A Night At the Grammys

Another awards night. I think I will always enjoy the awards shows, whether I'm 20, 30, 40 or even 50+. I just love all the hoopla and excitement of the evening events. Also, love to see what everyone is wearing.

In honor of the grammys, I thought I'd share a word or two about all the baby boomer female musicians that I admire: Madonna, Cher, Tina Turner, and Aretha Franklin. These are a few that I have on my IPod. The ones that keep me jazzed while I'm on the treadmill or keep me pumped up while I'm lifting my weights. I admire these talented women because each in their own way has been reinventing herself and is still as vibrant an entertainer as when she was younger.

* Madonna - Sorry, Like A Prayer, Holiday, as well as her newer song Hung Up
* Cher - Believe, If I Could Turn Back Time, All or Nothing, and A Different Kind of Love Song
* Tina Turner - I Don't Want to Loose You, The Best,Let's Stay Together
* Aretha Franklin - Respect

Of course, I also stay hip with some of the newer female singers - Avril Lavigne, Beyonce, Gwen Stefani,Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Natasha Bedingfield, Shakira, and Vanessa Carlton. My kids keep me up-to-date on all the top songs and new musicians that are popular. I usually like the songs they suggest, but can never remember who sings them. And, while I have an IPod, which I do love, I still do not know how to upload my songs from iTunes. I also don't know how to program my radio stations in my car. Since both my kids drive my car, they have programmed all their favorite stations...so I get to hear what the new beats are.

Okay...Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder just won the first Grammy award...guess you can stay vibrant forever and ever! He said he sang the same song when he was 17 and now he is singing it in a whole new way...

Judi

The Best is Yet to Come

I had a wonderful lunch date today with two old friends. It's amazing when I think back to how we met almost 20 years ago. We not only worked together, but we had kids at the same time. We were working moms then and still are today. We spent a bit of time reminiscing about the days when we carried diaper bags and spent more time focused on our children. Each of us has a girl and a boy, so we were comparing notes...what are they doing now, how have they grown, when will the youngest be ready for college, when will we each be empty-nesters?

As we reminisced, our talk turned to the future. One friend turned 50 a few years ago, the other is my age and will be turning 50 in the coming year. We talked about our upcoming trips to Europe...one was going to Prague, Budapest and Vienna...and about my trip to Rome. We chatted about how we were going to maybe look at new careers after we retire. What would retirement look like? We all agreed there would be more time to do more traveling. We thought we each would still want to do some type of work, however exactly what that work would be was totally up to us. How empowering! Whatever the work, there definitely would be less hours devoted to work and more time devoted to do the other things in life that we always wanted to do but never had the time to do when we were younger. One friend even talked about taking off for a month to go live in another country and experience another culture. How exciting!

When I returned to work after our lunch I was inspired. I realized that getting older had its benefits. I started to think about all the things I wanted to do when I retire (yes, I know it is way off and that I'm not even 50 yet), but I have plenty of time to plan. I'll be able to garden again (hopefully I can bend over on my knees), start cooking and baking again (even if I have to watch my weight), start sewing (if I can see the needle hole to thread), entertain more (I'll have more time to invite all my other retired friends over to my house), and have more time to read all the books I have on my "books to read when I retire list."

Yes, while I've had a good life so far, there are so many more great things I want to do...and really, the best is yet to come!

Judi

Weighing In

Just yesterday I went to my gynecologist for a follow up appointment. When I arrived, prior to seeing my doctor, the nurse asked me to step on the scale. "What, you want me to get on the scale," I said to the nurse. "No one told me I was going to have to do that this evening, especially when I have all my clothes on and boots too."

Usually when I know I am going to have to weigh in, I wear appropriate "weigh in" clothing - no jacket (or a jacket that can easily be removed, thin wool pants (in the winter) or light-weight linen (in the summer), and absolutely no boots. Of course, this time, since I didn't know I would be weighing in, I was wearing exactly the opposite of what I should be wearing. Not a good weigh in. I could not take off my boots, but I was able to slip off my jacket. I couldn't take off my belt either. And it was evening, so add on the pounds from the day, luckily I had not had dinner yet. There also was the jewelry - a necklace, bracelet, and earrings. No wonder I weighed 5 pounds more than my bathroom scale displayed earlier that morning!

About a year ago, I bought myself a new bathroom scale. While I know Weight Watchers would not approve, I do weigh myself every morning. I'm sure I'm typical of women my age and other ages maybe too. I love my scale...it is digital with big numbers so I can see the exact weight without wearing my glasses. I always weigh myself before I get in the shower...no extra clothing pounds for me...it's au-natural. And if I don't like what I weigh the first time...I'll get off and step on the scale again...just to make sure...sometimes if it is different the second time around...I'll make a third step up...the third time always tells the truth. This scale was a good investment....some mornings it is almost like a stepper machine. It gets more use than my reclining bicycle that I spent so much money on.

I probably should not be so obsessed with weighing myself everyday...but over the years it has become a habit. Usually, Monday's are not good days...I tend to pig out on the weekend. Then I spend the rest of the week trying to lose the pounds I gained so I can gain them back all over again. Sometimes if I have a good Monday, I'll let myself have peanut butter on waffles for breakfast. If not it's another Kashi Heart to Heart cereal day to start off the week...but I do cheat with a little Captain Crunch to top it off....it is Monday after all.

I'd likely be a terrible dieter...better keep exercising!

Judi

Let's Be Brief

When you are approaching 50 and your body is changing into a pear, it is a challenge to find the perfect brief. I don't know about you, but I cannot wear those thongs...not sure how any woman any age wears those things. They must be sooooo uncomfortable.

A few years ago, I finally found a perfect low-rise brief that fit me and then they discontinued the style. Why do manufacturers have to change styles of underwear every few months? Don't they know that when women find an undergarment they like...it would be nice if they could continue to buy it???

I always think of Bridget Jones Diary when I think of briefs. Remember when she wore those huge pantaloons and Hugh Grant made a joke about them?

Well, I was very happy the other day when I went hunting through the racks in Macy's intimates department and found that Warner brought back my favorite style....or should I say it was pretty close to the original. They had to go add a few features. Now they call it "The End" with a tagline "Give Your Butt A Boost." There's an additional seam up the center of the underwear to enhance your shape. Whatever it is, I am just so happy that my microfiber brief is back on the rack.

Do you know that in August there is actually a National Underwear Day? It's sponsored by Freshpair.com, a leading retailer of men’s and women’s underwear. I think next time Warner takes away my favorite underwear, I'm going to complain on National Underwear Day! According to the Freshpair.com press release, it says National Underwear Day is an event where the latest trends in underwear receive more exposure—literally.

Interestingly, most of the underwear sold today is dramatically lower on the hips with an increasing number of women opting for seamless intimate apparel. According to Freshpair.com data from 125,000 customers, below is a breakdown of women's underwear style preferences:

Bikini briefs – 37%
Briefs – 23%
Thongs – 19%
Boy shorts – 17%
Other – 4%

Now that I have my underwear back, I can start hunting for a pair of jeans that fit me.

Briefly Yours,

Judi

Is Exercising Really A Hobby?

I try to exercise at least twice a week and once on the weekend. Well, maybe that is stretching the truth a bit. Oftentimes in the winter, I end up as a weekend athlete. I get home late and always seem to come up with a reason why I cannot go to the gym...too cold...too tired...too much work to do...yada, yada,yada. I say that exercising is one of my hobbies, but the more I think about it, I don't think it is really a hobby. A hobby is something you really enjoy doing. I think exercising is more of a stress releaser, but most of all it helps me maintain my weight.

I've been doing circuit weight training for the past 8 years. My goodness, I cannot believe it's been 8 years that I've been doing the same thing. It's boring, but I do find it works for me. I build muscle and my clothes seem to fit me better...that is until I turned 49 and it all went downhill or should I say "down to the hips." I also use a reclining bicycle. I bought a reclining bicycle several years ago...put it in my bedroom so I would use it more frequently. I had big plans for that bicycle when I first bought it. I was going to wake up 30 minutes earlier each weekday and take a ride as part of my morning routine. Have I done it...nooooooooo! I get up at 5:30 am as it is...5:00 am is just too early for me . Plus, after all these years I've finally resigned myself to the fact that I am not a morning exercise person, except late mornings...and only on Sundays. I've also started using the treadmill at the gym. I walk fast and it seems to work on the hips.

One of these days I also want to try the eliptical machine that everyone at the gym is using. I tried it once and only lasted about 5 minutes...just could not get the arms and legs moving in unison.

Enough about my exercise routine...if anyone has ideas on how to make it more fun or more worthwhile...let me know.

Judi