The Benefits of Middle Age

*this is one of those emails being sent around to everyone--but I can't resist posting this one because it is so true!


PERKS OF BEING OVER 50
1. Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
2. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
3. No one expects you to run--anywhere.
4. People call at 9 pm and ask, " Did I wake you?"
5. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
6. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
7. Things you buy now won't wear out.
8. You can eat dinner at 4 pm.
9. You can almost live without sex
but not your glasses.
10. You enjoy hearing about other people's operations.
11. You get into heated arguments about pension plans.
12. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.
13. You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into the room.
14. You sing along with elevator music.
15. Your eyes won't get much worse.
16. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
17. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.
18 Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.
19. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.
20. You have the wisdom to know you've never want to be 20, again!
.

& Great Ways to Enhance Romance, Every Day

To my readers- this went out on Newswire Today. If you want to use it or link to it, please ask permission first (note the copyright) and add a link to the advice sisters relationships web site http://www.advicesisters.net THANK YOU! alison

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Brooklyn, NY, 01/13/2006 - You needn't be part of a couple to enhance romance, every day. Whether you are part of a couple, solo or somewhere "in between," Alison Blackman Dunham (aka. Advice Sister Alison) of the Advice Sisters offers these 7 easy tips to enhance romance.



Many people think you need a partner to have romance in your life, but it isn't so! "Romance is mental as well as physical," says life & career expert Alison Blackman Dunham aka "Advice Sister Alison."Here are some great, easy ways to enhance romance, every day:Light up your life! Candles, scented or not, are a seductive way to relax and enjoy the end of the day when the sun has set. The soft, flickering light makes any room romantic. Try tall tapers on your dinner table to add a special touch to any meal, even if you are dining alone. If you are worried about fire hazards, try one of the new, battery operated candles. They look especially realistic when placed in a colored glass votive holder.Dress for love and romance! When you dress in clothes you love, you just feel better. Even if your bathrobe or sweat pants are comfy, they're depressing and definitely not a way to enhance romance. If you like to dress for comfort, select items that are in sexy, touchable fabrics such as cashmere, velvet, silk and high-quality cotton.Color your world. Colors evoke emotion and send subtle messages as well. Red, for example, is the color of blood, the heart, love. It is also the color of good fortune in some countries, but the color of loss, in others. Red can be attention grabbing or threatening, depending upon the tone and intensity. Blue is the color of status and rank (eg. winning the blue ribbon). It can signal sadness (eg. :feeling blue") or optimism ("blue skies). Pick the ones that best express your romantic inner self. For a more detailed description of how color can effect your life, your mood, and others, read "Find Your Color" in Chapter 7 (your Image) in The Everything Dating Book 2nd Edition by Alison Blackman Dunham.Make home a palace! Does your home look like a hovel because you don't expect any visitors, ever? Make your living space one that you love to be in, and that someone you love will want to be in as well! Paint or fix ugly furniture. Buy new sheets or replace your threadbare bath towels with the thick and soft type found in luxury hotels. These items willl make you feel sensuous and decadent every day!Music, Maestro! Romantic music makes you feel sexy, so keep the CD player full of great music. Classics romantic crooners are a good example (eg. Barry White, Johnny Mathis, Ertha Kitt, and Frank Sinatra) and so are the classics (eg. Liszt, Chopin, Vivaldi..) but if Britany Spears, Queen Latifah, or Spizz Energi make your heart race, play them, too...and often!Flowers for Every Day. Flowers brighten your environment and lift your mood. But don't wait for someone else to bring them. Both men and women deserve the uplifting beauty of flowers so buy them yourself, often, and luxuriate in the joy they bring. Treat all your senses. The warm growl of a cat's purr, a good meal (even if it is just for one), nice wine (not the jug stuff) "just because," hosting casual get-togethers with friends on a regular basis, beautiful things that remind you of places you've been and people you love....life is too short to ignore all the little things that are good in life. Keep love alive in your heart and in your mind, and you'll enhance romance, every single day.About Alison Blackman Dunham (Aka. "Advice Sister Alison.") is a life & career expert, personal public relations consultant, author, and advice columnist. She is the creator of the Advice Sisters "Great Relationships" web sites: advicesisters dot net, and advicesisters dot com. The Advice Sisters have been credited with bringing the advice/information genre, online, as described in the academic textbook: Marriage and Family Experience: Relationships Changing Society 8th Edition by Bryan Strong, Christine DeVault, Theodore F. Cohen (Thompson-Wadsworth,2004). Alison is the author of: The Everything Dating Book, 2nd Edition (Adams Media, 2005), and co-author of: RECRUITING LOVE - Using The Business Skills You Have to Find the Love You Want (Cyclone Books, 1998). She is a contributing author in: How To Survive Dating by Mark W. Bernstein (Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc., 2004) and The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need - How to Find and Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams (Astonishing Job Search Secrets Of The Most Experienced...Most Knowledgeable...And Most Respected Career Experts In The World) compiled by Steven J. Rothberg (CollegeRecruiter.com Books, 2002). She has written four self-help E-books on social behavior, singles and dating, and wedding dilemmas and created/starred in "Making New Connections," a series of 5 compact disks about improving sociability. She writes theThe Advice Sisters® unique, signature "Double-Take" two views (head & heart) advice columns and the acclaimed "Ask Alison"- Managing Your Life & Career Column.

Copyright © 2006 all rights reserved by Alison Blackman Dunham of THE ADVICE SISTERS® The Advice Sisters is a registered United States trademark. No portion of this content may be copied or used in any way without written permission of THE ADVICE SISTERS. E-Mail: advicesisters at advicesisters dot net
Agency / Source: the advice sisters LLC

I love New York!

Someone sent me these "You Know You're From New York When..." items and I am assuming that they are public domain. Besides, I've added a few of my own. PLEASE ADD YOURS. yOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA LOVE EM!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE FROM NEW YORK WHEN:...

You're 35 years old and don't have a driver's license.

You ride in a subway car with no air conditioning just because there are seats available.

You take the seat next to the man raving to himself and the woman with the snake around her neck because there is an available seat.

You take the train home and you know exactly where on the platform the doors will open that will leave you right in front of the exit stairway.

You know "regular" coffee is NOT milk & sugar.

You know that "the City" is not Manhattan alone -- it's also Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.

You it's "the Bronx," not just "Bronx."

There is no north and south. It's "uptown" or "downtown." And east or west is "crosstown."

You cross the street anywhere but on the corners and you don't wait for the green light (as long as you've looked right and left and no cars are coming) and you yell at cars for not respecting your right to do it.

All your best friends are in New York even though you haven't lived there for more than a decade.

People can tell you're from New York the minute you open your mouth.

You know that New York has the only "real" pizzas and "real" bagels.

A 500 square foot apartment is large.

A 500 square foot apartment with a separate alcove that fits just a single bed is a "one bedroom."

A 500 square foot apartment with an "L-shaped" room and one that fits just a double bed is a "junior two."

You are not under the mistaken impression that any human being would be able to actually understand a p.a. Announcement on the subway.

You're not the least bit interested in going to Times Square on New Year's eve.

You know that "The Lion King" (however cute) is just for the tourists.

You long for the days when Times Square was "nasty" but real.

You would never go to a theme restaurant in the City.

You will turn down social engagements if your car has a parking spot good for the weekend.

Someone bumps into you, and you check for your wallet.

You don't look up when the naked man with the ratty blanket screams that he'll drop it if you don't give him a dollar. You don't even blink, when he does.

Presidential visits are pains in the (whatever!), not an honor.

The deli guy gives you a straw with any beverage you buy, even if it's a beer.

You know what "one with" means.

A garden apartment is a "city park"

My Long Face

My face is long. I don't mean that I am sad (as in : "she had a long face because she dropped her ice cream cone on the pavement") but merely the obvious, my face is not a perfectly-shaped heart, oval, square or round. It has always been an elongated oval.

When I was a little girl, I was embarassed that I looked bad in hats (a bit like a mushroom) and that sunglasses weren't immediately flattering. Worse, you know kids can be cruel when they think someone is different in any way. My long face wasn't that long--hardly the stuff of freaks,but still, I was self-conscious. It was a self-imposed anxiety I lived with for decades. And, since it isn't reasonable to change the shape or size of your face, I eventually just got used to it.

Once, when I was about eight years old, my mother commented: "when you are older you will appreciate the fact that your face is long now, because it will change, nicely when other women are worrying about their looks.

I had NO IDEA what she was talking about.

Fast forward to fifty (or so):

I looked in the mirror the other day and something was different.

It was my FACE!

Suddenly, the long oval that I disliked was a soft oval, or maybe a longish round. Time and age has reshaped it.
It doesn't look bad actually, but it's not my face!

But then again, now, it is.

My mother's prophecy has come true. Gravity has either been my friend or my enemy, depending upon how you view it. My face has filled out and softened into someone else's vision of me.

Only it is really who I am, now. I'm amazed that what I didn't want I now miss, but isn't that the way it goes...that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone? (thanks Joni Mitchell)

So I guess I'll have to get used to my new face instead of my long face, and not have a "long face" because my long face has changed.


Happy New Year

Alison