Latest / Empower Your Menopause / Episode 33: Embracing the Chaos with The Mint Chip Mama

Transcript

Episode 33: Embracing the Chaos with The Mint Chip Mama · Empower Your Menopause

• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to another episode of Empower Your Menopause.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's James Ellis and Judy Medesi here, coming to you with insights and inspirations to make your menopausal journey as fabulous as you are.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Today we have a very special episode for you.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's entitled Embracing the Clip Chaos with the Mint Chip Mama.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: If you're asking who the Mint Chip Mama is, Julie's going to tell you in a short while.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to dive into a lively conversation with her.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: She's a wonderfully witty blogger, content creator, a master juggler of motherhood and more.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: So whether you're in the car, on a walk, or just taking a break, this episode is a perfect companion for dose of humor and some heartfelt stories.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: So make sure you're comfortable, grab your favorite drink, and let's get started.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: And thanks, James.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: It's a delight to have everybody tuning in today, and I'm really excited about our guests.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: So joining us is Stacy Wallenstein, known around the web as The Mint Chip Mama.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: So Stacy has carved out a niche in the blogging world with her engaging and incycle content that spans parenting, lifestyle, travel, beauty, and delicious food all through the lens of a Long Island Mama.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: Stacy's blog, The Mint Chip Mama, has been nominated as best blog from Long Island multiple years, running from 2022 right through to 2025.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: Her stories and tips light up platforms like Instagram and Facebook where she connects with thousands of followers every day.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: Stacy, your blog not only captures a chaos and beauty of motherhood, but also resonates with so many of our listeners.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: So before we dive into the nitty-gritty of blogging and your life, could you share what inspired you to start the Mint Chip Mama and how you chose the name?
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, of course.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And first of all, thank you so much for having me.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: I am so excited to talk about all things for women over 40 and the menopause journey, and to kind of share how I got to be on this journey as well.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll start with the name.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess I'll take a step back and start with why.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I was living in Manhattan when I had my first child.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: I now have three.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: My first child is now 15.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: So when I was pregnant with her 15 years ago, 16 years ago in Manhattan, there were all these amazing resources for pregnant women, new moms, and I really like got involved in that world.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um I made all these friends.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was kind of like the dawn of the mommy blogging era, especially in Manhattan.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I started writing for all these different outlets, and then I went to different events.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I was sent different products, I had all these different things coming and I loved it.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then we had our second, or when we get pregnant rather with our second, we moved out to Long Island and I said, okay, now I'm a little bit outside of the city, but I still want to write, I still want to do the thought pieces, I want to do the events, I want to do the product reviews.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: But I feel like I don't like doing something for all these different places, so I'm gonna start my own thing.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: So while my four-year-old was at camp and my three-month-old was upstairs napping, I decided to launch this blog.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I picked the name The Mint Chip Mama, because obviously my favorite ice cream flavor is mint chip.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And what I did not expect was it to resonate so much with people.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's been such a conversation starter that it's just hilarious.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I was saying yesterday that you I feel like mint chip ice cream is a very polarizing thing, which I've learned over the last decade, where people come up to me and say, Oh my god, I love it, or I hate it, I hate it.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's mint, I hate it.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I was joking yesterday.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I feel like it's almost like on the cilantro spectrum where you have people that are like, cilantro is my favorite thing.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: See, you're laughing because it's true.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And people are like, cilantro tastes like soap.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, there's just two people in the world.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: You have to just accept that.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like with mint and mint chip ice cream, it's the same.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I added in the mama to it because I wanted to have a name that represented both me as a person, me.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: We forget sometimes it's moms that we're a person.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and also the fact that I'm a mom, because at the time with a four-year-old and a three-month-old, you're in it and your world is being a mom.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then for the last 10 years, it's just kind of grown and evolved and morphed into both the blog and the social media channels, and kind of me pivoting back and forth between which one I'm pushing at the moment, and also really evolving with my life as a young mother with a young family to now a middle-aged mother with um an older family, you know, somewhat of my identity, which I hope resonates with many of you, that like you go from being fully involved mentally, physically, emotionally, um, to kind of like this person that's at home when your kids are in school and you're like, So does anyone need anything?
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And nobody's home, or you know, they come home and they make themselves mac and cheese and go up to their room and shut the door, and you're like, hello, do you remember when I breastfed you at three o'clock in the morning?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Do you need anything?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so, you know, in speaking to many women who are on this journey at the same cohort as me, I think this resonates with a lot of people.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's something that a lot of people don't talk about because either it's embarrassing or weird or you feel uncomfortable.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then you add perimenopause and menopause and all of these reactions where you're like, anybody, anybody, oh, now I'm really filled with rage.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: What can I break?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: But is that me, or is that because you slammed the door in my face?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Or, you know, it's just this like whirlwind of emotions.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that, you know, similar to what you were both saying before, where this even six or seven years wasn't being talked about, like it's really being shouted from the rooftops now, or starting to be, which I think is incredible.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a very long answer about a very short question, but but basically, my my short answer is the blog used to be about like toys and amusement parks, and now it's about travel and being a woman in your 40s because it's kind of evolved as I've evolved.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll stop there.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: No, that's great.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_02: And because we do evolve, right?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: And as our bodies start changing in this phase of life, we have to remember that we're not supposed to be put out to pasture, but we still have a whole lot of good years left.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um so it's I I love your journey, and especially because if I can say, one of my favorite things when we were talking about having you on the podcast, is what you know, what do you know to talk about um about menopause?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_02: And you said, Well, I have a vagina.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, this woman is our people.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: Don't tell people that.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_02: And that's but that's the truth because we forget, especially especially as coaches, it's so easy to focus on.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, we have this coaching stuff.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_02: Talk about the nutrition side, we have to talk about the fitness side.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_02: Well, what about the people side?
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: We have to take a step back and remember that yeah, we need to talk about personal experiences.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_02: We get the talk before we go through puberty, we get lots of talks, as you said, about childbearing and and child birth and child care.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: But nobody tells us about this part.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_02: So now you said you really enjoy talking about like travel and what's your what are you most passionate about writing about these days?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I I mean I'm lucky in the sense that I live in a place where I'm you know 40 minutes to Manhattan and 20 minutes to the beach and 40 minutes out east of Long Island.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I really love all things that come out of those places.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm a total Manhattan fanatic.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'll run into a Broadway show all the time.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: I love all these events that these companies put on.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: I feel that, especially because I lived in the city for 13 years, that's my like I I don't know how to describe it.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't sound cheesy, but it's like my energy giver.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like my step changes when I walk off the train.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I feel like my batteries are instantly recharged and I just like thrive off the energy of Manhattan.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's funny, I'm about to do a talk about free things to do in Manhattan, and it was one of these things where I started making a list and the list just got very long, and then they're like, okay, cut it down, cut it down.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: But it's like you realize that as somebody that first of all, I never am ungrateful at the fact that I live so close to Manhattan and that's a place that people dream of going to their whole life.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I tell this to my kids when we bring them in, where it's like, yeah, of course, you know how to walk across the street, but do you realize there are people all over the world like dreaming of standing in Times Square right now?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's just kind of an interesting thing to think about.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um I love just taking in all the different cultures and museums and shows and food, all of that is like my happy place.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same point, I love driving 20 minutes and going to the beach.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like the beach is what centers me.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And when I'm in a bad mood or when I need to just like exhale, I'll go to the beach.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I'm also a big fan of just like the sea air.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: And if my kids have colds, I'll take them down there and just like kind of stand on the boardwalk and just I feel like the ocean has always been something that has centered me.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: And for the four years I lived in Michigan, I was like, How do people live in a place where they don't see water 20 minutes from them?
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: This is crazy.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, right?
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's just it's like in my blood, I think.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then um, you know, a little bit farther out, you have the east end of Long Island, which is, you know, a North Fork and a South Fork, and just absolute beauty.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you drive out there and you see farms, and it's just like a simpler, slower, and I don't want to say it's a slower existence because I'm sure they're all dealing with the same thing we're dealing with, but it just to see a farm to and it's funny because throughout my kids' school year, when they hit a certain grade, there's always the conversation about urban, suburban, and rural.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: And every time we drive, I'm always like, which one is this?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Which one is this?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: But isn't it crazy that one way, one way, one way, and we have all of them here.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: So that's just something that I think is really that that gets me going.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and from a broader sense, travel was always a passion of mine.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I studied abroad in college in Seville, Spain, which was really my first time abroad.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And from there, I backpacked for six weeks by myself throughout all of Europe and just took it all in and went at my own speed.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that kind of ignited my like solo travel passion.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and really just, you know, and it's funny because there's the camp of people that are like, you did it by yourself.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's the camp of people that are like, Oh, that's awesome you did it by yourself.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, you know, even at 19, I was like, Well, there are some days where I want to spend it at the Prado, and some days I want to go to Montevarky and go to the Prada outlet.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't need to discuss that with anybody.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then when I met my husband, we started traveling.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: And when we moved in together, I remember saying to him, okay, I got us a credit card together.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: And he was like, What why?
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, because we're gonna start saving for our honeymoon now on miles.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, What's wrong with you?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Shh.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then we ended up going even before our honeymoon, which was to um New Zealand and Bora Bora.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: We went to Spain, we went to Paris, like we did, we went to Greece.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we did all these incredible trips on miles, and so travel just has always been my passion.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then when I was pregnant with my second, um, my husband was like, I've never been to Italy.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: I really want to go to Italy.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Well, we live in Manhattan and we have a child and I'm pregnant, but let's put it out there, let's make this our Oprah moment and let's manifest it.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: And we went to Italy, which was insane.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then we kind of didn't really travel anywhere big for several years.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then um, when my kids were little, we kind of were like, Do we go somewhere?
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: But are they gonna be into it?
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: And is it gonna be more of a chore to travel with a child?
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then um, when my daughter was 13 and my littlest was six, we went to Israel and had the most epic family vacation on the face of the earth, going north to south, east to west, and really just experiencing everything known that the country has to offer, and then finding all these like hidden gems and jewels.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And my goal is always to like stump the teacher, and we had a tour guide for one part that's like, I don't even know where we're going, I've never heard of this place.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Yay! I found a place you don't know about, and you're a tour guide.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then we went to Iceland last year, which was my like bucket list trip, and just like seeing these places and sharing them with my kids and having my kids try new foods, and that's my passion.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I really just want to explore the world with them.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and like much like when I get off the train in Manhattan and that charges my butt, my buttons and my batteries.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like when you get off the plane and you see like welcome to wherever you are, that's just so exciting.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: So that and then just women's health, because I feel like people need to shout about it, right?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: And we need to talk about it.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: Let's let's delve into health, if we if we may, Stacey.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: I I was smiling so much before we described how it is in your house, right?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: Because my wife is 49, we've got 15-year-old female twin daughters.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: As you can imagine, the house is an explosion of hormones, and so I really resonated with what you were talking about just there.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: I wonder if you could still have a sleep room for you.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's cold here in my office, right?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: I can lock the door.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: So um, I wonder if you could just tell us a little bit about what changes you're seeing.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Where are you in your journey right now, and how is that affecting forget the family and everything else for a moment.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: You, as an outgoing, vivacious woman, how is that affecting you, your mood?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: What symptoms are you seeing?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: I wonder if you could just talk to that a little bit first.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sure.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: So um I want to say that I've never officially been like diagnosed as in perimenopause, but I feel like many ones with ovaries, some of that is self-diagnosis because you're a PhD in yourself, right?
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like nobody knows you as well as you.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, in the 12 minutes, your doctor, regardless of who your doctor is, sees you once a year.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, this is what I have, this is what I have, this is what I have, this is what I have, this is what I think it is.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: How can you help?
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: And they're like, let's put you on birth control.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, What?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like for several years I've said to my doctor, I I feel it, I think there's something going on.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: I have certain like ups and downs with my hormones that I can feel.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I've basically been placated for the last couple years.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then this year, when I have delved into this space myself more and through different events and talking to people, have really been talking more about like the symptoms that are less known and how there are so many symptoms.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: And and even if you look at this list, you might have something on this list.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I always joke with my doctors that like I am the one in a million.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: So when you go all the way down to like that may happen as a side effect, I just start there because that's what I expect.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and nobody ever believes me.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm always like, I okay, don't believe me.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't, I like, I feel like you also being in your 40s, you're like, I don't care if you like me or not.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you believe me or not, I don't need you to tell me about me.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so anyway, this year, after kind of going into my doctor being empowered, I said, I'm absolutely having a hormone fluctuation after ovulation.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: I can document it, I can tell you, I am ready for something.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: I've been reading about estrogen, I've been reading about progesterone, I've been reading about all these things.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm ready.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And he tapped me on the shoulder and was like, oh this isn't real.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, okay, step one, find your new doctor.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Step two, okay, sure.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: So call whatever you want, but I need help.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: I need hormones.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, Well, the first step we usually do is put you on a birth control or an SSRI.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I don't want to be on an SSRI if I can tell you what day of the month I have an issue.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's not a pervasive thing.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I said, Well, birth control, I wasn't really thinking about that, but if that's a gateway entry level, I don't really buy into that, but that seems harmless.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's try it.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: So begrudgingly, I went to CVS and I was cracking up the drugstore, and I was just like, I'm about birth control, that's funny.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Look at me dancing on a table needing birth control.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, just kidding.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I was like, all right, let me try it.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I went on it for a few months, and in the process of being on it, I went to all of these perimenopause, menopause events, and everyone's like, they put her on birth control.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: She's another one.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: She fell through the cracks.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I don't buy into this, but you know what?
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: It seemed like an easy start.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: So let me see.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: So after four months, I still, on the exact same day every month, was filled with rage.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I called the doctor back and he was away, but I spoke to his PA.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: And she was like, I was like, I'm going off of this.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: I tried, I played, I long, nope, nope.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so she said the only other option would be like a Prozac.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I don't want to go on Prozac.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't need Prozac.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I need something on day 22, like to be restrained or like given dishes I could break.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, but besides that, I don't need like something chemically to fix my brain.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um and in having this conversation, obviously, as a woman, we yap, yap, yap.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been talking to my friends who are all the same age, and some of them went on birth control, some of them went on SSRI, some of them feel like this helps, some of them feel like that helps.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, but don't you feel like all of these are band-aids?
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you especially are so tuned into your body that you know the exact dips and you can like vocalize that, we need to find someone that can listen to that and treat that.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so I went off birth control, I refused to go on the SSRI.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: And through just like, you know, going through this journey of being on podcasts and talking to all of these experts, I found these two women that run a podcast and they're also health coaches and like um whatever the credentials are for nutrition and and you know, similar to what you guys were saying, and they started telling me about seed cycling.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, okay, well, if that works or doesn't, at least it's a seed and it's natural and it's not a chemical.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I like that.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I started seed cycling, and I think part of it might be a placebo effect, and part of it might just be that I feel like I'm taking action on my own and doing something that can't really hurt me and might help me.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I also in the process fell in love with pumpkin seeds and said to them, I know that I only eat them the first half of my phase, but since I'm somewhat rebellious, I'm gonna eat them in the second half too.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: And they were like, your body probably needs that ingredient.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh yeah, I'm living on the edge right there.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: And but still being very much in touch with my body and consistently, even after that, seeing like day 22 for the most part, I am just ready to murder somebody.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you mentioned rage.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: I feel that rage is definitely the presenting factor that I feel, and it's definitely, you know, a couple of days after ovulation.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I so, and it's funny because when I was speaking to these women the other day, we were talking about like the egg whites of ovulation, and it could happen even without ovulating.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Oh, that's funny.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not at a point where I'm taking my temperature every day.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: That was part of my like, I want to get pregnant journey, and now I don't do that because I don't really care what my temperature is.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: But we were talking about that under like the auspice of, are you still ovulating?
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, I'll be honest with you, I don't know.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: My period's still regular.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it was a bit of a blip when I was on the birth control, getting off of it for a few months afterwards.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it's funny because I got my period at 12 and it was not regular until I had my first at 31.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then it was regular, but then it was a decade of trying to get pregnant, being pregnant, nursing, weaning, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then after all of that was done, it was regular on a dime.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it's still going strong.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know, but I I so I just called back the doctor last week and I said, This is my last chance before I jump ship with you.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't say that out loud to him, but I said, I don't want to go on birth control, I don't want to go on Prozac.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: I can tell you the exact day of my cycle where my hormones dip.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: I could tell you the exact symptoms.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: I need progesterone.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, okay, let's get you on progesterone.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, have we not been fighting about this for three years?
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Do I just go to the store and get it?
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, Yeah.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, okay, okay, bye.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: But I was like, I've been fighting for this moment.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: I was out on a walk because I lost my I don't know if I can curse, expletive so badly that I was like, I'm going for a walk.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: And on this walk, I was like seething.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then I'm like, you know what?
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna call my doctor and say, I want progesterone, put me on progesterone.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, I said to him, but before I jump on this, like, what are the risks?
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: I have breast cancer in my family, I've done genetic tests, I hopefully am free of anything at the time that they could test for it.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: But like, it's not not in the back of my head.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's kind of where I'm at.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm kind of at this place where I'm waiting for day 14 of this cycle to happen so I can hop on this progesterone train.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm also looking at it and thinking, like, is this gonna be my opening the door to, you know, letting in complications that I'm not looking for?
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I don't know.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: My mother had breast cancer for the first time at 41, and then again at 60.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then in March of last, so about a year ago, I went for a full genetic testing and everything was negative.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: She as well went for it.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: And she was negative.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: So it seemed like it was some crazy rare mutation, but it happened twice.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I feel like that's always something that makes me nervous in the back of my head.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: I, for the most part, try and have always tried to live a healthy lifestyle.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, trying to do the things that one can do to control their own health.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like HRT is real, right?
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so here we are.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: And thanks for thanks for sharing all that.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: Because I think one of the lessons that women really need to learn is that we need to be our own advocates.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: Because, as you said, we are the global experts in our own bodies.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: And that 12 minutes or seven minutes or whatever, however many minutes you get with your doctor doesn't allow them to actually get to know you.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um and it's not the doctor's fault, it's that's how the system is run.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's great that you're doing that, and I look forward to hearing the rest of the story.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: So now you're going through all of this, right?
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_02: So you have all these symptoms, you're doing all these things, you've got all this stuff going on, your mom, your blogger, um, your content creator.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_02: How do you manage, you know, especially with the symptoms that kind of come and go?
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: At least you can predict them.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: That's good, that's good because a lot of women don't have that uh that luxury.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: I I don't want to call it a luxury, but you know what I mean.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_02: Have that ability.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, how do you manage all of this?
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: How do you manage your time?
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_02: How do you manage your energy?
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how do you stay organized through all of this?
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_02: Because it does people don't realize what an impact it has on their ability and capacity to actually do things day to day when these things are all over the place.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that the answer is, you know, every day is a new opportunity to be a shit show.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think that, you know, there are people that talk about journaling and mantras and meditation and this and that and all these things.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, it's like it's not really for me.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I feel like I start my day and all I say is I just don't want to yell at my kids today.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that is either a mantra or a call to action or something, I don't know.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's and then sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, right?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: And just like with everyone.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I think um for me, nature is a really big thing, and I'm a very big walker, and I think something that came out of the pandemic.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: So pre-pandemic, I was going out to dinner, to this, to that.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: I was constantly out, out, out, out, out.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I loved it.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: I thrived off of it.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then the pandemic happened and everyone stayed inside, and I was like, oh, it's nice not to go anywhere.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, we kind of were living in this gray area where you could go outside and do things, but not inside and do things.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so I started meeting friends and going for walks.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that kind of transformed into this really big thing in my life where I now try a couple times a week, a couple times during the week to meet a friend.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I so I have three kids, 8, 11, and 15, and they each go to a different school and they each have a different bus time.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: So basically, it's three hours of just buses in the morning, and then the last one pulls away at 8:58, and then it's my day until two o'clock when the first bus comes home.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: So my work day, which used to be nine to four, has shortened to nine to two as the school buses start coming home earlier now.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have tried desperately to make a conscious effort that my work hours are just along with the school hours because I'm trying desperately to be a present parent with my children.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think one of the hardest things to do when you're an entrepreneur and you work from home is put your phone down or put your computer down or just separate.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: And one of my favorite quotes is I work 24-7, so I don't have to work nine to five.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think what I'm really seeing, right?
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think what I'm really seeing, and I don't know if this is my age or my wisdom, is that I've lived this like really sexy life for 15 years, and now I fantasize about like a really boring desk job that just pays me every other week.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um only because I feel like if you could just shut your computer off and walk out of your office and then be your home you and not your work you, that just sounds wonderful.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's a constant battle that I have.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think that as a content creator, it's and also as a blogger, it's all living in the creative space.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're doing something creative, it uses a large part of your mental capacity.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I think people don't understand that, especially to be a blogger in today's.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so I think a writer is someone who writes and then maybe gets an assignment and writes, you know, the 50 top things to do the summer in New York, and you write it and then you send it to an editor, and once it's you hit send, your baby is out in the world for someone else to raise, right?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: When you're a blogger, you're self-publishing.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: So in addition to writing, you're also optimizing for SEO, searching for keywords, looking at all different ways to get your blog to organically be found on searches, finding pictures, titling your pictures, alt texting your pictures.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much behind writing a blog that people don't know about that it is such a tremendous mental load, hitting so many different avenues from a business and a creative perspective that it's exhausting.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I used to just be a blogger, and then when social media became stronger, I lean more into social media because there are ways to expand on those platforms that are arduous in a different way, but you're still a photographer, a videographer, an editor, a copywriter, a brander, a marketer, an SEO specialist, yada, yada, yada, yada, yada.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's just all really exhausting because it's all thinking and creativity.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that you can't shut your mind off when you're doing something like this.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if I'm talking to my eight-year-old or playing a game with him, I might be thinking about how to edit a video because I want to highlight something that the brand told me was what they want to push this month.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I think from that perspective, it's really hard to make that cut between I'm doing this and this is my job and my career, and I'm now a mom, because it's all in the space of my house and it's all in the space of my head.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think getting out of that is really hard, which is why I feel that nature is really what centers me.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I try very hard.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, I don't meditate as much as I want to be someone who does meditate.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: But um, when I go out into nature, I kind of feel like that's my meditation it, if you could call it, where I look at the trees and I look at the wind, and you know, what I've learned from meeting a like a girlfriend every day is just it's social, it's nature, it's emotional, it's exercise, it's you know, that little bit of gossip that you need.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: It it hits so many things on the head.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's free.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it it just taking a walk, which seems like the simplest thing in the world, I feel like has like saved my life.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that to me is really like how I center myself.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I think as far as like how you just put up boundaries and doing all these things, is you know, I live by my calendar, and you know, everyone make ever literally everyone makes fun of me in my house.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: And but I know that like if I am doing this at this time, I do this at this time.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, you're just like, oh, I'll go for a walk later.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: But if it's in my calendar, it's happening.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: So scheduling is is really important then, right?
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think the one thing you forgot to say about walking there, you hit all the benefits perfectly, aside from the fact is that it stops you from having to sit there going, um, and taking loads of deep breaths and pretending to clear your head when at a time when clearing your head is almost an impossibility.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it's the only time where I put everything away and I'm not looking at anything except what's in front of me.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: And because it's what's in front of me, I'm focusing.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it's funny, I was on a podcast yesterday, and I always sit in this room when I do my podcast, but yesterday was such a beautiful day here, and I wanted to sit outside, but I was worried about the sound.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I sat in my kitchen, which is all windows, and we overlook.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: I say we live on lakefront property, but we live on a Nassau County water basin.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I look out my windows and I see this beautiful body of water, and it's like my favorite place in the world.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I went off on such a tangent on this podcast yesterday.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: We were dying, we were having so much fun and not at all talking about anything that we had planned.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: But it's just funny because I got to that point where I was looking at the trees and looking at the water and looking at nature, and I was like, I can't focus on business or work or any of this because I'm looking at like ducks.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I've got I've got news for you.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_02: The walking you're doing is a form of meditation, so you can call yourself a meditator.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yes! Update my website right now.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: Another tick.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a few quick fire questions to finish off on.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_01: So, number one, favorite 80s or 90s movie?
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Clueless.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: Easy.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: Next.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: I love you even more.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: That is my number one favorite movie of all time.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: My kids laugh at me.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: They say, how can you, as a guy who's like almost 60, love Clueless?
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, it's just the most amazing film.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's brilliant.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I have to tell you one small thing before you What?
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: I've never seen it.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: We're watching Clueless.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: So my daughter on Monday, today is Thursday.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: On Monday, my daughter started a public speaking class, and I said to her, I will pay you if for your final exam you do the speech.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: Where she goes, So it's a garden party for my dad's 50th birthday.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: And she goes, I'm not doing that.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I will pay you because it will make me so happy.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, I am not doing that, mother.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: I go, your teacher will like it.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: She goes, without doing that.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I will say, she turned 15 on mid-February, and we're now at the end of February.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_00: The night of her birthday, I said, Child, sit down.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: We are starting my so-called life.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: And we watched the whole series in two weeks, and she was like, Oh my god, this show.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I have been waiting 15 years for this moment.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: This is our time.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: So those are my two answers.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, now I have to now I have to go watch that.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, okay, what's your go-to comfort food?
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_02: Is it some ice cream or something else?
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_02: Dark chocolate?
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yes.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_02: Now you just touched my heart.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: Touching all the hearts today, Stacey.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well done.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thank God you love me.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so you've obviously traveled to an incredible amount of places.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned Iceland before, one of my favorite destinations.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: I've been there six, seven times.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely love it.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: Where have you not yet been that you would like to go?
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_01: What's the dream place that you've not yet been to?
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: So India is on my bucket list, an African safari is on my bucket list, and I've never been to South America.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: So it's funny, you said the Mayans um previously in our other conversation.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: Excuse me.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so fascinated by all of those cultures.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: I am dying to go to Peru.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: I just I want to go to Argentina.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: I've just never done anything on the continent of South America.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I really would love to do that.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_02: Very, very cool.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_02: Last question.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_02: What's one thing you can't live without?
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: Water.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a very big water drinker and I like I always joke.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't know if you know the movie Big Fish, which is also a really great movie, but at the end it goes, take me to the river.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it's always a joke because I'm always like, I need water, take me to the river.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like I need it to, I mean, as people in the health space, you'll appreciate this.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: I drink water all day.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: I have not jumped onto the, you know, trendy large container.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: I have this small container that I like that I refill throughout the day that is just the perfect size.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, it you become a water bottle expert with how you want the straw and the flipper and the handle and the this and the that, right?
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I have this bottle that's basically like for a child, because I think when I was buying my kids' new lunch bottles, I bought one for myself and it's my favorite.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like I need to be drinking water, I need to be looking at water, I love to be touching water.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like that.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: I just I know there's all these different tests where you can find out what sign you are, but I think I'm just water.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we're wrapping up another fantastic episode then.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: Stacy, thank you so much for coming, for being so open, for being so engaging.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_01: We've had a lot of fun talking to you, and I'm sure our listeners are gonna have a lot of fun as well.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to just share with people where they can find you online if they want to hear more about you, please?
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, thank you so much.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: So you can find my blog at the Mint Chipmama, and mama is m-a-m-a.com and across all social channels at the Mint Chip Mama.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Instagram is where I'm the most active.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, please feel free if anything I said today resonated with you or you want to chat about anything, so reach out.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_02: Fantastic.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_02: Fantastic.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and I'd like to say thank you as well.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_02: And to those who are listening today, make sure to like and follow us on your favorite podcast platforms.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_02: Join our Fabulous Beyond 40 community on Facebook.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's free.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_02: We have lots of great stuff there.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_02: Just search for Fabulous Beyond 40 to find us.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_02: And for those who want to dive deeper, we have a special workshop called Four Secrets.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_02: Just a click away.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_02: So if you visit our website and sign up today, you can transform your entire journey through menopause with us.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and remember, you're not just surviving, you are thriving.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_02: So thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_02: In the meantime, stay strong and stay fabulous.