My new ukulele

I've always envied people who can play the guitar. It just seems like magic to me. Unfortunately, my fingers are not strong enough and my skin is delicate enough that playing a guitar is not an option for me. However, when I was a kid, I had a ukulele and I knew 4 chords--enough to play a bunch of different songs. Recently, I made up a little song about punctuation and wanted to perform it, so I bought a baritone ukulele. The strings are easy enough to hold down that I could play it. Unfortunately, I only remember 2 chords. Fortunately, those 2 chords are the ones that go with my new song. So, I played my song for my class and I played it for a group I spoke to. I had them sing along with me and make sounds for the punctuation and we all had a lovely time. I may do it again.

More lifestyle tips and a scrumptious recipe for poached halibut

Whew! The Christmas holiday is over and I'm facing the new year just like everyone else. We're also facing the dreaded tradition of making New Year's resolutions. Bah! Humbug! I believe that if you don't make resolutions, you can't beat yourself up for breaking them. That doesn't mean I don't want to become a better person, or healthier, or skinnier. I just don't want to stress over it or feel deprived. I guess I want things to be easy, but there are things that get in the way.

Here's a little story that illustrates the point I'm making. A few years ago, my husband and I went to California where we both grew up. We both love the mountains, but we love the beach and ocean, too. So, while we were driving along the coastal highway, we saw a sandy road leading to the ocean and took it. We could see the ocean in the distance, but the road wound among sand dunes for a while before getting there. One branch of the road that we took had deep ruts that slowed us down and at one point was blocked so we had to take a different way before we eventually came to the beach that we wanted to get to. I remember seeing the ocean in the distance and wishing we could get to it, but there were these roadblocks in the way.

The road to better health is often strewn with roadblocks that discourage us from traveling on it. Here are a couple of tips to keep you on the road:

Tip #3: To help you avoid sabotaging yourself, first thing in the morning fix yourself a plateful of peeled orange slices, apple slices dipped in lemon juice, cut up celery, baby carrots, strawberries, sliced cabbage, and anything else that is raw vegetable that you even mildly like to eat. Keep the plate on the counter or at your desk where it is easily accessible. The idea is that if you graze on healthful, raw fruits and vegetables, you won't be as easily tempted to go after the bad stuff. You also won't feel ravenously hungry later in the afternoon when those hunger pains are likely to sabotage your good intentions. Feeling full and complete for most of the day can make sticking to the best kinds of foods easier.

Tip #4: Hide the foods that are bad for you so you actually have to go hunting for them. Out of sight, out of mind actually works, especially if you have the veggie and fruit plate out in the open where you can satiate yourself on lower calorie, more healthful foods.

Tips #5: Drink lots and lots of water for two or three reasons: (1) Water satisfies cravings that mimic hunger and a desire for food; (2) If you drink a lot of water, your body will eliminate it more often so it flushes excess fluids, pollutants, salt, and even some fats that you take into your body, which keeps your liver and kidneys healthier and your ankles from swelling; (3) Sufficient water in your body hydrates your skin and keeps it supple so you're less likely to look like a starved turkey as you lose weight.

Here is one of my favorite recipes that is good for an HCG diet, regular eating, and is gluten free as well:

Poached Orange Ginger Halibut

Ingredients:

1-2 pieces of halibut, skin removed (frozen is fine)
1 orange
1/2 lemon
1" piece of raw ginger, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
Onion powder to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place halibut in small frying pan that has a lid.
Squeeze the orange and lemon over the halibut.
Sprinkle the ginger, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper over the halibut.
Put the lid on the pan and simmer the halibut until it cooks just until it flakes in the center. You may want to turn it over halfway through the cooking process.
Serve and eat immediately.

The poached halibut is especially good with a green salad.

New topics for discussion

This past year I've been trying to lose weight after having my blood pressure skyrocket to 245/140. Oh, and trying new meds. I lost 45 lbs. and the new meds are working, but oh, the agony and deprivation of the weight loss process. Being gluten intolerant doesn't help, either. I used HCG, which actually made my efforts work. But since weight loss and exercise and food are such a big part of who I am now, I thought I would share some things, such as diet and exercise tips and recipes that taste good and are gluten free. The first tip is using seasonings, herbs, and spices. I found some that really taste good and are good for blood pressure, too.

Tip #1 At least one raw fruit (preferably apples, oranges, and berries; no bananas or mangoes)and one raw vegetable (no peas or corn) at a meal.

Tip #2 Limit meat, but don't avoid it

Here's a weird but tasty recipe using cinnamon and yellow curry powder and ultra lean beef (hopefully grass fed, free range if you can get it).

Ingredients:

4 oz. thinly sliced sirloin or other lean beef
2 tsp. yellow curry powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1-2 tsp. onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of diced tomatoes, raw, salted and peppered to taste

1. Put the beef slices in a plastic bag with the curry, cinnamon, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. Shake until the beef is well coated.
2. Pour spices and beef into a small frying pan with a lid. Spread out the beef so none of the slices are touching.
2. With the lid on the frying pan, cook on medium heat until one side of the beef is browned. Turn the slices over. Brown the other side, but not too long or the beef will be tough.
3. Immediately put on a plate. Cover beef slices with diced tomatoes. Eat immediately. Enjoy.

Note: This dish is especially good with fresh orange slices and a green salad.
3.

Dragons and Fairytales Nov. 16

Come to the Dragons and Fairytales Bookstore in the Eagle Mountain Ranches area on November 16 to meet me and other Utah authors. I will be doing a reading and signing books as well starting at 5:00 p.m.

Provo Library Teen Fest--October 30

Hey, everybody! This Saturday is the Provo Library Teen Fest. I will be there from 12:00 until 4:30 along with several other authors, including Brandon Sanderson and Brandon Mull. So come!

October 18 Authorpalooza

Another Barns and Noble Authorpalooza will take place October 18. This one will be in the Sugarhouse store in Salt Lake City.

Authorpalooza September 18 Orem

The Orem Barnes and Noble will hold an Authorpalooza this Saturday from 1:00-4:00. Should be lots of fun. Over 40 local authors, including me! Come one, come all.

Good-bye, my baby. Hello, white knight.

So, it's official according to the insurance company. My motorcycle is a total loss after my son crashed on it. I am very grateful both my son and grandson are alive, although injured. However, I am in mourning for my baby, which is what I called my motorcycle. It was a honey of a bike, too--a red and black Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT Classic. I put almost 20,000 miles on it riding all over the Western States and to the Midwest and back. Lots of good memories.

The upside is that I have a new motorcycle. It is white and silver, hence the white knight. It is also a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT Classic, but it is lots newer. We'll see how many miles I can get on it. I thought red and black was the only legitimate motorcycle color, but I'm getting used the the white and silver.

End of summer term

OK--I have three novel stories I could be writing, and I started all three. However, I chose one to focus on and it's coming along beautifully. Cool. Really cool. Today is the last day of class for summer term. I just have to figure out final grades and then I can concentrate for a couple of weeks just on writing. I have 6 chapters done of the new book and about 35 pages. My goal is to have at least 100 pages written by the time school starts again in the fall. Now it is written--so let it be.

tweeting--at last

OK-so I succumbed and am now tweeting @Denelow. Looking for followers. My daughter is also tweeting @MiriamCard. See you on Twitter.

Writing for Charity--Aug 21

Here's some more information on the big event on August 21 that I will be participating in.

A Book for Every Kid Charity Event

August 21

The Waterford School

1700 East 9550 South

Sandy, UT 84093

Daytime Writing Workshop and Evening Extravaganza. All proceeds from workshops and events go toward putting books in the hands of underprivileged Utah kids.

www.writingforcharity.com


A Book for Every Kid Writing Workshop

August 21

The Waterford School

1700 East 9550 South

Sandy, UT 84093

Come spend a day with Utah’s nationally published children’s authors and illustrators! Get your picture book, middle-grade, or YA manuscript critiqued, and learn about the craft and business of publishing from the best writers in the state. Your registration fee will buy a book for each child in a classroom! All-day workshop price is $60, which includes lunch.
www.writingforcharity.com

August 21--two events

I hope everyone can come on August 21 to at least one of two events. One is a Writing for Charity event involving several nationally published authors, including me. We'll have seminars, classes, panels, contests, and gifts. We're trying to raise money to give books to underprivileged kids. The event will be most of the day at the Waterford School in Sandy, Utah.

The second event is a book signing at the Dragons and Fairy Tales book store in Eagle Mountain that evening from 5-7 p.m.

Come one, come all! I'd love to see you.

Barnes and Noble Book Signing

Thanks to the people at the Barnes and Noble in Sugarhouse in Salt Lake City for the lovely time signing books, speaking on the panel, and just hanging out. It was lots of fun.

American Library Association Conference in DC

Last weekend I went to the American Library Association Conference in Washington D.C. I had a great time visiting my daughter and her husband and my son. My daughter went with me to the conference and we enjoyed walking around talking to authors, editors, and marketing people connected with many, many publishers. We also got lots of free books and cheap books and had authors sign them. Fun, fun, fun. But what was the most valuable were the contacts made.

I will post photographs, if my daughter will send them to me.

The Duck Steps Here

This week I went to Kentucky. I stayed in a four star hotel and ate catered meals (most of which I couldn't eat more of than the salad because I am gluten intolerant) and I graded over 1,050 tests for question #1 in AP Language. Of course, at times the things those high school seniors wrote made absolutely no sense. For instance, "The duck steps here." I stared at that phrase for several seconds before I read on, convinced that some things were never meant to be understood. However, a few lines down, the student made a reference to President Truman and a light went on in my brain. Didn't President Truman say, "The buck stops here"? I looked back at the phrase, "The duck steps here" and realized that the rather messy handwriting had reversed the b and made a loopy thing at the top of the o in stops. The student had indeed meant to write "The buck stops here," but had failed to take care in forming the letters. Ah, I said to myself, there is a lesson to be learned here. Understanding is crucial to communication. I tell my students to write in a clear and concise manner for a good reason--so they can be understood. Writing with care--it's something that could save the world. Maybe more people would believe me if I could get Miss America to say it in response to her interview question.

Off to grade AP tests

Wow. I can't believe I'm doing it again. I'm off to grade AP English Language tests--hundreds of them. In Kentucky. It was fun to spend evenings by and in the ocean when the grading event was held in Daytona Beach. What is there to do in Kentucky in the summer? Maybe a steamboat ride, but that hardly compares to playing in the ocean. Oh, well--positive attitude, positive attitude.

Synopses

So what do you do when the actual novel is much better than the synopsis you sent off?

Summer is a time to write

Just when the weather is warming up and hay fever season is in full swing, I'm not teaching or grading. It's time to write. I must be pretty dedicated, because I'm spending hours inside glued to a computer when I could be outside. It's a good thing, too. I've gotten lots done. It took me most of the winter months to schedule some writing in amongst the teaching and grading and write 60 pages of my latest (and coolest so far) novel. In the past couple of weeks, I've added 70 pages and the ideas are flowing. Yesterday I moved over to my father's to take care of him (90 years old with failing health), so the writing will slow down some, but not as slow as during the winter months. What else am I going to do while he's lying down to take a nap? So, maybe I can get a first draft done in a few weeks. Then I can work on the next book that has been taking shape in my head. It's very different from anything I've worked on before--kind of interesting, actually. The more I think about it, the stranger it gets--in a good way, I hope. To quote Alice, "Curioser and curioser." Anyway, I digress. The main point that I wanted to make is that there are sacrifices that must be made when I want something very badly and staying indoors on lovely days is one of them.

Pictures from the Edgar Awards

Thanks to Matt Peyton Photography and the Mystery Writers of America for these photos of my fifteen minutes of fame. In the first, from left to right, are Peter Abrahams (winner of YA category), Saundra Mitchell, Caroline Cooney, John Ford, and me, Dene Low. We are the nominees in the Young Adult category.

Provo Children's Book Festival

I've been asked to participate in the Provo Children's Book Festival next week on Saturday, May 15, 2010, at Academy Square in Provo (the library). I'll be signing my book from 3-5. See you there.