M
    Mary Turner

    Mary Turner

    Contributor

  • Cake Wrecks: The Most Awkward 50th Birthday And Retirement Cakes

    Whether we throw ourselves a big bash or begrudgingly attend a "surprise" celebration, the 50th birthday party is a rite of passage, an occasion to reflect, count our blessings and toast to many more happy years to come with our nearest and dearest. The retirement party is an equally poignant landmark, when friends and well-wishers gather to give us a send-off worthy of our years of dedicated service. Here are 12 examples of mid-life birthday and retirement party cakes gone terribly wrong -- either funny or cruel by intention, or as a result of an unfortunate bakery mistake -- courtesy of our friends at Cake Wrecks.

  • America's First Baby Boomer Retires Her Own Way

    Born just after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling will forever be known as America’s first baby boomer. Like many of her generation, Casey-Kirschling has seen her life take some surprising, unexpected, and often fulfilling twists. Now 66, Casey-Kirschling was a corporate trainer and public school teacher in New Jersey during her working years.

  • WATCH: New Diana Vreeland Documentary

    American fashion icon Diana Vreeland will be immortalized in a new documentary, "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel," in theaters next month. This will be the first feature-length documentary on her life and work, though she been portrayed in several books as well as "Full Gallop," a one-woman play. "I think what's so interesting about Mrs. Vreeland's story is that she's really known as a fashion person, and that she revolutionized fashion, but I think she really revolutionized social history... This is not just about fashion, this is a portrait of the twentieth century," said director Lisa Immordino Vreeland in an interview with Vogue Italia.

  • WATCH: New Documentary Examines The Life And Legacy Of Diana Vreeland

    American fashion icon Diana Vreeland will be immortalized in a new documentary, "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel," in theaters next month. This will be the first feature-length documentary on her life and work, though she been portrayed in several books as well as "Full Gallop," a one-woman play. "I think what's so interesting about Mrs. Vreeland's story is that she's really known as a fashion person, and that she revolutionized fashion, but I think she really revolutionized social history... This is not just about fashion, this is a portrait of the twentieth century," said director Lisa Immordino Vreeland in an interview with Vogue Italia.

  • Back-To-School Shopping: What You Should And Shouldn't Be Buying In August

    Retailers are hoping for even bigger sales this August than during the same month last year, when Americans spent $7.7 billion at family clothing stores and $2.4 billion at book stores — the best sales month of the year for books and the third best month for clothes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

  • Online Dating: A Man's Guide For Women Seeking Love On Match.com

    4. Do not pick sex kitten pictures but in your profile write how you want only a serious relationship. Nobody will believe you but they will lie to you because that is what you said you wanted but is not what they are interested in.

  • The Best Places To Age In America: Is Your City Among Them?

    The cities that are age-friendly will be the winners.

  • 10 Inspirational 50+ Athletes

    Part of the fun of watching the Olympics are all the inspirational athletes displaying their talents. As our television screens are dominated by the sweat and tears of teens and 20-somethings (with a few exceptions of course, such as these 10 Olympic qualifiers older than 40), we at Huff/Post50 were inspired to dig up some more incredible “silver” athletes. Some are competing against considerably younger athletes (for example, five-time Olympian Butch Johnson was just beat out in his sixth consecutive Olympic trial at age 56 by archers more than 40 years younger than him), but there are enough older athletes out there for them to go mano a mano in competitions such as the World Masters Athletics championships.

  • The Looming Trade-Off: Nursing Homes, Or Nursing Afghanistan

    WHEN you talk to Chinese officials lately, it doesn’t take long before they express concern about America’s “rebalancing” of forces — the prospect that we’ll shift more troops from the Middle East, where they are containing instability, to Asia, where they would contain China. My standard reply is that China is worrying about the wrong thing.

  • WATCH: 'The Boss' Opens Up About His Struggle With Depression

    In a recent profile in The New Yorker, "The Boss" opened up about some of the bumps along his road to tremendous success -- as "Born to Run" and "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" were going platinum in the early 1980's, Springsteen was descending into major depression and thoughts of suicide. Springsteen attributes much of his trouble to his relationship with his parents. “My parents’ struggles, it’s the subject of my life,” Springsteen said.

  • WATCH: Kenny Loggins And The Blue Sky RIders Perform 'Dream'

    "It keeps the juice going, you know, it keeps you feeling vital and alive," Loggins said of his decision to embark on a new adventure with the Blue Sky Riders despite an already well-established legacy of hit songs such as "Footloose." "For me, anyway, I know I have to be creative to feel good.

  • The Transition Network: Supporting Women '50 And Forward' As They Savor The Second Half Of Life

    Charlotte Frank and Christine Millen belong to the first generation of women who achieved widespread success in the corporate world. After conferring with likeminded friends (who were to become “founding members”), Frank and Millen pooled their skills and resources and created The Transition Network (TTN), an organization designed to nurture women who are transitioning out of full-time careers or coping with the inevitable problems of aging. Through small-group interactions, programs, lectures, and workshops, TTN would provide support and direction for women over 50 who were looking for new ways to channel their skills, energy, and education.

  • How To Get And Stay Active Over 50

    For those suffering from arthritis, for example, physical activity can actually reduce pain, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. "Exercise is always good for anybody," said Dr. Alexis Colvin, an orthopedic surgeon at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City specializing in sports medicine. Although she acknowledges the many challenges age can present for would-be athletes over 50 (early arthritis, tendonitis and excess weight to name a few), she offered some advice on working around these challenges, such as turning to more low-impact activities like swimming.

  • WATCH: The Top Five Things You Need To Know About Retirement

    Retirement is a pretty ambiguous term these days, executive editor of AARP The Magazine Ken Budd explained on "CBS This Morning." "Some people want to chill, some people don't want to chill at all," Budd explained as he provided a list of the top five things you should know about being retired. "I find the people who are happiest in retirement are the people who say, 'I'm busier now than I was when I was working,'" Budd said. "Remember that boredom is your enemy." As appealing as it may sound to kick back and enjoy some well-earned freedom from work and responsibility, it's important to have a plan for how you're going to spend your leisure time: leading a fulfilling lifestyle is just as important in retirement as it was for the years leading up to it.

  • Brooke Shields Wanted To Lose Her Virginity To Who?

    Right around the time she proudly confessed to being a virgin in her autobiography "On Your Own," actress, model and child star Brooke Shields was dating George Michael -- and had hopes of losing said virginity to the musician, she admitted on "The Talk" Wednesday morning. "My clothes were practically falling off me," Shields recalled. Sadly, it was not meant to be -- Michael, who has since come out of the closet, ended the relationship, insisting that he needed to concentrate on his career.

  • Unhappy At Work? A 'Wantologist' Will Help, For $200 An Hour

    Wantology is "a critical thinking method," says Kevin Kreitman, an industrial engineer who is credited with inventing it and the profession. For a living, Kreitman, 60, helps other people figure out what they want -- for a fee of $200 an hour. Now, if at this point, you're wondering how you can become a wantologist, Kreitman's career path was hardly a conventional one.

  • Pulled By A Religious Calling, Growing Numbers Of Women Are Entering The Clergy In Midlife

    Shortly before 9 a.m. on September 11, 2001, I received a telephone call from a friend who told me to turn on the television set—a plane had flown into the World Trade Center, and one of the towers was in flames. It facilitates spirituality by teaching the wisdom of all religions and our connection to life’s mystical dimension.

  • WATCH: Substance Abuse On The Rise Among Older Adults

    Substance use and abuse among older Americans has reached a peak, a recent government survey shows -- nearly five million adults over the age of 50 used an illicit drug in the past year, more than any generation before. The drugs older Americans turn to to cope are also often legal, namely alcohol and prescription drugs. Brad Lamm, author and Founder and CEO of Intervention Specialists, a crisis intervention agency, described the phenomenon as "AARP-onset" -- as many people over 50 age, they turn to substances to "deal with life's normal stressors," such as planning for retirement and physical decline.

  • WATCH: Senior Flash Mob Performs Coldplay!

    Pedestrians at Palms Mall in New Zealand got a shock last week when the busy shopping center suddenly filled with a mob of singing seniors. The 50 singers, members of the Rockers of Ages elders choirs, performed a rendition of Coldplay's 2005 hit "Fix You." Passing shoppers of all ages paused to appreciate the music, taking pictures and videos of the heartwarming spectacle. The Rockers of Ages choirs are composed of four singing groups based in Christchurch, New Zealand for "elders and aspiring elders" that rehearse weekly and are open to all ages and singing abilities.

  • WATCH: Remembering Ernest Borgnine

    "Today" also reflects on Borgnine's noteworthy personal life, including a brief marriage to Ethel Merman (one of five over his lifetime). "We will always give the best we possibly can to our profession, so that people may enjoy us in later years," Borgnine said to an audience gathered at the reception for his Screen Actors Guild 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award -- a theme clearly demonstrated in his extensive body of work.