"The Talk" we Never Got - Menopause #AtoZChallenge

I still remember way back in grade school when they split the girls off into a class to give us "The Talk" about what to expect when we got our periods.

I like how Ovulation is depicted here, LOL

Later (or perhaps earlier) we got "The Talk" about where babies come from.

(I haven't read this book, but I liked the picture)

But, I realized about nine years ago, no one ever gives us "The Talk" about Menopause. Instead one day your head catches on fire, you're in a crappy mood, depressed for no reason and realize you haven't had a period in far too long.

Welcome to Menopause!

I've actually done it twice; here's my favorite menopause story... I had started chemo for breast cancer and lost all of my hair. Then one day I realized that sometimes my head would just start SWEATING, for no reason. I wondered if maybe this had always happened, but I didn't notice it when I had hair. So I asked my bald, male friends. "Does your head just start to... sweat... for no reason?"

Yeah, they looked at me like you're looking at me now... "Uh... no...?"

So I mentioned it to my chemo nurse, who laughed and said "Oh honey, that's a hot flash."

Who knew?

If you haven't had a hot flash this is what it's like... normal, normal, norm- HOT, OMG IT'S 1,000 DEGREES IN HERE! OM... normal, normal.

Yes, out of the blue you suddenly feel like you're on fire. You break into a sweat at night, regardless of the temperature of the room, and are moody and depressed. You put on weight, especially around your waist, lose your libido and forget stuff.

My body recovered from the chemo-inducted menopause for a few years, and then I got to do it all over again. Yippee!

However, now that I'm on the other side, I have to say that menopause is one of the best things ever.

No periods, period!

Sure, I have a crappy memory and have to attach my keys to my wallet so I don't leave home without both. I'm moody with an annoying spare tire and a ton of anxiety, but those are all normal side effects that I can manage with attitude, True Focus (an herbal supplement), Essential Oils, Google and putting my phone to work for me.

It's possible that I am "a lean thinker" because of menopause; it really changes everything. But don't fear it, it's natural and happens to all of us. Embrace the perks - no periods, no birth control!

I found ways to manage the symptoms naturally, like Black Cohosh for hot flashes, St. John's Word for mood and exercise. Just be sure to talk to your doctor before taking any supplements, as some of them may affect other medication you take.

I am often surprised by women I talk to who feel something akin to shame or depression about menopause - it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's the start of the next phase in our lives, just like getting our period so many years ago was the first step into that phase of our lives. Embrace the change, because you can't avoid it.

I is for #INTJ... yes, I really AM a Mastermind #AtoZChallenge

Warning: This post may very well sound egotistical - sorry about that.

Have you taken a personality test? If not, I recommend it. Why? Because it will very likely help you understand yourself a little better. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself - here's a link to the Keirsey.com test, which I have found to be very accurate. No worries, it's free.

I took this test, and a few others, during a Communications class a few years ago. (I blogged about it here, in case you are either interested or stalking me).

It turns out that my personality type is INTJ aka a "Mastermind". The letters stand for Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging. Some famous INTJ's include Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates and Ayn Rand.

INTJ's are very analytical, they have a contingency plan for just about everything, they are mentally quick, prefer to keep to themselves and dislike chaos. We are often misinterpreted and/or misunderstood because we do not enjoy small talk or social rituals that make no sense; so we tend to come off as cold or aloof.

One thing really struck me when I first learned my personality type:

Though they are highly capable leaders, Masterminds are not at all eager to take command, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead.

 Woah... that helped me understand so much about myself and how I act in certain situations! It was a real "Holy Shit" moment for me.

Since then I have done a lot of research on INTJs, and it has really helped me to understand myself better. This personality type is very rare, somewhere between 1 and 4% of the population - which only fosters the idea that maybe you're an oddball (which I am LOL).

I found a great INTJ group on Linked In, and another on Facebook, where I found the pictures above and this little gem:

Q: What are the pet peeves of INTJs?

A: Thanks for asking. Our pet peeves are:

* We dislike surprises.

* We hate having decisions made for us. We’re INTJs; nobody is more qualified to make decisions than us.

* We dislike getting gifts, as it burdens us with the need to reciprocate.

* We hate small talk, gossip, and relationship/people talk. Really anything mundane is beneath us.

* We get particularly annoyed by attacks on our intelligence, competence, and integrity.

* We hate it when people try to manipulate us.

* Insincerity and lying.

* People interfering with our alone time.

* People who are chronically late.

* People who talk incessantly. We will just engage our “nod and smile” autopilot and mentally go somewhere else.

* People who are stupid, arrogant, opinionated, and/or closed minded.

* Crooked/badly placed pictures.

* Superficiality (body piercings, pimped out cars, brightly colored anything).

* Salespeople. INTJs are immune to emotional manipulation and have zero tolerance for lines of bullshit.

* Incorrect grammar and word usage.

* People who waste our time (see Salespeople, people interfering with our alone time, etc.).

So, again, I recommend you find out what your own personality is. It might even help you find like-minded individuals and other resources to help you become a better you. I know I have.
_____________________________

Today's photo prompt is "clean". Hmmm... well, I could go clean something and take a picture of it - but frankly I am not quite that dedicated to this photo challenge. The kid just took a bath, but she's in bed now (ahhhh) and there is no way I'm going in there (again). Clean... clean... clean...

Oh, I know! This is an old picture, but I was very pleased to have caught the water droplets in the air :)

Splish, splash I was takin a bath!

Wendy - #AtoZChallenge

Last year I did W is for Wendy, figured I'd do it again :)

Another 15 16 random things about me:

1. I'm 41 and I still collect teddy bears.
2. My dream jobs include Muppeteer, FBI Profiler and Dream Manager.
3. I love city building games - like Castleville 
4. I have been a PC gamer for over 30 years.
5. The first time my husband told me he loved me it was while we were playing a video game together, and mostly because he'd just snagged my loot!
6. I never did get that Ring of Jordan back...
7. At one time I wanted to be a History teacher.
8. I have over 68,000 words written in a novel that I fear I will never finish.
9. I have always wanted to study psychology more - I find it fascinating. 
10. I love to color. <-- click for an example!
11. Coloring ability has no real value in my life, other than simple enjoyment.
12. I have yet to figure out how to combine a love for psychology, coloring skills, social media and puppeteering into a marketable career. 
13. For reasons I cannot explain, I love "your mom" jokes.
14. Wearing flats makes me feel young. 
15. Wearing heels makes me feel mature.
16. I may by channeling my five year old in the above...

Speaking of my beautiful daughter... today's photo prompt is "black and white"

Effects using picmonkey.com

Ross... Bob Ross - #AtoZChallenge

It's here! It's here! My Bob Ross painting kit has arrived!

I have purchased two canvases. I have studied the written materials. I have fondled the paint tubes inventoried my painting materials.

I am ready to go!

So excited! I thought about how to paint a sunset on the way in to work this morning. Then tonight I stalked shopped Ebay and found a few more Bob Ross DVDs.

I haven't been this excited about a project since I don't know when.

Things I don't have, but probably need...

• an easel - I guess I'll just have to wing it for now
• a pallet - Again... wing it
• a painting smock - my "hair dying shirt" will be doing double duty!
• an hour or two of free time 

Speaking of artistic endeavors, today's photo challenge is "something you drew". Try not to be jealous... it'll just be embarrassing for both of us...

Purple Hair! - #AtoZChallenge

There are a few things in play tonight...

1. I'm Tired. Yes, with a capital T. 
2. I need to go walk on the treadmill because I'm getting Fat. Yes, with a capital F.
3. Today's letter is P. The capital doesn't really mean anything. (You are so analytical!)
4. Today's photo challenge is hair.
5. I have always wanted to put purple streaks in my hair, or maybe just go all purple.

So I present to you... MrsPickle with Purple Hair!

Photo edits done on picmonkey.com :)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with my treadmill... joy... 

MrsPickle - #AtoZChallenge

Every once in awhile someone asks me where the name MrsPickle came from. Well that's easy enough... I married MrPickle.

Really, what did you think?

This is how my family sees me much of the time... "Smile!"

Anyways, MrsPickle started out as my gaming name - yes, I'm a gamer... TFC, TF2, WOW, D2 (if you don't know what those are, you don't play those games, so don't worry about it), among many others. In fact, I have been a gamer since I was about 7.

Also, as you may have noticed, I love taking pictures. I am sooooo grateful for digital cameras. I have taken over 14,000 photos in the past five years alone. If I had had to buy film and process all of those pictures we'd be living in a cardboard box somewhere.

Which reminds me, if you don't have a remote backup for your digital photos - GET ONE! See my Ode to Bulldog Backup for my recommendation.

Anyways, enough about me. Today's photo challenge was "how you feel today". I took these photos today...

A little moody, but with the sun shining through...

 Or 

Finding a brilliant end to an otherwise cloudy day...

Or

WOOHOO! (I bribed her with pickles to let me take her picture - really)

I'll let you guess :)

Hold Your Breath - #AtoZChallenge #PhotoadayApril

Today I got my annual mammogram (no signs of cancer, by the way) and, as always, I had to laugh. You see, the nice lady, with the typically cold hands, lays your perfectly warm (if a bit droopy) breast on what amounts to a table, then flattens it with a clear plastic plate. Then, as you are standing there, unable to really move because your breast is squashed and holding you in place she says...

"OK, hold your breath!"

And I always think... "Yeah, I've been doing that since you dialed down that plate lady, just hurry the heck up!!"

Men have it easy... once they turn 40 they have to have their prostates checked... whoopie. From the time we're teens, women are subjected to all sorts of invasive, embarrassing and sometimes funny tests.

Another example... when I had to get a breast MRI done a few years back I did what anyone else would do... I Googled it. I found several MRI images of women's breasts and noted that they all had really oddly shaped boobs.Then lo and behold, when I went in for my test I figured out why.

Breast MRIs are done with the woman lying on her stomach with her breasts hanging down through two round holes on a table.

Image from UW Health

How crazy is that?? I remember saying aloud "no wonder all those pictures looked so odd" to which the tech replied "I know, barbaric, isn't it?"

Yup, men have it easy... :)
____________________

Today's photo challenge is "younger you". Sort of a hard one if they expect a recently taken picture, no? So I settled on this one from about 12 years ago that I took of myself. It's not a very good picture, but I've always liked it.

I'm IT!

Admittedly, I don't play tag often. In fact, I have resigned myself to being one of the first victims in the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse because it seems like all of my friends like running, and I do not. My only real hope in that circumstance is to trip one of them...

But I digress...

My friend Amy aka Coffee Lovin' Mom recently tagged me in a post appropriately called "tagurit!" Here are the rules:

• You must post these rules.
• Each person must post 11 things about him/herself on their blog.
• Answer the question the "tagger" listed for you in his/her post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
• Choose 11 people to tag and link them in the post.
• Let each blogger know that you have tagged them.

These things always sound a lot easier than they are. 

So, here are 11 things about me (gosh... what haven't I already covered??):


     1. I still sleep with a teddy bear when given the chance. Why? This explains it

Deviant Art - This is why you always sleep with a Teddy Bear. Why take chances?

     2. I am shy. No, really.

     3. I would live as a hermit if given half a chance.

     4. I was once a promising social media personality. 

     5. I once made the first page of the newspaper... 

     6. I almost failed the fifth grade. Mostly because I was bored.

     7. When last tested, my IQ was 148.

     8. When I was 16 my mom had a mental break down. I expect Angie will give me one much earlier. Any day now...

     9. I read The Lord of the Rings... and didn't like it. Soooo hard to read. I loved the movies though.

     10. I recently listened to Atlas Shrugged on audio book, and then started listening to it over again. So good.

     11. I collect stuffed animals. It's an addiction really.

The questions Amy asked me to answer:

Which room do you spend the most time in?

The family room - it's where our computers are. There's also a television in here, but we rarely watch it.

How big is the closet in your bedroom?

This is one of the best things about our house; we have separate closets! Lenny's is walk-in-size, mine is the length of the wall... I love it. It is HUGE.

A bad picture really... let's just say, there are two doors to it...

Have you ever locked yourself out of the house/car? Do tell.

Yes. Angie and I were headed out to the store and I locked my house/car keys in the house. It was rather anticlimactic though, my parents live next door so I just ran over there to retrieve the spare key.

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Um... let me go count them. Forty-seven... and yet some weeks I only wear the same pair every day. Sad.

My newest pair of shoes. I love them.

What was your first job?

If I recall correctly, it was at a restaurant clearing tables. 

Who was on your bedroom walls growing up?

Honestly, I don't recall ever having posters of anyone up in my room growing up.

How do you take your coffee? 

With flavored cream, no sugar. Or black.

Did you buy your first car? What was it?

My dad bought me my first car, for $800. It was a 1965 Ford Mustang. It was never a show piece while I owned it, but I loved it. I'm still sad that we sold it. 

What is your favorite adult beverage? Share your recipe. 

I like red wine, out of a box. It's good, try it. My current favorite is Fruity Sangria by Franzia. 

Which record albums do you remember from your childhood?

The one I recall from my childhood is "Free to be you and me". I bought it for Angie and we listen to it some days on the way home from school. Seriously, it's a great album.

How did you get where you are today?

I'm not actually happy with where I am today, so it's not an inspiring story; I am working on that though. What I can tell you is: Never settle. Don't try to run away from your problems, but meet them head on. If you don't, it will come back to bite you in the ass most of the time.

Alrighty then, my victims chosen "tagged" are: 

1. Matt Conlon of mattconlon.com
2. Kendall of ThisIsNotThatBlog.com - my very favoritest blog EVER (except yours of course... really)
3. Corinne of Ode to Blogging - the dearest friend who I've not actually met.
4. Nicole of the blog she needs to get around to writing dammit... 
5. Miriam of Dancing with Dragons is Hard on Your Shoes - and soon to be PUBLISHED!! 
6. Elizabeth of Lizzy Writes - because I miss her all of the time
7. Tim at 12threefour.com - I miss your blog - please come back!!
8. The ladies at Bitches in the Burbs 
9. My dear friend Brian Meeks, published author and super nice guy of http://extremelyaverage.com/
10. Bridget at http://youtoocanbeaguru.wordpress.com/ - one of the smartest and SM savviest people I have met.
11. You! If you want to be tagged, let me know. I'm sure I have missed a LOT of people :)

OMG this isn't over yet???

Ok, my 11 questions:

1. Coulda, woulda, shoulda - what do you wish you'd done?
2. How many pairs of shoes do you have?
3. Who is your favorite artist, and why?
4. What did you want to be when you grew up?
5. Favorite type of M&M?
6. Bucket List - do you have one? 
7. 10 years from now, what do you expect social media to be like?
8. Do you sleep with a teddy bear?
9. A bra that "adds two cup sizes instantly" - yes or no? 
10. Do you watch Dexter?
11. Zombies vs. Unicorns? Who would prevail??

Shew! Well, have fun! Looking forward to your answers. 

Photography Challenge Day 14: Eyes

It's funny, since Angie was born various people have told Lenny and I that she looks just like us, yet Lenny and I don't look much alike. For this photo challenge I thought it might be fun to compare our eyes. So, whose eyes does Angie have? :)

Next up in the Photography Challenge: Silhouette

Photography Challenge Day 13: Yourself with 13 things

This one took me forever. It's awfully hard to take a picture of yourself, let alone figure out 13 things to put in the picture with you.

Actually, some of the "13 things" are cut off at the bottom of this picture. Yes, I know, there are a lot more than 13 things in this picture, but the ones I specifically included were (from left to right):

1. Cathy - my baby doll from my youth.
2. Chauncy Bear - one of my favorite bears
3. Perry the Platypus - because he's just that cool
4. Secret deodorant - because I got a years supply free because I have "Klout"! LOL
5. The Ladybug pillow pet - because she's cute and reminds me of Angie
6. Bud Light with Lime - because it's yummy
7. My iPad - because it too is just that cool
8. Stephanie's Clown - she gave it to me when I left New Orleans. Her mother gave it to her and it means a lot
9. The Heart Aunt Pat sent me (barely visible on the clown's lap) - because she means a lot to me
10. Kermit the Frog - he was my first love
11. Pooh Bear - he's been with me since I was born
12. My iPod Touch - I use it almost daily. Best thing I have ever purchased, hands down.
13. My Kindle - my newest geeky gadget and I love it :)

Don't you just love my library, not to mention my Eeyore jammies? :)

FINALLY this photo challenge is behind me! Next up, Eyes.

Hidden (basically useless) Talent Showcase!

I can color! 

Picture from Piers Anthony's Visual Guide to Xanth.

Photography Challenge Day 10: A childhood memory

Pooh Bear has always been with me, since the very first day of my life. I am almost positive that he was a gift from my Aunt Pat. 

Yes, I was a fat baby. 9 lbs. 2 oz. I was also a month late.

Pooh Bear has been "re-furred" twice over the course of his life, because I loved him bare. 

Hehe, a bare bear. 

I still have him. He now hangs out in my library with many of my other old toys and books, and every time I see him, I can't resist giving him a hug.

He's been with me through thick and thin for over 40 years. It's had to find a better friend.

He's not as fuzzy as he once was, and one of his eyes has been replaced, but he's still my best friend.

My friend Wendy (yes, I have a friend Wendy. No, I'm not referring to myself in 3rd person) linked me this yesterday and it seems so fitting I'm putting it here:

Image from www.rockpapercynic.com

Photography Challenge Day 11: Something blue

Photography Challenge Day 2: What you wore today

This one was hard... I am assuming that I have to take all of the pictures in the 30 Day Photography Challenge. It was hard enough taking a picture of my face for the Self-Portrait, but taking a picture of what I was wearing... well I ended up with a lot of awful shots. :)

Note to self: Clean the mirrors in the bathroom a) more often or b) at least before you take pictures in them.

Photography Challenge Day 1: Self Portrait

 Is it a shame that the best picture of me has me sticking out my tongue??