I Have Written a Book!

     So, all on my own, almost, I wrote a book. Actually it's a trilogy about how the dinosaurs really died.
      It's got everything! Aliens, space travel, global warming, a horrible pandemic and true love. Just the thing to read at bedtime to insure a good nights sleep.
     You might remember that I promised you a book right after I turned 50. It's been 3 years now (OMG!) but I think well worth the wait.
     Right now it's at the editors but as soon as I get it back I'll be ready to publish my first ebook!
    I hope it sells. My husband designed the cover for me, and he's a professional plus it's cheap! It's called Extinction Genesis and I'll put in a link  as soon as I publish on Kindle so you'll know where to look for it.
      The second book is Extinction Exodus and the third is Extinction Revelation.
     I am so excited and I hope you are too!
  

My Health App is Nagging Me

     So, a couple of years ago we got some smart phones. Well, my husband actually made me get one, he's going to drag me into the twenty-first century kicking and screaming weather I want to or not.
     It took me a while to see the value in owning something so expensive but I found out that they do have their uses. The map feature is great when you're lost and you can log on to the internet and get coupons on the fly (and believe me, I'm all about coupons).
     I gotta say though, I really do miss my tiny little flip phone that I could stick in a pocket anywhere. Now I have to wear cargo pants to accommodate my large screen phone.
     The phone also had one of those heath apps that are so popular these days and I made good use of mine at first. It was handy to know how many miles I walked at work each day (about 3, who knew!)
     Then, it upgraded. So first I have to tell you that I hate upgrades. Just when I'm getting to know how my stuff works, it upgrades and all bets are off! 
     Now my health app can tell me how many calories I've burned, what my BMI is and if I've been walking or running.
     I can set weight goals or exercise goals, but if I don't meet a certain goal, it nags me. Maybe it's trying to encourage me when it says I've reached 50 percent of my goal, but I see it as nagging.
     I also get messages at odd times of the day that say, "Be more active!" Like it's my own personal cheerleader. I find that highly annoying. 
     I try telling it that I can't take it with me everywhere I go so it doesn't really know how active I've been and it needs to get over itself, but it just gets in a bigger snit. All I want is a needy app.
     Those random messages it was sending did make me get off the couch sometimes to see if it was something important, so I guess it won a few rounds.
     But after a few months of almost constant nagging, I just disabled it. After all, I never could seem to make it happy. Wouldn't it be nice if everything in life were that easy to take care of? 

I am a writer and so can you!

I don't remember learning to write but as soon as I did I started writing stories.They were pretty bad, a lot like fan fiction. All of them starring me or a version of me. 

Later I gave up that dream for the dream of being a photographer for National Geographic then photo journalist for National Geographic. Come to think of it Nat Geo was the only swanky magazine that I knew of. It was the Dark Ages after all.

Eventually marriage and motherhood made me give up the dream. Too busy taking care of baby to write much, I continued to write but not stories. And I would never be as good as Stephen King so why bother. 

But lately I've been wishing that I hadn't given it up entirely because I think that I could have made a good living as a travel writer. 

 What a life! Getting paid for going on vacation!

I may yet pursue that career but for now I've taken to writing stories again.

My latest story is about how the dinosaurs really died and it's not what you think. Yep, it's a real page turner.

I don't  how long it will take me to finish. Stories kind of evolve. 

When I'm finished I'll let you know how it all ends. Then maybe my dream will come true and I will be an actual writer! Go Me! 

Check out my Etsy site where I sell stuff. www.etsy.com/shop/gaiaterra

50 At Llast!?

 So it's finally here, my 50th birthday. I'm actually posting this a day late because yesterday we had a flat tire to take care of. What a birthday adventure!

Some old age changes to report. Last week I got my first pair of bi-focals, right on time. Not really too many changes so far but I've got a feeling that the next 10 years aren't going to be pretty.

You always need to take care of yourself and when you get older you need to take especially good care of yourself. I started that many years ago. Why wait until you're old to maintain the chassis?
But I gotta tell you that I've given up on losing weight. At my age everything would just sag more anyway. I'll just try to move enough, not eat too much and get rid of the artificiality and sugar.

I think that this is really a bigger milestone then I'm taking it for but  maybe I'm taking it cool so I don't have to think about it too much. After all I've got a lot going for me right now. I feel better then your average 50 year old and I don't look a day over 49. Not too shabby!

 So what are my plans for the future? I hope to wake up every day for the next 30 years, travel the country and the world, and spend like I'm gonna die tomorrow. Oh yeah, and go out kicking and screaming.

Rock on old dudes!


Check out my Etsy site where I sell stuff. www.etsy.com/shop/gaiaterra

Keep your natural beauty! No money down! Instant results guarenteed!

 This picture was taken on September 1st 2012, 6 months before my 50th birthday.  That's right, I am almost 50 but I don't look it. Why? Because I take care of myself naturally. I don't dye my hair, I've never had Botox and I don't use much make-up.

  I started taking serious care of myself when I was 14, on my Mother's advice. She taught me to use moisture lotion and to always take care of my neck. The neck will give away a woman's age faster then anything. Look at my neck. Does that look like a fifty year old neck? I didn't think so!

  First,you can't underestimate the importance of sunblock. All skin colors can benefit from sunblock as it reduces your chance of developing skin cancer. When I was young (in the '70s, the 1970's that is) tanning was all the rage. I did try it for a while but lying in the scorching summer sun sweating and burning just wasn't for me. My little sister thought I was awful to purposely stay so unfashionably pale. Now these days I look younger then my little sister. Who's unfashionable now! Boo yeah! 

  Now I hope that you realize that if you've been a serious tanner all your life you won't get the same results if you're already in your 40's. But avoiding the sun at any age will certainly prevent further damage. It's worth a shot if you ask me. 

  Now let's talk about make-up. I have never used liquid make-up. I have long believed that all of those creamy concoctions cut off the oxygen to your skin and promote premature aging. The make-up that I use these days when I need it is mineral make-up. 

  Loose mineral make-up doesn't contain parabens (which can be carcinogenic) mineral oil or artificial dyes and fragrance. And when I use it, it gives me the same glow I have as when I've been to the spa only cheaper. I'm all over that!

 Of course doing things like exercising, eating right and not partying contribute a lot to keeping anyone looking younger. You feel better too.

 Now I know that the next 10 years may not be so good and my age may catch up with me but that's just nature taking it's course. 

 Embrace aging! Be the crazy cat lady! Drive your Jazzy cruiser in the middle of the road! Make your relatives bail you out of jail once a month! I plan to!


Check out my Etsy site where I sell handcrafted beauty products.
www.etsy.com/shop/gaiaterra

Shoes. We all wear 'em.

  Shoes are something we all have and they tell you a lot about a person. Even a person without legs will wear shoes.

  For example, when I was younger ( O.K. much younger ) I loved high heeled shoes. At one count I had 25 pairs of shoes. Not all high heels mind you. Some were clogs, some were sneakers, some were boots( high heels and flats as well). Boy did I love those shoes! No matter how much I teetered in them or how much they hurt if they were pretty, I would wear them.

  But after nearly falling forward on my face during my pregnancy, I  gave up those high heels in favor of flats. I still love to look at high heeled shoes but my wearing taste is now more practical.

  Now I love athletic shoes!

  Since my favorite activity is hiking I have quite a few pairs of athletic shoes. I never realized how much difference the right shoe can make until my husband badgered me into buying shoes made specifically for hiking (luv you honey!).

 What an amazing difference! My Adidas trail hiking shoes are like walking on a cloud. And they have terrific venting that lets cool air in while you're walking. 

  My Adidas trail running shoes(which I mostly walk in) feel like part of my feet when I put them on. I can walk farther, faster and leap small objects at single bound in those wonderful shoes.They also make me feel sporty and athletic, even though I've got a belly like a six month pregnancy.

 I still love to see those high heels on women these days but secretly I'm glad that if I'm ever in a public building and a fire breaks out, I know who's getting out first. Yep, me and my flat shoes!  


Check out my Etsy site where I sell stuff. www.etsy.com/shop/gaiaterra

Cha Cha Changes...of life

 These days seems like everyone is fascinated with vampires, werewolves and other scary supernatural stuff.

 You want to see something really scary, look up the symptoms of menopause! Weight gain, sleep disorders and ahhhhh, night sweats!
Horrifying isn't it? 

 So here I am in perimenopause, oh joy! That's what you get for years before you actually stop menstruating. Nobody knows how long it will last or when you will start but here's a good guideline: If you started having your periods at a young age perimenopause will start earlier, if you started your periods later perimenopause will start later. If your PMS was bad or not so bad perimenopause will be about the same for you. 

 This is just nature taking it's course but still it brings a lot of unpleasantries. My favorite is sleep disorders. I'm still young enough that I have to work, sleepless nights or not, so there I am all night, off with the blankets, on with the blankets. If only I could go back to the days when I was cold all the time. Sure, I complained, but I didn't know how good I had it.

 So I set about trying some remedies to ease the transition.
I found out that vitamin E cools the hot flashes (which I just like to call flashing, it's more fun that way). I've never been one for being warm anyway but at least when I'm flashing I've got a nice rosy glow that's completely natural.

 Diet and exercise are always recommended by health professionals. You may not want to hear this but they work. For some it can mean the difference between managing your symptoms and your symptoms managing you. 

  I try to keep things as natural as possible and I've heard a lot of good things about herbs but have yet to try them. 

  My remedy of choice is Amberen. It's all natural, doesn't cost a lot of money and it works.You can find it on their website at amberen.com I take the lowest dose and I don't plan on increasing it. I don't want to be 70 and still be flashing. 

 It's O.K. to let menopause happen. You can only slow it down so embrace it! 

In fact, embrace aging in general! Be eccentric! Embarrass your family with this once in a lifetime opportunity. I promise you won't be sorry.


Check out my Etsy site where I sell stuff. www.etsy.com/shop/gaiaterra