The Blog

Manifesting the life you want and deserve works! Think about this, you focus on bad stuff happening, and they happen, so why not focus on great things and make those happen too! 

My guest on episode 118 of the To 50 and Beyond podcast is Jerilynn Stephens, author of the new book, The Five "F" Words to Manifesting Your Life. 

Jerilynn has been consciously manifesting the life of her dreams for the last sixteen years. It was through study, practice, and patience that she decoded the keys to manifestation. During a particularly rough time of struggling with alcohol, she hit rock bottom and picked up a book that introduced her to the world of co-creating with the Universe. 

Jerilynn walks you through how manifestation can change your life by using the five "F" words: 

1. Figure 
2. Focus
3. Fearless Action
4. Feel It 
5. Faith 

Jerilynn talks about how you must figure out what you want to manifest your desires....

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In episode 117 of the To 50 and Beyond podcast - I talk about the physical, psychological, and social effects that stem from a long period of alcohol consumption and answer a question for a listener. 

Do you think alcohol makes you age faster? I feel like my face is changing daily - I workout, eat well, take vitamins, and use expensive skincare - is it the alcohol?! 

Brace yourself for the answer; yes! 

The apparent reason why is because alcohol is a diuretic, and it dehydrates you. It has both stimulating effects and sedating effects, so it disrupts your sleep - two of the biggest factors to looking older than you are. 

You get up in the morning tired and try vs. rested and moisturized. I don't know about you, but I will take rested and moisturized any day! 

When I was in my early forties, I woke up one morning and...

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Maybe you've had a bad day, a bad week, or a bad year, that doesn't mean you are in crisis mode. Let's leave the crisis back in the 60s and move into the present time, showing up as midlife women who can handle anything, especially a crisis. 

The beautiful Valerie Albarda, founder of Midlife A -Go-Go joins me in Episode 116 of the To 50 and Beyond podcast.  Valerie shares her journey through perimenopause, how she has learned to listen to her body, and respect herself, facing her fears to challenge herself, getting back into the workforce at fifty-five, and taking the crisis out of aging.

Topics discussed: 

• Putting age into perspective 
• Debunking the myths of midlife 
• Facing her fears and trying out to be a TedX speaker
• Bad things happen at any stage of life - it's not a crisis! 
• Exploring the myth of the midlife crisis 
• PVC's in...

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Recovery from alcohol addiction brings hope, healing, and a chance to start again. Jennifer Golden is living proof that you can change your life and change your relationships once you get sober. For a long time, Jennifer lived a life where every ounce of energy she went to drinking alcohol. 

Jennifer's life revolved around when, where, how, and how much she could drink. But on August 12, 2015, she woke up, looked in the mirror, and said NO MORE. She joined the local gym and found that working out took her mind off of drinking. So she kept going every day. She is now 4 1/2 years sober, and the blessings keep coming! She loves to share my purpose in her story to help others who are suffering because you aren't alone, and we do recover. 

Jennifer is a mom to a 12-year-old boy, works full time in the garbage industry, and is an independent representative for an Activewear company...

When I started the To 50 & Beyond podcast in 2018, I had a tagline that read: This Is Not Your Mom's Midlife.  I wanted to start a podcast for women over 40 to talk about topics that are typically hush-hush like aging, menopause, weight, over-drinking, and so on. To put an end to stigma and stereotypes that say women are irrelevant over a certain age.

I've created a podcast that represents women in the middle of life because, let's face it, it's a challenging time, and it's a joyful time. I talk about the midlife umbrella and all of the topics that fall underneath like: 

1. Perimenopause Anxiety
2. Fulfilling Careers or shifts in careers
3. Menopause support 
4. Nutrition and weight management
5. What kind of exercise we should be doing
6. Aging Gracefully (I'm still figuring this one out) 
7. Empty Nest 
8. Financial loss and gain
9. Sadness and grieving
10. Beauty and skincare 
11. Overall health and wellness so we thrive
12. ...

The following is a compilation of frequently asked questions that I receive from women all over the world who are tired of drinking and ready to explore what else life has to offer. Women over 40 who are questioning their drinking and trying to make it work. 

I know where you are, you are questioning your drinking and wondering What will life be like if I don't drink? Your brain wants to tell you, you can't, you shouldn't, life will be boring and you will be left out. 

To quit drinking is a commitment to yourself that happens in a span of a few minutes. Many women over 40 who I talk to think that it takes years to stop drinking; it doesn't. Spending years in recovery and healing and connecting to who you are again; alcohol-free is the process of sobriety. 

I want to tell you that I never thought I would adapt to being sober after drinking for thirty-years. Alcohol was a big part of who I thought I was and what I thought I needed.

When...

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How do you turn tragedy into triumph when all of the odds are stacked against you? You make a choice, and you take your power back like my guest, Amberly Lago, has done.

In episode 100 of the To 50 & Beyond Podcast, Amberly Lago shares her story of resilience and mastering the art of grit and grace. Amberly talks about being the victim of sexual abuse in her home to becoming an elite athlete and surviving a near-fatal accident that left her with an incurable disease dubbed the suicide disease.

At age 38, her life was turned upside down, and after that, her story is nothing short of remarkable. Recovering from 24 surgeries to save her leg from amputation, Amberly chose to take her power back.

Amberly Lago is a leading expert in the field of resilience, transformation, and health and wellness. Amberly shares her passion for turning tragedies into triumphs at exclusive workshops, public events, corporate...

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For years Stephanie fought desperately to save her husband, her family, and herself from the overwhelming destructive power of alcoholism, addiction, and abuse. Ultimately, she realized that in her attempts to lift him up, she was burying herself. The only way to find peace and protect her family was to redefine them completely.

Now, as a single mom of two, she chips away at the armor she welded on over the years as protection. And hopes her story provides light to those cowering in the darkness of addiction - both the alcoholics and the unseen heroes - the spouses.

The guilt and the responsibility that I felt to stay so he could get better. 

I'm in awe of Stephanie's bravery and her perseverance to help others who are experiencing the same thing in a marriage or relationship.  Her vulnerability will help you realize that you are not alone; Stephanie's...

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The upside of getting sober - needs ALL of the spotlights in today's day and age.  In a society that tells us you have to drink to fit in, have fun, and be a part of us, disruptors like my guest, Jaime T., are pushing back. 

Jaime T. is the Founder and CEO of Hype Girl Healing,  an online community for women who want to explore life without alcohol through healing circles and 1:1 private intensives.  

Jaime drank for many years because she is in the bar and service industry - she was surrounded by people who were drinking, and she didn’t know any other way.  In 2017,  Jaime decided to do a cleanse in January and gave herself a commitment of 90-days without alcohol even though the cleanse started as thirty-days. 

I didn’t know any other way to spend my free time other than drinking.

Jaime...

I quit drinking at forty-five; my son was twelve. One of the biggest regrets I hold onto today is the fact that I drank around him for so long. Every holiday, every birthday, every social situation revolved around drinking way too much.

My son, Spencer is going to be eighteen next month and leaving for College in the Fall. I'm vacillating between the gratitude that I have for my sobriety and the sadness I feel because of all of the time that I wasted in his younger years.

It is a bittersweet time.

I gave birth the day before Mother's Day in 2001. Up until this day, I had seven months of sobriety and thought long and hard about giving it up for good. After all, I had drunk since I was fourteen, that was a long time. Ha!

Quitting didn't happen in 2001; it took twelve more years of consuming way too much alcohol as a mom before I decided to give sobriety a chance.

On Mother's Day in 2001, I came home, and the champagne started flowing.  I...