Sensational Style and Confidence for The Over-Sixty Woman
Here’s a video of a woman over 60 who’s an inspiration and great example of courage and determination. I hope you will be as impressed as I am with Diana Nyad’s talk about her goal to swim from Cuba to Florida. It’s worth the 17 minutes of your time. Enjoy!
One of the changes that affects all women, especially as we go into the encore part of life is our dental health. There’s nothing quite so aging as teeth that don’t show a lovely smile. I’ve been impressed with how much information you can find about dental health and especially how easy it is to find a good dentist. One site that caught my attention is Top Dentists because it has a wealth of information as to what’s available to create the smile you want.
Please enjoy the article from my Guest Blogger, Anna Clarke
While health techniques and technologies are improving across the board to benefit all generations, the world of dentistry seems, on some level, to favor the young. This is simply because these days children are taught better dental habits, and have access to better treatments and materials at a young, formative age than most adults ever had.
Even helpful tools like braces seem to be available only for children. People past their teenage years are rarely seen wearing braces; however, don’t despair! It is simply not true that only young people can enjoy modern benefits in dental health. Read on for a few tips that can help you to fix your teeth even if you think they are entrenched in their current state.
For starters, many adults have teeth that are relatively stained. This can be for a variety of reasons… perhaps in your childhood you didn’t care for your teeth as carefully (or perhaps you still don’t!). Or, perhaps you have simply eaten or drank enough staining substances over the course of your life to lead to slightly yellow teeth. Fortunately, there are a number of modern whitening methods that can help you not only get rid of the stain, but to enjoy a smile brighter than you’ve ever had before. Some of these methods, many of which are detailed at TopDentists, are available in drug and grocery stores. There are also more intense, cosmetic dental procedures that can lead to teeth whitening.
You may also feel that you have to simply live with crooked teeth. If you are an adult who never had the growth or formation of your teeth monitored or directed by something like braces, please know that braces are not reserved only for children. If you feel you would be embarrassed to have them at your age, you can even look into less visible methods for teeth straightening. There are a variety of different products and services designed to subtly help align your teeth for better health and, of course, a prettier smile!
Unfortunately, there are a lot of common misconceptions that dental solutions become obsolete at a certain age. Just because many people over a certain age did not grow up with the methods and technologies available today, they may be less aware of the amount of change that these methods and technologies can affect in teeth.
You could be only a few appointments, plus a little bit of research and product use away from having a straight, healthy teeth and a bright, attractive smile. If this is you, why not give it a shot?
About the author: Anna Clarke is a busy mother of three who is passionate about keeping her family healthy and happy.
A new wardrobe of beautiful blossoms for a bare tree
Spring is here! Flowers are showing up, trees are blossoming with new growth. It’s time for us to join in the promise of beauty this season. In other words, it’s time to update the clothing in our closets!
The urge to purge seems to show up every spring. Perhaps it’s that inspiration to start fresh after the heavy winter season begins to fade. Maybe it’s because the beautiful blossoms, gentle rains that make everything sparkle when the sun shows up, compel us to follow nature’s calling to start anew.
When clearing clutter, many of us head for our closets, ready to store the heavy clothing and start looking at spring and summer clothing.
There are many ways to clean your closets and update your wardrobe. This year, how about trying something different? How about listening to what your clothing is telling
you? It will make a huge difference in how you decide what to keep and what no longer serves you. The labor is short-lived compared to the joyful feeling you get for the rest of the season. Here’s what to do.
Wardrobe tip: When you clear the clutter in your closet, you’ll make space for something that makes you feel significantly wonderful. Because that’s who you are, that’s what you should have. So when you buy something new, buy it only if it tells you, “This looks significantly wonderful on you!” Keep that as your new shopping motto.
Do you ever have that feeling of being invisible?
Yesterday I watched my twin grandsons play in a Lacrosse game. They’re getting to be young men and I know they won’t be around and easily accessible to me in a short time, so I try to be at their games and events.
As always after a game, they can’t wait to get something to eat and will descend on the designated after-game place to wolf down in one sitting what would last me for a week. I usually go along to where they hang out after the game and enjoy the noise, enthusiasm and camaraderie they have with their team.
I watch them and often get that feeling of invisibility that decends on me like the cloak in Harry Potter’s adventures. Surprisingly, it’s almost as much fun.
So why then do I attend their games when I can? The long and short of it is that they appreciate my being there. Sometimes they even thank me! The big benefit I receive is that even though I often feel invisible, I know that being invisible is perfectly OKAY. There are benefits to being invisible in certain circumstances. I get to observe their conversation, to enjoy their way of looking at the world and I get to create a memory for me and for them.
For example, during the energetic and LOUD talk about their games, I feel completely invisible. I can’t join in the conversation (I don’t understand the details of the game) and it would be easy to judge them as they brag about how many bruises they got in the game. Although the conversations with the young moms and dads are respectful, I know we don’t have much in common, so I mostly listen. Nevertheless, this time is precious and it will end too soon.
One thing I know for sure is that there are times when it’s good to be invisible and times when it’s not. In observing these young boys who are moving into manhood, I see them fighting for recognition or being visible. This will probably go on for a long, long time.
Perhaps we all fight for recognition. It’s part of being human and wanting to be acknowledged for who we are (or who we think we are). The need to be recognized no matter where we are, I believe, is what that’s what creates the feeling of being overlooked when we’re not noticed or acknowledged.
This may sound off the wall, but I’ve found that who we are most invisible to is ourselves. Being invisible to ourselves has its symptoms; for example:
One of my clients, a beautiful, brilliant, talented woman was so used to being in the spotlight that when circumstances caused the spotlight to shut down, she lost track of who she really is. After exploring who she really is, finding her core values and recognizing that where she is now is perfect for her, she is heading for a more rewarding phase of her life. Her need to be recognized because of her hard-won status has changed to fit another, more rewarding lifestyle.
The key here is that she first she had to become invisible in order to observe and nurture her true self. From that comes a quality visibility that serves her higher purpose.
I’ll have to admit that I’ve been guilty of creating my own invisible self. When I forget who I truly am, and it does come and go, I procrastinate, find many ways to distract myself from the task at hand and suffer from low self-esteem. The opposite is true.
Do you know who you truly are? How do you drop the cloak of invisibility, if you have one, and what do you do on the path to self-discovery?
I’d love to know.
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Did you watch the Academy Awards last night?
Because I’m a single woman I like to invite other single women for a night of snacks and fashion gossip. It’s a fun way to view the Oscar night fashions and ooooh and aaaah over their impossibly perfect figures mostly clad in almost painted-on gorgeous gowns. Mostly the gowns were beautifully simple with only a couple of them bordering on indecent exposure.
This was the first time, though, that I felt inspired at the richness and depth of the older actors who respect their craft and continue to perfect it. It gives me hope that as a society, we’ll someday get to the point where becoming older (and who isn’t!) is respected and admired as much as it is in other countries.
Best Actress Academy Award (Photo credit: cliff1066™)
Throughout the years, on and off, I have watched some great Oscar nights and quite a few disappointing ones. Last night, I thought, was one of the best but what moved me want to write about it was Christopher Plummer winning theBest Actor Award at age 82!
Just shows that doing what you love, continuing to learn, and taking a few risks is what makes for an award-winning life.
In my last article I wrote about all the things I noticed about aging as Meryl Streep played Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Whether or not you’re a Streep fan, there’s no doubt that she’s a sensational woman who takes on roles that expand her talents. The makeup that transformed Streep into the young Thatcher and old Thatcher, Oscar also went to her makeup artists, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland. Well deserved for the job they did. I also noted that many who received awards said it was a life dream come true.
The motivation to write this is also the question, “What can we do to make our own lives worthy of an Oscar?” Not necessarily aHollywood-type one, but a personal, perhaps spiritual or loving, award from family and people whose lives you have touched.
Here are some thoughts I got from last night’s performance.
Do you love what you do and do you have a dream? If you want to share it with us, we’d love to hear about it.
Related articles
So much of looking younger is thinking and feeling younger. Our faces, bodies and attitudes are what create a total, youthful package.
I recently saw Iron Lady with Meryl Streep. I think she is an absolutely a fabulous actor and watching her on screen as she depicts Margaret Thatcher, was a marvel. I watched the way she walked, her posture, to say nothing of her incredible makeup and saw how she carried herself as a young, confident Thatcher and as the older Thatcher. It’s an insightful look at youth and age in one film.
Margaret Thatcher Image via Wikipedia
Here were my thoughts on looking younger as I viewed the film:
Let me know if you have any other tips or if you have comments on anti-aging ideas. And if you enjoyed this article, I would LOVE it if you would “like” and” tweet” me. Simply click the icons below this blog.
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How do I want this year to be different?
That’s the question I asked myself as the new year lay out before me, full of promise and possibilities. Maybe you asked yourself that question too.
At this time in my life, and maybe in yours, the idea of planning for the coming year seems daunting. If the last year was somewhat overwhelming, maybe it’s time to look past 2012 and paint a bigger picture. If that sounds like even more of a challenge, then consider this: How would it be if we were to look ahead to the next five years and use each year as a time for correction and updates, rather than resolutions and goal setting?
Somehow looking at a bigger picture seems to lessen the dreaded (for me) details of plans and the guilt that follows when they fall by the wayside.
I love the idea of dreaming for the future. It somehow sounds less formidable than making resolutions that we know will be broken within a couple of weeks. You know the ones: Lose 10 pounds, exercise more, make more money. They seem to be the same year after year, at least they have been for me.
When I talk with other women around my age, the biggest things they want for this year are health and wealth. With those two things taken care of, they say they will feel better, do better and be happier.
Why plan for just the year? Why not take a longer view and look at what’s really important. Taking small steps to be where you want to be, have what you want to have and be who you want to be will take away the overwhelm and make what you do today more meaningful and count for more. When we know that we’re headed for something bigger, it’s easier to enjoy the process of getting there.
I’ve often heard that the joy is in the process and that the feeling of accomplishment is fleeting. The afterglow of having helped someone or make life a bit better for someone is what truly lasts. Here are some of the questions I asked myself as I was contemplating making resolutions, something I’ve done for decades.
Where will you be in five years? Will I still be living in this place?
What will you have accomplished in five years? Will that book finally be published?
What will you remember and what will you be remembered for? Did I show gratitude and caring to those I love?
Here’s a simple exercise that will help you get started (if you would like to join me).
Write a letter to yourself looking back five years from today and answer these questions.
Doing this exercise will give you an idea of what you really want to be, do and have.
I’d love to know if any of this worked for you.
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I love the holiday season! It changes our everyday lives into a time for lists filled with to-do’s, spending, remembering loved ones, and mailboxes filled with something other than junk mail. What I especially like is the surge of human energy that surrounds us. It’s a temporary escape from reality before plunging into the real world of 2012 which could be much like 2011.
It’s also a time when there’s a lot of creativity in making others feel in a holiday mood. Here in Alameda, CA, although it’s a small town, Christmas Tree Lane is always popular and fun to walk up and down. My favorite is the parents trying to answer the endless questions the little ones have. Click on either photo and it will take you to another version where if you click again, you can see a larger photo.
I was so impressed with the following creative Christmas lights display found on UTube, in case you haven’t seen this.
From what I understand, the creator of this display is a computer genius as well as a fabulous designer. Open the link and see if you agree:
Then there’s the husband who is in a hurry to play golf and is definitely not a designer (yes, honey..I did hang the lights)…
That's one item off my Honey-Do list!
One of the highlights of this season is the shopping trip with my grandsons (twins 14 and their little brother 10). While shopping for their dad, they really thought I should have this piece of furniture. (It’s bigger than my living room).
This is an awesome piece of furniture
Whatever you’re doing, wherever you are, I hope you will savor each moment of the rest of the year and that the coming year will filled with joy, love and abundance.
With love and good wishes,
Dolores
Gift Clutter
Seems that clutter is an inevitable part of simply being alive. It’s that part that nags at you in the background as “Should do”, ” Hate to think about it”, and “Why am I feeling like I’m always running behind?”
As we prepare for the holiday season, (yikes…it’s here again), we know what that means: lots of celebrations, too much food, lots of gift-giving and gift-getting and the ever-constant, “What shall I wear?”
Now that it’s all ahead of you, it’s time to start planning. Who hasn’t realized, after it’s all over, that many of the “gifts” are a waste of money, time and effort. And you also know that shopping, looking in store windows, listening to the holiday music will propel you into the spirit of it all (especially for the merchants) disguised as joy.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s fun to have a package or two to open during Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other celebratory days. Now, the other side of the coin is a depleted bank balance, exhaustion, worry about what to buy, confusion, and, of course, where do we store these newly acquired items.
It’s interesting that all of these traditional celebrations started with honoring a spiritual or religious event but now have become so commercialized that the endless holiday music and “buy, buy, buy” commercials start even before Halloween.
But, getting back to gifts, shopping, etc.
Truth be told, many of us are downsizing and are trying hard to eliminate the clutter in our homes. How to celebrate without going broke is a major concern for many who have no jobs or are on a limited income.
In thinking about how to prepare and celebrate the holidays, here are some ideas that can help eliminate clutter and allow celebration and fun in the coming months.
The hardest for me is shopping for someone who has or can buy anything they want. The most appreciated gift for the men in my life (sons and best friend), is a gift card from me offering to fix their favorite dinner at a time of their choosing.
There’s something about planning ahead that adds to the enjoyment of the season. The idea is to keep the list small, keep it fun, use your creativity and the holidays can truly be a celebration.
Have any great tips? Please share.
Have you ever thought about how you might be remembered? I sometimes wonder if I will be remembered!
Recently I attended a memorial service for a dear friend. As always, there’s a sadness at a memorial service, despite the full church, the beautiful tributes, the outstanding reception…all things he would have loved. All were a tribute to him, only he wasn’t physically there. Yet I could see that his legacy of openness, warmth and his welcoming spirit were very much there, reflected in his family. He left behind a beautiful, loving family and a legacy of trust, generosity and kindness, which were part of what he was.
What struck me once again is how important family is, how fragile life is, and how strong love is.
It brought home many thoughts about life in general and left me wondering who would remember me. And were I to be remembered, what about me would they remember? What we leave behind is something most of us don’t like to think about, me included, but it’s not too late to do something about we want to leave behind. It’s important and has an impact on how we live our lives today.
As I looked around, I thought, “Look at what he left behind.” In the recesses of my mind I remembered a quote I had once read…I believe it was by the famous psychologist, Eric Ericson, that said, “You are what you leave behind.”
I’m sure you all have lost someone you loved or cared about at some time in your life. No doubt their passing left a vacant spot in your heart, a spot that now can only be filled with memories.
Although they’re no longer physically available, interesting things can happen with memories. If you extract the lessons learned from that person through your memories you will find gifts that are yours for the taking.
I’ll give you a couple of examples:
Mom in 1930
My Mom would have been 100 years old this month. Mothers are our first teachers. They help form our personalities and the way we are to a great extent. In the end, she left behind who she was…the mother of five children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren…all the results of the 92 years of her life. Her legacy? A sense of fun and a great sense of humor. All five of us took that as our special gift.
My Best Friend for many years. I still think about her every time I go to one of the many neighborhoods where we lived in San Francisco as young, single 20-year olds. I don’t think I ever heard her criticize anyone in all the time I knew her. I always smile when I think of her and her down-to-earth way of seeing the best in people. I’m still working on that and sometimes ask myself, “Now what would she have done?”
I invite you to think about three persons you have lost, what your memories are about that person, and write down what gifts they left behind for you? When I did this, I felt a sense of gratitude and wondered what I would leave behind for my sons and grandchildren. What kind of an example or impact will I have in their lives? What lessons and gifts will I leave behind?
Usually we’re not aware of the impact we have on others, whether it’s positive or negative. The great news is that with understanding that who you are is what you leave behind, there’s time to make sure that what you leave behind is a rich legacy filled with love.
Sociologist Anthony Campolo tells about a study in which 50 people over the age of 95 were asked one question: “If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?” Three things consistently emerged:
• Reflect more
• Risk more
• Do more things that would live on after I am dead.
If you want to create an intentional legacy, you need to rethink your priorities.”
And we can start today!
