Feb8

Things You Need To Know

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This morning I picked a journal from my very large stack of journals, and found this. I thought it might interest you, so here it is…..

There are a few things one needs to know and remember…

  1. Diamonds are a girls best friend! This I have known to be true, but in the most recent years I personally have found they are really expensive, and what I really love is their bling. So I have now settled on Moissanite instead. Moissanite is just as hard as a diamond, and they sparkle their little hearts out! I’m happy!
  2. Shop ’til you drop! It’s easier to do once we reach a vintage age, however we can still make a pretty good effort doing retail therapy. Maybe stop for a coffee, ice tea, or soda just to rest up for a second round.
  3. Travel, Travel, Travel! As long as you can pack a bag, grab a friend, or join a travel group do it! There are so many interesting things to see even here in our own country. Just do some research, and the places will find you even if you don’t find them. Personally I think research is the most fun, because it gives our minds a chance to dream. And dreaming is the best thing ever!
  4. Always have a home to return to! Knowing there is a cozy, comfy home waiting for the day you return is also the best. I love traveling, but I also love returning to my warm, and comfortable place I created.
  5. Always value your friends, and family! They will support, and give you strength at a time when you don’t have much energy, or inspiration for yourself. From my experience, my friends have supported me during my darkest times.
  6. God doesn’t give you a dream without a way to achieve that dream! That dream doesn’t fall into your lap, you have to do your share also.
  7. Eat lots of cake, and blow out all your candles! Don’t stop celebrating your birthdays just because you are getting old. Many of our close friends haven’t lived as long as we have, so in their name, celebrate long and hard. Blow out your candles, be proud of getting to the age you have, don’t look back. Look ahead with a positive attitude, and you will enjoy life just a little bit more.

This I wrote to our Oldest Granddaughter on her Seventeenth Birthday.

I hope you enjoyed my seven most important things to remember. Oh, I can come up with more, but for now these are a good start!

Thank you for stopping to read my blog. Don’t forget, “We Stand Together!” Karen

Jan25

Embrace the Journey

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Many of us have the idea that when we age, we can get comfortable. Maybe too comfortable! I’m one of them….. I love a soft turtleneck, and a pair of comfortable jeans. Is that wrong?

As we age with grace, and dignity we feel a lack of energy, and maybe loose the desire to keep ourselves up.

It’s a lot of work to be beautiful, and desirable, and after all why would I want to get all gussied up for who? My husband and I rarely care to go out. We find it safe and cozy to stay in, curl up, and watch a movie on TV. Not only are we not interested in going out, we are tired of trying to fit into what we all think is right for each of us. I don’t get gussied up. Here in Southern California that holds an entirely different meaning. A cleaned up casual is the Gussied up of the California Coastal people. The older we get the less gussied we become!

Other places however may have an entirely different idea of gussied up. In my mind the East Coast peopled get dressed up far more than we ever do. Maybe it’s the climate, maybe just the culture, I’m really not sure.

I believe these ladies live in New York, and they definitely dress up the street of their city.

We all have our own way of feeling dressed up. And, it’s my belief that we can get dressed up, and feel good about our selves without being guessed up. Here in California, and probably in many other places, getting dressed up means wearing a pair of jeans, a teeshirt, or a blouse, maybe a sweater or jacket, scarf, and a splash of color maybe even lip gloss.

Oh Yes, we are casual, very casual. But we can look good even though we are so laid-back.

Don’t anyone under estimate us though, we can, and do get amazing things done. We can get over the top dressed up, or we can get down and dirty with the rest of them. You might say we are camillians, and I think we can be!

Regardless, in my mind as we age, and are retired, we need to be as comfortable as we choose. That gives us a huge leeway for being exactly who we are, and how we want to be.

Thank you for reading my blog, remember “Together We Stand,” Karen

Images, and Videos are all three from You Tube. Thank you for the content.

Jan11

Whiskers or Wandering Hairs?

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Hair… As long as it’s on the top of my head, I’m ok with hair!

It seems that we ladies are blessed with hair in places we never would have guessed. I once had a very “sturdy” single hair above my right eyebrow on my forehead. I was in my forties at the time, and quite appalled. Rightly so, who in their forties gets a whisker on her forehead? One day I pulled it out, and it never returned.

That’s not all. I routinely check for wandering hairs on my chin, cheeks, and in my nose. Oh yeah, they are there also! Interestingly, while we continue to grow unwanted hairs all over our bodies, the hair on the top of our heads either gets wiry, or thin and falls out. Hair stylists call the thin hair “Frog Fuzz.” And now we either have to deal with pubic hair on the top of our heads, or no hair at all.

This feels like a great time to start considering wearing hats!!

But that’s not all, After checking myself all over this morning, and deciding I was ok to leave the house. But, on my way to do grocery shopping I felt something on my right arm. Maybe it was a bug or fly that had come in through the window.

Glancing down at my arm to see what had landed onto my skin, only to realize (GASP), it was my very own hair flapping around. Some of the hairs had grown to a very healthy two inches. Yikes, not this too! Who is it that is playing these cruel and nasty jokes? In the over all scheme of things, this isn’t a big deal. But in my world, it’s just one more thing I need to shave, or pluck and I’m not liking that much.

By the way, if you are a friend of mine, and I see a hair protruding from somewhere it never would have grown from, I’m obligated by the laws of girlfriend hood to point it out! Don’t be embarrassed, I can’t help myself. And what’s good for the goose….tell me if you see something sticking out that shouldn’t be, please tell me. I’d rather a friend tell me than find out later that I did lunch with my financial advisor, and had a whisker growing out of the top of my nose! Thank you in advance!

How about you? Do you have the same annoyances, or are you going to deny any rogue hairs grow in places you never imagined? I don’t blame you, I don’t want to admit the appearance of yet another happy accident on my nose, or arm.

All in all, these aren’t the worst things that could happen to us. They are annoying, but not life threatening. So after we take care of those annoyances, just take a deep breath, and know you are beautiful, and doing the best you can.

I hope I’ve set up my blog so you can comment, and let me know how you feel. If not, I’m working on it.

Until next time, Together we Stand! Karen

The picture above, and all the videos are from You Tube

Dec21

Fun, What’s That?

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Lady in a hat.

We all had fun years ago. Some more than others. Sure life isn’t always a bowl of chuckles, and it comes differently to each of us, but at one time or another we had real fun. I hope in our own way, we still do have fun.

Growing old isn’t always fun, and it definitely isn’t for the faint of heart! Since we can’t change any of the old age stuff, negativity is a waist of time. I’m not waisting my time being grumpy, and complaining. The flip side of that is always being positive. That isn’t always easy either. What I can tell you is that each time you have a negative thought, be it nasty or just plain down, if that thought is replaced with a positive thought it will go a long way. Of course, that’s difficult also. But, if you keep doing it, soon it will work. I’ll be the first to admit that the bad stuff doesn’t go away, but before you know it, those negative thoughts will be much less consuming.

Dr. Weil from the University of Arizona is a man I’ve listened to for years. He is progressive in the sense that he believes we can go a long way by thinking positive. He also believes in clean food, but that is an entirely different blog..

Since we are heading into the Holiday season, I’m keeping this short. As usual, these are my ideas and opinions, you don’t have to agree with me. I’m ok with that, I think we should all have our own opinions.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy Chanukah, and if you have a different holiday you celebrate, I wish for you a magical holiday. Much love.

Thank you for stopping to read my blog,

Together we Stand, Karen

Dec7

Accepting our Flaws

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My dear friend Barbara’s beautiful waterfall.

Peace and tranquility is our ultimate goal! We each want that, and it seems when people get older, that’s exactly what seems to elude them. Why is that?

For me, this means accepting what is, and letting go of what we’d like it to be. Letting go of being perfect. Why is it that we look in the mirror and see all the flaws? Those flaws really mean we have lived, loved, gotten smacked down, and gotten up again stronger, and better.

That little old lady looking back in the mirror tells me not to be so hard on myself, you are beautiful the way you are. Just like everything else, accepting our beauty with all its spots, wrinkles, and scars is a gift. A gift we can give ourselves!

We all know this isn’t an easy ask! All of us are most critical of ourselves, but much more accepting of the flaws of other’s. Actually, my own girlfriends have been the ones to pull me out of despair, and hopelessness after a major surgery. If it weren’t for them, I’d still be a woman unable to leave my own home thinking everyone would be looking at me!

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This is what a support group looks like. These ladies are some of the most important women in my life. I wish all of you are able to gather a few really good friends you can support, and be supported by for whatever the reason.

Thank you Susan, Beth, Trish, and Sally for all your creative energy, and support when I need it.

Wrinkles…. That’s an entire different disturbing occurrence. Do I love them? Hell no! Is there anything we can do about them? Well yes and no. Without surgery, we need to give in and learn to live with them. They are stubborn little lines and crevasses. I don’t have as many as some, but more than others.

That is the way I reason away my flaws. [They aren’s as bad as some]. I also work very hard at seeing the good parts to someone, and not the flaws.

Gray Hair ……. Oh boy, how do we learn to live with yet another sign of aging? Gray hair is definitely a sign. I have always said, “I’m going to learn to live with all the things that go with getting older,” I didn’t realize how many things that meant. Another words, I’m going to grow old gracefully.

To be honest, I never thought I’d get old. I thought it was a lifetime away, why worry about it now. Little did I know that a lifetime away meant right around the corner! How does that lifetime slip away so fast?

I feel like I’m living in an alternate reality, I’m really only 40, and someone is playing a terrible joke on me. I’ve learned to love my gray hair. It’s nice to not have to color it every month, or worry about the roots showing after two weeks, so yes I love my gray hair.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have times of yearning for a color that would help me feel more vital, or a style becoming a much younger woman with a wild side.

Scars… Scars are sometimes telling and sometimes they can be emotional. We won’t get into emotional scars today. Many of us have had surgeries, or accidents leaving us with scars all over our bodies. I myself have a couple of, as I call them, zippers here and there. I can’t say they are beautiful, or that I love them, but they aren’t going anywhere, nor do I care to show them off.

We can’t do anything about scars, but once again, learn to live with them. Anything that can be covered up, for me, isn’t a problem.

Let us not forget this message of the Power of Positivity!

It will serve us well to be positive, to embrace the life we have, or change it for the better. It is so much easier to make an effort to be happy, and to keep a smile on our faces.

The right people will be attracted to a woman with a happy personality, and a beautiful smile on her face. Most people will love what is on the inside, and not even notice the outside.

Thank you for stopping to read my blog, I very much appreciate all of you.

Leave some feedback, and let me know how you feel about aging. I’d love to hear from you.

Together we stand, Karen

Nov16

Spots or are they Freckles?

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We all have them, the question is what do we do with them? What can we do?

When I was around nine or ten years old, I spent a lot of time with my Grandma. Grandma’s mother was from Scotland, and had bright red hair and a personality to match. My Grandma also had bright red hair, I don’t know about her personality, she didn’t seem very fiery to me. Grandma was always patient with all of us kids, and very kind to us. By the time I was old enough to spend time with her, she had gray hair, and lots of freckles! I mean all over her arms, her legs, and some on her face. I loved her so much that I use to sit and wish for freckles like my Grandma’s.

I now wonder if they were all freckles or…..were they age spots like we get as we get older? I’ll never know now, but be careful what you wish for! I now have spots!! I wished for them, and I was given them! I just hope I didn’t wish for something I’ve since forgotten and will get the shock of my life one morning upon awakening.

“Freckles are small, concentrated spots of melanin on the skin, often appearing on areas exposed to the sun, such as the arms. They can be a beautiful and natural part of one’s appearance. Embracing freckles can lead to a positive body image and self-acceptance.

To celebrate arms adorned with freckles:

  • Acknowledge Their Uniqueness: Freckles can highlight your individuality and tell a story about your experiences in the sun.
  • Skin Care: Consider moisturizing to keep your skin healthy and radiant. Sunscreen is essential to protect your skin from further sun damage, which can also intensify freckling.
  • Makeup Tips: For those who want to minimize their appearance, using a light foundation or tinted moisturizer can help create an even skin tone. On the other hand, embracing them with a sheer, glowy highlighter can enhance their natural beauty.
  • Fashion Choices: Wearing sleeveless outfits can showcase your lovely arms, allowing you to embrace and celebrate your freckles.

Remember, freckles are a unique and lovely feature that many people cherish. Embrace them with confidence!” This information is donated to us from AI.

So you see, we should be proud of all the spots we were given.

It’s funny, but as I age I certainly have a different attitude. Of course, I want to look my best, and I put effort into that, but there are so many things we need to learn to live with that a thousand or more spots really doesn’t have much weight any more. So much of what we have to deal with in older age is difficult, some things unbelievable, and shocking. I’m healthy, I don’t always feel good but those are the days I treat myself gently.

We’re all in the same boat, and it gives me a small sense of comfort to know my sisters and I are all in this together.

Together we stand, Karen