New Year, New Outlook

Wow the holidays are over and here I am at the new year! Time flies. And like they say, the older you get the faster it goes! And how true. So, if time does fly by the best I can do is make the most of our time.

With the New Year I plan to have a New Outlook. Most of what I have seen lately has been from a positive attitude aspect. I vow to continue with such an attitude! It seems to me the only way to go.

A New Year and New Outlook is not a new concept, but a great way to start the year. An attitude of gratitude, be thankful for what you have and being positive is a great way to live.

One of the many reason I love visiting our home on the lake is we do not have cable TV!! Pretty primative! But one of the many great things about this is we don't spend a great deal of our time in front of the TV and all the negative news. I absolutely do not miss it! After returning from the lake this past week the fact that the negative press was missing from my life and the positive impact it had really came to my attention. Thus another reason for emphasizing the positive in life and focusing on a new way of thinking and approaching life.

Happy New Year. When we are given something new, we are given something with a lot of potential. It is up to us how we use that something new. Take the new year and make it the best. Have a great day.

Baby Boomer Women, we love lingerie too!

Baby boomer women so often are portrayed as old, frumpy women. Well, NOT. I do not accept that as a label for my friends and me. We are hot, fun women! Bikinis and Bifocals women! And we love lingerie just as well as the thin hot young models do.

It troubles me when the ads etc are only for young women. We love sexy items too you know. As well as our husbands!! I loved the line in the move Eat, Pray Love, when Julie Robert’s character, Liz, says to her friend (who was worried about gaining weight and her boyfriend’s reaction) “When a man is with a naked women he does not see any flaws, he just sees that he is in room with a naked woman!” How true, I loved that line and the simple truth behind it.

So this Valentine ’s Day wear the lingerie, have fun. Hey, my husband didn’t even notice a new chair in the family room for two days; I know he won’t notice a few pounds! Happy Valentine’s day.

Insomnia - Is this another issue baby boomer women are expect to just accept?


Insomnia is not one of the rewards I was expecting as I entered this next phase of life as a baby boomer woman!

Lack of sleep all starts when you start a family. (Well actually it started before that. College and as a young professional it was work, nap, go out at night, sleep a little, work …. But that is not the point here).

As mothers we rarely have a sound night’s sleep while raising our children. We sleep light in order to hear our babies. As they grew they woke us up, when they got their driver’s license we stayed up worrying, ... Get the point?

Now the children are all grown and gone and we can now enjoy a night of sleep. But wait a minute! No mentioned to me, now as a woman in her 50’s, I get to enjoy Insomnia! A friend mentioned just yesterday that her doctor said “it is just part of aging”. She asked those of us who were there, “is that true? Is this something we just have to accept? “

Of course we all had various comments, but I have to admit, I have thought about her question and it was the reason for this blog.

Is this something we just have to accept? So many other aspects of our health and life we haven’t “just accepted”. So why should this be any different? It is so disturbing that there are so many doctors out there that use that comment as a reason or explanation. Check out local health clinics and seminars such as my friend's monthly sessions at Louisville Pharmacy.

I was searching through Google images for something to symbolize insomnia for my blog and other items and found that most of the women models were shown in bed, looking at a clock that said 5 or 6 a.m. Heck, if I sleep till 5 or 6 a.m. I had a great night’s sleep! The models and photographers surely are not over 45!

What have you found that works, doesn’t work? Please share with us at my Insomnia Friends Group in the Community Section on Bikinis and Bifocals.com.

Sweet Dreams

A Boomer Woman Who Knows About Cruising!

A favorite boomer woman who knows all about "cruising" is my friend Kathy Collins. Kathy is an agent with the company Cruise Planners. And let me tell you, she knows the ins and outs of cruising.

Boomer women love to travel and we are always looking for fun and wonderful places to visit. Gone are the vacations planned around our children and husbands. We are traveling for our enjoyment now! If the husband or significant other is included all the better, but if they are not interested, it is not stopping us!!!

Kathy will be celebrating her 7th year with the Cruise Planners franchise this year. Working with an agent with this amount of experience is a great way to go. Plus with someone at her level in the company, she can offer some great perks etc for your cruise experience. In fact, Kathy just passed on to me, that January through March is probably the best time to book due to so many specials offered during this period.

Bikinis and Bifocals worked with her to put together a group cruise and it was great fun! In fact, putting together a trip for small to large groups of women is something she loves to do. Kathy is a warm/friendly person and I think you will enjoy working with her. Never cruised before or have questions? Check out the various aspects of her website and get that cruising feeling today!

I have to say, a cruise is one of the most relaxing vacations I have enjoyed. And Kathy was a help in making it all seem easy. Happy Cruising!

Two Resolutions for the New Year!

The only two resolutions I plan to make for the new year are to live healthier and spend more time with friends.

As we age, it is more and more important that we live healthier. With rising cost on health care, etc, it is even more important to live healthier. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather spend my money on entertainment or new clothes than on expensive prescriptions and other medical needs. I get really frustrated with some of my friends and family that do the opposite. In fact, check out your insurance or company policy on preventive health. My health insurance is offering a health assessment tool that awards you a gift card for completing the assessment! Wow, making money and staying healthy, now that is a thought. If your employer or insurance company does not offer any help or initiatives, check out sites like RealAge. Found others? Share with the Bikinis and Bifocals Community.

Spending more time with friends is also very important for our health. At least I think so. I plan to make more time for my friends and less time for cleaning the house! We started the year off yesterday right – friends over for lunch and family over for dinner. Not that I will do that on a regular basis, but it is so great to see friends over the holidays, why not make an effort to do more throughout the year. I think it is sad at the end of visits we say, we need to get together more, and then the year slips away. Perhaps I will just send out random invites to groups of women for lunch, dinner or other random activity throughout the month. Not only is it better for your health to have others to connect with, it is a great source of information! I get the best advice from my girlfriends.

Here’s to a happy and healthier year!

Christmas Gift Suggestions!

Every year my husband asks, “What do you want for Christmas?” or “What can I get you for Christmas?” There are times when this really upsets me. What does he mean? I am constantly saying, “I wish I had ……” I guess he just does not listen. Especially when I say I wish I had something that is very expensive. Ha, selective listening I think.

Or the one statement I just love is when he says “Christmas just snuck up on me this year” What?? It is the same day every year since I can remember, December 25th, right? Men are so funny.

But when it comes to gift suggestions and buying for your wife, the story I love is a story a friend told us once. He said to avoid making a mistake in purchasing something for his wife for Christmas one year, he asked her make him a list of things she wanted.

Our friend said, that a few days later she presented him with her list. He told my husband, the number one thing on her list was - 1. NO lingerie! Wow was that a blow. She knew him well, as most men, it seems this is the first thing on their list to purchase! Heck, don’t they know most of the stuff we have is in like new condition!!! Usually the main reason we need more is the old stuff no longer fits, not worn out!!!

In thinking about all this, I thought, you know, if he asks me to make up a list I think I will categorize my gift suggestions. My list would be like this:

Sweetheart, here are some suggestions for Christmas gifts for me. For your convenience I have broken them down into categories. Love you

Category 1) Gifts in this category are things you should purchase if you really want to make me happy!
Category 2) Things in this category will not only make me happy, but will result in Sex and more sex. Win/Win for both of us, don’t look at the price tag.
Category 3) Buy me something in this category and this impersonal and you may never get sex again.
Category 4) These are things the kids can get me, not my husband!

Also, I think I will add a footnote for Categories and 1 and 2. If items are purchased within these categories, an item of lingerie may also be purchased!

My husband is a very generous loving man. I think his hesitation on purchasing gifts is that he wants to please me. Well, I think my categorization method above will be a big help and guide for him to follow! Happy Holidays!

Wow talk about motivation!

Well it is Wednesday and I started my day with Jazzercise class. I just love starting my day this way. I try to do this at least 2-3 times a week.

Today, while I was in the room adjacent to the workout room, I could hear the instructor calling the class to order and sharing a few announcements. As she concluded she said, "I just want to let you all know I just found out I am pregnant and I may modify a few of the exercises for me as I progress." Of course all the women were congratulating her etc, and some asked if she would quit teaching the class. She said, "Oh, no, I will do this up to delivery if possible."

Wow, as we were working out today and I got tired or wanted to slow things up a bit, I thought, hey, she's pregnant and running circles around us, the least I can do is keep up!!

Those that know me, know I can be very competitive. Every once in a while I will say, oh I am or I can be competitive, and my friends or family will say "No kidding, I never knew." Being quite sarcastic in their tone, they know me well. So today I found myself pushing to keep up with this young pregnant woman. I'll be darn, if she can do it, my old butt should be able to keep up!

So, now each day when this girl, or I should say woman, is instructing, I have new motivation to keep up with her. If she can do, so can I! Congratulations to her and her healthy lifestyle and her wonderful news! And thanks for some new motivation in class!