GladRags Gab

Hey GladRags Users,

We are having a kickass sale on all Color Day 3-packs, Color Pantyliner 3-packs and Color Nightpad 3-packs. Also all Moon Cup Kits and Keeper Cup Kits.

To take advantage of this sale,  just be our Facebook friend and you'll see the coupon code. Or you can follow us on twitter.com/GladRags and get the coupon there.  And tell your friends to follow and friend us  too, so they can start saving the world every 28 days.

Deals like this just don't come along very often. It ends Saturday night so jump on it now.

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Hey Gabbers! In case you haven’t noticed, it’s time again for the grandmother of all art shows, the Venice Bienale.  Here’s some images I found from the 2005 event, when the Guerrilla Girls were invited to contribute a piece.  From a distance, you may think this is a lovely, elegant chandelier, suitable for the most formal ballroom in all the world.  Up close, you realize that the Guerrilla Girls are up to their usual antics.  Hmmm….I wonder if they’re GladRags users and this is what they saved in just one year?  (Only their hairdresser knows for sure…..) Read more about the Guerrilla Girls and their years of great social activism on behalf of all artistic woman by clicking here.

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Hey GladRag Gabbers!  I heard the most inspiring interview on the radio the other day that I am telling everyone I know about it.  I am a huge fan of National Public Radio, listening to it for much of my days in the studio.  One of my favorite shows is the Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper.  It took a while to grow on me, but I love learning all kinds of interesting facts and cooking tips, so now I am a regular listener, podcaster, and weekly free e-newsletter subscriber.  For example–here’s one thing I bet you didn’t know that I learned on this show:  cracking an egg on the rim of a bowl is actually more prone to get egg shells in the egg than if you crack it on a flat surface like a countertop.  Try it if you don’t believe me, but it’s true–the egg will form a perfect crack right around the middle if you use the latter technique.

The show that played last weekend was an interview with  author Dan Buettner and his book  The Blue Zones.  This book is a fascinating study on longevity in the habits of four groups whose members frequently make it into their 100’s.  Among the behavior patterns of this elite crowd are things like: maintaining close friendships, gardening, eating simply.  To listen to the interview online, click here. (This show was dated June 6, 2009.)

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While looking around the internet, we found a mention of GladRags in a someone’s flickr photo stream.  She takes pictures of a number of images in her life.  This one happened to be of her laundry, including a number of GladRags pads.  As she states in a comment, for a second she wasn’t sure if she should post it, because people might be grossed out, but decided that people should not be grossed out by periods. What a novel concept!

Certainly many people are grossed out by menstruation and menstrual blood. The origins of this disgust are complicated and sometimes deeply rooted.  In a delightful follow up to our recent naysaying post, flickr’s BlindTurtle challenges these assumptions and feelings. See her photo, thread, and discussion here.

But we think pictures of GladRags in the laundry basket is a great image - quite a contrast to the image of a pile previously used disposable menstrual pads. That’s a sight even the non-squeamish of us don’t want to visualize for long.  We would love to see your GladRags laundry too, so please share!

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I have weiner on the brain.  Yes, you heard me right: weiner.

No…not….get your mind out of the gutter, girlfriend!  I mean adorable precious kissing machine Weiner Dogs, also known by their formal moniker: Dachshund.  I am the proud owner of one Dachshund/German Shorthair mutt, a rescue dog from our local Humane Society.  I recently commissioned my cousin Tripper Dungan, a great artist in his own right, to paint me a special sign for my driveway gate.  In addition to his painted panels and upcycled construction materials, Tripper is also locally known for his shadow puppet shows where he makes all the puppets from discarded cardboard from cereal boxes (!) and puts on a hilarious evening of eye-popping fun.  To see a sample of this, click here to see the video he made with his shadow puppets for a local band.

To bring this story all the way back home to the GladRags Gab audience, it’s time for another tampon craft project!  That’s right, get out that box of tampons you never use any more since you saw the light and switched to GladRags.  Here’s the finished product to get you inspired and click here for full instructions, courtesy of a hilarious blog called Crabbymommy.

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This is a well written and interesting look at one woman’s journey learning about and using the Moon Cup.  She goes from feeling ashamed about mentruation to frustrated by the options to the discovery and love of the Moon Cup.  Check it out on her engaging blog Sian and Crooked Ribs.

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I'm doing a little horn-tooting here! My husband, Bruce Barrow, is an awesome film editor and just won his fifth NW regional Emmy for an Oregon Public Broadcasting documentary. This one was for Silent Invasion, a show about invasive non-native plants and animals that are changing Oregon's ecology. It's specific to Oregon but has national implications. They also set up website hotline for people to report when they see invasives. The show also won the prestigious duPont-Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism. Congrats, OBP.

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Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a condition that causes extreme distress for many women every month.  The syndrome is understood as a cyclical recurrence of symptoms that causes physical as well as emotional symptoms.  The range of intensity can be minor to severe, wreaking havoc on personal and work relationships, and a woman’s sanity. Physical symptoms are commonly breast tenderness and swelling, water retention, headaches, abdominal bloating, digestive changes, and fatigue.  Emotional symptoms range from depression and anxiety to severe irritability.  You just want to be left alone, except you want to fight with someone.  Add to that the food cravings, weight gain and feeling fat.  You want to end your relationship, and every issue gets blown out of proportion.  What are your options to deal with this monster?

As a naturopathic doctor, I don’t have that many patients that are thrilled with the conventional medical approach using Prozac or birth control pills as a means to treat PMS.  There are effective natural treatments, but they require more work on the patient’s part.  Improving diet, exercise and sleep habits are critical components, but not easy.   The first step is to reduce or eliminate coffee.  Yikes!  If you are still reading after that, you can use green tea to avoid caffeine withdrawal.

A healthy balanced diet is the foundation.  Then there are some foods which can be added to help.  Flaxseed meal is a great source of a fiber which helps with hormone balance.  Just a couple of tablespoons a day added to cereal or yogurt is helpful.  The cabbage, broccoli and kale family of foods is also recommended to help the body eliminate excess hormones, and may even reduce breast cancer risk.

Supplements are also important.  Start with B vitamins, the most important of which is B6.  There is a good deal of research supporting this nutrient in treating PMS, and it is necessary for making brain neurotransmitters that keep us feeling good.  Try 50 to 100 mg. to start.  The second most important nutrient is magnesium.  This mineral is in some foods such as whole grains and nuts, but many of us are deficient.  It is a calming mineral, and can also help headaches and constipation.  Too much can cause loose stools so divide your daily dose into two, and keep each dose the under 300-400 mg.  Other nutrients and amino acids can be individualized to support your anti-PMS program.

Progesterone cream can also have a calming and PMS moderating effect.   It is pretty easy to find at natural food/pharmacy stores and the cream form makes it popular because of its simplicity to use.   Lastly, herbal medicines, both Western and Chinese, can be prescribed for you by a qualified natural health practitioner.   PMS can be tamed, it just takes a little effort and a holistic approach.

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It's a total advertising ploy by Madsen (post a link and enter to win) for this cargo bike, but I got suckered in because I think it would be so great to have this to haul stuff. I got groceries yesterday on my bike and could barely stuff everything in my 20-year-old paniers. The weather has been stunning in Portland the past week, and bikers have been out in droves. I'm loving it and vowing that I will stop being a fair-weather commuter and get serious this fall when rains come back. 

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Here at the ‘Rags we receive a lot of emails from customers and occasionally we receive emails from people who will never be customers, as in the case of this email. We received this email from a woman who had a particularly adverse reaction to the mere idea of reusable menstrual pads.

To whom this may concern,

While browsing for a treatment for allergies today….I stumbled upon your product “Gladrags”…. just had to give my opinion.
I THINK THIS IS THE MOST DISGUSTING THING I HAVE EVER HEARD!
IF ANYTHING SHOULD BE DISPOSABLE …MENSTRAL(sic) PADS ARE IT!
I BELIEVE YOUR PRODUCT TO BE UNSANITARY

Her reaction to GladRags got us to thinking about the different possible ways we all think about our menstruation as well as the ways those of us who use “alternatives” might talk with naysayers about our choices. What are your experiences of talking to people about alternative menstrual products? Any memorable reactions? We would love to hear.

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