Yea, It's THAT Time

Why did Eve have to eat the apple?

I damn her every time my girlfriend wants to pay a visit. Meaning, the doomed Menstrual Cycles, Periods, "On the Rag" whatever you would like to call it. I call it "Girlfriend", cause even though it's far from hell of being a "friend", I still try to be optimistic and befriend the: bloating, cramping, back aching, boobie tenderness, mood swings, TV show crying, smooth bowels, and sweets scarfing.

I know I should of paid close attention to the clues last week, but I was in phase mode of working and up keeping the home.

First sign my boobs felt like they were stretched to complete capacity in my bra, and they ached. I snapped at my mom, felt horrible, then came home from work on the same day and slept 6 hours! Yesterday was the Oh great! Your here.. and then the paaaiinn. I already took a 800mg last nite, hoping it will medicate until the next day.. and it didn't. Now I'm at work, back throbbing and I have no bullets and no gun. Ok, totally joking, but I'm not one to be messed with today!

Most of my bloggy buddies are ladies, so do you guys have great menstrual weeks? or am I the only one clawing up the wall?

Menstrual Cycles sure can put a damper on your party. I just looked up "On the Rag"and did you know this was where it came from?:

Answer.com: The phrase “on the rag” originated sometime during the late 19th to early 20th century. When a woman was menstruating, she was “on the rag,” a phrase that literally described the way women of the day protected themselves from accidents during menstruation. Each woman had a supply of rags for specific use during menstruation. Women would layer rags together until they were sufficiently thick, then use pins to attach the rags to their panties. After each use, the women would wash the rags and hang them out to dry. Each woman had a special place (usually a bag in her underwear drawer) where she kept her rags for the next time she menstruated.

Ugh! I couldn't imagine!! My mom told me they used to use these belt type thinggys that held a pad in place because the stickie on the back wasn't invented yet. A jock strap for a pad!? Yea, that's REAL sexy! LOL

My research came up with this picture:


Was this how they were worn? Would blood just flow down the legs and onto clothes? I'm so confused!? And this was like 30-35 years ago! So not that long. Oh how I take stickie adhesive for granted. Thank you stickie adhesive makers for allowing me to walk publicly down the street without blood running down my leg, or trying to stuff a whole bed sheet into my panties to catch it. Thank you.

The Stright DOPE! gave a interesting article on Tampons, I guess women have been make shifting their own for years, even before the belted pads. I know I would!

Apparently, as time passed, tampons went underground. By the 1930s, when commercial tampons became available, some women were already making their own "out of surgical cotton, cutting strips to size and rolling them tightly for insertion, or they bought natural sea sponges at cosmetics or art supply stores and trimmed them into reusable tampons," Friedman writes. "But these women belonged to an exclusive margin of society; they tended to be actresses, athletes, or prostitutes--all dubious professions, in the eyes of 'respectable' women."

BUT: according to Wiki answers: The tampon with an applicator and string was invented in 1929 and submitted for patent in 1931 by Dr. Earle Haas, an American from Denver, Colorado. Tampons based on Dr. Haas' design were first sold in the U.S. in 1936.

WHY, oh WHY would people wear belts if these things was already patented in 1931!

I know why, because I started my period when I was 10, and it took me all the way until I was 17 to wear tampons. I thought it was weird with something up there without it feeling good. haha However, currently they are my bestfriend.

Ok enough bloody talk. I'm ready to go home, eat my salad, drink my hot tea and hit the sheets! Clean ones, that is. =0)