Chic and Slim

The Bride is working on her personal style these days as a part of her overall obsession with slimming. She has been reading a book - "Chic and Slim: How those chic French women eat all those rich foods and stay slim" by Anne Barone. Probably out of print, but it predates French Women Don't Get Fat by 5 or 6 years.

The author has a list of 100 Do's, of which #5 is Develop or refine your own personal style. The Bride is doing some of the other things on the list, too, but she hasn't felt it necessary to share that she is chewing more slowly or eating regular food.

Here's as much of the list as The Bride can be bothered to type right now, in the order the Bride likes best:

1) Develop or refine your own personal style.
2) Get adequate sleep.
3) Wear lingerie that makes you feel pretty and special.
4) Ask yourself what one thing you hate doing the most and stop doing it. (That's a favorite of the Bride's. She does it over and over. Soon she will have entirely stopped housekeeping.)
5) Clean out your closet.(The Bride notes that you can then fill it up again.)
6) Never eat when you are angry or upset. (Try writing one of your sympathetic sisters an email complaining. You can't put food in your mouth while you are typing.)
7) Eat good bread.
8) Find something you enjoy doing more than eating, and do it regularly. (The Bride gives thanks for the internet)
9) Shop for fresh, high-quality fruits and vegetables. (The COG says that they must not come from Central or South America or China) (The Bride says, why not shop for other things, too. Shoes are always good.)
10) Take at least 20 minutes in the day just for yourself. (The Bride's theory is that if 20 minutes is good, a couple of hours must be better).
11) Say no to exploitive people. (The Bride says, why stop with exploitive people? Say no to all unpleasant or difficult people).
12) Spend time with people who make you laugh.
13) Regularly treat yourself to a massage or facial( The Bride adds, or manicure or pedicure or aromatherapy head massage or whatever).
14) Avoid people you don't like.
15) Get outside in the fresh air at least 1/2 hour daily.
16) Sing a lot - you can't eat and sing at the same time.
17) Enjoy afternoon tea.
18) Go to France and watch chic French women eat.
19) Learn to make Parisian style French Onion Soup. (Which The Bride has already done and blogged about on Hotdish Bleus).

OK, those are the Good rules. The rest are things like, Eat smaller portions, limit alcohol, Eat real food, not diet food. Eat only when seated. Take small bites, chew slowly. Eat meals in courses.

Bor-ring.Blah blah blah.

Friends of the Library Book Sale

I haven't blogged for a while. First, because I was in Minnesota doing Halloween and that was covered by other bloggers better than I could do it. Second, because since I got back.... I just haven't had time.

I've spent a lot of hours this week preparing for the Friends of the Library Book Sale. This was a small sale, our big ones are 3 days long in June and July. People donate books all year long and twice a month we sort them into boxes. I cream off the best ones to maintain a cart of books in the library proper where we sell the best books all year long. The others are stored until the sales.

At today's sale, we had a lot of kids books, and a year's worth of donated Christmas books, music and videos, plus we featured like-new books for Christmas gifts. We made $500+ in 4 hours, selling books at 50 cents for paperbacks and $1 for hard-cover. Plus, we had some of the best ones for $2.

I pulled out what I considered the very best ones at the end and replenished my cart and a second cart by the kid's library. Lots of great kids books. I wish I'd had this as a resource when the kids were younger. I would have been great to buy books for them at these prices.

I brought home 3 books for only $1.50. Of course, that means I'll get rid of 15 books - that's the rule the Geezer and I have now, 5 go out for every one that comes in. What did I bring back? Home: a short history of an idea by Witold Rybczynski, an architect who has written a lot of interesting stuff; Entertaining Satan: witchcraft and the culture of early New England by John Demos; and a mystery by a man, but it sounded interesting anyway, so I broke my rule about only reading fiction by women.

It was lovely to be around books again even for a few hours.

Enough with the vampyres, already

I went to Borders to buy a book to read on the plane tomorrow. I was thinking a nice mass market paperback science fiction/fantasy. I discovered a sci fi section filled with vampire books. OK, I loved Buffy as much as the next woman (maybe not quite as much as the next woman- I've never attended a Buffy Studies academic conference, but a lot). And I had an open mind, sort of. I'd have taken a nice little dragon book, or a woman warrior, maybe some sentient animals, fairies can be good, or an untried mage coming into his or her power, maybe a little time travel or just an ordinary alternate medieval world with a little magic here and there. But no -- vampires, vampyres, nightwalkers everywhere.

I tried the mystery section, but it, too, was full of the undead.

Yes, we all know I'm picky. With few exceptions, I only read books written by women. I look first for books written by authors who love Dorothy Dunnett. My tastes are specific and I've read a lot so it narrows my choices.

Sigh.

Bought literary fiction. Something my book group is reading. Water for Elephants. Everyone says it's wonderful. I'm sure I'll enjoy it. yadda yadda Not really what I wanted.

Sigh.