Chewing Gum: A Dieter’s Best Friend

I’m battling the sagging middle.  And not just the one in my work-in-progress.  I’m talking about middle age and all the junk that goes with it.  Well, mostly the extra 15 pounds of junk clinging to my middle.  Where did it come from?  Strike that.  I know exactly where it came from.

I have a confession to make:  I’m a bit of a stress eater.  Okay, I’m a big stress eater.  Candy, cookies, cupcakes; you name it, I want it.  Especially when I’m writing.  While other writers spend their “mind breaks” (translation:  writer’s block) surfing the internet or stalking their old high school boyfriend via Facebook, I’m pulling out the mixer and baking up a batch of Toll House Cookies.  Not for me. Of course not.  I’ll send them to my son at college.

Public Disclaimer:  Before my son rat’s me out, I have sent him cookies this year.  Twice.  The others were of such an inferior quality that I had to get rid of them.  I’m just not saying how.

I do exercise.  But these last few months haven’t been that productive what with a hinky disc in my back and now the fiberglass claw I have to wear on my broken wrist.  I manage three miles in 40 minutes each day on the treadmill, but that hasn’t been enough to combat my hibernating metabolism.

So I’ve resorted to drastic measures:  I’m dieting.  Yes, I’ve returned to the land of weights, measures, and counting points.  Weight Watchers is effective.  And, a lot more fun now that I have an iPhone.  So far this month, I’ve lost 5 lbs.  Okay, it’s not really lost.  That five pounds is actually sitting on the candy aisle at my grocery store in the form of a five pound bag of M&M’s, but I’m resisting temptation.  So far.

And I owe it all to chewing gum.  Now while I write, I chomp on a big ol’ wad of gum.  Hey, at least my jaw is getting a workout.  And my dentist need not worry, it’s sugarless and the whitening kind.  Yeah, I know, pathetic, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

What’s your favorite snack when you write?

Is There An App For That?

Ahh, finally I’ve caught up to my children and am now the proud owner of a smart phone.  Santa was generous and brought me an iPhone for Christmas.  It looks really sleek and relevant in its purple, plastic case.  Now I can read my email messages wherever I am because, you know, my emails are of such an urgent nature that I need them in real time. (Not!)  I can also update my Facebook page with annoying—I mean entertaining—vignettes about my day.  With pictures, too, because my phone has an amazing camera.   Thanks to the Emoji app, I can decorate all my text messages with a variety of cute pictures because why shouldn’t my texts look like they we written by a teenage girl?

And that’s about it because, truth be told, I got a smart phone that’s smarter than me.  Seriously, it talks back.  What do I need that for?  I have teenagers!

I’ve loaded some apps on it, but not many.  When I enter the App Store (how funny does that sound?) I get a little overwhelmed with all the crazy and amazing things I can put at my fingertips.  I have dipped my toes in, picking up a few of the thousands of apps available.  My first one?  The Flashlight.  Now, if I have to change a flat tire in the dark, I have a light right there on my phone to do it by.  Of course, a better use of my phone might be to call AAA, but a gal’s gotta have options, right?

Since it was the New Year, the second app I loaded on my phone was the Weight Watcher’s app.  Yep, I live and die by the points.  Now that I think about it, though, a better app might be one that yells at me to “put down that chocolate!”  Is there an app for that?

Music is very important to my everyday existence, so I’ve had a lot of fun with iTunes and Slacker Radio.  My task for this week is to figure out how to load one of my existing songs to use as a ringtone.  Not as easy as it sounds.  If I’m lucky, my fourteen-year-old will take pity on her out-of-touch mother and help.

I haven’t loaded any games, yet.  No Angry Birds or Words With Friends or—the favorite in the Solheim house—Temple Run.  Okay, I did load Magic8Ball, but that was because Jill Shalvis makes mention of it in her latest release Head Over Heels.  It sounded fun, just like the book.

My son is addicted to FourSquare and I’ll probably load that one, too, if only to ensure he doesn’t become the mayor of our neighborhood!  I do like ShopSavvy, though.  How cool is it that you can compare prices of anything from you phone?

I’m sure there are a million things I can do with this wonderful little gadget.  I need a copy of iPhones for Dummies because a mother can only bear so many exasperated sighs and eye rolls from her children when asking for help.  With time, I’m sure I’ll be a pro.  But you know what the best thing about my iPhone is?  The one reason I consented that Santa could go over budget and get me one?  FaceTime.   Because when your child is lying in a hospital room three hours away, all you want to do is see his face.  Hopefully I’ll never have to use it for that, but just knowing I can makes me sleep better.  Isn’t technology great?

What are some of your favorite apps?

Important Facebook Changes

Twitter allows you to tweet 140 characters.  Facebook?  Yesterday FB announced that your status updates can be more than 60,000 characters.  You can now post a status update measuring 63,206 characters.

So, anyone reading this who is a novelist or would-be novelist could actually post your entire novel in about 9 status updates!

Facebook character limits have been expanding since March 2009 when the limit was barely bigger than Twitter’s, at 160 characters.  Then 420 characters, then this summer it jumped from 500 to 5,000 and now 63,206!!!

A lot of us enjoyed Twitter and Facebook because it kept things short and sweet.  Would you ever post a message this long?

Facebook or Twitter – What’s Your Favorite?

CNN announced on October 4th that ex-Facebook president Sean Parker has broken down.         And tweeted!

“Sorry, Zuck, I had to do it eventually,” Parker wrote last Monday on his newly minted Twitter account.

This apology to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is, so far, Sean Parker’s only post.  But by Tuesday morning he’d already racked up nearly 24,000 followers.          On the Rival Networking Site!!!

Sean Parker was at the helm of Facebook in its early days and is best known because of the movie “The Social Network” where he’s portrayed by Justin Timberlake.  By the way, Parker has called the movie pure fiction, saying that he was portrayed inaccurately.

Sean Parker’s Twitter debut comes right at a time when it appears he’s about to launch his latest e-venture –  a video service called Airtime.

Maybe Parker doesn’t owe Zuckerberg an apology yet.  Parker’s Facebook page has more than 38,000 “likes” – outpacing his Twitter feed.

So, which is your favorite social media site – Facebook or Twitter?