Hiya Club 39ers! We're still kickin' ...

If you were following this site, my apology for the apparent lapse. Actually, I just moved everything to one place ... the official 39 and Holding Club. Please feel free to meander through these archives, dating back to our 2012 beginning - then pop over to the new site where we're still thinking young! 
Remember: It isn't your age ... it's your attitude that counts!TM Cheers!

My 39er Pet Peeve - Fashion Frustration

Originally posted on 39AndHoldingClub site July 19, 2014 - please enjoy again!

Most of the time as a “retiree” (excuse me while I laugh into my coffee), I have no need to wear anything other than the sloppiest of casual clothes.

However, I’m not (yet) a hermit and there are those times when I must face the public. I would like to do so in something other than my 20-year-old halfway decent fashions.

But shopping for clothes is no longer the fun past time that once showed off my bargain finds, demonstrating fashion sense for mere cents.

I have … ahem … “matured.” While I enjoy the added wisdom of my mental maturity, I do not appreciate my body’s insistence on keeping up with my bulging brain.

I will not soon again, however, don a mini-skirt (stop laughing! I once rocked 'em ... and yes, young’uns, you are simply regurgitating our '60s-revolutionary style) … yet nearly all of the current fashions fit me like one! I would like to find something “in my size” in our department stores. 

Does it truly escape the attention of designers and retailers that the FIRST sizes to sell out in a popular style are the AVERAGE and PLUS sizes?? Do you not recognize that “average” sizes in reality, are 12 – 18, NOT sizes 6 – 10?

Have the clothing manufacturers adopted the same stick-it-to-the-consumer ploy as grocery suppliers? 

Do they REALLY believe we don’t notice that we’re paying the same price for a loaf of bread – in which the slices are SMALLER than they were five years ago?!

When Webhosting Goes Wrong - Sites Go Offline!

FYI - ALL of my websites are temporarily offline. That includes:
39AndHoldingClub.com
PenchantForPenning.com
BlastFromYourPast.net
WomenWritersWorldwide.com

There are minimal holding sites at 39 and Holding Club and LRochelle.com ... where you'll also find periodic updates. Look for the others to be following suit asap. WHY the sudden termination of my sites? Well ...

Sometimes, life just doesn't want to cooperate. I have plans ... but the Universe has its own scheme for me ... and it's always a surprise.

Not necessarily a welcome surprise.

Case in point ... I recently wrote on my Penchant for Penning blog about the trials and tribulations with my webhost's server(s) five-day crash. And the angst continues ...

3 Attitudes to Beat the New Year Blues

A 39ers’ Guide to Shake off 2013 – You can do it!

I like to reserve my thoughts about the New Year until at least halfway through January. Okay, truth be told I’m a procrastinator and it’s nearly the end of the month.

With my New Year’s hangover long gone, I can’t seem to shake the pall of 2013. Some years continue to hold you hostage long after you’ve celebrated their demise. 2013 is that way for me.  Well … and 2012, 2011 … absolutely time for a change … you too?

So let’s get ON with it, 39ers! We have a New Year in front of us. Let’s attack it with new ATT-I-TUDE!

As 39ers, we want to be upbeat and happy about our age. Isn’t it a miracle that inside we can revel at our youthful attitude – at any age? We know though, with chronological growth, comes certain aches and pains – physical, emotional and intellectual ...

Are You Where You Want to Be?

And … Will You Leave a Personal Legacy? 

[Note: You will have an opportunity to answer these questions in an essay. Everyone who enters will receive a free Lifetime Membership in the 39 and Holding Club! If already a member, designate a gift recipient. Read below for entry details.]

It’s been said many times, “we are not our parents’ grandparents.” Style, relevance, and most of all, ATTITUDE, define the current older generation – which is setting a Rock & Roll precedent for the future of society.

Moving into an unparalleled aging demographic, it’s the refusal to acknowledge sedentary “old age” that is also unique to this era of 40+ people.

If you are over forty and agree with those statements, take a moment to consider where you are in life. Introspection is frequent for those “of a certain age.” Lately I’ve been scratching my head, wondering what the hell was I thinking twenty, thirty years ago … how about you?

Not all people close to or already in retirement … OK, fewer than you might think … prepared for those once-called Golden Years. Even in a perfect scenario, it’s a daunting time as our lifestyles, minds and bodies undergo intense alterations. Add the Great Recession and it’s been pure, tarnished hell.

Life … Half-Full … Half-Empty … Half-A_ _ ed!

 Wow – three months to the day – sorry for such a delay in posts, but sometimes life is NOT “just a bowl of cherries.” [Anyone under 39 won’t know the significance of that statement. :-) ]

Yep, I’m wrestling with the pits. So this is going to be a short one.

I’m experiencing one of life’s many speed bumps and it’s a doozie. You know how the older we get the less we like change? And moving? Well that’s right up there with the taste of sour grapes. Or a twist of lemon. Or that over-ripe lime slice … hmmmmm, wonder if I have any Corona in the fridge?

Ummm, anyway … I’m packing my life away once again for another turning-me-on-my-head move. At my age, moving isn’t just a short interruption, it’s a back-breaking, joint-crunching, headache increasing, pain in the a _ _.

I know in a few weeks I’ll be settled “somewhere,” and I always find a measure of joy wherever I am. But THIS is the furthest from any vision I had of myself oh, so long ago, when stretching my 39-year-old mind to consider beyond middle age. How did I get here?!

Choices … we must live with the consequences of them, as well as those with exciting results. But much of my current angst is also thanks to our country’s misrepresented financial state of affairs, coupled with the debilitating recession/depression (my own interpretation).

New beginnings … I used that topic once for my most successful essay contest (I ran several in the ‘90s while heading a Southwest writers’ group). For most, the phrase elicits visions of hope … not necessarily true when facing (or surviving) drastic, life-changing events.

So wish me luck … through a veil of emotional and physical pain, I’m trying to view it optimistically and hope that the new life which awaits can be cheered, not with a glass half-empty, but one half-full that I can enjoy filling to the brim again. (Pass the Guinness!)

 

It isn’t an age … it’s an attitude!

Rock On!

I’m 39 and Holding – AGAIN! Life and Legacies

Scorpio: Oct 23-Nov 21 - cares deeply; hurts deeply

The Moon enters mystical Pisces today to soften the Scorpio sting … yep, it’s that time of year … turkey on the table, un-boxing Christmas decorations … and … my birthday!   

It was four yearsago to the day that I bought the 39AndHoldingClub.com domain name. Though I haven’t had the time I’d like to devote to it, at least it now has a presence and some fun pages to peruse when you realize that “Life isn’t about age … it’s an attitude!”

By the time you begin ignoring birthdays if you haven’t already, you may start thinking about the legacies you will have established by the time you head on up to Rock &Roll Heaven (that’s my vision of it anyway).

Here’s a thought to ponder … even if you don’t consciously create a legacy (or two or three), you will leave some. It’s the essence of being human that we affect those we leave behind, in some way. Do your “default” legacies reflect how you want to be remembered?

Think and Drink with Club 39 Nifty Gifts!

Quick Note: 39AHC’s 1^st radio interview on Barb Beach’s Longevity show this morning, at 11:30A/PT! http://www.gabradio.com/shows/longevity If you miss it, listen to the archive in 24-48 hours.

So, you may think that all I do is drink … and make silly rhymes. Some days, maybe so. After a bad week when my brain is fried and a cold beer or fruity cocktail helps numb the effects.

But I realize there are many 39ers out there who have chosen the “virgin” route with a cuppa tea or a Latte perhaps, as their consolation or celebratory libation. And chocolate’s good for anyone, right?

With this in mind, I need to create a 39AHC/Club 39 secondary logo that reflects you, too. Any ideas?

I ask because it’s an important part of the Club 39 branding process … I opened a Club 39 Nifty Gifts online retail shop on the auspicious day of my twins’ birthday, last Sunday (Sept. 30^th – and before you go awwww, they’re old enough to be in the 39AHC too!).

Yep – I did it – actually, I have two CafePress shops. One for Club 39 and one for my book/website, Blast from Your Past. Though I only have one design in each (for the moment) there are LOTS of products to choose from; and more designs should be up by this weekend.

But I need to snap on that thinking cap and conjure up a few wild and wacky images to give you a plethora of fun styles and products to buy, for yourselves or as gifts for your friends.

With the click of a button, I uploaded the new (and improved?) Club 39 logo, along with my trademark tagline, “It isn’t an age … it’s an attitude!” It’s available in soooo many cool products from the ubiquitous t-shirts and sweats, to beer glasses, tote bags, travel mugs, iPhone cases, hats, even a doggie t-shirt and a cute little teddy bear!

It isn’t difficult to do – CafePress makes it relatively painless. It’s amazing what we can do with our keyboards these days, huh? And I thought my long-ago typing class was only for flirting with the only guy in the class. J

If you’re bored during a meeting, or need to find a fun birthday gift for a friend, check it out. And if you purchase, email a copy of your purchase receipt, and I’ll automatically enroll you in the 39 and Holding Club, at no cost! (OK, granted, you’re only saving $3.39, but hey … it’s the thought that counts.)

And please, let me know what you think!

Cheers to your day,