Thursday, February 28, 2008

Single women and car repairs.



These 4 words do not go together. No matter how knowledgeable you try to look and sound, they still know you are bluffing! It took me months to find WHERE to take my car for the leak problem....not an oil leak or gas leak, but water was getting in my car and soaking the carpet. Once the temp dropped below freezing I had to start wearing ice skates to drive....no, not really, but the floor was frozen! It was great when things warmed up a bit except then the horrific smell would fill the car!

Took the car to a auto collision place and this guy had the car for 10 days!!! Found several small leaks in different locations and finally found the main problem somewhere up front. One thing you don't want to see is your car with the seats out and the carpet and padding out. Very sad. :(

Final cost was $553, but he took off $100. But he also said I need a new waterpump...another $240!!! Lord when does it stop!!??

This was after a week when I also had to buy a new dryer and was waiting for my taxes to be done. I've already traded the dryer in for a nicer (more expensive one) since I bought too fast, but the good news of the month is that I only owe $150 on my taxes. That's great news of course, but that means I barely survived on last year's income! Oh well, this year is looking better, except any extra money I've made or saved is going to pay for the car and the new dryer!!

A great gift for the grandkids! I love to get them things they will use for years to come and these Bongo Bags are wonderful! Moms love them and so do the kids!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Middle Aged Woman song

http://www.minniepauz.com/middle-age-video.html


Song by Lisa Koch www.heylisa.com Buy her CD!!!!

Gay menopause....


Kind of an oxymoron, right? :) But I'm not talking about "happy" menopause, although I swear I got an email from someone who said they had never had one hotflash or moodswing in the 9 years since their period stopped, so maybe there is such a thing.

I was watching CBS Sunday Morning and they had an excellent piece on Suzy Orman, one of my favorite experts. She gives excellent financial advice and is especially interested in helping women become financially independent. She's inspirational to me because she said she wasn't that smart when she was younger and she brought herself from poverty to being a billionaire! I watch her tv show often and always catch her when she's on Oprah or any other talk show. Just love and admire her!

I had no idea she was gay! It doesn't matter, of course, but I'm surprised that I never heard anything about it. This brought to mind about gay couples (lesbians) going through menopause. Plenty of good/bad stuff here!

If one menopausal woman in the house is tough, what if there are TWO? You can see where the bad would come into play, but what about the good? WEll....having your partner REALLY understand what you're going through would be a plus, wouldn't it?

What if the women are 5 or 6 years apart in age? This brings to mind Rosie O'Donnell and her life partner. I think Rosie is a few years ahead of Kelli. Uh oh....that means possibly going through it all TWICE!! I wouldn't call that GOOD, would you? Another couple is Ellen and Portia. Ellen just turned 50 recently and I've heard her mention being warm a few times on her show. :)

What if one has it really, really tough and the other breezes through with no problems? Even thought one might be happy that their loved one doesn't have to suffer, can you spell R-E-S-E-N-T-M-E-N-T?

Considering that perimenopause and the entire process through post-menopause can last anywhere from 4 to 15 years, this can be quite a strain on a relationship. I found one book titled: Off the Rag: Lesbians Writing on Menopause but it looks like it's out of print. (you might be able to get a used copy though) Here's what the description/review said: This book offers a full range of the often unpredictable experiences of menopause from a large and varied group of women. For lesbians, it is a dramatic departure from many other menopause books which treat this natural occurrence as something which makes us less "womanly," or something which inteferes with the sexual pleasure of a male partner. Traditional hormone replacement therapies and alternative herbal and naturopathic remedies, as well as doing nothing at all for uncomfortable symptoms are offered in these women's stories. The book encourages women to follow our own best instincts and to persevere until we get the help we need, if that's what we want.

My conclusion is....I'm still glad I was not married or in a relationship when I went through MY change! I've always said that I saved some guy a lot of heartache because he didn't have to put up with me during menopause!

How do you feel? Would you rather go through it alone or with your partner/mate?

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Wyeth needs a new approach...

Wyeth has a long history of getting the FDA to push their drugs through the approval process and keep other companies from being able to produce generic forms of the drugs.....I'm particularly talking about hormones. After reading this article by Tara Pope in the NY Times, I wrote:

We need alternatives. Why should having choices for our health needs be any different? I also agree that pharmacies should continue to be regulated by the states and should not be allowed to make unsubstantiated statements about compounded products.

I’ve been helping women find their CHOICES for 11 years by showing them both sides of the story. In fact, there have been many women who have been taking Premarin for years and years, my own mother for one, and she’s 77. For some women the synthetic hormones will be fine, but for others who no longer put all their faith in their doctors OR the FDA, they want a choice and the the compounded drugs are a choice.

I believe Wyeth must accept the fact that they only SHARE the pie now, not dominate the market. They also need to show women that they are trying to help, not just trying to make money. This means they need to talk more directly to the average, every day woman with language they can trust and believe in, not have someone like the gorgeous Cheryl Ladd trying to convince us. It’s not working, Wyeth!! Those ads are causing more resentment than confidence. Their PR people need to contact me for an entirely new approach that WILL work.