Win $250 Visa from Poise and BlogHer 8/24

Most women remember having a 1st talk when their changing bodies were approaching puberty. However, as women approach menopause, there is no talk that prepares them.

Twenty bloggers were invited to talk about peri-menopause/menopause and encourage women to approach this life stage with confidence by being the first to start The 2nd Talk.  Bloggers also previewed Poise's new, first-of-its-kind line of over-the-counter menopause products designed to work naturally with her body and provide comfort from symptoms. Click on the links below to read the posts and enter for a chance to win a $250 Visa gift card!

Poise wants to rally 1 million women to pledge to have The 2nd Talk by World Menopause Day on October 18. By joining the conversation, women will gain more menopause knowledge, support and solutions. Join the conversation at The2ndTalk.com.
The BlogHer Have the 2nd Talk with Poise Sweepstakes run from 7/26/2012 through 8/24/2012 and are only open to individuals who, at the time of entry deadline, are legal residents of the United States and are 18 years or older. Click here to read the official rules.  Winners will be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Good luck!

Girl Talk

I am pretty sure the only man who ever reads my blog is my Dad, (Well, my Rock n' Roll Buddy pops over now and then too, but I think he just checks out the photos and surmises what the post must surely be about and moves on...) so the rest of you can ignore this first paragraph...Dad, feel free to skip reading this post. It doesn't have any home projects or thrilling escapades, nor does it have any Great-Grand-baby photos. It's about menopause.  There.  So let's have a little girl-to-girl talk, shall we?  

The Vultures and the Wasps

I've reached that stage of life when I really wish I had my mother to explain the Birds and the Bees to me. Only in my advanced age, it would be The Vultures and the Wasps. I have a vague recollection of my mother stumbling through menopause. But it was at the same time I was traversing the joys of teenage angst while teetering on platform shoes and at the same time wearing pants with an 18" circumference around the hem. Good times.  

Get Poised for Perimenopause

This post is for the ladies. Gentlemen, please form a single file line and walk to the gym for a rousing presentation by the Phys. Ed. teachers on how to care for your prostate. ::Glances from side to side.::  Are they gone? Oh good! Let's talk shop, ladies. And by "shop" of course I mean vaginas. I was thirteen years old when I got my first period. The thing I remember most about it was that my mom and her best friend Monica poured Champagne for the three of us (just a sip for me) and then toasted me on becoming a woman. 

Practical Relief for the Heat of Midlife

Finally: products offering practical relief for the “heat” of midlife. A note to men: If you want to retain your fantasy picture of women, read no farther, as it may bring up visuals you'd just as soon not have. We were sitting over Greek salads, we three women of a certain age and wondering why our mothers never had "the talk" with us. Oh, not the talk about puberty. We got that one, both in school and at home. The "Second Talk".  The one about menopause.

Let’s Talk Menopause

Recently Bitty and I met a woman in her 60s who said she was one of merely a few thousand who never had menopausal symptoms. Never a single hot flash. Nada. Zero. Zilch. We hated her. Bitty is in menopause, and I am peri-menopausal. We are two women living together and hot flashing with a fever meant for Beelzebub himself. In other words, we are in Hell. But aside from that rare braggart disclosing her lack of hot flashes, forgetfulness, and weight gain, how do women have this later in life “birds and bees” discussion? 

When You're Over 45...

It's June 27th, 1975.  My 10th birthday.  Will I get a fast growing hair Barbie?  I rip through the Snoopy wrapping paper to discover ... Sweet Suzie's Starter Menstruation Kit.  WTH? "Go ahead, honey, open it," says my mom, face shining beatifically as if I were the first female astronaut.  (Perhaps foreshadowing Lisa Nowak wearing her premeditated murder diaper circa 2007). Then mom and I proceed to have the "First Talk" about when Flo comes to town.

Finally Help For Menopausal Women

Every woman has experienced “the talk.” My mother wasn’t one for auditory teaching techniques so I read a lot of books. At about age 11 I received the book “White Gloves and Party Manners” which was supposed to teach me how to be a lady and practice proper etiquette. I loved that book; it made me feel so grown up! Then the next year I received a box in the mail (addressed to ME no less) that contained a kit called “My First Period.” I believe it had a book or at least a pamphlet and a belt, pads, etc.  

Getting Older and Getting BETTER

We’ve talked about many things over the years, my friends and I. We worked in the same elementary school, had children that were close in age and had that unique ability to make each other laugh until we cried.  That’s hard to find. We’ve talked of fumbling tooth fairies, soccer and hockey teams, summer sports camps, strange childhood illnesses, prosthetic limbs, under-age drinking violations, birth control, college applications and what to do with a somewhat empty house. 

Pledge to Have the Second Talk with Poise

Hi Friends... we are at that age; it's time to have "The 2nd Talk." Let's take a little step back in time... Do you remember being abound 11 or 12... dancing around your bedroom to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean"... watching "Grease 2" in the movie theater and reading Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. You start hearing whispers from friends about some major changes that are happening with their bodies. It sounds both terrifying and exciting. Then your Mom sits you down and gives you the "Talk".

The Second Talk with Poise

Growing up, my parents talked very little to me about maturing.  I learned most of what I knew from a few steamy romances I snuck in, the classic book by Judy Blume, "Are You There God? It's Me Margaret." and some book my mom gave me that talked about menstruation.  As far as "giving me the talk", I never really got one of those either.  Mom just handed me a book and told me to read it, and if I had questions she'd answer them.  Well...I wasn't about to ask a question so I went through my teen years a little naive.

"Can We Talk"...About Menopause?

Not the usual topic over here at Debbiedoo's! I DO realize this is a Home and Garden blog, with a splash of fun and family at times.  However, because I am your friend, I thought it was time we had the"2nd Talk"!  We are the first generation to have the "Second Talk" about the next stage in our lives.  Back when we were young girls most of us had "the 1st Talk" with our Mothers.  I recall, not necessarily "the talk", but the book by Judy Bloom...."Are you there God? It's me Margaret."  

Let's Have That 2nd Talk, Okay?

As a woman over 50 experiencing menopause, I wish there had been someone around to talk to me in preparation for the changes that would be occurring to my body. To explain the symptoms I might experience. The emotions that would turn out to be all over the place.  Now there are some new products to help us with the symptoms of menopause and peri-menopause. They are made by Poise.  

Let's Talk

I clearly remember when I was around ten years old having that all-important first talk with my mom about the changes that would be taking place in my body called puberty. Funny how I can remember that like it was yesterday, but I can hardly remember much from yesterday or even this morning. She handed me a little, pale blue, paperback book the pediatrician had given her that explained puberty and how my body was going to go through all these changes.  

The Birds and The Bees: Part Deux

As a pre-teen and young teen, I wasn't one of those girls whose mom had 'The Talk.' You know what I mean - the birds and the bees, how our body changes, growing breasts and getting our period. Most of the business end of that stuff was done through school. The junior high girls were separated from the boys and we each were given a lecture. The girls were also given a sampler of pads, tampons and little booklets published by sanitary product companies explaining what would happen, how it happens and how to use their products.

We Need to Talk

We need to talk. My mother and I have very different memories about the ‘talk’ I allegedly received about those bodily changes that happen in adolescence.  She claims we had this talk shortly before I left for a summer Bible camp in the mountains, because she had read that a sharp change in altitude could sort of bump along the process if it was already in motion. I don’t know if that is true or not, but I do know that if my experience was all I had to go by, there was plenty of evidence to support the theory.  

It's Time for The 2nd Talk

Rather than having one big "TALK" with my mom about how babies were made and how boys and girls were different and so on, I learned those things gradually over the years. My mom answered questions as I asked them, and I knew everything I need to know. But one day in elementary school, I came home telling my mom that some boys on the school bus had a condom and teased me that I probably didn't know what it was. I assured them I did know but refused to tell them. 

Full Disclosure

We all remember getting "The Talk." The birds and the bees. Becoming...a woman. My Mama ate this stuff up - loved being my "girlfriend". I remember her getting all misty-eyed about how her little girl was growing up. She bought me an assortment of feminine hygiene products, which she insisted on showing me how to use. My BFF Kaysie's mom had just filled a grocery sack with a variety of Kotex and left them outside her bedroom door in the middle of the night. But Mama actually wanted to HELP ME insert my first tampon! I kid you not.  

Poised for Confidence

I consider it my job to be a fun squasher. I like to have conversations with my kid that preempt jokes, demystify life's oddities, and suck all the joy out of slang terminology. It started early with our first talk about where babies come from and will continue on and on. She knows the proper words for most everything; she understands the basic mechanics, and as time goes on, I'll fill her in on the details. It's all so that when puberty slaps her across the face, she'll be prepared.  

Menopause: Pledge To Have The Second Talk With Poise

Did my title grab your attention? I hope it did, and that you will stay with me to read what I have to say, and agree to "Pledge to Have The Second Talk with Poise," and also to have a chance to win a $250 Visa gift card!Menopause is an important topic for all women, especially those over the age of forty. I think all women remember their "first talk" with a trusted adult about the changes they could expect in their bodies at puberty.

Menopause: The Second Talk

In another life, on another blog, I was fondly known as “The Hot Flash Queen,” and it wasn’t because I looked good. It was because I am in menopause -- something no one likes to talk about, much less go through. So, when BlogHer presented an opportunity to talk about a new, first-of-its-kind line of products from the Poise brand that can be bought over the counter to help with the effects of menopause, I was all over the challenge of having the Second Talk.I’m not shy about being “void” in the female baby-making region.