AN ODE TO MY LOVELY DAUGHTER

midlife blog ~ cresting the hill
mother and daughter at my 50th

A BIRTHDAY BRINGS BACK MEMORIES

It's our daughter's birthday today so I thought I'd do a shout out to what a fabulous young woman she has become. I am so proud of her and the journey she has been on and that she is so happy and settled where she is now (although she knows I'd like her to be closer to home!)

spawn of the devil?

midlife blog ~ cresting the hill

I have to admit that I am not a great fan of cooking, cooking shows on TV, or very expensive cooking appliances. This does not mean that I begrudge others the enjoyment of aforementioned cooking delights. I am just totally over hearing friends singing the praises of their Thermomixes!

BREAKING MY OWN FASHION RULES

midlife blog ~ cresting the hill

FASHION RULES

I've seen so many blog posts recently on what we can and can't wear once we're in our 50's (I've written a few myself back in January!) But I'm coming to realize that you can't make hard and fast rules when it comes to midlife fashion.

anticipation vs reality

looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them

"Anticipation is often better than the gift itself" is a saying in our household (maybe because we never have a lot of money so our gifts are never overwhelming). It seems to be a constant in my life that I get more pleasure out of anticipating a gift or an event than I do out of the actual event itself.

choosing my memories

midlife blog ~ cresting the hill

Kathy from SMARTliving365.com posted recently about the importance of choosing the memories from our past she states that:
"every person’s life is usually filled with a collection of both good and bad experiences. What we individually choose to focus on, highlight, and repeatedly tell others, and ourselves, can either lead to a happier life, or reinforce the past negatively."

the face you deserve

“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty. Life shapes the face you have at thirty. But at fifty you get the face you deserve.” ― Coco Chanel

This quote pulled me up short because there is enough truth in it to make me wonder how much my face looks like the face I deserve. Does all the living I've done over the years sink into my skin and reflect back at me in the mirror? If I had an easy life do I stay looking young and carefree compared to older and more haggard if the going was tough?

"I don't snore"

I don't snore. I just dream that I'm a motorcycle.

We had an interesting conversation at work last week about snoring spouses. My boss's wife snores and my co-worker and I both have husbands that snore. The funny thing is that none of them truly believe that they make any sound at all while they are asleep.


the uncertainty of life

Annette Funicello — 'Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.'

I read an interesting blog post by Kathy Gottberg the other day that was titled "the truth behind 'you create your own reality'" and it made me stop and think about our first world perceptions of life.
In her final paragraph she says:

"What if creating our reality is less about making ourselves feel safe, protected and in control and more about trusting that we can be happy and at peace with the uncertainty of life no matter what occurs? Maybe it’s less to do with making sure everything works perfectly in our favor, to instead seeing everything as it unfolds as already perfect."

life without the internet

There was a little girl,  Who had a little curl,  Right in the middle of her forehead.  When she was good,  She was very good indeed,  But when she was bad she was horrid.


I think our internet provider has a curl right in the middle of it's forehead......because when it's good it's very, very good and when it's bad it's HORRID!


TURNING OFF THE COMMENTS ON MY BLOG

your worth is not measured in likes, comments, notes or followers

COMMENTS AND COMPARISONS

I've come to realize over time that I am a bit of a performance freak. I base my self esteem on how others see me and whether I have positive interactions. That's a ridiculous gauge for measuring my self-worth and one I need to do something about! It's time to take a step back and find my sense of self from within rather than from others.

midlife mortality - realizing you aren't ready to die just yet

midlife blog ~ cresting the hill

This is a picture of my husband's midlife crisis purchase. He would deny it had anything to do with buying it when 50 was approaching, but a few years ago when that magic age was looming, he decided to get his motorbike licence and this 1,000CC Honda Firestorm.


dying young (or not)

too late to die young

PONDERING MY OWN DEMISE

I think I spent way too much time in my younger days worrying about what would happen if I died young. Maybe it was the worrying thought of leaving my small children behind and whether my husband would remarry and all those strangely macabre scenarios that I now realize were a total waste of brain time and space.

don't be a light sucker

don't be a light sucker - shine your light by speaking brightness into the world!

A few years ago I heard about the Dark Sucker Theory where, in a nutshell, the idea is that electric light bulbs don't give off light, rather, they suck in the dark. This is of course a load of bollocks, but the idea that something can suck in the dark and leave light in it's place is an interesting concept.

The reverse would also be true, that a Light Sucker would suck in light and leave darkness behind. I took it a step further and thought about how this applies to certain people I've come across in life.

an attitude of gratitude

There's a lot that is good in your life, don't take it for granted. Don't get so focused on the struggles that you miss the gift of today. ~Joel Osteen

For someone who is not good at coping with change, I seem to have had a lot of ups and downs in my life. My friend said the other day that my life looks a bit like a hamster wheel at times - running, running to keep everything on track.

I had the expectation that life would be a lot more straightforward than what it has been. Get a job, get married, have kids, pay off the mortgage, enjoy the "cruisy" 50's and then look to a comfortable retirement. Instead, we have had a multitude of job changes, issues with depression, children who have left home, returned for various reasons and left again, friends that have proven to be less than expected, and many other fluctuations in the course of 30+ years of marriage.

It was one of those March days.....

Charles Dickens — 'It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.'

I saw this quote from Great Expectations and it struck a chord with me because it reflects the stage of life that I feel myself in. Maybe midlife is "one of those March days"......

THAT IRRITATING COUGH!

when you have a really annoying cough....

THE ANNOYING COUGH

I have had an irritating (to me and everyone else) cough for a long time. I don't think I realized how long I'd had it for until I realized that I'd mentioned it to at least three different doctors - and I probably only go to the doctor once or twice a year - so my guestimate would be 8 or so years.