No Facelifts or Gym Memberships for me!
Facelifts cost too much money and a gym membership requires me to drive to a larger town!! Those really aren't the reasons why I have opted out of both. More about this later.
I'm 53 and I was taught by my beautiful mother to take care of my skin. "Make sure you moisturize your neck!" " Always wear sunglasses!" " Don't you need a hat on?" She still says these things to me, especially the one about wearing sunglasses.
She was right. I've always treated my neck as I do my face...with a good moisturizer and with kid gloves. This routine has kept the crows feet at bay, and I'm happy to report I really don't have any wrinkles. I almost always wear sunglasses but wearing a hat is one that I don't do very often. For one, most hats don't fit me. I don't know where my large size head came from, but it has made it more difficult to find a head covering that looks good and doesn't give me a head ache. But I have come to regret not obeying the last commandment in the trio of her beauty advice. I have found little sun spots around my hair line of my forehead. While the sunglasses have protected my eyes, and the area around them, my forehead was exposed and left defenseless.
This still doesn't explain why I have opted out of plastic surgery or a gym membership. It's not because I am in perfect physical health. I can admit I am overweight. But as many times as I have made the decision to 'start a diet' or drive to a gym 3 days a week, I have lost and gained weight. Even the times when I think THIS IS IT! I have found the miracle diet or workout! Slowly but surely the weight creeps back on and frustration sets in. But...I think I have found the answer for me. Another piece of great advice my mother would give me was told to her by a family doctor. "When it comes to eating, enjoy everything in moderation. Eat the roll, but not all the rolls. Enjoy a piece of cake, but not 2-3 pieces. As soon as you start depriving your body and mind of these pleasures, you will almost always find yourself over indulging at some point and that isn't good." I decided to go back to this theory. 
I knew this sounded better than not savoring a fresh croissant with a cup of coffee. It sounded better than not eating chocolate. And then I discovered a series of books by Mireille Guiliano. The first one I bought was French Women Don't Get Fat. She writes, "I eat a lot. One can find exceptions, as with any rule, but overwhelmingly, French women do as I do: they eat as they like and don't get fat. Pourquoi?" I have to admit, I love ALL THINGS FRENCH! This book really caught my attention with the dream that I could somehow try something that French Women have known forever...by changing some habits and by doing something for me that would hopefully end in a dramatic change without the dramatic effort.
This is the beginning of November, (not the greatest or easiest time to change some habits) and I made the decision to go through her book. To follow this advice that has me longing for a slower, more lovely pace in my daily life. 
If you are anything like me, you are longing for the beauty in every day life. You want to drop the guilt associated with preparing great food. You want to savor the taste of chocolate without being judged. If you want to embrace a lifestyle that includes delighting in setting a table. If you want to avoid things that demand too much effort for very little pleasure. If you want to laugh more and if you want to enjoy walking again...I hope you will follow me on my journey to find these things... and how I came to the decision to avoid plastic surgery and a gym membership.
GiGi