Getting Old(er), Changing It Up

My body is tired of some stuff, guys, and I'm going to have to do things differently.

Lately, whenever I wear eyeliner, I have to use eyedrops. My eyes itch, they're dry, and I just can't wait to take it off. Yes, all eyeliner. Yes, even THAT eyeliner. I've tried them all. And I LOVE how "awake" I look and how it opens up my eyes when I wear eyeliner. But I think I have to be done with it.

This week, I've just used dark eye shadow at the eyelash line, and, while it's not perfect, it's been fine. At least I won't have to worry about whether it's run or flaked off? Sigh.

Another thing is my hair. It keeps getting so dried out and I will find and use a fairly expensive shampoo/conditioner that I love... for about a year, then I have to move on because my hair goes back to being crunchy hay and it's just no good.

After three years of this cycle, I have actually purchased a product from an MLM, which, if you know me, you know I AVOID. My friend's house-cleaning wipes were a pleasant surprise, so maybe this will be, too.

Beyond that, I might have made a half-decision (like kind of made it, but not overly committed to it yet). After twenty years, I think I might stop coloring my hair. I am sure my hair won't take it forever without just falling right out. It's been a good, LONG, run.

I did take a two-year-break at one point because I was super heavy, and for some reason decided that not having red hair would draw less attention to my fat body? And I also decided that bangs might help me look cuter. IT. WAS. A. MISTAKE. If you're a person who doesn't have bangs, but you're thinking about getting bangs: DO NOT GET BANGS.

Also, "trying to look less fat" is a vapid and needless pursuit, but I won't get on that soapbox at the moment.

Anyhoo, the color wasn't bad, but I ended up going back to red a couple of years later (and after my bangs had grown back out).

The color I have now is fading so subtly, it seems like I *might* be able to just let it grow out? We'll see. It might be more noticeable when the roots are 2 inches instead of 1/4 inch.

Now... another thing. I love where we live. LOVE IT. That said, I don't think I ever want to buy a house again.

Last Friday night, at 6:48 PM, our lawn mower (a human, not the machine) noticed that we had a pinhole leak in the pipe in the ground right behind our water meter. We got it fixed quickly (yay!) but it was $400.

Tonight at 10, we noticed our air conditioner wasn't working. The repair guy came out, but guess what? It's an electric problem, not an a/c problem! The electrician can get here shortly after 10 in the morning, so it won't be *too* hot. But still. Ugh. Oh, and it was $150 for the a/c service call. For nothing. I mean, I guess we did get some information, And I don't begrudge paying the dude for coming out (with his wife in the car; she was his girlfriend last time he made a late-Friday-night call, back in September when we were at Disney World and my parents and D handled it).

In short, being old is kind of awesome, but comes with some "mature" expenses and weird body changes that I'm sure have only barely begun, since I haven't started menopause yet.

Good times.

Review: Clear Lungs Herbal Supplement

This is just a cut-and-paste is a review I left on Amazon, but I needed to share it with you! The link to the product, called “Clear Lungs” is here https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Lungs-Classic-Label-Capsules/dp/B00014CZV2: . You’re welcome. 

I'm one of those people that doctors constantly scold about over-using my Albuterol rescue inhaler. I do this because the maintenance asthma inhalers are ridiculously expensive, even on my insurance. So, though I'm typically skeptical of herbal solutions, between the effectiveness of Lysine when I feel a cold sore coming on and the strength of these reviews, I tried this.

I took it for a week and felt a little difference, but still had to use my inhaler twice a day (down from about 6 uses), first thing in the morning, and right before I went to bed. Otherwise, I was wheezing through the night. I decided to try to add back in a daily allergy pill (in this case, the CVS version of Zyrtec), which hasn't been effective as an asthma deterrent in the past. After a week, I wasn't using the inhaler on a daily basis, or even at all.

I have three cats, and I'm allergic to cats; I live in central Texas and between the "cedar" and other beautiful but pollen-rich greenery around here, every season is allergy season. But I'm able to do strenuous housework, go for a brisk walk, and even clean out the pigeon loft with the dusty straw and not require a puff to finish the task! It's amazing!

Two weeks ago, I went out of town for one night and forgot to take the pills with me. By the time I got home, it seemed too late in the day to take the pills, so I decided to wait and take them again the next morning. The following two days were BRUTAL. I sneezed, my chest seized up; it was actually WORSE than it had been before, or maybe that's what I had gotten used to? It took three days for the supplement and allergy medicine to build back up in my system, but now that I'm back on track, I'm NEVER going to miss another day again!

It's truly incredible!