Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Open Letter to Pajamas Designers

Dear PJ Designers:

The other day I was in a large national store looking for PJ’s as a gift. I was having a hard time finding anything. As I wandered the department I noticed other women with scrunch noises, a-gasp mouths, scrunch eyes and just plain rotten looks.
Finally I said to one woman; “Having Problems?” Her comment was just my thoughts. “Everything is ugly! There is nothing worth buying!” I went to the next woman; “You look like the rest of us…having problems?” Her answer was the tops: “Did they get this department mixed up with the pre-teens?” The next one wasn’t so nice: “This is garbage!”

Designers… how long has it been since you have walked the floor of a PJ’s department in any store that is not in New York City? How long since you were in any other state but New York? Or are you just sending the junk out to the other states? The one woman had it right…we are not pre-teens and pre-teens should not be dictating what adult women wear to bed!

Just because we are going to sleep doesn’t mean that we have lost our fashion flare. Scotty dogs, ducks, lambs, bears, moose or any other animal on our sleeping or at times, our lounging attire we left years ago! And by the way there are more colors in the rainbow than, pink, blue, extra pale purple oh yes, and GRAY. And why do most of you think we all like to get ready for bed in pastels? I prefer something just a little sexier in colors.
Oh Please, we have been setting the fashion curve for decades. Including the mod designs: which, came to some designer in London on an acid trip during the late 60’s. But the PJ’s of today are an actual shame.

We are not trying to look like our pre-teens, or our teen daughters. You might think that is ‘cute’ but most of us don’t. We want stylish, designs with great interesting fabrics. You can’t tell me that they can’t print almost anything on fabric these days? They print the moose don’t they? Designers; watch what stores are putting on sale and how soon they go on sale after the item hits the stores. This should help you in what you design.

We don’t want the cramp your style, but the last thing my husband wants to see is me coming to bed in PJ’s with ducks on them. It is demining to women that have been setting the style longer than most of the new designers are old. We might have worn and made the mod designs a hit; but that was back in the 60’s when our mothers were still wearing full skirts.

Happy Holidays
Amazingly Yours
Dr Marlene

I sincerely hope that you and yours have a wonderful holiday season. No matter how you celebrate it the only thing that is important is that you do celebrate and enjoy life.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Decorating like Chanel

This is my most favorite time of the year. Almost everyone is in a good mood. Stores are in their best finery, houses are lit up with sparkling lights and there is a mood in the air that can be felt and best described as wonderful.

In the local newspaper last week I read an article about what an interior decorator would do for Christmas in a particular home. One line that stuck in my mind was “Decorate for Christmas like Chanel. When you think you are done, remove something…or know when to stop.” That statement got me to thinking. Why?

When you looked at the house, you can see why the decorator said what they said. The house was huge and the decorations were the same. The fireplace alone had decorations on the mantel that most homes would only be able to put on the floor. And the floor decorations were life size. If I had a place where I could put up a life size Nutcracker like the one that is taller than me at Costco, I would have a great time decorating. The wreath above the fireplace was 4 feet across. But most of us don’t have homes of that size.

How many of us can put a 25 foot tree in one room? My neighbors could; where the ceiling in the living room is two stories. But the width of the bottom of the tree would take up most of the rest of the room. So it is not practical.

What is wrong with a little excess this time of year? Isn’t Christmas the time of the year when we over do almost everything? It is a season of excess! An extra bow here and a tad bit more garland there and more lights…more lights! So what if it takes you all year to pay off the electricity bill! Isn’t it worth it? It is fun and beautiful.

Besides it gives all of us a chance to be kids again. The wide eyes, the hopeful thoughts, the music, the tastes; this is the time of year that feeds all of our senses. Including thoughts that take us back to our childhood.

Decorate like Chanel…not…go ahead add that extra bow, garland or whatever. It’s that short time of the year when we adults can become kids again. ENJOY!!

Amazingly Yours,
Dr Marlene

This would make a great New Years gift. And be a fun read that can also teach you the secrets I learned on losing over 170 lbs. pick up my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites. It will be a good one to have around just after the holidays. Or if you want to learn more about color, my book Marketing’s Silent Language includes how to use what the eye sees first, to your advantage.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Decorations from What??

Yesterday I had Bonnie Dell from Design Style Taste on my radio show. What a fun show. What was even more fun was all the similarities we have. What really hit home was the story of her Father bumping into furniture when he came home because her and her Mother kept moving it around. Oh my; what memories. My Father would do the same because my Mother and I were always moving the same furniture around, and I was always changing the decorations in the house.

This is the season of memories. The ones I love the best are the stories behind all the different tree decorations that have been handmade. My Mother made decorations from almost anything and I am sure I got her love of the season and her ‘different eye’ to seeing that almost anything (within reason) could be made into a decoration.
My most fun story is a couple of lovely decorations that I have done from what could be called box throw-a-ways. The story starts with was I received for that Christmas. It seemed that I got enough perfume to last me about 8 years! Talk about like minds! That was the year that perfume manufactures were presenting the fragrances’ in interesting boxes.
As I was cleaning up and getting rid of the papers (etc.) from the openings…these boxes caught my eye. One looked like a little gold treasure chest. It seemed such a shame to just throw this away.

So with box in hand off I went to find something to decorate it with. About 2 hours later I have conjured up a lovely little gold box with several red ornaments stacked in the box with a few greens for balance. It turned out great. And what could be better than instant Christmas decorations. Take out of storage…sit on table…bingo…holiday!

Looking to almost anything to become a decoration with a sprig of holly or a bit of ribbon gives a different perspective. Yes I caught my Mother’s eye. And that eye takes me through the season with the wonderment of a child at times. Thanks Mom.

Oh…that decoration came out of the storage box this year with a broken ornament on top. I already knew the color of those ornaments were difficult to get. So this year in place of that broken ornament, I placed a silk red rose. Voila fixed and beautiful as ever and still an instance table decoration.
Amazingly Yours,
Dr Marlene

If you want to learn more about color, my book Marketing’s Silent Language includes how to use what the eye sees first, to your advantage. Or if you want a fun read that can also teach you the secrets I learned on losing over 170 lbs. pick up my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links. It will be a good one to have around just after the holidays.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Remembering Those Who Serve Us

We are all rushed and stressed this time of year. Most of that is self-imposed. All of it is not others reasonability. This is a wonderful time of the year and it is also the time to remember all of those who help us get all our goodies; the salespeople behind ever counter regardless of the store or restaurant.

It is a wonderful time of year to remember the salespeople are stressed also. In fact probably more so then us as they must deal with ‘us’. Wouldn’t it be a great time to Thank them for doing a great job and putting a smile on their face? Let me tell you how this started.

Many, years ago I was in line during the holidays and behind one of the rudest shoppers I had seen ever. By the time she got finished with the salesclerk the poor person looked like they lost their best friend. (You know the look) So I stepped up, with a smile on my face and chatted with them how great a job they were doing. How I could not do what they are doing, it takes a special person to handle their kind of job and all ‘Us’ shoppers really appreciate them; as I left the counter with my goodies, the person was smiling and happy! Not only did they feel great, so did I!

No matter how many problems I have during the holidays, I complement the salespeople. They feel good and because it makes me happy my holiday shopping goes easier. Happy is a wonderful feeling!

Years later, I tried something new. Each year I buy more cards then I need. (They are all so great!) And I always have left-over’s. So I have taken to carry several with me to hand out to the salespeople with the simple phrase written in them “a grateful shopper”. I handed the salesperson a card as I left the counter. Wow…what a high!!!

Sometimes I feel like that “Secret Santa”. Try some of these this season. It can make your season brighter.

Amazingly Yours
Dr Marlene

Give the gift for the New Year

The Thinking Side to Thin”
7 Mental Secrets to Successfully Winning the Weight Loss Game
Available on Amazon or www.thinkingsidetothin.com

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Freaky Friday

I must admit that I actually added to the rest of the people getting out early on what is usually called Black Friday. I have always wondered why the media called it Black Friday. There is really nothing black about it, except maybe the sky.

We tried Freaky Friday a few years ago and found the people that set their alarms and made it to the stores while the raccoons were still out were really nice people. But why did they do it. Was it the extra $10 gift certificate you got at one place, or the free breakfast you received at another? What made them participate?

It all starts with the ads that run on Thanksgiving. That paper in our area is bigger than the biggest Sunday paper we usually receive. So you pour over the ads, seeing who has the bargains that are on your list of gifts for Christmas. Then the decisions! Which store do I get to first? Do I have to get up at 3AM or 4AM? And, when will I have the time to get to the store that is giving away breakfast? Oh…the decisions…


So you roll out of bed at 3:30AM (the store is close) and hit the road while those raccoons are still scurrying the neighborhood. Under an almost party like atmosphere you line up outside the store. Bundled up…coffee in hand…then the doors open. BUT, unlike that you see on television when Feline’s has their sale on bride’s dresses. This group of shoppers is cautious, happy, helpful, funny, and calm for such a stressful time. Many consider this fun!!? Many do this every year! Stores reward these people with extras, bonuses, gift cards and more.

The one thing these Freaky Friday shoppers have learned is those items with the biggest discounts don’t last. In some cases…they don’t last to the end of that line outside. This is found primarily these days at the electronics stores; where a $200 laptop or a $300, 42inch plasma is waiting for the really brave who camped out all night for those bargains. Some stores are even using a way of handing out a ticket for their limited supplies. Starting at the front of the line for all the super specials they have in the store. That way they have order instead of chaos, and everyone still stays happy.

Here is the interesting observation. The people at the back of the line don’t leave just because they did not get a ticket for the super specials. They stay. They still shop, they still have the experience and fun and sometimes…people who have the tickets for some items give them away because they are already over their budget. So they get to play Santa Clause too.


What a great concept. Bargains, fun, new friends, food… that does sound like a party. So why doesn’t the media rename black Friday to something more fun; like Sparkling Friday or Freaky Friday. Yes it is freaky to get up that early to go shopping. But it is fun! And it’s only one day a year!

Amazingly Yours,
Dr Marlene


If you want a fun read that can also teach you the secrets I learned on losing over 170 lbs. pick up my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites. It will be a good one to have around just after the holidays. Or if you want to learn more about color, my book Marketing’s Silent Language includes how to use what the eye sees first, to your advantage.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Fast Time Usually Unsuccessful

The seasons are upon us and so are the weight loss ads. You think this is bad just wait till after the holidays. What can I say; I will be presenting a program on my radio show about losing the holiday weight and getting healthy. However, unlike most of the ads for this pill or that pill, we will be presenting a healthier way.

Back to the ads…the biggest problem that these ads and pills have is according to them, you can lose the weight FAST! The public on a whole, can’t wait for anything these days…change your hair color in an instance, have your teeth look like the latest movie star in one visit even surgeries are being done quicker. While all this is very true and it seems we are racing towards science fiction being science fact; our bodies haven’t gotten the message; it is still operating on its own schedule not societies.

If you gain the weight slowly over time, losing it fast just puts you in the category of the 97% of the people that gain back 110-125% of the weight. What is even more interesting is that of the people that have the weight loss surgery 60% gain back as much as 30% of the weight. Now for this category of weight loss people that can be a huge number.

The body is the body and will always win out. No matter where we are in science, the body is a machine that operates at a certain level. With some people that level is smarter than others. With others, that level is their muscles are better focused to sports. But on the whole, the body operates within a certain range to get all the daily functions completed.

So why even go on a “diet” to lose weight??? Duh! Function is very important to the body and if you carry around excess weight, that body starts to breakdown sooner. Ladies that means you get older faster!!! So losing the weight is like stepping back in time. (Sort-of) Haven’t you ever seen pictures of people that have lost a lot of weight…most look younger!
Because of those statistics the best way to lose that weight is slowly.

Amazingly Yours
Dr Marlene

My show this week is an incredible inspirational story of an amazing woman who loved, lost, lost again, and again then came back to a wonderful new beginning.

You can learn the secrets about my weight loss of 170 lbs. with the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites. Or if you want to learn more about color, my book Marketing’s Silent Language includes how to use it to your advantage.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Ode to a Cold

NOT!! I do believe that a cold is actually worse than the flu as aliments we humans go through. First it lasts longer. Second there isn’t much that you can do about it short of taking something to relieve your symptoms.

I just spent the worst cold week that I can remember in years; including losing my voice the day before last week’s radio show. Oh what fun that was. I don’t know about you but I think a cold is the biggest waste of time and energy there is.

And don’t you just love the term…we catch a cold. The visual to that is we run after the cold virus with our little nets till we catch it…like a butterfly. Oh Please! Why would anyone in their right mind want to have a cold?

Your head fills up….your nose fills up…your ears fill up…my word you feel like you are drowning! And In what!!! You know what it is! Then you take all that ‘stuff’ to make you feel better. I don’t know about you but when I take that stuff…I lose my brain power! It goes right straight down to running at 2 miles per hour instead of 65. After all you don’t want to go over the speed limit.

So off to the drug store (great term) your go to fill up your basket. You have the AM/non-drowsy ‘stuff’; the PM/help you sleep ‘stuff’(when I take it keeps me awake); and that wonderful ‘stuff’ you squirt up your nose to ward off the cold!!! So here you are at the counter with $50 of stuff for a cold that, with or without it, will last 7-10 days! What is wrong with this picture?

With all our wonderful science breakthroughs and all our great minds in medicine, you would think that after all these years those scientists could have come up with something? Maybe they just don’t want to…after all $50 times millions and millions of people each year with colds does add up to a nice tidy sum. Hummmmmmmmm?

Than about 7-10 days after all this starts…your body says okay I am done and that cold is going….going…gone! The head drains, the ears drain, oh yes…hand me the Kleenex…the nose drains! The voice returns to almost normal (I say almost because you kind of forget what it is suppose to sound like), and ‘they’ say you should be immune for at least 6-12 months. Obviously they have never had small kids in school where a cold is passed around all season.
Yes, my ode to a cold is a plea to the scientific community…please can’t you at least find something that can get rid of this waste of time illness in less than 7-10 days!

Amazingly Yours
Dr Marlene

We have a great woman on today that is a jeweler. Catch the show at 1PM Pacific time on Voice America Women or later in the archives.


You can learn the secrets about my weight loss of 170 lbs. with the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites. Or if you want to learn more about color, my book Marketing’s Silent Language includes how to use it to your advantage.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Entering the Season of Beige Food

We are now entering the season of Beige food. The Holidays of turkey (beige), gravy (beige), dressing (beige), sweet potatoes (almost beige), pumpkin pie (dark beige) get the picture?

Most people put on about 3-6lbs during the Thanksgiving four day holiday. WOW!! Just imagine how much food must be eaten to gain that much weight. Why do you continue to put on that weight and sometimes keep that weight on every year?

Tradition! Tradition started during the time of the pilgrims when adding a little weight during the fall to early winter, help the people make it through the winter months when food from the fields was scarce. We don’t have that problem today; in fact, we have the opposite problem. We have abundance!

Abundance in the form of a markets teeming with all the goodies of the season and more; because of world trade and markets open to everyone, we can get all the great foods of the world all year long. When it is winter in the northern hemisphere it is summer in the southern hemisphere and vice versa.

The other problem that we have is we no longer have to tend the field and go out and hunt for meat to put on the table. In fact we are more of a sedimentary society than ever. This computer that I am typing on is one of the big reasons.

So we stick with traditions and we gain, and we gain, and we gain weight each and every season. No wonder 67% of the population of the US is overweight, with the world catching up quickly. 38% of our kids are overweight, that number is frightening.

Now is the time to break with tradition and think before we buy this season. The turkey is wonderful; but hold back on the butter. (That bird will taste just as good and be better for you) Skip the dressing if you can, if not make as little as possible and go for no left-over’s. Skip all the potatoes and go for more than one vegetable. You will even be able to have more than one helping of those green beans. Make your own cranberry sauce (it is so easy) don’t use sugar…use something else and it still tastes great. Now that dessert! Try other pumpkin delights that are not a pie. You can get the same taste but cut the calories. You might even cut the nap time problem.

Stay in amazing shape for the New Year!

Amazingly Yours,
Dr. Marlene

I have a personal jeweler coming up on the show on 11/14/07 don’t miss this one she will give you hints for your holiday giving.


You can learn the secrets about my weight loss of 170 lbs. with the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites. Or if you want to learn more about color, my book Marketing’s Silent Language includes how to use it to your advantage.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Small World Getting Bigger

Talk about sending mixed signals. Big news this week…Disneyland is shutting down the Small World ride to make all the boats bigger to accommodate today’s larger people. At the same time there is news that schools are trying to get younger students to eat better. Studies have shown if the fat is put on at a younger age it is harder to get off later in life. (That is so right)

So here we are as a nation; making it easier to be fat and telling our younger people you should not be fat. HUH??

Talk about sending mixed signals. I still can remember when I was very fat the availability of larger size clothes was next to nothing. Today…not only do we have lots of choices, but every store, including the very high end, has teens and younger big size clothes.

Are we becoming a nation of fat people? What happen to the trying to get the weight off and get healthy trends of the last few years? I have noticed on some websites of large size clothes they are not offering size 40 or 6X for women. What size is that?? We have never heard of that size before.

I have been doing some research, and let me tell you this. If you want to shorten your life get fat! The body and the skeletal system can’t support all that weight. Why do you think fat people have a hard time walking? And those who are really fat sit most of the time. Remember the story of the 1200 pound man who had grown into his couch? He couldn’t walk!

I will get into this more on Friday. For my Amazing Women I will tell you this now. To slow it down or even bring that aging clock to a slow crawl…losing the weight and getting the body healthy and balanced is the number one thing to do. Until Friday…

Amazingly Yours

Dr. Marlene

You can learn the secrets about my weight loss of 170 lbs. with the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites. Or if you want to learn more about color, my book Marketing’s Silent Language includes how to use it to your advantage.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Small Color Change – Big Appeal Value

DON'T FORGET TO TAKE MY POLL ON COLOR
WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT IT WEDNESDAY ON THE SHOW

We will be talking about color this week on my radio show, but it will be in regards to clothes. Today let’s take a look at a small change I did for a huge change in visual value.

I have a glass top table in my family room that had granite stone (gray) pedestals since I bought it at auction. It was originally purchased for an office that was decorated by a blue base person that I moved out of a long time ago. The room that it is in has a warm wood floor, warm honey colored chairs, and one small wall above the bar that is a warm yellow base red. We are both yellow base people and we love this room.

The table had always been jarring to my eye in the wonderfully comfortable room. Fixing the problem was like a wonderful bolt of lightning that cost us nothing. Sunday morning, while drinking my coffee, I remembered that we still had the pedestals from the old dining room table. Those pedestals were made of stone (keeping the overall look the table) but the stone was a wonderful yellow base color, pretty close to the entrance hall stone color.

So we did a switch. We went from 4 corners of gray pedestals, to two center cream pedestals. WOW what a difference. Not only did it change the look of the table, but the whole room suddenly came together. An added bonus was the look of more floor space.

Why…because the eye did not stop at the gray corner pedestals any longer. Because the new pedestals were a warm base stone, the flow of the colors in the room was complete. The eye and the brain no longer had to “get past” the wrong color; they were no longer jarred. When the eye stopped at the old color the room suddenly shrinks to the brain and the room took on a cramped feeling. By keeping the warm base color in the room, the eye and brain no longer have a problem with the flow through the room.

The same holds true with color on the body. If you put on an outfit that you think suddenly makes you look old or fat…check the base color against your skin…if it is the wrong base color get rid of it! After all no one (male or female) wants to look old or fat. Do we??

Amazing Yours,
Dr. Marlene

You can read all about the systems and how they work in my book Marketing’s Silent Language, http://www.silentlanguage.com/ or…you can learn more about my weight loss of 170 lbs. and the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available at Amazon or under links to my sites.

Friday, November 2, 2007

A Little of This and A Little of That

Don’t forget to take the poll on my posting from 10/31/07.
We will talk about it on the show 11/07.

My mood today is about some of the following.

Speaking of Halloween…isn’t nature wonderful. Here is Southern California, after all the fires and all that heat with the raging winds…what happens…a couple of days before Halloween right on cue nature changes and fall weather slides in with coolness and great Halloween weather.

Speaking of nature…I wish that congress would just leave day light savings time alone. In fact we are not saving anything at all. Nature does what nature does on the earth with seasons and a few hundred people in a room really have no control of what the earth does at all!!
Yesterday I drove about 70 miles to an appointment. What I noticed was before 6:30pm it was starting to get dark and within a few minutes most people had their headlights on. (Some these days are automatic, yeah!) So where is the savings? I was taught in, way back when, in electrical engineering classes that you can’t save energy. It must be used or you will lose it. Hummmmmm isn’t the sun a HUGE energy ball?

Working on a program for the New Year for the radio show, it is going to be about getting into shape, losing weight, eating right and getting the right mental attitude to make it all happen and stay with you for life! OK so this is a teaser. The show is evolving and I will be adding more features.

Speaking of the fires…EVERYONE should stop by their local fire department and thank them for all they do. They are our first responders. Here in Southern California we love all our fire people. I know that during the summer our local department is out sometimes 4 or 5 times a day. These guys do it all. Just think what it would be like without them.
Have a great weekend!!
Amazingly Yours,
Dr. Marlene
You can learn more about color in my book Marketing’s Silent Language including how to use it to your advantage. Or you can learn the secrets about my weight loss of 170 lbs. with the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween and Spooky Colors

Hi Everyone! If you are here from listening to my radio show today welcome. Sorry this is going up so late. I had to help out all the little trick or treat ghosts and this year really cute costumes.

This is what the poll is all about:

I just spent the most frustrating time last weekend looking for some new clothes. (Yes I have become a major clothes-horse since the weight loss) Here is my problem as I see it.

The styles themselves were great when I wore them back in the 70’s but with persistence and a few good places I can get around the style problem. My problem is the colors in the clothes. One thing that I learned while writing Marketing’s Silent Language is that clear or clean colors look best. I do not include that statement for the “heathered” look of two colors of thread like what the designers call oatmeal: that, is a specific woven effect.

What I am talking about is the gray undertone to most of the colors in the stores. I went to all the big stores…I live close to South Coast in Southern California and everything and I mean everything is either in those malls that are very close to South Coast. It made no difference if it was very high end or very low end price range. The colors to me all had a gray cast to them. This made the garments look dirty or old or an out of fashion color. Except for black or white

My problem is, all the colors seemed to be affected. I remember this happening a couple of times before, as I mentioned in the book, just before the tech bubble burst a few years ago, Gray was in the “in” designer color. It is a depressing color to be an “in” color. I am beginning to think they had a lot of gray dye left over and are using it up now. I don’t know…the colors seem old looking.

Am I the only one seeing this? Are you seeing this also? Are you having a frustrating time shopping with the colors that are in the stores?

Next week on the show we will have a personal shopper, designer and movie costume designer. I would like to discuss this problem with her and I would like your opinion also.

Go out and take a look where you usually buy clothes. Are the colors good on you? When you put on the clothes do you feel good?

After you have formed your opinion take my poll. If this is not enough of an answer email me at drmarlene@excite.com. This should be fun. Can't wait to see your results.

Amazingly Yours
Dr. Marlene

P.S. Don’t forget to listen in next week, Nov. 7th to our personal designer and see how the poll came out. Or you can always listen later on iTunes or download from the archives.

You can learn more about color in my book: Marketing’s Silent Language including how to use it to your advantage. Or you can learn the secrets about my weight loss of 170 lbs. with the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Now About the Delicious Pictures…

In my last posting I promised to tell you about the pictures, ah yes those beautiful pictures of wonderfully delicious food. Perfectly arranged, dripping with enticement, visually cooked to perfection. Yeah right!

When people ask me how I stay on my eating plan lifestyle change, they always want to know my secret…I have never told anyone. What I think of when I order at a restaurant or fast food chain. What goes through my mind as I scan the beautiful color menu of luscious dishes…until now!

I think of a photo shoot of food I assisted on years and years ago. I have no idea if they still style food the same today because of digital photography and photo shop. However what they use to do to food was amazing. To get food to look appetizing, they had to go through the most un-appetizing things. Food is just plain hard to photograph and did not hold up well under all the hot lights.

Here are a few ‘styling tricks’ they used on food.

Meat of any kind with those “grill marks”…stamped on with a mixture of steak sauce and dark furniture stain.

Milk always use to shoot a little blue,(like skim milk looks) so most of the time photographed milk was either regular milk with Elmer’s White Glue mixed in or just glue and water. Yum…
You could forget getting any little moisture drops on any food under the hot lights. So all moisture drops are glycerin, sometimes put on one drop at a time, sometimes sprayed on. So all those salads with the just cut freshness look is lettuce with cardboard under it, (so it won’t wilt down) sprayed with glycerin.

That great cup of coffee! Ever notice that coffee has a few bubbles just to the side along the edge of the cup? Most of the time that will happen in a regular cup for just a few seconds after the coffee is poured. To shoot that look in a studio, you had to whip up good ‘ole Elmer’s Glue with water and sometimes a little egg white for those bubbles. The stylist would put in a few bubbles, and then step back for the shoot and hope they would last.

That hot off the grill look of most anything was glycerin again and if you wanted just a slight bit of vapor or smoke coming off the meat with just a tiny smoke pill or a tiny tube under the food attached to canned smoke. Now I am sure they use photo shop for this now as this was a huge time waster when it was used. I remember that shot took about 30 takes. And remember that food doesn’t move.

Ice Cream was a real winner and each stylist had their own little tricks on how they made perfect ice cream cones. The one I sat in on used a combo of paint, ‘Playdough’, plaster and whatever goodies are in the ice cream, like chocolate chips etc. Bingo…forever lasting ice cream cones.


Now you know a little trick on how I analyze food on a menu or in a fast food chain and how I don’t eat as much in restaurants. Enjoy your next outing to any restaurant.


Amazing Yours,
Dr. Marlene

Don’t forget to listen to my show on Wednesday: Halloween, I will be talking with a Wicca or what they use to call a Witch.

You can learn more secrets and about my weight loss of 170 lbs. with the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Two of the Three Senses…Gotcha!

Eating out instead of at home when someone is trying to lose weight, can be one of the toughest things to do. It doesn’t matter whether you are going to a nice restaurant or a fast stop to fast food you must manage the restaurants advantage of appealing to two of your three main senses.

First as you walk into the food establishment, you are engulfed with the smell of food! Your personal smell sense with pick out the smell that you like the best, if you are in a group note that one person will smell one thing and another with hit on another smell. (The only time this will not happen is if something has been burned in the kitchen)

Second, comes the sight. The wonderful pictures of all the great dishes the place offers in perfect full color just dripping with enticement. Gone are the days of a simple list of what the restaurant has to offer. Children, teens as well as adults are hooked. Then comes the mega plate meal for each person including the children. What can you do?
Children are easy: an adult can order for them or better yet, if the child is old enough get regular food an extra plate and let them have part of your food. Trust me you have more than enough in today’s market. I will tell you how I avoided the picture trap later.

Teens: Teach them how to make the better choices when they are not eating at home. Here are some quick fixes to today’s problems. Mexican Fast Food: Sticking with the tacos is the best bet. Here is where the boys will appreciate this. Tell them instead of ordering 3 get 4 (more food) then take all the filling out of the tacos onto a plate or wrapper and toss the shells!! Eating the inside, without the shells makes a much better less calorie and fat meal. And it is good! If their peers start ‘hassling’ them, use the allergic to something in the shells comment and let it drop. They may also discover that eating this way will lessen that mid-afternoon sleepiness.

Learning to get rid of most of the breads or fillers in fast food means, while not a perfect meal, will be better. Hamburger places are starting to put out more ‘low carb’ burgers. Again for teens, teach them this way to eat a burger, and let them add an extra slice of cheese; again more food less problems.

Now let’s tackle the problem with those wonderfully rich ‘coffee’ drinks you get at those coffee places on every corner. Teen girls seem to be addicted to them. So I asked one while waiting in line for my coffee. Why do they get those drinks? “Oh, it’s my lunch…so much better than all that fast food!” I almost fell over!! So I asked them do you know how many calories are in each of those drinks. Well…in most of the large ones, there is over 800-1000 calories and you don’t want to know the fat grams! Do you know that you could get many tacos or a couple of hamburgers for that many calories! They were stunned. I explained how I knew, and one in front of me didn’t order her drink. Yeah, changing one mind at a time!

For the girls: if they ate the food instead of the rich coffee drink, maybe some of the “muffin top” hang over on the low rise jeans would go away; which is the start of midriff bulge in many women in their 20’s and 30’s.

For the boys: more protein would help them build better muscle to take into manhood.

I will tell you about the pictures in the next posting. More hints in future postings.

Amazingly Yours
Dr. Marlene

You can learn more secrets for teens and about my weight loss of 170 lbs. and the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Training Teens and Eating Right

One of the comments that I get when it comes to my weight loss is “You have such will power; I’ll bet you never eat anything bad and never eat in a fast food restaurant”. Yeah, right, sure…NOT!

During the entire time that I lost the weight, I had fast food. Mexican, hamburgers, even hot dogs (which are the worst) and pizza, I still ate. The difference, I didn’t make it a habit and I was very careful in what I choose.

Teens on the other hand practically live in these places. Or should I say, they drive through them often. Dashboard dining is very common amount those teens with drivers licenses.
What can you teach a teen to; either lose weight or keep it in check, when all the choices of food are spread out on a wall in full color pictures looking enticing and delicious, perfect to eat? Then there are their peers…what can you do?

Let’s take the peer problem first. The age of the child has a lot to do with what is said. As I tell them, if you are losing weight or trying to stay healthy the easiest way to explain the difference in eating habits is one of two ways.

The first is you have discovered that you are allergic to what you are cutting out of your eating. Flour, sugar, bad fat, those items make a huge difference. If peers say they have never seen you with a runny nose, the answer is, this allergy hits me inside. Enough said then drop the subject.

The second is a little harder to pull off. That a coach suggested this is a better way to eat for the child’s or teens build.

Here is what I teach the teens. Within a few weeks to months the body will start to change. They will look better and have a lot more energy. With the right changes they will have more alertness and not be so tired. They will be changing their system to be more efficient. And in some teens, their skin might start to clear up. Wow what a benefit that will be.

They are right in the middle of raging hormones. The body is going through many changes at once. Taking a few of the problems away from the body makes the hormone changes easier on the system.

This is an easy ‘sale’ to teens; they may call you crazy at first, but challenge them to try it. It is easier than they think.

Friday I will discuss what to look for and choices at fast food, or eating away from home. They will be surprised that quantity may not have to change.

Amazingly Yours,
Dr. Marlene

You can learn some of the secrets for teens and about my weight loss of 170 lbs. and the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available on Amazon or under links to my other sites.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Teen Agers and Eating Right

At least once a week I read in the newspaper or even a magazine how nutritionist or psychologist are training pre-teens and teens in school how to eat better so as to not be one of the 38% of children that are overweight. Then, because I live very close to a high school I see kids do as they want. The places that are the busiest during lunch is the pizza parlor, the convenience store, the Mexican fast food place and now the ice cream truck with a line of 20 deep. At this age nothing is worst than not fitting in. Peer acceptance is what drives most teens.
It is almost as if the nutritionist and the psychologists forgot what it was like when they were a teenager. That their “new way” of teaching ‘children’ is going to work. Good grief ! Telling teens that they should not be eating in fast food restaurants, is like telling them not to breathe! Then you have the peer problem.

Rather than teaching them the ‘new way’, which is no different from the old way, wouldn’t it be better to observe them, then teach to their needs and life style; giving them a few secrets on how to eat, not get fat, still fit into their peer group and not get teased by others?

The biggest problem these ‘teachers’ have is they never had the problem of gaining weight or losing weight. Or they have the problem of being overweight while teaching and the teens blow them off immediately. Teens are not stupid maybe just a little ill-advised, and when presented with options they can use in everyday life, they usually respond.

Presenting a science to teens and pre-teens in a non-scientific way is a hurdle the nutritionist and psychologists need to understand and presenting it at the right time of the lifecycle when it is best absorbed.

More Wednesday on what to present and how.

Amazing Yours,
Dr. Marlene

You can learn some of the secrets for teens and about my weight loss of 170 lbs. and the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available at Amazon or under links to my sites.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Most Stupid Mistakes While Losing Weight

Personal responsibility is always necessary in business as well as when we are taking the big step to lose weight. So I am going to give you my 6 Biggest and Most Stupid Mistakes we make with weight loss!!

Mistake #1: Say you are… Going on a Diet! Good grief diets don't work because they slow your metabolism down to a snail's pace. The best way to lose weight is to feed your body, not starve it. Helping to speed your metabolism while feeding your body the food and nutrients it needs. Find out your clock for eating. Work on a new eating plan for healthy living. If you must snack…do so wisely with the right kind of food. Don’t eat junk!

Mistake #2: Eating "Low Fat." If you eat anything purchased that says low fat…you can bet it means high sugar. If you don’t get the healthy fats in your eating the results can be a super-slow metabolism, unhealthy skin and hair, depression, and reduced fat burning. To optimize weight loss, eat a cold-water fish like salmon. And increase your protein intake in other ways.

Mistake #3: Speaking of Protein…Eating Too Little Protein! Most people's diets are comprised mostly of carbs such as fruit, vegetables, breads, grains, cereals, pasta, etc. These foods are important... but you must not neglect your protein intake! Protein is important to help you build up lean muscle tissue, which in turn will help you burn away more body fat! While you are losing increase your protein as it takes the body longer for it to process and you don’t get as hungry between meals.

Mistake #4: Not Getting Enough Sleep: To lose weight, you NEED to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night... and preferably 8 to 9 hours. Why? Because, any fewer than 7 hours of sleep will cause your levels of cortical to shoot off the charts. Cortisol is your body's "stress hormone." It actually causes you to GAIN FAT! Getting more sleep will cause your cortisol levels to stay low and steady. Personally I tried this several times during my 170 lb loss. It is so true. When I had a few extra pounds to wanted to get off…I would go to bed earlier. YES EARLIER! When it is your body and it is becoming a new slimmer body don’t you want to treat it different? Because the old way of treating it was one of the reasons you were FAT!!

Mistake #5: Thinking Self-Destructive Thoughts. If you are constantly thinking thoughts of "I just cannot lose weight no matter what I do," you will make that a self-fulfilling prophesy. Stop the pity party! The old statement…you are what you think…couldn’t be more true! Get rid of that little devil that sits on your shoulder that is telling you all the bad things. When the bad ideas creep into your head, flick that little devil off your shoulder. Then learn new attitudes! The Law of Attraction states that you bring into your life what you constantly think about. The power of positive thinking and new ways are almost magical. You'll be amazed at how quickly you'll lose weight when you keep your mind focused on your health and learning new ways to handle life.

Mistake #6: One Bad Meal Destroys the Eating Plan: Good grief, one bad meal or one bad thing will not destroy your new eating plan. I can’t tell you how many people will go along just fine for weeks and weeks then just have to have a candy bar (280 calories). Then say oh well, I guess I can’t keep eating like I should, I will just give up. Believe me they wanted to give up, because it is taking them out of their comfort zone. As long as the bad item or the bad meal doesn’t become a habit, say more than once a month, your new eating plan will survive! Just get back up on the “bike” and start peddling again!

As your weight drops and your metabolism changes (and it does change!) many or those cravings for candy and potato chips will almost go away. To say once or twice a year. I know my candy craving has disappeared to the point when I do allow some during the holidays, I find I am really not as interested. Now that is a real “trip” for any fat person or recovering obese person to go through!

Amazingly Yours
Dr. Marlene

You can learn more about my weight loss of 170 lbs. and the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available at Amazon or under links to my sites.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Weight Loss/Gain and Personal Responsible

I was at lunch recently when the desert tray was offered. My guest could not believe that I turned down anything on the tray. First after the meal that I just ate, my body was telling me that desert was NOT an option. Second, I have had to make choices in my life to stay at the weight I am.

I have had people tell me that I am strong when it comes to food. ARE THEY KIDDING???? I can hear a taco or a bag of potato chips call to me all the way across town. Oh yes I would love to dive into the biggest bag of chips that I could find and just eat that for each meal till the bag is gone. But I don’t!!! Why?

Personal choice…a choice to be normal weight instead of being obese! Yes I use the word obese. Because the difference between normal weight and obese is partially choice.

Now the reason that I say partially is that we train the body to accept the amount of food that we eat. If we keep training the body to accept more and more and more food we are training the body to be obese. The body will begin to expect more food. In doing so, the body will make room for that extra food. More skin, more storage cells, more veins and arteries. What happens when the body is working like it should…it becomes obese.

The body is a machine. Living but working like a machine. The only part of the body that we have any control over is our brain and our thinking process. But there are two processes in the brain. Our own thinking part; then there is the part of the brain that handles all the processes that we have no control over. Functions that are automatic. Now you are beginning to see what happens. When you give the body more food…the body just builds MORE BODY!

Yikes what a process. That is how people get to be 250, 400, 1200 or even 308 lbs. I read the food intake of a man whose body had grown to 1200 lbs. Breakfast started out with 1 dozen donuts…then went on to 6 eggs and on and on. Trust me this man would not eating 1 piece of whole wheat toast for breakfast. No matter what the media might say. This guy made a choice to be as big as he was. Weather it was a psychological reason or just laziness; he made the choice to eat.

I made the same choices when I was morbidly obese. Such as: eating a huge sandwich for breakfast, never listening to my body that enough was enough at less than half way through. Now with practice, I made different choices. I have learned to listen to my body and my body has trained me very well and rewarded me with considerable weight loss. I will go into more of this next time.

Amazingly Yours,
Dr. Marlene

You can learn how I got to 308 lbs. and what I did to get back down in my book The Thinking Side to Thin. Available on Amazon and on my book website the link is at the side of the page.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Weight Loss and Kids

Two happenings came together last week with shades of the past and many memories. First the good: I was on a panel with Travis Jones, a chef and the CEO of Green Kidz. This new and exciting company is developing, distributing and manufacturing natural and organic prepared foods for children, in order to provide our younger generation a healthy future. Second the not so good. The story of the young girl who got a note sent home because her weight to height ratio landed her in the overweight range of the body mass index. How did these two events create shades of the past?

First…the mother of the girl did not want to face the facts that she was partially responsible for her child being overweight and to make matters worse she gave herself and her child an out or excuse to keep eating, by saying that her daughter was ‘big boned’. I can’t tell you how many times I heard that from my parents and teachers and doctors. On Pleeeze! Most kids do not fall into the ‘big boned’ category.

Second…currently we, as a nation, are feeding our kids the cheapest nutritional deficient and chemically laden foods in our country…why…because it is easy and quick. Today, we seem to be busier than past generations and the food industry have made it easier with “quick meals” in boxes and cans. With most of the packages loaded with sugar, fat and lots of chemicals. Most of the time our bodies don’t know what to do with all the chemicals so it turns most of it to glucose and stores it; the body does know what to do with sugar…it turns it to glucose and stores it. That storage we call FAT!

Currently Green Kidz is trying in a small way to help the busy mothers with the hardest meal of the day. Lunch! Giving the kids the boxes from the store, is easy, but…it is just giving them the sugar, fat and chemicals; and what does the body do even at that young age…stores it! Giving them a boxed lunch without the junk is just as easy and much better for the child.
The shades of the past: I can remember hearing all the excuses from everyone why I was FAT. The only thing that happened was I continued to get fatter and fatter till I weighted 308 lbs. My Mother, bless her, was a great cook. I was never at a want for good home cooking. But, even in those days sugar, fat, and white flour were used a lot in home cooked meals. Today we really do know better and are cooking lighter and better at home. In the past us kids played outside a lot. I also had dancing as a passion. Lots of exercise! Today we are a sedimentary society. One reason is because of what I am using right now…a computer.

Okay, so how does this all fit together? We should be smarter now with all the information that is out there. Excuses don’t work! Never have and never will. That mother should stop giving her daughter excuses and start taking an interest in what her child eats and how much exercise she gets. Teaching her the right way to eat and what is good for the body. Green Kidz has a great idea for mothers. Great meals without all the junk, that gets stored. We must learn the ratio of how much intake of food we can have to the amount of exercise the body gets. We are no longer plowing fields or doing the energy using every day events or the past. Smaller meals that are more balanced to today’s health and exercise standards are necessary. Why? Because we are teaching are children to be fat adults. 69% of the nation is overweight or obese; and that number is rising. Good for Green Kidz for giving us an option.

Making choices for health and weight balance is an option that can be learned, even by children.

Amazingly Yours,
Dr. Marlene


You can learn more about my weight loss of 170 lbs. and the mental methods that I used in my book: The Thinking Side to Thin: available at Amazon or under links to my sites.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Color Comes before Style

One Monday of this week I said that color has a profound effect on each of us every day. It assaults our senses, envelopes our every waking moment. It pulls pokes and prods us, and has a profound effect on our emotions. It stops us in your tracks, can make us hungry and makes us want to buy. It moves at the speed of light and helps program the brain to accept or reject the spoken or written word. For each of us it is buried somewhere in our DNA. That means that each of us knows instinctively colors that make us look good. The problem that most of us have is…we are swayed by style.

Developing a way to get to the colors that will always make us look good can be a problem as you walk into any store today. The array of clothes, styles and colors is mind boggling! Being able to cut through that array just to the color and cut of clothes for our own personality can be time consuming. Knowing a time saying method can help. This method works for men or women even teens that want to develop a true look that is there’s.

As you walk into any store, stop! You want to be far enough away from the clothes that styles will not influence your decision. Now from this vantage point, scan the entire area of clothes slowly several times side to side. As you do notice where to eye stops. If it keeps stopping on black keep trying. Black is a safe color. You are looking for the color that your eye and brain knows is right for you. (This action may surprise you at first.)

If there are only one or two areas, great note them then and only than wade deep into the clothes and see what style is right for your body in those colors. If you don’t find anything, it just might be that the buyer for that area is only buying colors they like. Thus not understanding there is another whole world of color lovers out there. If it is a small shop, you may be up against the same problem and that shop may not be right for you no matter how great of styles they have. Remember color is always the first thing people notice.

By using this method, you will discover that matching items in your own closet will become easier. Colors will work together better. And more clothes in your closet will be used. Letting go of the items that are the wrong color for you no matter how great the style will become easier. Compliments will follow. Go have some fun shopping and experiment.

Amazing Yours
Dr. Marlene

You can read all about the color systems and how they work in my book Marketing’s Silent Language, http://www.silentlanguage.com/

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Understanding Color With Science

Yesterday I gave a speech and decided to try one that I have been working on for some time. The speech had to do with the psychology of being evaluated when you first meet someone. Although there are 7 different items in the process I left the color item till the last because of past experience with other the audiences.

Because I announced this was an interactive speech, I took questions throughout the talk. I knew that the color item was going to draw the most interest. Even the men in the audience had questions and statements as to how color has helped them many times in business.
Early during interest in color one woman mentioned the…winter, spring, summer, fall aspect of color; at that point I noticed the body language of the men and the eye rolls. However, when I explained that the scientific method of color and the blue base – yellow base system, the men were intrigued; and they got it!


If you stick with the real provable science of any theory it will always win. So speaking from the scientific end of color I explained the two different classifications and how you tell the difference. I explained how they are measured. Some people (a little over 66% of the population) have more blue in their skin; while the remaining people have more yellow in their skin.


Each system (blue and yellow) have an entire color wheel except for two colors.

  • In the blue base color wheel there is no orange -- Why? Because there is too much yellow in orange.
  • In the yellow base color wheel there is not magenta – - Why? Because there is too much blue in magenta.

Simple to understand for the men and quick to check.


Over the years what I have learned is that men, when they understand and “get” this system, can be better at spotting the differences then most women. Men don’t seem to be affected by the “styles” of the hour.


When you understand this system, buying clothes and decorating your home can become easier. However, the real help in business in understand this system when present, sell or market to others. You can use the system to your advantage. And in todays market any advantage helps. More next time.


Amazingly Yours
Dr. Marlene


You can read all about the systems and how they work in my book Marketing’s Silent Language,
www.silentlanguage.com

Monday, October 8, 2007

Why is Color Important?

Over the next few posts I will be discussing color, how it works and why it is important. We are engulfed in color daily; but have you ever really thought about it what it does and how it works?

It assaults your senses, envelopes your every waking moment. It pulls pokes and prods you, and has a profound effect on your emotions. It stops you in your tracks, can make you hungry and makes you want to buy. It moves at the speed of light and helps program the brain to accept or reject the spoken or written word. Color is an incredibly powerful business tool.

How does color work? We are assaulted on a daily basis of over 16.3 million colors. This assault is actually due to the science of color…the chemical make-up of the object being viewed along with the light under which it is viewed. You make constant choices based on this science. There is a chemical and light reaction in the eye and this process creates a physical reaction that is unique to color or color combinations. (Such as my reaction to certain colors of blue used on certain objects.)

Two important psychological things take place when you view color.
  1. You will feel more comfortable with and desire that colors that are in your spectrum. (The spectrums will be explained in the next posting.) To your eyes, the colors in your spectrum are more desired to you and obviously better taste. Each color of the spectrum that is opposite to your eyes might appear dull, or not as sharp, harsh, garish or even a little cheap. While the colors that are in your spectrum have a more pleasing look.
  2. There is also a reaction in your mind. You are automatically drawn to certain colors because of past associations and experiences with them. That has nothing to do with your “color within your DNA”, but rather the psychological associations you have had with those colors in the past. For example many little girls love pink and many times mature women revert back to that same color to bring back youth that is past.

Color is one of the first things other people notice about you when you meet for the first time. It does not have to be their spectrum for an appealing reaction. It must be in your spectrum to make you look good. It might even be part of that memorable combination necessary for you to stand out.

Imagine what the world would be like without color. Think about the movie Pleasantville. It all started as a black and white with shades of gray existence…then color was added. Things were never the same. Become amazing learn about color. More later...

Amazingly Yours
Dr. Marlene

Friday, October 5, 2007

Taking Control of One’s Life

On the show on Wednesday (10/3/07) I talked with an organizer (Regina Leeds) about what it meant to a person when they organized parts of their living space. She said that when you organize you are taking control. That got me to thinking about taking control of other parts of our own lives.

When I wrote “The Thinking Side to Thin” one of the themes throughout the book is taking control back from being overweight. Understanding what we put in our mouths and what is the affect on our bodies. Supplements are a great place to start.

Supplements today in the US are I think a trillion dollar business. (Give or take a billion) But how many of us really understand what those supplements do to each of us and how they react to other medication that we take.

At one point on my road to losing the 170 pounds I though since I was not eating the huge amounts that I use to eat, I would need supplements to help keep me active and energized. Was I wrong! When I increased my supplements my weight loss came to a screeching halt! My body said “Oh good you are giving me what I need, why should I go get it from the stored fat!” So I had to become a detective and started investigating about every supplement I took.

We have a lifetime of information available to us (both good and bad) on the internet today. But with diligence we can weed out the bad. What did I discover? Many of the supplements I had been taking were completely unnecessary. And with others, I found out that taking them together made them useless. At another time I had a bad reaction to two supplements that I was taking. In my body, taken together, I GAINED WEIGHT…not the outcome that I wanted at the time.

As I say in “The Thinking Side to Thin”, I became a walking experiment. I worked at finding out what was the best possible combination for my body. I TOOK CONTROL! Then my outcome was what I wanted. My weight loss was much easier and I had the energy and I was more active than ever.

Taking control is very empowering. The control radiates out to other parts of your life. This type is not control of arrogance, but the real control and the feeling that you understand what is going on. An internal confidence, that radiates to others. You can get the book on one of my favorite links on this page.

Again today I want to thank all my radio listeners that have made my show Amazing Women, brains, beauty & style the #1 show, after only 8 weeks, on Voice America Women.

Amazingly Yours,
Dr. Marlene

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

WOW - Thanks to all my Listeners!

I have a great big thanks to all the growing number of listeners. After only 8 weeks with a radio show I hit #1 on the Voice America Women Network. Today we crossed 13 weeks and that is a magic number in radioland. Jeff, the president of Voice America said he expected good numbers, but these surprised him. And Me! Of course now they expect more.

What ever is going on...please... keep it up! I am working hard at bringing great interviews to the show; Amazing Women, brains, beauty & style. Bright, sharp and smart women and we have a great time on the show. Most guests think the hour goes by too quickly. So keep telling everyone about the show. In the coming weeks I will have some additions to the show that I think everyone will like. My list of amazing women to interview is always in need of new people. I do have a place on my website (see favorite links) to contact me with names and don't forget their email address. If you think of something you would like discussed on the show...send me that also. I am open to suggestions.

The amazing woman I had on today Regina Leeds, the guru of organizing and decluttering was so good with all her stories and information (pick it up from the rss feed) she could help all of us live life less cluttered. I talked to her off the air today after the show and she has agreed to do a show around the first of the year on how to make the post holidays less stressful and what to do to get organized for 2008. So don't miss this one. If you sign up for my E-Card that goes out each week telling you about the show, you won't miss a thing.

Hey advertisers...if you are looking for a show with a growing female audience, this is the one you are looking for; with more on tap for 2008.

One last posting. Congratulations to Tim and Cathleen (our youngest boy) they are making us first time Grandparents!! Yahoo! You will make great parents and just imagine it should only take about 25 years to get it right.

Amazingly Yours
Dr. Marlene