This past week I looked out my front door to see this silly robin trying to build a nest in one of the hanging flower baskets on my front porch. I watched him for quite a while, digging  around.

It kind of reminded me of the P.D. Eastman children’s book The Best Next. He kept digging until I decided to check my mail. Then he flew away and hasn’t been back. I guess he realized it wasn’t the best site for a nest after all.

Since it’s Monday, it’s once again time for the Blogging Boomers Carnival. The carnival is a weekly collection of blog posts by an eclectic group of baby boomers who also happen to blog. We’re an interesting bunch, if I do say so myself.

This week’s Carnival includes posts about declining libido in marriage, divorce after 40 years of marriage, permanent makeup, family health history and more. Please join the conversation by heading over to the Gen Plus blog to see what’s served up this week. Then read the posts that catch your fancy and leave a comment or two.

Have a great week.

Andrea J. Stenberg

This past week my son’s school held their annual Grade 6 Breakfast. The kids are moving onto a new school next year so this was their “graduation” ceremony. They had a kids-only portion and then parents were invited for the formal part of the event that included awards and certificates.

My smart ass son thanked the academy as he got his award. Wonder where he gets that from?

This week I am honoured to be the host of the weekly Blogging Boomer Carnival. The Carnival is, as its name implies, a collection of bloggers who also happen to be baby boomers. We write on a diverse range of topics, all from our own perspective on life. And each week, we select our best post from the past week (or so) and submit it to be included in the Carnival.

You job, dear reader, is to visit these blogs and read what my boomer friends have offered up. If you are so moved, you are encouraged to leave your thoughts in the form of a comment. After all, the power of blogging that it’s not a one-way communication by the authors. It is a conversation, but only if you participate.

Here goes:

Trying to decide what’s next in your life?  Should you go for what you really, really want this time, or settle one more time for the same old same old?  Here’s what the Midlife Crisis Queen thinks about that!

There is a new trend in vacations, it’s called the “Mancation.” Think of it as the travel counterpart to a “man cave.” More at LifeTwo.com.

Cropped pants – They’re a fabulous alternative to shorts for Boomer gals, so long as you pick the right shoes to complement them. This week the Glam Gals at Fabulous after 40 have some “ soleful” advice on shoes that work with cropped pants and ones that don’t.

It’s All About Aging wonders why women seem to need to improve their inner beings every 5 minutes or every other page of a magazine? And where men go to get in touch with their inner selves?

A couple of weeks ago, Janet at Gen Plus chimed in with her reaction to the Gulf Oil Crisis.  She’d like to point you to the comments to that post — primarily the excellent explanations of the challenges in “plugging the hole” by a retired oil tanker captain, and a weigh in from a heavy equipment operator.  You may have your own thoughts to share.

Would you leave your body to medical science?  Ann at Contemporary Retirement is seriously considering it.

Why do authoritarian tendencies emerge only during bear markets in stocks?  SoBabyBoomer tells us about the fear factor experienced during tough times.

How do you manage your use of Twitter once you are following more than a couple of hundred people? You need to use an aggregator. Two of the top ones are TweetDeck and HootSuite. Which one is better? Read the Baby Boomer Entrepreneur’s review to find out.

Enjoy!

Andrea J. Stenberg

I gained some serious “cool mom points” for this past weekend. I took my son and some friends to my mother-in-law’s cottage for an early birthday celebration. We picked the boys up from school Friday and brought them back late Sunday afternoon.

The boys had fireworks and presents Friday night, a hike, cake and bonfire Saturday with more cake and swimming on Sunday. Add in board games, target practice with Nerf guns, some Wallace & Grommit videos and a two-night sleepover, and it was a perfect boy weekend.

The photo on the right was taken mid-hike along the Georgian Bay shore. Did I mention my husband took the boys on the hike? Which made it a perfect mom weekend too! Gave me time to read, relax and think about blog posts for this week.

Speaking of which, this week’s Blogging Boomers Carnival is hosted by Vaboomer. This week’s topics include cancer diagnosis, long sleeves for boomer women, being single in a family-centric world and much more. Join the party: read the posts and leave a comment.

Andrea J. Stenberg

We’ve had some amazing weather the past week. And my peonies are in full bloom. I love the smell of them, not to mention their bursting blooms in a vase in my living room. They just cheer up the place.

While I was picking some the other day my husband decided to take a few snaps. Several of the photos were horrible, but this one was passable so I thought I’d be brave and share it.

Well, it’s Monday once again so it must be Blogging Boomers Carnival time. For those who are new to the Carnival, let me explain. A blog carnival is a collection of bloggers who gather their best posts from the past week. Each week, one of the members takes turn playing host. The host creates a post with a short description and a link to each of the posts. In this case, the Blogging Boomers Carnival is a collection of baby boomers who blog. We are an eclectic mix but there’s always some interesting posts to read.

This week we have posts about a shingles vaccine, self esteem (for boomers and their children), good eating and more.

So please head on over the this week’s Carnival and visit each of the bloggers. I think you’ll enjoy what you find.

Andrea J. Stenberg