Marcus Wells | Body Thermodynamics
August 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Dr. Marcus Wells’ book revolutionizes ways on how to energize the body without radically changing your lifestyle. Thermogenix reveals “hidden” cellular potentials that restore, rejuvenate and rebalance your life. In a growing aging society, how we’re to maintain a balanced metabolism will be more important, but also will become more problematic. Dr. Wells’ incredible idea blends both a strong scientific basis towards understanding energy with a natural pursuit of it. This demonstrates so many ways that have been overlooked or misunderstood that we can now achieve what is often call the “super burn” effect of metabolism. This method helps you recapture “latent potentions of energy” necessary to live a more productive happier and healthier life. Dr. Wells was educated and trained in western medicine in the U.S.A. Upon receving his Doctorate of Medicine (MD), he continued his medical education at the world’s premiere bio-medical researchcenter, the National Institute of Health (NIH) where he trained with the nation’s most notable scientist in the areas of heart, lung, blood, and metabolic diseases.
Susan Hetrick Transcript
April 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Dr. Kent Gustavson: Welcome back to “Sound Authors”. Today is the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. Something that was very important to him was his family. Of course, they’ve carried his legacy down through the years.My next guest is Susan Hetrick. She has a book called “Advice from the Blender: What to Know Before You Blend So Nobody Gets Creamed”. It’s an amusing title, it’s been successful for her, clearly, and it’s a book about how to live with families, how to live with step-families, something that we’re seeing in the world all the time now.Welcome to the show, Susan Hetrick!
Susan Hetrick: All right! Kent, how are you?
Kent: Good! Tell me a little bit about what inspired you to write this book, “Advice from the Blender”.
Susan: Oh, about four years ago, I got married for the second time and he brought two children and a cat and I brought two children and two dogs and a hamster. And we had to figure out how to live together without killing one another. And at the same time, I was in graduate school, pursuing a Master of Divinity degree and one of my classes was a marriage counseling class.We were looking through resources and I could not find very much out there about what to expect when you blend two families. The few books that were available most were over 10 years old. Some were written by people who weren’t even in stepfamilies.And so, I decided that there was a real need out there for a book that actually told it like it was and gave people a better idea, a realistic idea, of what to expect when they enter into a stepfamily situation.
Kent: And what was it like for you? You said you had a hamster?
Susan: [laughs]
Kent: Two dogs… That’s a concern to me more than the kids.
Susan: [laughs]
Kent: What happened with the cat and the hamster? Were they friends?
Susan: Actually, they ignored one another. We ended up having one of the dogs ate the hamster, so…
Kent: Oh no!
Susan: Oh, yeah. [laughs]
Kent: Well, tell us about your book. What does it help people to do, “Advice from the Blender”?
Susan: Well, it’s a short, easy to read book and it’s about eight chapters long. And what I talk about is various things like having realistic expectations. It’s not going to be like the Brady Bunch. Sad, but true.And one of the things that people need to know is they need to focus on making their marriage strong. That is the number one thing that people forget to do. They get so involved with the kids and life and things like that, that they turn around and wake up one day and go, “Oh, who are you?” So, they need to focus on their marriage.They also need to be a united parenting team. Just because someone is the stepparent doesn’t mean they’re not also raising these kids.
Kent: Give us a couple little tips. Your book is constructed of some quotes, some bullet points with tips. Even at the end, you go into some bible verses and things like that. Give us some tips.
Susan: OK. One would be, for example, with the children. You’re dealing with two sets of kids, both who’ve been through, probably, a divorce with their parents. They’re thrown into this situation of suddenly they have a new stepparent, they have new stepsiblings. And one of the keys is to be united on discipline.One of the great things you could do would be to sit down together. As the parents, sit down together, preferably, before you get married, but if you’re already married, that’s OK. Sit down together and decide what are the behavior expectations for the children in the house and what are the consequences for breaking those rules and then present those to the kids as your house rules.This is really helpful because one, your kids can’t argue with the house. But two, I also brings to mind that yeah, the rules maybe different in Dad’s house as opposed to Mom’s house, but that’s OK. Just because they are different rules doesn’t mean that you can ignore them.
Kent: So, rules setting is really important. And there’s a whole bunch of other tips, very practically, to work through this problem.You advertise the book as being Christian and again, there are Bible verses at the end. How does that play into it for you? You have a Masters of Divinity.
Susan: Right. I have a Masters of Divinity in Counseling and Family Ministry. Obviously, faith is a big, big part of my life. However, even if you’re not a Christian, there’s very practical tips in this book for how to deal with a blending family, from everything to the kids to the ex-spouse to the in-laws and the out-laws.
Kent: So, tell me what is the best thing that two people could do when they say, “OK, let’s get married” and they’re thinking about two children, say they each have two children. What’s the first step for them? Should they write down some lists? Should they talk to the children? Should they meet them slowly? How does that work?
Susan: The key, I think, is time, is give it a lot of time and be very, very patient. Kids really don’t deal with their emotions, strong emotions, all at once. So, you can tell your kids, “Hey, I’m dating this person. He’s very, very special to me and we’re thinking about getting married. I want you to meet him and meet his family and get to know one another.”But then, give it time. I mean, I heard of a family just this last year, his third marriage, her third marriage. They met each other in September and decided to get married on New Year’s Eve. This is four months. They introduced their kids the day before the wedding and said, “Hey, guess what? We’re getting married tomorrow!” My advice is don’t go that route. You’re just setting yourself up for a disaster.So, time is of the essence and so is communication. That is vital. You’ve got to talk about all kinds of things like boundaries in your family. Everything from whether or not you like to sleep with your bedroom door shut or open to who’s allowed in your bedroom at any time of the day. Everything from that to discipline to who takes out the garbage and who cleans the house. All of these things have to be renegotiated.
Kent: Well, we can go to your website at advicefromtheblender.com. You’ve got a blog, free articles and more information about the book.
Susan: Absolutely.
Kent: It’s been a real pleasure chatting with you. I can definitely say if I ever get in the unfortunate circumstance of getting divorced and then remarried, I will certainly consult your book and your website. Thank you so much for being on the show.[music]
Susan: Thanks, Kent.
Kent: ”Advice from the Blender” by Susan Hetrick. You can get it online at advicefromtheblender.com.My next guest is Emmy Award winning legendary, wonderful composer, Jeff Beal. Come on back, you can’t miss it.
Susan Hetrick | Family Blender
April 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Today we spoke with Susan Hetrick, about her “Blender” concept for families, and her new book. Here is more from her website:
Tales from the Blender is a collection of stories, suggestions and guidance garnered from the real-life experiences of Christian couples living in blended families all over the United States. These families generously shared the good, the bad and the ugly about blending: what to look forward to, what to watch out for, what challenges they faced and, most importantly, what has worked for them. Susan Hetrick gives you real-life illustrations on how to deal with: • We’ll-live-happily-ever-after-Syndrome • Choosing to love children who wish you were dead • Bonding as a family without using duct tape • Holidays with ex-spouses • The “Ex-tended” family experience – fruits and nuts aren’t just for breakfast anymore • Talking yourself out of that urge to run away to Timbuktu With fundamental discussion questions for the entire family, a succinct synopsis at the end of each chapter, and a unique House Blend Recipe, Susan Hetrick whips up an honest, challenging, inspiring and funny serving of the house blend, with a Christian twist.
Deborrah Cooper Transcript
February 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Announcer: Welcome, and thanks for tuning in to Sound Authors with host Dr. Kent. It’s for candid conversations about everything, from cuisine to culture, and from nature to nurture. Now here’s your host, Dr. Kent.
Kent Gustavson: Welcome to Sound Authors. It’s the day after Valentine’s Day, and hopefully we all had a good one by this point. It’s my honor today to have four very special guests.My first guest is going to be Deborrah Cooper with her website Sucka-Free Love. My second guest is going to be Amy Schoen with getitrighthistime.com. Both are relationship experts.The third guest on the show is something a little bit different. He’s an expert on politics. He wrote a biography of Ronald Reagan.My fourth guest is the very incredible singing duet of Neal and Leandra, singing the song “Old Love” from their album “Old Love”.So, let’s get started here. My first guest has a website called Sucka-Free Love as well as a book. Welcome to the show, Deborrah Cooper.
Deborrah Cooper: Hey Dr. Kent, how are you?
Kent: I’m good. How are you doing this Valentine’s Day?
Deborrah: Not too bad.
Kent: all right, so tell me a little bit about your book.
Deborrah: Oh, wow, where do I begin? The full title of it is “Sucka-Free Love: How to Avoid Dating the Dumb, the Deceitful, the Dastardly, the Dysfunctional, and the Deranged”, which pretty much covers every kind of sucka I could think of.
Kent: You have to define a sucka for me. S-U-C-K-A, what does that mean exactly?
Deborrah: That’s kind of a catch-all term for every person that becomes involved with you for any kind of reason other than love and respect.They’re there for what you can provide for them, for the benefits that you offer, which may be something as simple as sex, maybe money, other kinds of favors. They manipulate, they control, they cheat, they lie, they steal. They do kinds of things that ultimately end up hurting you.The goal for this book is to get people to recognize those games as they start coming along so they can protect themselves.
Kent: This is a totally new dating environment these days. There’s a million ways to meet people, but are there any good ones out there?
Deborrah: Any good people, you mean?
Kent: Well, that too, but any good method to meet them?
Deborrah: You know, I hesitate to say that anything is bad. I have to say that because you can meet some really great people in environments that are traditionally discounted as negative, say nightclubs, bars and singles mixers.Everybody is going to go into those environments at one point or another for whatever reason. What you want to avoid, though, is those that are there every single weekend and make it their home. You don’t want them.You can’t even say that church is necessarily 100% foolproof either, because knuckleheads go to church too.
Kent: You’ve heard a lot of stories. Do you have any stories to share with us to illustrate what’s in your book? Is this just woman talking about men, or can men also find a sucka woman?
Deborrah: Oh yeah. Unfortunately what we traditionally call the nice guys like yourself, I’m sure, might typically be caught in the web of a female sucka. I call those chicken-heads.In the first chapter of the book, entitled “Which Came First, the Chicken-head or the Egg?” it’s particularly devoted to men that deal with women that are termed gold-diggers and users. They see a guy as somewhat of a nest egg.
Kent: You deal with all these issues, what people are always asking, like “Why won’t men call?” You talk about interracial relationships. Where did you get started with all this? It’s been, what, 15 years?
Deborrah: It has. It’s been 15 years actually in the business. But the information that I bring to this field has been information that’s been coming to me from a wide variety of sources practically since birth.My dad and I had a very close relationship. He spent lots of time talking to me about men and relationships, how to be a lady, how to conduct myself in the world, this kind of thing. As I grew up, I took those lessons with me. So, as I got older and got to dating age, I was able to see exactly what he was talking about.I came into the dating world light-years ahead of most girls my age. As I got even older, I was able to see the games that even women older than me didn’t see, didn’t recognize. People were coming to me for advice, and it just kind of morphed from there. Now I’ve been doing this professionally for 15 years.
Kent: What is the most common mistake people make in a relationship?
Deborrah: I knew you were going to ask me that. [laughter] If I had to pick just one, I think I would say that they don’t accept the person for what they are. They think that love is either going to change the person, or that what they see right in their face isn’t as bad as they think it is.They ignore the red flags. They just ignore it, and they stay in relationships and stay involved with people that they really should have passed by. That, I think, is the biggest mistake and that causes the most problems.
Kent: You deal with singles every day. Have singles changed over the years?
Deborrah: I think so. The environment is different. Even though we all love our Internet connections and our Blackberries and our cell phone text messaging and picture messaging, those things I think have taken us away from the ability to really communicate with the other. People do a lot of hiding.It’s hard, even when you have a relationship with someone, to really develop the depth of understanding and intimacy that I think most of us are really looking for. People are in relationships, but they still feel lonely.
Kent: You said you spoke to your father a lot about men and all of that stuff. Have you fallen into some of these traps yourself?
Deborrah Cooper: I’ve met guys. I’m not going to lie, I’m not going to lie. I have met them, but I was lucky, though, in that that’s as far as it went.I met them, I may have gone out on a date or two, but we did not have any relationship because I was able to see what they were all about. So, I was somewhat protected. Oh yeah, boy, they’re out there.
Kent: Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. It’s a notorious holiday for men not quite giving it right. There’s so many hopes attached to the day. What do you think about that?
Deborrah: A couple of friends and I was talking about that, starting something called the Un-Valentine Day: just to get together and celebrate the fact that we are accomplished and smart and beautiful women.I don’t want women–or men either–that are single to put too much stock on it, because after all it is a commercially created holiday by the floral industry and the card industry.But, it has come to mean something in relationships which forces those that are not in one at the moment to reconsider our position and feel a little lonely and upset when everyone else is getting these giant bouquets at work.I think for the most part it is just one day. The whole point is to be around people that love you. It does not mean that that has to be someone of the opposite sex. So, if you have friends and family–you know, go spend your Valentine’s Day with your mom.If you can’t love that person that loves you more than anything in the world and show some appreciation to that individual, what else is there?
Kent: Exactly. What’s your plan now? What are you working on?
Deborrah: Well, I just finished an article as a matter of fact, which has references to the Valentine’s Day letdown that you just mentioned. It’s based on a survey of three hundred men with the ten dating secrets that women need to know. I’m going to put that into an article.My next book is going to also be based on that same survey for women that want to get married and the title of that is “So You Want to Get Married? Why Would He Choose You?” We delve into what men are actually looking for in a wife versus a girlfriend. I think a woman is confused on those issues.
Kent: That’s also something that’s changed so much. It changes all the time, depending on what the stars are doing. Not the stars up in the sky, I mean movie stars and all that. But I guess either one, right?
Deborrah: Either one.
Kent: What’s some wisdom you could impart to men and women? I even have friends that are so frustrated; they say “I’ll never meet the right person”. What do you tell people like that?
Deborrah: In the back of my book, actually that’s one of the chapters that I cover, is “If love is the answer, please rephrase the question”, which somewhat reflects the frustration and confusion that singles that are out looking experience in the dating world.What I did was put together something called my ten rules for psycho-free dating. Just ten quick little guidelines, like “Never date someone just for love”, “Don’t settle for less, just avoid being alone”, “Avoid dating someone with different values or core beliefs, that is key”, “Ask lots of questions before you get yourself involved next time”.You know, you need to know who you’re getting involved with. Focus on commitment; focus on the person that you’re trying to commit to. Never date someone just because they want to date you. This is also important.You have to have screening technique. Just because someone finds you attractive and interesting doesn’t mean that you have to return that thought.”Never rush into a commitment before you know who you’re committing to.” I’m sorry I’m repeating myself. “Always be a person of your word,” this is where we’re talking about communication, honesty and developing trust.”Don’t waste your time loving someone that doesn’t love you back.” I can’t even tell you, Kent, how important that is and how much that’s ignored.”Listen to your inner voice and pay attention to the red flags that you see”. And then the tenth one is “Never bring baggage of the past into the present”. That is very important too.A person should never be charged with crime and have to do time for something done by someone in your past. Let it go.
Kent: What do we find in your book? Is it kind of a guidebook for how to do it, or fun to read? What do we find?
Deborrah: Well, you find all that. It’s hilarious. It’s a question and answer format with commentary by me.As well there’s a questionnaire there so you can assess the relationship that you in, with a sucka or not, as well as those ten rules for psycho-free dating I just read you. The seven chapters are divided by topics, so you can go right to the issue that is in your life right now and read the rest later.It’s very informative, very down to earth, very real. I don’t use a lot of highfalutin’ psychological psychobabble words. I talk to you just like I’m talking right now. People that have heard me talk can hear my voice.I just want people to feel like they have a friend. I can’t meet everyone, but I can be with you through the pages of this book and guide you through the mess before you get in deep.
Kent: It’s been a real pleasure speaking with you. You have a couple of websites online, askheartbeat.com as well.
Deborrah: Yeah, that’s my chief website with most relationship advice and articles on it. That’saskheartbeat.com.
Kent: Then we have suckafreelove.com. That’s the fun site that talks about this brand new book “Sucka-free Love: How to avoid dating the dumb, the deceitful, the dastardly, the dysfunctional and the deranged.”We’ve been speaking with Deborrah Cooper. Thanks so much for being on the show, and happy Valentine’s Day.
Deborrah: Thank you for having me. It was fun.
Men: My next guest, coming right up is Amy Schoen. Come on back.
Amy Schoen | Dating & Valentines
February 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
We spoke this day after Valentine’s Day with relationship expert Amy Schoen. She has coached singles for many years, and tells us the story of her own love breakthrough.
Information about Amy Schoen from www.heartmindconnection.com
Amy Schoen has been transforming people to be their best for over 20 years. Amy has the gift of visualization and uses this gift to ask the right life and relationship questions to visualize the kind of life they truly desire. To move clients towards positive action, Amy draws upon her vast life experiences, business experiences and keen knowledge of people.
Amy has found that asking the right relationship questions makes you reflect on what you truly want, and gives confidence in yourself in the dating world. This approach will give you a better sense of what you truly want in a relationship, how to avoid damaging relationship issues and lead you to success in life and dating.
Before being the principal of Heartmind Connection®, LLC, a life and relationship coaching and consulting business, Amy owned an upscale clothing boutique for 13 years in Bethesda Maryland and was an image consultant. Here, she helped her clients to discover their best image which gave them the self confidence they needed to accomplish their life goals. After closing the boutique, Amy continued as an image/wardrobe consultant and established Amy’s Eye for Style consulting service.
Having owned a clothing boutique, starting a business as an image consultant and now running Heartmind Connection, life and relationship coach, Amy Schoen, understands what it takes to be an entrepreneur! More importantly, Amy understands the unique relationship questions and relationship issues you may face as you seek success in your love and business life.
If you’re ready for a long-term relationship in your life, go for it. Amy has spent over 10 years figuring out the right relationship questions that will get you visualizing exactly what you truly want. You’ll avoid unnecessary and damaging relationship issues and get solid dating advice for what you want in life and marriage with the Motivated to MarryTM method.
Amy has an M.B.A. from Georgetown University and has studied life coaching and received her professional certification from the Coaches Training Institute of San Rafeal, California. She speaks regularly to professional organizations and social groups including the DC Young Professionals, Learning Escapes, New Beginnings and eWomen’s Network. On a personal note, after a divorce in 1996, Amy has been happily married at the age of 42 since July 2002! Read Amy’s personal story.
Deborrah Cooper | Suckas & Dating
February 15, 2008 | 4 Comments
We enjoyed speaking with Deborrah Cooper today, about her book Sucka Free Love. She explained the definition of Sucka, and talked about dating in the 21st century, and how to find the right partner (not a Sucka).
More information from Deborrah Cooper’s website: www.suckafreelove.com
San Francisco based life coach and dating/relationship expert Deborrah Cooper speaks and writes regularly on topics relating to singles, interracial relationships, dating, and romance. Deborrah is the author of “Sucka Free Love! - How to Avoid Dating The Dumb, The Deceitful, The Dastardly, The Dysfunctional and The Deranged!, published in March 2007.
Deborrah is also the founder and resident advice columnist on AskHeartBeat.Com™, her award-winning relationships site. AskHeartBeat™ was founded in 1997, and holds the honor of being the first site on the web designed to focus on black male/female relationships! The site is full of informative articles on dating and relationships for both adults and teens of all nationalities. Deborrah’s witty, no-nonsense weekly advice column (which she pens under the moniker “Ms. HeartBeat”) is highlighted.
Lisa Marie Mercer Transcript
December 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Dr. Kent Gustavson: Welcome back to “Sound Authors.” Today is our holiday show, sitting between Christmas and New Years. My next guest is Lisa Marie Mercer, author of “Open Your Heart With Winter Fitness.” Welcome to the show.
Lisa Marie Mercer: Hi, how are you? Glad to be here.
Dr. Kent: Have you been skiing this year yet?
Lisa: Yes, I have. I’ve been skiing where I work at Copper Mountain, and in early September, I had the good fortune of teaching a ski fitness week out in Portillo, Chile. So, I sort of got a head start on everybody else.
Dr. Kent: Sounds like it. I grew up cross-country skiing. I was a competitive athlete up in Minnesota, in the cold. How did you start skiing?
Lisa: It was a very funny story. I met a man who loved to ski. I was a quintessential native New Yorker who thought that even a 40-degree day was in the Arctic zone, but I wanted to be with this guy. So he took me on a ski trip. At first I absolutely despised it, because I couldn’t stay up for one minute. Then about 10 years later I started doing all these balance exercises, working out on the stability ball, and I got up on the slopes and found out my balance was incredible. From there I just got hooked, left New York, moved to Colorado, and the rest is history.
Dr. Kent: So tell me a little bit about “Open Your Heart With Winter Fitness.” This is a book that’s not only about fitness. What’s it about?
Lisa: It is about the benefit of learning to ski or snowboard, or even snowshoe or cross-country as an adult. And I’m talking about the physical benefits, the psychological benefits, and even, for some people, the spiritual benefits. It talks a little bit about my journey into the world of snow sports.Then the second part of the book presents a very, very detailed ski or snowboard or snowshoe fitness plan. It has references to some of the best instructors in North America who specialize in teaching adult beginners. All in all, it’s a very comprehensive book. It’s basically everything you wanted to know about snow sports.
Dr. Kent: And what value does athletics and sports have in our lives, not just this time of year to work off those couple pounds, but for in our sedentary lifestyles where we’re staring at the computer all day, what’s the value of sports?
Lisa: There are many, many values. First of all, you’re getting outdoors. In the winter season, anybody who suffers from any kind of Seasonal Affective Disorder, you’re out there in the snow. There are social values. Let’s take an example of some of the Internet message forums, such as EpicSki.com; that message forum has over 16, 000 members from all parts of the globe. People go on that forum to talk about skiing, and sometimes they even meet up with each other at various parts of the world, so you have friends all over the place.Physically, snow sports are weight bearing, so they prevent the eventual onset of osteoporosis. They improve your balance, which is great just for general walking around. If there’s something on the ground that you normally would have tripped on, most snow sports participants would have enough core stability to kind of drag themselves back up and not fall down and get hurt. So, the possibilities are endless.
Dr. Kent: I know you also work with people one on one, why write a book? Why do that?
Lisa: Why write a book? Because when I first tried to learn to ski, I was what you would consider an extremely fit person. I was a marathon runner. I spent about two or three hours a day in the weight room, but I had no balance whatsoever. And my first day on the slopes was absolutely embarrassing. Then years later, after I did some balance training, I found out it was really natural.Now I work at Copper Mountain where I’m sitting right now. One day in this very spot where I’m sitting, there was a woman, very fit, very beautiful, looked like she worked hard, she was sitting in the cafeteria crying, and I went over to her. I asked her what was the matter, and she said “I always prided myself as being a very, very fit person, but I cannot stand up on these slopes.” And I spoke to her a little bit about the proper type of training, and as I walked away, I said “You know what? I need to write a book.”
Dr. Kent: So you feel that this book can reach out to people that are athletes and want to figure out how to do this winter sports thing. Does it also reach out to non-athletes?
Lisa: Oh absolutely, absolutely. A lot of people I know, especially a lot of people who take my classes out at Mountain Sport Fitness in Frisco, Colorado, they never got into any kind of physical exercise until they started skiing. And it was the skiing that motivates them to stay in shape.
Dr. Kent: And it’s because of the fun aspect? The view and the endorphins? What is it about skiing?
Lisa: There are a lot of things. It’s the social aspect of it, although for some people–for me I often like to ski by myself, the solitude. It’s the fresh air, the excitement, the view. Sometimes you use it as a way of just traveling around the world, seeing different parts of the world, but not seeing it through the point of view of a tour bus. You’re just out there on the mountains getting a view of the scenery, the different topography. It’s just a rather amazing thing to do.
Dr. Kent: Let’s talk a little bit about New Years; it’s coming up. Do you get a lot of people coming in saying, “It’s my New Year’s resolution to get in shape”? What do you tell those folks?
Lisa: I tell them that it should go beyond a New Year’s resolution, because resolutions often get broken. It should just be something that is going to become your way of life. Start to see yourself as an outdoor person, and that’s the way–if you make the total commitment that you’re an outdoor person and this is important to you–then it will be natural for you to want to stay in shape for your sport.
Dr. Kent: I can see several different personalities of athletes. My father and I tend to be very extreme athletes. We like to push the limits, but my mother, when she goes skiing, she’s thinking about the hot chocolate at the end of the hill. Do you get both types?
Lisa: Well, that’s a big part of it. I was talking beforehand about Portillo in South America. When we went the conditions were not really all that good, but the whole environment, it’s just a rather amazing place.It turns out that the same people will often book the same week every year so they can come back to see their friends. You’ve got a lot of the international ski teams going out there, and they just hobnob and socialize with everybody.Part of the day is just spent in the afternoon in the lounge having some cocoa, chatting with people. So, I always tell people don’t overlook the entire experience. For some people, it’s going to be about the thrill and the challenge, but for others there’s just something very wonderful and relaxing about the experience. It can be catered to each person’s preferences.
Dr. Kent: Where can we find out about your next project?
Lisa: You should check out my website which is mountainsport–no “s” at the end of sport–just sportfitness.com.
Dr. Kent: Mountainsportfitness.com?
Lisa: Dotcom.
Dr. Kent: Sally Franz’s book is called, “Stressing down for the…” Sorry, “Open Your Heart with Winter Fitness”. My next guest’s book is called, “Stressing down for the Holidays”.But, on that subject, stressing down for the holidays; how do you feel after doing the exercise of skiing? Is it the same as running or running a marathon, as you said you did before?
Lisa: It’s a little bit different. There is a similar type of thrill, but I would say it’s a little bit more mellow. You feel a little bit more relaxed at the end of a ski run, whereas in a marathon you’re often still a little bit hyper and you’re talking very, very quickly because you’re just moving very quickly. But, the skier’s high is a little bit more mellow.
Dr. Kent: Cool. What are some tips for winter fitness besides just skiing for us this winter? What if, like in my area, we don’t have much snow?
Lisa: OK. Balance training is extremely important for any kind of snow sport. You want to get yourself a stability ball which is very, very inexpensive nowadays. There are some great exercises that you can do on the ball, which I’ve covered in detail in my book.You also want to learn to keep your core muscles, your deeper abdominal muscles very active. And, that’s very simple to do. All you need to do is about 10 times a day draw your belly in and see if you can hold it tight for about 10 seconds; that’s all. Eventually, that will train the deeper core muscles to support you, and eventually you will find your balance will start to get better.
Dr. Kent: What’s the importance of physical balance in terms of our everyday lives?
Lisa: In terms of our everyday life, they keep us from getting injured. One of the biggest causes of injury in older adults is falling, but if you start training your balance at an earlier age you are less likely to fall.Out here in Colorado we have women and men in their late 80s who are still skiing. Although it’s intriguing to watch them ski, it’s equally fascinating to watch them walk across an icy village in their ski boots, carrying their skis and being totally balanced. But, that’s because they started training for it when they were younger.
Dr. Kent: How has athletics balanced your life?
Lisa: That’s an interesting question. It’s balanced it in a number of ways. It’s made me see that balance in the general aspects of my life, balancing work and play, balancing play and family time, balancing work and family time and spending more time with my pets.When we first started to learn to ski, we had just adopted a greyhound. It turned out our greyhound really, really loved the snow. So, we just started taking ski vacations with our greyhound. Eventually, she was part of the decision of moving us out to Colorado.
Dr. Kent: Do you put skis on her?
Lisa: No, we don’t put skis on her, but she absolutely loves to play in the snow. The other day we had some deep powder, and she decided to just jump into it to do her business. And, it was so funny because all you could see was her little smiling head sticking up with her mouth wide open and looking like she was laughing. I wished I’d brought a camera. It was really adorable.
Dr. Kent: That’s a great picture to leave us with. Thank you so much for being on the show, Lisa Marie Mercer. Her website, again, is…tell me again.
Lisa: Mountainsportfitness.com.
Dr. Kent: Mountainsportfitness.com and her book is, “Open Your Heart with Winter Fitness”. And we’ll all do our best to do that. Thanks so much for being on the show.
Lisa: Thank you so much for having me. Have a great day. Bye-bye.
Dr. Kent: You, too. Sally Franz is my next guest with “Stressing down for the Holidays”. Come on back.[music]
Sally Franz Transcript
December 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Kent Gustavson: Welcome back to Sound Authors. My next guest on this holiday show is Sally Franz. Did I pronounce that correctly?
Sally Franz: Yes. Hi, how are you?
Kent: Hi, very good. She’s come to talk to us about her new book, “Stressing Down for the Holidays: 25 Tips to Peel You Off the Ceiling”. Give me a little sound clip about that.
Sally: Well basically it’s looking at what our expectations are and what we can really do in this modern era to create family traditions that are not hard on us. A lot of the things that have been passed down generation-to-generation are just not possible with how we live our lives today.
Kent: And I noticed by looking through some of it that you deal with some issues that definitely pop up in my family, and I’m sure in many families. When you say ‘Grinches’, I tend to be Grinch sometimes, and I think all of us have certain aspects of this. Let’s start out by talking about the value of the holidays. New Year’s is coming up and we have resolutions coming up later, but this is the season of family gatherings. Tell me a little bit about how we can have healthy family gatherings.
Sally: First of all, let me just say that anyone listening can get this booklet - it’s actually an e-book - for free if they go to BabyBoomerTalkRadio.com. And when you go to the Boomer Boutique, which is our store, you just scroll down to the bottom, click on the PDF and you can actually be reading along with us as you’re listening, and it’s free. I think the most important thing is to understand what stress is. Stress is the difference between what we wanted and what we got.And if we were expecting ‘Uncle Booze Hound’ to be sober for one hour, and at the end of the holiday dinner, we’re in the kitchen and we’re throwing things in the sink saying, “Why couldn’t those two just stop talking politics for one hour?”, the answer is they would if they could, but they’re not going to. So how are you going to still have a lovely holiday, given that every family has its person that’s nuts?
Kent: Absolutely. So was your family trouble-free as a kid?
Sally: No. We had a mixed family - his, hers and theirs - way before people were doing that. We had a tradition where all five kids had to stand in front of the fireplace, posing as they hung their stocking. And every single picture for 20 years, somebody’s all puffy-eyed from crying - at least one of the kids is miserable Christmas Eve. So there was screaming and yelling, and then the aunts came, and the aunts were saying things like, “shush, quiet, quiet”, to five year olds. I had a twin brother; you can imagine the chaos.I think the key thing is to say, what do we love about the holidays? For instance, if you’re a homemaker, or better yet, you’re the holiday-maker - which could be man or woman - you’re the one in charge of the pageant.If you really love the idea of lit candles and beautiful flowers in the middle of the table and everyone’s sitting around, but you’re kind of fantasizing that it’s some other family; one of the things that you could do is have a buffet dinner, and then ask anyone who’d like to join you for dessert around the table. So it’s only limited to five or ten minutes and that way hopefully they can behave themselves for five or ten minutes, but they may not be able to. But at least you had your moment without actually ruining your dinner.
Kent: And it always seems that these family gatherings can get quite lengthy. What’s your take on… One of my fiance’s pet peeves is that when we visit with family, the women segregate themselves; it’s a societal thing. I’ve tried my hand at getting into the cooking and the dishwashing and do a bit of that, but I feel like an unwelcome participant. The men and women segregate, what do you have to say about that part of the holiday?
Sally: Well of course some of the fun is hanging out with either family, or like you said, all the women may be in the kitchen, and three may be sitting on stools at the kitchen bar, and the others are whipping something up, but it’s a fellowship thing. There was a guy that did a one-man show, ‘The Caveman’, Rob Becker. He talks about a very funny incident where he tries to join the women and he realizes he doesn’t have any of those skills because he’s a guy.The guys are all talking about potato chips, they get down to the last one, and the one guy