Category: aging

I really love the results of a road trip and an unexpected surprise!

Michael, Dad, Mark and I devised a surprise for Mom and Susie to celebrate their 75th and 50th birthday’s in Lake Havasu this year. Dad, Michael and I flew into Las Vegas, rented a car and drove to Havasu, arriving at 10:00 PM. They were surprised!
The next morning, we all got our first look at their new house, desert landscape and enjoyed waking up in the lovely climate.
The back yard offers a pool and an attached casita. I stayed in the room you can see behind the red chairs.
Mom and Dad stayed in the Casita, behind the waterfall.
Susie enjoying her Chai tea by the pool! Hello family!
Mom and Dad hold on to each other while surveying the neighborhood from the driveway.
Michael and Mark catching up after breakfast.
The ladies went into town for lunch and shopping. We found this fun shop with novelty spices. Check out this brand!
I was motivated to get in the pool and do some water aerobics. I was proud of myself for making that happen on vacation!
We all found our perfect spot around the pool in the afternoon!
The boys coming back from the lookout behind the house.
Susie taking a break from hostessing while the boys are climbing around in the desert terrain.
We found this cool teak wood mirror when in town and Susie decided to hang it above the outdoor dining table. It looks perfect!
The next day, we all ventured out on Lake Havasu on Mark’s boat.
So fun to be together and floating on the water. The weather was beautiful!
Mom enjoying the sun!
The Captain!
Michael taking the role of co-captain!
Looking back toward Lake Havasu City. It’s built on the hill overlooking the lake. Lake Havasu City is a cool town of about 50K people. Snowbirds and locals hang out at sidewalk restaurants and enjoy the warm weather during the winter months. It definitely feels “beachy” in this town.
Beautiful distant mountains surround the lake.
We enjoyed an al fresco lunch of sliders and snacks.
Zooming around the lake, Preston is a great host!
Dad found a seat in the back of the boat.
Thompson men, here!
Mark and Preston happy to be on the water!
Look at this young man! He’s no longer a boy.
My happy place, on the water!
The London Bridge is a tourist attraction at Havasu. The bridge came from England and was reassembled here, connecting the mainland to “the Island”. Everybody cruises the canal between the mainland and the Island. We’re checking out some of the massive muscle boats we see.
Once again, we find ourselves congregating back at the pool before dinner.
Mom and Susie enjoying a glass of wine!
Mark sitting under the patio while talking with Susie and Mom.
The sunset bring everyone outside every evening.
The day Mom, Dad, Michael and I leave for our homes in the mountains.
Look at these love birds!
So happy together!
Everyone was a good sport and posed for family photos!
The Thompson’s.
Not too bad for a 75 and 77 year old! Vibrant people!
Good looking!
I made it home after 3 nights in Arizona and found some new projects to work on. A vintage valet stand.
A pair of stackable Mid Century Modern ottomans.
Which I tore apart and will paint the base and recover the cushion.
Looks easy enough!
This is the fabric I found for the ottomans.
And this leather and carved wood base ottoman.
Disassembling the ottoman, one layer at a time so I can understand how to put it all back together.
One by one, I pull out the staples.
This is what the cover looks like after I get it off the ottoman. I’m intimidated by the complexity of it. I might have to make some changes to the new cushion cover.
Once the leather cover and cushion is pulled off, this is what it looks like.
I always feel a little anxiety when painting wood. It seems like the wrong thing to do. However, once I get the steps completed, the new look is rewarding and fresher. I’ll give these pieces new life.
Painted and ready for distressing and glaze. I’ll keep you informed as I finish these pieces.
One of the wonderful things about traveling is viewing the unique landscape and the wildlife in each place. Every morning we watched the quail migrate from the left of the house to the right and they return again in the evening. I think this is a feeding pattern. We also saw a coyote jog by just above their house and this roadrunner was available for a photo at the lake. So grateful for my family and the time we spend together!

Honoring Mom’s Adventurous Spirit as she Approaches 75 years

Fall is here and changing my landscape everyday!
At the dentist for a root canal. You can see I’m not very excited about this. However, I made it out to be much worse than it actually was and I feel so much better after the procedure.
First snow of the season. I got about 4 inches overnight. Only 2 ladies showed up for water aerobics the next morning, and I’m glad to have been one of the ladies who made it on a snowy day in the city!
One of the rentals had people arriving the same day. I think they appreciate having a fresh layer of snow when visiting Colorado in the fall.
Mom came to stay for a week to celebrate her 75th birthday this November. I picked her up mid-day!
Mom and I made some changes to the patio for the winter, trying to maximize the sun throughout the season.
A different seating pattern for the season. Hopefully, I can use this space all winter, in the warmest part of the day.
Mom in the background, enjoying a break on the patio in the afternoon.
This tree drops leaves all over the patio roof and they slowly drift down to the ground with a breeze.
So vibrant and lovely at 75!
We had a tea reservation at The Brown Palace. Kasey and Nikki joined us to celebrate her birthday. Gorgeous girl!
And Mom’s dear friend, Diane surprised her by showing up. They had not seen each other for 20 years and both turn 75 this November. Super special!
We enjoyed tea, finger sandwiches and pastries in the beautiful historic hotel atrium.
A couple days later, Mike’s family met us at Il Fornio restaurant for a birthday dinner.
Awesome food and a wonderful family gathering! Mom with Lauren. Beautiful ladies!
Mom and I worked in the yard and cut back the foliage. I hate to see it all disappear, but I know after the next 6 months, we’ll be ready to see new Green reappear in the spring!
One afternoon, Micheal came over for lunch. We made Panini with salad and sat on the back patio, talking and laughing!
Mom flew home after a lovely week in Englewood and I went looking for a new project. I found these 2 nightstands for $10 each. I’ll refinish them and give them new life!
This simple little $10 stool will also get a makeover and feel sexy again! My friend suggested a new Fur cover and she’s right!
It was late afternoon when I got this home, but I managed to strip the hardware off and clean both tables with TSP before applying a layer of sanding sealer. Make sure you use gloves with this product! It’s not meant for skin.
Prep is really the biggest part of these projects. I’ve set up a work space in the yard for my projects.
TSP works great as a heavy duty cleaner. Use gloves with TSP! It strips off any grime and creates a great surface for paint. I love that it prevents me from having to strip the finish off a piece before painting!
After cleaning, I apply a light layer of sanding sealer to make the surface more smooth and consistent before paint.
My sister gave me this card and I think it’s inspiring and beautiful! Now, I’m sharing it with you!

Growing Old Gracefully, With a Little Imagination

In 2008, young and energetic, toward the beginning of my career.

Some days, it’s tough feeling like I’ve gone past my prime and can see the changes to my face and body. I have a new appreciation for young people, being so fresh and beautiful and full of energy and anticipation of life to come. And I’m learning how to also appreciate the experiences in my own life, which have made me wise, patient and accepting of other people and myself. Today, I’m sharing some of my thoughts and decisions as I wander down the road of aging, excited to see what happens in the last half of my life.

As a working girl my hair was curled, I wore a full face of professional makeup, business clothes and kept my overall look polished. I stayed professional, not wanting to look too trendy or flirty.
Hair styles.

I got up 2 hours before I was expected in my office and my routine was basically, shower at night and wet my hair in the morning, blow it dry and curl it. Over time, I got comfortable being casual on some days, letting my hair dry naturally into a curly bob. This felt like I was stepping out of the box!

After I left my job, I still tried to keep up what I thought was the most flattering hairstyle, blown out and curled. But my outfits started to be more comfortable and flowing instead of tailored and fitted. Over time, I began to wear my hair naturally curly in a low maintenance bob.
Within 1 year of leaving my career, I blew that all out of the water and got hair extensions, finding a whole new look I could play with. I love having long hair, instantly! And I can change it up often. Now that I wasn’t in a professional career, I felt I could have more fun with my style.
This pic looks like a romance novel cover, with me being the main character. Nice one!
Extensions are fun and somewhat versatile, changing my whole look. It’s fun and flirty, to be sure! Finally, I could just relax and play with my style instead of using it as a uniform.
Here, I am wearing my extensions in pig tail braids.
This curl is closer to my natural hair curl.

You may have heard that hair extensions are hard on your hair. It’s true! They are fun, but I caution anyone who wears them to do so judiciously. It’s a good idea to not use them constantly, but give your natural hair a break from them regularly. Then when you wear them you feel spectacular!

Skin tone and texture.

My skin @ 47 years old, started to show damage from sun and lifestyle. I did my research, asked some friends and decided on a CO2 laser treatment for my face with the promise to erase all those years of damage to my skin.

Just leaving the CO2 treatment, getting ready to drive home. This is nothing, wait until the next morning! For the first week, I have to sleep sitting up and propped against some pillows to reduce swelling. I don’t really sleep, mostly nap in between pillow adjustments all night long.
Holy Crap! Is my face falling off? Besides some oozing, (which is disgusting and looks like hamburger, on my face!) I also have some swelling, especially noticeable around my eyes and nose bridge. The dark damaged skin cells are starting to lift and it looks like a splotchy shadow across my face. Sun damage be gone!
I’ll be honest, the first time I had this done, I got queasy when I saw how I looked like the next morning. I’ll share with you that this procedure looks horrible, but is not really that uncomfortable. The worst part is during the laser process which simply feels hot. It takes about 45 minutes, but she does use a numbing cream for a hour before and you hold a hose shooting out cold air onto the spots she is treating. Within 5 minutes of being done, the heat dissipates and you can’t feel any pain. I feels like a sunburn. And the results!
3 days later, no makeup. This treatment addresses sun damage, firms and tightens the skin and create healthier skin by resetting your cells to produce more collagen. The cell renewal process takes about 3 weeks before you see the actual results when your new skin cells begin to surface. Once I got through the first treatment, I was convinced of the benefits!
Eyebrows are the frame of the face.

My mom always had beautiful natural dark, arched eyebrows. Mine needed assistance. I have a chicken pox scar in my left brow and sparse eyebrow hair growing naturally in either brow. So, I’ve penciled in my brows for years and decided to see if I could find a more permanent (natural) solution.
Here in 2013, drawn in eyebrows.

I found Microblading, a semi permanent tattooing procedure for cosmetic purposes. The first time I had the procedure, I believe the brow specialist used a heavy hand, making the procedure almost unbearably painful. Even after using the numbing cream for a hour, I felt her “strokes” cutting into my skin. And the sound of it is sorta scratchy. Hard to describe until you’ve had it done.
However, I really like having my brows dark and filled in to create a fuller look. So, I found a new technician to do the same procedure in a following year. She used a lighter touch and it was a much more comfortable procedure. This pic is the same day of the procedure. It takes a week or two for the tiny scratches in my skin to heal, peel and fade to a more natural shade.
I’ve slowly changed my style to reflect a more casual and natural look. Which is funny, because it’s not natural, but makes me feel like I look more natural by using less makeup everyday.
And Grey Hair.

It’s been coming in for many years and I’ve stayed with my dark Brown hair color, which I’ve done myself with a grocery store hair color. Recently the hair color product I’ve used for 20+ years has been discontinued. So, I’m thinking this is a sign to take the plunge and let my Grey grow out! I like the Grey, but I’m struggling with the fading residual, now Gold-ish hair color on the bottom half of my hair with the Grey and natural dark Brown growing from the roots. This is 3 toned color blocked hair! Not ombre’, not natural or pretty, in my opinion.

Luckily, I’ve been working with my hairstylist (bless this woman!) to find a solution to the color blocked hair. She tried a few things and we ended up finding a subtle solution of using a permanent transparent ash color wash to take down the Gold and brighten the Grey.
And it worked! This is after the appointment with clean hair. The transition of color is gone! Thank you Andrea!

BTW, I’ve been polling my friends about letting Grey hair grow in. It’s been an interesting discussion with a common response of “I’m waiting until I retire to let my Grey hair grow in”. And I understand their anxiety. It’s interesting that women consistently feel that we need to keep coloring our hair while we’re professional, but can let it grow out naturally after we leave the work force. Do men have the same concerns? I’m not sure, but maybe I’ll poll some men to get their take on going Grey.

With wet hair, you can see the Grey is more striking, giving my hair a focal point. As the Grey grows in more, I’m crossing my fingers to have a cool Grey streak in the front, giving my hairstyle a fun and edgy vibe for a middle aged woman who has always thought of herself as somewhat stylish! We’ll see how this goes!
And my body!

I discovered at 14 years old, that I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. I’ve tried to stay physical and active for most of my life. At 52, I feel more aches and pains, have less flexibility, don’t feel as strong, feel more jiggly, blah, blah, blah. I think many of you know how I feel.

I got a flash of inspiration in March and started to attend Water Fitness at my local Rec Center. I did not expect to love it as much as I do. I had silly notions that I wasn’t comfortable in a swimming suit in public, I didn’t want to get my hair wet, I’m not an old lady, etc…

But I went, and after 4 months, I love going to class 3 times per week and seeing my new friends in the pool.

We use a variety of pool equipment, but just being in the pool feels so amazing! I feel like a kid when I slide down into the cool water and the buoyancy picks up my tired and sore body so I can actually get a good workout against the resistance of the water.

If we’re lucky, we get the opportunity to have these thoughts and concerns as we age. It’s a vulnerable feeling sharing these inside views of my personal beauty choices with you all! Some people will see this post and decide all this stuff is not necessary or expensive or just vain. Others will see it as no big deal and may have done even more extreme things to themselves as they age or just because it makes them feel good. But I support people doing anything that does no harm and makes them feel confident and beautiful. The most important thing I try to remember is to make decisions that are healthy for me and to stay focused on balancing my physical, mental and emotional health. I hope these insights are entertaining at least, or helpful- even better, as you find yourself thinking about how to age gracefully! We are all beautiful just as we are, but a little lipstick never hurt anyone!