My Oh Meno

Next week My Oh Meno we're so looking forward to spending the evening with Suzie from Wangaratta Craft Studio to discover our own personal creative flare, relax together and have fun!

Invitations went out and replies have been received, so for those of you who have signed up for our 'Pot Painting Party', start searching within for inspiration to plant on your adorable pot.

Can't wait to get amongst the designs and colours with you 🎨

Tuesday 29th September at Pangerang Comm Hub. Please note we'll be starting slightly earlier at 7pm!

Cost $35 per person.
Payments can be made by cash or card on the night.

No meetup tonight!

Do something you enjoy with the time (or do nothing ... which you might also enjoy!)

Wow! Stayed up late to finish this new release from Aussie author M.V.Browne Perimenopause Bites

Part novel, part resource this book follows three women navigating their professional careers and perimenopause at the same time.

They begin opening up to each other in private conversations about what they are experiencing and bingo ... there's the support, connection and information they needed to begin to understand their bodies and realise they are not alone in this season of life that they are so unprepared for.

All of a sudden, as Maggie glances around the office and other everyday places,
she begins to notice menopausal women everywhere. A rush of heat over here, a lost word mid-sentence over there.

Why have we not been told about all of this? She dives into research and self-education, even confronting her mother about not preparing her for this stage of womanhood. Is dismissed by her doctor and looking for chocolate at every turn.

As the three women continue their journey together, phone numbers exchanged, now friends and peri-sisters who have become lifelines for each other - they start to formulate an idea around the need to provide a space for women to meet and TALK about Perimenopause. Then RISE is born!

The most entertaining and illuminating book I've read on perimenopause to date (and believe me I've read lots!). Each chapter weaves several 'real' symptoms into the characters' lives and is bookended with bite sized educational info.

Highly recommend this read for any woman in any decade. If you're in your 20's get prepared, if you're 30+ you may start to recognise some signs, 40's each page turn will have you saying yep that's me, 50's may sound like your own journal!

I related to pretty much everything between the covers of this novel - even if you're not in a high flying corporate role - most of us are still working right!

Once I was aware of my own hormonal shifts, self-education and research became my part time job with a vengeance.
A new passion in my belly led ME to create a community Peri/Menopause Support Group in my country town and thus My Oh Meno was born - 'Local women supporting each other on their Menopausal journey'.

Oh, About last night ...

'Decide, Deliberate, DECLUTTER'

A big thankyou to Bonny from thoughtful_spaces_decluttering for joining us with some great pointers on how to sort through our clutter and actually enjoy the spaces we live in.

*The temperamental Menopausal Wardrobe! Most of us have experienced the fluctuation of what fitted last month is now a bit of a challenge to zip up.

Start small, resist unloading your entire wardrobe onto the bed and then feeling completely overwhelmed. Sort in sections, by the drawer, or just your shoes to make a start. Try on every piece - Does it fit? Do you still like it? Do you feel good in it? Does it co-ordinate with other things?

*Getting rid of the guilt!
We've all been gifted things that one day come under the quandry of 'Do I still want to keep hanging on to this?' vs 'I can't get rid of it, it was a gift!'.  Give yourself permission to be okay with letting go of the gift and the guilt.  If you're concerned about the gift giver discovering the item at your local op shop, donate it in another town.

*Books - They seem to multiply over night don't they?
Write inscriptions or notes in books that have special family significance or relevance. Set yourself a limit like whatever can fit on one bookshelf. There are several options for offloading - donate to a library/nursing home/op shop or a street library. If you're a local, Quercus Books in Beechworth are a second hand book shop.

*Photos (printed)
Cull by starting with blurry or under developed pictures, doubled up prints, pics that no longer hold value or memories for you. Write details on the back of photos you choose to keep. Give your grown up children pictures of themselves and let them decide.

*Helping Ageing Parents!
The best time to sort and declutter is while your parents are still alive to tell you which things are significant and what can go. Life stages can direct this, such as downsizing or moving into care. Create realistic parameters around how many of particular items will literally fit in their new dwelling.

This is also a reminder for us to have regular cleanouts and conversations in our own homes, so OUR children aren't burdened.

Next week My Oh Meno we're talking some serious spring cleaning with our Guest Speaker Bonny from thoughtful_spaces_decluttering

Hands up if your wardrobe is overflowing with clothes you don't wear (and all the other random things that might be shoved in there too) 🤚

What about that set of drawers you can't find anything in because it's chock full of odd bits and pieces 🤚

The 'spare room' that's become a dumping ground and no longer a usable space 🤚

Let's not forget the shed that may have decades of accumulated 'stuff' that doesn't get used (some may not even be your stuff, maybe you've 'inherited it') 🤚

Join us on Tuesday 15th Sept at Pangerang Comm Hub at 7.30pm to chat about how to gain back some control (and space) when Bonny talks us through how to manage our ever changing Menopausal Wardrobe, and some guidance on assisting aging parents to sort their clutter while they're still here to tell us about significant items.

Looking forward to walking away with some helpful strategies and enthusiasm to take on our spaces without the overwhelm.

Oh, About last night...

Just Dance! We did a bit of dancing, a lot of learning the benefits, and chatted about how dancing may or may not have been a part of our lives up to this point.

Some of us dove straight back into the memories of going to Blue Light Discos, relived our Deb Balls, and times when we went to lessons for Rock n Roll, Ballroom and Latin American.

There is a lot to be said about the 'benefits of dancing' and continuing to do it in some form throughout your life.

Here's what we looked at:-

DANCING IMPROVES
*Muscle strength, tone, flexibility, balance, co-ordination & spacial awareness
*Bone Strength
*Cardiac Health
*Mood & Mental Health
*Metabolism - burns calories
*Memory, boosts brain power & creates new neural pathways
*Resets Vagus Nerve & Nervous System, helps process emotions
*Depression & Isolation by providing opportunities for social connection
*Lymphatic flow throughout the body via muscle contraction
*Rhythmic breathing which helps lymphatic flushing to support immunity and improve energy
*Self Esteem & Confidence

DANCING REDUCES
*Stress - Cortisol
*Anxiety
*Dementia Risk

AND DANCING IS FUN! 💃

Please do your own research but this is a pretty impressive list of why moving your body in a dancing kind of way is good for us don't you think?

So whether you're dancing professionally, having dance parties with friends, still boot scooting on the weekends, just signed up again for dance classes as an adult, having a little boogie with your grandkids or just shaking off some stress in your loungeroom - it all counts towards better overall health.

So keep dancing FOR YOUR LIFE!

Some of you may be interested in this event coming up in Porepunkah October 3rd Wild & Whole Kitchen

Oh, Just Dance!

Tomorrow night we're going to put on our boogie shoes and have a go at some brain boosting moves.

As a little follow on from our 'Brain Gym' evening, it's time to get our bodies moving, have a laugh, increase our heart rate and cheer up our brains.

So let's bring back the grapevine as we dance the night away Tuesday 8th Sept at Pangerang Comm Hub. The disco ball will start spinning at 7.30pm.

Oh, About last night ...

"Second Spring" was our theme and we listened to this episode from 'Things I Want My Daughters To Know' Podcast.

It was very interesting to hear the guest describe our menstrual cycling decades and peri/menopausal years in relation to the four seasons.

Lots of insights, recognition and relatability created healthy discussion about all sorts of things between us.

Highly recommend a listen 🎧
Link for the episode is in our stories and will be saved to our 'Podcast' highlight button for future reference.

Embrace your second spring everyone, life's not over yet!