Tag Archives: period wise

The Hippy Gardener Trashes Sposies, Goes Cup Wild

I received an email from Heather O’Cain, The Hippy Gardener, in which she stated:

I am getting ready to review a number of menstrual cups and would love to get more followers and hope others will spread the word about my project.  My blog has many other topics on it, but this project is my main focus at the moment and will continue over the next few months to a year.

Curious as to what brought about this interest in menstrual cups, I asked Heather.
Upon receipt of her reply, I asked for her permission to post it here for you to read.  Heather has graciously permitted me to post it in entirety.

Hello Suzan,

What prompted me to start this project is three-fold.
1. I’m honestly disgusted by our modern disposable society.  And I guess the natural progression towards kicking trash from coming into our lives to begin with led me to all the trash created just because of my cycle.
2. I don’t believe that life has to be so expensive!  It’s gotten out of hand how many things “they” want us to spend our money on.
3. I’m concerned about what we are doing to our bodies.  There are too many fake products (food included), that we are putting in and on ourselves, that is slowly killing us.
I purchased a DivaCup years ago and have struggled with it ever since not knowing there were other options out there.  This past month we could barely afford to buy my “girlie things” so I pulled the cup out again.  This time I really thought about what was going wrong and also started searching online.  I found that there are so many brands of cups out there it’s mind-boggling.  So I’ve made it a goal to help spread the word.  Since I already have a blog I’ve been working on for years ~ I figured why not do some reviews and share what I learn with others.  So, yeah I just started sending out emails almost before I thought too much about it.
Thanks for checking out my blog and all the mentions on Twitter.  I greatly appreciate your interest in this project and your help talking about it.  I think it’s going to be fun and hopefully I win some people over from disposables.
I checked out your Periodwise blog and I love what you have going on there!  Part of me can barely believe I’m even bringing up such a subject on my blog.  I grew up learning that we just don’t talk about our periods and it was very subtly hinted at that it was something to be ashamed of.  I’m 41 years old and I am just now getting to the point where it doesn’t embarrass me for someone to know I’m bleeding.  That’s ridiculous in my mind.  Girls should not be taught to be ashamed of what their body does.  It’s wonderful to find people like you who are reaching out.  I’ve been following The Red Tent documentary happenings on Facebook for some time and I’ve seen Be Prepared Period’s website before.  I think it’s definitely time for me to be a voice in this movement as well.
Thanks again!!!  I’m so glad I met you Suzan!  :)
Heather
If you would like to support Heather in this exciting venture, you can find her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest and at Google+.

 

#PeriodTalk #TwitterParty

Friday, July 12, at 2 PM ET (1 PM CT, 12 PM MT, 11 AM PT), Be Prepared Period kicks off year three of #PeriodTalk Tweetchats with a party – “Our 2nd Annual Menstrual Party.”

To the regular attendees of #PeriodTalk – I look forward to partying with you!

If you’ve never attended #PeriodTalk, or been involved in a Tweetchat, I encourage you to log into Twitter Friday (check times listed above) and follow #PeriodTalk.

Tara Bruley, founder of Be Prepared Period, said the following about #PeriodTalk.

We started these chats back in July of 2011 with the non-profit org You ARE Loved.  Continuing to host these events we’ve covered a variety of topics. Our 2nd year of tweet chats included the following subjects:

·        August 2012: Your TOTM: Time of the Month

·        September 2012: Back to School: Periods 101

·        October 2012: PeriodTalk Celebration – The launch of our Q&A forum for all things   menstrual (making PeriodTalk available 24/7/365)

·        November 2012: Menstrual Understanding & Creativity

·        December 2012: Menstruation and The Organizations That Care

·        January 2013: Puberty & Menopause: A Dangerous Combo

·        February 2013: Learning to Love Yourself & Your Period

·        March 2013: Endometriosis Awareness

·        April 2013: Pelvic Pain: What It Is & What You Can Do About It

·        May 2013: Be Prepared for Summer & Your Period

·        June 2013: Conventional Feminine HygieneProducts & Their Toxic Implications

As Director of Connectivity for You ARE Loved, I witnessed #PeriodTalk go from a tiny idea to the awesome outreach it is today.

I encourage you to visit Be Prepared Period. Read #PeriodTalk transcripts and visit the PeriodTalk forum.  You won’t be disappointed.

#PeriodTalk is about…period talk.

You can talk with some truly period wise women (and men), exchange thoughts and ideas, ask questions that have always bothered you and gain a lot of period wise knowledge.

Anything goes and nothing is too icky to discuss in #PeriodTalk.

Hate menstrual taboos?  We do, too.  Love certain products?  We do, too!  Have questions and need answers?  We all do!!  Just want to connect with others who understand what it’s like to menstruate? Well, what are you waiting for?  Want to share your experience?  Hey! We want to hear!

Come on! It’s going to be fun!  It’s a period party!

Join us Friday, July 12 and help kick off year three of #PeriodTalk TweetChats.

See you there!

(Be sure to stop by and register for a chance to win during #PeriodTalk!)

What’s a Grandmother to do?

Susan Stiffelman offers an interesting scenario in which your 13 year old granddaughter confides to you that she’s started her period and doesn’t want her mother to know. Take a moment, read, and see if you agree that her solution is period wise.

Your 13-year-old granddaughter tells you she’s gotten her period.

“Grandma, you absolutely, positively cannot tell Mom and Dad,” she cries.
You know your daughter — her mother — would want to know, and to celebrate this moment in her daughter’s life. You also know that your daughter will be furious with you when she finds out you’d kept it from her. What do you do?

You hold the secret, and create the space for your granddaughter to tell you about this new experience. You don’t rush the talk, and you stay lovingly connected to her. Eventually you may say, “Sweetie, I’m so happy for you. Wow! This is a huge moment in your life. I’m honored that you told me, and I respect that it’s your right to share this with whomever you choose. Can you tell me what it is about telling Mom and Dad that feels uncomfortable? What do you think might happen if you tell them?”

And then you listen. In the back of your mind, you’re looking for a way to help your granddaughter become comfortable sharing this with her parents, but you allow her to be ready at her pace. If your daughter finds out that you knew and didn’t tell her, you accept her anger and disappointment, assuring her that you will absolutely tell her if your granddaughter discloses anything dangerous.

Period Wise Pin-ups

Pinterest interests me.

I’ll admit – I can lose hours there looking at things, reading about topics, learning, engaging, enjoying things period wise and period wise things.

Period Wise on Pinterest is a work in progress.  I’m always looking for new things to pin, period wise.

So far, there are 27 boards and over 1,600 pins – most of which pertain to or remind me of menstruation.

If you are on Pinterest, please drop by and visit.  I’m open to any and all suggestions of period wise pins to add to my Period Wise collection.

If you are not yet following, please do!  I’d love opportunity to pin some of your goodies on my Period Wise boards, but I don’t know who you are if you’re not following me on Pinterest. 😉

Pin, period wise.