The reason it’s so hard to get, and stay, in great shape is because we are all just so incredibly busy. We’ve got work, friends, family, etc., etc. Every single day there is so much to do — so much going on! Obviously, those who are successful at transforming their health and maintaining good physical fitness have a lot less going on in their lives than we do, right?
Well, as much as we might like to believe a lack of time is what’s preventing us from building a lean, strong, healthy, body, the truth is, that isn’t the case. Believe it or not, people who are successful (and I mean remarkably successful in this endeavor) have exactly 24 hours in every day, just like you and I do.
Yes…I know…sometimes it’s hard to believe, but it’s a fact — there’s not a single person on the planet who has figured out how to make a day longer than 1,440 minutes. And, in reality, folks who experience extraordinary success in the area of health and fitness are usually just as busy as we are — their lives are hectic; they have careers, families, friends, and obligations; and unexpected obstacles and problems pop up in their lives as well.
So why does it so often feel like we don’t have time to eat right and exercise? I’ve been forced to ponder that query often because it is by far and away the most popular excuse given for why so many people "can’t" make a commitment to building a better body.
So what’s the answer? Well, some say "not having enough time to exercise" is simply a cop out for people who are lazy and don’t really want to look or feel better. But, after having the opportunity to work with thousands of people over the years who really want to get in great shape and are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever met; I don’t think "laziness" is the primary culprit here. I’ve discovered most people simply don’t understand how to "create time," and, therefore, they’ve bought into the "perception" that they are too busy. (Remember, perception can become reality) Most people just don’t understand how possible it is to find the time to invest in building a healthy, energized body.

successmagazine.com

The Nov. 9, 1967, Volume 1, Issue 1 of The Rolling Stone magazine, then in a newspaper tabloid format featuring a front-page photo of John Lennon, came perilously close to being sold at auction.
The state treasurer’s office is given the responsibility of handling unclaimed items in safe deposit boxes, and employee Audrey Moore tracked down Shaff, an Oklahoma City accounting consultant.
“To be honest with you, when I was contacted, I had no recollection of ever doing it,” said Shaff, 48, a youngster when The Rolling Stone’s first issue came off the press.
He usually likes to collect first-edition signed books by certain authors and said he bought the magazine perhaps 13 years ago through the eBay online auction and shopping site. He apparently placed the shrink-wrapped publication in a safe deposit box along with some commemorative coin sets and some old canceled stock certificates.
Reunited six weeks ago
Shaff, got the magazine and other items about six weeks ago as the treasurer’s office was preparing for Thursday’s auction of items abandoned in safe deposit boxes. The treasurer’s office received items from Shaff’s safe deposit box in 2003 and displayed the magazine in 2005 when it was promoting an auction that year; it wasn’t sold then because the treasurer’s office wanted to continue to search for the owner.
Shaff is making sure he doesn’t lose track again of his vintage Rolling Stone, which he’s been told is worth “a few hundred dollars.” He is storing it in a display case at his office.
He said he “most likely” will pass the magazine to his children.
“If my kids show an interest in things like that, I will,” Shaff said.
“Other than that, I will probably take it to the grave with me.”

newsok.com

“It was a love-at-first-sight thing. Since we’ve been together, we’ve been inseparable,” Cannon tells the next issue of People, on stands Friday.
On April 30, just five days after he popped the question on the rooftop of her New York apartment building, the two were walking down the aisle on a white carpet at sunset at the beach on her estate in the Bahamas. He wore Balenciaga. She wore an off-white dress by Nile Cmylo. “And (Christian) Louboutins — I can wear high heels with Nick because he’s tall. Flats are not in my repertoire,” she says.
The two, who met at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, began dating in late March. At the time, they had begun shooting the video for her single Bye Bye. He was cast as the romantic lead. “From the first time we sat down to discuss the video at the Beverly Hills Hotel, we connected. … I was able to be myself with her,” he says. “We are both eternally 12 years old.”
Some friends knew the couple were getting serious, she says. “One thing (few people) knew was we got tattoos a few weeks earlier. So anyone who saw my (”Mrs. Cannon”) tattoo wasn’t surprised,” she says.
“To me rings are special and exciting, but tattoos mean more than anything. They’re forever and ever,” says Cannon, who has “Mariah” tattooed on his back.
And what about children? “It’s part of the whole purpose of getting married,” Carey says. “I’d just want our children to have the best childhood and upbringing they possibly could.”

usatoday.com

Middle-aged men are going under the needle to get a ‘poker-face’, says Danielle Gusmaroli
The quest for eternal youth, men are finally catching up with women. The modern male has now discovered a weapon that females have had in their armoury for more than a decade: the Botox injection.
Since its launch in Britain almost 14 years ago, Botox has become the fastest-growing treatment in the cosmetics industry.
Marketed as a quick anti-ageing fix, it is used by 100,000 Britons a year. And according to statistics published last week by Transform, Britain’s leading cosmetic surgery group, a fifth of all patients are now men. In the past 12 months, there’s been a 50 per cent increase in male patients signing up for the treatment.
The Harley Medical Group, which has 11 clinics nationwide, says 45 per cent of its clients requesting such non-surgical treatment are male, mostly from “metrosexual” centres such as London, Manchester and Brighton.
Botox for men is such big business that it’s even got a nickname: Boytox. The growing acceptance among men has been fuelled by celebrities.
“Botox is no more unusual than toothpaste,” says X-Factor judge Simon Cowell, 48. “It works. You do it once a year. Who cares?”
Certainly not Cliff Richard, 67, Donny Osmond, 49, or Peter Andre, 35, who have all admitted to some muscle-freezing jabs. Male executives are not taking to lunchtime injections in greater numbers just to smooth away the signs of ageing. The treatment – which contains botulinum toxin-A, a bacterial nerve poison that causes a serious form of food poisoning known as botulism – reduces elasticity in the forehead. This makes men look more inscrutable, which enhances their authority in the boardroom. Apparently, the same “freezing” effect that gives some women a startled appearance leaves men with a poker-faced assertiveness.

telegraph.co.uk

CHICKEN AND PEPPERS
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast strips
2 1/2 teaspoons fajita seasoning
Half a 16-ounce bag frozen pepper stir-fry
1 cup frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add chicken strips, fajita seasoning and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink, 5-6 minutes. Stir in stir-fry peppers and corn. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and chicken is golden brown. Toss in cilantro and serve with tortillas, if you like.
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
2 6-ounce cans tuna, drained and flaked
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, saute onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds longer. Add tuna and another 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and heat through, stirring constantly. Season mixture with salt and pepper, then pour over pasta and toss. Have some breadsticks on the side.
BEEF WITH RED BEANS AND RICE
1 pound ground beef
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 15-ounce can red beans, drained and rinsed
1 8-ounce box Mexican rice mix
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef with bell pepper, breaking up beef into crumbles, until meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes; pour off drippings. Stir in red beans, rice mix and the amount of water indicated on the rice package (omitting any oil or butter); bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook according to package directions, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat; stir in diced tomato, salt and pepper. Have some baby carrots on the side.
1 long baguette, sliced into 4 6-inch-long pieces

seattlepi.nwsource.com

AT first, Le Vent du Nord sounds very much like a traditional Celtic group, but then the voices come in and we are in another world. For one thing, the singing is mostly in four-part harmony, and for another it is in French.
A quartet of musicians from Quebec, Le Vent du Nord, which appears Saturday at the Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz, is probably the best-known group in a burgeoning French Canadian folk revival.
“When I was young, it was considered a shame to play this music,” says Nicolas Boulerice, speaking in accented English on the phone from Montreal. “It was like, ‘Woof, you play traditional music? It’s weird . . . . ‘ But now it is becoming à la mode.”
Boulerice says that all the group members are in their early 30s and that he and the guitarist, Simon Beaudry, grew up surrounded by such music.
“We were both born in traditional-music families. People were singing and dancing that traditional stuff, so we didn’t learn it, we were just born in it,” Boulerice says. “But we also make research for new repertoire, and Olivier [Demers], the fiddler, he composes a lot of tunes, so we have a mix of new and old.”
That mix is at the core of Le Vent du Nord’s approach. The group’s basic instrumentation is fiddle, hurdy-gurdy, accordion and guitar, with occasional piano and bass. The overall sound can have the gentle lilt of concert ensembles such as the Chieftains, but also the flavor of crossover groups like Steeleye Span and the pioneering French group Malicorne.
“The new generation has re-appropriated this music,” Boulerice says. “Taking it not as a historic thing but like something that is still in movement. Now you can have a thrash-trad band, a reggae-trad band, a pop-trad band. We can open our minds and bring what is in our own tradition but also what we like in other styles. So in the way we play the chords, you can hear we studied a little jazz, and in concert especially, we like to kick a little bit like a rock ‘n’ roll band.”

latimes.com

(andPOP) - If we didn’t see enough of Britney Spears’ acting chops in her acting debut, “Crossroads,” we’ll get to see them again.
The troubled singer is set to guest star on CBS’ hit show, “How I Met Your Mother” on May 24, US Magazine reports.
She will play a receptionist at a doctor’s office named Abby.
“Britney’s people ended up coming to CBS and expressing interest in our show, and we were thrilled: ‘Britney Spears watches our show!’ ” HIMYM creator Craig Thomas told usweekly.com.
Spears attended a table-read with the cast earlier this week, which she arrived for early so she could talk to the director beforehand.
As for the cast’s reaction?
“Great, they seemed to click. She seemed to fit right in! She was having a good time. She was laughing. And it’s a very sweet, romantic episode, so the vibe in the room was just very fun. Everyone was having a good time, and I think she had a good time.”
It was expected Spears would film her spot this week.

read_more

I was in Senegal for a few weeks, and was assisted by an able and creative young man. For a while, I wondered why he did not react to my text messages. His French was good. He dressed well, if rather flashily in my Anglophone view. We had a fight when I asked him for receipts and I realised he could not read.
One of the things I was curious about was those people who risk life, lungs and thousands of family dollars to get to Europe. All the news-papers talked about “desperation”. It did not make such easy sense.
You have young Congolese men going to Angola with $5 000 to get on a ship to Brazil —not to find an economic future in one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but to work in Brazil and find their way to France.
In Senegal’s Mbour, a kind of touristy Franco-African village, young men lift weights and run on the beach every day, training to cross the Sahara. They train as if they are planning an international sporting career, with commitment and pain. They talk, and plan and share intelligence. It has become a movement. France is no longer the place to go — it is Italy and Spain. One group says “Barça or die”. They take vows that if they do not get to Barça, they are prepared to die.

read_more