Health. Financial Fridays

Financial Fridays is shifting gears and talking about health. Why health? Because Americans spend lots and lots of money on healthcare. Some health issues and the resulting costs are unavoidable, but many, if not most, are the result of small, daily choices. And so, while it might seem odd to be talking about fiber, hydration, and sleep in a financial-help post it’s important to remember that your health is as much of an investment vehicle as your 401k. It’s been said that your body is the most miraculous piece of equipment that you will ever possess.

And the bodies we’ve been given are as unique as snowflakes. No body is the same. This sad truth is grotesquely unfair, but there it is. Clyde, a bouncing, wiggly, unable to sit still sixty-year-old, has a burning hot metabolism and at six foot and 150 pounds, he can eat as much as he likes. I know someone like Clyde. When I was pregnant I couldn’t share a sofa with him because his constant fidgeting made me nauseated. Clyde is a very different animal from those of us who are more sedate and he needs to feed his body accordingly.

I have a very sleepy child. He can sleep anywhere. He’s fallen asleep on the stairs, behind the pulpit at church, at school. Loved his naps, welcomed bedtime. His sister, on the other hand, always wanted to play and gave up her naps long before I was ready. She needs less sleep. She has more hours in the day than her brother. It’s not fair, but it’s what she’s b

een given.

So, for the next few weeks while I focus on health, please keep in mind that while I’m not a doctor, I am a mom of many. And as a mom of many, I know that our bodies come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. What’s good for one isn’t necessarily right and best for the other, BUT some things, some basic, small daily healthy choices can, in the end, save you hundreds, if not millions, of dollars in health care.

For the next few weeks/months I’ll be writing about healthy living on my

Financial Fridays posts, but I’ll also be writing healthy living tips on my companion blog—Losing Penny and Pounds. I’m starting a new novel and the blog will be, in part, a marketing tool for my book.

Here's the premise: My main character, Penny, is a blogger who chronicled her recent 70lb. weight loss online and attracted a huge following and unfortunately, a stalker. With the help of her honeymooning best friend, she decides to pretend that she's traveling the world. Her friend is taking pictures of exotic locals and Penny is photoshopping herself into t

he pictures, posting them on her blog and all the while hiding out at a remote beach house where she comes face to face with a novelist, Drake, who has his own brand of stalker-- his boss. The two--Penny and Drake-- who intensely dislike each other, decide to fake a marriage to thwart the boss and protect Penny from her stalker. While learning to share a house, a kitchen and a refrigerator, my characters are eaten by dinosaurs, just kidding—but really, I’m not going to tell you anymore because I want you to read the blog and, eventually, my book. Losing Penny, my novel, should be ready for the world by December, 2012.

My blog, Losing Penny and Pounds, will mirror Penny's blog and will featur

e Monday’s Menus, Wednesday’s Workouts, and Feel Good Friday’s Personal Affirmation quotes. (This will be a blog about healthy lifestyles, not about being skinny at any cost. And, of course, all body parts will be referred to in the most respectful manner.)Please visit Losing Penny and Pounds at Losing Penny & Pounds.




And just in case you're wondering--my novel, A GHOST OF A SECOND CHANCE, is currently being formatted and should be live soon.