Nostalgic Food - Oh, Those Moonpies!
If you grew up in the 1950’s, Blackjack Gum, Sugar Daddies and Fizzies makes you nostalgic too. Remember trips to the Dime Store to spend your allowance on penny candy that really was a penny? Believe it or not, these nostalgic foods of yesteryear are still available if you know where to look.
I remember the first time my mom bought us some Fizzies. I loved cherry. We considered it magic when you dropped the little tablet into water and got a sugary drink. Invented in the 1950’s, Fizzies contained artificial sweeteners - cyclamates, sucaryl, and saccharin - which have since been banned, but we sure loved them and didn’t know any better. Back then, everybody was hooked on the wonders of technology, which included artificial sweeteners.
Of course, sometimes we decided to skip the candy and go next door to the fountain where we could get a cherry and vanilla coke for that quarter. We spent our summer days back then riding our bikes the mile into town, buying penny candy and visiting the local library, which was about all there was to do in our town in the 50’s.
I haven’t thought about those nostalgic candies and foods much until lately when I went scouting for places that might still carry them. Now I plan to keep a pack of Blackjack Gum in my pocket at all times to remind me of the good old days of carefree childhood.
Many nostalgic memories hinge on foods we loved in years past and I guess, as kids, candy and treats are what we loved.
Baby Boomer Fitness - Senior Exercise Programs to do at Home
Advantages of a senior exercise program:
1. As we age, we our joints and muscles don’t work at well as they once did. Exercise and stretching can help keep joints lubricated and muscles firm. This is especially important as we age for helping us maintain our balance and help prevent falls and broken bones.
2. Let’s fact it, seniors don’t sleep very well! I know I have many more nights of interrupted sleep than I used to. Getting more exercise has helped me sleep better and doing a senior exercise program at home has been a big part of my fitness routine.
3. As we age, we don’t have as much energy as we used to. However, a great exercise program boosts energy and keeps the blood flowing and the metabolism boosted.
4. We gain weight as we age because of slowing metabolism. Exercise helps burn those calories and keep away unwanted fat as we get older.
5. As we age, many of us are plagued by osteoarthritis, arthritis or other physical problems that can be helped by doing some stretches or easy toning exercises each day.
Some people really benefit from the structure of going to a class and they enjoy the social aspects of a fitness class too. However, if a fitness class doesn’t fit into your budget or you just don’t have time, an exercise DVD or some easy exercise equipment at home can be convenient and save you money too.
It’s easy to find DVD’s or books about senior fitness programs. Try yoga or stretching first to get you started, then move on to easy toning exercises for seniors. You can add small weights or resistance bands without spending a lot of money on equipment.
If you haven’t exercised in a while be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any strenuous exercise program.
Senior Fitness
Fitness After 50 - Try Deep Breathing for Health and Fitness
Want a really easy workout for weightloss to achieve fitness after 50? If you don’t have time to go to the gym or take up time consuming exercise programs, just breathe. That’s right. Deep breathing can give you some of the same benefits as an exercise program.
Here’s a great video by Rodney Yee with deep breathing tips. His DVD about deep breathing for meditation is the one I started out using to learn about deep breathing:
Don’t be a Shallow Breather - Breathe Deeply
Many of us tend to be shallow breathers. We don’t pay much attention to taking deep breaths. To breathe properly, you are doing more than just filling your lungs with air. Your diaphragm is also moving, allowing your lungs to expand to full capacity. Deep breathing causes the stomach to move in and out, not just your chest. Check this and see for yourself.
You might ask someone else to watch you breathe whenever you are not thinking about it to see if you’re actually breathing deeply or not.
Breathing brings oxygen into our lungs where it is picked up by the blood and carried directly into the heart. This oxygen traveling throughout our body is what helps to fuel our body and give us energy. If you are not deep breathing, you can become oxygen deprived, causing your to functioning improperly, which in turn makes it difficult to keep our body in good physical shape. By concentrating on our breathing and the learning how to breathe properly all of the time, your health will greatly improve.
How to Breathe Deeply
One of the easiest ways to make sure that you are breathing properly is to set aside a few minutes each day for some deep breathing exercises. This helps to retrain your breathing and bring lots of metabolism boosting oxygen into your body. If you do this on a regular basis, you teach yourself how to breathe whenever you’re not doing the exercises, you will be helping yourself to be healthy in mind and body.
Try This Simple Deep Breathing Exercise
Begin by sitting or lying comfortably. Take a slow, deep breathe in through your nose, counting to six. Then hold breath and count slowly to six again. Exhale slowly through your mouth, slowly counting to eight.
Repeat this deep breathing exercise for several minutes each day and see what a difference it makes to your energy level. More energy means a faster metabolism and more calories burned.
Fitness After 50 - Stay in Shape by Doing Housework
Maybe you’re someone who enjoys exercising but don’t feel you have time for a daily senior fitness program. Maybe you don’t mind exercise, but you hate the effort it takes to get enough exercise. You’ll be happy to know that it really isn’t necessary to hit the gym on a regular basis in order to be fit after 50. All you really need to do is keep your house clean and do some yard work.
Doing housework is one of those hidden gems of exercise that many of us overlook. Many baby boomers over 50 begin to increase the time they spend sitting on the couch watching TV and lessen the amount of activity in their lives. The fact is, if you get up and move around a little bit, even if you aren’t exerting yourself enough to break a sweat, you are still going to see benefits from that effort.
Everybody loves a clean house and vacuuming and mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms and dusting are excellent ways to burn calories without having to formally do an exercise routine.
What are some of the best things you can do around the home to help you to get fit?
Here are the amount of calories burned in 30 minutes of doing various housework activities:
- Doing laundry 73 calories
- Making the bed 68 calories
- Cooking 85 calories
- Washing the dishes 78 calories
- Ironing 78 calories
- Dusting 85 calories
- Sweeping 112 calories
- Vacuuming 119 calories
- Scrubbing the floors 129 calories
- Yard work 170 calories
- Washing windows 102 calories
- Washing the car 102 calories
- Gardening 136 calories
- Mowing the lawn 187 calories
- Raking 146 calories
These are calories burned just doing ordinary tasks. Deep cleaning usually involves lifting, bending and stooping in order to reach areas that are not usually touched.
Doing housework on a regular basis not only helps you to burn calories but you’re using your muscles as well. Also, housework helps you relax in your home. Being able to relax and destress from time to time is an important part of staying in shape.
There are lots of ways to improve fitness after 50 but by doing housework you’ll also have the pleasure of having a clean, organized, relaxing home to live in at the same time. Aren’t you glad to know that sweating at the gym isn’t the only way to be physically fit? Your daily housework and yard work can make this senior fitness program effortless.
Old Radio Shows - Classic Radio Shows Online
OTR.Network Library- The OTR.Network is a wonderfuyl online resource for Old Time Radio Shows. Listen free to over 11,000 classic radio shows like Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Milton Berle, as well as other great shows such as Ozzie and Harriet, Our Miss Brooks and more. All these old radio programs are available instantly. New shows added weekly.
Radio Lovers.com features comedies, mysteries and more. Several hundred classic radio shows available for free download.
ITunes.com Itunes is free so download and is most often thought of for downloading music but iTunes also offers free podcasts and radio listening. There are dozens of old time radio podcasts you can subscribe to, all for free listening.
Blubrry.com offers free old radio shows by podcast.
CalfKiller Old Time Radio Shows Podcast. Old Time Radio Shows featured daily. Great list of resources for old time radio shows too.
Old Time Radio Nostalgia More free old time radio shows via podcast. Great shows like Lewis and Martin and Theater Five are available.
1940s Old BBC radio shows of the wartime years in the 1940’s. Including Bandwagon, starring ARthur Askey and several wartime military radio shows featuring fictional RAF bases, Navy ships and more. Many are comedies meant to keep up the spirits of Britons in wartime.
Other Great Resources for Old Time Radio Shows
EY’s Radio Links - Over 100 websites with information on old radio shows.
Old Time Radio Researchers Group offers an ezine and other great information on Old Time Radio Shows.
It’s a real treat to hear these once great stars, like Betty Davis, in Academy Award Theater. If you haven’t listened to classic radio shows like Ozzie and Harriet or Jack Benny before, let me warn you, you’ll be hooked in no time!