Bloggers Dilemma: Are we driven to the edge of controversy?

b+ (Retire in Style Blog)

Aging in the fast lane with dancing and swearing may bring people get someone's attention. But the problem is I don't dance that much and honestly I try very hard not to swear. 

Blogging is what I do when I need to unwind or rant or share a notion. Traffic really doesn't matter I know. In spite of knowing we don't care a lot, people like me want to know if anyone listening!

I have learned that as a lady of a certain age that I need to stand up and be noticeable before anyone will listen to me. I seem to have become a little invisible...not completely but still.

Aging in the fast lane with dancing and swearing may bring people get someone's attention. But the problem is I don't dance that much and honestly I try very hard not to swear. Having a glass of wine is just not that uncommon anymore. A little self examination is good for me but, honestly, who really cares? Do I need a little controversy to let people know that I am still here? Maybe.

SOOO...three guesses where I went for new attention getting ideas? Pinterest! Pinterest is about a lot more things than pictures of beautiful design. There are pages and pages of ideas from young bloggers about how to make money, how to start a blog and, best of all, things to write about.

Today I found out how to make $6000 with one big writing job. Did you know you could do that? I really don't want to go out and sell myself to the devil but still, wouldn't that be cool?

I found several that had lists of mistakes blogger make, reason's why a blogger started blogging (written by a 23 year old) and better yet how to make yourself look more professional in the blogging world.

But the best website was one with lists of blogging ideas. 250+ ideas. Hmmmm!

I may be an old dog but I can still learn a new trick or two. So, here I go...see you soon.

What new ideas have you had!

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Counting: 25 questions ask "What do you WANT to do in retirement? "

There are so many choices for that second adulthood that follows retirement.  Should we travel the world, buy a second home in a warmer climate, move permanently to a warmer climate, move closer to our children, stay at home and pursue hobbies, go back to school, work part time, become a snow bird, take up Rv travel? Making a rational and financially sound choice requires that we sift through the choices carefully.

Arizona Friends...a wonderful surprise in our retirement life!

I woke up in the night thinking about how my husband and I could have fulfilled our retirement dreams more responsibly. I am not a retirement counselor...I am a retiree leading the snowbird life. We went blundering through the early years of our retirement without a clue as to where the path would take us. Yes, it has been an adventure but I am coming to realize the time (and money?) we could have saved if we had been clearer about what we wanted out of our retirement life. It was not until we actually knew what we wanted that we made good choices. Here are 25 question I think will help you and, if you have a partner or spouse, the other person in your life gain an image in your minds of what your retirement lifestyle might look like.

1. When were we the happiest in our life?
2. Could we do some of the things we miss out on doing when we were young? 
3. How much money will we have after the dust has settled?
4. Would we prefer a 55+ community or do we need to be near a community that includes children?
5. What are our hobbies both physically active (golf, tennis, hiking) and relaxing (cards?)
   
6. Can we make friends easily or do we even need friends to have fun?
7. Would we want to move to a new location permanently? How would we afford that?"what
8. Do we prefer to be outdoors or indoors?
9. How long can we endure being away from our family?
10. Is it possible that what we dreamed about is not what we will want for an extended period of time?
11. If we decide to follow a dream and then don't like it, will we be ruined financially or otherwise?
12. How much time do we want to spend together/apart?
13. Is living in a small space going to work if you decide to become a snowbird on a small amount of money?
14. Do we still want to work part of the time?
15. Can we find a way to finance our snowbird lifestyle by working at a resort?
16. Can we stand hot or cold weather?
17. What are the health issues we need to keep in mind?
18. Are we willing to live in a community that is not like home?
19. How far away do we want to go?  List a few possibilities.
20. If we leave the country, (USA or Canada) will there be problems with visas and laws?
21. How old will we be when we cannot travel anymore?  
22. How will my insurance coverage affect where I decide to spend my winters?
23. Is the family in agreement over what we decide to do?
24. If one refuses to take a step toward what the other wants will that one regret it later?
25. How flexible and adventurous are we?

I suggest that you print this list and both partners fill in the answers separately.  It will start a conversation that will help you get a clearer picture about what life after work can look like.

Dream the dream but hold onto the reality...oh, AND always spend money less than you have.

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PERFECT FOR GRANDPARENTS: 7 Ideas for a Custom Made Gifts...Christmas is coming (I'm sorry)!

Note: Become a follower...I would like that!

Do the marketing genius people have us conditioned?  It is not even Halloween yet and I am beginning to think about shopping for the Christmas Holiday season.  It is just sick!

Custom Made
This year I am trying to think "custom made" for some people on my small list.  Over on the Grandparents.com Facebook account a website for custom made toys created using a child's artwork caught my eye. I love the idea of giving a piece of artwork to parents or the grandchildren that holds wonderful memories. Here are some of the websites I found:

custom soft toys

• Totally Out of Hand is a website devoted to creating children's artwork  using a child's artwork.
• Child's Own Studio recreates the artwork into custom soft toys for children
• Dog Magic Studio has formed a partnership with the National Autism Foundation to recreate jewelry using the child's hand print or thumb print.
• Kid Doodle will do the same. The artist is a mom working out of her home and exhibiting art in the Outer Banks area.

Adding your personal touch:

I think we will get this
one for Christmas this year.
(Amazon)

• Read aloud stories were a huge success with our grandchildren.  We read Good Night Moon and gave the book as a gift last winter. There are many choices.
• Custom made rubber stamps are wonderful.  You can select the working and have it made. They too can use your child's artwork. I found an etsy shop that will do that for you.
• Retirees love business cards...especially when they travel.  Have you ever thought of having some made of them or even creating them yourself on the computer at home and giving them as a gift.  I would think that college students might even like them. I just order a box of them from VistaPrint.com.

I am not saying you need to start shopping now....but if you want custom made it may take a while! I'm just saying.

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Note:  Most of the websites listed above are just found and I have no financial interest.  The book picture is from Amazon.

If anyone knows where a person can buy a blank read aloud book let me know.  I think it would be fun to tell a story about a time spent with the children and include pictures.

Free Postage, Taxes made invisible, and Oddity Central

We have a granddaughter graduating next month.  Thankfully we are near to her so we can celebrate this big occasion with our family.  We are very proud of her.  She has scored a big scholarship at Oregon State University so her financial load has been reduced significantly.  Now comes the big decisions about what gift to give.  That part is always hard.

Free Postage
Here is a little money saving tip for you...free postage!  If your graduation/Father's Day gift needs to travel across the miles, you know that the postage can be almost as much as the gift itself AND the post office can make getting it there very difficult.  (See earlier post..The Post Office and Me)  Thankfully, all those bad post office days are behind me.  I am now a converted online shopper.  I even signed up to be an Amazon associate.  It seems that they provide free shipping on a lot of their items and even have a way to pay for a year's worth of shipping with one fee on Amazon Prime.  I can tell you now that no matter who I order from online now, the shipping needs to be free.  I plan ahead so I am not in a rush and pretend I am standing at the giftee's front door on the day it arrives.  I have a  slide show I posted over at my Gift Boomer blog and in the sidebar of this blog.  A lot of the items shown there have free shipping or the user can get the Amazon Prime membership with a free trial offer...just in time for graduation or Father's Day.   

What to do when Dollar Stretchers and Junk Car Buyers come to call!

Junk Cars

Thank you for stopping by.  If you like what you read, beam me up on twitter, google+ etc.  It helps a lot!

I write a blog online and I make a little money when people place ads in my sidebar for financial services or pay for a link to a business in a guest post.  In order to do what I do I belong to social websites like Linkedin, twitter and Facebook.  They are necessary.  As a result I get contacted by a wide variety of people that earn a living online. It is as though I own a store and they want to place their product on my shelves.  That is not what I expected to happen with this blog but that is how it has evolved.

This morning I was contacted by two websites that were related in a small way.  They were both related to money...not big money, or insurance.  These websites are focused on people that love to have a little extra cash in their pockets.  One person owns a website called Dollar Stretcher.  This business is in my Linkedin contacts.  You will find information on everything from economical travel to buying and selling a house.  One stop shopping...my idea of a very good idea!

The second was from a website called Junk Car Buyers.  I know!  This one made me smile.  But here is the thing...it may be just the service you are needing.  If you have a car you have inherited but just won't start or a car you never use, what do you do?  Well, I guess you call Junk Car Buyers and they will give you some cash AND take the thing away.  I love it when a charity or a buyer not only wants my stuff but actually shows up and carts it away.  I don't know anyone personally that has a junk car parked in their drive or the vacant lot out back but maybe you do.

So there you have it...a day in the life of a typical retired kindergarten teacher turned into an ecommerce whatchamaycallit!  I hope your day has been full of smiles.

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What if I used a profanity in my blog? Gawker and me

I may start using this
image as my Avatar (picture
used online)!

Okay, you guys are in my age group...second adulthood I have heard it called.  (I like that a lot better that second childhood don't you?)  Tell me are you sensitive to the use of profanities on the web, in movies on television and in the movies?  I am not a Puritan and I have noticed that I am becoming numb to the use of the "f" word and other related stuff.  The fact that I think they are using the offensive language less is probably a testament to that.  I try to behave myself like a respectable and respectful person.  But it turns out that I just don't see a lot of offense stuff any more.  That is what happens when you work in the world of blogs and online information.

Yesterday I linked to a small post on Gawker that mentioned the name of a relative or a relative of mine and posted it on my Facebook account.  The lovely young women whose name was mentioned was not the one pictured...sadly enough I did not realize that the offensive picture associated with the article would come up and when it did I didn't remove it as quickly as I should.  I don't think I realized that I could!  Well, it turns out her dad was not happy.  I did my Facebook research and removed it. I also apologized for his unhappiness. We all knew it was not his daughter!

Now everyone you should see this is a warning...what we post socially has to be monitored very carefully.  The world is watching! Even those innocent remarks are seen and what we think is just between the involved parties can be inadvertently put up for the world to see. I would even say that when Gawker used the woman's full name they somehow involved everyone with that name.  I know my profile is up with my name online.  This is a job for me.  Hiding does not work.

So there it is...I am just saying!  Be very careful.

b

Related articles

• Dear Gawker ... (allthingsd.com)

10 Best Road-Trip Gadgets Gifts....Great 2011 Links+ Images

     I love technology, gadgets and travel.  Those are the things that light my fire.  While I can do without a lot of things, there are things that I think I would like to have.  Keep in mind that my husband and I do not travel "top drawer" nor do we travel "slumming it".  In this particular case we follow the middle of the road. The things we do not have but would like could fill a lot of pages but not much room in our luggage.
    We have just returned from a trip that took us 5 days on the road.  The motels we stayed in were equipped with the basic needs like a hairdryer and a small coffee pot.  Even though most provided shampoo and lotion we save those items for homeless shelters or abused women shelters.  A fancy shopping bag holds the essentials like toiletries and pills  But there are extra things that could make our life a lot easier. Here is my "dream list" of travel gifts.

PowerCurl

Switch from Quirky

Gorrillapod from Joby

1. The perfect pocket tool called simply Switch.
2. Power Curls for all my cords.
3. Kindle and clip on Light for Kindle
4. EcoFlow Stainless Steel Water Bottle/filter. Water in the car saves my body a lot of grief.
5. DigiDude Tripod for my camera. (functions as a keychain too!)  I also liked the Gorillapod.
6. First Aid Travel Kit
7. Travel Pill Dispenser (I really want two of these...pills drive us nuts!)
8. Large Duffle bags (they would take up less room than our hard sided luggage).



Digi Dude

9. Audio books down loaded on our smart phone to be listened to on those boring stretches of roads.  I read Water for Elephants and it would be perfect!  A gift card for my Kindle would be nice now. (a gift card for this would be very nice!)
10. Pillows...really nice pillows.

Maybe you can add some ideas for me..  If you are buying for me, keep in mind that I will be going to China one day soon.  Hint! Hint!

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When Being COOL Means Being OLD....Blogcritics.com published my story!

Image via WikipediaArticle published as I'm Old...Just Shoot Me Now! on Blogcritics.


     In an article I just published on Blogcritics.com I talked about how watching my husband and I age worries my children. Because it turns out I may be the healthiest although not the youngest in their aging parent group, I am measuring the reactions of the offspring. I am like the youngest child.  I am watching to see what my children do about the other-in-laws. I may need to be careful in the years to come. Maybe!
     Boy do I love my life...writing for fun and even a little money keeps me going with a lot of enthusiasm. I have found that retirement is a lot more meaningful for me since I have started doing what I wanted to do when I was young. I have abandon the dreams of being a model or a brain surgeon. Some dreams will never be and it could be I didn't want to do that stuff anyway. But writing makes me happy. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every thing we chose to pursue did that?  
     I hope you take the time to click on the link above and find out how really COOL I am. Giggle!


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How could I ever Travel the World? Going Outside our Comfort Zone

Outside our little comfort zone...links to people living in far flung places.  Could you be tempted to be a little uncomfortable if the rewards were big and the "uncomfortable" would go away before very long?  Would you be willing to travel that world that is strange to you?  See what people are saying about a life overseas!

Puerta Vallarta, MX...Should you be
afraid in this neighborhood...no!!!

Links:

• Empty Nest Expat
• How to be a Frugal Traveler from the Blogs at New York Times
• Neography Lesson from Tmagazines blogs at New York Time
• Expat Blog Directory  
• Peace Corp Journals...largest archive of Peace Corp Stories
• Military Families Blogs
• 10 Great Expat Blogs from Mexico
• How To Travel the World

It occurred to me the other evening that there are a lot of people that will never, never venture outside their comfort zone.  Food, neighborhoods and traveling the world are at the top of their "never going there or doing that" lifestyle.  The one I just laugh over is "I would never live in a neighborhood that had drug dealers!"  I don't know what hole we can climb in that will keep us at a safe distance from bad people because bad drug dealers look just like good people.  The fact is that, when I travel around the world, I usually feel safer than I do at home.

I was reading How to be a Frugal Traveler on the NYT The Frugal Traveler blog when I saw a statement about paying attention to State Department warnings regarding travel.  The man had something to say that was very interesting.  Everyone is terrified of going to Mexico, for example, because of the cartels, drugs and border slayings.  The State Department has issued warnings about those places in Mexico travelers should avoid.  The northern Mexican border and areas around Monterrey seem to be a places we should avoid...being safe while getting out and about is important no matter where you live.  However, the State Department went on to say:

Image via Wikipedia

Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year.  This includes tens of thousands who cross the border every day for study, tourism or business and at least one million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico.  The Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations.   Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes.  Nevertheless, crime and violence are serious problems.

The Frugal Traveler is entirely right.  Just because one area is unsafe does not mean that a whole country is bad.  There are many places here in Arizona and the USA that are not safe! BUT, should overseas travelers be afraid to even come to the USA? Of course the answer is no.  Read ALL of the State Departments information and then make you choices based upon what you have learned.

I know we should not live in fear. It is reassuring to read about other people's adventures.  Read what the people on the links above have to say...it is a lot of fun, doesn't cost any money and you can get a voyeurs view of their lives. And, who knows, you may travel the world that is outside your comfort zone!

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Link to Hub about Hot Ideas for Downsizing your Living Space

LINK:  4 Hot Ideas for Downsizing Your House!

Image from This Tiny House