With dark blue nail shades one of the hottest trends this season, I decided to take the plunge and painted my fingernails with MAC’s Nail Lacquer in Whirlwind. I have worn darker shades on my toes before, but not on my fingernails, so it is definitely something new.

Whirlwind is a frosted metallic royal blue with green, blue and purple pearl. And I really like it more than I thought I would.

To those dozen or so of you who negatively commented on my blue nails over the last few days. Too bad – I like it! Keep your opinions to yourself. I like to try the trends, and do not need to be classically refined as you think that a 40 something mother of four should be. While trends are good, following the crowd that thinks they are all that when they are not, just to be considered “in” is not. Definitely, not!

What do you think?

Post from: Aging Fabulous

How would you caption this photo? I was thinking, When will Daddy be home? Let’s make a run for it! or It looks scary out there!

I just love capturing life’s little moments on film. I am so glad that my camera was right next to them on my desk so I could snap this before they decided to move onto something else.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

These two women, that had to be well into their seventies, were talking about “quickies” and how they are really having the best sex of their life. Why I am so put off, I do not know. Maybe just the fact that they were older, almost grandmother figures, or the fact that they were so openly speaking about it in such a public setting. We (me and my two youngest) were eating at a family friendly restaurant.

So, I was rude to be listening in, and wrong to judge – maybe. But it really makes me wonder if sex gets better with age.

As we get older, there are no pregnancy worries (well, usually not) and hopefully no std worries. Let me think. The kids should be out of the house. There are probably not work stresses – hmmm. More time to enjoy it all?

I am at a time in my life when sex is not all that important to me. Maybe it is, and I am just too busy or too tired to notice. I am a very busy 40 year old mom of 4, and most of my friends and I are in agreement. And it is funny, though not really, that all of our husbands are in disagreement with us.

I guess I am hoping that as I get older I too can say, that I am having the best sex of my life. I certainly know my husband is waiting for that day to come. I guess as long as I am not too tired .

Who here is having the best sex of their life, and when can I (tell my husband) expect to?

Post from: Aging Fabulous

Victoria suggests that as this really is a life style change, the best way to bring the changes to your life is by starting small and setting aside a few minutes each day. This way you can focus fully on one activity that invokes all of your senses, so the benefits can be seen and felt immediately.

The following are Victoria’s tips below for spending one week, just one week, appreciating the most basic things in life.

Day One – Start your week cherishing the gift of sight by spending as many moments as you can silently looking at the beauty that nature holds. Watch a bird take flight, the breeze roll a leaf around in its grasp, or the clouds drift by lazily, and behold the wonder of it all.

Day Two – Celebrate the gift of hearing on day two through listening to your favorite song, to your child tell you a story or simply to the song in the breeze; if you say nothing and only listen, you should be able to hear your inner voice telling you what you really need.

Day Three – Embrace the gift of smell on day three by making a pot of coffee, even if you don’t drink it! Squeeze fresh lemons and oranges on a gray day or wrap yourself in laundry straight from the dryer. Visit a florist and smell every flower until you’ve chosen a bouquet that suits your soul.

Day Four – Treasure your taste buds by cooking a fabulous and healthy meal on day four. Fill your plate with brightly colored vegetables, and add a sprig of mint to cleanse your palate between courses, and let the flavors take you to the place you most desire to be.

Day Five – And finally, appreciate your ability to feel things by celebrating the gift of touch. Wrap a warm blanket around you, or place a cold cloth to the back of your neck. Hold the hand of someone you love, or take a long, warm bath and when you get out, stroke your skin with a luxurious moisturizer.

Try it and see the wonders “whole health” living can do for you. More of Victoria’s tips, and her great skin care products (review of the Reclaim line coming soon) visit PrincipalSecret.com.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

If you don’t know what a Podcast is, it is simply an episode in which you listen, whether it be on your computer or iPod. All you do is listen and enjoy.

Ask the Expert is my new weekly podcast, which will air every Friday. In each Ask the Expert episode, I will answer one of your aging/anti-aging questions. The episodes are short, sweet, and to the point, and will each average just 3 – 5 minutes.

Go check me out over on Podcast Alley! And you should probably subscribe to it as well, so you are sure not to miss an episode!
Now, bring on the questions! E-mail them to me teri.cosenzi@b5media.com and please use the subject; Ask the Expert!

Enjoy!

Post from: Aging Fabulous

Caci hates being called “a giant”, but she sure loves it when she dominates on the basketball court. We always tell her to use her height to her advantage, but I may be in trouble.

Being so tall, Caci looks much older then she is. And the boys are starting to notice her. My son is 15 years old, and I have noticed new friends of his wondering about her. He has warned them to stay away. If that doesn’t work, I am sure my husband will!

Here is a picture of Caci from her graduation this week. The second picture shows how tall she is out of a few students. Please take note in the picture that she is the youngest out of the four pictured.

I wonder how tall she will be, and when she will stop growing. The doctor said she has always been “off the charts” for her height since she was born.

Yup, I think I am in trouble. I am glad I only have the one girl with three boys, and it is not the other way around!

Post from: Aging Fabulous

I was equally thrilled when I saw this recent article on Yahoo! from HealthDay News:

Yoga’s postures, controlled breathing and meditation may work together to help ease brains plagued by anxiety or depression, a new study shows.

Brain scans of yoga practitioners showed a healthy boost in levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) immediately after a one-hour yoga session. Low brain levels of GABA are associated with anxiety and depression, the researchers said.

“I am quite sure that this is the first study that’s shown that there’s a real, measurable change in a major neurotransmitter with a behavioral intervention such as yoga,” said lead researcher Dr. Chris Streeter, assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology at the Boston University School of Medicine.

She believes yoga could prove a useful tool to help people battling depression and anxiety disorders. “We’re not advocating that they chuck their medication, but I would advise that they could use it as an adjunct and see how they are doing,” Streeter said.

Her team published its findings in the May issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

In the study, the Boston researchers used high-tech magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging to gauge levels of GABA in the brains of eight long-time yoga practitioners and 11 non-practitioners. The participants were healthy, and none was diagnosed with a major psychiatric condition.

Brain scans were taken before the beginning of the experiment. Then, the yoga group was asked to engage in the meditative practice for 60 minutes, while the non-yoga group simply read. The researchers then re-scanned each participant’s brain, looking specifically at GABA levels.

“We showed a 27 percent increase in the brain GABA levels of those doing yoga — a really significant increase,” Streeter said. No such change was noted in the non-practitioners who had just read.

She said the style or school of yoga practiced didn’t seem to matter. “We had hatha, ashtanga, bikram, vinyasa, and kripalu” practitioners included in the yoga group, Streeter said, “and many had been trained in several different schools.”

According to Streeter, “this all gives us one of the mechanisms by which yoga may be having a beneficial effect. There could be other mechanisms.”

But another expert pointed to what he considered flaws in the research.

Zindel Segal, chairman of psychotherapy and a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Toronto, has for years studied the use of behavioral interventions to alleviate psychological woes.

He said the Boston researchers were to be commended for using brain scan imaging technologies to investigate the effectiveness of these techniques. But he questioned why the yoga group was simply compared to a sedentary reading group and not to another movement-based group.

“Exercise itself may have some effects on GABA, so I think in this study, you’d really want that comparison,” he said. Including such a control group would make it clear that it was yoga and not just an hour of physical exertion that was responsible for the brain changes.

He also pointed out that all of the people in the study were mentally healthy, and clinical depression and anxiety disorders involve more than the “daily fluctuations in stress and tension” that healthy individuals are prone to.

“We know that yoga can have a profound effect” on smoothing out life’s daily ups and downs, Segal said. “But so does working out on a Stairmaster for an hour.”

Segal also questioned the role of GABA in depression. While it may play a role in anxiety disorders, “GABA is not one of the main neurotransmitters that seems to be a part of the depression story,” he said. Other neurochemicals — most notably serotonin — play much bigger roles in the disorder, he said.

None of this means that the study’s findings are without merit, Segal said. “In fact,” he said, “we have a program called ‘mindfulness-based cognitive therapy,’ where we do use yoga, as well as mindfulness meditation,” as therapeutic tools. Streeter’s findings “suggest the need for more study of these practices,” he said.

Streeter agreed that her study is probably just a beginning.

“I think what’s important about this study is that it shows that by using really cutting-edge neuroimaging technology, we can measure real changes in the brain with behavioral interventions — changes that are similar to those that we see with pharmacologic treatments,” she said.

I am hoping that Yoga relaxes my mind while it strengthens my body. And if it helps ease a bit of anxiety – that would be a great benefit too!

Post from: Aging Fabulous

Here is a list of what I am reading now:

• Decorating Idea Book
• Dr. Andrew Weil’s Guide to Optimum Health: A Complete Course on How to Feel Better, Live Longer, and Enhance Your Health Naturally
• Landscaping with Stone
• New Complete Guide to Landscaping: Design, Plant, Build
• Bobbi Brown Living Beauty
• Pure Skin: Organic Beauty Basics
• The Tween Years : A Parent’s Guide for Surviving Those Terrific, Turbulent, and Trying Times
• 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List

What is on your reading list?

Post from: Aging Fabulous

Post from: Aging Fabulous

So I am on a mission to schedule in time for myself each and every day. And my goal is to have a bit of *me* time at least twice a day, every day – to keep me sane. Even if it is for a short time, I need it.

This is how I am (trying) doing this.

1. Mark a space of time out for myself for at least 10 minutes, twice a day. Putting myself on the schedule along with everything else makes me realize that my *me* time is important.

2. Get up half an hour earlier than any one else in the house. This is such a peaceful, quite time of the day. The computer is off, tv off, no music, no phones, no kids. Just the birds chirping and me!

3. When all is chaotic in the house, try to get out for a short walk. This is just a few minutes of take a breath, enjoy the things around me time. You can’t believe how much of a difference these short few minutes for *me* make.

4. Once in a while, schedule a few hours of *me* time in one block. Be it every few weeks, once or month or so, I treat myself to a pedicure or an easy shopping trip. It is sometimes just great to be all alone, on my own time, and not rushed.

5. Take a few extra deep breaths and enjoy the things around me. It is easy to have a few minutes of escape time, if only in my head.

Post from: Aging Fabulous