What Am I Doing Here?

I have to tell you that I am a true newbie at this whole blog thing. HUGE thanks and kudos to my youngest daughter, Julia, who has poked, prodded, motivated and encouraged me to do this. She kind of got me hooked on the blog world last summer when she introduced me to some of her favorites. (Hello, Peanut Butter Runner, Urban Grace Interiors and Silver Lining Avenue.)

And then I started thinking about how much fun and therapeutic and, well, downright essential it is to "compare notes" on this whole getting-older thing.

It was so helpful for me to be forewarned about the changes that were coming --  like night sweats, spotted hands, spider veins, scummy teeth and increased flatulence -- by my "older" friends (and that includes you, Sis!). And I probably would have freaked out (even more than I actually did) had I not been told of the myriad emotions and seemingly unprovoked sobbing that comes with the early stages of Empty-Nest-hood. So now I kind of want to "give back" by prepping my younger friends (you brats!) as to what lies ahead.

And so it is that I am here. I want to be a part of the dialog that defines, augments and embellishes our lives as we head into our second half-century (!!!).  And maybe, just maybe, if we keep laughing and talking and commiserating, we'll more quickly realize that we are not alone, and that we're all in this together. Misery does love company, don't ya know?  :)


So I truly hope this becomes an enjoyable, fun, happy, informative and quasi-educational blog, and not a "blah-g" (bland, vanilla and boring).

Let's let the cyber hand-holding begin!

And Mom, I promise I will try to follow your admonishment NOT to talk politics here. (Trust me, there will be days where my tongue will hurt!)

Flippin' Floaters

Okay. So about two weeks ago, as I was minding my own business, preparing my dog's (Mia!!!) dinner, there suddenly appeared....."black things" in my right eye. I thought, no big, it's just a glob of mascara. And then the "black things" started moving all around. So I thought, no big, it's a black cobweb (why I thought there would be cobwebs, black ones yet,  in my kitchen, I'll never know). That wasn't the culprit. Oh, I know what it is: "black things" were stuck under my contact lens. So I took out the old contact lens and put in a new one. But...they  were  still   there!!

So I did what I'm guilty of doing way too often; I Googled "black things moving in your eyes." And that's when I learned they're called floaters, and that it "comes with age," to "older patients." SH*T. Another body part bites the dust.

Now I would be remiss here if I didn't give kudos to my friend Jeff, an optometrist, who I anxiously sought out the next morning at the gym. He smiled knowingly as I went into painstaking (and I'm sure boring) detail as to the events of my previous evening. After telling me alllll about the "refractive index" and the "vitreous humour," blah-blah-blah, he assured me that it's normal, that it comes with time, and that it happens to all of us as the years go by. Not one word about AGE or GETTING OLDER. Now how is that for good bedside manner? Thank you, Jeff!

(FYI:  He did ask if I had flashing lights accompanying the "black things." I learned that that can be cause for concern, as it could be the beginning of a detached retina, which requires immediate medical attention. Serious stuff.)

Anyway...So the floaters are still flippin' around in my field of my vision, but not as badly. And I won't freak out if, and probably when, (per Jeff) I get them in my left eye, as I know now that it just comes with time.

Two morals to this story: Don't freak out if you, too, get floaters!! It's normal, and you're not alone. And if you're ever in the Sacramento area and you need an optometrist, Jeff is your guy.

Hair We Go!

I was never the girl with the beautifully lustrous and shiny head of hair. It wasn't awful, though. And I'd like to think I made the best of it. I remember fondly the days when I could quickly put it back in a cute, full, bouncy pony. Two loops of the elastic band, and I was good to go.

Now...it's different. I have more hair-don'ts than hair-do's now. And these days it takes at least four (4!!) loops of the elastic band. After a lot of work and deliberation trying to achieve the casual look, I'm left with a wimpy and "frithy" pull-back. Quite pathetic, actually. It's a slow, ugly, insidious thing, this hair-thinning process.

Sadly, I have to clean out my brush a lot more often now. There are more hair strands (aka globs) than ever before left behind on the shower door.

The word "thin" is a great thing in virtually every aspect of my present-day life, except when it comes to the volume of this hair of mine. Arghhhh.

I guess the moral of the story is that Mother Nature giveth, and Mother Nature taketh away. But I sometimes just don't understand the various body parts She's chosen.

(Has anyone out there tried Rogaine For Women? Does it work? Does anyone else 'steal' their husband's Nioxin Scalp Treatment For Thinning Hair, and it doesn't do a thing?)