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How to find your purpose and have fun in midlife ... create your own destiny in 2023

29/12/2022

18 Comments

 
I have just turned 56! How on earth did that happen? I am sure the last time I looked I was only 25 ... but you know what, age really is only a number, and the important thing is that we embrace the life we have, live life to the full, celebrate every stage in our lives and be the best we can be. At 56 I find myself with an empty nest and new opportunities ahead of me. And so that poses the question, what next? It is an exciting time for all of us heading into our 50s, and onwards to 60 and beyond. As I have passed that half way mark, is now a good time to start planning the next phase and finding a new purpose?

A little bit about me ... a very quick and brief summary of my life so far! I was born at 4 minutes past midnight in a small maternity hospital near St Paul's Cray just outside Orpington. As a child it was always a family joke that if mum had pushed a little harder my birthday would have been a day earlier! We moved to Bearsted when I was 4 and then to Buckinghamshire when I was 14. I got married for the first time when I was 21 (way too young) and then divorced quite soon after ... I met my now husband when I was 23 but we didn't marry until much later on. I wanted to be a Nurse but a phobia of vomiting stopped me pursuing that dream, I worked as a Personal Assistant for many corporate organisations (including pharmaceuticals) until I had my son at 31. I've not worked outside of the home since but I am a Director of mine and my husbands business and I taught myself bookkeeping but more recently I have loved building and developing my blog.  But most importantly I have two adult children I am incredibly proud of and I have loved being a stay at home mum.

But how about this empty nest and finding my new purpose in midlife? I think my children will always need me so I have no intention of stepping back from my first love, being a mum but it is exciting to have an opportunity for some me time!

This blog post is sponsored by Ourtime.
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How to find your purpose and have fun in midlife!

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The best exercise and diet for menopause

25/8/2022

1 Comment

 
I am about to go on holiday! At last, it has felt like a long wait this year, we decided to take a later holiday due to my daughter job hunting and some other commitments. It has certainly been a busy few months and I feel ready for the break. But before I went I really wanted to get back to a healthy weight, improved overall health and regular exercise - weight management during menopause is a challenge isn't it!? I just wanted to feel better, having had a stressful few months with hormonal changes, HRT issues and a return of my menopause symptoms. I talked about midlife body confidence on my blog recently, but I am still a work in progress!  Weight loss is not my main goal but improving my eating habits and having a better exercise routine as well as embracing a healthy lifestyle is!​

I knew I'd allowed my routines to slip. I knew I was drinking a bit too much wine (lockdown I blame you), I knew my meal planning and healthy eating had gone a bit awry! I knew I'd got lazy about meal prep and that skipping lunch had become a bit too common, then making do with unhealthy snacks later in the day. And I'd also not found an exercise routine I was able to stick to. - I love the massive benefits of strength training but I don't want to do an hour in the gym and I never seemed to find the right YouTube videos to give me consistency. I wanted to make simple adjustments but I needed some help!
​

​This is a gifted blog post.
michelle is walking in the woods with her two westies and wearing a petrol blue outfit from sweaty betty
Exercise and diet tips for women over 40

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Embracing Life (in Midlife) | Nikki, Creative DeZigns

10/9/2020

4 Comments

 
Towards the end of lockdown, I met Nikki from Creative DeZigns for the first time, she had got in touch with me to ask if I would be interested in working with her, trying some of the styles from her lovely range of cotton and sustainable clothing and maybe sharing my thoughts on the blog.  I suggested we meet up and chat, I wanted to find out more about her and her small ethical fashion business.  We hit it off immediately and I loved her story.  I loved the clothes too!  So I asked if Nikki would be happy to share her story in more detail on my blog.  So here it is, as part of my (somewhat irregular) Embracing Life (in Midlife) series.

In this interview series, I invite inspirational women, normal women like you and me, who are busy getting on with it all and keeping all the plates spinning, to tell me about their life and their business.  I am always amazed at their stories.  And I am very impressed with how they manage to do it all. 

Nikki is no exception, she has two grown up children, she spent a large part of her childhood growing up in South Africa and she then took over Creative DeZigns form her mother and has enjoyed taking the business in a new direction whilst staying true to its original ethos.  

I really loved reading Nikki's responses to my questions, I am sure you will agree, that she is certainly very talented and very inspirational.  Do take a few moments to read what she has to say and support her small business!  I've been looking forward to sharing this post!

Nikki from Creative DeZigns, mastering your capsule wardrobe
Nikki from Creative DeZigns, her vision is to keep the designs classic and timeless in style, not fast fashion and to maintain outstanding quality in natural fibres wherever possible

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Embracing Life (in Midlife) | Clare Cogan - Creating Calm

14/5/2019

0 Comments

 
I'm a bit behind with my blogging schedule and so the advice and inspiration from Clare in this recent Embracing Life (in Midlife) interview should really come in handy, who doesn't want a bit more calm in their life?!  My days can get pretty manic sometimes, trying to juggle my family who seem to place even more demand on my time the older they get (how that works I do not know)!  Clare offers hypnotherapy, reiki, reflexology and advice on using essential oils from her base in Marlow (and via phone).  And during Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 this post is even more timely.

So - calm - something we all need more of and especially as we face the challenges of peri-menopause, something I have written about on my blog and something I am passionate about, I think we need to get the conversation out there and support each other.  Read on to find out a bit more about Clare and what she offers to help create your calm.

hypnotherapy, reflexology and reiki
Clare Cogan - Creating Calm

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    Michelle ...

    ​Welcome to Fifty & Fab, a lifestyle blog to inspire you. I am a blogger with a passion for writing about health, menopause, fitness, beauty and style with a focus on the over 50's. 

    Lifestyle blog, blogger Marlow, Buckinghamshire

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    Hi, I’m Michelle and my blog Fifty & Fab is all about my journey into and through my 50s.  I started this blog in 2016 with the purpose of helping other women at this stage of life.  I’m delighted that my blog has grown to over 13k visitors per month.  Visit my Work with Me page and request my Media Kit for details of product reviews, blogging services and social media content creation.

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