My writing career began ten years ago with my articles published locally and nationally. As a beginning writer, I was happy to be on my way, writing and learning as much as I could . With two little kids underfoot, as well as working full-time, it was really difficult to make time for writing, but I managed.

    Readers told me they laughed, cried or were inspired by my articles. But they didn't know what was really going on behind the typewriter. I was not a happy mommy, and found it difficult to enjoy the everyday little things in life. In short, I was not a happy person.

    I realized I had to make some changes. I started walking every morning. It cleared my head, allowed me time to think, gave me fresh air, and made me feel invigorated (精神焕发） and healthy. I was eating wisely, and the weight started to go. I started a new job, joined a monthly writing chapter，and was determined to keep up my walking. Finding the balance was sometimes difficult. But I was determined to fit in writing time because it made me happy. Sure I loved to watch the news and have my tea, but that wasn't what made me truly happy.

    My own happiness has shown through my family, my job performance and my attitude towards challenging situations. I again have readers telling me the effect my writing has had on them, with some able to get on with their own writing because of my articles.

    It was up to me to make it happen—my own happiness. One step at a time-one word at a time. And I did it.

    It is 2018; e-books are loved by many people. Do you read them?

    An e-book is an electronic book, which can be made from common books and loaded onto an e-reader. The e-reader is a mini-device, just like a cell-phone. It has a touch pad screen and can hold a few hundred e-books. People can read e-books on it just like they do a book. So it is possible for people to read anywhere with an e-reader. This is perfect news for people who love to read books but can't carry many.

    Another great thing is that people can read books on it quickly and there's no need for two hands to hold the book and turn pages. Most e-readers also have a nightlight, so you can read at night and don't wake your partner with a big light on.

    Not all book authors agree to make their books into e-books. The creator of Harry Potter says that her books will never be e-books. However, lots of authors absolutely love the idea and feel it's the next step to keep books alive.

    Nowadays e-books are sold in many websites, from where you can buy and load them onto your e-reader. Those websites look just like ordinary online bookstores and have a list of best sellers and a new book section. There is also a clear price on each e-book to make sure people can buy them like buying common books.

    You dash through a crowded railway station, tripping over bags, spilling (泼出) your coffee, only to have the doors slide shut in your face, leaving you breathless on the platform as the train pulls away,

    But at least, if you're in France, someone may be playing the piano for you. But it won't be performed by a paid musician, or even a street entertainer playing for coins. It will just be a random passer - by, jamming for the fun of it on one of the pianos that the national railroad company, S. N. C. F., has fixed in nearly 100 stations across France. They are free for anyone to play, and travelers from all walks of life have taken to doing just that.

    Gares & Connexions, the S. N. C. F. division that manages its stations, rents the instruments from the producer, Yamaha: which maintains them and tunes them every month or two. The first one was set up in the Gare Montparnasse in Paris in 2012.

    The music, mixed with the sounds of shouting passengers, screaming trains and rolling suitcases, gives French stations a special soundscape. The amateur musicians have included Irish soccer fans and even babies. In 2014, Gares & Connexions and Yamaha organized a nationwide contest called Your Turn to Play, asking participants to submit videos of themselves using one of the pianos. It drew nearly 900 entries.

    Isn't the railroad company taking a big chance? Apparently not: “None of the instruments has been vandalized to this day, or even merely damaged,” said Claire Foumon, a spokeswoman for Gares & Connexions. “They are shared and respected by all.”

    So if you miss a train in Paris; Bordeaux or Marseille one day, perhaps someone will be playing a favorite piece that will ease your pain. Or perhaps you'll sit down and play your annoyance away yourself.

    If you like texting and are trying to lose weight, a new study found that using texting to track(追踪) diet and exercise habits may help you lose weight.

    Previous research has shown that keeping food and exercise diaries improves the likelihood of success when you are trying to lose weight. Using a computer or a pen and paper to record information, however, can be a burden and cause some people to give up.

    Duke University researchers said using text messages to track eating and exercise habits can save time, and increase the chances that people will stick with their weight-loss rules.

    The study included 26 obese women with an average age of 38. The women used daily texting as part of their weight-loss program. The text messages focused on tracking personalized goals, such as avoiding sugary drinks or walking 10,000 steps a day. Messages also provided brief feedback (回复) and tips.

    Every morning, the women received a text from an automated(自动的)system that said, "Please text yesterday's personal information of steps you walked and how many sugary drinks you had." Based on the women's responses to the text message, the system sent another text with personalized feedback and tips.

    After six months, the women who used daily texting lost an average of nearly 3 pounds, while another group of women who used traditional methods to keep food and exercise diaries gained an average of 2.5 pounds, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

    "Text messaging has become popular and may be an effective method to simplify tracking of diet and exercise behavior," Dori Steinberg, who was responsible for this research, said.

    Steinberg said, "Text messaging offers several advantages compared to other self-monitoring methods. Unlike web-based diet and exercise diaries, data in a text message can be entered quickly on nearly all cellphone platforms so it is very convenient to receive feedback. Besides, because of the limited number of words used in text messages, it saves time."

    Many people prefer eating out instead of cooking at home. A change appears to be taking place, though, and millennials are leading the way. According to one survey, more young people are starting to cook at home for three basic reasons: They can save money, eat healthy and waste less food.

    Popular TV chefs are also getting millennials excited about learning some basic cooking skills. Many millennials view cooking as a form of entertainment and self-expression. They proudly post pictures of their cooking creations on Facebook or Instagram, and invite friends over to share the cooking experience.

    Many millennials have also found ways to avoid wasting food. After roasting a chicken, they put the leftover bones in their freezer instead of the garbage can. Later, they use the bones to make chicken stock which is an important ingredient in many dishes.

    They also hate throwing out fruit that's too old. To avoid that situation, they bake ripe fruit like berries and bananas for 15 minutes at 175 degrees C. Then they freeze it overnight. After that, they place the fruit in plastic bags and store it their freezer for later use.

    Now any millennials only eat at restaurants that have excellent food-waste policies. These servants use every part of the vegetables they buy, including their stems and roots, in dishes. They also use beef, chicken and pork bones to make their own stock.

    Millennials also reduce food waste by only buying what they require. Before going to a market, they write down what they need and don't buy anything else. They say they won't purchase more food than they can consume.

Everyone gets anxious when the world takes an uncertain turn. And often, we treat that anxiety with a little panic buying.

A study published last year in the Journal of Consumer Research found that people buy things in troubled times as a means of keeping control over their lives. The researchers noted that utility items — specifically, cleaning products — tend to move most quickly from store shelves. The hoarding (囤积) of toilet paper, as perhaps the most fundamental cleaning product, may represent our most fundamental fears. An invisible enemy moves slowly and quietly towards us. We need to hold on to something in uncertain times. Maybe a hoard of toilet paper brings promises.

The thing is, it's not actually going anywhere. For all the sharp words and even sharper elbows thrown around by the crazy toilet paper shoppers, they seem to be missing one essential fact: There is no toilet paper shortage.

As The New York Times points out, shop owners that see their shelves emptied often fill up the shelves again in a day, often in just a few hours.

"You are not using more of it. You are just filling up your closet with it," Jeff Anderson, president of paper product manufacturer Precision Paper Converters, tells the Times.

The thing is, the toilet paper-obsessed shoppers have been infected with something many times more contagious (感染性的) than any coronavirus: fear.

"People are social creatures. We look to each other for cues for what is safe and what is dangerous," Steven Taylor, a clinical psychologist at the University of British Columbia, tells Fox News. "And when you see someone in the store panic-buying, that can cause a fear contagion effect. People become anxious ahead of the actual infection. They haven't thought about the bigger picture, like what are the consequences of hoarding toilet paper."