Wendy Osefo’s Gold One Piece Bathing Suit in Mexico

Real Housewives of Potomac Season 7 Episode 14 Fashion

On tonight’s Real Housewives of Potomac we learned that swimming in a Cenote can give you the gifts of health, love, money and a lot else—which I’m going to need clarification on before swimming in some cold a*s water. And while Mia Thornton alleges that Ashley Darby is just trying to collect the check, all I’m trying to collect is Wendy Osefo’s gold one piece bathing suit.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to Shop her Norma Kamali Swimsuit

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Originally posted at: Wendy Osefo’s Gold One Piece Bathing Suit

The SAGE Test is a self-administered exam designed to be taken at home to detect the early signs of cognitive impairment. It is a brief tool that can evaluate your thinking abilities. The questions are designed to evaluate each part of the brain and score brain function in all areas.

SAGE is not designed to diagnose a condition. Its purpose is to inform your local hearing healthcare provider and your primary care physician about the state of your hearing. Knowing your score will help determine if treatment is needed for any mild cognitive impairments that may lead to dementia.

So, What Exactly Is Mild Cognitive Impairment?

MCI (mild cognitive impairment) is the medical term for a slight decline in mental abilities. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, about 20% of individuals over 65 experience MCI. The changes associated with MCI often become visible to either the person themselves or their family members and loved ones.

While these minor changes may not be severe, if not properly treated they could begin to interfere with normal daily life and exacerbate from there.

It is important to see a doctor if you are experiencing symptoms as these warning signs can also be caused by certain medications, cerebrovascular disease, and other factors. Sometimes these issues can be managed or reversed easily.

Symptoms may include the following:

• hearing loss and/or tinnitus
• forgetting names, dates, or where you have left something
• brain fog and memory loss
• lack of focus
• poor judgment
• difficulty finding words
• difficulty following conversations
• and more…

How Does the SAGE Test Work?

The SAGE Test will ask questions about your reasoning, language, problem-solving and memory skills. A decline in these abilities can be early detectors of mild cognitive impairment. Assessment is done in the following areas:

• language (picture naming and verbal fluency)
• problem-solving (executive)
• memory
• orientation (month, day, year)
• reasoning and computation
• visuospatial (3-dimensional construction and clock drawing)

Here are a couple of examples:

• Write the names of 12 animals.
• How many nickels are in 80 cents?

In addition, questions will be asked about your medical history, i.e., “Have you ever suffered a stroke?” The test will address family history of cognitive impairment, current symptoms like balance issues, or problems with memory.

Who Should Take the SAGE Test?

The answer is anyone over the age of 60 who may be concerned or is experiencing issues with language, thinking, problem-solving or memory, even if the symptoms are mild. Managing and treating early is key to living an active life as you age. And feel free to encourage your loved ones to take the test also.

Where Can You Get the Test?

Simply download the SAGE Test, print and complete with pen and paper.

What Are the Next Steps?

Take your results to any hearing healthcare provider listed on ExcellenceInAudiology.org who can give you immediate feedback and help you interpret the results. Note: It is important to be honest on your test for the most accurate results. And remember, there are other factors that could be affecting your cognitive abilities, thus the importance of speaking with your hearing healthcare specialist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Symptoms Would Identify the Need for Taking the SAGE Test?

• memory loss
• losing track of time
• sudden changes in mood
• executive impairment (struggle with decision making)
• impaired sense of direction

What Is One Sample Question on the SAGE Test?

“You are purchasing $13.45 worth of groceries. How much change would you receive back from a $20 bill?”

How Accurate Is This Test?

SAGE test scores are well-thought-out and measured and are a true sign of the symptoms of dementia, indicating that the SAGE test is a trustworthy method of identifying cognitive impairment. 

How Many Points Are Possible on the Test, and What Does That Score Mean?

• The highest possible score on the SAGE test is 22.
• Scores between 17 and 22 are inside of the normal cognitive range.
• Scores of 15 and 16 indicate probable mild memory or thinking impairments.
• Scores of 14 and lower suggest a more severe memory or thinking disorder. 
• An evaluation by an audiologist is recommended for anyone scoring below 17.

Until next time, be healthy, happy, and present! For more information, please visit the Excellence in Audiology website.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you heard of the SAGE test? Have you done it? What was your score? Do you think you may want or need to take it?

Who can forget the cool energetic guy on the “flying” skateboard – the star of the hugely successful film, Back to the Future?

It’s Michael J. Fox, of course, playing the main character, Marty McFly.

Jetting around on his skateboard was his fantasy superpower. Michael J. Fox’s superpower, in real life, is his unbelievable capacity to help others. His achievements have led to him being featured in a recent Kindness Issue of People magazine.

More Than $1.5 Billion

This is how much money he has raised, through his Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Fox has taken on the challenge of helping people with Parkinson’s disease, since he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991.

Even while struggling with a serious chronic illness, Fox has gone on to lead this foundation to incredible success. Over seven million people living with Parkinson’s have benefitted from his dedication.

An Honorary Oscar

Recently, Michael J. Fox was celebrated for his outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes at the Oscars’ 13th Governors Awards with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

At the ceremony, the award was presented by a close friend, Woody Harrelson. As he introduced Fox, Harrelson said:

“To his cause, Michael J. Fox has brought understanding, empathy and resolve, and with it, inspiration to millions who now stand a little taller, speak in a voice a little stronger and hold on just a little tighter to something all of humanity needs a whole lot more of – hope.”

A standing ovation followed.

How Can We Access Some of His Superpowers?

Be Real and Authentic

After his diagnosis, Fox started drinking heavily and became depressed. He eventually sought help and stopped drinking altogether. In 1998, he went public about his Parkinson’s disease, and has become a strong advocate of Parkinson’s disease research.

After seven years of denial of the disease, Fox became an advocate for people living with Parkinson’s disease. And he has done this with the courage to be real and authentic.

Here is a clear example.

In his book, Lucky Man, Fox wrote that he did not take his medication prior to his testimony before a Senate Hearing in 1999. He wanted the Senate Committee and the television viewing audience to see a real example of his disease.

Do Things Your Own Way

When he first considered creating a foundation to help people with the disease, Fox wanted to build an organization fundamentally different from any that existed before.

Years ago, Fox said, “I was not interested in a ‘write a check and hope for the best’ version of philanthropy-as-usual, but an investment in a new kind of undertaking: the promise of quick action, accountability, innovation, and a positive outcome.”

The scientific staff of the Fox Foundation reviews over 800 grant proposals every year. They have a quick turnaround time of weeks, as opposed to the more typical months, for deciding which projects to fund.

GSD Can Be Your Superpower

I am a big fan of GSD, or Getting Shit Done, as a useful way of approaching life and helping people. I first came across this idea from a John Wood TED Talk. I wrote about this in a blog post, entitled, In Praise of GSD.

Michael J. Fox is a great example of a person who seems to value and live by this way of life. In Brain and Life, Fox explained how his foundation likes to get things done too, and fast.

Fox’s foundation does not have an endowment, which is a permanent fund marked for future use. Instead, as money is raised, it goes immediately out to research. They want to move quickly, without a lot of bureaucracy. It’s very goal-oriented and focused on patient outcomes.

“I know without fail that we are getting closer – day by day, year by year – to the breakthroughs that will make finding a cure inevitable,” Fox said. “A lot of work lies ahead of us. But this is a responsibility we have, and we want people to know someone is trying to get this work done.”

With a little humour and personality, Fox described Parkinson’s as a “gift that keeps on taking.”

Although Parkinson’s keeps taking away from his life, Fox’s gifts to us keep growing. His grit, authenticity, perseverance and GSD are some of the many gifts (and superpowers) he offers to the millions of people he helps.

Let’s Start a Conversation

Do you or someone you love struggle with Parkinson’s disease? Did you know about how hard Michael J. Fox has been working to find a cure? His dedication can offer a bright light and a little hope to us all!

There is a paradox of relief and sadness when you accept that the holidays are finished. Gone is the sense of magic that permeated your home, the lights, the scent, the warmth, and the promise; all your efforts created joy and excitement. But now they are over, and it is time to put away the Christmas decorations.

Taking Down Decorations

There are wreaths on the door to undress and poinsettias on the walkway to be picked up, one or two hopefully having survived the pounding rain and snowstorms that came this year. Candles set about the home are boxed, and wreaths wrapped on the banisters, and decorated in the doorways, will need to be untied and lowered into a garbage bag; if you have gone faux, they need to go into some sort of storage as well.

Time for the Christmas Tree

The centerpiece of all this Christmas delight, the hero of your Christmas story, is the Christmas tree, which can no longer be avoided. After all, we are coming up to February.

So it begins, taking all the ornaments off the tree, packing them in tissue, remembering once more with some, when, where, and with whom they came into your life – unplugging the lights and trying not to get violent when the tangle doesn’t untangle deep in the pine needles that are determined to bite you.

Once removed, they are wrapped around a piece of cardboard or go back into the box from which they came. You tend to your pinpricked hand and continue.

The tree goes out the door to the curb, the needles are vacuumed up, and the furniture you moved to accommodate the tree is pushed back into place. You may have a sense that your room feels larger. There is space again. That is nice. That satisfaction is enduring for some but lasts only the shortest time for many.

What’s Missing?

You are seated in your favorite chair, reading or trying to. Something keeps distracting you, but you cannot put your finger on it. A little sense of dissatisfaction is present, but it is normal. You are experiencing The Post-Holiday-Everything-Looks-Empty/Boring/Sigh Blues.

Something is missing, and you would like to correct this off-kilter feeling. Perhaps you try to ignore it. You could move some houseplants around or put a favorite bowl on your table, yet you still feel the post-pretty blues.

Perhaps you begin to consider creating a unique, albeit small, decorative addition to enhance the atmosphere in your home – something to take the edge of blah off. Something that will take you into spring. Something you could add for Valentine’s Day, an anniversary celebration, or a birthday so as not to change it out again. Do you do this because it feels good?

It is between you and yourself how much and how little you are prepared to give. Christmas, though stunning and emotional, is tiring. It is essential to gauge your desire; this is to make you happy, not overwhelmed.

Be Honest with Yourself

There are some questions I suggest you entertain with honesty.

• Does this “no more pretty” bother me every day? Or do I find it has been folded back into my norm, and I don’t notice it as much?
• Do you have any energy to do anything about it? The energy exists because you love to create and for no other reason. You can always do it later.
• If you were to pick one place to do a little something, where would it be?
• If you have to purchase something to complete the idea, are you willing?

Always Consider Your Context

Pinterest is an excellent source of ideas. However, the pinned photos cannot give context to the décor piece. Will it fit in the context of any space in your home? Wherever you want to start, context is boss for success, and so is the demand of your skill level for something complex or easy to create.

If you are thinking of your dining table and it is dark wood, and the walls are covered in wallpaper and patterned curtains embrace the windows; you want something that is simple and easy on the eye that does not conflict but gives the nod to the style and colors of the room.

If you’d like to create a contemporary piece for your clean-lined entryway, you would want to apply the same rule for it to work yet with an echo of what is already there – no clutter and, yet, room for keys and mail.

Pussy Willows

Pussy willows remind of winter but are gentle and, if kept in water, will sprout pale green shoots.

Pussy willows in a vase, surrounded by different vases with fairy lights sitting on wood or silver, make for an exquisite winter environment.

Cylinders

Cylinders are inexpensive and can make for an impactful piece when clustered at differing heights. What is your preference? What does the cylinder have in it, moss and rocks on the bottom, and fairy lights winding up? The same elements can be manipulated if you prefer a more elegant piece to a rustic one.

Clustered on a silver tray or a cut glass cake stand, the glass provides elegance. Fairy lights in differing heights with white orchids sitting on dark black rocks to anchor the piece; the darker elements should be at the bottom. To transform it into a more contemporary piece, use white stones.

Mirror Tiles

The idea of mirror tiles with battery-operated column candles placed upon them and the taller vase(s) containing the fairy lights with some bottom filler; this is winter’s starry night.

Fruit Bowl

A silver or lovely dark metal bowl filled with clementines is an excellent centerpiece for the kitchen or dining room, and you have food too. You replenish as they dwindle.

Ethnic Elements

There are ways of incorporating ethnicities. A vase of pussy willows standing tall and surrounded inside by painted (anything) that complements the colors you love can take you a long way into spring.

Collecting branches and odd-shaped pieces from the forest or your backyard and having some painting time, you can create these fun pieces to add color to any table, vase, or plant container, and the sun begins to shine more readily. You can do this with larger stones and scalloped shells. Think outside your usual box.

All these ideas are beautiful because you can alter the design easily, move it around, and adjust it to fit a different spot.

Vignettes

Michaels is an endless source of possibilities. They have roses and gardenias in these creamy 2”-3” heads. The white tapioca and sola flowers (look like flowers but are made from a mysterious secret formula – of which I have no clue) can be the flowers you tuck into a vignette.

I use the term vignette; context is the same thing for me. One vase with magnificent blooms on a stand need not have embellishments around it as it stands on its own. With a small surface beneath it, you need only focus on the flowers and the arrangement.

Vignettes are your visual story. Your design comes together when you take various items and place them. Texture, tone, height, light, and space are the adjectives of your visual story; it is Feng Shui adjacent. Finding a cohesive thread is essential; something that ties the visual story together is important. Otherwise, it may feel messy or cluttered, or incomplete.

As mentioned above, a glass cake stand or a silver platter, a black tray, a piece of granite, a slab of wood, whatever delivers the impact of the feeling you want to convey, will serve you well.

Have a Go – or Several

Be patient with yourself. It will take trial and error and experiments. You are now a designer if you make it once, don’t like it, and do it over. In short order, you will hit upon the perfect combination of pieces.

It is essential to embrace this idea: trust your gut and your body’s feelings when you look at the piece. This is a visceral experience, not a thought experiment. You will feel it when you have made something that works for you.

 And, in the end, you will once again experience, the all-gone-pretty blues.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you taken down your Christmas decorations? Which piece was the most difficult to take down, emotionally speaking? Why? Do you think you are ready to create new decoration pieces in your home to match the coming season and beat the after Christmas blues?