I stayed up until 10 PM to watch the much touted (even O'Reilly gave it a plug) Barbara Walters Special that promised to reveal startling new breakthroughs to control the aging process. For anyone involved in the anti-aging movement, the first 45 minutes were a yawner. It's not new news that promising techniques and products are available or soon will be available to control aging: adult stem cells, calorie restriction, resveratrol, and human growth hormone to name a few.

The Law of Attraction states that whatever we hold our focus, specifically, our emotionally-charged feelings on is what we get more of even if it's not what we desire. It's easy to relate this to a better job, more money, and all the improvements we typically seek to expand into our lives. If you're familiar with "The Secret," the law also applies to relationships.

As promised last month, Mary Lloyd, author of Bold Retirement: Mining Your Own Silver for a Rich Life will be a regular contributor. Mary is an internationally recognized expert on management of the "after work" (retirement) period of life.

The Barbara Walters Special on Aging, made clear that those who live the longest, healthiest and happiest lives remained productive in some way "after work."

Mary's article this month deals with s-t-r-e-s-s which gets to us all sooner or later. Her advice is down to earth and easy to put into practice. I especially liked her advice about how to deal with "dust." I was relieved to know I no longer have to stress over it ( not that I ever did.) Some background about Mary here

Here are links I've found during March that you will find helpful. There's lots of interesting stuff -- take a look -- you never know what you will find that is useful. What may be weeds to some, may be roses to others. . .

Thanks to everyone who responded to my call for an opinion about the proposed title of my new book, "Why Women Become Little Old Ladies Before They Are Old." The results are in: 41 percent said it was a "great title"; 23 percent it was "good" and 17 percent said it was "terrible."

My gut tells me it's a terrible title. As I've already mentioned, I don't like the expression, "Little Old Lady." It's demeaning and doesn't inspire respect for older women. However, as I've also stated, the fact is that many women do become a "little old lady." It's reflective of a mindset and lifestyle, and I truly believe that it can be delayed and even avoided. I'd like to say it can "always" be avoided but that's not true.

According to a new report from Europe, "A new scientific study on rats suggests that the anti-wrinkle treatment Botox may be able to move from the skin into the brain, degrading proteins and acting on nerves." The good news is that the amount of the poison that migrates to the brain is small. However, many women use Botox on a regular basis. The small amount that reaches the brain after a single treatment is one thing -- what is the effect on the brain and nerves after many treatments?

When I went to pharmacy school we studied pharmacognosy (about substances found in nature used to treat illness), because we were learning to practice what was called "the ancient and noble art of the apothecary." It was important to know about the medicinal value of assorted botanicals, herbs, roots, bark and berries, because that was pretty much all there was to treat most medical conditions.

The pharmaceutical industry had not yet grown into the force it is today, but its power was already on the horizon. I can recall when we received the first bottles of penicillin tablets. Soon after penicillin there followed many other antibiotics and doctors started to routinely prescribe them for adults and children with simple colds, to prevent "secondary infections." Several of those antibiotics were later found to be harmful and were taken off the market. After the antibiotics came other drug company "miracle" discoveries that filled the pharmacy shelves that formerly held botanicals.