Jo Dee Messina

I recently attended a private Jo Dee Messina concert at the Louisiana Boardwalk that benefited Toy for Tots.
While I’ve often bopped along to her music – loudly singing in my car, “heads Carolinaaaa, tails Californiaaaa,” I was never more than a casual fan, but Messina’s honestly during her show has made me a convert.
In this world of haves and truly have nothing – it’s easy to think that everyone is doing better than you. No one else has worries or has seen their dreams crushed. It’s easy to live in an isolated world of poor me.
But, Jo Dee shared her recent woes with the audience and we felt for her.
We grieved as she said, “I put my whole heart in to this album and it was the greatest album I’ve ever turned in.”
She turned it in to her record label, Curb, only to find that they wanted to shelve it and not put it in to the stores.
She was really sad and mad, and it reminded me of all the times, I’ve been disappointed and devastated and had to really try to go on.
That’s where my faith has never failed me and I realized it’s not just a pithy saying when we say, “whenever there’s a door closed, a window opens.”
It’s not over by a long, long shot for Messina, who also said she’ll be getting married in the coming year to a man, “who’s not connected to the music industry and doesn’t want to be.”
It’s also not over for her or anyone else who believes that what they’re doing is exactly where they’re supposed to be.
“I do what I love to do for a living,” Messina said. “I love music because it’s part of me and it’s who I am.”

Weight loss, sigh!

Weight loss is a picky thing.
Each time I sit down and try to lose weight, I come up short, or even heavier, if you know what I mean.
First off, there’s writing down everything you eat. If I could do that I would be writing the next Great American novel.
When I first joined the Shreveport Times I sat in a vacated desk and saw a sheet of paper left behind. It said pistachios, 8; one granola bar, one piece of bread.
I knew exactly who had been sitting in this desk. It was a failed member of a diet plan that made people write down everything they ate.
There is a better way: aversion therapy.
Each time dieters go over their daily limit they could be shocked back into the plan with a cattle prod.
Or, the diet plan can hire someone to come and beat them up each time they exceed their allotted points level.
That’s only the first problem I have.
Secondly, there’s attending meetings and actually weighing yourself. I am okay with attending meetings because I like group affirmation therapy, but weighing? Ugh!
Instead of weight measurement at diet centers they should call it suicide watch. Once that number comes up, no amount of clapping will ever convince me I shouldn’t jump off the Red River Bridge.
But, it’s nice to see that the plan worked for Stockwell Place Elementary School counselor Stacy Walker.
This week’s Bossier Voices profiles the teacher who has lost almost 100 pounds on the Weight Watchers plan.
“I’m not the person I used to be,” said a much happier Stacy Walker.

Cheap books

Like many of the makeover home shows I’m addicted to - I’m counting the days until the big reveal of our new book for the brand, new Bossier Voices Book Club.
As a precaution, I have sewn my lips shut, which serves a dual purpose as I can neither eat nor tell the new book before the whole book club hears about it at 7 p.m. Thursday Sept. 6 at Shogun restaurant in Bossier City.
For the many who have emailed me about joining – don’t panic! There is plenty of time and everyone is welcome. It’s going to be really fun and fulfilling.
If for some reason you can’t make it to our first meeting and still want to join, once again – don’t panic! We will be filming the meeting and there will still be time to sign up online in a chat room we will be adding at www.bossier-voices.com.
Stay tuned to the Bossier Voices blog at www.shreveporttimes.com to find out all the latest news about the book club.
For those whose purse and wallet strings are a little tight, I am trying to find ways to save money on our books.
There is a unique website at www.ReadingWave.com that says, “Borrow our books, read them and return them when you are done.”
Hmmm, I’m going to check it out for the rest of us and make sure this is a true website and if books arrive right away or there is a wait. There also is a monthly fee to borrow as many books as the reader likes.
The fees include Gold Membership 9.99 for a Gold Plan. With that plan, members enjoy the benefits of having up to two (2) books checked out at any given time. This plan is ideal for casual readers.
I’m a writer so it’s nice to know that books are available for a very low cost if we only take good care of them.

I know the new BV Book Club book!

The Bossier Voices first (and only) book club will have its first meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday Sept. 6 at Shogun Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar in Bossier City and I just heard from Bossier librarian Vickie Hardin as to the new choice.
To prove I can keep a secret, even though history shows otherwise, I have decided to wait until I have a mouth full of sushi on Thursday and let Hardin do the annoucing.
The book club began as a seed of an idea and now has since grown to about 25 members who can’t wait to stay up on the latest bestsellers and make some new friends.
Members should mark their calendars for Sept. 6 and prepare for a fun evening. At the meeting we will discuss regular meeting times that coordinate with busy schedules, and blogging about our books in the interim.
For instance, do members want to meet monthly in person? Scott Anderson, technology guru for The Shreveport Times, plans to set up a chat room at www.bossiervoices.com where members can discuss the book at any time.
My question is this: ARE YOU PLANNING ON ATTENDING? Lemme know! We can coordinate our outfits for a night on the town...

Shogun Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar 3150 E. Texas StBossier City, LA 71111(318) 752-3118