Contemporary Retirement Coaching Blog

Blogging Boomers Carnival #209

It's a national holiday both here in the UK and in the US, but don't fret - the Blogging Boomers are always on duty.  And it's my turn to host them this week, so, without further ado, may I wish you all a happy Bank Holiday or Memorial Day and give you (ta-da!) the Blogging Boomers...

First up, SoBabyBoomer tells us that there are a variety of symptoms that women may experience in the years leading up to and during menopause.  What many women don’t know is that there are several foods that can actually help curb many of the symptoms women experience.
 
Although Laura Lee, aka the Midlife Crisis Queen, is tired of all the media negativity about the process of aging, she has found "you are what you eat" when it comes to helping your skin age more beautifully.
Check out these eating tips for beautiful skin on her Healthy Aging Blog!

The Accidental Locavore’s friend, Cozy, was asking about ramps, or wild onions. That inspired a locavore pizza bianco with ramps, bacon and potatoes. See how it turned out and how you can make your own.

Did an Ojibwa medicine man find a cure for cancer?  Vaboomer has a tale to tell.

Tom at Sightings at 60 points out that anyone who's been paying the slightest bit of attention to business news has heard as much about QE2 ending on June 30 as they did about the world ending on May 21. Except, on June 30, QE2 really will end. He outlines what QE2 has done for us, and how it will change our lives when it goes away. 

Over at The Boomer Chronicles, Rhea has her say about the great gender divide over Oprah.

And finally, we're up to retirement business idea #43 at 100 Retirement Business Ideas.  Check out the ones you've missed.  They won't be the answer to all your financial prayers but you can choose the ones that appeal, tweak them, mash a couple of them together and fashion something that works for you.

That's all I've got, folks.  Have a great week!

Quick Links: The 10 Toughest Retirement States

From AARP: Toughest states for retirees

More retirement business ideas being added every day...

We now have 43 retirement business ideas posted on the 100 Retirement Business Ideas website.  Recently posted were:

Creating an affiliate website
Cartooning
Becoming a Translator and
Recording and selling audio clips

Check 'em all out at 100 Retirement Business Ideas.

---

P.S.  If you're thinking of starting an online business once you retire, you'll need a copy of our free guide: Working at home online - Is it for you?  Get your copy here.

Blogging Boomers Carnival #208

Our newest member, Tom at Sightings at 60, is hosting the Blogging Boomers today.  Here's the link.

A timely reminder about the etiquette of barbecue season

Thanks to Paul Vogt, via Philip Humbert's newsletter, for the following:

After the long months of cold and winter weather, we will soon be coming up to summer and BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking as it's the only type of cooking a real man will do, probably because there is an element of danger involved.

When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine...

1) The woman buys the food.
2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.

Here comes the important part:

4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

More routine....

5) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with this dangerous situation.

Important again:

7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE  WOMAN.

More routine.....

8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces and brings them to the table.
9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:

10) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed her night off. And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

100 Retirement Business Ideas

Some of us tried retirement and were spectacularly unsuccessful at it.

Some retired early but not by choice.

Some just aren't ready to call it quits.

And some have come to the conclusion that they'll never be able to afford to retire.

Whatever the reason, many baby boomers and seniors are considering entrepreneurship as an alternative to retirement.

Whether your forays into entrepreneurship lead to you to becoming the next Donald Trump or Martha Stewart, or whether you just want to sell a few of your handmade bracelets on Etsy for a bit of extra spending money, we all need a place to start.

So here it is.  Your place to start...

I have a new blog - 100 Retirement Business Ideas.  (It's a work in progress - I don't have all 100 ideas up there yet - only about 15 at the time I was writing this.  But the draft versions of the posts have been loaded up and I'm making them 'live' as quickly as I can, so have a look at what IS there and bookmark the site so you can come back later and see what else has been added.)

Blogging Boomers Carnival #207

Rhea Becker at The Boomer Chronicles is hosting the Blogging Boomers this week.  Here's the link.

Herbal remedies to avoid if you have heart trouble

Many people take herbal remedies for ailments ranging from high cholesterol to depression. Although these remedies are widely viewed as being safe, some of them can be dangerous for people taking prescription drugs for heart problems.  Find out more in Heart Trouble? 18 Herbal Remedies to Avoid.

Why do they lie?

"Why do they lie?"

That was a question asked by a coaching client of mine who had arranged a date with a man she met on a dating website. Her date had claimed on his profile to be 5' 8" tall, and his photo showed a man with a full head of dark hair.

The man who turned up to meet her was less than 5' 6" tall (my client is 5' 6" and she was able to look down on the top of his head), and he had a bald head with a 'Friar Tuck'-style fringe of grey hair.

Did this man think that my client wouldn't notice that he didn't look the way he claimed to look on his profile? Or did he think that his wit and charm would convince her to overlook the fact that he had misrepresented himself? (They didn't.)

Either way, the fact that he lied set him up for rejection from the moment she set eyes on him. As she said: "He wasn't unattractive to me, even though he looked nothing like his profile picture, but the fact that he lied about something so obvious, made me wonder what else he would lie about - particularly the things that weren't so easy to spot".

Of course, it's not only men who lie on their profiles. Many women lie about their age, describe themselves as slim when they're not, and post pictures that are 10 years old in order to get a date.

But I wonder how many of the resulting first dates go on to a second meeting... Or to a full-blown relationship.

Do you know of any? Have you had a second date with someone who blatantly lied on their profile? Please let us know by leaving a comment below....

Great Quotes - On the art of conversation

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

Dorothy Nevill