Aging Parents and Assisted Living Choices March 30, 2009

Like a cruise ship docked for the 80 year old set

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Like a docked cruise ship for the eighty year old set March 30, 2009

     My Mother decided to go into an assisted living facility. She picked the one she liked and 6 weeks later she made the move. We are all thrilled. This facility is like a docked cruise ship.  It is elegant, friendly, great food, lots of activities, and excursions. The average age at this center is 83. My Mother loves it and my sister and I are so relieved to have her some place safe, with-out stairs, and with as much interaction as she desires.

 

The facility reminds me of a college dorm. The exception is that everyone is in their 80’s. Other than that, the music is loud, people hang out in the common rooms, eat together in the dinning rooms, play games in the study and attend lectures. They have sign out sheets and sign up sheets, and some one is always losing their keys.

 

The biggest problem so far in the adjustment to assisted living is that my Mother is a clothes horse. She went from 5 closets to 2. She lives in New England which means there are seasonal clothes to rotate and store. We are so very fortunate that the biggest problem in adjusting to assisted living is closet space!

 

I am very fortunate to have my Mother still with me and at 87 years old enjoying this new part of her life.

Michelle Obama as a Role Model March 25, 2009

So what if it is still 40 degrees out,and you are wearing a tank top. No longer do you have to say it is because of hot flashes. Now you are a fashion statement making women. Thank-you Michelle Obama!

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Michelle Obama as a Role Model March 24, 2009

 

The First Lady of the USA

I like Michelle Obama. She comes across, smart, savvy, grounded, a sense of humor, and very connected to her role in history. She has an athletic sense of style. That style is a great role model for women of all ages. Then there is the subject of Michelle’s arms. A lot has been said and written about her athletic, toned arms that she shows by wearing sleeveless. I think it is great that she shows off her arms while being comfortable under hot lights and nervous situations. Isn’t it about time that as a country we can say to all women, take off your jacket or sweater, your sweat shirt or suit coat and be cool! As menopausal women in the work force, let’s take the cue from the First Lady and show off our arms, toned or bat wings, in the name of democracy and coolness.

You don’t see Michelle showing a lot of cleavage, or looking matronly. I really like the no cleavage look. Too many celebrities show way too much bosom to be considered role models. Other women in the public eye go to the fashion extreme and look too drab in dark colors and tailored styles. Michelle wears dresses! In the last few years, trying to find a dress (age appropriate) at let’s say Nordstrom has been equivalent to going on a treasure hunt. I am hoping Michelle Obama brings back the popularity of the dress, with sleeves or not, as her husband brings back the economy so we can all afford to buy one . This is the ‘official’ picture of our first lady, Michelle Obama.

A Taste of Sustainable Summer in a Bottle March 16, 2009

HOTLIPS Soda, like drinking fruit in a bottle. All sustainable, all delicious.

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A Taste of Sustainable Summer in a Bottle March 16, 2009

Some time after breast cancer and subsequent menopause, I found I could not drink alcoholic beverages any longer. A few sips of a wine, beer or a mixed drink and I went into a full body sweat, and a mind crushing headache. Unattractive and debilitating, I sought a tasty beverage to drink when normally a wine or beer or mixed drink would do. This search led me to HOTLIPS Soda. I want a drink that can thrill me like wine, delight my senses like a mixed drink concoction, and refresh me like a cold beer. HOTLIPS Soda is all that and more because they are admirably sustainable. Me, you and every one else can feel good on several levels from buying their soda. www.hotlipssoda.com

 

Jeana Edelman, Aesthetic Engineer and co-owner of HOTLIPS Pizzerias for 20 years was “disgusted with selling Coke or Pepsi and the whole family of gross corn syrup beverages”, at their restaurants. Her partner Dave decided on the idea to make soda from the bounty of local berries and other fruits. They bought some 1960 era bottling machinery and started the process of capturing the essence and flavor of fresh berries in a bottle. Finally 4 years after their first attempt, the bottling and berries worlds aligned and Hot Lips Real Fruit Soda was born. No corn syrup, artificial flavors or ingredients you can’t pronounce. It is like drinking fruit. The color, the smell, the love that goes into this product is a testament to the HOTLIPS Company.

 

The soda, since it is actual fruit, has pulp. This means it has fiber. How many other sodas have fiber? The availability like wines is based on the local crop of the berries. Hot Lips Soda, with Jeana and Dave, are entrepreneurs who know their way around sustainable business practices and we all benefit from their efforts.

 

 

 

Menopause Barbie March 9, 2009

The Barbie Doll turns 50.

2009 is turning into an interesting year, full of milestones. One of these milestones is The Barbie Doll will be 50 years old. Ken, Barbie’s long term boyfriend is only 48. Who knew that Barbie liked younger guys?

Actually Barbie and Ken were named after the children of Mattel founder Ruth Handler.

When Ruth and her husband introduced Barbie at the International Toy Show in 1959, toy stores were not excited. Consumers loved Barbie and as they say, the rest is history.

 

Ruth was 42 when she introduced this controversial doll, a doll with breasts. Another first for Mattel, with Ruth at the helm, was to buy 52 weeks, 1 year of advertising on the TV show, the Mickey Mouse Club. One year of advertising toys directly to the demographic who could make their wishes known had not been done before. TV itself was in its infancy, but Ruth and her husband Elliot saw the potential.

 

Ruth Handler who died in 2002 at age 85 was an admirable business woman. She combined business, Motherhood and being a wife in a time when women were not encouraged to work outside of their homes. What genius to name her doll toys after her children. What PR savvy to partner with her husband but confident enough to be the spokesperson for their toy company. At age 51 Ruth introduced Hot Wheels. This toy’s success rivaled Barbie’s for boys. Menopause in the work place didn’t stop Ruth Handler from success, nor does it appear to stop her creation, the Barbie Doll.

 

This doll could be called ‘Hot Flash Barbie’ or ‘Menopause Barbie at age 50. Looking at her founder, I think Barbie has a great future ahead of her. Mattel, which the Handler family sold in the 70’s, had a bad fourth quarter for 2008. Can the Golden Anniversary Barbie bear the financial pressure for the entire company? She is being sold for $3.00, the same price as 50 years ago. If you look at Barbie from the late 80’s forward, she now smiles. She is feeling confident, she looks great!

 

A Moving Experience March 2, 2009

I attended this year’s Susan G Komen for the Cure®, Breast Cancer Issues conference in Portland, Oregon. This conference addressed risk reduction, treatment options and survivorship.

 

It was a great, well organized, and well attended conference. The 3 sessions had 5 lectures to chose, all very interesting, resulting in a difficult choice. Luckily the notes of all sessions were included in a cd.

 

Of special interest to me was the key note speaker, Dr. Kerri Winter-Stone. Kerri just completed the data on the study I was in on breast cancer and exercise. Not to minimize the results but the bottom line is we all have to move. Exercise, stretching and resistance training are needed daily for overall well being and for bone health. Chemotherapy and other drugs can deplete bone density and through exercise we can rebuild our bones. Exercise has to be an “Intentional” part of your day, every day.

 

Good to reinforce what we know to be true, diet and environmental tidbits from the lectures:

• Eat fewer calories to loose weight.
• Eat whole foods, extra virgin olive oil, fatty fish, raw nuts, whole grains and 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
• Eliminate refined grains, flours sugars and processed meat.
• Don’t heat foods in plastic or plastic wrap in the microwave.
• Try making your own household cleaning products.
• Plastics labeled #1, #2, and #5 are OK.
• Avoid Plastics labeled #3, #4, #6, and #7.

 

Are your co-workers, friends or family members smart and looking for a career in health care with less emphasis on the care? Suggest RESEARCH as a career option. Medical protocols are changing rapidly. Long term side effects of cancer and other diseases are being researched. There is no shortage of areas of questions for PhD’s to explore, only answers.