7 Years Younger
The Revolutionary 7-Week Anti-Aging Plan
by The Editors of Good Housekeeping
Genre: Self-Help
Publisher: Hearst Communications, Inc.
Publish Date: January 1, 2013
Format: Hardcover | 416 pages
Rating: 5 of 5
With the New Year just around the corner, this is a time when many people reflect on the past year, resolve to make changes and incorporate a more healthy lifestyle. 7 Years Younger offers the tools and advice needed to begin achieving those goals quickly.
Written by the Editors of Good Housekeeping and endorsed by Dr. Oz, this is a science-based program with a holistic approach to looking and feeling younger. The book is divided into three sections. The first part is a 7-Day Jumpstart Plan followed by the 7-Week Plan and finally a selection of light and delicious recipes. Recommended products were tested by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.
The 7-Day Jumpstart Plan includes things you can do immediately to look and feel better. For example, revitalizing your skin with some simple makeup tips, getting the vibrant shine and gloss back into your hair, adding some quick fitness routines, eliminating stress and even exercises for your brain. These provide instant gratification and will keep you motivated for the more involved second part, the 7-Week Plan, which involves a commitment to consistency to build new routines and a healthy lifestyle.
The book is easy to read and written in a magazine style with lots of charts, tips and Q & A’s in sidebars and inserted into the text. A formal plan doesn’t work for everyone, and it’s not necessary to follow it in detail to make a difference in your life. There are lots of handy tops and tricks that can be easily added to your current daily routine. There is loads of information, but not overwhelming so, and if you need to find something quickly, there is an index at the back and a list of recipes including nutritional analysis.
Some of the advice contained in the book are things you may have heard before and some is just common sense. Like get enough sleep, add fruits and veggies to your diet, add a little exercise each day. And there were a lot of things I didn’t know, especially about skin care and makeup, from moisturizers to prescription retinoids. The section on brain fitness and memory was very interesting, and the older I get the more tips I can use.
This is not just a ‘beauty plan’ but a map to a lifestyle change encompassing multiple areas including health and nutrition. Even if you’re not following the formal 7-Week Plan, this book is a handy reference tool. It’s already found a prominent place on my bookshelf. And, courtesy of the publisher, I have one copy of 7 Years Younger to offer to my readers.
Giveaway Details
Win a Copy of the Book
Giveaway is open to anyone age 13 or older with a US mailing address. To enter, fill out the form below on or before midnight, January 6, 2013 (CST). For an extra entry, tweet or blog the giveaway. Winner will be chosen by random.org and notified by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours with a US mailing address.
Win a Trip to a Spa
Click HERE to enter.
More Information
Follow 7 Years Younger on facebook, twitter, or subscribe to the newsletter.
[Giveaway Has Ended]
Winner: Ashley
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Source: Review copy and giveaway provided by the publicist.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season.
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The December host is Susan at Suko’s Notebook .
Last week I received one book for review and three wins.
For review from Random House:
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
by Michael Moss
From a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter at The New York Times comes the explosive story of the rise of the processed food industry and its link to the emerging obesity epidemic. Michael Moss reveals how companies use salt, sugar, and fat to addict us and, more important, how we can fight back. Featuring examples from some of the most recognizable (and profitable) companies and brands of the last half century—including Kraft, Coca-Cola, Lunchables, Kellogg, Nestlé, Oreos, Cargill, Capri Sun, and many more—Moss’s explosive, empowering narrative is grounded in meticulous, often eye-opening research.
A win from Suko’s Notebook:
Lola’s Secret
by Monica McInerney
Nestled in a picturesque corner of southern Australia, the Valley View Motel has been run by the Quinlans for years—and nobody adores the place more than Lola, the family’s lovable and mischievous Irish-born matriarch. So when she insists that her relatives spend their Christmas elsewhere, the close-knit bunch can’t help but be a bit curious. Lola has always had a knack for clever schemes; after all, she once slyly reunited her three feuding granddaughters, whom she nicknamed the Alphabet Sisters. And with the holiday season fast approaching, Lola decides it’s time to stir up some extra excitement.
A win from Carol’s Notebook:
Curveball (e-book)
by Jen Estes
Baseball reporter Cat McDaniel specializes in exposés. Now that very talent has left her unemployed. Desperate to get off the bench and back into the lineup, she is thrilled to land an interview with the Buffalo Soldiers’ General Manager Roger “Rakin’” Aiken–Baseball legend, eight-time All Star … and oblivious father to a Major League bratty co-ed named Paige. Aiken offers Cat the team writer position for the following spring, but the opportunity is tempered by a curveball of a caveat: she must first spend the winter as a blogger reporting on the Latin American training facility. more
A win from Taylor Trade Publishing:
Boozy Brunch: The Quintessential Guide to Daytime Drinking
by Peter Joseph
With Boozy Brunch, you have your pick of more than one hundred eye-opening drink recipes and twenty-five food pairings, with entertaining drink histories and liquor-laden quotes from the famous and infamous. The first book of its kind, Boozy Brunch offers brunchy alternatives and revved-up variations to the classic set of champagne-based, coffee-based, or fruit or vegetable juice-based cocktails that will help you make the most of your brunch.
What are you reading?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Are You Ready for the Holidays?
Only a few more days and Christmas will be here. I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by (no bird pun intended!). I’m glad that the holiday crowds and stress will soon be over.
Today I am baking my traditional Spumoni Cookies and wrapping gifts. In reality I’m putting gifts into gift bags with a piece of tissue.
Only a few more small things to pick up later today and I am finished, ready to relax and enjoy Christmas Eve and a traditional Italian dinner with my family on Christmas Day.
Giveaways
I have two giveaways running this week. I’ve extended the entry date through the holidays to win a copy of Saving Each Other by Victoria Jackson and Ali Guthy to give more people a chance to enter. I am also giving away a three book Midwinter’s Eve prize package courtesy of JKS Publicity. Entry is easy, just fill out the form or leave a comment. Click on the cover to go to the giveaway page.
On Wednesday I’ll have a review and giveaway posted for 7 Years Younger from the Editors of Good Housekeeping Magazine, a wonderful book filled with great ideas on how to look and feel both younger and better.
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
A Rainy Christmas Bird Count
I had planned to post photos of last week’s Christmas Bird Count, an annual event where groups of bird watchers spend the day counting birds for Audubon. Unfortunately, it rained all day. It was an effort to find and identify birds with raindrops falling in our eyes, and impossible to take photos. In spite of the bad weather the day was a success. My group counted 28 species and 725 individual birds.
Charley is a Female
This has been a crazy week and I didn’t have an opportunity to write up an alternate Weekend Birding post so instead I have an update on Charley, the Lovebird I rescued a few weeks ago from a shelter.
I bought a few new toys and let the bird out of the cage a few times for a bathroom sink shower and some exercise. He was settling down nicely and the nipping of the fingers slowed down. Until a few days ago. And then I noticed some odd behavior.
The bird was shredding the paper on the bottom of the cage and building what could only be described as a nest. Yup, Charley is a hen. A hormonal, territorial bird. That explains some of the biting and why she doesn’t want me to touch the cage.
She hollowed out some space between the layers of newspaper on the cage floor and began stuffing it with strips of paper. She would stick the strips in her tail feathers and carry them back to the ‘nest’. I managed to get one photo it.
A quick google search on this activity confirmed that it is normal female Lovebird behavior. All new to me as previously I’ve only adopted male birds. Now I’m wondering if she’ll lay eggs.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
I Am A Reader Not A Writer and Oasis For YA are hosting the Mid-Winter’s Eve Giveaway Hop. It will run through through midnight December 27th.
Over 150 blogs are participating and each will be giving away books or book related items.
I have a special giveaway of three books for one lucky winner with a US address. Entry is easy, just fill out the form below. You don’t have to be a follower to enter but new subscribers are always appreciated.
The winner will receive the following three books:
Comeback Love
by Peter Golden
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Atria
Publish Date: April 3, 2012
Format: Paperback | 304 pages
About the Book
Comeback Love is a bracing journey into the hearts of two lovers who came of age in the 1960s. Plumbing the depths of youth, regret, and desire, Peter Golden deftly illuminates the bonds that mysteriously endure in the face of momentous change.
Bootlicker
by Steve Piacente
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: 9 to 1 Press
Publish Date: Summer 2012
Format: Paperback | 336 pages
About the Book
Ticket to Hollywood
by Gary Reilly
Genre: Comic Fiction
Publisher: Running Meter Press / Big Earth Publishing
Publish Date: December 3, 2012
Format: Paperback | 216 pages
About the Book
Giveaway Details
Giveaway is open to anyone age 13 or older, US only; books will be mailed by the publicist. To enter, fill out the form below on or before midnight, December 27, 2012 (EST). For an extra entry tweet or blog the giveaway. For a second extra entry leave a comment. Winner will be chosen by random.org and notified by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours with a US mailing address.
Before you leave, check the sidebar for other giveaways. Then hop over to one of the many other participating blogs. Click HERE for a list.
Giveaway Has Ended
Winner: Leah CB
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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Each year I join a few challenges to encourage myself to stretch into a variety of genres, formats and it’s fun to take part in a community experience. I did well in most of the 2012 challenges and finished all except one.
Audiobook Challenge
Hosted by Theresa’s Reading Corner.
Success! I committed to 25+ audiobooks and am currently on my 60th audiobook this year. That’s double the number I listened to last year and way more the handful I listened to in previous years.
A list of the books I read with links to the reviews for the past two years can be found HERE.
What’s in a Name 5
Hosted by Beth Fish Reads.
Success! This is my favorite challenge. Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, I read one book in each of the following categories:
1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title:
The Cove by Ron Rash
2. A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title:
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title:
The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller
4. A book with a type of house in the title:
Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino
5. A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title:
The Crossley ID Guide by Richard Crossley
6. A book with a something you’d find on a calendar in the title:
Blue Monday by Nicci French
Read Dystopia
Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
Success! I committed to the Leader of Your District level: 7-10 books, and finished with 7 books read and I’ll be finishing up the 8th one this week. I’ve always enjoyed science fiction but I’m also finding myself more drawn to dystopian books.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
The Stephen King Project
Hosted by Natalie from Coffee and a Book Chick and Kathleen from Boarding in My Forties.
I chose A Lil Bit of King: 3 books. I did read three books but only reviewed two of them. I listened to The Gunslinger as an audiobook and had a terrible time following the plot. I think this is a book I need to read again in print so I can understand what the heck happened.
1. Mile 81
2. In the Tall Grass
3. The Gunslinger (not reviewed)
TBR Pile Challenge
Hosted by Adam at Roofbeam Reader.
Fail! The goal was to select 12 books from your TBR pile that had been there for a year or more and read them in 2012. Sounds simple but I didn’t read any of them! I read over 100 books in 2012 and not one from the list I made for this challenge. I did learn something from this challenge: I can’t choose what I will feel like reading a year in advance. My mood changes and what I thought I would read back in December wasn’t what I wanted a few months later. Plus all those shiny new books are much more alluring. I need a more flexible TRB challenge.
Perpetual Challenges
Amy Einhorn Challenge
The Amy Einhorn Challenge is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.
Success! The goal is to read two books from the imprint each year. I read three.
1. A Good American by Alex George
2. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
3. City of Women by David R. Gillham
Reagan Arthur Books
Reagan Arthur Books Challenge hosted by Kathy/Bermuda Onion and Julie/Booking Mama.
Success! The goal is to read two books from the imprint each year. I read three this year.
1. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
2. Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand
3. Bossypants by Tina Fey
Looking forward to 2013
Besides the perpetual challenges, I have only signed up for one other challenge next year and that is the What’s in a Name Challenge. I haven’t decided yet whether I want to add any more.
Are you participating in any challenges next year?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Under My Apple Tree 