew about an age bracket classification but I had no idea your weight could place you in a certain category too. Well, it can and it does.

Did you know there is a Clydesdale (198 lbs) and Athena (150 lbs) division in the Pacific Crest marathon? They will even be doing an official weigh-in at Packet Pickup (now, I'm not sure I'd want to weigh-in in front of all those other runners--who are usually way thinner and more athletic-looking than me).

But the cool thing is that the Clydesdale/Athena divisions will be recognized in the TRI NorthWest Long Course Championship as well. My point, is this is an incentive to get out there are run even if you don't have the "correct" body type to do it because believe me, I don't have a runner's build. In fact, last year when I was late to the half-marathon race, because they'd moved the start line, I asked some of the people standing around, "Where's the starting line?"

"The walkers are over there," one woman said.

I would have laughed, if I wasn't insulted, "No," I told her, "I'm running."

She looked at me like I had to be out of my mind but pointed me in the right direction.

Luckily for me, because I finished that 13.1 mile run with NO problems.

Now, I'm working really hard to get my weight down so I can run the marathon without having to stop. I've read that every extra pound we carry creates 15 pounds of pressure on our joints. So every 10 pounds I lose reduces 150 pressure and at my age, I'm seriously concerned about my joints and knees.

I'm going to read more and do more research - because this helps motivate me to want to lose weight before the race but it's not easy. So, any good tips you might have would be much appreciated.