Never too old for smelling great

My grandmother was a woman before her time. Florence was born in 1904, yet wore short skirts and even made her own perfume. I was never lucky enough to sample her concoctions, but one of my aunts recalls smelling lavender and nutmeg frequently in their kitchen while growing up.

After learning this, I secretly wondered if Florence had ever gotten the two ingredients confused. "Lavender pie" would have been quite a surprise on the dinner table at Easter and a little dab of "Eau de Nutmeg" behind my grandma's ear would certainly have made my grandfather hungry - for something.

Although I switched perfumes frequently in my younger years, I wore only White Shoulders during my 40s and well into my 50s. I could not be convinced to try anything else. Until I stopped smoking. (I'll celebrate my 5th year of being a non smoker at 5 p.m. December 28, 2010.)

Once I stopped smoking for a few days, I realized how horrible I had smelled to others for many years. I had to wash or creatively deodorize everything I owned - clothes, books, drapes, stuffed animals, never-used makeup brushes, even my walls. As non smokers have always known, tobacco makes everything reek!

So once I stopped stinking, I decided to ever-after smell delicious. While doing online searches for various perfumes, I found FragranceNet.com and was able to play around with sample sizes of all kinds of scents. What fun!

I am now in love with several different perfumes, with my top 5 favorites being: Viva La Juicy by Juicy Couture, Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel, Delicious DKNY by Donna Koran, Romance by Ralph Lauren, and Miss Dior Cherie by Dior. If you check out the web site link below, you can go find your favorites too and save a bunch of money while doing so.

Never too old for ...being careful

Yup, it's been a while. I got so caught up with Thanksgiving, I neglected my NeverTooOldFor blog. I'm a bit more organized for Christmas, so I'm back and ready to give you more ideas of how to be never too old - for just about anything.

Smack dab in the middle of the feel-good season seems like a good time to share something I learned recently. Be very careful if you have a young child or companion animal and use any kind of medicinal body cream, spray or gel, i.e., hormones, analgesics, treatments for psoriasis, etc.

Kids and pets are prone to sticking everything in their mouths, or at least licking everything in sight, and that includes people's hands, legs, or arms. Unfortunately, they can wind up absorbing medications orally and becoming really sick.

Veterinarians around the nation are reporting seeing dogs and cats with enlarged breast tissue, occasional vaginal bleeding, and confusing blood test results. Some animals even appear to be in heat, despite having been spayed years before.

Simply wiping your hands after using a cream, gel, or spray medication isn't enough to prevent your child or pet from absorbing the medication, experts say.

Here are some recommended precautions to take if you are currently using topical medications:

1. Creams, gels, and sprays can be effective if used on areas other than hands, arms, and legs. Try your backs and shoulders, or other places less accessible to your child or pet.

2. If you do have to place topical medications on your hands, arms, or legs, such as hormones, cover any affected skin left exposed.

3. If you must be with a child or animal while using topical medications, try to avoid close contact until the preparation has completely dried.

4. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after using any medications.

5. To be extra cautious, wear disposable gloves when handling topical products, but be sure to properly dispose of the gloves when finished.

Oh, before I forget, here's some great little stocking stuffers for you and the other NeverTooOldFor people on your list - you'll love all the great little 99 cent items - I know I did!

SallyBeauty.com Clearance Center

Until next time, readers, don't act your age!

Never too old for... giving

I pulled up to a traffic signal the other day and a man walked off the curb and toward my window. My passenger urgently told me, "Don't roll your window down. These people just want money so they can go drink themselves to death."

I was already reaching for my purse. I give when asked. I don't usually go overboard, but I do give people in need a couple of bucks.

Imagine both our surprise when the man tapped on my window and, without waiting for me to roll it down, called out, "Your left front tire is going flat and you need to stop ahead at that car place and get it fixed!"

I stopped mid-roll-down and smiled. "Thank you very much!" I told him as the light turned green and we proceeded on our way.

To the car place ahead.

I glanced over at my passenger with what might have seemed a bit of triumph on my face. "Well," I said, "not what you thought, huh?"

To which she replied, "Nope, but not what you thought either, huh?"

Sometimes what a person wants is just to tell us something that could help us avoid a bad day. Sometimes it's not what we think.

Never too old for... scented memories

At my dental cleaning appointment the other day, someone in the waiting room was wearing Heaven Scent. My husband was with me because we were going to do lunch afterwards and when I told him, he was doubtful that I could recognize a scent just like that. But like many men, he underestimates the power of the nose - particularly a woman's nose.

I wore Heaven Scent when I was 15. I remember exactly because that's when I got my first official kiss. I say official because I was actually kissed for the first time when I was 14, but never told my parents, so 15 is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Just for fun, when I got home I searched online for Heaven Scent perfume to see if they still make it. They do! Heaven Scent, designed by Dana in 1936, has lasted nearly 60 years after it helped entice a boy to kiss me.

Heaven Scent is available on a web site called FragranceNet. Closer inspection of that site has revealed the availability of just about any perfume or cologne your nose can recall. For a limited time, FragranceNet will be donating to Pink for a Cure® , a national fundraiser for breast cancer research. That in itself helped me decide it was the perfect time to march right into the online store and buy some memories. It won't make me 14, er, 15, again, but it will be nice to visit my old friend Heaven Scent once again.

Do you or your companion have a scent from yesteryear you'd love to enjoy again? I'll bet you can find it here...

~ Until next time, don't act your age! ~

Never too old for...feeling sad when a celebrity dies

Right before I turned off the computer to head to bed last night, I learned that 44-year-old comedian Greg Giraldo died yesterday.

Comedy is my favorite way to de-stress from life. I know most all the comedians, going back to the days of George Carlin. Well, I don't mean I know them personally, although there's several I'd love to get together with once in a while. I mean I've watched them for years and know their particular shticks, and a bit of their personal histories. I certainly know which ones I find to be funny, which ones are funny, but dirty, and which ones are a waste of my time.

Greg Giraldo was one of my top 5 favorite funny guys - of all time.
When I learned he had died, I gasped loud enough that my little beagle/dachshund mix, who is permanently attached to my lap, raised his head to see what was going on. I also woke up my husband, who had been asleep before me for about an hour, to tell him as he's also a big Giraldo fan.

Evidently, Giraldo died in a New Jersey hospital where he had been admitted after an accidental prescription drug overdose a few days ago. There will probably be an autopsy to answer several questions. For the record, I do not believe Greg Giraldo would have harmed himself
deliberately. He was hilarious, intelligent, sexy as heck, respected by other comedians, and very successful. He was a Harvard Law School graduate and was loved by a wife and 4 children. That's not normally a life from which escape would be desired.

My husband and I will miss incorporating Greg's sarcastic musings into our everyday conversations. Not that we'll stop; it will just be a bummer to not have new material periodically. We do this cute back and forth frequently, pantomiming Giraldo's little tales and then dissolving into little puddles of laughter.

In a world that seems to value being thin or being intolerant more than being healthy and loving, the gift of laughter is an honorable legacy. It is the gift you left this middle aged couple, Greg, and we thank you. RIP.

~ Until next time, readers, don't act your age! ~

Never too old for...a new career

People of all ages are losing their jobs these days. If you, your children, or grandchildren are lucky enough to have a job not affected too harshly by the economy's ups and downs, there probably hasn't been much discussion about this topic around your place.

But if there have been pink slips, unemployment compensation checks, and the continuous submissions of resumes and applications, with call-backs being far and few between, take heart. If a particular industry isn't on top at the present time, this is a good time to find one that is.

There are several industries out there literally begging for people. Some will require a few years of formal education, something you, your child, or grandchild may already have. Some involve learning a trade, like electricians, and require a year or so of specialized training.

There are still others that only require a few months of class and practical work before a graduate can walk off to a nearly lay off-free career. And even better, there are grants and scholarships for many of these programs, lowering your or your loved one's out of pocket costs to a minimal amount.

One great example is the scholarship program offered by
Sally Beauty.

There are 7 scholarships of $1,000 available and the deadline for submission of applications is November 14, 2010. All the particulars can be found at the link above.

There are also grants and scholarships for student assistance from the federal government. Check out the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid for all the info.

Another all-over great resource, especially for women seeking assistance for education, is Women Grants & Scholarships.

~ Until next time, don't act your age! ~

Never too old for... disorganization

You would think I'd be getting more organized as I get older. In reality, I'm getting older trying to get more organized.

It used to be pretty easy. Twice a year, I'd take a whole week and dedicate 30 minutes every day to each room of the house. Going room by room, through every item, I'd make decisions. The genius of this method centered about being able to separate the items into one of four piles: 1) Items to keep due to a practical use or sentimental value; 2) Items to keep that required repair; 3) Items to give away to charity;
and 4) Items to throw away. Woosh! Before I knew it, I had a house that looked like it had been redecorated by an efficiency expert.

These days, this organization thing is taxing. It's not the number of cheese graters I own that's getting on my nerves. And I'm not one of those people who trip over piles of National Geographic issues from thirty years ago. Nope, I am just simply snowed under with - paper. During the past 20 years, we have accumulated enough paper work to wallpaper every house on our street and that's the sort of thing you can't divide into four tidy categories.

I have a shredder. Last week I moved it from the office in our house, where it wasn't seeing much action, to right beside the chair where I sit to go through the mail. I show no mercy on the various pieces of paper that make it into our mail box. I only wish I could roll that shredder around the rest of the house, dividing and conquering all four of those piles I mentioned earlier.

And then, onward and upward, also shredding the non-paper items in our house that keep the place off the pages of House and Garden.

And then, come to think of it, there are a couple of people I know...

Until next time, don't act your age.