Friday, September 30, 2011

FreeWebinar: Retirement in Hard Times

A free webinar entitled Retirement in Hard Times will be held on October 25, 2011 at 10 a.m. CDT (11 a.m. CDT).

Journalist and author, Mark Miller, will discuss related information from his book, The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security: Practical Strategies for Money, Work and Living. He will also outline the key trends affecting Boomers and their personal finances, career and lifestyles.

The ever-blooming Baby Boomer generation is rapidly entering the retirement stage, just when the economy seems to have bottomed out. The housing crash, growing jobless rate and faltering entitlement programs, alon with a volatile stock market have only added to the problems those over 50 face today. Boomers are struggling to keep up during this prolonged economic challenge.

To attend this webinar, visit Boomer Authority™ at: http://boomerauthority.ning.com and join the site. Then click
HERE to sign up for this on-line event.

Friday, July 8, 2011

The Joy of Being a Baby Boomer

It's been fun being a baby boomer... until now! Some of the artists of the 60's are revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging Baby Boomers and I'm sure you can identify with some of them.

They include:

Herman's Hermits--- Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker

Ringo Starr --- I Get By With a Little Help From Depends

The Bee Gees --- How Can You Mend a Broken Hip?

Bobby Darin --- Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash

Roberta Flack --- The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face

Johnny Nash - -- I Can't See Clearly Now!

Paul Simon--- Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver

The Commodores--- Once, Twice, Th ree Times to the Bathroom

Marvin Gaye ---Heard It Through the Grape Nuts

Procol Harem--- A Whiter Shade of Hair

Leo Sayer --- You Make Me Feel Like Napping

The Temptations--- Papa's Got a Kidney Stone

Abba --- Denture Queen

Tony Orlando--- Knock 3 Times On The Ceiling If You Hear Me Fall

Helen Reddy--- I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore

Leslie Gore --- It's My Procedure, and I'll Cry If I Want Too!

An d my favorite:

Willie Nelson--- On the Commode Again

ONLY A GRANDMOTHER WOULD KNOW...

~A Cup of Tea ~

One day my Gramma was out and my Grampa was in charge of me.

I was maybe 2 1/2 years old. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a gift and it was one of my favorite toys.

Grampa was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought him a little cup of 'tea' that was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Gramma came home.

My Grampa made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!' Gramma waited and sure enough I came down the hall with a cup of tea for Grampa and she watched him drink it up.

Then she said,(as only a gramma would know) "Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water, is the toilet?"

Grandma Still Drives - Gotta Love It!



Grandma is eighty-eight years old and still drives her own car. She writes:



Dear Granddaughter,

The other day I went up to our local Christian book store and saw a 'Honk if you love Jesus' bumper sticker.

I was feeling particularly sassy that day because I had just come from a thrilling choir performance, followed by a thunderous prayer meeting.

So, I bought the sticker and put it on my bumper.

Boy, am I glad I did! What an uplifting experience followed.

I was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, just lost in thought about the Lord and how good he is, and I didn't notice that the light had changed.

It is a good thing someone else loves Jesus because if he hadn't honked, I'd never have noticed.

I found that lots of people love Jesus!

While I was sitting there, the guy behind me started honking like crazy, and then he leaned out of his window and screamed, 'For the love of God!'

'Go! Go! Go! Jesus Christ, GO!'

What an exuberant cheerleader he was for Jesus!

Everyone started honking!

I just leaned out my window and started waving and smiling at all those loving people.

I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love!

There must have been a man from Florida back there because I heard him yelling something about a sunny beach.

I saw another guy waving in a funny way with only his middle finger stuck up in the air.

I asked my young teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant.

He said it was probably a Hawaiian good luck sign or something.

Well, I have never met anyone from Hawaii , so I leaned out the window and gave him the good luck sign right back.

My grandson burst out laughing. Why, even he was enjoying this religious experience!

A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards me.

I bet they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended, but this is when I noticed the light had changed.

So, grinning, I waved at all my brothers and sisters, and drove on through the intersection.

I noticed that I was the only car that got through the intersection before the light changed again and felt kind of sad that I had to leave them after all the love we had shared.

So I slowed the car down, leaned out the window and gave them all the Hawaiian good luck sign one last time as I drove away. Praise the Lord for such wonderful folks!

Will write again soon.

Love, Grandma

Monday, June 6, 2011

How to Preserve your Precious Memories

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Good memories are something that we cherish and want to hang onto into our golden years. There are many ways to ensure that your memories are close at hand and still fresh in your heart. Shown here is my original birth certificate from 1949. You may notice that the name is different. That’s because I was adopted when I was 8 years old and my name was changed. However, I will always have this document as proof of my true roots.

Remember days past when we stuffed photos in albums and then stacked those albums in a cupboard or under the coffee table? Some of them probably look pretty faded by now. I know I still have some pictures I took with a Brownie camera that are in pretty rough shape. With new technologies, those old photos can be restored. At one time, you needed a professional to do this for you. Not any more! As long as you have a computer, scanner and a graphics program, you can do it yourself. For full instructions on how to do this go Here. Once you have recreated your old photos, you can print them out, store them in a digital album on line or email them to family and friends.

The photo shown here is of my birth mother, whom I was separated from when I was 2 years old. She is holding one of my brothers. This photo was given to me by one of my sisters whom I met when I was 32. It is the only one I have of her and I treasure it dearly. I used free Photo Impressions software to scan and capture the photo. The photo was quite faded so I manipulated the color and sharpness to get the best copy I could.

Another way to store those memories is to burn them onto a CD. However, be aware that technology changes rapidly and no one knows just how long it will be before CDs are no longer useable. Remember all the video footage you took years ago? Now videocassettes are rapidly becoming passé. Even printing out restored photos does not guarantee they will be around for the next 100 years. The quality of the photo paper you buy is just not the same as that used in a photo lab. However, you can extend the life of your photos by keeping them in a dry, cool place away from sunlight. I have a large memory box in which I keep my most important pictures. Some people prefer to create a special scrapbook. For more information on scrapbooking go Here. You can also take your very best photos as I do and frame them. And if you’re really worried about preserving a few of your oldest photos, put them in a safety deposit box at the bank.


“Remember me in the family tree My name, my days, my strife;
Then I'll ride upon the wings of time And live an endless life."

Linda Goetsch


An interesting new site is The Family Post where family members can add their photos, create slideshows, share videos, and even create a family newsletter. The site also has a real-time message board where you can communicate with other family members.

Another way to preserve your memories is to write a biography or your memoirs in a journal to be kept for posterity. A new product available is the Memorygrabber, an ebook specifically designed to help you write your life story. However, you can also create your own ebook if you have a PDF maker that converts Microsoft Word files. Once complete, you can either print it out or burn it to a CD and take it to a printer for them to do it for you.

Preserving memories is a wonderful way to pass on a family’s history to future generations through pictures and the written word. It will also ensure that a part of you remains forever in the memory of your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and who knows how far into the future? Start preserving your memories today.