I’m glad there is a crackdown on outrageous claims by companies that mislead consumers. If you blog and review products, this will be of interest: http://mashable.com/2011/06/16/blog-legal-tips/
Legal considerations for bloggers to remember
16 06 2011Comments : Comments Off
Tags: blogging
Categories : journal entry
Mary Treacy O’Keefe, Thin Places
30 08 2010
Mary Treacy O’Keefe is co-founder and executive director of Well Within, a nonprofit
wellness resource center in West St. Paul, Minnesota, that provides integrative healing services to people living with chronic and/or live-threatening illnesses. She is a certified spiritual director with a master’s degree in theology, and conducts workshops on spirituality and healing. Her writings have appeared in magazines and books, including Chicken Soup for the Christian Family Soul. Mary talked with Nadia about her wellness work and her book, “Thin Places”. To listen tot he broadcast, click here. A transcript of this broadcast is under construction here.
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Tags: Mary Treacy O'Keefe, Thin Places
Categories : books, journal entry, Publishing, Radio
Newspaper, Staples World published this photo
29 07 2010
Great fun over the past weekend at the Two Rivers Music Festival in Motley, Minnesota. Not the least of which, was reconnecting with some high school chums I hadn’t seen in many years.
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Tags: Motley MN, newspaper photo, old friends
Categories : journal entry, publicity
Cass County MN Becker Busy Bees–and me
29 07 2010
Cass County MN Becker Busy Bees 4-H Club at the Two Rivers Music Festival, Motley, MN 2010
I was going over to watch the parade Saturday at the Two Rivers Music Festival when I saw this 4-H group holding up a sign with the name of the club, “Becker Busy Bees”. I couldn’t believe that after 45+ years, my old 4-H club is still in existence! I ran over and told them I used to be a “Becker busy Bee” and asked for a picture. Definitely one of the highlights.
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Tags: 4-H club, Becker Busy Bees, Cass County
Categories : journal entry, publicity
Quotable…
4 07 2010“No individual has any right to come into this world and go out of it without leaving behind him, distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.” George Washington Carver
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Categories : journal entry
Weight-loss, visualization, prayer and lucid dreaming. What do they have in common?
19 04 2010
What do weight-loss, visualization, prayer and lucid dreaming have in common? Listen to Mary T. O’Keefe interview Nadia Giordana about her award-winning book, THINKING SKINNY at http://tinyurl.com/y3rpsbx.
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Categories : journal entry
Interview with Ali Vincent, first female Biggest Loser
15 04 2010
For those of you who don’t know the particulars, Ali Vincent weighed 234 pounds whe
n she started as a contestant on the Biggest Loser reality show. At the spectacular finale, she had lost 112 pounds and weighed in at a petite, 122 pounds, winning the title. Ali Vincent talked with listeners about her Biggest Loser experience, and about her new book, Believe it, Be it. She shared how losing weight changed her life and also what life is like as the first female Biggest Loser. She reveals her favorite tips and tricks and a lot more.
On Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Nadia Giordana talked with Ali Vincent on Interviews with Extraordinary Women. Click here to listen to the podcast interview at BlogTalkRadio.
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Tags: Ali Vincent, first female biggest loser
Categories : journal entry, publicity, Radio
Interview with Sue Midlock, writer and illustrator
9 01 2010Nadia’s Introduction: The guest we have with us today is a multi-talented writer and artist from Joliet, Illinois. Sue Midlock has always had a natural gift for drawing. From an early age, she would draw at recess in school rather than go outside and play. She also drew pictures as gifts for family and friends and in her early years, her artistic endeavors were a hobby. But now, Sue gets work as an illustrator. To help describe what she does, Sue coined the name, “Zentacular Art”. MORE…
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Tags: interview, Sue Midlck
Categories : journal entry, Radio
Compliance and full disclosure
4 01 2010
I can’t be certain at this point whether the recent FTC regulations apply to me, this blog, or my BTR radio shows since I’m not a book blogger. But the trend is obvious and if the current regulations don’t now apply to me, they soon will. In the interest of full disclosure going forward, the following information will be found up-front and easily accessible at the “about” tab on this blog:
In the context of my blog posts and interview transcriptions, I will inform my audience whether or not I have received goods or services from the person or company being featured. As a rule of thumb: in almost all cases, I will have read the book by an author I am interviewing (and that author will have provided me with a copy for that purpose). In the case of teachers, life coaches and business owners that provide a range of services, I can tell you that I will (in almost all cases) not have received the services we are discussing (if there is an exception, I will let the readers and listeners know). But bear in mind, I am not reviewing these products, nor am I recommending them. I am interviewing the person with regard to their accomplishments–and I do not receive a fee for the interviews I conduct. Interviews are by invitation only (women I’ve met or heard about and subsequently invited to talk), but I will consider suggestions if you know someone particularly exciting for me to interview.
____________________________
New: Loaded Web Blog Directory
Local Directory for Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Tags: FCC compliance
Categories : journal entry
The next stage of womanhood
12 11 2009
I recently had the distinct pleasure of meeting Gabriele Kushi, best-selling author of Embracing Menopause Naturally (Square One Publishers, Garden City Park, NY) who lives here in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. We will be working together over the next few months on some exciting projects. Gabriele has graciously agreed to be a part of the Girlfriends Over 40 Radio Show in addition to granting an interview for Thinking Skinny With Nadia Giordana on Blog Talk Radio.
(Show dates and airtimes TBD, but if you miss the live show, no matter. Programs will be downloadable and viewable on demand indefinitely. Official announcements and links will be provided at the GFO40 blog).
About the book: We are all too familiar with symptoms: hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, irritability, sleeplessness, and more. While menopause triggers many physical and emotional changes, it also brings forth spiritual issues that, for many women, mark a redefinition of the feminine self. To address the total impact of menopause, Gabriele Kushi has created a supportive, practical, and personal guide to dealing with this time in a woman’s life.
Gabriele first provides a clear understanding of the overall process of menopause, from biological changes to emotional and spiritual challenges. She then goes on to offer research-based nutritional guidelines that can help relieve and overcome menopausal symptoms, as well as healthful kitchen-tested recipes based on a natural foods diet. However, it is the stories and portraits of twenty menopausal women that are at the heart and soul of the book. In their own words, these beautiful women share their diverse experiences with the reader. To get this book at Amazon, follow this link: Embracing Menopause Naturally: Stories, Portraits, And Recipes
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Tags: menopause
Categories : journal entry
RE: FTC book blogger regulations
31 10 2009Much of the information I refer to in this entry (link follows) is news to me and I will study it and comply where applicable going forward. I’m not a professional book reviewer, nor am I a professional blogger, but since I do post my personal opinions and sometimes mini-reviews about some selected products and books that I’ve had experience with, I plan to be proactive, learn what this is about and apply any necessary good practices to my blog and its entries. That said, the following link at J. Kaye’s Book Blog presents the details.
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Tags: book review regulations
Categories : journal entry, Publishing
For Pete’s Sake
24 10 2009
Hundreds of people came from miles around to the Bear’s Den in Leader, Minnesota today to attend the event dubbed “For Pete’s Sake.” It was a moving show of support for the Achermann family and a concentrated effort to help raise funds needed to continue the search for Pete (missing since July 24th). Those who didn’t arrive early, had to park down the road and walk a good distance. It was wall-to-wall people. My parents and I came early (to unload our donations for the auctions). There were games, raffles, a silent auction and a live auction. (The auctioneer, Daryl Larson is an old friend from my High School graduating class.) It was nice to see a few other people from high school and also friends of my folks from the farming community.
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Tags: benefit, Pete Achermann
Categories : journal entry
Help find Pete Achermann
22 10 2009
I’ve known Peter since I was a kid. He’s a long-time family friend, and an especially good friend of my father. One look at that face and jaunty cap, and you immediately know why he was so well-liked. That’s a story for another time. Pete is missing and must be found. The 82-year-old disappeared under puzzling circumstances July 24, 2009 (he does not have dementia or Alzheimer’s).
Final plans are shaping up for the ‘For Pete’s Sake’ benefit event this Saturday, October 24th to help the Peter Achermann family continue their search for Peter. Please join us and come to the benefit, or help however you can–make a donation to the auctions (info below) or make a cash donation.
The benefit will be this Saturday, starting at noon at the Bear’s Den in Leader.
The spaghetti buffet dinner and benefit will be starting at noon. The day will include a live auction from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., a silent auction, raffles and games throughout the afternoon.
Needed are new and gently used items for both auctions. Cash donations can be sent or brought to: Mid-Minnesota Federal Credit Union, c/o Peter Achermann Search Fund, PO Box 39, Staples, MN 56479.
For more information, contact Amy Winkels, Staples (218) 895-7189, Jim Johnson, Motley, (218) 296- 1445, Sherri Zetah, Lincoln, (218) 575-2899.
Peter was last seen in Staples in the early afternoon on Friday, July 24. His car was found July 25 on a minimum maintenance road in the woods roughly five miles northeast of Staples.
Full scale searches that began that Saturday and took place daily over the next three weeks were all fruitless. Despite hundreds of volunteers searching the woods and bogs in that area, no other evidence of his presence – other than the vehicle – have ever been found. (In the interest of accuracy, times, dates and places, some parts of this blog entry have been excerpted from the Staples World.)
Additional info is posted at my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/nadia.giordana. You don’t have to “friend” me to read it. And even more details about this disappearance can be found at: http://helpfindpeter.com/
VIDEO: http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/Peter_Achermann_Missing_Staples_Aug_7_2009
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Tags: Pete Achermann
Categories : journal entry
43 years later
4 10 2009
It’s strange, looking at these two photos, but now in 2009, 43 years after the first one was taken (1966), I’m happy to be looking a lot less “old and tired” than I was during the years leading up to 2007. (I’ve posted a number of those “fat” pictures on this blog and also at Thinking Skinny.com.) So this comparison isn’t for friends and family who have known me all my life (for them, the weight loss was a welcome return to normalcy). I posted this for the people who have only known me during the last 15 years. From some of them have come comments (not unkind, mind you) like, “you look like a completely different person,” or “you don’t look like yourself anymore.” From their point of reference, they are right. From my point of view, I’ve shaken off negative midlife thought patterns that made me overweight and old before I had to be, and I’ve happily resumed a more natural, easy to maintain, and healthy manner of living.
I know I’m not alone. Getting derailed by the stresses of life (including taking care of everyone else while neglecting self) happens to the majority of women in America at some point in their lives and to a lesser degree, the men. The methods I used in Thinking Skinny helped get me back on track.
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Tags: comparison
Categories : journal entry, Publishing, Success, weight loss
Staples World Story…
18 09 2009The Staples World article, “Whatever happened To…” can now be read in its entirety online at this link: http://www.staplesworld.com/news/2009/0813/crow_wing_currents/045.html.
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Tags: Staples World
Categories : journal entry, Publishing
Be Mindful of What You Say…
27 08 2009A friend showed me a T-shirt that said, “Be mindful of what you say around me. You might end up in my next book.” I’ve got to get one of those!
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Tags: funny t-shirt
Categories : journal entry
One “More” Bit of Good News
7 08 2009
More.com just published a third excerpt from THINKING SKINNY: To read it CLICK HERE
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Tags: Thinking Skinny article published
Categories : journal entry, Publishing
Fluidity of Friendship
25 06 2009Real friendship is not rigid. It does not stand on contrived apologies and feigned forgiveness. It is fluid like a river, flowing around lingering shadows of careless offenses, carving out new direction and illuminating the depths with sparkling reflections of human complexities. –NGK
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Tags: Life Quotes
Categories : journal entry
“I’m Not Feeling Sorry For You,” came the cutting words…
14 06 2009“I’m not feeling sorry for you.” That’s what the photographer said to me.
I had gone to have a professional photo taken for THINKING SKINNY, among other things. When I arrived, I was asked what I expected to get out of my session, so I told them about my weight loss, my book and that I wanted an author photo and also a full body “after” photo showing what I look like today.
During the shoot, the photographer, a woman who had expressed interest in losing weight when she first spoke to me, suggested I adjust my clothing which didn’t seem to fit quite right. I tried, then made the comment, “I’m still replacing my wardrobe with new pieces.” That’s when she said to me, “I’m not feeling sorry for you.” Her comment didn’t make me feel flattered, but unwelcome and resented.
That same day, the other woman on duty also expressed interest in how I had lost weight. Before I could answer, she added, “Don’t tell me I have to eat right!” I said “Well, that is one of the things you would need to do. In addition to that, my book covers how to adjust your mindset and use prayer and meditation to help keep you on track and increase your results.” Then when she saw Thinking Skinny on my business card, she said, “So if I think about being skinny, I will be skinny? The more I think it, the skinnier I will get?” she asked incredulously. It sounded like a challenge.
I wasn’t prepared for their reactions. I simply wasn’t expecting them. But I can see my old self in their comments, so I don’t blame them, or harbor any resentment. I’ve been there.
I’m in a much better place these days, and as a result, the world as a whole looks better to me. I’ve opened myself up to new ideas, new people and new experiences. Did this come about because I lost weight? No, it didn’t. It happened because my thinking, my future, and my new self, were all reset the very first day I “made up my mind” to give it up to God and let him shape my life.
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” —Anais Nin
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Tags: photo shoot, remarks
Categories : journal entry, weight loss
White Gloves Required
17 05 2009
- Plymouth Radisson Hotel and Convention Center
The MNSSDAR (Minnesota State Society Daughters of the American Revolution) 114th State convention included a formal banquet Saturday evening, May 16, 2009.
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Tags: 114th State convention, MNSSDAR
Categories : journal entry
Available at Amazon.com 
