What happens when you’re exhausted, you’re not sleeping, your body feels unfamiliar, and nobody has mentioned perimenopause?

In this special episode in honor of World Menopause Day of Hose Water, Hot Flashes, and Bad Decisions, Paula and Karen get personal about the changes they didn’t see coming and the conversations they wish had happened sooner. From mood shifts and sleepless nights to changing body shape and unexpected food reactions, they share what it felt like to search for answers while trying to get through everyday life.

Karen talks about the conversation that helped her recognize perimenopause, while Paula reflects on an appointment where depression was discussed but perimenopause wasn’t. Together, they explore the frustration of hearing “that’s normal” when you still don’t feel like yourself, the value of tracking what’s happening, and why it can be so hard to tell the whole story once you’re sitting in the exam room.

Of course, there’s humor. Because sometimes you need to laugh with someone who understands why you’re throwing off the blankets one minute and reaching for them the next.

This is an honest conversation about their personal experiences, the questions they’re still asking, and making room for women to talk openly about midlife.

What do you wish someone had told you about perimenopause? Share it in the comments, and send this episode to a friend who might recognize her own experience.

Subscribe for more conversations with Paula and Karen. New episodes every Thursday.

This episode shares personal experiences and is for general information, not individual medical advice.

Also, join us for our 90-minute, one-night-only Decompress Before the Holiday Stress Event. Learn more: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/decompress-before-the-holiday-stress-live-group-coaching-session-tickets-2002951520917?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

#WorldMenopauseDay #Perimenopause #Menopause #MidlifeWomen #HoseWaterHotFlashesAndBadDecisions #GenX #Millenial

What do Barbie, the corporate ladder, and that persistent voice telling us we’re not good enough have in common? They all have a place in this conversation.

In Episode 8 of Hose Water, Hot Flashes, and Bad Decisions, Paula and Karen welcome Krizel Rodriguez for an honest discussion about identity, representation, and the messages women carry from childhood into adulthood. From growing up with dolls that didn’t look like us to questioning our abilities in the workplace, we explore how those experiences can shape what we believe is possible.

Krizel shares what discovering a Mexican Barbie meant to her, why Latina representation in leadership matters personally, and her hopes for the next generation. We also talk about the self-doubt that can follow women into rooms they’ve earned the right to be in, even when their accomplishments tell a different story.

There’s room for laughter, reflection, and a conversation about what connects us across different backgrounds and experiences. Because while our stories may differ, we have plenty of reasons to listen to one another and move forward together.

What message did you grow up hearing about who you could become, and have you rewritten it? Tell us in the comments.

Subscribe to Hose Water, Hot Flashes, and Bad Decisions with Paula & Karen. New episodes every Thursday!

#HoseWaterHotFlashesAndBadDecisions #GenX #WomenSupportingWomen #SelfDoubt #RepresentationMatters #WomenInLeadership #Barbie #Podcast

We were prepared for quicksand. Processing our feelings? Not so much.

In this episode of Hose Water, Hot Flashes, and Bad Decisions, Paula and Karen revisit the other side of growing up Gen X: the frightening headlines, confusing adult conversations, and moments when everyone simply turned off the TV and moved on.

From watching the Challenger disaster in class to missing kids on milk cartons, nuclear war fears, and the Tylenol poisonings, they reflect on what they remember, what nobody explained, and how humor, sarcasm, and pushing feelings down became familiar ways to cope.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an ’80s conversation without MTV, Madonna’s lace gloves, cereal-box entertainment, latchkey life, and shoulder pads big enough to carry the whole decade. There’s also Baby Jessica, Geraldo’s empty vault, and the eternal question: why did we think quicksand would be such a major problem?

Come for the nostalgia, stay for the candid conversation about childhood fears, midlife anxiety, and looking back with a little more understanding.

What ’80s moment still sticks with you? Tell us in the comments or email hosewaterthepodcast@gmail.com.

#GenX #Comedy #80s #Challenger #Midlife #Menopause

New episodes every Thursday morning.

Getting laid off hits differently in midlife.

You’ve spent decades building experience, skills, relationships, and a career, only to suddenly find yourself wondering: Now what?

In this clip from Laid Off In Midlife. Now What?, Karen and Paula talk about the reality of losing a job in midlife, what it does to your confidence, and the challenge of figuring out what comes next when you thought you already had that part of life figured out.

Hose Water, Hot Flashes & Bad Decisions
Real conversations about Gen X, midlife, careers, menopause, relationships, and all the stuff nobody warned us about.

New episodes every Thursday.

What happens to intimacy when life, health, and relationships change?

In this episode of Hose Water, Hot Flashes & Bad Decisions, Paula and Karen talk with psychotherapist Carrie Cohen about desire, emotional safety, and staying connected to a partner through midlife.

Carrie explains why two people can experience desire differently, how the nervous system can affect closeness, and why menopause or fibromyalgia doesn’t have to end a couple’s love life.

It’s a candid conversation about the misunderstandings that can grow between partners, and the possibility of finding your way back to each other.

Connect with Carrie Cohen:
Website: https://www.carriecohencoaching.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carriecohencoaching/
Contact Carrie: https://www.carriecohencoaching.com/contact

Follow the hosts:
Karen: https://www.instagram.com/midlife_health_coach/
Paula: https://www.instagram.com/everydaywellnesscoaching/

Have a question or an idea for the show? Email us at hosewaterthepodcast@gmail.com.

#GenX #Perimenopause #Menopause #MidlifeRelationships #Menopause #Intimacy #Fibromyalgia

This week Karen and Paula cover a little bit of everything when it comes to fitness, from the gym to the bedroom to the playground.

Grab a glass of wine (no judgment here!) as we kick things off with the wild ride that is women's fitness: leg warmers, aerobics tapes, diet culture, all of it.

Karen and Paula get real about what they were doing (and wearing) through every era of it. From there we get into why a good workout buddy can make or break your consistency, then make the case for lifting heavy weights (yes, heavier than you're currently doing) and why strength training matters more than ever for women in perimenopause and menopause.

Paula shares her nighttime routine, and how she uses her wearables to track it all.

Then we take a nostalgic detour through peak 80s gym fashion (leg warmers and leotards included) before wrapping up with a hot take on why Gen Alpha needs dodgeball back in their lives. The evolution of women's fitness, workout buddies, heavy weights, better sleep, questionable fashion choices, and a little bit of chaos for the kids.

This one has it all.

What was your fitness evolution? Let's hear it!

New episode out now.

Subscribe and follow along for more Hose Water, Hot Flashes & Bad Decisions.

Tell us what you want us to talk about!

Connect with us: Karen Instagram: @midlife_health_coach midlifehealthcoach.com

Paula Instagram: @everydaywellnesscoaching ewcoach.com

Want to be a guest on the show? Email the podcast: hosewaterthepodcast@gmail.com

In Episode 3 of Hose Water, Hot Flashes & Bad Decisions, Karen and Paula sit down with mother-daughter relationship coach Erica Thomas for an honest conversation about one of the most meaningful, and sometimes most complicated, relationships in a woman’s life.

Mothers and daughters can love each other deeply and still struggle to communicate, understand one another, or move beyond old patterns.

Erica shares insight into why these relationships can feel so emotionally charged and what it takes to create healthier communication, stronger boundaries, and a more connected relationship.

Whether you’re a mother, a daughter, or both, this conversation may help you look at your relationship from a new perspective, and remind you that even deeply rooted dynamics can change.

Join us for plenty of insight, relatable moments, and the kind of honest conversation women are often having behind closed doors.

This week, Karen and Paula are joined by Lauren Tetenbaum, author of Millennial Menopause, for a funny and nostalgic conversation about the fashion, television, and cultural trends that shaped our generations, and the ones somehow finding their way back into our lives today.

From jelly shoes and the styles we once swore we would never wear again to the television shows that had everyone talking the next morning, we look at how trends disappear, return, and sometimes make us question whether they should have stayed in the past.

Lauren also shares insights from Millennial Menopause as we compare generational experiences, explore the strange cycle of nostalgia, and talk about what happens when younger generations discover the things we already lived through.

It’s a lively trip through pop culture, questionable fashion choices, and the trends that prove everything eventually comes back around, whether we’re ready for it or not.