Hey y’all! Watch this!
I believe Jeff Foxworthy described that command as, "The last words you most often hear comin’ out of a redneck’s mouth." (Ahem, you might be surprised to hear this, but Texas has our fair share of rednecks, and quite a few still perch on the limbs of my family tree…)
In Texas, you hear those words a lot. I mean a lot. A LOT! In fact, you hear those words from Fluffy Chix Cook, a lot!
You also hear me say, “This is a true story.” Cuz right before a Texan is apt to tell a tall tale, he or she will preface it by informing you in solemn honesty, "This is a true story. I 'Caint' - Texan for 'can't' - MAKE this stuff up!"
But, it is.
A true story. Swearsies.
Hand to heart, I just up and wrote Dana Carpender one day! Yep, just up and wrote her. Turns out you increase your odds of success by asking. You should write that down. It’s important. (Oh, I’ll get to what I asked soon…be patient!)
Dana Carpender - Managing Editor of CarbSmart Magazine
Back to Dana. Yes, yes, THE Dana Carpender of Hold The Toast and How I Gave Up My Low-Fat Diet and Lost 40 Pounds fame – the undisputed Queen of Low Carb.
For the few people here who just made it up from the creek, or fell off the turnip truck, Dana Carpender is a Schmarty McSchmartipants-Deluxe in the Low Carb Community.
She’s a best-selling author and has written 10, count ‘em, 10 books and has over a million books in print. Her 11th book, 500 Paleo Recipes is due out this November just in time for the holidays - just in case you're wonderin' what to get me for Christmas.
Dana is multi-talented, sharp as a tack, with a wicked good sense of humor, (Sorry! Shew! I was channeling my Yankee nephews outta “Bast-on” there for a second…) and is such a knowledgeable resource about low carb health and low carb nutrition. I hazard to guess that Dana has forgotten more about low carb than I’ve ever known.
But that’s not all! She is the whole package, the genuine article, cuz not only is Dana a cool nutrition nerd, she’s an extremely creative writer and has a unique voice that resonates with readers. A plain ol' fluffy chix like me can identify with her - she's real! And she cooks a mean streak for that nice boy she married! And you know, comin’ from this Fluffy Chix, cookin’s where it’s at, baybee!
No, this isn’t puffery! I’m tellin’ all two of you readin' out there! This is a true story!
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Anyways, Dana, in addition to being a busy author and publisher with a terrific website called Hold The Toast now wears one more hat. This hat is a big one, too! It’s probably a ten gallon hat, at least!
Andrew DiMino Brings Help and Support to Low Carbers
Dana just accepted a position with Andrew DiMino’s most excellent online magazine, CarbSmart Magazine. CarbSmart.com is a trusted information go-to site for anything you want or need to know about the low carb, diabetic and Paleo lifestyles. And Dana Carpender is the new managing editor for CarbSmart.com.
CarbSmart is the brain-child of low carb mastermind, Andrew DiMino, a guy with a heart as big as Texas! (NO! I'm not sayin' Andrew has an enlarged heart - and Dr. Atkins did not die from a heart attack! I'm sayin' that Andrew is generous and compassionate.)
Andrew DiMino knows what it feels like to carry around excess pounds and understands the collateral havoc extra weight wreaks on our bodies over time.
After Andrew's success, losing over 50 pounds on the Atkin's Diet, he passionately avowed to help people make healthy lifestyle changes. Thanks to his experience and considerable knowledge in low carb nutrition, CarbSmart came to life. Since 1999, CarbSmart has filled that need and been your trusted source and low carb guide to making the transition to a whole new, healthy you.
Cuz let's face it...when you totally change your entire nutrition paradigm from SAD (Standard American Diet) to Happy (Low Carb) - that carbs contribute to disease and fat is your friend - you're gonna have questions! And CarbSmart is positioned to help fill the information gap!
I say, "Congratulations Dana and Andrew to a great combination of talent and power!"
I don’t know whether to congratulate Dana on such a beautiful feather in her very large hat, or congratulate Andrew for being a shrewd judge of great horse-flesh. (In Texanese that’s a very big compliment, not a slam – just so you know, I am not likening Dana to a horse.) But either way, I think it’s a winning combination and I’m just relieved for all of us in Low Carb Land they will be using their considerable combined talents for good and not evil! We would all be in trouble if they planned to Lex Luther us!
Ok, ok, I’m getting to the rest of the story. (It’s a true one, did I already mention that?)
The Rest of the Story...
So I read a little snippet when Dana and Andrew returned from the 5th Annual Low Carb Cruise that Dana, as the new managing editor of CarbSmart.com, was gonna review and vet writers for CarbSmart Magazine.
Guess what I did? I settled my fluffy little feathers into a chair and set my little fluffy wings to typing as fast as they’d go! I wrote and emailed and asked Dana if she would review a couple of samples of my writing style to see if they were a fit for one of the writing openings.
Hand to heart, I did not think this busy woman of a thousand hats and even more books, with her very large red editing pen, would ever look twice or even reply. I am certain I did Dana an injustice, cuz she’s so nice, gracious and accommodating, I’m sure she replies to most everyone who writes to her, but I didn’t think I honestly had a shot at a reply, much less a writing gig!
Low and behold, Dana emailed asking if I’d be interested in writing a monthly column for CarbSmart.com. To which I replied, something terribly brilliant, like, “Duh!”
Ok, maybe not duh and in my mind I’m thinkin’, “Psssshhhhhaw! Does a bear spit in the woods?” Only I didn’t say spit in my head…
I was like Brer Rabbit sayin’, “Dana, please don’t throw me in that briar patch!” All the while prayin’ and secretly hoping that she would indeed throw me in that briar patch so I could skip, likkity clippit, down the path in celebration of this new windfall!
So fast forward…I had to share a few top secret publicity photos with Dana and Andrew, and trust me, the WPP (Witless Protection Program) were ruthless and stringent in their duties.
I also had to write the first article. Then came time to click my heels three times and make a wish that the article wouldn’t make Dana gak, or regret her offer to edit and publish my work. A million man hours of editing later, Dana told me the article was ready for prime time and would be published.
Well slap my low carb biscuits and call me Fanny! Cuz you could have blown me over with a feather. Every fluffy feather of me, too! I swear, it’s a true story - I about died! I had to go buy life insurance, cuz now I could die happy.
That's SusieT's a 'Gonner'!
Truly.
A year ago, I told my sissies I’d be lucky to live through Christmas. I was laid up in my recliner chair fighting the battle of my life with Stage IIIC Breast Cancer, havin’ chemo every 2 weeks and watchin’ countless hours of Gossip Girls through the wee small hours of the night as pain from an inflamed esophagus, blistered hands and feet and gut-gnawing fear kept me wide awake with pain-fuelled insomnia.
Bald, no eyelashes, with a moon face to make Reverend Moon envious, I didn’t even think I’d be alive this year, much less become a published writer.
So let this be a lesson out there. Dream it. Dream it and dare to dream big. Cuz dreaming is half the battle – even when it looks like your boat is currently up a creek without a paddle. God is good and magnifies our blessings.
I sincerely thank Dana for giving me this amazing opportunity and for having patience and gentleness with her very large red editing pen! I also want to thank her for a newly burgeoning friendship. I’m truly blessed by her gift.
I also thank Andrew for trusting me to become a member of his writing family. I look forward to the days ahead and know they are paved in opportunities to learn and grow as a writer and cook and most especially to bring y'all entertaining tales of victory in low carb cookin' and livin'! Thank you, Andrew and the entire staff at CarbSmart.com!
Yeehaw! Hey y’all watch this! Oh, and be sure to tune in over at CarbSmart.com to read more Fluffy Chix shenanigans and CarbSmart’s insightful guidance on livin’ the low carb lifestyle in style!
 |
| Fluffy Chix watching this... |
In Texas, you hear those words a lot. I mean a lot. A LOT! In fact, you hear those words from Fluffy Chix Cook, a lot!
You also hear me say, “This is a true story.” Cuz right before a Texan is apt to tell a tall tale, he or she will preface it by informing you in solemn honesty, "This is a true story. I 'Caint' - Texan for 'can't' - MAKE this stuff up!"
But, it is.
A true story. Swearsies.
Hand to heart, I just up and wrote Dana Carpender one day! Yep, just up and wrote her. Turns out you increase your odds of success by asking. You should write that down. It’s important. (Oh, I’ll get to what I asked soon…be patient!)
 |
| Dana Carpender, best-selling author, recipe developer, and editor. |
Back to Dana. Yes, yes, THE Dana Carpender of Hold The Toast and How I Gave Up My Low-Fat Diet and Lost 40 Pounds fame – the undisputed Queen of Low Carb.
For the few people here who just made it up from the creek, or fell off the turnip truck, Dana Carpender is a Schmarty McSchmartipants-Deluxe in the Low Carb Community.
She’s a best-selling author and has written 10, count ‘em, 10 books and has over a million books in print. Her 11th book, 500 Paleo Recipes is due out this November just in time for the holidays - just in case you're wonderin' what to get me for Christmas.
Dana is multi-talented, sharp as a tack, with a wicked good sense of humor, (Sorry! Shew! I was channeling my Yankee nephews outta “Bast-on” there for a second…) and is such a knowledgeable resource about low carb health and low carb nutrition. I hazard to guess that Dana has forgotten more about low carb than I’ve ever known.
But that’s not all! She is the whole package, the genuine article, cuz not only is Dana a cool nutrition nerd, she’s an extremely creative writer and has a unique voice that resonates with readers. A plain ol' fluffy chix like me can identify with her - she's real! And she cooks a mean streak for that nice boy she married! And you know, comin’ from this Fluffy Chix, cookin’s where it’s at, baybee!
No, this isn’t puffery! I’m tellin’ all two of you readin' out there! This is a true story!
Anyways, Dana, in addition to being a busy author and publisher with a terrific website called Hold The Toast now wears one more hat. This hat is a big one, too! It’s probably a ten gallon hat, at least!
Andrew DiMino Brings Help and Support to Low Carbers
Dana just accepted a position with Andrew DiMino’s most excellent online magazine, CarbSmart Magazine. CarbSmart.com is a trusted information go-to site for anything you want or need to know about the low carb, diabetic and Paleo lifestyles. And Dana Carpender is the new managing editor for CarbSmart.com.
 |
| Andrew DiMino - Publisher, President, and Founder of CarbSmart.com |
Andrew DiMino knows what it feels like to carry around excess pounds and understands the collateral havoc extra weight wreaks on our bodies over time.
After Andrew's success, losing over 50 pounds on the Atkin's Diet, he passionately avowed to help people make healthy lifestyle changes. Thanks to his experience and considerable knowledge in low carb nutrition, CarbSmart came to life. Since 1999, CarbSmart has filled that need and been your trusted source and low carb guide to making the transition to a whole new, healthy you.
Cuz let's face it...when you totally change your entire nutrition paradigm from SAD (Standard American Diet) to Happy (Low Carb) - that carbs contribute to disease and fat is your friend - you're gonna have questions! And CarbSmart is positioned to help fill the information gap!
I say, "Congratulations Dana and Andrew to a great combination of talent and power!"
| Click to enlarge. Read about CarbSmart Magazine! |
 |
| SusieT sports her new hat, too! Susie is a new contributing writer for CarbSmart Magazine. |
The Rest of the Story...
So I read a little snippet when Dana and Andrew returned from the 5th Annual Low Carb Cruise that Dana, as the new managing editor of CarbSmart.com, was gonna review and vet writers for CarbSmart Magazine.
Guess what I did? I settled my fluffy little feathers into a chair and set my little fluffy wings to typing as fast as they’d go! I wrote and emailed and asked Dana if she would review a couple of samples of my writing style to see if they were a fit for one of the writing openings.
Hand to heart, I did not think this busy woman of a thousand hats and even more books, with her very large red editing pen, would ever look twice or even reply. I am certain I did Dana an injustice, cuz she’s so nice, gracious and accommodating, I’m sure she replies to most everyone who writes to her, but I didn’t think I honestly had a shot at a reply, much less a writing gig!
Low and behold, Dana emailed asking if I’d be interested in writing a monthly column for CarbSmart.com. To which I replied, something terribly brilliant, like, “Duh!”
Ok, maybe not duh and in my mind I’m thinkin’, “Psssshhhhhaw! Does a bear spit in the woods?” Only I didn’t say spit in my head…
I was like Brer Rabbit sayin’, “Dana, please don’t throw me in that briar patch!” All the while prayin’ and secretly hoping that she would indeed throw me in that briar patch so I could skip, likkity clippit, down the path in celebration of this new windfall!
 |
| Shhhh, don't tell the WPP my pics are posted all over Al Gore's World Wide Web! Oh no she dittent! |
I also had to write the first article. Then came time to click my heels three times and make a wish that the article wouldn’t make Dana gak, or regret her offer to edit and publish my work. A million man hours of editing later, Dana told me the article was ready for prime time and would be published.
Well slap my low carb biscuits and call me Fanny! Cuz you could have blown me over with a feather. Every fluffy feather of me, too! I swear, it’s a true story - I about died! I had to go buy life insurance, cuz now I could die happy.
That's SusieT's a 'Gonner'!
 |
| Stage IIIC Breast Cancer, on chemo, bald, sporting a steroid moon-face, with drawn in eyebrows and mostly drawn on lashes, I thought I was "a gonner" last year at this time. And I won't even dare show you my drawn on Ronald McDonald smile! |
A year ago, I told my sissies I’d be lucky to live through Christmas. I was laid up in my recliner chair fighting the battle of my life with Stage IIIC Breast Cancer, havin’ chemo every 2 weeks and watchin’ countless hours of Gossip Girls through the wee small hours of the night as pain from an inflamed esophagus, blistered hands and feet and gut-gnawing fear kept me wide awake with pain-fuelled insomnia.
Bald, no eyelashes, with a moon face to make Reverend Moon envious, I didn’t even think I’d be alive this year, much less become a published writer.
So let this be a lesson out there. Dream it. Dream it and dare to dream big. Cuz dreaming is half the battle – even when it looks like your boat is currently up a creek without a paddle. God is good and magnifies our blessings.
I sincerely thank Dana for giving me this amazing opportunity and for having patience and gentleness with her very large red editing pen! I also want to thank her for a newly burgeoning friendship. I’m truly blessed by her gift.
I also thank Andrew for trusting me to become a member of his writing family. I look forward to the days ahead and know they are paved in opportunities to learn and grow as a writer and cook and most especially to bring y'all entertaining tales of victory in low carb cookin' and livin'! Thank you, Andrew and the entire staff at CarbSmart.com!
Yeehaw! Hey y’all watch this! Oh, and be sure to tune in over at CarbSmart.com to read more Fluffy Chix shenanigans and CarbSmart’s insightful guidance on livin’ the low carb lifestyle in style!
You are such a good writer that now I'm excited!!! Congratulations! You do have a fun, engaging style of writing - we really enjoy it. Sadly, I cannot see where to get more information on this online magazine. I went to the CarbSmart website, but did not see any subscription info. Hope you post something on your blog as I would love to receive the magazine.
ReplyDeleteHi BJ! Wow what a great compliment! If you were here, I'd hug you and squeeze the stuffin' outta ya! Truth.
DeleteOk, so you should be able to click on the link above that occurs in the last paragraph right before the comments. Or, you can enter this address and it will take you to the website. http://www.carbsmart(dot)com
I don't want to type the exact link cuz I don't want CarbSmart to be bombarded with spammers. So you just copy and past the address into the address line of your browser. And make sure to replace the (dot) with a real (.) and remove the quote marks from around it!
Hope that helps! Once you are there, you can look up writers and choose my name and go to my articles. But while you're there, look around and read all the latest articles about low carb livin'!! I think you can subscibe to updates as they occur!
Hugs and thanks again for taking the time to write me!!! I heart comments!