AUTHOR DONNELL ANN BELL ON SUSPENSE, SMOOTHIES, CAULIFLOWER AND THE D-WORD

Award-winning and Amazon multi-bestselling author Donnell Ann Bell gave up her nonfiction career in newspapers and magazines when she became obsessed with writing a mystery or thriller. Her obsession paid off. She’s now the author of four romantic suspense/thrillers and two suspense novels. Her current book, Until Dead: a Cold Case Suspense, is the second book in her Cold Case Suspense series, following Black Pearl. Learn more about Donnell and her books and find links to her other social media at her website. 

Is Sixty the New Forty?

All right. I’m almost sixty-five (and recently signed up for Medicare) but who wants that in a headline? This blog all started when our esteemed host texted me with a reminder that I had an article due for October 12 to coincide with a recipe I’d provided Lois months ago. I’ve been up to my eyelashes in personal business, so her reminder was greatly appreciated. 

 

As it turns out, Lois and my texts often result in a phone call. We simply have too much to say in our texts, our hands start cramping, and cellular data adds up!

 

Our conversations never stay on topic, and this morning was no different. We talked about the Florida hurricane, Lois’s recent trip, and it never fails, we always, always lament about diet.

 

My brother once said to me, “It takes very little to keep us alive.” I assume he was talking about food. Oxygen and H2O are givens.  Lois and I often compare notes because we’ve discovered my brother was SO right! 

 

We can be quite disciplined (at times). We’ve tried two nutritional shakes and one meal and have had some success with that. Lois was having trouble finding one of her favorite shakes, so I sent her a picture of my latest attempt—turns out it was given to me by the same woman who provided the spicy cauliflower recipe (and she’s lost 40 pounds at this writing.)  So, not only are you getting a side dish I find quite tasty, but you’re getting a smoothie recipe, I think is delicious (and filling) as well.

 

Back to the headline, I may be approaching sixty-five. But thanks to the diets and exercise regimens we’ve enacted over the years, I told Lois I don’t feel sixty-five. She was quick to quip back, “Well, sixty-five is the new forty-five.” 

 

Works for me, and I like her attitude, don’t you?

 

As one of Lois’s least crafty friends, please forgive my lack of a craft project here. I’m always astounded at the creativity of others, however, so keep up the good work!  Without further ado, here are two recipes that might help the waistline and curb some cravings.

 

Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/4 cup strawberries (or your favorite fruit) 

1/2 container of Oikos yogurt (look for the 0 0 0 and black wrapping, which means no sugar, no artificial sweeteners, and no fat)

1/2 the bottle of Fairlife Nutrition Plan.  I purchased the chocolate. At 150 calories and 30 grams of protein, this is good all by itself.)

 

Throw in crushed ice, blend the above ingredients, and you have a tasty treat that doesn’t taste like it belongs near the word DIET.

 

Now we all know that people can’t live on smoothies alone, so here is a side dish recipe I absolutely love. Yes, I know there are carbohydrates in corn, but the cauliflower and picante sauce have limited calories, and it’s so easy to prepare!

 

Cauliflower, Corn, & Picante Medley

Ingredients:

1 bag Frozen cauliflower rice 

1 small can or frozen corn (use as much or as little as you like – I’m all about the crunch)

1/4 cup picante sauce

 

Cook veggie rice on stove top, combine corn and picante sauce and you’re done. I think it takes less than ten minutes or so. Serve as a side dish, or I make a batch to munch on when writing. 

 

I hope if you try these, you’ll let me know how you like them. As I close, I have to ask: Do you feel your age, and are you doing your best to thwart Father Time?

 

Until Dead

A Cold Case Suspense, Book 2

 

This killer won’t stop …until she’s dead

 

When Lt. Everett T. Pope is notified of an explosion in downtown Denver close to the judicial buildings, his first instinct is gas leak. No such luck. As Incident Command and Pope’s own Major Crimes unit move in, he discovers he knows the intended victims—an Assistant U. S. Attorney—and Pope’s former partner, now a private investigator, has died shielding the injured AUSA with his body.

 

As ATF and the FBI take over investigating the bombing and unraveling motives behind the murder attempt, Pope is relegated to a peripheral role. But the injured AUSA’s aunt is a United States senator used to getting results. She turns to the team that solved the Black Pearl Killer murders with a very big ask—find her answers and locate the bomber.

 

FBI Special Agent Brian DiPietro must recall his entire cold case team from their far-flung assignments knowing he’s being asked to do the impossible. The senator, however, doesn’t know the meaning of the word. All too soon, DiPietro finds his team working alongside ATF on a red-hot mission. One that uncovers a decades’ old cold case.

 

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BEAUTY WITH NICOLE--WRINKLE PREVENTION

If you don’t know by now to use sunscreen to protect yourself from skin cancer, you’ve probably been living someplace that rarely sees sunlight. For years conventional wisdom has also said that sunscreen protects our skin from aging. And who wants wrinkles, right? Cute laugh lines grow up to be deep crevices, and most of us would like to delay that part of our lives for as long as possible.

Now there’s scientific data to back up that conventional wisdom. In a 4-1/2 year study of adults ranging in age up to middle-age, Australian researchers found that applying broad spectrum sunscreen reduced the signs of aging by 24%.

Sunscreen...don’t leave home without it.

BEAUTY WITH NICOLE--GUEST BLOGGER LEYLA KEE-McPARLIN

Leyla Kee-McParlin is a British beauty blogger with extensive experience blogging and interviewing on behalf of websites. Feel free to tweet her about this article to @DigitalLeyla. -- AP

Beauty at Any Age: Andie Macdowell and Diane Keaton

As a beauty blogger, I regularly read numerous fashion and beauty articles in both traditional and digital media for research and inspiration. One day I came across an article focussed on Hollywood star Andie Macdowell and I was inspired by her take on being a beauty spokesmodel: “I like being an advocate for women who are not babies anymore, and I love being able to make the statement that beauty is not a number. There's not an age limit to it." In this age of media extolling beauty icons of a youthful and nubile nature - so-called ‘Young Hollywood’ - isn’t it time we listened to and admired icons of mature beauty rather than looking to women who are trying to defy the onset of ageing and constantly want to change their identities?

Spotlight on: Andie Macdowell

Andie, lauded by Style Bistro as one of the most beautiful women in the world over 50, is one of my all-time favorite women. When asked about her beauty regime, Andie prefers to keep it simple: sunscreen, exercise and a good dose of positive thinking. A strong opponent of putting an age limit on beauty, she has been a spokesmodel of L’Oreal for a quarter of a century. For me, her elegant beauty is combined with an assured confidence and astounding open-mindedness. Andie doesn’t like to judge those who want to improve their appearance, hence allowing her name to be attached to products such as L’Oreal Inoa, as long as they feel that their confidence will be improved as a result. As a consequence, her appeal is more like the beautiful next-door neighbour you admire from afar than an untouchable movie star. From delving deeper into Ms. Macdowell-related research, I came to realize that she credits a healthy outdoor lifestyle for her health, rather than the superficial, glorified detox diets and gruelling indoor gym workouts favored by her Hollywood successors. An amazing story from Andie’s early days is when she was a working model in New York, maintaining a healthy weight in spite of being told to lose more. Her witty retort was “don’t book me then”; as a result she got a stint in Calvin Klein’s commercials and a movie to boot! Her advice is sage: protect your skin, eat healthily and pick your cosmetics according to health benefits and not for aesthetic reasons.

Spotlight on: Diane Keaton

Diane has always been somewhat of an idol for me. Although I am a great deal younger than her, I have always loved her from both a beauty and professional perspective. Rising to fame as the title character in the Woody Allen classic Annie Hall, she became the archetype of the woman I wanted to be. Gorgeously neurotic, intelligent and not overly romantic, Diane is a delightful bridge between the hippie attitude of the Seventies and the inspirational go-getter of the Eighties. Her beauty style reflects that. I think what really strikes me about Diane’s beauty style is how it visually illustrates her principles. Cosmetics for Diane have the purpose of enhancing and not covering up: her style is subdued and natural with an androgynous flair. Eons before the menswear trend of the Noughties, Diane had perfected a strong and sexy look without the need for surgery.

So what do these two icons teach us?

Although they are the faces of a huge mutli-national brand, Andie and Diane represent – without sounding too clichéd – the real women amongst us. We all age: fact. But it’s how we face the ageing process and place our beauty as secondary to our other features that define us. As a beauty blogger, I firmly believe that from these icons we can learn charm, versatility, longevity and the daring nature to carve out a unique identity who have never lost their sense of feminine appeal.

Andie once said that "with age comes a wonderful sense of well-being and strength." Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned from these icons is how we should prioritize inner strength and happiness above all other points.

Do these two icons resonate with you? Are there any other icons you would suggest?

BEAUTY WITH NICOLE--LOTIONS AND POTIONS AND CREAMS, OH MY!

Nicole Emmerling is the beauty editor at American Woman.   She’ll drop by on Thursdays from time to time to offer various beauty tips and trends to help us all look our best.  She’s got her work cut out for her, given so many of us (me!) have little time to pamper ourselves and even less money to do so.--AP

LOTIONS AND POTIONS AND CREAMS, OH MY!
by Nicole Emmerling

Many of the editors at American Woman are like Anastasia, of a “certain” age and fighting it every step of the way.  How much have you spent over the past year on anti-aging lotions and serums to ward off or reduce the onset of crow’s feet and laugh lines?  Too much, I’m sure.  Products found in drug stores can run you $50 and up.  Specialty products from high-end companies can be as much as $200 for less than 2 oz.  What price beauty!

Well, listen up, ladies, because the truth is that no matter what Madison Ave. is touting, none of these products lives up to the hype.  You may see minimal improvement, but is minimal improvement worth maximum bucks?

If you want your skin to look young, healthy, and vibrant, this is what you need to do:

• Wash your face twice a day.  Many women are afraid to wash their faces too often because they’re worried about drying out their skin.  What you should be worried about is all the crud and toxins that build up on your skin throughout the day.

• Hydrate.  Regular moisturizing gives your skin a healthy glow and can act as a barrier against both pollutants and air borne bacteria.  Using moisturizer is far more beneficial to your skin than any pricey anti-aging serum.

• Exfoliate.  The outermost layer of your skin is made up of dead skin cells.  Use an exfoliating scrub once a week to remove this dead skin.  Then apply moisturizer while your skin is still damp. 

• Use sunscreen every day, no matter the weather.  Yes, we all need Vitamin D, but sunscreen is a skin’s best friend.  Always protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays.  Trust me, those wrinkly prune women you see walking around all spent way too much time working on their tans as teens and young adults.  Besides, wrinkles may be the least of their worries.  Melanoma kill. 

• Get a good night’s sleep.  Aside from those unsightly bags and dark under eye circles, lack of sleep can cause excessive production of stress hormones that may slow collagen production, and collagen is what keeps us looking young.

One final piece of advice: May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Know the signs of skin cancer and have any suspicious growth checked by your doctor.  

Have a beauty tip you'd like to share?  Let's hear from you!  And remember, everyone who posts a comment this week is entered to win a book from our Book Club Friday guest author.-- AP