Sippy cups for grown-ups

Following up on my original, tongue-in-cheek comment about sippy cups for adults (after my near-fatal smoothie spill on the laptop), I have discovered there are, in fact, sippy cups for adult beverages.  Sippy cups for wine, as seen above (especially handy for red varieties...am I right, fellow dribblers?) and....

 sippy cups for beer, which might come in handy this tailgate season.  Who knew? You're welcome.

Garden of the Gods and, ugh, rafting!!

I just booked the first two nights of our vacation at The Lodge at the Garden of the Gods Club in Colorado Springs , one of my late father's favorite places on earth. He, my mom, his golfing buddies and their wives would spend a week there every summer and come back with gorgeous pictures of this uniquely scenic setting. I can't wait to finally see it! We will not golf, however, as I'll be saving my still-weak rotary cuff for a rafting trip down the Rio Grande gorge in Taos. I have had a lifelong fear of fast water - or going fast on still water - but, apparently, I said "Giddyup!" when the hubs asked if he should book a 4-hour trip. (This was post-happy hour the other night. I was, obviously, too happy.) Here is the video from Los Rios River Runners. It looks like a blast, right?

MacBook Meets Smoothie

On Tuesday, I spilled a blueberry protein smoothie on my precious, expensive laptop. On Wednesday, it wouldn't turn on. On Thursday, I learned that the damage was limited to the keyboard (after thinking I might have to replace the whole machine.). Today, I will get it back after forking out $185. I feel like I dodged a sizable bullet. Lesson for the day: Smoothies and laptops don't mix;
Or, grown-ups need sippy cups, too.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Itinerary: Land of Enchantment

     I've always thought that planning a trip was almost as fun as taking the journey itself.  That's still the case today as I map out our upcoming vacation to New Mexico (which, as an added perk, is a welcomed distraction from Miley Cyrus.) It will be our second visit to Santa Fe in five years, in which we'll return to some of our favorite places (i.e. The Museum of International Folk Art) and catch some of the attractions we missed last time (Ghost Ranch, Loretto Chapel, Ten Thousand Waves Waterfall Tub). Today, I'm working on the Taos itinerary (and am open to suggestions) and trying to decide whether a day trip to Albuquerque is really worth it since we've decided to opt out of the "Breaking Bad" bus tour.

Monogrammed manifestation

The other day (yesterday, maybe the day before...I can't remember), I was discussing phones with someone (can't remember who) and that person(s) asked why I had a purple iPhone case. (Purple, you see, is the signature color of our cross-state college rivals.) "I don't know but, clearly, I need a new phone cover." Still, my purple cover was in perfect condition and, well, I'm not earning a steady paycheck anymore...so I filed the thought away. Today, I got a Groupon email for mycustomcase.com and discovered I had a credit on Groupon for $45. Long story short, I got the cute extra durable case (in crimson and blue) above for just six bucks! (Yes, it's a tad prepster, but I've always thought my monogram had an elegant symmetry to it. I couldn't resist. You can skip the branding iron, if you prefer.)

Soft Surroundings saves the summer

 

It's been a couple of months since the nice folks at Soft Surroundings offered to send me the item of my choice for review on BoomerGirl.  I had raved about them before and consider them one of the few retailers who really get middle-aged women. (It's not that hard: Keep the tops long, the pants slim and the fabrics high quality.)  I have worn this Goya Gauze Topper (with assorted separates and jewelry) to three weddings, a reunion event, and several nights out on the town... with two more weddings and a trip to Santa Fe coming in September.  The fabric is light enough to keep you cool (even though that hasn't been a problem in the Summer of Perfection 2013) and doesn't wrinkle as badly as linen. My second choice would have been the Timely Boatneck, my next purchase for the transitional months ahead, which features ingenious bra strap holders inside the neck.

And, if I can find that fab scarf, I'm going to buy it, too!

R and R: You can only take so much.

Week Four of Retirement. Rest and Relaxation is turning into Restlessness and Rudderlessness. (Look! I made up a word. I accomplished one thing today, at least.) I felt the ennui coming on yesterday when I looked at the calendar to see what lies ahead: A few parties, two weddings, and the trip to New Mexico which isn't until mid-September.  I need more stuff on the schedule, I thought. So, I contacted Kansas Audio Reader (where I started the volunteer application process years ago) and signed up to read books and magazines to blind and visually-impaired folks over the air waves. It's the perfect volunteer gig for my skill set and the facility is a pleasant bike ride away from my house, just off campus. I start tomorrow. Today, I will take on The Retirement Project List, starting with the daunting task of hooking my laptop up to the big TV so I can start my Netflix free trial, so I can binge-watch all of "Breaking Bad" before our visit to Albuquerque. Hey, a gal's gotta have goals!

Craig Ferguson figures it out

My favorite viral video so far this week:

40 years? Seemed like 40 minutes.

That's my friend, Nancy, wearing her old school uniform, on the right. Yes, it still fits. Yes, we wanted to kill her.

It was a small reunion by anyone's standards, but the 40th reunion of the Loretto Class of '73 satisfied on all levels. There were opportunities to talk one-on-one with everyone for extended periods of time, allowing us to really catch up on each others' lives. In fact, I was listening and talking so much, I took precious few photos, except at the Modern Masterpieces of Mexico exhibition we took in yesterday afternoon at the Nelson-Atkins Musuem...

Self-portrait by Frida Kahlo

and lunch at the Sebastienne Cafe at the Kemper Museum of Modern Art...

Note to self: Must take more cultural outings. They're a jump charge for brain and soul.

After a lively dinner out last night, I am returning home today with a full heart and loads of gratitude for my small all-girls' high school that afforded me such wonderful women as lifelong friends.

Where does the time go?

    I got nostalgic yesterday watching the Parks & Rec kids go on a water-logged hunt for the "golden eggs." They were having such fun until (as is the case with egg hunts), the search took so long, the counselors had to jump in to help the kids find the prizes....which wasn't easy since, by then, the eggs had migrated into the lap lanes, causing all kinds of disproportionate consternation from the adults.
    This weekend is 40th high school reunion when I will reunite with women I've known (many of them, at least) since 7th grade. It's odd. I don't have any qualms about owning my age: 57, for the record. But, has it really been 40 years since graduating high school??!? The math makes sense, but it's still a little hard to take. It all seems to have gone so fast.

I made a list!

Yep. Still gray.

I've always thought it would be cool to make a "Top Whatever" list, and now I have. Thanks to the folks at Revolution Gray, I am now one of the Top 25 Gray Hair Bloggers! Check out the list here. While gray-haired girls are still in the minority, I do sense a revolution of sorts starting to happen as women say - out of self-discovery or sheer exhaustion from the maintenance required to appear "young" - it's OK to look your age. My next goal: Make the Top 25 Botox/Collagen/Surgery-Free Bloggers list.

"Err in the direction of kindness."

I've recently begun collecting inspiring commencement speeches. I put them in a file that I can turn to whenever I need a lift or a kick in the pants. This one, reprinted this week, is one of the best yet.

I feel meh about my neck.

The 40th reunion of my all-girls high school Class of '73 is next weekend. This time, I couldn't be less interested in anyone's weight, hair color or age spots. We're too old for that superficial nonsense. What's important at this stage of life are good relationships, health and happiness. That's what I want for my dear, old classmates. I will, however, be noticing how their necks are faring these days, since mine seems to be having a serious issue with gravity. (Hey, I know that sounds superficial, but we're talking real gullet vanity here.) That's why I agreed to review a sample of Dermagist Neck Restoration Cream. I'm not sure it will make a difference in time, but what the neck?