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Authors in the News: Julie Aziz interviewed on Hangouts on Air

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Yesterday, Julia Aziz, author of Lessons of Labor, was interviewed by a doula on the Hanouts on Air in a podcast, titled "As a Birth Professional: Birth as Life Teacher. The podcast can be heard here .

Excerpt from Divorced! (Romer): Don't Let a Man Make You Unhappy (Interview with Elaine Langley)

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                            ELAINE LANGLEY                                     “Don’t   let a man make you unhappy.”                                Elaine Langley is a slender, graceful woman with long flowing brown hair and a model’s face. She admits to doing some modeling before her first marriage (she’s had two), which ended in divorce in the late 1970s. "The No-Fault divorce changed things,” Elaine told me, in discussing her first divorce. “You didn’t have to claim someone was having an affair and ruin their reputation.”      Elaine said the whole process was easy, because it was her choice. “I paid $150 to get the divorce. Ben didn’t fight me. I wasn’t upset.” She explained that her husband Ben had broken her trust in him after only two years of marriage. “We had moved out to Wyoming so he could go to law school. Just a few weeks after we got there he said, ‘I don’t want to be one of these idiots. Let’s go back home.’” Elaine was shocked, but s

Book Review by The Book Shipper: The Optimistic Food Addict (Fisanick)

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From the review on the Book Shipper Blog: I always admire someone who shares their story and invites us in to read about it.  It is a tough and brave thing o do. I have read many, many, recovery books on eating disorders and this book touched me.  Read the full review HERE . Read posts by and about Dr. Fisanick and her book HERE .

Muscles Have Memory

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As I get into physical training, I continue to learn surprising, new things, This week I learned that muscles have memory. Muscles I developed in the Army are just hanging around to be re-awakened. That is pretty cool.

Understanding How Muscle Builds: Grandma's Simple Way of Understanding Gym Training

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So, I learned something new this week. Iterations matter as much as weight. In fact, I can try to lift heavier weights, or I can get the same benefit by lifting a lesser weight more times. As my starting point, then, I will use: 15 iteratinos 5 pounds That sounds like not very much to all you readers who are have stayed in shape -- unlike me, an almost-septaguarian wth five decades behind me of NO physical activity. Hey, at least I am doing it now. Better late than never, right? Who else out there in their 60s and 70s is striving to get back into shape -- or enter competitions? Would love to hear from you!!

Grandma's Ninja Warrior Diary: The Decision

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My first day of freedom was January 1, 2018. I had retired from the Defense Language Institute, where, as provost, I served as the senior civilian leader for 2000 foreign language teachers. That was the last of many career positions associated with overseeing foreign language programs: Foreign Service Institute, NASA, American Global Studies Institute, American Councils for International Education, Federal Language Training Laboratory...in short, if a niece of nephew or Uncle Sam had studied a foreign language, chances are I had had something to do with that program of study at some point in time. Leaving a high stress job, where I had gained a few more pounds than typically come with the aging process and had let my muscles, once finely shaped by another form of Uncle Sam's influence on me -- the US Army, where I served as enlisted and officer for almost eight years (counting a few years of reserve duty), atrophy. I just did not have time for much physical activity in a job th

Excerpt from Divorced! (Romer): Don't Let Your Ex Make You Miserable

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From Divorced!  by Joanna Romer Don’t Let Your Ex Make You Miserable! While many divorced people want to discuss with their ex “what went wrong” with their marriage, you may find yourself coming to dread such conversations. Going through my second divorce, I told my therapist, “I feel awful after I talk with him, and I don’t know why!” The therapist’s reply: “So, don’t talk to him.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “I have to talk to him—“ “Why?” he interrupted. “You’ve got a lawyer. Everything’s pretty   much hashed out anyway.  So, don’t call him.” I was doubtful. “What if he calls me?” “Don’t answer.” Even though it seemed initially like the cowardly way of handling things, I soon found that I felt much better without the bi-weekly conversation with my ex, where we’d been trying to discuss our differences. After two weeks of not talking to him at all, I was noticeably more cheerful. As my therapist said, everything important had already been work