Barbara Phillips is passionate about supporting women aging healthfully, gracefully, and with a sense of humor!

OlderWiserWomen™ is an information packed website for women. We talk about the Wiser Body (the physical you), the Wiser Being (the emotional/spiritual you), the Wiser Mind (finances, mental health, etc), and the Wiser Village (community of women, resources). Of course there is the Wiser Shop where we recommend products and services in addition to our own.

OlderWiserWomen™ is actually the first of many websites devoted to women. We also have the OlderWiserWomen™ blog (www.OlderWiserWomen.com/wp) , the HealthyAgingForWomen (www.HealthyAgingForWomen.com) blog and the Acting Your Age (www.ActingYourAge.com) . Coming up is "AskAboutYou" a fee based confidential place where you can get your health related questions answered by professional licensed and board certified health professionals.

I've been a RN since 1978 (wow, where did the time go??), and was educated as a nurse practitioner first in 1988. In 1998 I completed my 2nd nurse practitioner program and received a Masters of Nursing this time around. I am board certified both as a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner and a Family Nurse Practitioner. Of course in between all that I studied a variety of things including doing pre-med. My professional working background included many years in critical care before embarking as a primary care provider.

On August 1st of this year, I opened my own primary care practice (and thus have been pretty scarce online). While I do provide your standard health/medical care, our focus is more wellness/alternative based and includes a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.

My women patients began asking me questions about aging. Soon I started getting requests to write a book. I declined and suggested that several of them write the book they wanted. We went back and forth for a year before I said okay...you write the stories and I'll put it together. In the meantime, I wondered about putting it online and collecting stories from women around the country. One morning I woke very early with one word on my mind... OlderWiserWomen™.

We've done a few different things over the years. We've had a few tele-classes, an email course, and of course a newsletter. OlderWiserWomen™ also has the OlderWiserWomen Guide "Tips for Successful Aging and Vibrant Living". In addition, I was published in "Inspiration to Realization, Vol II" - my chapter is titled "Aging Is an Inside Job".

There does not seem to be a typical Some women are in their 30's while I know of at least a few women in her later 80's. Our newsletter currently goes out to women in 28 different countries around the world.

While I think planning is important to any endeavor, I found that I can get bogged down by too much planning. Life is short. Take a lesson from the women who have gone on before us...they all say..."just do it."

I'd say one of the hardest things for me is to network. I'm a total INFP and I often find myself content to just observe and be quite. So I have to make myself get out there and network. My second challenge (and right now, it's truly my biggest challenge) is finding the time for the various projects I want to complete or start. And that includes the marketing.

At the end of your life, will you look back and have regrets because you did not follow your dream, because you did not give birth to a passion?

Life is very, very short. It can end in an instant, or last for several decades. Either way...it's too short. Life for today...everyday.

Labels: wild we member of the month

"Restoring a sense of rhythm to our lives is crucial to discovering Wholeness."

- Sarah Ban Breathnach, author of Simple Abundance

Are you IN SYNC with your body's rhythm?

The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are changing color, the geese are flying south, the horses are growing fuzzy coats - all signs of winter approaching. What signs is your body showing of winter approaching?

Now based on my question, you may have a couple of possible reactions:

1) What? What do you mean "what winter signs is my body showing?"

-or-

2) I have no idea!

-or-

3) Now that I think about it, my body has been showing...

-or-

4) My body is showing...

-or-

5) None of the above (there's always a 'rebel' in the group :D)

Several years ago, I noticed that my body 'automatically' switched into fall/winter mode. The weather gets cooler and in one day, my body makes the switch. How do I know?

During the hot Texas summers, my body thrives on, loves, and even craves salads. Light, healthy, living foods. So I eat alot of salads. But come fall/winter, all of a sudden my body wants warm foods, like soups and breads and stews. And it doesn't want salads anymore. Interesting, huh?

This year, I knew it was coming, so I've been keeping an eye out for it. You know the cycle of learning: 1st you become aware of your behavior; then you only notice it afterwards, then you notice in the middle of the behavior and finally you notice before. I've been watching for the switchover and last week, it happened.

I'm amused at my behavior: looking up heavy, old-style European bread recipes on the Internet; gathering stew ingredients, realizing I need a new crock-pot for slow-cooking, and wanting to stock my pantry with lots of soups.

Another body sign of the impending winter is my body's desire to 'hibernate'. Well, not literally. (Although I love the idea). My body is less interested in moving; it's rhythm is slowing down.

During warmer months, I'm outside all the time, constantly active, being physical. Come cooler weather, my body just wants to stay inside and be cozy. And this is true for alot of you which is why we typically put on 5-7 pounds during the winter months.

My question to you is "Have you noticed these changes in your body?" If so, do you honor them, embrace them and give your body what it wants? If you're not honoring the changes, would you be willing to?

If you haven't noticed winter changes in your body, I invite you to pay attention for the next week and notice what your body is telling you. Consider it a deepening of your relationship with your body.

I've developed some strategies for staying fit during winter months; and I have to tell you, it's still a work in progress. If you have winter fitness strategies that work for you, I'd love to hear about them!

So far, my winter fitness strategies include:

• weight lifting to keep strength and tone, (I enjoy this, believe it or not!)


• exercise videos, like TaeBo, that get my heart pumping and get my body all warmed up on the inside and outside (see www.CollageVideo.com for a huge collection of exercise videos),


• taking advantage of sunny, warm daylight hours


• walking/hiking with my dogs and my fiancee


• dancing to my favorite tunes


• yoga or Pilates (that'll get your fire burning :D)

You might also consider these strategies:

• walking in the mall


• joining a fitness club and enjoying the facilities including hot tubs & massage


• taking up roller-blading, roller skating or bowling (indoor facilities available)


• swimming (health clubs and aquatic centers often have heated, indoor pools)


• amping up your regular household activities

Bottom line: Get Conscious about the changes in your body. Notice its rhythms, its cravings, its desires - it is trying to tell you something!

Lauren Lee is a Spiritual Teacher, Master Spiritual Life Coach, Certified Prosperity Guide and author. Her passion is empowering women to awaken their spiritual gifts and their Divine life mission. She specializes in supporting women who have had a career in corporate America (where there is not much room for soul) and found the courage to leave it. Creating a strong, synergistic partnership with her clients, Lauren helps her clients find their voice, their courage, their inner fire and their unshakable core so they can build their successful, passionate, purposeful life (and profitable business). Visit Lauren at www.womensu.com.

by Charlotte Maddox

Stuck in a beauty quandary? Can't pull yourself out of your fashion rut? Feeling like a Glamour "don't"? E-mail your beauty and fashion questions to our expert beauty consultant, Charlotte Maddox, at ask@thewildwe.com. If we publish your question, we will offer you a free text ad in our newsletter. All questions will be published anonymously.

Is there a special occasion or a formal get-together in your near-future? Consider some silver or gold sparkle with a "kiss" of red.

For your event, apply foundation either on specific areas to even out skin tone or all over your face. If necessary, use concealer and/or a facial highlighting pen on dark circles and blemishes. "Set" your foundation with loose powder for longer lasting wear.

For fun, decide whether to enhance your eyes or lips. You want to draw attention to one set of features but not both at the same time.

If you want the focus to be on your eyes, you can dramatize them with one, two or three colors. Opting for a single color? Choose a silver or gold, whichever blends with your skin tone and complements your outfit. (Use an eye color cream or an eye primer with eye color for longer wear, a real plus when you‘re out). You can mix both a cream or powder eye color with the eye primer. Apply your choice of silver or gold from eye lashes to brows.

Prefer more than one color? Select one as a mid-tone (over the eyelids). Add either silver or gold as an accent (lashes to creases of eyes). Highlight (under the brow bones) with whichever you haven't used as an accent.

Define your eyes with eye liner only if it makes them appear larger. If your eye shadow is predominantly golden, consider a gold or brown liner. If your eye shadow is mainly silver, try a gray or black liner.

Curl your eye lashes. (Curling the lashes gives the impression of more open eyes.) Follow with a mascara that meets your needs for lengthening or widening lashes.

Don't forget your eyebrows; they help frame your face. Darken your eyebrows with either a matching brow liner or, for a softer touch, a brow powder or powder eye shadow.

Put on cheek color to emphasize your cheek bones. (Either pat the color on the high points of your cheek bones or sweep the color up to your temples.)

If you want the focus to be on your lips, tone down the eye makeup and consider a red lip shade. There's a red for everyone. Let your skin tone determine which reds are most becoming: those with cool undertones (berries) or warm undertones (corals). Then choose muted or bright, matte or shimmer depending upon the look you want to achieve. Lip liner and lip gloss are optional.

For softer lips to complement dramatic eyes, try a subdued red. With little effort, you've created a special holiday look.

Labels: beauty inside and out

Tis the season for cookie baking. Rich, buttery, golden holiday cookies decorated with colored sugar, icing cooling on the counter evoke memories of childhood and holiday excitement. This year your holiday cookies will be the envy of all at the annual cookie swap if you follow these simple guidelines.

• Use room temperature butter that is still slightly firm - I like to remove my butter from the fridge about an hour before using it. Don't try to hasten the softening by heating the butter in your microwave. If it becomes too soft, your cookies will spread too much. Heating butter can change the structure and texture of your cookies. On the other extreme, if butter is too hard, incorporating dry ingredients will be difficult. Room temperature butter is the foundation for many a perfect cookie.


• Always preheat your oven about 15 minutes before baking -All ovens are different. Each oven has its own hot spots (areas in the oven where temperature fluctuates) and heating time. If you're serious about perfect cookies, invest in an oven thermometer and move it around your oven frequently. This way you'll learn where your oven's hot spots are and you'll be sure you're following baking instructions precisely!


• Baking time - Most recipes give a baking time range. Always check cookies at the minimum time. If they’re not done, check them every minute thereafter.
  


• Allow cookies to cool slightly - Allow your cookies to cool a few minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet or the cookie mold. I've broken many a shortbread by trying to remove it from the shortbread mold too early. There's nothing worse than baking the perfect cookie, then breaking it!
  


• Use fresh ingredients - Each year, buy new baking powder and baking soda. Use fresh spices. Old spices sitting in your cupboard year after year can lose their intensity. Flavorings such as vanilla or almond extract can change with time. Buy small bottles of these ingredients if you don't bake often. Even flour and sugar ages and their textures change with age.


• Chill dough before baking - With molded and shaped cookies, chilling your dough can make or break the cookie's shape. If you want sharp edges and a clear design, you can't go wrong with a firm, chilled dough.
  


• Use the proper measuring cup - Use dry measuring cups for measuring dry ingredients such as flour. Use glass or plastic measuring cups for measuring liquids (be sure to read these at eye level with the markings). When using a dry measuring cup for flour or sugar, spoon the ingredient in and level it off with the flat edge of a butter knife.
  


• Baked cookies can be frozen - Freeze cookies up to three months wrapped tightly in aluminum foil or sealed in an airtight container.
  

Ann Zuccardy, president of Vermont Shortbread Company and dough advisor, has been baking shortbread professionally for a decade in her bakery nestled in Vermont's Green Mountains. Zuccardy perfected her signature shortbread by altering the traditional Scottish shortbread recipe to produce a slightly moister version of this age-old holiday favorite.

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Labels: From the Editor