Rock Your Retirement Show

Let's take a look at how Bill Bennett is enjoying his retirement by “Playing with Cars” Do you love cars?. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/playing-with-cars-episode-40 I had a difficult time naming this episode but decided on “Playing with Cars“. There was so much that Bill and I talked about it was hard to decide.   Let's tell you a little bit about Bill first: After graduating from college Bill Bennett went into the flight program in the Marine Corps. He spent 4 1/2 years flying helicopters. He then went into sales and marketing for a number of companies and became an executive for a fortune 500 company before he retired. His wife of 42 years passed away a year and half ago and Bill decided he had to grab himself by the bootstraps and decided to get going. Bill bought a Miata for $107.   That's right.  He purchased a Miata for $107.  You'll have to listen to the episode to find out how, but let's just say that he is an expert at playing with cars. 

Steve Pettersen is with us today to talk about what he is doing after retirement and he gives us an advice on what to do before or after retirement. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/working-with-seniors-for-his-own-retirement-ep-39 Steve Pettersen is working with seniors for his own retirement. Steve is now 66 years old and semi-retired. He spent the last ten years volunteering for Junior Achievement and the City of Carlsbad. He worked for UPS for 18 years in Sales/Marketing and in Logistics/Supply chain solutions division. He was part of the Logistics Group that change the strategic direction of UPS. Why is he working with seniors? Steve has been a caregiver for the last three years.  He provides seniors non-medical services so the senior clients can stay at home. He also works part time in Sales/Marketing for seniors and been doing this for 3 months now.  He talks about the daily challenges of working with people who have dementia and how it takes patience and loving kindn

Harp therapy? That's something new! Geraldine “Geri” Afshari will talk to us in today's episode how she uses Harp as a therapy. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/shhhh-listen-do-you-hear-the-sound-of-harp-therapy-ep-38 Listen to the Interview with Geraldine “Geri” Afshari, Harp Musician and Speaker on iTunes, Stitcher, or Podcast Addict. For instructions on how to do that, go HERE.  She played a song for us, and we can't put that into words! Geri Afshari is a musician and plays the Paraguayan harp professionally, travels extensively and lived in Iran, is a writer/editor/photographer, a lay counselor, a life-long activist, an avid SUP paddler, and hunts sea glass for her sea glass mosaic artwork.  She is also retired from working because she has to for money.  What a great place to be! Geri has been the featured speaker for numerous parent classes and teacher workshops over the years, including MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers), various women’s ministries,

What is Palliative Care? Pastor William “Bill” Harman is our today's guest and he'll tell us more about Palliative Care. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/palliative-care-is-pain-control What the heck is Palliative Care?  I'd never heard of it before 2016. Pastor William “Bill” Harman came on the show to explain Palliative Care to us. His background is long so I'll summarize his current activities: * Center for Global Awareness * Evangelical Lutheran Church in America * Lives in Encinitas, CA Bill Harman is the Chaplain with the Palliative Care Team at Scripps Encinitas Hospital. He came on the show to talk to us What is it? Palliative Care is not hospice.  It is specialized medical care to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.  This is for conditions that won’t be cured but can be managed. Some diseases include COPD, other respiratory disorders, and cancer. Why would someone want it? This care is designed for comfort and pain management. It is for the

TJ Barnes is with us today to talk about Hearing Impairment. She will give us tips from her personal experience. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/hearing-impaired-can-you-see-it Did you know that 10% of the population is hearing impaired and that 1% is deaf? I met TJ Barnes at The Hearing Experience at an event. I had to interview her because of her story.  She has been an RN for over 20 years and is the CEO of HEARCommunication. TJ understands this disability personally because she was born with a hearing loss. She's been working over 20 years with the hearing impaired as a nurse, and she also has a personal story.  She told the story of how she was run over by a skier who didn't understand that she couldn’t hear him yelling at her to get out-of-the-way. Her friend said, “He couldn't see that you can’t hear” and that’s what gave her the idea for a world-wide symbol for the hearing impaired. Hiking trails can use the symbol.  Biking trails can use the symbol. Businesses can u

How to help with symptoms of Parkinson's? Neil Denaut is here to teach us how we can do muscle re-calibration. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/muscle-re-calibration Muscle Re-calibration: How to help with symptoms of Parkinson’s. Neil moved to San Diego from New York in September 2014.  He says he was called there in a dream.  He kept dreaming about missing his flight to San Diego. This dream went on for four years until he finally made the move and relocated his family.  After that he started working more with extreme injuries. His purpose is to find more ways to help the injured.  He wants to help 1000 people become pain free. Why Muscle Re-Calibration? Neil has been correcting injuries for the past 16 years. He has amassed over 25,000 hours of personalized exercise and injury work. Furthermore, during the past 5 years he has been incorporating Ki-Hara Resistance Stretching into his work and the results have been profound!  This technique helps with Muscle Re-calibration.

Fritzi Gros-Daillon will talk about how we can age at home. One of the toughest things to decide about after retirement is where to stay.  You can listen to the show at: http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/how-to-age-at-home Age at Home: Fritzi Gros-Daillon knows how to do it.  She is a former senior move manager and has worked with 1000 families while being a long-distance caregiver for her parents in California. Fritzi founded Household Guardians in 2013 as an age at home consulting firm. Her passion for keeping family members safe in their own home environment for as long as possible has grown from years watching family's struggle to make the best decisions. Her environmental business background, certification as a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS), Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and years of experience bring a combination of expertise and perspective to the current aging in place issues. Her book, “Grace and Grit: Insights to Real Life Challenges of Aging for Adult Children and their Parents,”,

Happiness is what everyone wants. Have you found your happiness? Maura Sweeney is with us today to talk about that in today's podcast episode. You can listen to the show at: http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/one-word-happiness-episode-33 Maura is called the “Happiness Ambassador”. How did she become the happiness ambassador?  Maura Sweeney was called “water works” by her grandmother because she was always crying.  She made a decision when she was young to become a happier person, and she did!  She watched older people and found out that those who were following their own minds were happy, and those who were following what someone else wanted them to do weren’t. Maura Sweeney is a Happiness Expert and Next Generation Thought Leader: She is an:  Author | Podcaster | International Speaker | Huffington Post Contributor | Media Guest with the focus on Influence, Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and Personal and Career Branding. Featured in over 100 media outlets including Tampa Bay Times, Match.com, Midlife B

Let's talk about Sexual Desire with Beth Montemurro. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/bonus-episode-deserving-desire Why did Beth write the book, Deserving Desire? Beth Montemurro is a sociology professor at Penn State University.  During the last 15 years she's been studying gender and sexuality.  She has studied bridal showers and bachelorette parties (which was her doctoral dissertation), male exotic dancers, reality television, and attitudes. She is interested in the ways that people learn about and develop sexual selves through interaction with culture and the ways in which gender norms are created and sustained in everyday life. I spoke with her because of her book, Deserving Desire: Women's Stories of Sexual Evolution. I loved this paperback book cover!  Although it’s considered a textbook, she can help the non-academic as well, and I plan to purchase a copy of this book for my kindle. We live in a youth-oriented culture.  How does this affect women and our desire as w

Some of us may think that after retirement, we'd just be sitting around and do nothing but Noel Baker talks to us about how after retirement, it gets better. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/it-gets-better-episode-32 Today we interviewed Noel Baker, a retiree who has some advice for us.  It gets better! It gets better! Noel grew up in Minnesota and attended college at the University of Minnesota. After college, she worked for about a year before getting married. In 1970 she moved to Colorado with her husband, where she spent the next 8 years raising her 2 children and was very involved in politics. Once she and her husband divorced, she had to gain employment. She worked a few different jobs, including work at a bill collecting agency and as a counselor at a detox center for alcoholics. She worked as a Senior Administrative Assistant for KPMG, an accounting firm for 26 years. The firm decided to downsize in the fall of 2009 and Noel was forced to retire at 64 years old she wa

Of course, retirement and meetup can be done altogether. Debbie Sanford will share with us how she managed to make new friends after she retirement. You can listen to the show at: http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/retirement-and-meetup-episode-31 Debbie Sanford teaches us about Retirement and Meetup, and how they go together. Debbie Sanford is a native Californian who lived in the Bay Area for 64 years. She retired in June 2014 after teaching preschool for 24 years. Shortly thereafter, her long-term marriage broke up and her youngest daughter became pregnant. She decided to purchase the “beach house” of her dreams, which was a lovely manufactured home within blocks of the beach. It had always been a fantasy of hers to live near the beach and she wanted to be close to her daughter. Three weeks after she moved, her first grandchild was born. SOCIAL AND FAMILY Debbie didn’t know anyone in the area other than her daughter. Already feeling like her life had gone full circle, but she needed friends, she joined

How to survive retirement as a couple? Let's find out in today's episode. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/retirement-as-a-couple-episode-30 Miriam Goodman is the author of “Too much Togetherness: Surviving Retirement as a couple”. This book teaches us how to survive retirement as a couple.  I asked her to come on the show because I’ve seen marriages break up after retirement she shared her insights on how to prevent that.  As you know, retirement is not just about money.  Retirement includes all the other things that your financial advisor never told you about.  Miriam can help us stay together after we retire. To prepare for the book, Miriam interviewed couples with different situations, but many situations included the husband being retired, but the women weren’t ready to retire. One thing to watch for when one member of a couple retires is that a job gives you structure, community, and purpose. In order to survive retirement as a couple, you need to replace that structure

Why do people need YOU? Tweet is our today's guest and she will talk about why people need you. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/people-need-you-episode-23 Tweet was born and raised in Illinois and moved to California in 1988 where she lives with her husband and cat. Even then she said that People Need YOU.  She managed an RV park in El Cajon for 17 years and had one of the top-rated parks in the state. They even won an award for one of the best parks in the nation. Tweet retired from the RV park and then worked with her husband who was a construction claims consultant and expert witness. FAMILY Tweet and her sweetheart have been together for 30 years. She says the key to a happy marriage is to have your own interests, love each other, but give each other some time to do activities on their own with their own friends. ADVENTURE AND TRAVEL Although she's the first one to tell you that people need you, sometimes you just need to get away from it all.  Tweet and her husband lov

Jim Sweeney is our guest for today's podcast and he will talk about his successful company and what he is doing now. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/jim-sweeney-mike-rafone-episode-28 Jim Sweeney: Mike Rafone Cartoon Character Jim Sweeney sold his successful company, Sweeney Sales, in May 2005. So what is he doing now?  He has created his Trademarked MIKE cartoon sports character to become the first universal animated brand in sports. Besides penning 800 blogs, Jim has published 38 MIKE Sports Comic Books. All the eBooks contain clever sports comics and light-hearted commentaries on unique observations about sports. The 58-year-old Sweeney still participates in sports (slowly!) as a masters athlete and serves as Head of USA for FIMBA – the governing body for masters basketball tournaments around the world. ADVENTURE AND TRAVEL Jim Sweeney was a 1980 recipient of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the United States' top collegiate basketball player under 6'0″

Enjoy your life to the fullest. Listen to this podcast as Stella says her motto is “Go Do Enjoy!”.  You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/go-do-enjoy-ep-27 Stella Kanterakis says her motto is Go Do Enjoy! How did Stella get the motto Go Do Enjoy?  Stella was originally from Michigan. She was married for 35 years and is now divorced. She has 2 great sons with 2 wonderful daughter-in laws and 1 beautiful granddaughter. She taught 3rd grade for 10 years and then retired to raise her son's. (Which was her 2nd career). Then, she took a job at Bullocks (now Macy's) for a short-term position which turned into a 3rd career of 19 years. Stella was so ready for retirement she even made a big production on her last day of work including music, props, audience & video made for posterity, and that's why her motto is Go Do Enjoy! SOCIAL AND FAMILY Stella just recently attended her son’s wedding, which was on a yacht. She said you could feel the whole room was full of love. One highl

We all heard that Laughing is the best medicine. Vikki is with us today to teach us how we can laugh away our problems. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/laughing-with-parkinsons-episode-26 Vikki is an international best-selling author, humor blogger, and inspirational public speaker. She wrote the book, “Shake, Rattle, and Roll with It – Living and Laughing with Parkinson's“.  Since my father has Parkinson's Disease, I had to get her on the show!  She did not disappoint!  We talked about her book, her life, and our ailments, including my dystonia. Shake, Rattle, and Roll with It- Living and Laughing with Parkinson's: A few weeks after her first book, “Shake, Rattle, & Roll With It, Living & Laughing with Parkinson’s”’ came out, she received an email from a woman who said, “My mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s ten years ago. Since then, no one in the house has ever been allowed to talk about it, or even mention the word ‘Parkinson’s.” This created a lot o

Have you heard of ElderHelp? Carrie is with us today to explain how she is helping seniors through ElderHelp. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/stop-this-elderhelp-of-sd-info-could-change-your-life-ep-26 Carrie McClellan is helping seniors through ElderHelp of San Diego. Elderhelp is a non-profit organization that helps seniors live independently and with dignity. Carrie started her career as a Social Services Director in a Skilled Nursing Facility. She worked with many older adults and their families to develop a safe discharge plan when they were ready to return home again. This was an eye opener for her as she realized that many older adults were going home with little to no support from family or friends. If someone was on a fixed income, it was even more difficult. This is when she learned about ElderHelp of San Diego and she’s been the Outreach Manager for nearly 5 years now. She works in the community to ensure that those in need are aware of all the programs and servic

Jonna is with us today to talk about helping seniors stay safely in their homes. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/helping-seniors-stay-safely-in-their-homes-ep-24 Helping Seniors Stay Safely in their Homes: Jonna Overson is the founder of Green Tree Homecare. She discovered her passion for helping seniors stay safely in their homes several years ago. She worked to develop a strong understanding of the home care environment and resources available to clients and their families. She takes an educational approach to home care advisement and loves giving clients the tools that they need to create a home care plan that is best for them. Jonna considers the day a success when they can help a family feel secure that their loved one is comfortable and cared for in the security of their own home.   She helps seniors stay safely in their homes.  Their own homes.  Often retirees are torn between their own retirement needs and the needs of their parents. We discuss Enduring Care, which o

What are the benefits of a Veteran? Tony Bevin educates us about this in today's podcast episode. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/veterans-benefits-for-memorial-day-ep-23 Memorial Day Special on Veterans Benefits: Tony Bevin joined us for our Memorial Day Episode to teach people what benefits veterans can get.  Many people are not aware of the Veteran's Aid and Attendance Pension Plan. He helps veterans understand how to obtain long-term care benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Most veterans are not aware of the benefits available through these programs. Tony has specialized in benefits and planning for families, spouses, and heirs for over 15 years. His knowledge, experience, and depth of understanding of the process and paperwork required is exceptional.  He says that he enjoys the environment and working with the elderly. He helps take the burden off Baby Boomer children by helping to determine the resources available for their parent's situation.  Tony give

Michael is our guest for today's podcast and he will talk about acupuncture and its use. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/acupuncture-to-keep-healthy Have you thought of acupuncture to keep healthy? Micheal Julien provides acupuncture for pain and injuries. He specializes in the treatment of orthopedic pain and disorders as well as sports injuries. He helps active people and athletes of all levels.  This includes retirees, weekend warriors to professional athletes. He has had regular success for 10 years healing injuries associated with golf, tennis, running, surfing, swimming and more. A Certified Sports Medicine Acupuncturist, he employs a specific assessment protocol to identify the underlying cause of the issue and heal the patient quickly. Michael's personal experience as an aging athlete and his experience recovering from chronic pain helps him in his daily practice. In addition to operating his private practice, Michael has been an intern supervisor and UCSDs Athletic