Approaching 50.....

Well, this week was my birthday week...which turned out to be quite nice! I always enjoy birthdays! The only bummer was I am on a diet, weight watchers, and couldn't have cake, but oh well, when given the choice of staying on track or getting off I chose to stay on the dieting track.

When I woke up on the 20th I suddenly realized.....THIS IS THE LAST YEAR I WILL BE IN MY 40's. Yikes...Double Yikes!!! Not to say yikes because I am upset about my age, because honestly it doesn't bother me, but yikes because I have a lot of things left on my list of things to do! I need to get my act together!

My birthday did however prompt the opportunity to reflect on the positive things I have in my life. While reflecting I came to the conclusion that I could honestly be approaching the greatest decade of my life. I feel great...no aches or pains...and what a blessing that is! I am physically fit and quite honestly can keep up with a lot of the 25 and 30 year olds at the gym...here's patting myself on the back and giving thanks for this blessing.

Did I mention GRANDCHILDREN? My second granddaughter is due to be born this week...and what a joy she will be in my life...just like her sister. Here's a picture of my firstborn granddaughter...just so you can see my pleasure and joy!

Brooklyn called me on my birthday and wished me happy birthday and even sang to me. Now....is that a joy or what! I didn't need anything else after that! My birthday was complete...even though the cute card she colored on for me...made my heart melt!

I could set and write a 20 page blog on the blessings I have and the blessings that will be coming my way...but I won't bore you to tears...I will simply end by saying....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME....LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!

Fruit of Choice for this Season is Pomegranates!!!!

My daughter Bethany introduced me to this wonderful fruit last year when she made her first purchase of pomegranates at Trader Joe's. I am not sure why I had never bought pomegranates before this time but let me quickly say when they are in season they will be in my home! In the northern hemisphere the season is from October to February.

The health benefits coming from pomegranates are numerous. Pomegranates are high in antioxidants and have been dubbed by many as a "miracle fruit." Pomegranates are believed to help support the body's natural defenses against Alzheimer's disease, various cancers, coronary and heart diseases, arthritis and many ailments an aging person experiences. In other words, there are many anti-aging possibilities coming from pomegranates.

Last year when my Granddaughter Brooklyn came to visit in December, she had been dealing with diarrhea for a couple weeks. Her parents had been withholding dairy products under the direction of her pediatrician. Every time they tried to reintroduce dairy she developed diarrhea. Since it was in December we had pomegranates in the fridge and of course like any 15 month old she wanted to eat them. I was a little nervous to give them to her with her stomach issues but of course as a Grandmother I gave in. She loved them and kept wanting more and more. She ate them throughout the day....and this was the last day for her stomach issues!! Her diarrhea went away and I honestly believe it was because of her pomegranate consumption.

If you haven't tried pomegranates I strongly encourage you to do so. Below is a video to show you how to cut and eat the pomegranate if you have questions. ENJOY!!!

USE IT OR LOSE IT!!!!!

Wow, my life has been crazy of recent. Actually, it has been a whirlwind for the past month and now the holidays are fast approaching and life has no sign of becoming easier! Oh my!!!

Recently I spent two weeks in Los Angeles. While in LA my entire normal exercise routine was turned upside down. However, I am so addicted to working out, yes I said addicted, that of course I did not move through my time there without finding a way to workout; however, the routine changed. I attended the Beverly Hills Fitness Center where I continued my practice of yoga. I arose early each day to talk to my family and yes walk 3 miles before work. Just a quick side note, the walks were quite interesting. I had a hotel in Beverly Hills and it is amazing what is going on at 5:30 am!!

Anyway, I did manage to exercise while on my business trip, even though it was not aggressive exercise...but light in nature. When I returned home work was nuts and catchup was crazy! Then, I had a health issue which needed immediate attention, which again altered my normal workout routine. Again, I exercised, but not aggressive exercise like I enjoy most.

After three weeks of only light exercise I returned to the gym and expected to pick up where I left off. WRONG!!! The yoga was fine, the pilates was fine, the runs were fine...even spinning with the Nazi was ok; however, my weight lifting ability had diminished. What? How could that happen? It had only been about 3 weeks! I was shocked!!

I walked back into my weight lifting class fully expecting to get right back into the routine. But to my disbelief the first day back was excruciating. I put the weights on my bar and then began or didn't begin to put it nicely. I got half way through the squats and lunges utilizing the amount of weight I normally used and my legs began to feel like jello. I honestly wanted to cry. All that hard work and I had to lower my weight load, only after 3 weeks. Now, mind you I only lowered it by 5 pounds and have since added weight back...but still to not be able to get right back into the routine after only 3 weeks was quite upsetting.

It really amazes me how quickly muscle mass can diminish and this was quite a new experience for me. Nonetheless, I have kept pushing myself and again it is paying off.

One of my friends recently asked me why I lift weights...and just for the record...here are a few of my reasons:

1. Weight lifting empowers me, I'm not really sure why but I feel stronger and more confident as a person both physically and mentally when I lift.

2. The health benefits are numerous, such as helping you to reduce the risk of arthritis, back pain, osteoporosis and depression. Weight lifting also helps to reduce the risk of heart disease, which is huge in my family!

Just a few reasons I have become an adamant weight lifter...lighter weights and high repetition work for me!!! Give it a try, it can work for you too! Me in my new favorite shirt ;-)

What I Do.........

Facebook is a wonderful thing. Through Facebook I have been given the opportunity to connect with so many people, especially those I have been out of touch with for a very long time. It is incredible to reconnect!

However, during the course of reconnecting I have received so many questions about my employment. Explaining to people that I am a Product Manager is easy; however, when I get to the point of trying to explain what I sell...well I generally get a lot of, "What...what exactly is that?" So this blog is for purposes of explaining what I do.

I manage a product line for The Verdin Company http://www.verdin.com/ which is located in downtown Cincinnati. The Verdin Company is the oldest family-owned business in the state of Ohio. Verdin manufactures and sells bells, towers, tower clocks, monuments, site amenities and street clocks. Verdin also restores old clocks, bells, etc.

I manage the Street Clock Department. I included a photo of one of our beautiful street clocks on this blog. We have a full line of two-faced and four-faced clocks...the large four-faced clock, being Model No. 4MST, is featured in the photo. Street clocks are installed in a lot of places such as cities/towns, golf courses and college/universities.

Should you ever want one....just give me a call...and I can make it happen for you!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!!!!!

Ok, are you ready? I am going to admit something....I am a "girlie girl." I love everything about being a girl...what can I say???? I always have! I love makeup, perfumes, lotions, clothes, purses, shoes, manicures, pedicures...should I go on? Better question...is anyone who knows me surprised?

The change of season gives any girlie girl the opportunity to shop for change of season clothing. I for one always feel like I have no clothes when the season changes; however, this is not always the case. Perhaps this is because I work in the business world and need business attire or perhaps it boils down to the fact that I just love an excuse to shop.

This past weekend was the perfect opportunity to update the fall closet. Since I am still on Friday short days at work, I get off at 3:00 pm, off I went to shop.

I am like most females, I look for sales, coupons and any way to make my self feel good about spending money. Please note I never charge these items on credit cards, I always pay cash, which makes me feel even better. Anyway, I found myself at

New York & Company http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/

Kohl's http://www.kohls.com/

and Shoe Carnival http://www.shoecarnival.com/.

The coolest thing about New York & Company is the great coupons you receive via e-mail, as well as, regular mail giving you a great incentive to shop with them. Friday was a great day...I had a nice coupon ($60 off at $150 purchase) and on top of that everything in the store was 30% off. I had a great time. Their clothes fit me really well and they sell petites!!! I love their sweaters!

Kohl's sent me a $10 gift certificate in the mail, they'll send you one too if you register for their coupons online, so I went there and found some great items on their clearance racks! I buy most of my workout clothes there!

As far as Shoe Carnival goes...need I say more...shoes galore! I am going to admit something else to you...I bought 4 inch heels to wear with my new black pencil skirt! Yikes! They look sharp!

I am really excited that a dusty rose pink is in style right now! Definitely my color!

Anyway, there you have it...I love to shop...a definite weakness I can add to my list!

Whoomp! There it is!

This week was an exceptionally difficult week for me. The company I work for recently purchased a company in Los Angeles, California and individuals from this company spent the week in Cincinnati meeting with the owners/upper management. Since this company sells a commercial product, as opposed to church, it falls under my jurisdiction; therefore, creating long work days for me. At the end of the week needless to say I felt exhausted!

With that said I managed to do quite well on the exercise side of my life. Yes I am giving myself a pat on the back. Last week I had a perfect workout week and I am on my way to having one again this week! Whomp! There it is! Exciting for me anyway!

Nonetheless, when I came home from work I sat down for a few minutes and before I knew it, I was taking a nap. Man, it felt nice! But I am only a cat napper so the nap was short and when I woke up I immediately thought I need to go for a run especially since I did not get up to do so this morning. This is when it happened, my negative, evil side came out and said you deserve a night off! I wanted to comply with this side of me and if I had done so I would not have been on route to complete another perfect workout week. Just when I thought I was going to cave my guilt started to kick in and my conscience said, "Jeannie, Get up!" Just like in the Lindsey Vonn video, you know the one from Under Armour...I will Protect this House. So just like Lindsey Vonn I found the courage to get up and go to the gym. Actually, that video ran through my head! Gosh, I am really weird!

Anyway, once I got to the gym I felt good about being there, but I will admit I was tired going in which makes for a long, difficult run! But tonight turned out to be quite a bit different than I thought. I was running on the track and I was trying my best, my time was right where I normally would be and I was ok with that, especially since I was feeling tired. But tonight, this guy, who is a light weight boxer that trains at the gym, was running on the track when I got there. Now he is a very nice looking, well built individual. His physique is all muscle to say the least. I am guessing he is probably about 25 years old. But this wasn't what made him stand out to me, even though he was quite pleasant to look at. What made him different was his speed and endurance. He was running when I got there and still running when I left. I did 3.1 miles so I have no idea how much running he was planning on doing.

The best part of his running was the fact that while he would run around the track and he would verbally encourage other runners to work harder and move faster. I kept watching this, especially how others reacted and it was awesome! I also loved it when he would stop running so fast and do a few boxing moves and say things like let's do it, let's keep going, work harder, work stronger. He had many interesting phrases...actually, it was like watching Rocky Balboa train. I have never witnessed anything quite like this before.

Now, I know you are waiting to hear what my words of encouragement from the phenomenal athlete were, and yes I did receive a few, but my favorite one was, "Keep up with me, a one minute round!" And my response was, "I wish!" That's when he stopped, turned around and said, "You haven't even tried!" That hit me like a brick...I thought you know he's right...I haven't tried at all! With him standing there looking right at me, for the first time in my life, I didn't know how to respond. Then he ran up to me and said come on. It was at this point that the words you haven't even tried went through my head. So off I went to give it a try...and for one round...for one minute, I did it! I might could have done another round or two...maybe three, but there was no way I could have continued...but I did it for one round! He patted me on the shoulder after the round...and said Whoomp! There it is! Life is good. :-)

Life is Good.....

Over the past few days my thoughts have drifted towards the life I have created for myself. Most of the reflection was focused on the many changes which have taken place in my life in recent years. Some of these changes include moving to northern Kentucky, divorce, grandchildren, graduating from college, career advancement and the many new friends I have made along the way. For the most part all of these changes have been very positive and have brought forth much growth in every manner of my life. Life is all about growth right?

But the past few days I have given much thought to the things that make life interesting, exciting, happy, worth living...to name only a few descriptions. Does this list include the expensive cars we purchase, the huge house in the great neighborhood, the beautiful clothes, prestigious job? Perhaps it does, this has been where my reflections have taken me of recent.

This past weekend I decided to walk across the Purple People Bridge, which connects the state of Kentucky and the state of Ohio. And yes, I have a photo for you, check it out below...with the City of Cincinnati in the background.

Anyway, I walked across the bridge and made my way to the Serpentine Wall. You can see the Serpentine Wall in the photo....down on the Ohio River. My friend and I sat there for a very long time enjoying meaningful conversation, the surroundings, Kentucky on one side and Ohio on the other, the boats speeding through the water and even the diverse and interesting people, even couples, walking by. It was here that I started to realize what really make life worthwhile.

I love life and even though there have been more bumps along the way than I care to discuss, I still consider my life as good. I love being able to go to the gym most days, I love being with my children and grandchild, even our conversations on Skype, I love spending time with my friends and talking to the many new people I meet daily with my job since I am in sales. I could continue this list but I think it is safe to say it simply, I love life.

Last night during my short run at the gym a friend that I occasionally run with was there. He decided to run with me, which was a good thing because he pushes me to the limit! I love it! Anyway, he likes to ask me questions, and sometimes the questions provoke thought. One of the questions he asked me last night was, "What is your favorite thing about life?" With all of the pondering I have done on this subject over the past few days I was more than ready to answer this question and of course a Mom and Grandmother instantly says their children, grandchildren, etc...but I continued the list until finally he said, "Wow Jeannie, your life is good!"

I may not have all the niceties in life that many people have and at times I get lonely...but I have reached a point in my life where I can honestly say, "Life is Good!" Love it, live it....long for more!