Retire In Style Blog Too

Save 20% Off Winx Club Toy with Promo Code TGTVDYV8 Winx Club 11.5" Deluxe Fashion Doll  - Bloom Mini  Lalaloopsy   Doll  Silly Fun House Bundle Spend $50, Get Free Shipping on Select Holiday Items I loved some of the toys that were on sale at Target this week.  Grandparents, there are some that have your name written all over them.  You   Spend $50, Get Free Shipping on Select Toys at Target.com .  How great is that.  Here are a few I thought that were perfect. Our Generation Slumber Party Accessory Set Spend $50, Get Free Shipping on Select Toys at Target.com Girls today. Boys tomorrow. I know you want to get that perfect gift for you grandchildren. These looked like so much fun. Be well. b+

Bill Bowerman (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Have I said this before. Pay Attention! The chatty Kathy in the plane seat next to you may just be interesting. Or not. I am just saying...pay attention. You may learn something. I have been on a quest the last few month to find out about a person I only talked to one time.  He was the brother of my roommate in college. He was a track runner at the University of Oregon in the late 1950's during the era of Phil Knight. He had graduated from Beaverton High School and went on to the university to begin his college career in track. Unfortunately Woodell's track career was cut short in an accident on campus. But that is not the story. Woodell was not all about track. He was all about a business career. He was the first COO of Nike, Inc., co-founder of the Rougue Brewery and director of the Port of Portland. This is an image taken from a videotape created at a Sept. 15, 1983, event honoring Carolyn Davidson, the Portland State University gradu...

I am beginning to wonder if we don't need warning labels on fast food and junk food. What do you think. http://www.retireinstyleblog.com/2012/11/the-new-best-warning-label-food.html Are You Making Your Grandkids Fat?

Even though I don't eat fast food I still fight the weight problem. b+ Is this the true threat to our country and its children?  Think about it! Remember when we first began campaigning against becoming addicted to tobacco? It was a long up hill battle. N ow t he accepted opinion is that tobacco causes  cancer, increases heart disease and so much more . As a young mother I simply called smoking a "filthy habit" and my grown children remember the lesson even to this day. I am beginning to wonder if fast food is not the new  tobacco  for this generation. Could it be that we need to begin the long uphill battle for a "warning label" on fast food? This one would protect our children from  obesity, heart disease and so much more ? Maybe so. My husband and I just returned from a vacation in Mexico where we stayed in a resort used by Americans on vacation. The resort had  beautiful pools and everyone, no matter the shape they were in, turned out in swim suits (mys...

I cannot imagine feeling down in the dumps when I am traveling. But this guest post on Dubai tells us about the place where it is simply impossible .  I like that.  Take from the  At The Top - Burj Khalifa, Dubai   Image by A. Decardy at Some Tech Sense There's no need to feel down in the dumps in Dubai. Not when you have the Burj Khalifa, the world’s highest skyscraper right on your doorstep! And a trip to the top costs a mere $27 (AED 100) or thereabouts. Cheap at the price for a stunning, awe-inspiring hour-long view that will soon have the spirits soaring way out across the Arabian Desert. The Burj Khalifa took six years to build at a cost of $1.5 billion and on a clear day, reputedly, you can see some 60 miles in all directions from the 'At the Top' observation deck, taking in desert as well as the warm waters of the Persian Gulf. At over 800 metres tall, the building has more than 160 floors, 57 elevators and 8 escalators, and around 26,000 glass panels. ...

Son, daughter-in-law, husband and grandchildren...I'm trying to remember the rules. How to Be the Perfect Grandma (click this link to view on Amazon) Bryna Nelson Paston wrote  How to Be the Perfect Grandma  in 2002. Her grandchildren were still small so she wrote the words while the experience was fresh in her mind. The sentence at the end of the first chapter said, "...there are rules and you, as a grandparent, must follow them or go directly to jail." The rest of the book sets out to put the reader straight when it comes to things like being a mother-in-law to the mother of the grandchild and what to do if you drop the baby on the floor (she suggested lying!). I am an experienced grandmother and I can tell you right now, Paston knows what she is talking about. She made me laugh as I nodded my head yes over and over. I wish I had written this book! Then in 2010 she put out a second edition. Her grandchildren were growing up, the oldest were in college another in middle...

52 Anniversary Dinner at La Habichuela Sunset Writing about life where the rubber meets the road does not make you an expert! Travel in this world is all about the discovery and surprise. I like that a lot. I really don't want to know what is around the next corner or where I should be looking. HOWEVER when it comes to food, I don't want any surprises...none at all.  That is why I depend on our Fordor's Travel Guide. While they list more than you would want to read through, I always just go to the red Fordor's Recommends in the margins and choose the one that I can afford, make reservations and trust that we will be happy.  We have never gone wrong. Artwork: Rocking Horses Courtyard Sanctuary Mayan  Pole Dancers (sunset) Mayan Coffee Preparation Our  beloved resort shuttle! On our last full day of freedom in Mexico we decided to take the shuttle into Cancun and have dinner.  We ate at a place called La Habichuela Sunset located on Hotel road. The restaurant fea...

In the year of 2012 I posted what have become some of my favorite blogs posts about my grandchildren. This post is about what you can expect of your grandchildren at play. It should help you understand what your grandchild will find interesting and fun. I focused on ages 2-5 for a starter.  I hope you like it. Here is the list...keeping it simple just for you today! The backyard toys all gathered as pieces of a very big pretend train! Who knew? A 2 year old loves to explore and play independently. Bubbles, balls and outdoor exploration will thrill them. Grandparents are the safety officers in this case. Watching, creating new explorations experience for the child or simply cleaning up the mess of toys may be the role a grandparent plays. I have watched my grandchild drag out every toy in the house and never settle into any one thing. BUT on other occasions when I allowed the play to evolve naturally, I have seen sorting, creative pretend and so much more. It is a waiting game and ...

Honestly, I would never have thought to go out to the highway and wait for a van to come and pick me up.  No appointment, no concierge, no worries...I am told. We are on the Mayan Peninsula here in Mexico spending two weeks.  The end of our beautiful vacation is in sight and I am only beginning to learn the ins and outs of this world. When we want to go to the next community or even from one end of the resort to the other, people come and take us. That is the luxury of coming to a place like this. But sometimes we want to go to a place that does not fit into the resort's routine. For example, we took a shuttle into Cancun last night so that we could have a special dinner to celebrate out anniversary/Thanksgiving. The van really was not going where we wanted to be but it was what was available so we just went with the flow. Wish You Were Here! The area we visited was at the far end of the hotel zone in Cancun where we were dropped at a mall. The van driver demanded the round tr...

I really could not leave without going on at least one tour. So we chose the cheapest and shortest available.  If we decide to visit other sites on a return visit, we will rent a car. Our tour of choice was to  Tulum , a ruin located on the Caribbean. The walled religious site was not only a place for shamans to practice but also a place the navigators could come by water to trade their goods. It takes a willing suspension of reality but if you can imagine what it must have looked like over 600 years ago while standing among the ruins it is breath taking. Here is what we found: Xcaret is a Maya civilization archaeological  site  located on the  Caribbean coastline of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the modern-day state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. ( Wikipedia ) Tulum is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Cobá. The ruins are situated on 12-meter tall cliffs,along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the  Caribbean Sea...

You can only vacation for so long. Then you need to begin thinking about what you will do with the rest of your life!  (Playa del Carmen, Mex. by b) Some hints and tips to get those entrepreneurial juices flowing again. Thinking of starting a business? It’s never too late; in fact there are numerous benefits to enter the entrepreneurial world as a senior professional. For a start, you will probably have the knowledge experience and industry insights most entrepreneurs strive to learn in their ascendancy to wealth. Imagine if you could now have it all, and just don’t  realize ?  Yes its true most successful entrepreneurs start young when they have the energy and enthusiasm to make it happen, those 23 hours days selfless determination are invaluable characteristics. However a business  doesn't  always need to start from the bottom up and the opportunity you have always dreamed could be now yours for the taking.  We can of course acknowledge there are risks in...

On Speaking Spanglish When I post on Facebook it marks my location as Quintana Roo...I love the way the words slide off my tongue.  I find myself speaking the most unusual Spanglish when I am here. Because I know about 50 words of Spanish, mostly tourist talk. I want to learn more. But it doesn't always work out like I want it to. The other day we were ordering our lunch and our waiter spoke that wonderful melodic English that Spanish speakers use. I was listening in my Spanglish when he suddenly asked in the clearest, unaccented English, "Do you want soup?" I looked at him like he had three heads. I could not recognize my own language spoken perfectly because I listening in Spanglish! It made me laugh when I realized what had happened. After playing a par 3 golf Hot and Steamy...I did not realize I was amphibious! We played golf yesterday. It was hot and extremely humid. It felt like I was trying to breath under water. I started the 3 par course looking like a respectabl...

I do not have this book on my list but  it is the most important gift you can give. Please, please look at this book on Amazon and order one for a family friend or anyone you love. Galen Pearl is a remarkable woman that wrote this book to raise money for the Edward Center in Portland Area. The center provides residence and vocational help for autistic adults.  If grandma says she doesn't want t gift, she is a big fat liar!  Grandmothers, mothers, and every woman and man on your list likes to be remembers at Christmas. It is an important acknowledgement of their value. So here is my list of things I would like to have or have gotten in the past...I am assuming other senior citizens will feel the same. If anyone in your family does not know about or own an Kindle/Nook or iPad, you can be the hero by introducing them to this piece of technology!  You get what you think is best. These devices keep getting better and better. The importance of keeping mentally involve...