WLW: Where I Am Now

The Numbers - 6 :)

Yes ma'am - I've lost a total of six pounds and let me say, each pound has been a struggle. I admit, I'm having a really difficult time just keeping myself on my program. I accept full responsibility for what I put in my mouth - and I realize that willpower alone will accomplish nothing - but I feel like every meal is an uphill battle lately.

What's really frustrating for me is that in general, I eat pretty healthy. I love veggies, salad, fruit and while I have a weakness for carbs, it's already ingrained in me to eat the bulk of my carbs by lunchtime. I just seem to be HUNGRY all the time! GRRR....

I am an emotional eater and it doesn't help that it is abnormally cold here in Ohio. I have a tendency to hibernate when the weather is really cold so I'm fighting against staying inside and being warm and getting my chubby butt outside in the cold for some exercise. Lame excuse - I know. The good news is that I have been hitting the pool three times a week and that is helping out a lot.

So my goal for the week is get back on track, stay on track and have a good week. What's your goal?

My blog has won an award!

The oh-so-fabulous Tilly Greene has nominated my blog - this very page that you're reading, for the I heart your blog award. The award originated from The Romance Studio - Tilly won then nominated me.

Thanks, doll!

Okay so the things I'm suppose to do are:

Add the logo of your award to your blog - There it is, all nice and shiny

Add a link to the person who awarded it to you - She's up above.

Nominate at least 7 other blogs - its going to be tough!

Add links to those blogs on your blog - I can do that.

Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs - I can do that too - I love to hit blogs and add comments. :)

My Nominees:

http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ - You can't love romance and not appreciate these bitch-divas.

http://www.goodbadandunread.com/ - I'm always looking for something good to read.

http://www.karenknowsbest.com/ - Love her or hate her, she always tells it like it is.

http://www.dearauthor.com/ - book reviews and more

http://ladiesoftheclub.blogspot.com/ - a group of wildly talented authors who share their work and their lives.

http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/ - I loves me some Tom and Lorenzo - that are just FAB.

http://www.topmodelgossip.com/ - I can't help it, I'm an Americas Next Top Model Junkie

Corporate Bad Guys

Small Publisher's Feel the Power of Amazon's BUY Button

This story began earlier in the year when Amazon demanded a deeper discount from some publisher's than is the norm which is 50%. This time around it is Hachette Publishing - a larger publisher in the UK.

The publisher’s chief executive, Tim Hely Hutchinson, sent a defiant letter to many of his authors explaining the “oddities” of vanishing buy buttons. The online retailer, he said, was demanding a bigger slice. Publishers traditionally sell books to retailers at a discount off the recommended retail price, but Amazon was demanding more than its existing 50 percent.

The dispute with Hachette is not the first in which Amazon has resorted to removing the “buy now” buttons for certain books. In the spring it started disabling the icons for some small publishers in the United States that resisted Amazon’s demand that they use an Amazon-owned company, BookSurge, for print-on-demand services. Amazon is the dominant seller of such titles.

I used to love Amazon when it was the new kid on the block. They were so cutting edge and offered the best discounts...then they turned into a corporate monolith intent upon screwing those of whom their income is dependent. As an author, I applaud Hachette for standing up to the suck-tastic bully that Amazon has become.

Amazon - you suck.