grow older better

Category: Aging

  • DON’T FALL FOR THE SCAM WITH THE PUPPY DOG EYES!

             puppy

                          Sometimes the ad offers a free puppy. 

     Or, maybe a pure bred dog needs a new home.

    The scam works like this: although the dogs are "free," the seller will ask to be wired money in advance so the puppy can be safely shipped to its new owner. Some victims have even gone to the airport to pick up their new pet only to discover there is no dog and they've been scammed.

    A recent version of the "puppy scam" offered two registered English Bulldogs "free to a good home."  Fortunately, the scammer's attempt was thwarted because an alert Southern Oregon newspaper editor publisher smelled something fishy and refused to run the ad.
     
    The puppy scam relies on the best intentions of animal lovers.  Another version of the puppy scam involves a con artist posing as a "puppy mill rescue group".  These ads claim to be seeking good homes for a batch of purebred puppies rescued from a puppy mill.  In reality it is the puppy mill operator who has posted the ad and is looking to cash in – sometimes asking $1,000 or more per puppy.
     
    For more information about other puppy scams, and expert advice on humane pet adoption please check out the ASPCA Web site. 
     
    Anyone who believes they have been approached by a scammer should call the Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392 or go to the Department's Web site: www.oregonattorneygeneral.gov.

  • Musings upon hitting the big seven-zero [70]


    I muse and I also just turned 70 – so this is a new [and very strange] topic for my musings….

    1 –  70 is an age I never thought about when I was “younger” because it seemed so “old.”  But then when I was in my 20’s I used to think 30 was old.  The mantra of the time being “don’t trust anyone over 30.”

    2 – Being 70 is still an odd thought.  I’ve been 70 for almost 2 months and I still feel strange about it and I’m not sure why; me, the developmental psychologist, who has been teaching about the lifespan since the 1970’s.

    3 – I’m still too new at this age to have deeper thoughts about MY being 70 – I can tell you more about those other persons who are 70 than I can tell you about myself.

    4 – I do wake up each day with the thought that I am 70 but happy I am still here and am very healthy.  I don’t remember having these kinds of thoughts when I turned 50 or 60.

    5 – I often stand at the mirror and see my various ages flying by – but then I’m very imaginative and do a lot work with photographs so I have 70 years of me available for viewing.

    To read more of my musings go to the full article musings on being 70

  • Oregon Bank of Cascades Phishing Scam

    Attention Oregonians

    From Attorney General John Kroger
     
    The Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline today has received a surge of complaints about telephone calls from an entity claiming to be from the Bank of the Cascades. The caller is telling consumers that their bank records have been compromised and that they need to verify the consumer's bank account number. This is a phishing scam.
     
    Never provide your bank account number over the phone or by email. No legitimate financial institution will call you and ask you for your bank account number or other sensitive financial information. The scammers are trying to trick consumers into turning over their bank account numbers to they can empty the bank account.
     
    The Consumer Hotline has received more than 20 telephone calls from Central Oregon about this scam. At least one consumer fell prey to the scam and lost $515 immediately after providing their bank account number. This is a significant number of calls for such a short period of time.
     
    Anyone who believes they have been approached by a scammer should contact the Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392 or www.oregonattorneygeneral.gov.

    cross posted from http://lynnsrants.com

     

  • Find Your Strongest Life


    Find Your Strongest Life

    Marcus Buckingham 

    This book starts with the premise that women are unhappier than they were 40 years ago and that we need to find our “strongest’ lives and do things differently so that we are not unhappy.

    Marcus cites research findings about women and happiness but to me, the research trained psychologist, I found myself asking what women, what ages?

    I’m sure the woman reader of this book is in her 30’s or 40’s and would not be asking those questions.  Women in this age range who work, are married and have children are more stressed – I know that in my 40’s as a single parent with a young child I lived and breathed stress.

    Why all the stress and apparent dissatisfaction?  Although the gap is not as large as it was, working women still do the bulk of home and childcare – making for really long days.  And we still have an idea of "having it all."

    Marcus offers some useful information about how to be happier and more successful in dealing with the life of work, home and he writes about doing this by seeking and finding your strong moments and accepting what/who you are. 

    He also suggests not trying to be perfect and creating imbalance in your life – two concepts that I totally agree with.  And, in fact, my own recent e-book and articles try to convince new parents, especially moms,  to stop trying to be "perfect."

    There is very helpful information on how to find your strong moments by looking at what is your “life role” and making the most of what is your strength or are your strengths.

    Additionally there are work and marriage-related suggestions for helping women be or feel stronger.

    Overall it is a good feeling book and will be useful to those feeling stressed and wondering what is wrong with them.  There is nothing wrong with you – you may need to re-think what you call happiness and find those areas Marcus calls your “strong moments.”   To aid you, he has a website with his Strong Life Test at:  stronglifetest.com

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Overweight women and exercise – will it make you fit?

    Short answer – NO!

    Exercise will not cut the risk of heart disease in those who are overweight unless they also slim down, according to a study of thousands of U.S. women….

    "Even high quantities of physical activity are unlikely to fully reverse the risk of coronary heart disease in overweight and obese women without concurrent weight loss," Dr. Amy Weinstein and colleagues at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center reported.

    Read about the study: can you be fit and overweight?
    [This study,     begun in 1992,  was carried out over the years and followed the women and their health issues.]

    The major finding was that exercise is important, but so is being leaner.  This is why I write and talk about weight and obesity topics a lot – especially as we head into that time of year when many people put on a few pounds more and exercise a whole lot less.

    We have an ongoing obesity epidemic in the USA as well as in other parts of the world, and here it is not only is it hurting aging women, it is killing our children who are facing diabetes and other obesity related diseases at early ages.

    PLEASE – keep your resolution to manage your weight and to be more active…you owe it to yourself and your loved ones…

    Set a good example for your kids and grandkids…

     

    P.S. Take a peek at http://bit.ly/beinghealthy for products that are good for you and good for all the "kids" in your life as well.