Thursday 19 September 2013

The New iOS 7 is Freak'n Cool and Ready for Download!

Well, if you don't want to sift through POPSCI's long winded Blah Blah Blah on the new iOS 7 that they hadn't even downloaded yet, stay here, because I'm using it now. Here's the skinny. It's freak'n cool.

1.) They dumped the old skeumorphism 3D look with rounded icons and other window dressing for the  sleek "Flat Design". It's cleaner, simpler, and more contemporary. You'll need to get used to the new icons. Change is good. Groovy.

2.) The new pastel color palette is soothing. Way cool.

3.) They added a swipe up"control center" which puts everything you use all the time, on the fly, in one happy place. Like your camera (which now has Pano and square modes), wi fi, Bluetooth, airplane mode, Volume, brightness, lock, clock/timer, calculator, flashlight and Airplay (pick speakers in your house- unfortunately, you can only choose one set). Neato.



4.) Double click your home button and now open apps are presented in large thumbnails in a row, and you just swipe up to close them or click to use. (closing them saves battery life) Gnarly.

5.) They added AirDrop, which allows you to pass files over the wi fi into folders you (and others) can access from other devices. I tend to need files from my iMac on my laptop, which are very large, so I AirDrop them and Viola! Can't complain.

6.) The new transparent pass code #'s are less typewriter, more Jetsons. Dig it!

7.) The texting keyboard is grey on dark grey and very Apple. Jobs would've loved it. Swift-to!

8.) The text screen bubbles are flat color, and when you hit send it dips under the editor box and appears in your thread. Hard to explain. Trust me, It's rad.

(9.) The phone keypad is white. Very Mid Century Mod. Far out!

10.) Last but not least when you swipe down you get all your notifications, like before, with a blurred out background. Star Treky!

I've had no crashes, no issues, no mail problems, and have heard no whining from my other resident geek. Go ahead and download it now.

Friday 13 September 2013

It's Low Cal Spaghetti!

It's Low Cal Spaghetti!



This meal is the easiest, tastiest, lowest calorie, most filling meal I eat when I'm on "the cut". It's the closest thing to pasta without all the carbs and calories, and it tastes great! If you're like me, you get home ravenous and not in the mood to cook.

This ONLY takes 10 mins. - You can EAT 3-5 cups!

1. Take a Spaghetti Squash and cut it in half, scrape out the seeds. (it looks like a long skinny yellow pumpkin).

2. Place it flesh down in a deep pasta dish with a half inch of water.

3. Nuke it for about 8 mins. or until you can slide a knife through the skin.

4. (Use Oven mitts - it's hot) Scrape out the insides with a fork (it will look like a pile of spaghetti).

5. Heat a jar of Rao's Marinara sauce and pour over the top.

(Optional: Add parmesan cheese)

One cup of just the squash is only 42 calories, has 10 carbs and 3 grams of protein.
A half cup of Rao's Marinara Sauce is only 80 calories.
So, have 3 cups of squash and a half cup of sauce and you net out at a whopping 206 calories!!!

You're welcome!

Here's a whole website devoted to this beautiful veggie http://spaghettisquash.net/index.htm



Wednesday 11 September 2013

10 Must Do Things to Lose Weight After 50!

10 Must Do Things to Lose Weight After 50!

1. Weigh and measure every week! (Buy a Withings wi fi scale)


2. Journal all food and drink - count calories in vs. cals. burned (It takes a 500 calorie deficit every day to lose a pound a week) DO THE EFF'n MATH! Use myfitnesspal.com

3. Wear a heart monitor (tells you exactly what you burn during a workout - or activity) then punch that data into myfitnesspal.com (I use a Polar FT7)

4. Get your ass off the couch - Get active 6 days a week. Move more. House cleaning counts. (I bought a new road bike - I burn anywhere from 800-2000 calories a ride!)

5. Abs are made in the kitchen! Eat clean. Don't buy anything you know you should not eat for the first 12 weeks. Check out this website www.eatcleandiet.com

6. Use a tracking App like My Fitness Pal - Set a goal and be patient. I chose to lose 1 1/2 pounds a week. I gave myself 20 weeks. I hit my goal right on target. I lost 30lbs of fat and gained 5 lbs of muscle. Size 12 to a 4.

7. Use social media to stay motivated - (Instagram, Tumblr, Blogs, Fitness forums like www.bodybuilding.com ) they are loaded with great advice, tips, healthy tasty recipes, and people who will post pics to keep you motivated and focused. Follow me on Instagram chigby77

8. Take pictures every week! make it your screen saver our desktop on you iPad.

9. Cut out the alcohol as mush as possible. Replace your habit by drinking the new flavored teas, like Red Velvet Chocolate and Dandelion Root!

10. Buy a bike. Cycling saved me from having to workout in a gym every day. Instead I hop on my bike and tool around town (and by wearing a heart monitor I can see how many cals. I burn.)











Tuesday 10 September 2013

An Excerpt from my latest story...

An Excerpt from my latest story...

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“Shit,” she sighed, then heard a far away groan. Gigi attempted to open her eyes, but they were glued shut. She touched her lid to help it lift. Sun blared at her like a parade of shiny trumpets glinting off a cavalcade of glass bottles. “Ouch”.
            “Where are we?” Viv’s voice muffled from somewhere under the mass of covers.
Gigi propped herself up on one elbow and reached for a cigarette. She took inventory of their surroundings. “Well, it’s not a shit hole.” She lit a cigarette and sucked the smoke between her lips letting it curl into her nose, then blew the foggy vapors into the bands of sunlight and watched it swirl and make pretty paisley shapes. “But, it is a crime scene.”
 Viv’s head emerged from the bottom of the covers, her hair a rat’s nest, her eyes smeared with black mascara, and her lips dry and swollen. “Hi Boo.” Gigi smiled at her. “You look like a hot mess.”
“Thanks.” Viv smirked and ran a hand over her hair dislodging a cocktail stick stuck in the back. “Is anyone else here?”