Double Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Recipe shared by:Duncan Hines


Serve this traditional favorite warm from the oven.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE RECIPE

Here's what happens to Social Security and disability benefits during a government shutdown

Here's what happens to Social Security and disability benefits during a government shutdown

All essential services will continue during a shutdown, such as public safety operations and Medicare payments.

Additionally, the shutdown should have little effect on Social Security checks. According to the Social Security Administration's shutdown contingency plan, released in December, most core programs and benefits would continue in the event of a shutdown.

READ MORE HERE.

Gingerbread House Patterns

Wow friends and family this holiday season with beautiful, edible architectural gingerbread wonders. They're classic Christmas decor and fun to create alone or with family. Free patterns give you a basic structure to start with and the rest of the decorating ideas are open to your imagination.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!

Pictures of Short Hairstyles for Gray Hair

Need some inspiration for your next hairdo? You might find it in this gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to visit the gallery.

Free Computers for Seniors

Senior citizens who want to keep up and be engaged in the multiple benefits of technology can find free or low-cost computers if they can't afford the usual retail prices. Look for access to free computers from local and national corporate-sponsored programs, the government, nonprofit organizations that help the elderly or computer recycling enterprises.

READ THIS ARTICLE to learn more (including lists of possible resources for free computers).

110 Activities for Elderly & Seniors [Ultimate List]

You've just uncovered the ultimate list of activities for elderly & seniors where you'll find endless and entertaining ways to pass time, get involved, and discover new passions.

FIND THE LIST HERE.

Licorice lovers beware: FDA warns eating too much may have dangerous side effects

I have always HATED black licorice and red licorice was barely tolerable.

"On Monday, the FDA issued a consumer update advising candy eaters who are 40 years of age or older to limit their gorging of black licorice to a maximum of two ounces (about three 1-inch pieces) a day — or risk hospitalization from an irregular heart rhythm or arrhythmia."

READ THE STORY HERE.

A Bummer Morning

Every Friday morning,my sister drives to my house and we go out for breakfast. It's usually my only time to get together with her (plus, she does drive me to a monthly doctor's appointment). Those weekly get-togethers mean a lot to me.

But, I have severe sleep apnea and just generalized sleep issues. I actually fell asleep last night about 10 p.m. At some point after that,my Mexican family that lives here in my house came home and they banged on my bedroom door to tell me the wife had spent all day at a friend's house making hand-made tamales. They know I love them.

I couldn't say no without hurting their feelings so I dragged my sleepy self to the kitchen and got two tamales. They tasted wonderful but being that sleepy and already having eaten dinner, I could only manage a few bites. The family doesn't know I threw most of them out. I had to.

And now I am awake for the rest of the night. Once I go to sleep, if you wake me up, I can't get back to sleep for many hours.

The only morning of the week where I need to be wide awake by 9 A.M. is Friday morning. I know my sister is coming.

I finally nodded off about 4 A.M. and woke up about 7:30 A.M. By "wake up" I don't mean my brain or body was really awake. I just had to go pee and my swollen legs were threatening to go charley horse cramping on me so I had to stand up on them.

After taking my morning meds, I knew the next thing was to get a cup of coffee but I saw it was now close to 8:00. I needed at least an hour of sitting with coffee and letting my lungs un-collapse themselves and my sinuses to recover from the wind tunnel torture device known as a CPAP machine. I was feeling very shakey and wobbly and I wouldn't feel strong enough to take a shower for at least another hour. Exactly when my sister would be arriving to go out for breakfast. I wasn't going to make it.

I had to call my sister before she left her house. I felt so bad because I was really looking forward to seeing her.

I'll take naps later today but it makes the whole day seem dreary when it starts out on a bummer.

Oh well.

A Good List for Emergency Preparedness for Older People

"Each person's needs and abilities are unique, but every individual can take important steps to prepare for all kinds of emergencies and put plans in place. By evaluating your own personal needs and making an emergency plan, you can be better prepared for any situation. A commitment to planning today will help you prepare for any emergency situation."

TO VIEW THE LIST(S), CLICK HERE.

Age pays: 43 senior discounts, some starting at age 50

Aging doesn't always have its perks, but this list of discounts might add some pizzazz to the fact of getting older. Starting at age 50, the minimum age for AARP membership, seniors may cash in on numerous deals just for being born on or before the date required for the bargain. Simply flash an ID to collect on most discounts, although some apply only to AARP members and some are offered only by select chain franchisees.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THIS ARTICLE.

Stay tuned for more opportunities for discounts!

Do You Remember Yardley Cosmetics? I loved this stuff.

A WRITER'S RESOURCE (for ALL writers)

Are you a writer... of anything? Would you like a massive resource of useful links related to just about any kind of writing you can think of?

Resources for novelists, screenwriters, short story writers, poets, young writers...

Resources for getting published, magazine article writing, how to find an agent, subject matter references...

Story starters and prompts, character links, genre links...

And much, much more!!!

CLICK THIS LINK to discover a wonderful resource!

The most famous company founded the year you were born

Making a business work over the long term is a major challenge. Research shows the majority of start-ups fail within five years and the companies that do survive can struggle to make a profit. But these long-lasting enterprises have had no such problems.

Click ahead to discover the most famous business founded the year you were born.

Okay, it's kind of sucky that I ache and feel draggy in the mornings and only by taking a Tylenol-3 do I come back around to feeling human. Well, that and two cups of coffee.

It just doesn't seem right that I should have to rely on external and/or artificial means (like medication) to feel "normal." 

When my Mom was alive, one of her physical therapists told me that pain is a most unnatural state. Pain should be treated as an official disease and just as you'd take medicine for other things and not weird out about it, so should you do what you got to do to get rid of the "pain disease."

For me, it's not ONLY pain that's an issue.  Ladies, you will understand this... you know that all-over feeling-like-crap feeling you got with your period? Yeah. That. I wake up with that or it sometimes drags me down throughout the day (and I haven't had a period in over 20 years). The Tylenol-3 helps make that go away, too. 

I must be doing something right because nowadays, I only need Tylenol-3 in the mornings. It used to be that my back was in so much agony all the time, I had to take the Tylenol-3 every several hours.

It's also a puzzler to me how coffee has a magical way of smoothing things out. I'm just glad that it does.

Do You Know What Only Baby Boomers Remember?

Baby Boomers know a lot of things and remember a lot of things, but some of these things are unknown to the generations that followed! In this quiz, we'll test your knowledge of things that Baby Boomers know and understand. When you're done, feel free to put on a Beatles record.

TAKE THE QUIZZ HERE.

89-year-old evicted from her home rescued from homelessness by her neighbors

89-year-old Angie Tyma from Houston, Florida was evicted from her home and was living in at a Days Inn hotel, pondering what her next decision would be.  The unexpected 3-week reprieve from the home she was renting was the result of the owner, whom she herself had sold the house to a few years ago, having stopped paying the mortgage.

Tyma had been a widower for 20 years and it had been that long since she had anyone helping to pay the monthly mortgage. That’s why she eventually sold the home and rented rather than owned the property. When foreclosure proceedings began, she didn’t know what to do, but she never expected that she would be evicted from her long-time home. That is, however, exactly what happened.

This was not just a place to live for Tyma. It was her home of 35 years. “They threw me out,” Tyma told Today in an interview. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Tyma never dreamed she would be evicted from her home, and at her advanced aged it was a surreal experience. “I went through hell and back,” she said.

READ THE ARTICLE AND WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

Graham-Cassidy Bill, The Last-Ditch GOP Effort To Deprive Millions Of Healthcare

First, the bill ends current protections on discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions . This is critically important, as it affects 52% of adults under age 65.

Next, the current prohibition against lifetime limits on benefits would be lost. This would be particularly devastating to premature babies, those with disabilities, the rare disease community, and cancer patients.

Another “gotcha”, is that insurers would no longer have to provide “essential services.” These currently include: 

Emergency services
Hospitalization (like surgery and overnight stays)
Pregnancy, maternity, and newborn care (both before and after birth
Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment (this includes counseling and psychotherapy)
Prescription drugs
Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices (services and devices to help people with injuries, disabilities, or chronic conditions gain or recover mental and physical skills)
Laboratory services
Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management
Birth control coverage

Medicaid would be cut, particularly hurting poor children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Medicaid expansion will end. This has helped provide care to more low-income adults than were previously eligible; the subsidized care for moderate-income families will disappear entirely under this proposal.

The public should demand that their representatives tell them how this bill would impact them, and allow open debate and consideration, rather than railroading this destructive bill through.

You can find your representative’s number here or by calling the Capitol's switchboard at 202-224-3121. For future reference, or to complain about their vote, here's Senate contact info.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE.

Gene Pitney - Who else loved this guy?

Gimme a kiss! Or else!

The booking mugshot of 92-year-old Helen Staudinger is seen in this handout released March 23, 2011. The central Florida woman fired a semi-automatic pistol four times at her 53-year-old neighbor's house after he refused to kiss her, police said on Tuesday.

(REUTERS/Courtesy of Marion County Sheriffs Office/Handout)

Low Vitamin B12 Level in Elderly May Spur Dementia

Low vitamin B12 levels may be to blame for some cases of poor memory and cognitive decline in the elderly, a new study suggests.

The analysis of 121 people found that those with lower vitamin B12 levels scored worse on cognitive tests, and had smaller brain volumes as revealed by MRI scans. Shrinking brain volume has been linked to dementia in other studies.

"Every single marker of low vitamin B12 was correlated with low brain volume," said study researcher Christine Tangney, a clinical nutritionist at Rush University in Chicago.

"As folks get older, their guts change in their ability to absorb vitamin B12," Tangney told MyHealthNewsDaily. "For many people, the reason is that their stomach acid production is reduced." You need acid to break down the bonds between vitamin B12 and proteins, so older people may need more vitamin B12 as they age, and may be more likely to be deficient in the vitamin, she said.

In a normal brain, vitamin B12 allows cells to form new connections, a process that allows memory formation. B12 is also a vital component of myelin — the coating that protects many brain cells. These roles of B12 could explain why low levels of the vitamin lead to dementia or memory loss, the researchers said.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE BY CLICKING THIS LINK.