Life

Most of you know that I’ve been helping to take care of my mom since her stroke 30 months ago. Those first few months were nothing short of horrendous. I didn’t know the stress I was under nor did I know the signs of caregiver burnout. According to AARP, as many as 41 million of us are caring for our adult family members. It’s not a role I ever planned for so I was completely …

In my never-ending anti-aging quest, I‘m becoming more and more dependent on my esthetician. I’m always tapping her for the best skincare products for over 50 and double-duty products. I recently asked my esthetician about some dermatologist recommended skin care products for aging skin and asked about the tips and tricks to having youthful skin, so I thought I’d share them here. I like to read magazines on the beach and I’m always turning down the …

Being a Caregiver in a Time of COVID: The tragedy that’s happening inside, and outside, of our nursing homes I haven’t seen my mother since February 18. As her primary caregiver, I used to see her every day. Not just to visit. But to feed her. And wash her face, and brush her hair, and to let her know she was loved through eye contact and hugs. But COVID-19 changed that. There’s a serious situation …

We moved into a new house recently, our forever home. We picked the house because it’s walking distance to the beach and our particular street is a hidden little enclave where the houses are very private because they’re surrounded by natural vegetation. But in the Florida heat and humidity, that spells B-U-G-S! I can’t even walk the dog without getting a ton of mosquito bites, but I hate those chemically-forward bug sprays so I made …

I’m generally a homebody but being forced to stay home during this pandemic has given me an impetus to simplify my life. With my gym closed (and the push-pull to get myself there), I start each day with a long walk, WITHOUT my phone. I use that time to just think, solve problems, and plan my day. It’s my form of meditation. I’ve found that by giving up some of my extraneous routines and focusing …

I’ve been planning my retirement home for several years. Once the kids left home, my husband and I became a bit nomadic and moved around several times as he explored second careers after his first retirement from the government. We generally lived in small apartments knowing that it was just a temporary home. So I dreamed of having a great forever home. I spent countless hours with home magazines and on Pinterest and decided to …