Leah McSweeney’s Leopard Puffer Jacket With Her Parents

Real Housewives of New York Season 12 Episode 10 Fashion

Although Leah McSweeney may have acted like a true real housewife wild animal while on the cast trip to Newport, she evidently kept the theme going upon her return to the concrete jungle of Manhattan on last night’s episode in this scene with her parents. Well on the fashion front at least with her leopard puffer jacket, because we’re not really sure Bunny McSweeney would have approved of her daughter doing martini-induced cartwheels in the gym on the streets.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Apparis Jacket on Sale

Click Here to Shop Her Saint Laurent Bag in Multiple Colours

Originally posted at: Leah McSweeney’s Leopard Puffer Jacket

COVID-19 has changed the world. No doubt, as we are released into the “wild,” life as we knew it is gone. Different ways of gathering, eating out, and shopping will take hold and no longer be new or temporary.

The quarantine life experienced throughout much of Europe, Asia, and the Americas, cast a spotlight on shopping online. For many, online purchases were the only way to safely procure essential items.

Whether your purchases were shipped or prepared for “curbside pickup,” using the Internet to buy now highlights accessibility for all.

Usually, buying online is safe. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take steps to help protect your transactions. Here are five tips that can help you have positive online shopping experiences.

Stick with Reputable Vendors Who Have Websites You Can Trust

The best way to keep yourself safe while shopping online is to stick with sites you know and have a good reputation.

If you’re going to shop with a company that is not familiar to you, do a little research first. Many small retailers will pop up in your social media feed or in a search that is tempting. They may appear to offer great products at excellent prices.

Before you order from these vendors, always do a quick Google search of the website’s name to make sure others haven’t had bad experiences with them.

Something else you should be aware of is a website that is difficult to navigate or doesn’t work fluidly. Inexperienced online retailers often make mistakes with security, or don’t setit up at all.

If you are having trouble using the website, it’s a tip off that design and setup is not up to par. Don’t get frustrated. Move on to a different vendor.

Don’t Shop Using Public Wi-Fi

Shopping at home on your secure Wi-Fi is the best bet for keeping your credit card information safe. If you’re shopping from other locations, such as cafes, hotels, or airports, use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service to protect your browsing activity.

Use Strong Passwords

Each of your accounts should have an 18+ character, randomly generated password that doesn’t contain real words. It is also essential to have a unique password for each account. If one account is compromised, you won’t have to worry about changing the passwords on multiple accounts.

Check for the Padlock

Always make sure there is a lock next to the address of the website you are browsing and that the web address starts with HTTPS versus HTTP. This ensures the site has SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption installed.

All browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) will warn you if a website is not using SSL and will attempt to prevent you from accessing the URL if that is the case.

Check Your Banking Accounts

It is best practice to proactively monitor your credit card accounts regularly to make sure there aren’t any suspicious charges.

Shopping online is convenient, but getting your information hacked isn’t. Be smart about your online purchasing habits. Security never takes a holiday! If you do have a bad experience with a company, make sure you write a review on Google or Facebook to help others avoid the same issues.

Do you love online shopping? Have you had a bad experience with buying online? What lessons have you learned that might help others avoid costly mistakes? We would love to hear from you.

I loved my biology classes in middle and high school. And, while I devoured lectures on the heart, lungs, and intestines, we must have skipped the pelvic floor chapter. Did you, too? Turns out, it’s pretty essential, especially to make sure you pee when you want to and not when you don’t.

Your pelvic floor stretches across the bottom of your pelvis in a hammock-shape. It’s supposed to stay strong most of the time and then relax when you sit on the toilet. That’s why a weak pelvic floor can cause bladder leaks (aka incontinence). But you can absolutely strengthen it, even if pregnancy, childbirth, being overweight, and chronic constipation are working hard against you. 

Want to know how? Read on.

A Personal Trainer for Your Pelvic Floor

A pelvic floor physical therapist is like a personal trainer for your bladder. They’re there to whip your pelvic floor into shape (or relax it if it’s too tight). 

In addition to stretches and exercises, your pelvic floor PT may suggest internal vaginal manipulation and massage or even low-voltage electrical stimulation. They might also suggest biofeedback therapy, which lets them identify which of the 45 muscles in your pelvic floor need some coaxing to do their job.

But pelvic floor physical therapy takes time.

So be patient and grab a 10-product $1.99 trial from Lily Bird with some bladder leak products to tide you over in the meantime.

Keep on Living Your Life

Kudos to all the 50+ women out there running marathons. But, let’s be real: most of us are not even walking 26.2 miles a week at 50. The good news is that you don’t have to become a gym rat to work your pelvic floor muscles. 

Have you climbed stairs or stepped on a foot stool recently? Or pushed or pulled your ottoman across the floor? Fantastic. You were exercising your pelvic floor. Lifting a heavy bag of groceries, standing up from your armchair, and even having sex do the trick too. So maybe stand up and sit down a few times every time you lounge on the couch. Or just get plenty of sessions in the sack.

Don’t Forget Your Kegels

Kegels are admittedly the least surprising way to strengthen your pelvic floor. Most of us have been told to do Kegels for years. But most women do them wrong! To take your Kegels up a notch, I have a few tips:

Don’t squeeze your bum

Sure, you might want to tone your behind. But accidentally squeezing your glutes won’t do much for bladder leaks or other pelvic floor issues. To make sure you’ve got the right muscles, imagine squeezing a tampon or a grape and pulling it inside you.

Go fast and slow

Not to get technical, but you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you exercise both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles in your pelvic floor. So, do a combination of “quick flicks” and longer contractions where you squeeze and lift gradually while you count to 10. 

Empty your bladder

It’s harder to Kegel when your bladder is full. So, make a bathroom pit stop before your Kegel session.

Get horizontal

It’s easiest to do Kegels while lying on your back, feet flat on the floor, and with knees bent. So start there and work your way up to doing Kegels while you’re in the car or at a dinner party. No one will ever know!

Don’t overdo it

Don’t squeeze as hard as you can, be sure to relax after every contraction, and ramp up slowly. You don’t have to do 500 Kegels each day to reduce bladder leaks.

That said, it can take a couple months to feel the full effects of Kegels.

Lily Bird is here for you in the meantime handing out 10-product $1.99 trials to find you the right bladder leak product for you.

Dumbbells for Your Vagina

Have you ever lifted weights with your vagina? It’s time to go there.

To use Kegel weights, you insert them into your vagina and then go about your routine for a few minutes while holding them in. Just like with bicep curls, you should start with lighter weights and shorter amounts of time.

A heads up: especially during and after menopause, the vaginal wall thins. So, you may want to use a water-based lube along with your Kegel weights.

Pelvic Floor Exercises

While Kegels might be the most common pelvic floor exercises, there are plenty of other pelvic floor exercises that also engage those muscles. Squats are a great one. So are bridge and split tabletop.

To do a bridge, lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on your floor. Then, lift your hips off the ground and keep your back straight. Hold your hips up for 10 seconds (or less at the start) and then lower your hips back down to the floor.

To do a split tabletop, lie on your back with your feet in the air, knees bent, so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor and your shins are parallel to the floor. Slowly split your legs, letting each knee fall outward, and then raise them back to the center.

2 Words to the Wise

Be patient, grasshopper. As with all exercise, it takes time to see results. So in the meantime, let Lily Bird back you up with pads and underwear for bladder leaks. You can get started with just 10 products for $1.99.

And remember: it is possible to overdo it and end up with a pelvic floor of steel, which isn’t a good thing. Just like a stressed out type-A student, hypertonic pelvic floors have a hard time relaxing. And that can make bladder leaks worse or sex painful. So, go slowly and keep your eye on the prize.

Ready to tell your bladder who’s boss?

Get pads and underwear for leaky laughs and dribble dilemmas delivered straight to your door from Lily Bird. Try 10 products today for $1.99.

Lately, with all the extra time and space provided by social distancing, it’s a good thing if you’ve been ruminating over questions like:

• What’s my plan for the next couple decades?
• How do I feel more accomplished?
• What should I be doing first?
• How do I go about finding my purpose?

It means you’re curious about how to be fulfilled. Even if finding clarity on how to be fulfilled is confusing, one thing is for sure: Creativity can help you get there.

And by “there” I mean living your ideal retirement lifestyle, where you’re healthy, active, and engaged.

Really. Among the many reasons why you need creativity you will find longevity, a sense of purpose, better brain health, and less stress and anxiety.

It’s a Myth That Creativity Declines as You Age

Let’s quickly debunk one of the seven myths about aging: Aging makes you less adventurous and less creative.

Well, this can’t be further from the truth.

The reality is: You have total control over how adventurous and creative you can be, no matter what age you are.

How? Just as you can create new neural pathways for the rest of your life, you can build your creativity level at any stage in life. In other words, you can exercise, practice, and train your brain to be creative no matter your age.

Your creativity level is similar to your neuroplasticity, where you either use it or lose it. Put another way, use it a lot and you strengthen it.

So, why does the stereotype of “being less creative as you grow older” exist?

Culture Teaches Us to Be Non-Creative

In a big way, this myth about creativity declining as you age exists because our culture and society teach us to not be creative, in a very structured way.

George Land’s Creativity Test revealed shocking results.

After testing the creativity of 1,600 children at ages 3–5, then again at age 10, and a third (and final) time at age 15, Land found the percentage of people who scored at the “genius level” of creativity were:

• Amongst 5-year-olds: 98%
• Amongst 10-year-olds: 30%
• Amongst 15-year-olds: 12%
• Same test given to 280,000 adults: 2%

Wow. Basically, Land’s conclusion is that “Non-creative behavior is learned.” As in, structured institutions, like schools and large corporations, train us to be non-creative. Instead, they teach us to comply and fit nicely into a larger system.

While this is a sad realization as far as your creative expression goes, there is a flip side to it.

You Can Learn, Practice, and Unleash Creativity (at Any Age)

The good news is creative behavior can be taught and learned. In terms of creative output, there’s no age limit to the creative contributions that you release into the world.

Rather, it’s a matter of when you decide to start, peak, and contribute your creative ideas. And this, as you know, can be at virtually any age.

Of course, it goes without saying that most of your creative contributions are probably going to happen at the peak of your creative efforts and productivity level.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, though, this can be at any stage in life.

In fact, according to psychologist Dean Keith Simonton of UC Davis:

“Some late bloomers do not truly hit their stride until their 60s or 70s. They often drudged away in uninspiring jobs for decades before discovering their true passion.”

There Are Plenty of Inspiring Creative Late Bloomers to Look to

For inspiring examples, here are three older adults with impressive creative years under their belt:

Grandma Moses

Grandma Moses started painting in her late 70s after retiring from her farming duties. She became a folk art sensation and painted successfully for 20 years up until her passing at age 101.

George Blair

George was famous for his extreme barefoot water skiing. He didn’t learn how to water ski until he was in his 40s and continued to be creative with the sport until age 92.

Annie Leibovitz

Even though Annie’s creative career stretches back to before she photographed John Lennon the day he was assassinated, she’s still practicing creativity today and currently teaches an online photography class at age 70.

And these are just a few amazing creative models to look to for inspiration.

Rest assured there are countless creative heroes and late bloomers who better the world (and themselves) in big ways. And they do this well into their golden years.

Time to Unleash Your Creativity

The moral here is creativity does not shrivel up as you age.

Whether the culprit is our education or corporate system, your natural-born creativity is most likely something you’ve suppressed for decades (which is way too long).

Here’s to setting free and strengthening your natural-born affinity toward creativity!

If you’re interested in rewiring your golden years, Cyn can help you find clarity on your ideal retirement lifestyle and see where your creativity can take you. Book a Free 1-On-1 Breakthrough Session with Cyn to see if you’re a good fit for joining her Rewire Your Retirement program.

How are you being creative these days? How do you feel when you’re being creative? Does creativity bring you fulfillment? What stereotypes have you had to fight to find your creative potential? Please share with our community!

Leah McSweeney’s Burberry Canvas Tote in Newport

Real Housewives of New York Season 12 Episode 10 Fashion

One thing that in our opinion makes RHONY newbie Leah McSweeney an excellent addition to the housewives franchise is that she comes with a lot of baggage. And while you may think that we’re referring to her mommy issues and crazy teenage years, we’re actually talking about her collection of cute bags like the Burberry canvas tote we saw her packing up on last night’s ep in Newport; well, mostly.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Burberry Tote

Click Here to Shop a Smaller Version With Black Handles

Click Here For Info on Her Sweater

Click Here to Shop Her Vintage Frames Sunglasses

Originally posted at: Leah McSweeney’s Burberry Canvas Tote