Hello...Can you hear me now?

Here I go. First entry. I've been thinking of trying this for quite a while but didn't know if I could pull it off. There are so many great bloggers out there, it's pretty intimidating. I'll just do my usual ... jump in with both feet.

I'm 49 years old and fifty is coming up fast. I'm going through menopause which is a source of endless delight. Have you read the email going around full of jokes about menopause? I'm here to tell you they are NO JOKE but are the God's honest truth. Hair on my legs seems to have stopped growing...but now I have to keep an eye on facial hair! It's just WRONG, I tell you.

On the plus side, I haven't had to buy a winter coat in a couple of years. My hot flashes are enough to roast marshmallows with. This morning it was 3*, so I drove my daughter to school rather than have her have to wait in the cold at the bus stop. I took a coat along just in case we had car trouble - it's winter in New England, you have to be safe - but it stayed in the backseat the whole 20 minute trip. And I did NOT warm up the car first.

My daughter is 13 years old and has started her period. Between the two of us, our house is Hormones Gone Wild. My husband quietly retreats to his own little man cave and tries to stay out of the rough sea of estrogen flowing around him.

Our household also includes two elderly cats and a hermit crab my daughter has had for six years. I have to mention that, because every family I know who has ever adopted a hermit crab has had it go to that big beach in the sky within a couple of months. It's a double-edged sword - on one hand I'm impressed that we have treated him well enough that he has survived domesticity so long - on the other hand...it's a freakin' CRAB, six long years that aquarium has been part of the decor in my dining room. Enough already!

Well I guess that's more than you would ever want to know in one sitting about my life. Hope I haven't bored you to tears.