This post is all about me… and my husband… but mostly about me, and you, the reader. Recently, we were in Miami, Fl. to receive our Bronze medals for our audio-book, When Angels Fly. That is right! We did it again. “When Angels Fly” is the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Bronze Medal Winner in the Non-Fiction – Audio-book genre!” Before I get involved with this news, I wish to share another picture with you, my readers. This one is from last year and the awards of our book, The Big Cheese Festival. Note: One Huge Difference. 100 Pound Difference!! 

Seriously, 100 pounds lost in one year! How did I do this? Well, that is what this blog post is actually about. Yes, I am ashamed to admit that I gained 100 excess pounds when my nursing career was cut short due to my failing health. Then I decided that I HATED my image, at the awards, wearing a size 3X Dress! That motivated me to Take Back My Life! 

That is my story. It has taken strong will, grit, and determination to lose the excess, but I persevered in doing this in about nine months. How did I do this??

1. I love chocolate and have found sugar free Hagen Daz ice cream. A few bites and that is enough. I don’t eat sugar and I use Stevia instead.

2. Drink one bottle of water before eating and you will eat less. Your stomach will feel fuller faster! 

3. Go for protein the most consisting of lean meats, scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, and nuts. Crock pot the meat and don’t bread and fry it. 

4. Eat fresh veggies such as tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumbers, and broccoli.

5. Eat fresh berries and I love blueberries. I eat one or two strawberries regularly. 

6. My nuts are unsalted and I eat almonds and peanuts.

7. I love a banana each morning and my K+ (potassium) stays on track.

8. I no longer have to take medicine for cholesterol. I’m in the normal range!

9. I no longer take blood pressure medicine!!! 

10. Use portion control when you eat meals. DON’T go back for second helpings. We eat out less except when traveling.

11. I take a generic Multiple Vitamin, Vitron C, Folic Acid, and B12 every morning, and some exercise will help you lose faster. 

****** You must make sure you check with your doctor regarding this diet and over the counter medications. Check with your doctor regarding exercise, too. ******

This is my story. I went from obesity and stomach ulcers to normal weight and no ulcers. You can do this, too!

At my heaviest…. trust me in that I wore a size 3X dress. I was ashamed and so embarrassed. Now I wear a size 8 dress!! I also wear size 6 and size 8 stretch skinny jeans!!!

I feel better! I’m stable on my feet again! I can walk further and NOT be short of breath! I’m now on four liters of oxygen per minute instead of five! My left knee was going to be replaced due to pain and unable to do steps. Now that I’m 100 pounds less my knee doesn’t hurt!! I don’t need knee surgery. It was the extra 100 pounds that caused my knee grief! I have stayed in my self imposed weight range for a couple of months now! …and I use exclamation points to help motivate any reader into losing excess weight, if you have excess. 

Love, Mary

With Angel’s Wings by Stephanie A. Collins  

From the author as found on Amazon:

“With Angel’s Wings is the true story of Laura, a young wife and mother of a three-year-old daughter. Her husband, Kevin, a marine, is deployed overseas, leaving Laura to give birth to their second daughter and handle the two young children on her own.

Thirteen days after the birth of her youngest, the pediatrician detects a heart murmur. That leads to just the first of multiple diagnoses for both of her daughters, sending Laura on an unexpected and emotional journey into the world of parenting medically-fragile, special needs children.

Right when Laura fears she will break under the incredible pressure, she encounters the beauty of true love, in a most unexpected and unconventional way.”

This was a truly heart wrenching story, and a painful read for me. As a registered nurse, and the mother of two children in haven and one on Earth who is special needs, I found that I could relate completely with Laura’s story. When your children are special needs children and you are trying to raise them alone, well, that is to be superhuman.

My Review:

The story is written from the mother’s point of view, and at times, there were so many introspective thoughts, I found myself skipping over them. In real life, you can’t have paragraphs of thoughts going a zillion miles an hour and answer a question from a doctor or whoever – not in real time. I suggest these areas be edited, and reduced for a much more impressive read.

I felt Laura’s pain, and I was psyching myself up to get to where one of the children passed away, but the girls lived. They lived and thrived, actually. I don’t want to give too much away…

Love overcomes all in the end… touch of mystery here for those who haven’t read this five star book!

The Inventing Tubes (A Pasta Kidz (TM) and Petz Adventure)

by Bryony Supper (Author), Julian Bray (Illustrator)

From the author as found on Amazon:

“‘The Pasta Kidz™ and Petz Adventures’ are humorous, zany, magical and chaotic stories that bring together the pasta-themed Kidz – including Sarah Spaghetti, Rikki Ravioli, Camilla Cannelloni (above) and their creative Petz – Mumbo the Macaroni Dog, Spud the Spaghetti Horse and Val the Vermicelli Snake (above) together in unusual circumstances, engaging with strange magical objects that have a life of their own. The songs, music and humour, told in specially invented pasta language, will engage 4-to-7 year olds in a fantasy world of friendship.

The plots and messages reinforce how the Kidz are unique, with different personalities and their own needs. Each tale shows how they help each other, usually with their own individual Petz, and throughout the series we see how their personalities and friendships develop especially when encountering new characters, like the evil and huge Pasta Beasties! 

In The Inventing Tubes, the first Pasta Kidz™ adventure in a series of up to forty books, Sarah and Marc Macaroni try their hand at inventing fun objects – and get a very grumpy PastaBall to play football with. But Sarah proves that the sport is not just for boys and she tries her hand at inventing her own ball! Every highly-branded Pasta Kidz™ and Petz story, illustrated in beautiful, full-colour detail, contains a moral message and will both inform and entertain young readers.”

My Review:

I received a copy of The Inventing Tubes by Bryony more than a month ago and just now actually read this delightful book for kids! There is a saying that goes “never judge a book by its cover” but this book has a stand out cover – caught my eye!  

At first I found wordage and the characters confusing, until I looked in the back and read what funny words meant, and met the pasta kids. The rhyming is incredible, the illustrations are superb, and I know this book will delight children and make them laugh. If a child doesn’t know pasta, by the end of this book they will know several types of pasta.  Along with the games and fun, kids receive a strong message regarding patience – an ability that takes time to acquire as a child. The next books in this series should be equally incredible.

Thanks Bryony Supper for sending me a copy of your book. This is a truly honest and unbiased opinion and review of your book.