There's a lot of speculation lately about what Americans talk about at the kitchen table.  Well my kitchen table has become the hub for our discussions about the state of the economy and the impact on our family.  You won't find any political rhetoric and homey colloquialisms in our dialogs.  No, we talk about real-life issues like the risk of my 52-year old cousin losing her job due to corporate downsizing.  To protect her identity, I'll call her "Jane Six-Pack".

Hot flash!  News flash!  September is American Menopause Month!  Depending on your perspective this may or may not be something to celebrate.  But the fact that there's a month in the year dedicated to the change of life acknowledges the many women struggling through a transition that hits us all differently.  

Wrinkles...Who Cares? Well, it seems a lot of us do. Be honest, how many "anti-wrinkle" creams do you have in your cabinet? Do any of them really work? Maybe, maybe not? But, that's not what I wanted to talk about here. I want to know why we care? Is it because others judge us by our appearance? Or, is it because we are judging ourselves by our appearance?

This week I had the great opportunity to talk with author Mary Ellen Geist.  Several years ago Mary Ellen was described by the New York Times as the:

I've been thinking about writing on this topic for a while.  I'm over 50 and single and have a lot of friends in the same boat.  And what I've found is that dating over 50 is just insane!  What I thought I knew --and mastered fairly well in my younger years -- doesn't seem to translate into the dating scene of today.  So what do you do when you're single and want to meet someone interesting and emotionally available?  Or is that really an option for women in midlife?     

Hate your body? Can't bear to look in the mirror? If your answers are yes, stop right where you are and listen to this podcast interview I did last week with Kelly Park.

I don't know about you but I'm on a mission to reclaim my waistline.  Somewhere in the middle of midlife it's all but disappeared -- the booby prize, I suppose, for making it through menopause without losing my mind.  As if the hot flashes weren't bad enough. Along the way to whittle down and lose a stubborn 10 pounds gained during the big "M", I've checked out exercise books, fitness programs, joined the "Y" and more.  But I've had a lot of fits and starts in my exercise strategy.  

Do you hate your body?  Do you avoid looking in the mirror for fear of what you'll see?  Well Kelly Park and Carson Kressley of Lifetime Television's "How To Look Good Naked" may be able to help.  And without liposuction, facelifts, butt lifts or tummy tucks. As part of BlogHer's "Letter To My Body" campaign which tries to help women improve their body image, I'm going to have the pleasure of doing a podcast interview with Kelly Park who starred in the premiere of this season's "How To Look Good Naked."

This is the problem with going to BlogHer--it's like exercise. It makes you all healthy and energized. You come home and your thoughts feel cleansed as if they've just done a round of cardio and finished off the workout with a glass of carrot juice.

It's more common than you may think. A new study shows that (in home) accidental overdoses are on the rise. Most recently, the death of actor Heath Ledger, has been in the news. But, this isn't a problem confined to Hollywood...

Throughout my life, I've had some great role models.  I attribute my getting through some of life's toughest times to those people I looked up to.  One of them was my grandmother.  Gram was in midlife when I was born -- just a few years younger than I am now.  So I got to know her when she was showing up in the world as the person she really wanted to be.

I've been thinking all week about what I wanted to write to you in this--my first post as a contributing editor on midlife issues at Blogher. Oh, I've got a boatload of topics I'm dying to get your opinions on.