Thursday, October 19, 2006

Take a deep breath and go public!!

Today, I'm going to announce that my blog is open for comments. With all the publicity and exposure I've had over the last 10 years, WHY is this so hard for me???? I think I said it before, but it's like giving a party and no one shows up, but you've got to send out the invitations, for crying out loud! :)

I've been experimenting (this is my second attempt to get a blog going) for a couple of years. I can't seem to decide what kind of voice I want to use....100% me or Minnie Pauz?

The website is all about menopause, nothing really personal there. The message board/forum is mostly about menopause and supporting each other, but there are areas where we talk about everything BUT menopause and there seems to be a need for that too. On the forum, everyone can start a conversation on a topic they're interested in, but here I have to choose the topic and everyone else responds. Hmmmm.....I just don't know.

A little voice in my head is saying to just "be yourself" and talk about whatever is on your mind at the time. Ok, that's what I'll do and then I'll ask others to join me here with their opinions.
Let's do it!! :)

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Ready to go "live"?

I still haven't had the nerve to tell anyone about this spot. Silly, I guess, especially after all the attention I've had about Minnie Pauz and menopause. I just feel like this is the closest I've gotten to being the real me and do I want to put the real me out there for all to see/judge/criticize? I'm not quite sure.....

I've been the "real me" on the message board, but somehow that's different. On there I don't have to post every day and conversations go on without my input. On here, I have to decide what each day will be about and then hope that someone will respond.

I'm getting closer though....I might even give the address to the ladies on the forum and ask which format they prefer. That's a good way to tiptoe into the spotlight although I'm still not sure if the conversations should be all about menopause or just about babyboomers in general. The confusion is overwhelming at the moment!

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Class reunions

I suppose the 10th and even 20th could be fun, but the 40th????? I don't think so! I can barely show my photo to people I've never met before (like in the personals), but I'm REALLY against showing it to people who knew me when I was young, thin and gorgeous! If I had stayed around town and grown older WITH them, it would be different, but it's too much of a shocker to have them see this

after knowing me like this Oh, I know I'm being silly, all of them have aged too, just some better than others. :) A bigger problem is that I had 3 reunions to go to and I didn't make it to any of them! Germany, Colorado and Missouri...I went to high school at all of them. Didn't really keep in touch with anyone though, so it's not like it would be "old home week" for me.

I do envy people who have the memories and have stayed in touch all these years. That's something I've never had because of moving around so much. Then again, there's a LOT of "normal" stuff that I can't claim in my past. I spend most of my time now trying to make new memories and help my kids overcome the bumps and scratches of their childhood---not quite as bad as mine, but still not completely stable. It's amazing how family histories repeat themselves.

I'm trying very hard to live in the present and keep expecting positive things to happen and keep striving for a level of serenity and happiness. I wish the same for you!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Menopause and dental care


Well, the implant surgery is over (3 weeks now) and I'm able to chew again. I did lose 12.5 lbs so far and if I can manage not to blow it, I will lose at least another 10. Need to start walking and then I'm sure I could lose 20! Not going to promise anything at this point, just try to eat right.

I don't know how many of you have dentures or have been told you NEED dentures, but I would say the dental implants are the way to go IF you can afford it. I really didn't think I could, but when I was told that wearing dentures would make my gums and bone deteriorate faster, I decided to make the investment in me. It's bad enough having dentures before I'm even 60 (in 1 1/2 years), so I wanted the stability of the implants, which will help protect my gums and bone.

We have to remember that as we lose estrogen, our bones are not as dense as before and that includes the bone in our jaw. Teeth can become loose and disease can set in. I have a great article on my site by a dentist. You can read it here

I had to have all my teeth pulled, so I had to get full dentures and man, has that been a trip getting used to. I knew I would get bottom implants because bottom dentures rarely fit well. The way the dentist described it to me is if your natural teeth are 100%, then dentures are at 10% and dentures with implants are 90%. This means stability and comfort for chewing, talking, whatever. Here's a good site to get an overall picture about dental implants. And here's some photos of what they look like.

Since I have no insurance, my surgeon offered his services at half price if I went to the dental college to have it done (he would still be doing the surgery, but the students would be observing). I agreed to do it and then he decided to do it in his plush office and have the student there to observe. Great for me! Instead of $1200 each, I paid $600 each and had 4 done. It was $280 for the anesthesia, so altogether I paid $2680. That's JUST for the surgery and the implants, not the rest of the hardware and the dentures. That's another $4000 unless I can get my other dentist to give me a hefty discount.

Please let me know if you have any questions...there's lots of stuff I haven't mentioned.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

When your kids aren't kids anymore.

I just had a visit from one of my "kids"....he's in his mid 30's and still hasn't figured out how to make his life work. It is SO hard not to enable him and this visit was no different. He needed money, so I compromised (with myself)I gave him half of what he asked for and I told him I can't keep doing this, that I'm short on $$ myself. He says he'll pay me back, but I've come to know that he basically a "black hole" when it comes to money.

Tough, very tough to not help your kids, but I KNOW that little bit of money is not going to help. I hide the fact that I did it from everyone because I know I should have had the courage to say no.

This is a part of middle age I could do without. I've got my own parent problems....with my Mother and I don't want the same kind of relationship between me and my kids. But it doesn't help make my life easier to not be able to say how I feel.

This is not about "menopause", but definitely something our age group has to deal with. How do YOU do it?

Saturday, July 15, 2006

On being a babyboomer

I used to think it was cool being a babyboomer, but after my visit to a doctor yesterday, I'm not so sure. Menopause is one thing, but the rest of this stuff that goes along with aging? I wish it would just pass me by!! I'm ONLY 58! That's the new 38, right? ha, ha, ha! Hey, Margot Kidder is 58 this year and she was Lois Lane to Christopher Reeve's Superman, so that should count for something!

I'd take the hot flashes of menopause any day over arthritis! At least the hot flashes usually go away at some point. Now THAT should be encouraging to those of you who are right in the middle of all of it. I've been post menopausal since I was 42 and I really believe that 16 years without estrogen has taken it's toll, but being without insurance means that I have to wait until something is really bothering me before going to the doctor and by then it could be too late to prevent things.....like osteoporosis.

Oh well, guess I'd better take the advice that I give everyone else....accept what is and think positive thoughts! Kind of like "Minnie" does in this cartoon:

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Summer blahs...

I don't know if it's related to menopause or not, but the hot sunny weather really slows me down! I'm one of those people who prefers cool, cloudy, even rainy days to the hot, bright, sunny days. A lot of it IS the heat factor. Even though I don't get major hot flashes anymore, I do heat up pretty fast once the temperature rises and my body seems to hold the heat longer, making it difficult to cool down and feel comfortable.

Once I get heated up, I start SWELLING up and then I'm REALLY uncomfortable! It affects all parts of my life whether I'm trying to work and can't get cooled off enough to concentrate, or if I have my grandkids over and I'm somewhat crabby. I try not to let how I'm feeling affect them, but when I have no energy, feel generally crappy, have swollen ankles or didn't sleep well, it tends to lower the quality of the visit. That's when I start feeling guilty and then over-indulge them to make up for it.

I managed to do pretty well yesterday when my two oldest grandsons came over. They've been asking for weeks if they could come and spend the night, so I finally said ok for last night. I told their mom to drop them off around 4pm yesterday and I cooked hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill. It was pretty muggy yesterday, plus I had a visit to the dentist earlier (to check on when I can get my dental implants), so I was a bit irritable by the time they got here.

It started raining so we were forced to stay inside and the first thing they said was "it's COLD in here!" Well, let's look at the facts....it's summer, it's muggy, and Grandma is menopausal. Of COURSE it's cold in here!! That's the only thing that's going to allow you both to live through the night! Ok, so I probably wouldn't kill them, but I could make their lives miserable for 24 hours! I gave them each a sweatshirt to wear and settled down to watch a movie. Naturally, they wanted snacks so we made kool-aid popsicles and while they were freezing, we went and got ice cream! The last thing I need is ice cream, but ..... oh well!

After the rain, Zach found something to keep busy with! (hmmm...not sure why, but I cannot post a picture!)

I downloaded two movies for them on pay-for-view...at $3.99 each that's a lot cheaper than taking them to the theater! :) I also let them play on the computer for an hour (each) while I watched a couple of my shows last night.

Today I told them that since it's a workday they wouldn't be able to use the computer because I use it all day long. You should have seen the long faces and the slump on the couch and the "I'm bored" comments!! I fully suspect that since I'm the only grandma with an internet connection, that's the main reason they love to come here. :) It's my fault though, I start all of them using the computer at 3, so by the time they're 5 they can play age-appropriate games and create wonderful art pieces that always get hung on my fridge.

They were just picked up a few minutes ago and now I'm back to my menopausal madness, but without an excuse....the kids are gone, it's quiet around here and it's totally clouded over and cooled off about 10 degrees. Guess I'll try to make the most of the day.


Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Minnie Pauz is finally blogging!

I know many of you have wondered why in the world "Minnie Pauz" didn't have a blog, only that ancient message board. Well, now it's here and you have an opportunity to comment on each and every topic that "Minnie" writes about!

She will try to remember to post each day and leave a "photo" of herself to show how she gets through this time of life called menopause, and everything leading up to it! First of all, in case you haven't seen them yet, here is a list of 35 menopause symptoms that help us realize that we ARE experiencing something REAL.

Do you know who "Minnie Pauz" is? She's a woman, much like you if you are a woman with hormones, if you are a babyboomer, if you are single, married or divorced, quite simply, she's "everywoman". She is a little bit (or a lot) of all of us, depending on how you see her. She's gotten a lot of attention for the past 9 years and she's beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed with the exposure she's getting. She's not a doctor or an expert on menopause, but she gets letters that ask about medical issues all the time. That's when she sends people to Dr. Judy Paley, who is a real doctor and has been gracious enough to answer questions on the message board. "Minnie" is very happy to respond to questions about weight gain and chocolate!

The main thing that "Minnie Pauz" (a registered trademark, by the way) brings to the table is a sense of humor about the whole subject of aging, feeling like the fun has gone out of our lives and all this changing that is inevitable. We've GOT to laugh about it or we're doomed to feeling miserable for the next 30 to 40 years! Hey, that's a lot of time to do things we always wanted to do and still time to take care of ourselves and have FUN!

And now as promised, a photo of "Minnie" to prove even further that she's definitely someone with the same problems as most of us:

She only likes to be photographed from the back because she's feels that is her best "asset" and she's not so proud of her double chins and those dark hairs that keep popping out on her chin(s) and upper lip!

Today she's trying to get some exercise in before it gets too hot outside, but this one is one of the hardest because her underarms start flapping so fast that she can't keep her balance! It's also a good excuse to stop!

In case you're wondering who is doing the typing here, check out my bio.
When "Minnie" actually has something to say, I'll put it in bold print (and a color) so you won't get us confused. :) She's the one who comes up with the clever statements like, "Menopausal women are hotter!" She has plenty of those quotes on tshirts and coffee mugs for you!

We hope you will take the time to comment on our new spot. Let us know what you think, ok?