tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65236559390114064712012-01-16T10:31:58.148-08:00Lessons, blessings and everyday ironies of aging semi-gracefully.Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-36139998572683824272011-02-18T13:22:00.000-08:002011-02-18T13:22:06.775-08:00

One of the things I find so difficult about having a blog is actually trying to keep up with it in the spare 4-5 hours when I'm not comatose. One of the downsides of middle age is that you find whenever you have extra time, all you want to do is sleep. But....reason to write and cheer. One of my previous posts, "Red Sauce," was selected out of 600 entries in a recent competition by Creative

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-74973484318259308082010-09-06T07:50:00.000-07:002010-09-06T07:50:36.294-07:00

I live in what I like to fondly refer to as the "Little Condo in The Suburbs." The Little Condo complex has a pool which I used to visit as often as possible back when I didn't have a kangaroo-size belly pooch that I relied on my trustworthy tankini to hide. These days, not so much. Last weekend, though, we up yonder were sweltering in yet another 90 degree day--an anomaly in these parts--so I

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-81744294479949045572010-08-24T15:54:00.000-07:002010-08-24T15:54:54.557-07:00

Note: This essay was written for a workshop I took at Chautauqua with writer Ann Hood and read before a live audience at the Friday Brown Bag Lunch presentation that Ann gave on August 20. It's not my usual light and whimsical writing, but the point of art is that it pushes you to expose parts of yourself you don't normally want to expose--especially in front of strangers. My hope is that by

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-27543421344015638702010-08-23T15:50:00.000-07:002010-08-23T15:52:02.798-07:00

To all the wonderful readers who have been following my posts, both here and on MORE.com, I'm still alive and well! The early part of this year started out with a family health crisis and then my father unexpectedly passed away. I'm working my way back to writing and just finished a week in a personal essay writing workshop with the wonderful Ann Hood (The Red Thread, The Knitting Circle) at the

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-28662985670763622432010-05-09T08:10:00.000-07:002010-05-09T08:10:55.823-07:00

Revising Happily Ever After - MORE Magazine - For Women 40 PlusFun new tool on Google Toolbar lets you share any website -- like on your blog! Here is the whole version of my essay, "Revising Happily Ever After," on MORE.com. Would love to hear your own versions of happily ever after or just what you thought of the post. ~EH

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-20676291292219625092010-05-09T08:04:00.000-07:002010-05-09T08:04:47.310-07:00

MidLife Reality: The One Body Part You Can’t Get “Fixed.” | MidLifeBloggersHappy to share my post: Older. Grayer. Wiser. on MidLifeBloggers. Great comments! ~EH

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-1024417478640600342010-04-04T12:12:00.000-07:002010-04-04T12:12:02.050-07:00

 All these stories of women and their straying husbands made me start wondering: What ever happened to "happily ever after?" I wrote about it for MORE.COM....read the whole essay, "Revising Happily Ever After." Here's a teaser: We all know how the story goes: The beautiful princess, who is suffering mercilessly at the hands of some witch of a stepmother, a pissed off fairy or spinsterly

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-40575246494102607482010-03-21T17:06:00.000-07:002010-03-21T17:06:51.222-07:00

There's nothing like sitting in a technology workshop with a room full of Gen X-ers to make you realize that old is not just a state of mind. This was the scary realization I came to this past week. Forget all the attempts to persuade myself, otherwise: the hair color that hides my tell-tale grey roots; the anti-aging regimen that keeps my face from collapsing like California along an

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-82102109204296767292010-03-07T10:15:00.000-08:002010-03-07T10:17:13.361-08:00

A wonderful story I read about in the April issue of Family Circle featured Patricia Smith Melton and the website/organization she launched called Peace X Peace (pronounced peace by peace). The mission of Peace X Peace is to act as "an inclusive global network of women-focused e-media, with interactive commentary, fresh analysis, and from-the-frontlines perspectives. We engage, connect, inform,

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-90975532309314552972010-03-07T10:03:00.000-08:002010-03-25T17:03:43.395-07:00

Yesterday, which was a beautiful, sun-filled Saturday and perfect for washing the salt and muck of winter off my car, (which I didn't do, by the way), I decided not to switch on the TV as I usually do every Saturday morning. The recent cable rate hike has me so infuriated that I've finally decided I'm ditching the cable and will rely on my high speed internet, DVD's, and maybe even that antique

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-66346643243921569872010-02-27T13:48:00.000-08:002010-03-13T16:01:00.240-08:00

Last Saturday, I had a showdown. It was between me and my arch rival--dessert. Carrot cake, to be specific. I knew I was going to give into temptation so there was really no fighting it. There are a few things in life I find completely irresistible--weight gain, guilt trip, morning-after regret be damned--and cake is one of them. Given my ongoing thyroid dysfunction, this has become an even

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-6972271305879302762010-02-25T11:56:00.000-08:002010-02-27T13:55:16.506-08:00

I'm always on the look-out for grassroots organizations that are helping to improve the world we all share. I came across a tiny little tidbit in a recent issue of Redbook about a tremendous group called Bead For Life which is turning the artistic skills of impoverished women in Uganda into saleable products, helping to improve their economic conditions. As someone involved in not-for-profit

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-38226342729228021272010-02-23T13:43:00.000-08:002010-02-27T12:26:48.655-08:00

Curator of the Week Feb. 21 - Feb. 27, 2010 - She Writes This wonderful review was written by Julie Jeffs who's the administrator of the "Bloggers" group on SheWrites. Thanks Julie! If you're a women who writes, she the little widget in the column, right, and join the club! "I chose Elaine Harrigan’s blog Blooming in Midlife not only for its wonderful writing but because for any of us who are

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-85736135842317155782010-02-07T11:52:00.000-08:002010-03-13T16:07:00.339-08:00

I've been dragging out the dark colors more these days. And those unfriendly sounds you hear from me in the morning? Grunting. Scowling. Bitching and moaning. And a lot of mourning. Why? My waistline is disappearing. This is how bad it's gotten: I've traded my obsession with the scale for one with a tape measure. And I cheat. I know that cutting off my circulation is a form of self-deception;

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-74362290657414253382009-11-18T17:59:00.000-08:002010-03-13T16:18:34.656-08:00

Featured on MORE.com "Working" Channel: I don't think there's a middle age person right now that isn't having a nervous breakdown over what they're going to do instead of retiring in their sixties. With new surveys showing that most Americans expect to work four more years past the age they planned to retire, the question that comes to my mind is: work at what? Ironically, just as this cheery

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-48166796500379450242009-11-15T13:31:00.000-08:002010-03-13T16:19:17.664-08:00

Apparently, there’s a lot of apology flinging these days over the use of a certain “G” word when referring to a multi-sex group or one that’s women-only. I’m talking about the word guys. Twice in the same week this came to my attention through work colleagues. One was a woman who had just wrapped up a meeting filled with us estrogen-only types and let the “G” word slip. She quickly made a

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-72020459053418590682009-10-19T11:46:00.000-07:002009-10-19T11:46:30.465-07:00

In the October issue of MORE magazine, editor Lesley Jane Seymour wrote about how midlife is like going back to seventh grade, which to me is the best analogy for this hormone-crazed, anxiety-inducing time of life that I have read in a long time--and so true! Think about it: zits, moodiness, aggravating relationships, hair that seems to have a mind of it's own, body changes that drive you insane.

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-72820925727320121762009-10-11T11:58:00.000-07:002009-10-11T12:00:29.805-07:00

Every birthday, my brothers and I try to out do each other with funny cards about getting older. But this year, the award for most on-the-money aging sentiment has to go to my sister-in-law who sent this  "Miss Menopause of 1957" card, courtesy of the creative folks at Clayboys (www.clayboys.com). Despite the fact they seem to come sooner every year, and I anticipate them with as much

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-22264645268927787602009-10-05T11:52:00.000-07:002010-03-13T16:25:05.961-08:00

There are some things that aren't going to change the world, end world hunger, or bring peace to the Middle East. For instance, my ability to replace old, yellowed electrical outlets and switches in my kitchen with bright, shiny new ones. I'm proud to say there is little in the DIY world that scares me off. Painting. Stripping off old wallpaper. Tearing down old tiles. Replacing door knobs. I've

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-88495585545387422802009-09-17T07:15:00.000-07:002010-03-13T16:37:07.954-08:00

Hey readers: My newest story on how our faces tell the true story of our age is being featured on, of all things, the "Beauty: Skin" page of MORE.com (tee-hee!) Here's the intro....please follow the link to read the whole story, and if you can become a MORE.com member, please "Like it" or add a comment. Or, you can even leave a comment here on my page. Enjoy! "I know there are people out there

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-70181346206931658492009-09-01T15:24:00.000-07:002010-03-13T16:29:31.071-08:00

Once upon a time, I had a major crush on a TV doctor. His name was Dr. Kildaire (NBC, 1961-66). Not only did he have that melting British accent, he was so pretty you wanted to ask him where he got his nails done. Of course, I was all of about seven or eight at the time, but I didn't care. Dr. Kildaire had it going on, and almost made me want to don a little white cap of my own so that I could

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-41816352693785438482009-08-27T05:46:00.000-07:002010-03-13T16:38:07.314-08:00

Hi all! Check out an excerpt from my newest story about choosing to be a bottle blonde over going gray on MORE.com..... Why I'm NOT Embracing My Gray Hair More and more women I know over 40 are letting their hair go gray naturally. They say they feel freer and more “authentic.” They’re setting an example for women everywhere that aging is nothing to be ashamed of, and we should kick the

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-10753351598162380492009-08-09T13:59:00.000-07:002010-03-13T19:06:52.718-08:00

I was paging through a magazine the other day, when I came across this ad for multi-size feminine "leak protection." The headline explained the reason why I might need variety in leak protection: "Because one style doesn't fit all." This struck me as hysterically funny and petrifying at the same time. Having been officially menopausal for the past two years, I've been enjoying the freedom from

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-27392270999153313912009-07-13T06:10:00.000-07:002009-09-03T07:32:43.299-07:00

The other day I was running into the grocery store, and saw a vision of myself fifteen years down the road. There was a woman in an outfit I can only describe as bag lady athletic club. On top: a flowered tank top and Nike jacket; on the bottom, gym shorts over matching floral leggings and sneakers. A fleeting thought passed through my mind: there but for the grace of God and major

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-31143071757038297142009-06-28T15:06:00.000-07:002010-03-13T19:05:54.473-08:00

My nail polish is worn away. My hair is coated in fine white plaster dust. I’m sweaty, and there are pieces of drywall everywhere. I’m on a mission: to smooth down the kitchen backsplash that used to have ugly old tiles so that I can put up snazzy white subway tiles like in my “dream kitchen picture” torn from the pages of Better Homes & Gardens. Despite the dust, the sweat, and the growing

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-85059552434966862182009-06-14T06:41:00.000-07:002010-03-13T16:40:07.393-08:00

An excerpt from my most recent post featured on MORE.com, Sex & Love channel..... "Honestly, I can’t think of any crisis in my life that hasn’t been improved with chocolate. Bad day at work? Fight with the boyfriend? Hot flashes? Nothing that a dose of the dark stuff couldn’t tackle. Chocolate is our remedy and Ectasy all rolled into one luscious legal substance. Chocolate is to women what

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-90335685620148966102009-05-20T18:32:00.000-07:002009-05-20T18:40:59.637-07:00

I don’t usually have time to sit around watching TV in the morning. God knows, I barely have time for my eyes to come into focus. But it was one of those mornings I was going into the office late and decided to flip on what my daughter bemoans as my “antique” of a TV set ( meaning not a flat screen, plasma screen, or high definition anything). My luck that Lesley Jane Seymour, editor of

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-56808475972759316892009-05-03T17:08:00.000-07:002009-05-03T17:13:38.668-07:00

I just read in the May issue of MORE that actress Isabella Rossellini was canned by cosmetics giant Lancome after 14 years representing their makup. The reason she got the axe? She's--ahem--forty-two. Oh, dear God, a woman who's actually mature selling make-up to women her own age! It's absolutely unthinkable. Well, at least in the cosmetics industry which is, let's face it, built on creating the

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-78922031990798769882009-04-26T17:25:00.000-07:002009-04-27T14:07:01.841-07:00

Sometimes you hear the most profound statements when you're doing something totally innane. This morning I was in the pet aisle at Walmart picking out a jumbo size container of cat litter (two cat household), when I overheard a petite silver-haired woman thank another lady in the same aisle for getting her one of the containers she couldn't reach. "I was looking for a man," she quipped, "but I

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-56436695679987406722009-04-25T15:56:00.001-07:002009-04-27T14:04:41.059-07:00

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-7736831410488137572009-04-19T13:29:00.000-07:002009-04-19T13:43:35.287-07:00

My Saturday morning started off like this: I'm at the checkout counter of one of the local discount stores, rummaging around my wallet for my debit card. It was early, so there wasn't a line, and only one other person waiting (patiently). No card. So I pulled out everything in the bill portion, which, like any woman, includes an assortment of junk. Out came a JC Penney hair salon punch card, my

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-21149772425942946682009-03-30T17:42:00.000-07:002009-03-31T15:18:38.697-07:00

Okay, we've all seen Valerie Bertinelli's look-what-I've-got-back body, clad in a teeny tiny bikini. All of us who have ever set--and met--a weight goal understand that this is an unpop the cork moment, and when you're over forty, that means the good stuff. But let's get real here for a minute, can we? VBert started out unhealthfully overweight for her petite 5'4" frame. She was stressing out

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-1593948572324964442009-03-22T12:57:00.000-07:002009-03-22T13:31:24.532-07:00

Any time I can't come up with something earth-shattering to blog about, or don't have a convenient event occur that sparks a litany of thoughts worthy of sharing, I go shopping. I know. With the economy and all, it's not exactly the PC thing to do just to grease my rusty writer's gears, but I think of it as doing my part to help the American economy.Also, it never fails to provide me with at

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-30379977292443013242009-03-15T10:27:00.000-07:002010-03-13T19:08:16.975-08:00

A friend asked me the other day where I get the ideas for my blog posts. Like most people, they come out of life, but once in awhile, the perfect phrase or scenario drops down like brain manna from the gods. Case in point: Last week I attended a professional seminar on social media, and the young (ish) presenter told us that the user age for Facebook was steadily climbing upwards, into the 35-

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-60810844500180544302009-02-22T09:15:00.000-08:002010-03-13T19:12:07.906-08:00

I don't know about you, but Sunday is one of those days that calls to me to put down my weary head and catch some zzzzzzz's. Forget the "to do" list. Let the clogged drain go another day. Stop frenetically thinking about my work load. It's especially started to be less of an urge and more of an inescapeable phenomenon since I passed the half century mark. It's finally starting to hit me that

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-56160116927412968102009-02-12T06:12:00.001-08:002010-03-05T18:34:10.989-08:00

It seems to have become a new trend of the entertainment media to showcase women who are "still sexy after 50!" AOL is doing that today. Some expected choices--Michelle Pfeiffer, Diane Keaton, Marg Helgenberger; and some classic faces we just don't see enough of like Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon and Annette Bening. What I truly love about these photos is that they're obviously not retouched

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-72248060790380147082008-10-12T08:27:00.000-07:002008-10-12T08:29:33.697-07:00

This past week of economic chaos around the globe hasn't been one to laugh at. With the stock market plunging deeper than Pam Anderson's neckline, people are finally getting that the whole frozen credit thing impacts them right in the wallet. Yesterday, in fact, I was in the check out line at T. J. Maxx--which was eerily stripped bare of its low price merchandise--and overheard a clerk

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6523655939011406471.post-56316403813082616292008-09-21T11:49:00.000-07:002008-10-07T16:06:27.204-07:00

One of the things I love most about weekends is not having to wear pantyhose. Really, I don't know who thought the concept of an elasticized corset with legs would be comfortable. Maybe it works for sausage, but around a middle age waist, it's just plain torture.After years of tolerating tight waistbands and the inevitable "overflow bulge" that happens when your abdominal fat is squashed upwards

Elaine Harriganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11492641417938051882noreply@blogger.com2