What to Wear?

I'm always asking myself this question. Fortunately for me I'm blessed to have a family member who's a clothes designer so clothes are often delivered to my door, in my size and in my colors. I have to admit, I still get stuck on the what do I wear TODAY? question! But, in my family, we don't do activewear, which I personally love. It's fashionable, it's flexible and I get to stay comfortable all day long! I was thrilled when Kate at Anatomie approached us and suggested putting on a fashion show at the festival. We're going to have it on Saturday, so you won't want to miss it!

You can see some of Anatomie's great fashion here:
http://www.festivalofthewise.com/features/boomerwomensfashionshow.html

Yoga, Pilates & Tai Chi - the Fitness Sessions

Okay, so I just got back from a run. Well, it wasn't running... it was jogging. Avid joggers would probably call it more of a slow-motion trot. Regardless, it's new to me. I have to admit, running has never really been my thing because it seems so strenuous and well, you sweat. Why have I taken it up? Well, when I have a lot of work on my plate and I've been sitting at my computer for a long period of time it helps to clear my head (I can only focus on the effort) and get outdoors to see my neighbors gardens. I don't actually stop to smell the flowers, just smile at them as I jog by.  

One thing I've always done for my health is yoga and, in the last few years, I added pilates. I have found these to be excellent ways to keep limber, physically toned and mentally centered. I started yoga when I was 20. I fractured my back when I was 17 and the ONLY thing that relieved the chronic pain was yoga. Adding pilates helped to strengthen my core muscles, which support my back even more, especially since I tend to spend copious hours hunched over a keyboard.

If you've never tried yoga, pilates or tai chi... you're in for a treat. We're bringing them to the festival. If you have tried them, you'll be happy to know you can nip out of a conference session and over to a yoga class. Like the music and conference, the fitness classes are included in the price of admission.

You can check them out here: http://www.festivalofthewise.com/features/fitnesssessions.html

Green Boomers

As someone who has been known to get upset by the amount of plastic wrapping vegetables in the grocery store, I was terribly pleased when it became obvious that we needed to add a green track to our conference program! With 1 out of every 2 Boomers in America considering themselves 'Green Boomers' it only makes sense that we respond.

We've called it the GreenWise track and it's going to incorporate some great topics such as: 

"Going Green on a Budget"

"Simple Ways to Lessen Your Carbon Footprint"

"Can I really Save Using Solar Paneling?"

You can read the press release here:

http://www.festivalofthewise.com/news/press/pressrelease4.html

We're also looking for additional presenters for this conference track so if you've got something you want to talk about fill out a presenter for and send it in. You can get the presenter form here: http://www.festivalofthewise.com/conference/conference.html

Other conference tracks include: health, travel, lifestyle, technology & money.

Boomers : Finding Passion and Purpose

So, it's 6pm and I finally turn to our BoomerWise blog, which is fun for me to write. But, my head, when tossing around ideas of what to write about, only seems to be giving me one word:

Work

Well, I guess that's because for me, its been one of those work days. The day when the minute you get off the phone - it rings again and again and again - and five phone calls later the 2 projects you started the day with are buried beneath 5 new urgent items. 

Fortunately for me, I'm extremely passionate about my work and believe in the value of what I'm working on everyday. I made the decision in the last couple of years to switch industries and roles and take up my current position. More and more we are seeing this type of mid-career switch is also true for boomers. They want to be in a job they truly care about.

Boomerz is the Scottsdale boomer association that is specifically focused on recareering and the Festival of the Wise is very fortunate to have Cindy Cooke, the director of Boomerz, moderating a panel they developed called:

Passion & Purpose: Finding Flexible and Meaningful Opportunities in Mid-Life

This panel will feature boomers who will share their personal journeys, the reasons for the major changes they made in mid-life, their doubts, sacrifices, and joys they encountered along the way.

You can find out more about this talk here:

http://www.festivalofthewise.com/conference/lifewise.html

And more about Boomerz here:

http://www.boomerzwork.com/