jessica mcdougall

We are in Paris. The weather is beautiful. I'm with my two loves. And it's my baby girl's first birthday. I wish this day could go on forever!  

Today was all about the celebration of this little life.

We walked in the streets of Paris. And we smiled and we laughed and we were in awe of all things Gabrielle.

Just so happy to know her and have her in our life.  

And everyone gets to have at least one meltdown moment on their birthday, right?

Thankfully spirits were high back at the Eiffel Tower where we spent time enjoying its magnificence.

Today was also about tasty little treats like fresh baguettes and delicious cheese.

And we ended the day singing Happy Birthday to Gabrielle and blowing out a candle to wish her all the dreams a little girl could imagine in life. She wasn't shy with her chocolate birthday eclair!

On your first birthday, cheers to you and all that you are, Gabrielle!

This is a vision I will hold in my heart forever.

Hello London!

After a long night of flying on Virgin Atlantic (but rather comfortable and quite uneventful!), we arrived in London yesterday!

Before our overseas flights, we met Jeffrey in Washington DC at Dulles (my new favorite airport). They have one the best commercial types I've seen and great accents of orange.

Before departure, we stopped in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse for veggie sticks

and (excellent) short ribs.

After an arrival shower and short nap, we headed out on first adventure.  

So fun to have Gabrielle with us. She's a super traveler.

We spent most of the day in Kensington and Chelsea.

Specifically on Sloane Street, in Sloane Square, and on King's Road. (Wish we had more time or had arrived earlier to catch the Duke of York Food Market).

Jeffrey and I were on a mission to return to a few of the incredible children's stores we saw the window displays of many years ago during a London visit. I found these super sweet little shoes for Gabrielle at Caramel Baby & Child.   

And I adore this spring flower print dress at Marie Chantal.

We stopped for a kid-friendly, quick and simple bite at Pizza Express on King's Road.

Cheers to delicious tasting Coca Cola in the UK!

I enjoyed the fresh and filling lasagne.

And how delightful is this kid's menu dessert item?

After dinner we stopped into MUJI (which I love for great little travel pouches and all kinds of stuff to put other stuff into).

Happy to be in a wonderful place where little things that are different make me smile.

Jeffrey and I made Charlotte Observer's Scene and Heard page yesterday!

A family outing to the park - and swinging in the sunshine.

Delicious Eclat Chocolate. (Thanks Suzi!)

Sitting front row at Lore Emelio's Charlotte Garden Party show. Love her shoes!

And red lips to feel fancy. (I need to do this more!)

Gabrielle and I had a wonderful mommy and me trip out West to visit family - and ended up extending our stay for an additional week so she could get over her slight cold before the return flight home. Our home away from home was first at my sister's house in Eugene, Oregon, and then at Portland's Ace Hotel (more on its greatness in my next post).

After several hours of flying cross country, Gabrielle and I got in the rental car for a cruise down I-5. A drive between Portland and Eugene would not be complete without a stop at my favorite pizza parlor in the country, Pietros! I called ahead and picked up a small pepperoni and mushroom pizza to enjoy during the remainder of the drive. Delicious.

This little one wasn't doing too good. With long flights + new timezone + big black dog + new environment + new foods + new bed + no papa + no Bruna + a cough that she caught on the flight, she just wasn't herself.

I took her to an urgent care center in Eugene and the doctor said not to give her any meds. I decided to ramp up her water intake and try to give her as much rest as possible.

But who wants to rest with this little beauty to play with?

Ali was a great host to us - and took us to some of her favorite places in Eugene including Ruthie B's and Marche at the 5th Street Market.

I had the cauliflower and blue cheese soup with a croque monsieur.

And a cup of hot tea.

My nephew Simon has a new fan club member!

"She really likes me, Jessie."

Gabrielle is just now partaking in a much needed nap after such a wonderfully fun week and weekend with cousins and auntie/uncle and grandma!

Little lovelies for Valentine's Day.

Happy to have had this Loved by Us image created by Kal for sweet Gabrielle.

Oh how I love her so. 

Jeffrey's new Ace of Sales program can help you create your email magazine. Check it out!

Sweet little tea bags. 

Delightful Hammond's ribbon candy.

Beautiful detailing on Max Azria's reptile-print tunic.     

I love the new Coke size.

A laugh for the day (courtesy of The New Yorker Book of Mom Cartoons).

And I'm loving this song today. Go tell someone you love them!

We had a great dinner at Altlanta Fish Market with the public seminar staff for Jeffrey's birthday.

Cheers!

Jeffrey got to have his favorite - dungeness crab.

And I had salmon - prepared Hong Kong Style, served over spinach and white sticky rice.

Since it was a bit late for Gabrielle, we employed the video player and headphones at dinner to help her make it through the event. I think she had a better time than we did!

And following Jeffrey's seminar, we hopped in a car to be driven home from Atlanta (flights canceled) and made it just in time for the start of the snowfall. Happy to wake up to this winter wonderland this morning!

This is one of my favorite pictures of you, Jeffrey. It is an image that I will savor forever. It is what I see sitting across the room or across the table from you. It is you - in think mode. Your brilliance is inspiring.

I'm celebrating you today. And I'm so proud and lucky to know you in the ways in which I do.

You got a card for your birthday that said "How old would you be, if you didn't know how old you were?" What a perfect statement for your life. Your years give you knowledge, wisdom, and experience - but your soul provides the infectious, childlike persona that is an everyday joy to be around. Don't ever outgrow it. 

Happy 64, Gitomer!

Sending lots of lots of sweet wishes to our niece/cousin Anna Edwards on her first birthday!

We awoke today to a light dusting of snow on the ground!

And Jeffrey cooking challah french toast.

Wonderful sights in the neighborhood.

All bundled up and ready for our adventure of the day.

Delightful ice.

And deliciously large Fuji apples at the grocery store.
 

It was a nice treat to feel the warm sunshine in Palm Beach, Florida, last week.

We took a stroll from the Atlantic Ocean 

past Louis Vuitton (loved this window display)

to the beautiful shops on Worth Avenue.

I was able to enjoy a spritz of one of my favorite fragrances at Chanel.

I was so excited to have a chance to visit Bonpoint - the delicate and delightful French children's clothier. It's on my must see list for our trip to Paris. I took advantage of their 50% off sale and got some sweet little garments for Gabrielle.

I had no idea they had locations in the area.

We continued the walk around Worth Ave area and down A1A.

At the end of our walk I saw Hamburger Heaven in the distance. So we took a chance on lunch. I figured any restaurant in the neighborhood must be decent based on the surrounding home sites. And I was correct.

The homemade chili was delicious. (Doesn't the paper doilie make it fancy?!)

The salad was fresh and crisp.

And Gabrielle got lucky

because Bruna shared her bacon and cheddar quiche!

Jeffrey gave two great seminars and feasted on a meatball sandwich afterward at Brewzzi.

Gabrielle practicing for her meatball sandwich.

And we had a wonderful family supper with several of the Pertnoy's at Raindancer Steakhouse (menu above). Definitely recommend it if you're in the West Palm Beach area.

We returned home to carpet removed from the floor (yahoo!)

And a new door opening cut for the kitchen pantry. Progress!

It's been a wonderful Sunday.

Down the light rail tracks from where we live is Uptown Charlotte, so Gabrielle and I went on a little adventure to document some sights of the city.

A peek at Duke Energy Center, the newest building in Charlotte's skyline, from the freeway overpass that is South Boulevard.

Gabrielle enjoying her teething biscuit during the tour.         

Rippling water in the fountains out in front of the future of home of the Nascar Hall of Fame.

Love the colors of these acorns against the cement.

There is a new modern art museum in Charlotte.

And the candy apples at the Epicentre's The Fudgery look amazing.

I believe this a mother's dream.

We had a great dinner of veal osso buco (recipe in comments). I'm still on the slow cooker kick!

There are homemade cookies (chocolate mint) in the cookie jar. 

Little Gabrielle had a great day. She's now bathed and sleeping peacefully. 

My new bookcase is built (thanks Jeffrey!) and ready to be filled. The dishes and laundry are done. All my thank you notes are written and stamped.

And it's only 6:26PM! Now I can get to WORK!

Gabrielle, my love, YOU are the highlight of my 2009.

And today's brisket sandwiches were a close second!

Hoping you and your family had a wonderful holiday.

JESSICA: What do you think about being with a younger woman?

JEFFREY: First of all, you represent to me a better perspective of what is happening now. Your growing up life and my growing up life were not the same. But to me it's not just a matter of "you're younger than I am" - our souls are the same age. I look deep into your intellect, your ability to reason, your competitive spirit, your attitude towards living, your resilience, your manners - and to affirm those elements, I look at your family. Do they display similar qualities and characteristics. And with you, they do.

JESSICA: No, but why do men like younger mates?

JEFFREY: Throughout the years of a relationship, familiarity breeds lack of patience (sometimes inaccurately confused with contempt). Also through the years, personality traits are completely revealed and harmony or disharmony is judged on a daily basis. Personally, I have found that intellectual growth is my most critical element for long-term stability, long-term engagement, and long-term lust. If the intellect is at the same level, and the mental challenges are sparked every day, everything else falls into place. A close second to intellect is humor. Actually, humor is the brother or the sister of intellect. There has to be an ability to laugh together, and for one partner to create laughter within the other.

JESSICA: But what about age?

JEFFREY: At some point age enters into the equation. If I'm 30 years older than my partner, at some point I'm 80 and she's 50. And that is a story yet untold for me. Health plays a major role in keeping the relationship vibrant. We have a nine-month old. I'm 63. But fatherhood has created a mental (if not, physical) fountain of youth. My partner keeps me young, our baby keeps me younger. My attitude and playfulness keeps me youngest. For example, I love changing diapers at 4AM and being able to play with our beautiful child, one on one - alone with her papa, smiling and trying to pull my hair.

JESSICA: Hair?

JEFFREY: Let's say ears. Yep, ears. How about that?

Thank you, my camera.

For being there to help me capture all the moments I never want to forget.

Lots of little wonders in my world this week.

I read in a magazine that poinsettias were "out" and amaryllis were "in" for holiday flowers. But I like both - and prefer paper whites over both - mostly because of their delightful fragrance.

Bruna decorating a "real" Christmas tree for the first time.

Today my little baby girl is nine months old. I'm grateful.

I wonder what's hanging on your fridge that you look at every day?

My two favorite people.

Gabrielle who is totally rocking the beach gear and hanging with Bruna so I can be part of Jeffrey's event. And Jeffrey who is putting on an incredible weekend for those in attendance. What an inspiration to work for and with such a great person - and be surrounded by a team of talented people who are dedicated, hard working, smart AND super fun!

So sweet of Whitney Bishop (one of the Gitomer Certified Speakers) to bring Gabrielle this handknit, delightful purple "Hershey Kiss" hat. Thanks Whitney!

We are in St. Pete Beach at the Tradewinds Island Resort for Jeffrey's Boot Camp seminar. Looking forward to his arrival here tomorrow and the commencement of the weekend events.

I chose a bit of a different packing method this time around to eliminate some of the baggage. I checked for a local baby store in the Tampa airport area and found that Babies R Us was less than two miles away. That meant I didn't have to pack diapers, food, snacks, toys, wipes, or utensils. It's a good strategy depending on where you're traveling to. I found the above Skip Hop Attach-N-View with velcro between each piece to build a skyline there - and it's proving to be lots of fun ! 

The grocery store purchase of the day (second to the Little Swimmers diapers!) was this My Baby Swim raft. I completely forgot about these and was planning to take Gabrielle for her first pool dip during our stay - so I was pretty delighted to find this AND have them offer to blow it up for us!  

I gave Gabrielle a few moments to check things out.

And then we went for it! 

And not long after she was cruising all around the pool on her own.

Gabrielle attended her first official birthday celebration last weekend.

A party at Gymboree to celebrate Jeffrey's grandaughter Isabel's 2nd birthday! I love how Gabrielle is looking up to Isabel here.

The birthday girl!

Watching all the "big kids" sing and dance. 

Isabel greeted each of her dozen or so guests with an enthusiastic personal hello and a hug and kiss. She was the sweetest party hostess!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Thinking of my Dad on his birthday - hoping that today he looks out to the Pacific Ocean and takes a moment to stop and think and know that he is loved. Cheers to you on your day!

I'm also thinking of Jeffrey's daughter, Rebecca, today on her birthday! And Gabrielle is 8 months old today. There is a lot to celebrate!

We're nearing the end of our visit to the Seattle area - departing tomorrow for Las Vegas. What an incredible time it's been to be here and see family and great friends, enjoy delicious food, see the sights, and be thankful for where I grew up.

This is a wonderful time of year to visit because you can experience all kinds of weather.

I'm grateful that in addition to the stormy, rainy days...

the sun did shine!  

I got to look out on the city of Seattle from the Space Needle and say to myself, "Wow, what a beautiful and delightful place." And I'm glad to have gotten to share it with Bruna, and Lourdes, Belen and Thadeo who made the trip to Seattle to join in the fun.

A visit to the Seattle Aquarium.

Rebekah and Gabrielle checking out the octopus.

Hello Mr. Fish.

Cousins Lucy and Gabrielle on the prowl in their strollers.

So sweet to have Gabrielle in her scarf from Makie.

Beautiful landscaping at the aquarium.

And don't you love the positioning of gift shops just at the end!     

Man, I love these sweet little humans.

Henry McDougall.

Lucy McDougall.

Anna Edwards.

Simon Edwards.

It's such a delight to come to an age of realization and discovery in which you know what incredible people your siblings are. This is definitely the current case for me in regards to my sister, Ali. Wow, what a gem she is. What a daily inspiration to so many people whose lives she has touched through her actions, her images, and her words. I'm pretty sure I've admired her since before I can remember - and that's a good feeling to have.

I'm so proud of you, Ali. And I'm proud to be your sister and your friend. Happy Birthday!

What a delightful day! Your first Halloween. 

I dressed you in your "Bad TUTU the Bone" costume to go with Hip (Mama) Bone and Milk (Bruna) Bone. You loved the fluffy neon yellow tutu. I found it while shopping with Grandma and Grandpa on your first trip to South Park Mall after you were born. When I saw the tutu, I didn't know what would ever come of it - but this is better than any vision I could have imagined. I paired the tutu with the skeleton pajamas and challenged Jeffrey to come up with a name for it. Your papa is brilliant.

Your cousins Henry (Buzz Lightyear), Lucy (monkey), Simon (Harry Potter), and Anna (sleeping monkey) were such great companions for your first trick or treating adventure on Proctor Street in Tacoma, Washington. Grandpa Al and Grandma Pati accompanied all of us and we returned to Uncle John and Aunt Liz's home after the outing for homemade chili and mac and cheese with popcorn balls and caramel apples. 

You were such a splendid baby the entire day. And before we left for the drive home, Bruna and I put you into your Halloween pajamas (thanks Liz and Lucy!) and you smiled and cooed and were happy as can be. I love you to pieces, Gabrielle.

Happy Halloween! 

Love, Bad TUTU the Bone

We all gathered at my brother John and Liz's home for lunch with my dad's cousin Yvonne (in blue) and her friend Mary (in the pink vest) before the big festival of costumes that will occur in a few short hours! It's so nice to have everyone together.

So fun to see Gabrielle's cousins Lucia and Henry and Auntie Liz yesterday!

Gabrielle is going to have such fun growing up with Lucy! 

It's good to be home.

Gabrielle has already made the rounds to all Grandpa's favorite grocery stores here in Federal Way, Washington, including Fred Meyer...

Metropolitan Market...

And H Mart (where they have BEAUTIFUL produce).

We took a walk at the Redondo waterfront. Isn't this an incredible hedge? I just kept waiting for Alice and the Madhatter to come hopping out of this hole.

Food is always a highlight of visiting my parents. Everything is always fresh and delicious. This is a blue cheese and pear salad  topped with parsley and matsutake mushrooms that my mom and dad handpicked in Oregon.

Shrimp and vegetable pasta.

Enjoying the vistas of Mt. Rainier while driving.

And yay for Papa's Phillies! We miss him but know he is happy tonight with the win!

It doesn't get old waking up to this view.

On our last day in San Francisco, we woke up early and walked to the Ferry Building Marketplace.

Gabrielle loves walks!

My mom and I enjoyed a bacon & gruyere brioche.

And Gabrielle enjoyed Grandma Pati!

And watching the trolleys roll by.

Grandma Pati babysat Gabrielle in the afternoon so Jeffrey and I could get out and film some videos in the city for his SUCCESS magazine video blog.

Another candy store! This one, in San Francisco's Union Square district is the best in the city. Here's the review from SF Weekly:

This minuscule shop, no bigger than a walk-in closet, packs an amazing amount of style, not to mention British and European sweets, into its limited space. More than 140 different candies, from mass-market bars to brightly colored hard and chewy candies that line the shelves in black-topped glass jars, are sold from a marble-topped counter under arts-and-crafts lanterns.

Incredible branding and packaging. Great selection. British (and Scottish!) candies. Delightful!

Excited to be heading home to the Pacific Northwest.

Saturday morning began with a walk over to the San Francisco Modern Museum of Art (where they do not reciprocate with NYC MOMA memberships by the way).

While waiting for the museum to open, Grandma Pati, Gabrielle, and I browsed around the SFMOMA Museum Store (aka I found some books I liked and then ordered them from Amazon.com for much cheaper via my iPhone).

This was a purchase I could not resist. I thought it was incredible when I first saw it, but after I picked it up (there were two on the shelf) there was no way I was leaving the store without it. The date of The New York Times used to create this clutch was April 12, 2009 - and that just happens to be my lucky day. April 12, 1995 was when I successful, emergency spinal cord surgery and April 12, 2005 was the day I met Jeffrey.

The feature at SFMOMA was a Richard Avedon retrospective, featuring more than 200 of his portraits and iconic images of models, artists, and musicians. I took Gabrielle right up to many of the pictures so she could look into the eyes of the subjects. Totally incredible to witness. And what a beautiful exhibit of testament to Avedon's brilliance and skill.

After the walk back to the hotel, the ladies (Grandma Pati, Gabrielle, Jessica) left Jeffrey at the hotel (with a kiss goodbye!) for an adventure to Fillmore Street, in search of the rest of the baby boutiques on Cole's list. We made our way over to Chestnut in search of more baby stores, and I was overjoyed to see this sign on the street...

I've been wanting to visit Miette since I saw their website several years ago! I've had a lifelong dream to own my own candy store, so I'm always interested in how others do it. This store is extra special both in its branding and selection. I was happy to see that their website is a good representation of their physical stores. We also visited Sweet Dish where I picked up a delightful vintage milk glass candy dish and a small bag of candy corn.

And how great that just across Chestnut Street from Miette is Giggle - another one of my favorite baby boutiques. (I've visited the SOHO location several times and had a baby registry through their online store before Gabrielle was born.)

Dinner was at Tadich Grill (where we ate on Wednesday night as well with the staff in town for Jeffrey's seminar). The food here is delicious and it's worth the wait. (We had to wait around one hour - with an infant - both times.) On Wednesday, I shared a New York Steak with Bruna and had the shrimp and dungeness crab dinner salad. On Saturday night I shared poached salmon with my mom. I especially love their sourdough bread. I find that a loud restaurant like this one is easier with a baby because her noises blend in nicely with the rest of the crowd's noises and if she falls asleep, not many of the noises wake her because the background noise is constant.

Having my mom with us means we get to have some great family shots. Thanks Mom!

Jeffrey often shows family pictures in his talks, but it was a special surprise to see this image on the big screen at his seminar in San Francisco. Jeffrey is such an incredible presenter. And everything he talks about is inspirational and real. There's high pride in knowing him.

We headed down to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch so Jeffrey could have his favorite, not to be missed, meal in San Francisco, dungeness crab! (I especially like having crab here because we can get fresh sourdough bread at Boudin to go with it.) 

Happy boy eating crab.

We're so happy to have time to spend with Grandma Pati! I dressed Gabrielle in my mom's vintage baby dress. Yay for Grandma - especially for keeping such incredible pieces of clothing history. This dress is the most delicate and most delightful garment Gabrielle has worn.

We took a taxi from Ghirardelli Square to Union Street to do a little late afternoon shopping. I found great baby clothes at the all-organic Sprout (Thanks to Cole for the incredible list of San Francisco baby boutique recommendations!), browsed the books at Chronicle Books, and found several cute pieces at Ralph Lauren Rugby including their wool suede-patch turtleneck and their Ashby plaid flannel shirtdress.

The highlight of the evening was a nightcap at Pacific Puffs. I thought Beard Papas was good. This place is off the chart. It's a sweet little family-owned spot. We each had a mini. Pati and Jeffrey also had the fruit whip with sugar. And we took a box to go. Yum!

I was a little worried about not having a baby bathtub for Gabrielle this trip. But I've discovered that she does just fine (awesome) in a small amount of water where she can lay all the way back and kick her legs. So fun to have her on the road with us. 

Good morning, San Francisco.

Lunch at the House of Nanking on Kearny.

They serve an incredible flowering hot tea.

Gabrielle was more interested in the water.

They have delicious food.

The maintenance man at the hotel took this picture of me and Gabrielle!

Successfully surviving a 5-hour flight with a 7-month old infant is all about having the right distractions to make it comfortable and fun. 

We are staying in San Francisco in the heart of Chinatown 

at the Hilton on Kearny where Jeffrey is giving his seminars.

The view is beautiful looking out at Coit Tower and Alcatraz Island.

Late lunch/early dinner at Bristol Farms and couldn't wait to get our hands on a cream puff!

Took a walk on Market Street and around Union Square.

Stopped in the San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma with the intention of getting a small taste of their delicious apple cider and browsing their cooking goods, and was pleasantly surprised to be informed that the founder, 94-year-old Chuck Williams, was in the store!

I love that this image is a symbol of my life right now - the ultimate blend of child (Sesame Street) and style (Diane von Furstenburg). I was thinking the other night while standing over Gabrielle in her little baby bath (in my Lanvin boots) how grateful I am that in motherhoood, I can still be me. And even though our lives are completely intermixed, I make time to take care of myself both mentally and physically. I'm getting ready to upload a TON of great pictures from the shower for Lourdes and all that's going on here in San Francisco!

Seven months of sheer delight. 

It's such a joy to know you, Gabrielle.

I'm in Portland, Oregon, to visit family and, most important, to celebrate the life of my Grandmother, Catherine Ann Thompson, as she ascends upon the last stages of her life. What a delightful woman she is. At 80, she continues to have a sparkle in her eyes of the incredible life she has lived and enjoyed. My mom's mom, she is the true foundation for the incredible wealth of kindness that lives within my mom.

Grandma has a designer's eye for both style and fashion, and her preference was always to be dressed up. She could shop with the best of them. And she knows how to stick up for herself. Many of the characteristics Gramdma exuded in her life are ones that I now see in myself. And I am grateful. It's pretty tough to thank another human for the positive impact they've had on your life in a way that truly expresses the heartfelt meaning you hope to convey.

I brought Grandma the most delightful bouquet of flowers I could put together. She loves flowers and was always an ace gardener. The flowers were my way of saying (without words)...

Thank you, Grandma. Thank you for being you. Thank you for the beauty and bigheartedness you have brought into all of our lives. You are loved by many and the traditions you've introduced to us will be passed down for generations to come.

Happy Birthday to my nephew and pal Simon Edwards...

As you soar into your sixth year in this world, may all your hopes and dreams come true. You have impacted the lives of many with your beautiful smile, your deep thoughts, and your energy for life. You're on a path to greatness, Simon. And you have many fans.

I love you, big fella. And I'm grateful to know you and be inspired by all that you are.

There was a special visitor at this year's Gitomer Christmas party!

Good times today with Ali, Chris, and Simon at Carowinds in South Carolina. It was 100 degrees. A bit too hot. But once we got in the water, it was delightful. 

I'm so happy that this dude is here visiting.

Loved this outfit that I wore during my last trip to Las Vegas. It was warm enough (almost too hot) to have just this on. And I'm really into the headband scarfs right now.

Other things I am interested in at this moment:

-Organic yogurt. At your local organic market. It has all the benefits you need. And tastes excellent. I especially like strawberry flavor. It was recommended by my friend from The Temmy Tumple. She told me it hasn't lost all the good bacteria that normal store versions have lost.

-Having friends and family come visit me in Charlotte. Ali, Chris, and Simon arrive next week and Rebekah is coming for Labor Day for a weekend stay. The anticpation of their arrival excites me. And I'm doing all kinds of fun stuff in preparation for their visit. (My hotel-lived-in life for the past two years comes in handy in knowing how to pamper visitors.)

-The Book of Secrets. This is excellent reading. So many facts and secrets you wouldn't otherwise know. Ah, just found this one under Secrets to Weight Loss. "Eating yogurt will actually help you lose weight, as the high calcium content provides a catalyst for your body to burn fat more efficiently and will actually limit the amount of fat your body will support." You can also learn The Secret of Remembering Names and The Secret History of Striptease. And at $11 on Amazon.com, it makes an excellent gift.