MENOPAUSE - ARE WE THERE YET?

Whoever told you that being a woman can't be fun was wrong!

I just got through watching an interview of my friend and fellow Diva Boomer, Eileen Williams (on the local ABC affiliate in San Francisco) about celebrating menopause - the symptoms, the signs and embracing the "change".

It was a great interview and funny! Eileen mentioned our bodies "flopping and dropping" and I had to laugh because I have named my "girls" (that's boobs to you men) Thelma and Louise. Not because they are cute and perky but because they have gone over the cliff!

Both women spoke to the advantages of growing older as a woman. Because of the testosterone levels we begin to be more outspoken, more assertive and even more creative! As pointed out in the video we no longer have to worry about having feminine hygiene products in our medicine cabinets or our handbags! Even our headaches can go away!

I have found that menopause has been a doorway to freedom for me. As a younger woman I was always struggling to be like every one else. For me that was almost an insurmountable goal because, as an artist, I am "Normal Challenged"! I am, and have always been, a little different from other people. This caused me many years of confusion and discomfort. I just wanted to fit in and be like other women my age.

Now that I am older I recognize my "normal challenged" personality as a benefit and not as a detriment. I no longer care to fit in and I have embraced my unique voice and style. This is the DIVA way! I love my life as a Normal Challenged Artist and unique person and I am doing things now that I would never have thought possible nor even had the courage to try when I was younger!

Though I do not enjoy hot flashes and mood swings, I am not afraid to have them. I never took hormones because I did not want to fill my body with artificial chemicals. If that makes me more assertive, more demanding and less malleable than some would prefer - well, phooey on them! I'm happier and, frankly, that's what counts to me!

I've even started a rant blog where I get to complain about the things that bug, irritate and annoy me called The BRAT in the HAT! I highly recommend a rant blog for all women over 40 - you get to post your irritation for the world to see and get it out of your system. It's better medicine than a few hormone treatments by far - and it's cheaper!

So, if you're on the far side of 40, sliding into menopause and worried that your life is over - don't! Your life is really just beginning and it's going to be a wild ride into the second and best part of your life!

Some great sites to network with other dynamic women on the far side of 40:

The Feisty Side of 50

Enjoy Your Menopause

Boomer Diva Nation

Rosie's Boomer Review

New Jersey Baby Boomer

The Crazy Rancher's Wife

Life After 50

THE ULTIMATE DIVA - Norma Jean aka Marilyn Monroe

While I was attempting to wake up this morning, I was watching the mini-series "Blond" - a biography on Marilyn Monroe. I enjoy this movie a lot because it devoted a good amount of time on Marilyn Monroe as a very young girl. I suspect it was not entirely accurate, however it was still interesting and made you think about what Marilyn would have been like as a little girl.

Marilyn Monroe aka Norma Jean Mortensen/Baker was an intelligent and highly underrated woman of talent. Sadly for us, and the beautiful women of those days, gorgeous women were only seen as sex kittens in Hollywood. Marilyn's acting talent and her intelligence were ignored and her body and face were seen as her only values. I often wonder how she would have grown as an actress had she lived to see today's world.

Marilyn was never won nor was nominated for an Oscar. I think Oscar missed a trick, don't you? That is why the title of my artistic tribute to Marilyn above is entitled "HEAVEN TRUMPS OSCAR" because Heaven is always a better reward than a statue any day and I figure the angels might just have had enough sense to cast her in something that was equal to her talents and intelligence.

There is one little thing I would like to point out to all the women of today's world who strive so hard to fit into a dress size that wouldn't fit a Barbie Doll - Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14 dress. You heard me right. A size 14 dress. And she was considered to be the most beautiful, sexiest woman of her time - maybe the sexiest woman of all time.

Norma Jean Leaves The Scene in a Lilac Cadillac is available as archival prints and giclees on canvas in various sizes at my website. Copyright 2008 by Pop Art Diva. All rights reserved. No permission is given to copy, distribute or reproduce without written permission from PopArtDiva.com.

Heaven Trumps Oscar is a tribute to Marilyn Monroe and not for sale. Copyright 2008 by Pop Art Diva. All rights reserved. No permission is given to copy, distribute or reproduce without written permission from PopArtDiva.com.

Roller Girls - How DIVA can you get?

I was recently wondering what had happened to Roller Derby in a post on my Pop Culture Blog and I got a comment from Ruby Khan telling me about the resurgence of Roller Derby and that she was a Roller Girl herself! Wow, a real Roller Derby Queen found my blog post! I was thrilled!

Ruby gave me some great links to her team's website - The Boston Derby Dames and I checked her blogger profile and found she had a blog entitled "Pigeons playing roller derby" so I just had to check that out and post a comment - I loved the blog name!

Now, I ask you just how much more DIVA can you get than being a Roller Derby DIVA? They get to wear really fun (though Ruby says "often ridiculous") costumes, get great exercise, really compete (Ruby says these games aren't staged) and then create really fun names for themselves! The featured player on her team's website was "Queen Kamayhemmayhem" - I loved it!

Even though I am not a Roller Girl - though I do still have a pair of skates tucked away gathering dust somewhere - I thought it would be fun to come up with a Roller Derby name for myself and have decided that my Roller Girl name should be "The DIVA of DOOM".

Ladies and Gentlemen, skating for the baby boomer women of Divaville - The DIVA of DOOM! She's not fast, she's not coordinated, but she's sneaky so watch your backs and keep your helmets and knee pads fastened tight! Can I get a fanfare here?

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

BABY BOOMER DIVAS GETTIN' JIGGY IN DAYTONA BEACH!

Are you over 40, female and loving your life?
Are you taking charge and moving in new directions?
Do you believe women are like wine - better with some age and maturity?
Are you a DIVINE BABY BOOMER DIVA?

If you are you need to read more about a sisterhood of other women DIVAS who believe like you, who are "on the move", who are making a difference and who have come together under the leadership of The Queen of Hearts of Boomer Divas, Ms. Beverly Mahone.

Visit The BOOMER DIVA NATION online or join in the festivities at their Girlfriends Weekend Getaway in Daytona Beach, Florida being held April 18th - 20th. Women from all professions and backgrounds are getting together, networking and sharing their power, bringing DIVA to the world with grace, elegance and style.

Read more on Judy Davids, The Rock Star Mommy! - Click BLOG at the top of the page. And be sure to peruse the rest of Judy's fun site - it's a must visit for any Rockin' DIVA!

Listen to Beverly talk about this great event:

I MAY BE A FLIP-FLOP SNOB - BUT I'M A THONG DIVA!

I have to admit I'm not one for fashion fads anymore - I've stated this before in a post where I wanted to go naked, but I have gotten into the new flip-flop trend with a vengeance.

When I was a kid, we called flip-flops thongs, but I am making a concerted effort to retrain myself to call them flip-flops. Tragic misunderstandings have ensued from my bad habit of calling flip-flops thongs, but I won't go there.

This new batch of flip-flops is far superior to those white trash versions I had as a kid. The original flip-flop was simply a rubber sole with a strap plugged through the soul and around your toes. Much like the ones pictured above in my Pop Art "Flip Flops Aren't Thongs?", except we didn't even get pretty flowers on the tops of the soles like the ones pictured here. (I got these cute thongs as a gift for a trip!)

Now you can get flip-flops with some great DIVA frills. I have some that have been treated to a knitting project using really fun fuzzy yarns and even torn fabrics that flutter around my toes. My favorite pair at the moment are a pair of metallic, hot pink flip-flops with a sexy little 1-1/2 inch spike heel. I also favor a pair of turquoise flip-flops that are silk with a similar kicky little heel. And I have a pair of black silk ones that go great with a black caftan I bought for my martini hour outside in this great Spring weather.

I will admit I am a bit of a flip-flop snob. When I'm doing an art show I watch to see how many of the white trash versions of flip flops are flapping on the ground - too many and I know I'm dealing with a Walmart poster crowd and I stick my nose back in my book. Cheap flip flop wearers are not big on buying original art! But if those flip flops are sporting some bling I'm in the money!

Whatever the economic version of flip-flops, one thing can be said for all - they are a great way to show off your new pedicure and they're the fastest shoe to kick off at the end of a long day! Now, that's DIVA!

Flip Flops Aren't Thongs? is available as archival prints and giclees on canvas in various sizes at PopArtDiva.com. Copyright 2008 by PopArtDiva.com. All rights reserved. No permission is given to copy, distribute or reproduce without written permission from PopArtDiva.com.

SOME JAZZY DIVA DISCO EARRINGS FOR PETUNIA

I finally had to break down and get a new (to me) van for my art shows. Now vans by their very nature are not DIVA! They are utilitarian vehicles that get you and your assorted passengers and cargo to a destination. They are not sexy but they are a necessary evil for an artist who has to transport a portable store to a new location each weekend.

My new (to me) van is a dark green Ford of "a certain age", much like me. Well, I'm not green but I do have a few miles on me. I have named her "Petunia".

Now, I have found that if you treat your cars with respect by giving them a name and petting them for a job well done they will respond much like most men. In other words, they will be reliable, comfortable, easier on the pocketbook and more inclined to be responsive. A little gift now and then is also beneficial.

So I gave Petunia a pair of earrings. They are small mirror covered replicas of disco balls that were in style in the 1970s. These are very DIVA car earrings - they sparkle and dance around as Petunia and I go down the road.

I think Petunia likes her new earrings. Petunia is now a DIVA car and I think Petunia gets better gas mileage since she's gone DIVA.

SPRING HAS ARRIVED - TIME FOR A MANI-PEDI!

The weather has warmed and Spring has arrived and now we get to wear all our cute, kicky little sandals and fancy flip-flops.

I was excited to pull out my summer clothes and my cute sandals until I looked at my feet. OMG! Chipped toenail polish, cracked and dry skin had hidden all winter under socks and boots and fuzzy slippers! Let's not even talk about how I managed to ignore my shaving and waxing schedule!

So out came my clipping, snipping, sanding and buffing tools, my special creams, lotions and potions that promise to make my feet pretty for the "Season of the Naked Foot".

Since I'm an artist who sculpts as well as paints a manicure is kind of a lost cause for me - no matter what I do my fingernails will forever be short and unpainted. Manicures are simply not an option for those who work with paint, water, solvents, chemicals and most art mediums. It's sort of a waste of money and time.

BUT, I can have painted toes and cute shoes to show them off. So I will be soaking, grinding, creaming, filing and french-manicuring my feet to DIVA perfection this whole next week. It will take that long to get the "winter" off of them!