IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE

It's time to have a coffee and a chat - I'll tell you all about what's been happening in my world this month

IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE

It's time to celebrate the end of October, Spring is well and truly underway down here in Australia - so, why not share a lovely pink and Springy virtual cup of coffee with me while I update you on what's been going on in my life lately. I love a good 'Taking Stock' blog post, so I hope you'll humour me and sit a while as I share my news.

HOW DECLUTTERING CAN JUMPSTART YOUR LIFE

Taking the time to de-clutter can have a positive effect on your life - not just your home

INTRO

Today's Social Saturday guest is Kristin from the Badass Kittens Club. I met Kristin when she left a comment on one of my posts and I thought "I have to check out a blog that has such a cool name!" - and I wasn't disappointed. Kristin even has a really funky little black cat logo that makes me smile every time I see it. Today she's joining me to talk about one of my favourite topics - decluttering.

ARE YOU LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL?

Are you living life to the full with peace, purpose, paring down and passing on to others?

INTRO

This month I've been looking at the writing of Anne Morrow Lindbergh and how that relates to Midlife - or in today's case, Life in General. Over the last few weeks I've written about her quotes that relate to Midlife, Writing, and Relationships (I've included links in case you missed any of them).

Today is the last of the series and it encompasses living life to the full - probably from the viewpoint that less is often more - we don't need to be overfilling our lives to live happily.

RIGHT NOW, SHE'S JUST LIVING HER BEST LIFE

Right now, she’s just living her best life. She’s focused on herself. She’s falling in love with who she is.

AN INSPIRING QUOTE

I found this quote on The Minds Journal the other day and I thought how beautifully it reflected how we should be living in Midlife. It's time to focus on ourselves and find those things that bring us joy - forgetting what others are thinking or doing with their lives, and drilling down to what makes us who we are.

GOOGLE AND THE INTERNET IN MIDLIFE

Do you ever wonder what we did before Google and the Internet?

INTRO

Today's Social Saturday guest is Lise from Caribbean Cruise Digest where she blogs about (you guessed it) cruising the world on ocean liners - a subject which she is an expert on after taking 40 or so cruises. I feel like a complete stay at home in comparison! Today Lise is taking a slightly different tangent and asking a question that has often occured to me as I enter a question into Google search.

ARE YOU LIVING IN LOVING AND SECURE RELATIONSHIPS?

Are you living in loving, secure relationships with sound expectations?

INTRO

Throughout October I'm sharing some wonderful thoughts from Anne Morrow Lindbergh and how they are reflected in my own journey through Midlife. If you missed the first two posts you can catch up on them HERE (Midlife) and HERE (Writing) and today's post is on Relationships.

There are three different kinds of relationships referred to in the quotes I've chosen - Marriage, Children, and Friendship, and I'd like to share a little on each.

LIVING TALL IN A SHORT WORLD

When the world caters to shorter people - how do you live tall?

CONFESSION

Sometimes I envy short women. I'm sure they have lots of things they could list that are downfalls of being "height challenged" but there seems to be an assumption in our world in general that women are a certain height and clothing in particular is geared towards women all  being 5' 4" (164cm) and the rest of us just need to compensate for that.

BECOMING THE HEALTHIEST VERSION OF OURSELVES

Becoming Healthy - Take care of the inside, and the outside will take care of itself.

INTRO

Today I have Jean from Delightful Repast guesting with me for Social Saturday. Jean has a blog full of wonderful recipes that look and taste great, but also meet her standards for healthy eating. It's tricky getting the balance right, but Jean does it beautifully. 

Today she's sharing her thoughts on eating to stay healthy in Midlife and also a couple of tips on movement as well - something we all need to keep doing.

"ONE WRITES NOT TO BE READ, BUT TO BREATHE"

Why do you write/blog? is it to breathe and share your story?

WHY DO WE WRITE?

Last week I mentioned that I was feeling inspired by the writings of Anne Morrow Lindbergh and what she had to say on several different areas of life. The first was her views on Midlife and today I wanted to look at some of the thoughts she has on writing - which transfers across beautifully to why many of us blog.

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU ARE PROUD OF?

Have you ever asked yourself "what is something about me that I'm proud of?"

ASKING THE HARD QUESTION

Sometimes I wonder if I actually practice what I preach.

A few weeks ago I saw a Facebook post from Sue at ST60 & Beyond, where she asked what we liked best about ourselves. Sue was looking for an acknowledgement and recognition of what characteristic I had that I was really proud of. You'd think it would be a walk in the park for a 50+ year old woman to answer this wouldn't you?


MIDLIFE PATIENCE IN AN IMPATIENT WORLD

Allowing Midlife to be a time to learn patience and serenity

INTRO

I've met so many wonderful Midlife bloggers from all over the world, and Lori Jo (from 50 with Flair) is one of the latest. She's only been blogging for a few months, yet has leapt in with both feet and her blog looks like she's been doing this stuff for years! I thought she might have secretly had a professional put it together for her, but that's not the case at all! She has figured out all the background stuff and on top of that manages to take some amazing fashion photos of herself with a camera, timer and tripod - what a woman!

Today she's sharing something a little different to her usual stylish posts and is talking about something we can all relate to - the need to keep working on our patience levels!

ARE YOU SHEDDING YOUR SHELLS IN MIDLIFE?

Midlife is a time of learning to shed the shells that no longer serve us

INTRO

I discovered another author recently whose words spoke to my heart on many levels. I thought I'd use my October Thursday posts to share Anne Morrow Lindbergh's wise words and mix it up with a few of my own. I've sorted some of her thoughts into four different topics - Midlife (today's post), Blogging/Writing, Life in General, and Relationships. I hope you enjoy reading them.

A SMILE IS THE MIDLIFER'S SECRET WEAPON

A smile is a Midlife woman’s secret weapon against invisibility

SMILE!

So often we hear Midlife women bemoaning the fact that nobody sees them anymore. They feel invisible and they feel overlooked. But really, it doesn't take much to step out of that "grey zone" and to be recognized as viable and worth being paid attention to. It's not rocket science - the answer is so simple and it begins with a smile.