Tag Archives: boomer wellness

De-Stressing and Saging Away My Negative Energy

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life after 50, baby boomer women, boomer wellness“You seem to be very tense,” said my esthetician D this afternoon as she prepared to massage my upper body. “Your neck and shoulders are extremely tight. Are you stressed?” she asked.

“I’ve just arrived back from a business trip where I was attending a three day meeting and have been doing a lot of sitting,” I replied.

D put coconut oil on my face and then covered it with a Vitamin C mask. It felt so good. “Relax  and calm down,” said D. She put the heating pad under my back and a bolster under my knees.

“I think I need to do some saging,” said D, “to get all the negative energy away that is swirling around you.”

“Really,” I said. “What is saging? I’ve never experienced saging before.”

D took out a dried white sage leaf, lit it and blew out the tip. She took the burning sage which had a fragrant odor and walked around my body several times to release the negative energy. “This may also help you sleep,” said D.

life after 50, boomer wellness, saging

Dried white sage leaves can be used in saging to ward off negative energy.

I felt renewed and refreshed after I left her office. So glad I had decided to make an appointment for a facial. D always gives me sage advice about my skin and now she is saging me too. She even gave me some sage to take home in a little red bag. Now I can sage my house or myself whenever I feel negative energy.

Last week, I learned from a segment on “The Today Show” that April is National Stress Awareness Month. In addition to saging myself to increase my energy there are other things I can do (and so can you) to de-stress.  Here are some tips from the NBC reporter:

 

Exercise can relieve stress. The reporter said that push-ups are a good exercise to build arm strength. I’ve been trying to do my yoga plank pose each morning to see how long I can stay in position. I’m up to about one to two minutes. My yoga teacher N says that Jennifer Aniston got her strong arms doing this pose.

Crying can relieve stress. I’ve been doing quite a bit of this since losing my mom last month. Sometimes I cry at night when I am missing her. I usually tell myself that it’s okay to cry. It’s part of the grieving process.

Bath salts and baths can relieve stress. Ooh, ooh, ooh – I LOVE TO TAKE baths. I mix epsom salts and lavender oil to make my own bath salts. Then I light some candles (and make sure to blow them out when I am done), lay back and relax. (Maybe I should also burn some sage just in case there is any negative energy in my bathroom?)

Swirl around in your desk chair…that’s if your desk chair swirls. Mine does. Here I go…go…go…oops I’m back!

Eat some oranges or put lemon slices in your water. Supposedly, Vitamin C can help lower cortisol levels which contribute to stress in the body. (According to writer Juniper Russo’s post on LiveStrong.com, “The “stress hormone” cortisol enables many important processes within the human body. However, during times of physical or emotional stress, cortisol levels can elevate to unsafe levels, which may lead to a variety of stress-related complications.)

Jump up and down on a big exercise ball or squeeze a stress ball in your hand. I don’t have a big exercise ball at home…will have to get one and put it in my home office near my desk.

How do you de-stress? Do share a tip or two.

Judi

P.S. – Check out The WHOA! Network!, a new website about women honoring our age from two really talented and smart boomer girls, Lynn Forbes and Darryle Pollack.

Staying Fit and Fabulous After 50

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In recognition of March National Nutrition Month, I asked my BFF and expert dietitian, Laura Sabban MS RD CSR, to provide her views on two diet books that came my way. The books are “The Digest Diet” and “The Digest Diet Cookbook” by Liz Vaccariello, editor-in-chief of Reader’s Digest and coauthor of the bestseller “Flat Belly Diet!” (Note that the PR lady did not send a copy of the “Flat Belly Diet!” which sounds interesting to me since I do not have a flat belly but would really like to know if it is possible to ever have a flat belly again – especially after having two children during my life before 50.)

So what did my BFF Laura have to say about staying fit and fabulous in our fifties? “Selling magazines and diet books making us think it is easy to shed pounds at this age is making people rich. But a lifetime of habit isn’t going to change without some effort and we need to be realistic about what it takes to be able to avoid those elastic-waist pants,” says Laura. (I know Laura, I don’t want to have to only rely on stretch pants as I age.)


In reviewing the books, Laura comments that “The Digest Diet” and its companion cookbook start out saying it will be easy to make huge lifestyle changes. “The author Liz promises that there are magic foods to eat that ‘release fat’, and that you won’t be miserable or hungry because the foods are so satisfying,” says Laura.

“Indeed the recipes are truly interesting and photographed in stunning color. However she promises that you’ll lose an average of 11 pounds in 3 weeks and that you can exercise at your own pace…as long as you follow the diet exactly, do high-intensity interval training (!!!), spend your Sunday afternoon cooking organic foods, give up dessert in favor of ricotta cheese and eat a salad when you (invariably) get hungry.”

(Really, I have to do all that? BTW, I did try the Strawberry Almond Shake during the BlogHer conference book event last summer and it was rather tasty. I sampled the shake made with frozen berries, flaxseed, avocado and cocoa powder. A typical shake includes 16 grams of protein. I also found the new cookbook recipes to be appealing and may try to make a few such as the Chicken Piccata with Capers & Olives and the Herb Crusted Salmon. )

“At 1200 calories a day, even with no magic foods, almost anyone can lose weight,” Laura adds. “The science presented isn’t always great but overall, the book does advocate a balanced, healthy approach to dieting and will work for the motivated. The 12 people who ‘tested’ the plan seemed to like it. But I think that boomer women don’t want to spend much time cooking anymore, won’t join a gym if they haven’t already and want to have dessert more than once a week.” (Hmm, hmm, hmm. Laura you are my BFF and I do agree that boomer girls don’t want to spend extra time in the kitchen, but I do know many boomer girls who like to work out at the gym including your BFF.)

Laura is my BFF and a very smart registered dietitian.

As a special guest blogger, Laura provided these simple tips to help boomer girls stay fit and fabulous:

- Firstly, eat three reasonable meals a day. Don’t go more than 5 hours without eating something. Yes, it has to do with insulin levels, but there’s no point in making it more complicated than that. (I agree – breakfast, lunch and dinner – I try not to miss a meal.)

- Second, eat vegetables and fresh fruit as often as you can. No one ever got fat from eating too much fruit. (I’m glad I love fruit – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, apples, oranges, pears, grapes.)

- Thirdly, choose lower fat dairy products. We eat too much rich cheese on everything. (I really like the Sargento Reduced Fat Cheeses.  You can buy slices or shredded varieties.)

- Fourthly, take a walk every day, weather permitting. Or find another way to keep moving that feels comfortable. It’s also a mood lifter. (Walking does it for me – oh where is that pedometer?)

- And lastly, every day reward yourself with something yummy of about 100 calories—1/2 oz. of chocolate, a small yogurt, a tablespoon of peanut butter on celery, or a snack bag of crackers or cookies. Sometimes just knowing a treat awaits you later makes it easier to hold out against indulging too much earlier in the day. (My treat of the day has to be dark chocolate – my boyfriend L has converted me – it’s the best.)

“Common sense may not be sexy, but it’s all one really needs,” adds Laura.

Now you see why Laura is my BFF?  She is so smart!

If you would like to be entered into the raffle to win a copy of “The Digest Diet,” leave a comment on my blog about how you stay fit and fabulous during your life after 50. Or “like” Judi Boomer Girl on Facebook or “follow” judiboomergirl on Twitter and leave your comment there. Deadline for entry is March 31, 2013.

Judi

A Caregiver Needs Body Care Too

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Last week in yoga class my Zen card said “body care.” I wondered if it was trying to tell me something. Am I not listening to the signs of stress that are all around me? As a member of the sandwich generation, worrying about my adult kids (I’m a mom I have to worry about my kids even if they are all grown up) and worrying about my elderly mom (who has been ill since the new year), I often forget to give my own body the “body care” it needs.

Not sleeping enough, not eating the right foods, not taking time to slow down and relax. Running, running, running. “Must squeeze all my exercise into the weekend,” I told my body last Saturday. “Think I will do it all – yoga, bicycling, walking, running, lifting weights.” My body did not react well – it fought back with aches and pains.

This week I listened to an online chat with Dr. John Whyte, author of AARP New American Diet: Lose Weight, Live Longer. Dr. Whyte provided some helpful tips on ways busy caregivers can take better care of themselves. Here’s some of Dr. Whyte’s advice:

- Dr. Whyte says that “people who walk more throughout life have greater brain volume than those who walk less.” He says that “there are approximately 2000 steps in one mile and that most active people average about 2000 steps a day.” (I consider myself an active person but I don’t know if I am walking a mile a day. Ooh, ooh, ooh, I think I will take that old pedometer out of my junk drawer tomorrow and see if I am walking 2000 steps.)

- Dr. Whyte says that “our basal metabolic rate (BMR), basically our internal furnace, slows down as we age.” That’s why we can gain weight more easily. He says that to balance our BMR we either need to eat less or exercise more. (I vote for the exercise – but I must stop being a weekend athlete and improve my fitness management.)

- Dr. Whyte says that “foods from the Mediterranean diet are some of the best foods to eat such as: fish for heart health” (yep, I eat fish at least 2-3 times a week); blueberries – Dr. Whyte says that “these berries are packed with powerful antioxidants to keep the blood vessels in our heart and brain healthy” (yep, I eat organic blueberries every day for lunch with my yogurt); ”nuts in moderation” (yep, I sprinkle walnuts on my salad); and “drink more water” (yep, I carry my water bottle to work each day).

- Dr, Whyte says that “it is not surprising that added stress can cause weight gain.” He says that “It is often related to the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that usually can be very helpful. It provides glucose to the body for energy when there is a stressful situation that requires you to have more energy or to be more alert. However, chronic stress will cause cortisol levels to be high chronically and this is not a good thing for your body.”

Dr. Whyte says that “In this situation, the elevated cortisol levels cause high blood sugar which will cause a series of other reactions which will cause you to store fat as well as hold onto it, making it very difficult to shed the pounds.”

My cortisol levels are definitely elevated of late – juggling full-time work events and readying my second career as a writer and blogger post retirement, refinancing my “condo on the corner at the shore,”  managing my mom’s health concerns and caregiving from afar – she is in Flo-ree-da and my sister N and I are in NJ and NY…and how can I forget all the paperwork involved with preparing my 2012 taxes for the accountant this month.

I must take heed and listen to my Zen card.  If I don’t take my “body care” seriously no one else will…and I want my body to stay healthy during my life after 50.

So,so, so, tonight I am going to enjoy a nutrient rich dinner with my boyfriend L. What’s on the menu? Glad you asked. We’ll start with a nice green salad with a few Greek black olives and sprinkling of walnuts, followed by baked salmon topped with hickory barbecue sauce and accompanied by a beta-carotene rich sweet potato. If we have dessert it will surely be dark chocolate.

Then I am going to relax and listen to  the wonderful music of Deva Premal & Miten as their spiritual chants lull me to sleep.

AARP Caregiving

While I am a member of AARP’s Kitchen Cabinet on Caregiving, note that all opinions are my own. I encourage all those who are caregivers to check out the AARP Caregiving Resource Center for more helpful tips. It truly is a wonderful resource, especially for those who are new to caregiving.

Judi

Cheers To A Healthy Heart After 50

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I would be remiss if I did not have a “heart to heart” conversation with you this month about keeping your heart healthy. Yes, boomer girls, I’m talking to you. Have you had your cholesterol checked lately? If not, this month is a great time to get your lab work done. February is National Heart Month and there are few more days left in the month.

I had my cholesterol checked since I was having issues with the new statin drug Crestor that my cardiologist had given me awhile ago. I was only taking about 3 pills a week at the time but my muscles began to ache around my knees and hips. I thought it was from exercising, but it turned out that even with a very small dosage my body was not welcoming any form of statin.

“What should I do?” I asked my doctor at the time. “There’s nothing more we can try. Just go off everything for now and let’s retest in a few months,” said my cardiologist Dr. P.

My general practitioner Dr. S reviewed my most recent lab results during my wellness check up:

Cholesterol 241 mg/dL – that’s high according to the American Heart Association (AHA) charts. (Uh oh! Oh no! That’s bad.)

HDL 92 mg – Let’s see, the AHA website says that “high HDL cholesterol 60 mg/dL and above is considered protective against heart disease. (Yeah, that’s good.)

Triglycerides 64 mg/dL – AHA says less than 100 mg/dL is optimal. (Wahoo! I’m really doing good with my triglycerides.)

LDL 136 mg/dL – AHA says 130 to 159 mg/dL is borderline high. (Uh oh! Oh no! That’s bad.)

So I have two good numbers and two bad numbers. What should I do? What should I do?

“Your profile isn’t that bad. And your glucose is 87 mg/dL so you are not diabetic” said Dr. S. “Keep taking your fish oil, watch your diet and keep exercising. We’ll check your cholesterol again in a few months.”

I felt a bit better after my visit to Dr. S. I was glad that I had my labs done and am feeling much better – no more aches since I went off the statin drug. I will visit my cardiologist as well next month for my annual heart health checkup.

In the winter issue of the Cooper Hospital Health Connection, Cooper cardiologists report that the symptoms that can signal a heart attack can be different for women versus men. Symptoms for women include:

- Indigestion, nausea

- Burning in chest

- Pain radiating to back, jaw and shoulders

- Dizziness

- Onset sudden, overwhelming fatigue

I also went and bought a jar of aspirin to have in the house just in case I ever have symptoms of a heart attack and need to chew an aspirin while I dial 911.

The New York Times journalist Annahad O’Connor writes in her article “Really? During a Heart Attack, Dial 911 and Chew an Aspirin?” that “Some people may suspect that chewing an aspirin, which inhibits platelet activity that could block arteries during an attack, makes little difference. But a study in The American Journal of Cardiology highlighted its importance. In a group of 12 subjects tested in a laboratory, chewing an aspirin tablet for 30 seconds before swallowing on an empty stomach prompted a 50 percent reduction in platelet activity in five minutes. It took 12 minutes to achieve the same effect when the aspirin was swallowed whole.”

O’Connor further writes that “Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, said people who suspect they are having an attack should chew one full-strength tablet, which is 325 milligrams. But most important, she added, is to “get to an emergency room.” (I hear you Dr. Merz and I will listen if this ever happens to me…and thank you Barbara Streisand for all you do for women’s heart health…oh yes, and you sang a beautiful tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at the Oscars last night, my favorite song “Memories.”)

I hope to keep my baby boomer heart beating healthfully during my life after 50. Better not eat too many pieces of blueberry pie – instead I’ll try to enjoy my blueberries with a little non-fat frozen yogurt .

Cheers to heart health. How are you keeping your cholesterol down? Do please share a tip or two.

Judi

P.S. – Note if you are receiving my posts via email subscription and would like to leave a comment, just click on my name and it will take you to my blog and you can leave a comment.

 

Dark Chocolate and Love For Valentine’s Day

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Next week is Valentine’s Day and there’s no better way to celebrate than to show yourself some love during your life after 50 and enjoy some dark chocolate.

Like a good yogi, I set an intention at the beginning of 2013 and my intention was to love myself more this year. Part of loving myself more is to get more sleep, say “no” to more things instead of trying to “do it all,” and take time to practice my mindfulness meditation. Ah yes…and to enjoy dark chocolate.

Leave a comment and enter to win a box of GODIVA Dark Chocolates. Read below for details.

In this month’s AARP Bulletin, Nissa Simon includes “choosing chocolate” as one of her “10 Tips For Better Health.” Nissa says that “Dark chocolate is rich in plant compounds called flavonoids, natural antioxidants that help the body’s cells resist damage that may contribute to cancer and other maladies. In addition to their antioxidant properties, flavonoids help lower blood pressure, improve blood flow to the brain and heart, raise ‘good’ HDL cholesterol levels and lower ‘bad LDL levels – all of which protect against heart attack and stroke.”

No wonder my boyfriend L eats dark chocolate every day, he is so smart. Maybe that’s why he is a healthy boomer guy! I’ll definitely have to give him a gift of dark chocolate for Valentine’s Day.

Nissa quotes Dr. Richard Stein, professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine, regarding reaping the benefits. She says Dr. Stein recommends  that you “choose dark chocolate that contains at least 70 percent cacao, or cocoa” and “advises to limit yourself to about an ounce a day since dark chocolate does contain calories.”

I visited the GODIVA boutique at Rockefeller Center, NYC, to see their interactive pop-up kissing booth created entirely out of chocolate.

After reading all this wonderful info about dark chocolate, I called up my wonderful friends at GODIVA Chocolatier and they agreed to provide a box of dark chocolates for my Valentine’s Day raffle. So boomer girls…do you want to know how you can win a box of dark chocolates? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?

Okay, okay, okay, I’ll tell you. All you have to do is share a comment on this blog post about how you are ‘going to love yourself more in 2013′ (or join Judi Boomer Girl on Facebook or follow Twitter@judiboomergirl and leave your comment there). One lucky winner will be chosen at random to win a GODIVA Dark Chocolate Assortment Box (retail value $36). Deadline for comments ends on V-Day February 14th, so leave your comments now. (Note: Boomer guys and Boomlets can enter the raffle too. Okay, okay, okay – all generations can enter. The more the merrier.)

If you want to win other GODIVA chocolates you can enter their “Share the Love” Photo Sweepstakes, which encourages consumers to upload and share photos of themselves with their loved ones on the GODIVA Facebook page and website GODIVA.com, for an opportunity to win and share the grand prize of free GODIVA chocolate with 500 of their beloved Facebook friends. All entrants to the 2013 “Share Your Love” sweepstakes receive 25% off one GODIVA item at GODIVA boutiques or 25% off an $80 purchase at GODIVA.com.

Remember to love yourself during your life after 50 and have a happy and healthy Valentine’s Day!

Judi

P.S. Please take time out to vote for your favorite boomer blogger.  Tell your friends to vote too. My blog is a finalist for SeniorHomes.com Best Senior Living Award for ‘best boomer resources.’  Click here to vote. Deadline is February 18th.

Staying Healthy During Middle Age

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After turning 55 last week, I can no longer check off the 45 – 54 box when I’m asked my age. And I’m no longer part of the standard 28 -54 female advertising target. Yep,  I’m inching up the ladder of my life after 50. I’m smack in the middle with a growing middle-age middle.

There are some benefits. For example, at 55, my local theater ranks me as a senior so I can get a discount at the movies. My boyfriend L and I usually go to the early bird shows.  We cannot stay up for any late shows.

I did watch Jodie Foster celebrate her five decades of film and shout out “I’m 50, I’m 50″ at the Golden Globes this past Sunday. I’m glad she is proud to say she is 50, but I think she is too young to be recognized for a lifetime achievement award. She’s not done yet, even if she claims to be hanging up the towel. Doesn’t she know that the best part of her life is yet to come? (BTW, Jodie did look fabulous in her sleeveless Armani gown. No batwings for her.)

I made a promise to myself this year that I am going to love myself more. If you read my previous post “Plunging Into The New Year,” you know that if you love yourself more, you can love others even more.

So how am I going to take better care of myself in 2013? For starters, I’m going to listen to the tips that Dr. Oz offers up in the January issue of The Oprah Magazine. Dr. Oz says that in my 50s I should “take a few preventive measures to ensure my well-being for another half-century.”  I like his tips.  In fact, I already practice his advice:

  • Give It Your Om: Dr. Oz is a huge fan of yoga at any age. (So am moi. So am moi.) He reports that “a 2012 study in the journal Menopause found that it’s particularly beneficial for postmenopausal women coping with insomnia. (Moi. Moi.)  If you are not sleeping well, Dr. Oz suggests trying the Child’s Pose and Bridge Pose. (Since I am a practicing yogi, I am going to try these two poses tonight before I go to sleep…or try to go to sleep.  Ooh, ooh, ooh, according to an article in The New York Times – A Moment of Zen, on the Go - a study released by Yoga Journal – which moi is a subscriber – “the number of Americans practicing yoga jumped 29 percent to 20.4 million – or 8.7 percent of American adults – since the previous study in 2008, when 15.8 million practiced. Ooh, ooh, ooh, I keep up with the trends. Yes I do.)
  • Bulk Up On B’s: Dr. Oz says that “the same vitamins that keep your energy up also lower your body’s levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that may be linked to hardening of the arteries. He says to get your daily allowance of B6 (1.5 milligrams), B12 (2.4 micrograms), and folate (400 micrograms) from your diet. Let’s see, I can get B6 from sweet potatoes (yum, yum, yum) and B12 from the low-fat mozzarella cheese that I add to my pizza. Plus, I get folate from spinach and beets. (I especially like roasted beets. They are a very trendy vegetable and look very pretty as a sidedish or in a salad. In fact, even better are sauteed beet greens. Have you ever tried them?) I also eat fortified cereal for breakfast which is full of B vitamins.
  • Avoid Overdoing The Booze: I’m not a big drinker, but I do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner most evenings. Ooh, Dr. Oz says that while “a drink a day may keep the doctor away by reducing your risk of heart disease and stroke, excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing various cancers.
  • Get Screened For Colon Cancer: Dr. Oz says “more than 90 percent of all colon cancer cases are diagnosed in people age 50 and over. He says that he “had a precancerous polyp just after his 50th birthday. (I hear you Dr. Oz. With a history of IBS – Irritable Bowl Syndrome – I definitely need to be screened. I’m already on the case with a scheduled appointment for February. Ooh, ooh, ooh, that prep is the worst. Maybe one day the prep will include chocolate ice cream instead of Gatorade and Miralax.)

Dr. Oz provided tips for “Your 60s and Beyond.” However, I have another five years to go before I reach that age. I think I’ll just work on these four areas first.

How are you loving yourself more this year?  Do share a tip or two.

Judi

Plunging Into The New Year

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Happy new year!  I haven’t made any resolutions for the new year. Like a good yogi, I made intentions. In 2013, I intend to reinvent myself. Yes, this is the year that I am retiring from my corporate job and reinventing my life after 50.

I did what my yoga teacher N said to do last week. I spent my time in recapitulation. I wrote down all the good things that happened in 2012 including my daughter A’s promotion at her job, my son D’s college graduation  – yeah, yeah, yeah — plus D’s new job — double yeah, yeah, yeah — and my blog recognition by The Huffington Post as one of their “7 Favorite Blogs For Women Post 50” — final yeah, yeah, yeah. I wrote down the things that didn’t go so well in the world, such as Hurricane Sandy and the terrible tragedies in Newtown, Ct (tears welled up in my eyes again). Then I ripped up the list, just as N said to do. I cannot change the good things or the bad. 2012 is over.

Brigantine Polar Bear Plunge

On New Year’s Day, my boyfriend L and I attended the Brigantine Polar Bear Plunge. When the clock struck noon, we celebrated as those around us took off their costumes and jumped into the icy cold waters. “The ocean is warm,” said the master of ceremonies. “It is 50 degrees. Warmer than it is on the beach.” Unlike those adventurous souls who made a big splash, L and I decided to stay on the dry side and just offer good cheers. “Maybe next year I will be more courageous,” I said. “Maybe next year.”

Yesterday, my yoga teacher P told us that the greatest gift we can give ourselves in 2013 is to love ourselves more. “If you love yourself and take care of yourself, you can love others more,” P said. I decided to take P’s advice and not push any of my asanas too far. In 2013, I am going to listen to my body, my mind, and my spirit, and love myself more. I’m going to add the word “no” to my vocabulary. “It’s not a selfish thing to do,” P said.

How will I change this coming year? What new opportunities will come my way? According to John Tierney’s recent article and video from the New York Times, “You Won’t Stay the Same, Study Finds,” new research reports that “When we remember our past selves, they seem quite different. We know how much our personalities and tastes have changed over the years. But when we look ahead, somehow we expect ourselves to stay the same.”

John writes that in the findings published in the journal Science, “Participants were asked about their personality traits and preferences in years past and present and then asked to make predictions for the future. Not surprisingly, the younger people in the study reported more change in the previous decade than did the older respondents.  But when asked to predict what their personalities and tastes would be like in 10 years, people of all ages consistently played down the potential changes ahead.”

This week I will turn 55. As I look back on the past five years, I truly have made some amazing changes in my life. How much will I change during the next five to 10 years? I’m looking forward to growing and evolving even more during my life after 50. I’m ready to take the plunge. How about you? Will you join me? How will you change during your life after 50? Where are you going to start? What are your intentions for the next 359 days — please do share with a comment or two.

Judi

 

Thinking Pink – Have You Had Your Mammogram?

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I painted my toes pink this month in recognition of October National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Just put your arm around this bar and hold it tight. Lean in a little more. Just a little more,”  said the radiology technician as she readied me for my annual mammogram this morning. My tiny left breast went under the squeeze first. Then my tiny right breast went under the squeeze next.

I painted my toes pink for October National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Do I have dense tissue?” I asked the technician. According to a recent article in the New York Times, states have begun passing laws requiring clinics that perform mammograms to tell patients whether they have dense tissue. Women who have dense tissue must, under those laws, also be told that it can hide tumors on a mammogram, that it may increase the risk of breast cancer and that they need additional screening tests, like ultrasound or M.R.I. scans.

“Dense tissue is like a thick cloud. You know how you cannot see an airplane above a thick cloud,” said the technician. “That’s what happens when someone has dense tissue, you cannot see the tumor. These new machines are very good at seeing through the clouds.”

My dear friend R passed away from breast cancer this year. She was only in her early 60′s. We met in lamaze class. Our baby girls were born a few weeks apart. My baby girl is now a big girl in the big city. She just got promoted this week. Go A. Go A. Go A. You’ll be a CFO one day. My late friend R’s daughter M just became a doctor. Go M! Go M! Go M! I know you’ll be a great doctor. Your mom would be so proud of you.  I thought of your mom today and think of her often.

“The doctor will call you with the results,” said the technician. “Okay,” I said. Each year when I go under the squeeze I get a little nervous, especially since I turned 50. I say a little prayer that my tiny breasts will remain lump-free.

Have you had your mammogram this year? Next week is the end of October. There are a few days left.  Don’t forget!

Judi

Finding The Courage To Choose A Different Path

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“I don’t believe in therapy anymore, I just go get a blow dry at the hairdresser” said the writer Delia Ephron at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Conference for Women held at the Convention Center last week in Philadelphia. Delia spoke at a session titled “Finding The Courage To Choose A Different Path.”

She had so many great words of wisdom, I couldn’t write them all down fast enough. While I still go to therapy, I agree with Delia, there is nothing like a good blow dry or a fabulous haircut or a perfect set of highlights to cheer me up when I’m down. Hair is the most important accessory that we wear every day. (Eyeglasses are a very important accessory for me too since I need them to see. A great pair of eyeglasses can cheer me up, but it is a much more expensive investment than hair.)

Delia Ephron gave a motivational talk at the PA Conference For Women

Delia talked about her early aspirations to be a writer, about both her parents who were screenwriters. She said her mother told her and her sister (the late Nora Ephron) that “you must become writers.” She left her first husband when she was nearing 30 to move to NYC to become a writer. She wrote a book on crocheting and then sold a piece to the NY Times about how to eat chocolate pudding. The rest is history. (I used to crochet afghans back in the 70s and early 80s too and I loved chocolate pudding when I was a child.)

“Worrying is negative goal-setting,” says Delia. (But I’m a worrywart. I have to practice my mindfulness and not worry about the future so much. I was worried about my son last night when he told me that he didn’t have any heat in his bedroom in the NYC apartment where he and his roommates pay thousands of dollars rent. Will he be warm enough this winter? “Don’t worry mom, I’ll get a portable heater,” said my son D.)

So what are the tricks to stop worrying?  

I bought these Arturo Chiang boots at Lord & Taylor's Big Boot Sale

- Wear boots: Delia was wearing cool black boots. “Boots make you feel stronger, more confident,” she says. (I have several pairs of boots, but I couldn’t resist the Arturo Chiang At-Averly ankle boots in Truffle Waxy Goat at the Lord & Taylor Biggest Boot Sale this week.  They looked great with jeans and were 25% off — if you buy two pairs of boots you get 30% off each pair so hurry to your local L&T or go online and pick out some boots. I did feel hip and strong when I put them on my feet.

- Get hair blow-outs: “It will make you look fantastic,” Delia says. (Ditto from the previous paragraph. You already know how I feel about this – worry-free.)

- Buy a lipstick: “Look good,” Delia says. (I went to buy the Lancome lipstick that the makeup artist used on my makeover last week. I wanted to buy the Juicy Tubes in Coral Rush and the Lipstick in Rouge in Love 106M, but the makeup counter was all sold out. I was so disappointed, especially since I wasn’t worried about spending the $25.00 for a new lipstick and then they didn’t even have it in stock.)

- Channel your girlfriends: Delia says, “Girlfriends enrich our lives. They look at the world differently.” She says to channel a girlfriend who may do something that you can’t do. (I’m so lucky I have several wonderful girlfriends to channel. They know who they are.)

Delia says that “In our lives, in order to change, you have to get in the cage with the lion.  You have to roar.” She added that “Women are brilliant at reinventing themselves. After a certain point in your life, you know what you are good at.” Delia said one of her best traits is that she is “relentless.” She asked us to ask ourselves “What is your best trait?” (Hmm, hmm, hmm – am I relentless too? Am I strong? Am I caring? What’s best?)

Delia challenged us to “take yourself seriously, invest in yourself.” I was inspired to hear that Delia started writing novels at 47 and moved from California to NYC to start another chapter during her third act. (Does that mean that I can become a writer during my third act? I guess so if I take myself seriously. Wait, wait, wait. I already am a writer…seriously!)

“In the end, all we have is ‘process.’ If you are not doing it and liking it, then you shouldn’t be doing it,” says Delia. “You never know where something is leading you.”

Thanks Delia for your great advice. I’m definitely going to add your new novel, “The Lion Is In,” to my reading list.

Judi

Note: To those of you who subscribe to my blog, I just learned that my RSS feed has not been working the past few weeks. I am so sorry about this issue and my webmaster is trying to correct it. If you receive this post, then it is working again.  To read my previous posts go to aboomerslifeafter50.com.  

 

BlogHer 2012 Kicks Off In NYC

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More than 5000 attendees, mostly bloggers, settled in at the NYC Hilton today as the BlogHer 2012 Conference kicked off late this afternoon. This is the 7th year of the conference and there are 5000 attendees. It’s the biggest conference yet .

I remember my first conference when I was a newbie. It was 2007 and I had just started blogging. There were only about 500 bloggers in the audience at the time. Wow, how times have changed. Blogging is definitely trending positive.

Today things started off at 4:30 p.m., as President Obama spoke via satellite to a very large crowd. The bloggers cheered and were excited to hear what our current prez had to say. He wanted to address the group because as he says “Women make up more than 50 percent of the population in the U.S.A. and they are important when it comes to the vote.” He reinforced that “The ability to solve our problems is within our grasp.” (Yes, I do hope so dear prez because if we don’t solve our problems no one else will.)

After the opening session I went to a few of the exhibits and ran into some fellow boomer girls. Seeing my virtual blogger buddies in real life is always such fun.

I headed straight to the Kohler booth to learn all about their new VibrAcoustic bathtub. “This new technology brings the transformative forces of music and water together into a bathing experience like no other,” says the promo. “You just plug in a smartphone, lie back and soak as the sound waves resonate through your body.” My life after 50 will be pretty grand (and likely full of wrinkles all over) if I win the grand prize of one of these tubs. Ooh, la,la. I’ll definitely be blogging from my bathroom, if I win, if I win, if I win.

My second stop was to the Zeo booth where I learned all about the Zeo Sleep Manager Pro tool that can track your sleep. You wear a Zeo head piece to sleep and it records different data on how well and how long you sleep. Zeo also now makes sheets that cool you off. Sounds like a good idea for those nights when I have my hot flashes. Uh, oh, the Zeo advice for a good night’s sleep says “DON’T use the computer within an hour of bedtime.” Their data shows that it can decrease a woman’s time in REM sleep!

I better get off my iPad now and get good REM, as I have a busy day at BlogHer 2012 tomorrow.

Judi