Seniors Site

Christmas is fast approaching and when it does, one of the good things that come in mind is gifts!

Truly, gifts make holiday seasons more special–especially the ones that are given by our loved-ones. For seniors, it tends to be more sentimental than material. At this point in our lives, when we have seen and heard it all, what matters most is how we’re remembered. It’s funny how we often associate ourselves to the gifts we received hence the eagerness to open upon receiving one. Maybe it’s because our personality remains as the biggest factor to be considered when they choose gifts for us. Opening one is more like knowing how we are seen through the giver’s eyes.

It’s already a known fact that most seniors don’t need much for gifts. The simpler, the better. The giver doesn’t need to bother with expensive gifts that bear no use. The three simple rules for senior gift-giving are:

·    Simplicity of use
·    Applicable for the senior’s lifestyle
·    Personalized

If you can incorporate all these three in one gift then it only proves that you really care for this person, enough to know what makes him or her happy.  Here are some Christmas gift ideas for seniors:

·    Personalized mugs. Mugs are very convenient to use for seniors with gripping problem. They need not be used for hot things alone but even for handling cold liquids as a glass without handles tends to slip and break. There are many shops which offer photographs to be integrated into the mug’s design and even place names on it for an added personalized touch.
·    Something made by your own hands. No matter how silly it looks like, seniors appreciate handmade things more than those you can readily buy in the market. Crocheted, knitted, potted, painted and just about anything you can ever think of!
·    If you would like to give something expensive, go for personalized jewelry such as locket with pictures or even a pendant with their names etched on it.
·    Cooked food. You can never go wrong with nourishing the ones you love the most! Shower them with your culinary expertise this Christmas.
·    Gift basket. If you don’t have any idea what to give, then think of a hobby and fill in a gift basket with all the stuff that they might need when doing their hobby.

It was always said that the key to healthier, longer lives is diet. Not the lose-your-fats kind of diet but the well-balanced one since seniors are not anymore encouraged to do—or even attempt—drastic diet alterations. What we must aim at is not only losing a couple of pounds (if we’re overweight) but maintaining a healthy body so that it can ward off potentially fatal diseases easily. A proper mindset can help you achieve this goal.

In a way, it’s like preparing your body for a battle. You must properly nourish it so it will be strong enough to withstand trial and tribulations. Just imagine if these so-called “lifestyle diseases” caught you at your most vulnerable time i.e tired, beaten and hungry. You could just imagine how much damage it can inflict upon you. Please do remember that most lifestyle diseases are irreversible, so as much as possible, do stay away from it and never let it anywhere near you!

So now you know why crash dieting is never an option for you, nor diet pills and what-not. It’s unhealthy, not to mention very risky. Risk is no longer a luxury we can afford so better stay at the safer side than traverse your way without knowing what’s there for you. Although, there seemed to be so many issues to consider when going through the diet route which makes it all the more tempting to go the other way, the good news is, it can be done even in your own simple ways. No signature diet, no counting calories, just your basic, everyday-kind-of-life diet that is realistic enough to be easily remembered! Here are your daily diet tips for a healthier you:

·    Drink plenty of water. Lots and lots of it! Colored, flavored and anything in between are not counted anymore, just pure, clean drinking water counts. The easiest way to do this is to carry a water jug with you all the time and drink even if you are not that thirsty. Consider this as your body’s mechanical oil; keeps everything else in you in moving condition!
·    Never skip a meal, especially breakfast. Breakfast is what keeps you energized all throughout the day. A hearty breakfast won’t hurt you but as the day progresses, try to gradually lessen it so you won’t have any trouble sleeping at night.
·    Adequate amount of calcium and vitamin D. They go hand-in-hand. I heard somewhere that you even have to drink your milk in the morning out there under the sun to experience full effect although it was not proven, of course. But indeed, vitamin D is what helps bones to absorb calcium so you really need these two to save your bones.
·    Do without fats and sugar. Fats is what makes your cholesterol go high and sugar makes you prone to diabetes.
·    Go for fiber-rich foods. It fills the stomach well but keeps everything else you’ve eaten moving downward and out.

Soon after retirement, there are retirement work options you need to think about. Actually, retirement work and everything else that comes with it should be prepared ahead of time just so when you have reached the big day, there will be no added surprises anymore. At best, your home office should be set up—and ideally “soft” running—even before you are held legally retired by the law. This is because setting up an office might sound so simple, but in actuality, it’s not as easy as it seemed.

Setting up an office takes time and planning, of course. Not only that, right after settling in and, for the very first time, working in this office, that will be the only time you’ll see how your “careful planning” has gone wrong. Like any other business, home-based also has its own set of challenges and will also require time to get on its feet. The only difference is the penny you’ll save as compared to renting a proper office space. Aside from that, some clients do prefer working with someone who operates from home.

If you are thinking of setting up your own home office then check out this step-by-step guide in making it as smooth as possible:

·    Designate a suitable room. When I say suitable, it means it should be as far as it can get from all potential distractions. If possible, it should have a great view of something soothing and/or refreshing. However, if you are living in the city and you don’t have this kind of luxury then choose a wallpaper that suits you best. Blue is known to stimulate the mind while light blue gives an illusion of a much wider space.
·    Floor planning or even a rough sketch of what you have in mind. If you have one in mind, this is the time to draw it down, if you don’t, consult the internet for many interesting ideas. While it is easy to lose yourself while doing this, you need to consider two of the most important factors that should exist in an office: comfort and functionality. Start with your essentials then add accents later.
·    Clear the room. As in zero. Nada. It is much better—and easier—to start with a blank space than keep moving things until they finally fit in. It will also give you a clear idea how much space you have in your hands rather than depending on your estimates.
·    Start with what you have right now. You don’t have to buy every single piece that goes into your office. With a little creativity, you can manage with almost 80% of your existing furniture and still be happy with your office.
·    Be on the look out for companies which offices are currently under renovation. Chances are, they are also offering their “old things” for sale!
·    One by one, fill your office up but be conscious of the remaining space when doing this. If you intend to spend lots of time in this room, it is easier to breathe when you have a lot of space to do so.
·    Lighting is very important. Choose a light that won’t strain your eyes. Neither too bright nor too dim would work.
·    Give it a test. After admiring your handiwork, it’s time to get down and dirty. Remember what I have said about soft opening? Every major business does a soft opening because this is the only way they will be able to see the office in action. Do this too so you’ll have time to fix or arrange things before a large transaction comes.

These past couple of months, we saw how Mother Nature can make people pay for what they have done and what they are still doing to it. Worldwide, we saw drought in different parts of the country, there were awful storms which brought about floods and even the ground we walk on is threatening to shake anytime it deemed be. Mercifully, people are starting to take notice, even government of third world countries are beginning to take certain steps to alleviate, if not remedy, the problem at hand. It may be a little late for that but it is certainly welcomed.

Meanwhile, the authorities can only do so much. If we want to feel the change, it should start from our own houses, from our own lifestyle and definitely, from us as a person. This should not be hard and of course, it won’t kill us. In fact, some of these easy steps for living green can even improve our quality of life. It is good for your health and most of all, you are doing the environment a favor! Here are some easy steps in making your life as green as possible:

1.    Go organic- Going organic means you buy your fruits, veggies and even meat only if they are not contaminated with any chemicals. This way you support organic farmers which I must admit, are a little low in numbers as compared to commercial, traditional farmers we know. It can be a bit expensive than the commercial ones but like stated earlier, the demand doesn’t encourage the farmers that much to make the big switch.
2.    Buy local produce- In doing so, there will be lesser fuel burns to harm our environment. If you are a gardener, you can even sell your crops to neighbors and set aside some for your own use.
3.    Lessen fuel consumption, if possible- You don’t have to ride your car all the time and if you need to, try to carry it in full load, meaning, find people who might be needing a ride to your destination in order to fill up the car to its full capacity. If the distance is manageable, try walking back and forth. This is a great way to get a dose of your daily exercise plus you saved fuel.
4.    Let go of the pack-rat syndrome- Do you know that the other term used for a pack-rat’s practice is hoarding? Surely, you don’t want to be accused of something as sinister as that! You need to let go of the things that you don’t need and make someone else happy by donating them to charity. The rule of thumb is to let go if something remains untouched for at least 6 months.
5.    Refuse plastic especially if you cannot reuse it- yes, I am referring to grocery plastic bags that you throw away after one use because it’s either soiled or torn. Instead, bring a canvas bag or any wide enough bag and put your purchases in there. Just make sure you do that after you pay for your purchases!
6.    Conserve water everytime- Just imagine how hard it would be if our water supplies gone dry. There are ways you can conserve water without altering your lifestyle too much. All you need to do is use a little common sense. For example, turning off faucets when it is not needed.
7.    Use biodegradable soaps- The idea behind green living is lessening your harmful impact to the environment as much as possible. When you say it is biodegradable, it means it dissolves and completely breaks down to natural elements. If it doesn’t, it means it will stay intact for undeterminable amount of time. It may even outlast your grandkids!
8.    Unleash your inner creativeness- Cans can be made as garden pots, scraps for tables and chairs. In your own little ways, you can make something useful out of ordinary objects that usually end up in thrash.
9.    Apply natural gardening method- You don’t need to use chemical-based pesticides and fertilizers. Remember, your plants can still survive even without them. Use compost as a fertilizer, it will lessen your waste and will benefit your soil at the same time. Handpick nasty pest and bugs when you see them instead of spraying harmful pesticide all around town.
10.    Keep plants at home- Plants are a natural air purifier, it will make your air a little easier to breathe in.

It’s a known fact that seniors today have already redefined retirement—and according to their terms! Today, specific facts for retirement are only those you will find written as a law, other than that, it is solely up to the senior how he or she chooses to spend the so-called golden age.

Traditionally, when you reach the legal retirement age, you are expected to quit your job, collect your benefits, stay at home and spend the rest of your life in a leisurely manner. While some of the seniors today have saved enough money to cover their backs, they prefer to stay employed or at least generate money just for the fun of it—and of course, enjoy the many benefits it brings.

Studies show that working retirees are not prone to depression and it keeps mental diseases at bay. And because more seniors are now conscious of their health, taking a little extra effort in making their bodies as fit and strong as possible, they live a much longer and enriched lives. Furthermore, seniors swear that working in their retirement years brings them a certain level of satisfaction and security. Part time retirement jobs give time flexibility making seniors enjoy the best of both worlds.

With that said, here are some suggested jobs after retirement:

·    Healthcare administration- This doesn’t mean you will work in a hospital scene. Of course, you won’t, instead, you will work at the other side of the healthcare profession. It can be clerical or managerial positions where tasks are much lighter to handle.
·    Tutorial and teaching aides- The best thing about this job is that you are assured of a steady income and you can conduct tutorial sessions right from your own home.
·    Writing jobs- Seniors who belong to the “frustrated-writers” group would be the perfect-fit for a job like this. Usually, those blogs you see are not written by their owners, instead they hire someone to maintain it for them. If you love writing so much and you have a lot to spare, you can try looking for job like this.
·    Merchandise and retail shops- With much pursuing made by senior groups, most retail shops are now hiring seniors to join their workforce. Check out reputable grocery chains in your area for convenience.
·    Book keeping- Let’s face it, most business people are too busy to even keep their books straight hence they hire somebody to do it for them.
·    Sales and marketing- This field has required someone with long standing experience to do the job right. This person could be you.
·    Customer service- If you enjoy talking over the phone and find it easy to chat for hours on end then it’s time to put your talent into an income generating venture.

Centuries back, Celiac disease was known to exclusively plague kids until the later years of 1990’s when it was found out to be an inborn disease which many of us were said to have, only we were vaguely aware of it. Babies are known to be sensitive to many things, or we tend to be very observant around them thus early signs of the disease are detected at once. We believed Celiac disease to be something that can be outgrown, only to be corrected by medical researchers claiming otherwise. Now, Celiac disease is established as an auto-immune disorder that is both inborn and lifelong.

This medical development gave birth to what is now known as gluten-free diet. Gluten-free diet is a must for all Celiac disease sufferers and for those with gluten allergies. Dermatitis herpetiformis is known to have a very strong link to the aforementioned disease and is suspected of being Celiac disease’s complication. Since the lifestyle has diet written all over it, diet gurus are quick to pick up, evangelizing gluten to be a bad protein that harms the body.

Celiac disease tends to be harder to spot than most illnesses since its symptoms can range from mild to moderate to severe. Because of this, health care providers now consider Celiac disease when checking a patient. What bothers these health care providers is the staggering number of seniors whom they suspect of having the disease. When left untreated, it can trigger, or even lead to, most fatal diseases such as gastric cancer, liver cancer, diabetes and even Alzheimer’s disease. Upon consumption of gluten, the most typical symptoms of Celiac disease are weight loss, anemia and diarrhea. A gluten-free diet is known to alleviate symptoms and help improve the sufferer’s health tremendously.

At early stages, Celiac disease is not at all fatal but its complications prove to be one. It triggers underlying diseases making it manifest prematurely and when they do, they are often unmanageable. When left undetected—and untreated—it can cause the sufferer great deal of pain later in life. Studies have shown Celiac disease to be hereditary so when your grandson’s pediatrician diagnosed him to have one, it is better to have yourself checked too by your own doctor. Working with your doctor proves to be the best thing you can do to keep the disease in check.

Now that you finally gave in to your peer’s constant harassing, you find yourself staring helplessly to your supposedly profile page, not knowing what to do. Honestly, as much as Facebook is fun, it is equally complicated. On average, a person with no Facebook experience whatsoever in the past will spend at least half of the day before he can be left to his own devices. Of course, if you are to observe a child of three, an hour of tinkering would do.

What makes Facebook fun—and complicated—is that it can do more than add friends and post pictures like the old ones do. It can multitask and freakishly enough, it can even suggest friends whom you really know and not just random ones as if it has been stalking you all your life. But, the crowning glory of Facebook, and the most interesting of all, is its live feeds.

Opening a Facebook account is fairly easy. All you need is a valid email address and off you go. Make sure that you are using a VALID email address since Facebook will ask you to confirm via this email address. Now, moving on to the basics..

Since there will be millions upon millions of potential viewers, you might want to consider how much information you are willing to share. When using social networking sites, make sure that your safety and privacy come first. Also, don’t ever post pictures that you might regret seeing in the future since photo theft is very common in Facebook. Keep your private photos, well, private. You don’t need them to be in Facebook anyway. Privacy settings can be adjusted according to levels. It is highly advisable for you to go all “only friends”. This way you won’t risk being viewed by somebody you don’t know.

Search for your friends by doing an advance search. Upon finding them, hit the “Add as Friend” button and wait for their confirmation. You can also browse through your friend’s list for other people of interest. Furthermore, it is not unusual to receive a friend request from someone you don’t know since many online marketers are trying to penetrate Facebook via this route with no apparent success. If this happens to you, just hit the reject button, he won’t find out that you did anyway. If he persists then your last resort would be to block this person from having any connection with you.

Wall posts are those you write in the “what’s on your mind?” box. Be extra careful when posting in this little box since the whole Facebook community will be able to read it. Keep it simple and don’t communicate with someone using this option, instead send them a direct mail or write on their “walls”. Walls are what you see when you hit the profile button. That is your wall.

The first page you will see upon logging in is the live feeds. In this page, you’ll see your friends’ activities such as when they befriended someone or just won the poker game. When you opt to publish an activity, it will also appear on the live feeds, along with many others. Video posting, pictures and even editing your profiles goes straight in that page, notifying your friends of your movements. Speaking of your live feeds, it’s okay to comment on someone else’s activity if you wish to. In an event when a person is already cluttering your live feeds with too many annoying posts, hover your mouse just far opposite of your friend’s name until the “hide” button appears then choose what exactly it is that you want to hide.

Communicating in Facebook is the easiest of all. You can do the wall post from your own to all or directly to your friend’s wall. You can also send direct mails which will land straight to their inboxes and won’t be published to the live feeds or you can chat with them real time. Chatting with your friends in Facebook does not require rocket science, just find the “chat” box below, hit on that and check who’s online. If you don’t feel like chatting right now, choose offline.

It is okay to experience a couple of hit and miss posts. You can remove them from your wall anyway. It can be a bore during your first few days but as your friends increase in number and your live feeds roll like crazy, you will soon find yourself checking your account every hour of the day! Happy Facebooking!

Since the last time’s post garnered favorable response from seniors-site.com’s visitors, we would assume that most viewers of this site come from the senior workforce. Actually, this data should be expected since most seniors today still belong to the office-going group and 9-5 jobs. Although at this point in one’s life when freelancing must be the most suitable considering health and comfort, you’ll notice that there are seniors—and that is, a significant number of them—who prefer to stay within the confines of offices where they have spent almost all their lives. Adaptability, however, has nothing to do with it, but loyalty appears to be a great factor affecting their choice.

For the young and restless, this must be a little hard to understand since their life’s choices heavily depend on primal instinct, wherein when faced with office conflicts, instead of dealing with it in a mature, business-like way, they tend to “fight or flight”. Due to this attitude, it is 100% possible for offices to undergo changes from time to time, such as recovering from an office conflict, calm before the storm and of course, the main event. During these office episodes, it is best if you always know where to stand or how to react THE RIGHT WAY just so you prevent getting into unnecessary trouble. Here are some basic office etiquette for working seniors:

·    Even if you are already starting to look like a carved ornament in your office due to your extensive working years with the company, it is still not nice to act differently when someone new comes around. While your position in the office structure has long been established, just consider how the newbie might be feeling right now. Instead, as the “senior”, you must act as the welcoming committee of your team and make the new recruit as comfortable as can be.
·    Learn to modulate your voice when talking. No need to shout when you need something or when conducting business. Never when calling out your office mate’s name, not when talking over the phone, not even in emails (It’s possible to shout there. To prevent this, stay away from the Caps Lock button). When you feel that everyone around you is starting to talk in hushed tones, then it’s time to have your own ears checked.
·    A healthy, working environment is when everybody is helpful and workers are willing to share their expertise. Since by now, you must be “the expert”, the best thing you can do is help others make the work easier for them rather than just watch them wade helplessly through tasks.
·    Humans make mistakes. It is part of the growing process and you should allow it. Sometimes, hardcore office bodies—such as you—tend to be hypercritical when it comes to the work done by beginners. So what if they made a mess with the task assigned to them? Maybe you weren’t guiding them enough.
·    You have come this far. It means you got enough office experience under your belt and most probably, you are the most favored person in the office. Please don’t use this advantage for power-tripping and such. It is not nice. Give others a chance to grow and see where their talents lie.

Office politics is no joke and it is not exclusive to the younger society as well. Seniors can also encounter these problems even if they are not asking for it. No matter how you stay humble and efficient when it comes to handling jobs, it can arise at most unfortunate times. The only advantage we, seniors, may have is that we are more experienced to handle these kinds of situation especially if we have been in the workforce for only God knows when!

Office politics is one of the many workplace stressors. It usually occurs when something new happens to the office’s structure, such as when an aggressive newbie comes in and has been an instant favorite of the superiors for whatever reason. It can create a lot of stress to the existing work structure and can seriously affect those who have been working harmoniously prior to the change. On the other hand, office politics can exist even before you get hired which only makes it harder for you to blend in.

Upon detection, we must not attempt to change anything because we risk losing our job all the more. Unless you are ready to get fired, the best thing to do is to divert your attention to yourself so you can adequately protect your being for what it’s worth.

·    Be wise. Let’s face it, when your superiors chose to shower someone with lots of love, there’s not much you can do. While it’s most appealing to just fight back, it is not very healthy for your career. If the situation is somewhat manageable then let them be. If you cannot take it anymore, then drop the job like a hot potato. Either way, there’s no need to fuss about it unless you prefer to look like a jealous lover.
·    It’s funny how office politics can easily turn a good employee to one unproductive being. This is because conflicts like this can cause unwanted diversion, no matter how much you choose to ignore them. If you’re the victim then it’s time to put the blinders on and just continue doing your job.
·    Know when to back off. Backing off does not make you a coward, it’s a strategy best learned by winners. Instead, focus on making things done so there will be no loose ends on your part.
·    ..and shut up. There’s nothing worse than bitching around and spreading gossip about someone you don’t like. The lesser you speak, the more you are handling the situation well. Plus, it eliminates the possibility of you being torn between two opposing bodies.
·    Don’t take it personally. You don’t control other people’s action, what you can only control is your own. Instead of taking everything personally, opt to take a mindset that is business-like. You don’t need these people hindering your success.
·    If, for some reason, you’re unable to fully detach yourself from office politics, then try a different approach. Since you wish to be taken personally, why not make friends with the opposition and try to understand where this person is coming from. Next, try to make it more productive for both of you and work towards it. It’s called compromising.

It seems like everybody has been tweeting and it’s not about birds! One short trip to your favorite hairdresser and you’ll surely encounter the words “tweet”, “tweeting” and “twitter”; worse, you’ll have someone asking you of your Twitter ID! If you are not familiar with this free social networking/micro-blogging service that has been taking the world by storm, then it’s easy to get yourself embarrassed by the situation at hand for the Twitter community has their own “special” language to get by.

The way you use Twitter is very different from the traditional social networking sites we’ve grown so used to. Of course, it still requires a photo of you so you’ll be recognizable to your friends, in case they are hunting you down. Aside from that, you supply basic information about yourself in Twitter’s profile page, just enough to make new friends since it’s a very open community and new relationships are bound to form. You can also change your Twitter background, if you happen to be very experimental with your pages. What sets it apart is that the services seemed too limiting when in fact, it has one hundred and one ways of use for interested parties. Also, Twitter has been kind enough to allow different applications to access their sites making it so convenient to use even your two-year old grandchild can do it! It can also be linked to almost all social networking sites so tweeting will never be a problem.

Before we shake our tail feathers and just to give seniors who would like to dabble with Twitter an idea, it’s not always love-at-first-sight for Twitter. Some users go AWOL for quite sometime right after signing up only to revive the account months later. The usual problem is lack of friends. You see, if you don’t have someone to talk to in Twitter neither do you make friends that easily, it tends to be a tad boring there. Here are some basic Twitter tips to jumpstart your own little community:

·    Active participation is the key to a Twitter success. Survey shows that the most followed profiles in Twitter are those of opinionated people even if they are a little off the edge. Unless you prefer to stalk people, it is best if you already have an existing community there to join i.e your friends, family etc.
·    Your bio can be built overtime but most importantly is that you need to fill it up with something right after signing up. How else would your neighbor know it’s you if you don’t make yourself known? For safety reasons, do practice basic precautionary measures like never giving away your personal details. Like stated earlier, Twitter is an open place where everybody can view your profile—even to somebody you barely know.
·    Granted, Twitter is not a home for your lovely photo collection and users are given a limit of 140 characters for each tweet hence the importance of links. This community is most interested in clicking i.e following links to wherever it leads so give them that instead. Share your loot, and you’ll be loved. By the way, don’t just share, use URL shorteners.
·    Marketers find Twitter to be very useful. In fact, it was said that most conversions or sales come from the Twitter community. Due to this, more and more online marketing efforts are thrown at this side of town by the minute leaving a little breathing room for ordinary people like us. You can either scream “keep off the grass” or use them to your advantage. It’s your call.
·    RT means retweet. It’s okay to grab someone else’s tweet just as long as you give credit where it’s due.

Basically, that’s it. In time, you’ll eventually learn to walk the walk and talk the talk. Meanwhile, test your tweeting powers and bug your friends all day long!