Feminine "Moon"

Some women call their menstrual periods their "moon" because their hormones are also on a monthly cycle. Some women can look at the moon and say to themselves "crap, moon's almost full/new/waxing gibbous... you know what that means." And some men ponder if that is where the idea of the werewolf really came from...
Some women just say "I'm on the rag" because in olden times women use to shove a rag between their legs and deal with it. That's perhaps where the idea of *shudders* the pad comes from? Tampons were first used by the Egyptians, who were also inventive enough to wax their legs and enjoy vibrators made from jars of buzzing bees!
Most women today still use the ancient practice of using cotton to collect the menses.
At least once a month a lady can expect to pay around $5 for a box of tampons (if she only needs one), $5 for a box of pantyliner or pads because you shouldn't sleep with tampons; unless you wake in 5 hours to change. Maybe every other month $8 will be spent on pain relievers such as Midol or mood enhancers.

Or you could do what I do! You could purchase one menstrual cup. The particular one I use is called the Diva cup, made from silicone. There is also one called the Moon cup which appears to be the UK version. For $35 the diva cup can essentially be used forever, as long as you take care of it and clean regularly. The best part about it is that I never have to worry about going to the store to get anything. If I go camping there is no worry about dry packing tampons to keep out moisture. Depending on how heavy your flow is you can wear your menstrual cup safely up to 12 hours, no more rustling in your purse for tampons during class! I bought mine at a whole foods type store (Earth Fare actually) and haven't seen them anywhere else, but online.


In my last post I mentioned a menstrual massage I found in the book Making Stuff and Doing Things. I want to try to avoid taking pain relievers because I feel it builds up a need for them, and there are better alternatives.
Such as massage!
The lady "on her moon" lays flat on the ground on her belly, arms out and relaxed. Her partner stands next to her facing her feet, using a chair for support, uses the heel of his/her foot to gently "hook"/massage around the pelvic bone. You can first try it with your hands to find the spot I am talking about~ the women should feel relief once massaged. I have tried this and it works. You may have to do it a few times a day for desired relief. Or as much as you want ;)
One other alternative is tea. I am still toying around with the perfect teas for my menses and everybody is different! Chamomile works great so far... avoid green and black tea because of the caffeine.
For me it worked to uplift my mood and relieve my cramps and back ache. St. Johns wort is an excellent natural mood enhancer that can be taken in the capsules but also opened and prepared as tea. But do not take if you are on the Pill, it decreases the effectiveness of it; as well as high doses of vitamin C.
Go out and get you a diva cup, its not for the squeemish, but its made my monthly Moon a lot easier! ;)

Hello Kitty

In Japan in 1976 a business tycoon asked a man to create a character that could be marketed around the world on anything. So the man created Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty wasn't anything, she didn't have her family or friends, she was simply created as one simple figure to create another man incredibly rich. Thus leaving Hello Kitty a symbol of blind consumerism.
There's a hello kitty everything. Have you seen the Hello Kitty "personal massager"? Or the AK-47? It exists.
I used to be a loyal Hello Kitty fan. I had a HK alarm clock, CD player, stapler, underwear, PJs, back pack, toaster, waffle maker, the list can go on. Alas, I shed myself of hello kitty when I grew up and didn't really like having creepy little cat faces staring at me from around the room. I still have a hair dryer, alarm clock and I am wearing the PJ shorts now (which made me ponder...) but that is simply because if I got rid of these things I would have to go out and get a replacements. .... And that's against the whole point now isn't it. So I keep a few Hello Kitties to remind myself not to buy in to someone else's design. I can paint little cats on shit myself.

Back To Basics

This month a friend and I were thrift store shopping and she found this book~ Back To Basics for $3. She let me take it home with me for the evening to look through since I was very interested. This book, copy written in 1981, tells you in logical order how to start a homestead. From what to look for when purchasing land, how to do a soil test, plan your property layout, collect firewood in ways to keep your forest yielding constantly, building a home, composting, gardening, preserving, hunting, leather making, beer & wine making, bee keeping and much more!! It even has different designs for building an underground house, which is the type of home I had planned on building. Before the section on wood cutting it tells you how to make your own ax and tools! This book is a must have for a "n00b" like me...
what is even cooler~ in the next few years I will actually be able to use this book from cover to cover.

Last year I got the book "Making Stuff and Doing Things." This book is a collection of articles ranging from making your pet flea collars, soy milk and compost to all natural remedies, cleaners, and feminine products. There are sections on clothes making, sewing, book making, and even an article on making your on strap-on dong! This book taught me about menstrual cramp relieving massages~ something I should have learned about when I was eleven. Some of the articles are very in depth and others just give you a quick look at how to make things on your own~ but may not give measurements.


I heard about a poll that was taken at a friend's school~ one of the questions was, "If you lose a button on a shirt do you sew one back on or throw it out and buy a new one?" And most people chose to throw it away than take 5 minutes to sew a new one back on. Wow people, just WOW.

TV

Cable TV is included in my rent, so I gave my cable cord away. What are you doing to stop yourself from being brain washed by commercials and programming? Are you sick of hanging out with friends only to find them discussing what they've seen on TV?
Watching acts of life is not the same is living it. Tell them. Don't be afraid~ all they can do is be mad at themselves for not living their own life~ the only one they may ever get to live.