SENIOR HOME CARE:

Here’s an interesting article about one family’s struggle to find the correct diagnosis, which turned out to be Alzheimer’s Disease. Per @ALZHEIMERSread

Alzheimers Long Term Care Costs and Calculator

The goal at Parkinson’s Disease News is to provide coverage of all significant new research, reports, books, and resources concerning Parkinson’s Disease. Per @ParkinsonPD

Beyond Coping: Mastering the Art of Joyful Caregiving. This telesummit is a FREE virtual event designed specifically for caregivers of aging parents or loved ones who want to experience more joy in their role of a caregiver. Dates include July 28th, 30th, August 3rd, 5th, 8th, 11th, 13th, 18th and 20th with free replays available to those who have signed up.

Simplifying Senior Care – AARP’s Doughnut Hole Tool.

How to e-mail Grandma if she doesn’t have a computer. Per @CarolMarak

The elderly are finding “Online, ‘a Reason to Keep on Going.” @CarolMarak

GRANDPARENTING:

If you, like me, are enjoying the blessings of twins included in your grandkid count, I bet you’d enjoy @TwinHappyJen’s Twin book. You can win a free copy, “Two Snowflakes,” just by leaving a comment at her site, TwinHappyJen.

Many states have SALES TAX HOLIDAYs coming up in the next few weeks. That’s when you can buy school supplies, computers, and school clothes for your grandkids TAX-FREE! Couple that with the great back-to-school sales going on and it’s definitely one of the great ways to save money this summer – a major help for a grandparent’s budget! Keep your eyes peeled for the announcements at various stores, in the local newspaper, and/or at the website for your state. Per @invisibleillwk

For those grandparents whose grandbabies are being breastfed, you might be interested to know that the first week of August is World Breastfeeding Week. Per @SarahStewart

SANDWICH GENERATION MISCELLANEOUS:

Ways to Save Money on Books – Truthbomb Apologetics has a free E-Book Library with some good resources, both religious and secular, including many full books.

Hurry to Family Doctor Magazine to take advantage of their money-saving, limited-time offer for a free issue of My Family Doctor, a health magazine written mostly by doctors.   

We in the Sandwich Generation need to remember to drink plenty of water during these hot summer months, as well as remind our aging parents and young grandkids to do so. Per @dakimbrainfit

Nine-tenths of wisdom is appreciation. Go find somebody’s hand and squeeze it, while there’s time. Author: Dale Dauten via @LilliJ

Seniors for Living has a terrific resource for those of us in the Baby Boomer Generation.  100 Ways to a Healthier, Happier, Longer Life

A brownie recipe that is DELISH from a site with a great name, Cook Like Your Grandmother! We tried it and really liked it. I will caution you, it’s very rich and a bit more on the moist side than my ultra-favorite brownies, but it was definitely a hit at the pot luck because it is so good!

A Tiny Bit of Tech:

IMPORTANT ALERT ABOUT FLASH BY ADOBE: Homeland Security Issues a Vulnerability Notice – Adobe Flash. By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment) or a PDF file, an attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code. There is currently no known fix, although they expect one this week. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), does have some (very complicated) work arounds.   I have so far managed to disable Flash in Internet Explorer and Firefox and determined not to open any PDFs. There really is more I should do, but I am staying so busy with grandkids this week, it isn’t going to happen in my house. Then again, I’m not getting as much computer time in either, so that would appear to be not so bad either.

Homeland Security Headlines for the Sandwich Generation: Here’s a couple of great ways to stay on top of any known problems, freeing us up to focus on our caregiving. Two of my favorite sources of emergency information from weather to terrorism are reaching out to us via Facebook and Twitter. National Terror Alert has added a Facebook Fan Page. Become a “fan” for a chance to win prizes.  Emergency Email is now on Twitter with quick headlines of high interest.

For my fellow Sandwich Generation, caregiving, and grandparenting bloggers, BlogHerald has a good article on blogging skills with lots of great links.

Pho.to is a serious photo editor with a fun side as well, allowing you to turn your photos into a cartoon, if you’d like. Great for those of us in the Sandwich Generation, fixing up photos for our aging parents, along with having a good laugh with our grandkids! Per @ShawnHussey

Picnik is also great for photo editing online free. I’ve used this extensively and it’s very easy!

Top 10 reasons for churches to Twitter. Per @curtjonestweets

Finally, if you’re traveling this summer, and want to use wifi at the airport but it’s not a free wifi airport, here’s an interesting article. Free wifi is definitely one of my favorite ways to save money when traveling! Per soultravelers3

Did you ever work on a project that made you feel like you were wrestling alligators? I’ve had two of those today! One was writing an article on eHow. My computer froze, the account didn’t save correctly, and then I wound up going down a rabbit trail on yet another alligator wrestling match – figuring out Facebook. This here Sandwich Generation caregiver was ready to call it quits several times BUT I didn’t. The upshot is that my latest eHow post, How to Play Safe Now to Prevent Needing Skin Cancer Treatment Later, with good reminders about using plenty of sun block now to help prevent skin cancer treatment later, has gone up. UPDATE: This really was an alligator of an article. Somehow (probably my mistake but not sure) my article was deleted. Apparently when that happens, you are not allowed to put it back up because of duplicate content. So I rewrote it for Ezine Articles and will link to it when that is published. In the meantime, I wrote another article, How to Use Stress Balls to Relax at the Dentist. Can’t let those alligators win now, can we!

In addition, SandwichINK’s Facebook page is up and running and I would LOVE to have y’all come join me there. I have to tell you, I was so excited when my very first New Friend notification popped up to let me know that Heather from The Mogul Mom was accepting my friend request. Do y’all remember when AOL started out, and we all gave it a whirl? Remember the thrill that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan dramatized in that simple little phrase, “You’ve got mail!” That’s exactly how I felt today. It was really fun! So a big thank you to Heather, whose interesting site, The Mogul Mom, is such a valuable resource to all of us entrepreneur moms and grandmas!

I also want to give a big thank you to Gina LaGuardia from Seniors for Living for helping me figure out how different urls work on Facebook, as well as being my second “You’ve got a Facebook friend” mail. Gina is such a blessing to all of us for a variety of reasons, including organizing and maintaining the Boomers & Seniors: News You Can Use Blog Carnival. In fact, the latest issue is hot off the press TODAY. There are several interesting articles including how to be prepared before your elderly parent has to go into the hospital, an interview with a social security attorney, a child’s legal responsibilities with regard to aging parents, and the research that shows that poor sleep habits can lead to insulin resistance. You’ll find the current Boomers & Seniors Blog Carnival at Ageless-Sages, where I’m headed as soon as I post this so I can read it right along with you.

Don’t forget to come say howdy to SandwichINK at Facebook. I’m experimenting with the cute little box in the left column which will hopefully keep you updated. Let me know what you think of it. And watch out for those alligators!     

Here are some interesting tips, links, and information from Twitter this week for all of us in the Sandwich Generation:

CAREGIVERS:

Preventing the Spread of Swine Flu in Nursing Homes and Senior Centers is an excellent article from Seniors For Living.

A CDC update, Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home , has some very useful information including how it spreads, medications that can help, and steps you can take to lessen the spread.

GRANDPARENTS:

Disney is one of the most popular channels with my grandkids . Particularly since we have a tween! For those who also like Disney, but don’t get it with their current connections, the NY Times reports that “Disney/ABC adds shows to Hulu, joining NBC and Fox/News Corp .”

SANDWICH GENERATION – GENERAL TIPS & ENCOURAGEMENT:

If you, or someone you know, is a hair stylist, Seekzpeace has some really cute stickers for kids when they get their hair cut. Sounds like something my grandkids would love!

Free audio book download, Foxes Book of Martyrs , at ChristianAudio My pastors have all recommended that book. I’m going to have to get it! 

The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 Thanks to @RapturReadyNews . Speaking of them, Rapture Ready is one of my favorite sites for news updates from a Christian viewpoint.

CNN reports that the FDA says “stop using Hydroxycut products , which are popular dietary supplements used for weight loss.” Thanks to @NerdNews for that update.

Are you looking for friends from high school, or helping an aging parent track down an old army buddy? PIPL is a great search engine for finding people.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” ~ Corrie Ten Boom

Be careful if you use Facebook to keep up with friends, family, and even grandkids . There’s a new phishing attack going on. Don’t click on fbstarter links Thank you @JesseNewhart.

That’s it for this week. More updates on the next Sandwich Generation Twitter Tips on Microblog Monday.

I’m very pleased to introduce my first guest blogger for SandwichINK. Carol Marak is the founder of Carebuzz – www.Carebuzz.com – which is serving the providers of Senior Services with New Media Marketing:

A recent study by the Pew Internet American Life Project shows that 22% of Americans 65 and older used the Internet in 2004. The number increased again in 2006 to 34%. Seniors are researching topics like health or medical information – 66%; product research – 66%, Government websites -60%; online shopping – 47 %; travel reservations – 41%; and banking – 20% – using the web.

Many seniors (50+) are on social media sites like Eons, ThirdAge and AARP. That number grows each day. ThirdAge claims they have 1 million boomers in their database and 2 million boomers registered for their Newsletter. Online users, family members and seniors, are connecting via the social media sites like the ones mentioned and LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and many others. They form relationships. They ask questions, get answers, and yes, even get referrals! Sounds space aged, right?

Today it’s the “boomers” that is the leading group who are caring for an elder loved one. In my experience of helping my aging parents, I found most “care information” like health, home care, and family caregiving topics on the Internet. Since I lived at a distance from my parents, I did not have easy access to their local phone book so I went online to look for help.  For many family members, they are doing the same since they too live at a distance from aging relatives.

That was two years ago when I helped mom and dad. The landscape of the web has changed. More senior services like health websites, support groups, geriatric care, home care, home health, elder law, and long term care insurance are all popping up in cyber space. It’s like we’ve arrived. Family caregivers and aging seniors can find us on the Internet! That’s great news!

How do seniors filter through this abundant information? We’re on information overload, aren’t we?

But the good news is that blogging and social media helps people find the answers they are looking for. They are building relationships online. And getting help, answers and referrals.

Online connections is all about building trusted relationships – that’s why social media will expand and always be credible.

Carol Marak

http://carebuzz.com

Thank you, Carol, for an interesting article.  It’s nice to know we are in the forefront of positive change for our society!

Check out Carol’s website. She’s got a great blog with interesting interviews featuring various elder care providers and other people and sites of interest for caregivers. While you’re there, be sure to take a peek at her blog post for today, December 11, 2008. She is not only my very first guest blogger, she conducted my very first interview! Quite exciting, I must admit. You’ll find her article with the interview at http://carebuzz.com/help-for-the-sandwiched-caregivers/ .

Viruses, Backups, and More - Facebook got hit with a major case of the Koobface virus and it’s not the first virus to give them grief. Apparently many users assume that because you have to log in, you are somehow protected but that is not the case.

Not only that, I was listening to a podcast the other day and the speaker mentioned his computer was infected by a piece of spyware. It was only on his computer for a couple of days before Adaware caught it and removed it. But that was long enough for hackers to gain access to his bank account and siphon money out of it!

It’s vital in this day and age that any of us who are connected with the internet make sure that our antivirus and firewall protection is kept up-to-date, and that we check our computers regularly for spyware. It’s also very important that we back up our computers regularly, at least once a month if not more often. So today is your official reminder to:

1. Back up your computer – documents, photos, music, email, and anything else you don’t want to lose.

2. Make sure your antivirus and/or firewall software is updated. Then run a scan if it doesn’t do it automatically.

3. Make sure your spyware is updated. Then run a scan if it doesn’t do it automatically.

4. Defragment your computer, if it doesn’t do it automatically.

5. If you would like ideas on what software to use and what to do if you have a problem, take a peek at my post from September, http://www.sandwichink.com/computers-need-caregiving-too

Blogging Caregivers – For those of you who blog, personally or professionally, I wanted to share some information with you. If you are using WordPress – either .com or .org – you may have heard that there is a major upgrade coming soon. I’m personally looking forward to it (all Geeks enjoy upgrades ), but I’m also a bit leery of it as well. Will everything work smoothly on the blog after the upgrade? I will probably wait a week or three to do it, until I am sure that my theme, the wonderful Thesis which I totally love, is fully compatible with the WordPress.org upgrade. When I do upgrade, I will post a note with a warning that I am upgrading so you will, hopefully, have some idea of what is going on if there are “issues.” But I am happy to announce that if you gave Windows Live Writer a try, as I suggested in September, http://www.sandwichink.com/windows-live-writer-test-even-caregivers-like-to-experiment , it should work fine with the upgrade. I wrote Brandon Turner, who is on the Live Writer team, to verify that info. He wrote me back, right away:

It looks like everything is solid with WP 2.7, at least from our interaction with it.

There is going to be a new feature in our next version of Live Writer, which releases in a few weeks away, that is just for WP 2.7.

He went on to explain that when we upgrade to WordPress 2.7, we need to reconfigure our blogs through Live Writer in order to turn on that feature. I’ll give it a shot when the time comes and let you all know how it goes. And I am counting on Brandon to help me if I don’t succeed the first time Then I’ll pass on his help to you. I have to tell you, the support for this product has been wonderful! In the computer world that doesn’t always happen. Mega Kudos to Brandon Turner and the whole Live Writer team!!!