Felice’s Blog

 

Felice Shapiro, Founder and Publisher of Better After 50, muses about life as a BA50.

Connect with Felice on her Twitter and her Facebook. You can also connect on the BA50 Twitter or BA50 Facebook Page.

 

Kayaking in New Zealand

Amazing Affordable & Athletic New Zealand in 2 Weeks

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Kia Ora (good day) to you all. I am writing this piece after wrapping up our 14 day group South Island tour of Otearoa (New Zealand) -- which means the land of the long white cloud in Māori. It's hard to write about a 14 day trip that covered 2,000 miles of driving, 100 miles of hiking and 30 miles of kayaking and biking, 7 different accommodations and 40 meals in a short post but I'm going to try. There are so many ways to experience New Zealand and my husband and I decided we wanted to be immersed in nature, travel with a small group and use a local tour company. We signed on for a 2 week road trip, staying in "moderate" accommodations, with a physically challenging itinerary and hiking level. That said, the magic ingredients of a successful trip include research first and foremost but, no amount of research can guarantee a great trip.  Travel requires optimism, a positive attitude, faith and luck. Our trip to New Zealand was amazing for all those reasons, some in our control. Bill and I were thinking about which of our friends would enjoy this trip and as much as we loved our 2 week adventure …it is not for everyone. Here’s why…....
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Felice Shapiro in New Zealand

It Starts With The Journey: 24 Hours of Travel To New Zealand

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My husband and I are on what we consider the "trip of a lifetime." It took us 28 hours to get to New Zealand from the states, maybe more. Some would say with the time difference it took us two days. I kind of stopped counting after the 3 hour delay  at  LAX and the 2 missed connections in Sydney and Auckland. But that was so last week and I wasn't going to write about it because we are here for 3 weeks and loving the trip which I promise to share -- but first -- getting to New Zealand is not a small effort and worth talking about. Assuming a journey this far could be seamless is foolhardy but we adventure traveling humans tend to be optimists so we don't normally plan for set backs. But this time we did -- a little....
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Hairdresser cut hair of a woman. Close-up.

Top Celeb Haircuts for BA50s for 2023 That Will Inspire You

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How not to style your hair after 50 is pretty easy to figure out because too much au naturale doesn't work the way it used to. So, let's just NOT do the trending "wet look" and the long stringy look which is in style for 2023 (See Harpers Bazaar  and Elle UK for, in our humble opinion, WhatBA50s should avoid.) That said, we have curated some incredible styles that will definitely inspire you. Check out Jennifer Aniston, Cate Blanchette and Julia Roberts' great looks for starters and then we have a You Tube 2023 hair style link that you will love....
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Felice Shapiro

Don’t Waste Your Time Worrying About Your Age Because 60 May Just Be The New Middle Age

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Every birthday after 50 most of think we are heading toward that "older" age but it's not true. There are some incredible statistics on our side proving that not only are we going to live longer but every day 10,000 people turn 65 which means there are plenty of "us". And when we hit 65 we are still not the oldest generation as "The fastest growing age group in the U.S. is people over age 85, and the second fastest is people 100 and over (centenarians). Experts predict a twelvefold increase in centenarians by the year 2060, and that a 10-year-old child alive today has a 50% chance of living to be over 100.May 26, 2022." Obviously there's a myriad of topics that an aging population triggers in terms of the economics of supporting this demo and how our kids will bear the brunt of that burden. But, on another note -- back to us -- since longevity is in our favor, it begs the question and demands immediate answers as to what are we doing to day to ensure we are not wasting our time bemoaning how old we are, examining our saggy skin, and delaying getting that hip replaced. I for one am kinda pissed that I spent too much time thinking I was old when I turned 60 because the truth is once I found the right place to live and celebrate each day, age has become less of a topic. This is the 3rd winter my husband and I are living in Park City, Utah it's hard to feel old here since this place is all about being outdoors and being active....
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Candle

Sharing Our December Birthdays With The Holiday: What Another Combo Present?

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"Here's your Chanukah gift AND your Birthday gift -- a special COMBO -- you know it's the holidays and so with your birthday falling so close to the holidays - well - you know, here you go!" That was the yearly refrain I heard every December 19th on my birthday being one of 4 girls and holidays were overwhelming for my parents what with all the presents to get for the sisters. Frankly, I was too young to be empathetic but I had no choice. You would think I would have gotten used to it.   The other week a few friends who have to share our birthdays with the holidays decided to get together to celebrate each other.  We  hatched a plan to celebrate our December/early January birthdays because we could. But of course like all good plans this month we almost couldn't.  Our get together was almost cancelled 3 times. Colds and Covid testing, coughs and migraines. We agreed to make a game time decision the morning of our dinner to be sure we were all healthy enough. The texting was kind of hilarious and very 60's....
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Santa dance

Holiday Spirit Re-Routed

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was thinking this was going to be a stellar day — it started out with a Santa Dance at my local  Expresso Love coffee shop in Edgartown. A little boy watched and clapped as my pup and I danced and then he said, “I have a present for your dog.” He pulled his hat out of his backpack and with the sweetest smile he held the hat up to give to little LULU." "I want to give this to your dog." I wanted to hug that child but have been trained not to these past 2 years - however, he totally melted me. “Your child is the poster child for Christmas Spirit — who gives their hat away -- and it's a really cold day? That is precious and priceless.” Lulu and I gratefully thanked the 4 year old and his Mom and we were all in the best of moods. And then the taxi arrived and we headed to Martha’s Vineyard  Airport. There was no one there but two lovely greeters behind the Cape Air desk.   “Are we the only 2 people going to JFK?” “Wait is your dog going with you, because if it is — you aren’t going...
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Interview

What Women In Their 50’s and 60’s Are Worrying About

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Attention Better After 50 women -- are you a worrier? Do you or a loved one you know suffer with anxiety? Well you are not alone. Women in their 50's and 60's are worrying. That's a fact. And, according to Lynn Lyons, it's normal. But the way we worry, ruminate, our patterns of how we deal with our anxiety, has been embedded over the years. In her new book The Anxiety Audit, Lynn talks about identifying our patterns and how to shift them. Lynn's book is incredibly helpful for those of us who are worriers. Women over 50 know their roles are changing and we need to pivot. The tools we used as the key player in our families requires new strategies. Lynn's techniques for dealing with anxiety and worry and RPN, repetitive negative thinking, are simple to understand and incredibly helpful. Please listen in to my interview with Lynn and share with those you love and hopefully this will be helpful to you. Felice Shapiro In Conversation With Author Lynn Lyons...
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