the new ‘do

It’s gone. No regrets!

Before:

And after:

Blown straight by my stylist

Air dried, as it will be most of the time.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had it so short, but I like it.  Still playing around with workout options. I think I may start wearing tiny pigtails!

hair today, gone tomorrow!

In most of my adult life, I’ve kept my hair layered, usually shoulder length or a few inches longer.

Hubby and I at a friend’s wedding, summer 2007

Usually I’d let it grow for a few haircuts, just trimming up the layers … and then I’d cut it back to shoulder length. Repeat.

But about a year or so, I’d let my time between haircuts go a bit longer than my usual 3-4 months, and likewise, my hair started to get long. I was enjoying it, though, and figured I might as well have long hair one more time before I deem myself too old for long hair!

The last time my hair was really long was my freshman year of college.

Why yes, that is the same guy from above!

Shortly after this photo was taken, I chopped it into a bob. Talk about drastic!

Well, I’m about to do it again. This is pretty close to what it looks like now. The photo is from November, so it’s probably even a little bit longer.

I’m glad I learned to French braid my own hair when I was a kid, it’s been the best way to keep it out of my way when working out. It’s been fun, but it’s starting to get annoying. I’m ready to let it go.

When I decided to grow my hair out, I knew I would chop it all when it got long enough.

I’m going to donate it.

I haven’t decided where I’ll send it yet. I know about Locks of Love and Pantene Beautiful Lengths.  Any others I should look into?

I’ve got a haircut scheduled for tomorrow.  I may wind up having to cut it a little shorter than I want to make sure my donation is long enough … but it’s just hair, right?

It’ll grow back!

what’s wrong with your face?

OK, nobody has actually said that.

But I feel like that’s what people are thinking whenever I’m in a well-lit room.

It started with a little redness in early March, and kept getting more noticeable, at least to me (my husband said he never noticed anything until I pointed it out). Fortunately I already had a dermatologist appointment scheduled for a skin check. At that point, the rash was itchy and felt warm.

The doctor thought it looked like an allergic reaction, or possibly rosacea. She treated it as an allergy and prescribed an ointment for me to use for a week. I stopped using all but the gentlest hypoallergenic products on my face,  limited  to cleanser and moisturizer. No make-up, too!

During the week with the ointment, it still was red … but at least the itching stopped. By the time I got to my follow-up two weeks after the initial appointment, the redness had gone down, too.  The doctor gave me clearance to slowly add products back into my skincare regime.

I started with my night cream for a few days, and then added back my Olay SPF moisturizer, both of which I had been using for a while. Everything was fine … for a few days. But yesterday I started getting red again. And today it’s probably the brightest it’s been, warm and itchy again.

I’m not normally a rosy-cheeked person. I’m really pale! Unless I’m running, then I turn bright pink. But I haven’t worked out today …

Still leaning towards a reaction, I’m obviously laying off my old face creams. I’ve picked up another sensitive-skin cream meant for babies, and found hypoallergenic shampoo/conditioner (which has fragrance added?  That’s a possible irritant, too, but I couldn’t find anything better in stores.)

I have a history of skin sensitivity — I can only use natural sunscreen or Vanicream when using it for days at a time (like a week-long vacation) otherwise I break out in hives/rashes.

But until now, my face has never had a reaction.

Then again,  I read somewhere that sometimes rosacea can present like an allergic reaction. And can affect the eyes — yes, I’m still having eye trouble — so that’s a possibility to.

I’ll give it a few days to clear up, otherwise I’m headed back to the doctor.

Has anybody dealt with something like this before?

sick

Or maybe it’s a sinus/allergy freak out.

Whatever it is, it caused me to skip a couple runs and accomplish pretty much nothing over my three-day weekend.

Unless sitting on the couch watching TV all day in my jammies counts as accomplishing something?

It started with a sore throat last Wednesday, which sadly is too familiar due to frequent sinus/allergy/post-nasal drip issues. But after my run on Thursday night, I also started feeling some tightness in my chest.

Friday I had a bit of a chest cough, and knew I should skip my run on Saturday morning.  I set an alarm just in case I felt better, and I actually had a dream that my cough was gone, but when I woke up it was still pretty bad. No running. It was really windy, anyway, so I bet it would have been miserable.

Sunday I was still a bit blah, but the cough was getting better. I went to my afternoon duathlon class as scheduled, and figured I’d listen to my body and only do what felt comfortable. I had no trouble biking and running, and wasn’t even that slow.  I was happy to get a good workout in!

I figured I’d clean or do some projects around the house on my day off, and maybe go for a run.

But then I woke up Monday morning. Ugh. Headache and super stuffy nose. Nope, I wasn’t doing anything, except use up all the tissues in the house.

I did have to drag myself to choir rehearsal that night, so eventually showered and got dressed. I sniffled and sneezed my way through rehearsal, but was surprised that I didn’t have trouble singing!

This morning was a little better, but still sick. Not sick enough to stay home from work, though. I skipped my usual Tuesday lunchtime yoga because being upside-down and stuffed-up sinuses don’t mix. I also skipped my run tonight.

The chest cough is pretty much gone, but I wasn’t ready to tackle the cold weather again. It also snowed a little last night, so the sidewalks and roads could be icy.

But that wasn’t an excuse to entirely skip another workout. I hopped on the recumbent bike and did a preset 48-minute workout (plus an extra three minutes because the show I was watching on my laptop wasn’t over yet). Not my fastest ride, but not bad either.

I’m hopeful that whatever it is that has knocked me down is on its way out.

As I type this, I realize I haven’t moved off my spot on the couch for a few hours now. Which means I haven’t needed to run for a tissue.

And I may not have sneezed since early this evening.

At times like this, I’d prefer a cold to allergies. At least I’d know it was really going away!

where have i been?

I can’t believe it’s mid-February already.

I’ve had a few jam-packed weeks but I’ve managed to hit most of my workouts. Without any big races until the spring, I haven’t worried too much about a few lower-mileage weeks.

I did just add a half marathon next month, so I guess I have to make sure I start getting in some longer runs! (I couldn’t resist.  It’s for a good cause, was only $15, and is on one of my favorite trails!)

So what have I been up to? Well, I spent most of last week looking like this:

Dress rehearsal. We later learned our headpieces could be pushed back a bit.

I sing with a choral group, and we put on the Sound of Music this weekend. I was just a random nun in a few group scenes, but it was a lot of fun! But it meant rehearsals every night last week, and four performances from Friday-Sunday.

I’m beat!

I still ran on Saturday morning (a 5K with a 2.5-mile warmup), but decided to sleep in on Sunday. I could have joined some friends for a run, but knew I needed the rest.

That was a busy week!

framed

I have poor vision.

I first got glasses to read the blackboard at school when I was in second grade. By the time I was 10, I needed to wear them all the time. My prescription got stronger and stronger through my junior-high years (because it wasn’t middle school way back then), and the technology to make thinner lenses wasn’t around yet. Or perhaps it was but cost more money than my parents were willing to spend on their growing child’s glasses.  I remember being given a limited selection of frames that could handle my coke-bottle lenses.

Glasses in the 80s were awful. And so was my hair in that time. Add braces, and my “awkward years” truly were terrible!

1986

1989

When I was 15, I was finally allowed to get contacts. Ever since then,  I have rarely worn glasses. Maybe sometimes on lazy weekends at home, but it doesn’t happen too often.

Just after Christmas at my annual eye appointment, my doctor noticed some irritation in my left eye. When I looked it barely seemed red, but apparently under the microscope it looked bad. Something that could become much worse.

She told me I couldn’t wear my contacts for a week. Yikes!

I fortunately got new glasses last year, and my prescription hadn’t changed.  But I really wasn’t used to wearing them. Since most people I know have only ever seen me in contacts, they don’t even know I need vision correction. So everyone I see asks about the glasses!

It’s also quite annoying to run with glasses. They fog up! Sure I’m used to wearing sunglasses … but you don’t become blind when you remove them to clean the lenses!

At my follow-up appointment this week, she told me it was OK to wear my contacts again. But after only two days, I noticed it was looking red again.  Back to glasses.

I have another appointment next week that’s supposed to be a contact lens fitting, but there’s probably a good chance it will become a medical visit instead …

So for now, this is me.

Not too bad. I'm getting used to them.

cashless

When I was growing up, my parents kept a tall mug on top of my Dad’s dresser. Whenever he deposited their checks (this was way before direct deposit!), he would take out however much cash they thought they would need until the next pay cycle, and stash it in the mug.

Whenever their wallets were running low, they would grab a few bills from the mug. Since there weren’t ATMs either, this was the easiest way to get money!

Nowadays, I carry very little cash. I use credit cards for everything, but it’s not a bad thing. I’m a responsible credit card user. I don’t spend more than I can afford, and I pay off my balance in full each statement.

Since I’ve been constantly training lately — meeting friends for a run, heading to the pool, going for a ride — I got into the habit of putting my  most-used items in a small change purse that attached to my keys. No need to bring my wallet and/or purse, I had everything I needed. License, credit card, pool pass and maybe even a little cash sometimes.

When I went on vacation a few weeks ago, I didn’t even bring my wallet, I just stuffed a few more things into my change purse.  I continued using this as a downsized wallet for a week after vacation, too.

Then last Friday as I was heading out the door for work, I pulled my keys out of my purse and it was gone. My little change purse wasn’t in my bag or attached to the keys. But there was an empty ring still attached where it used to be.

I tried not to panic as I dug through my purse and searched my car, carefully scanning the pathway between my porch and driveway.

I was pretty sure I knew what happened.  The night before, I had to pick up a few things at the supermarket. As I was leaving, I dropped my keys in the parking lot.  And after I picked them up, I held them in the same hand as my grocery bag, heavy with jars of pasta sauce.

If the drop didn’t break it off, it could have given way as I crossed the parking lot, keys in hand.

Rather than heading off to work that morning, I went back to the store. I retraced my footsteps in the parking lot and searched the lost-and-found, but it was gone.

At this point, I had been using my mini-wallet for a while and it was pretty stuffed. I knew exactly what was in there …

I immediately called my credit card companies (I was carrying both Visa and Discover cards) to issue new numbers.  (Totally quick and easy, by the way. Unfortunately this must happen a lot!)

Also lost: my FSA debit card (Can you believe charge $5 for a new card?), pool pass with four more swims left, a $5 bill, my ATM card, and a Visa gift card that still had about $85 on it. Yikes!

Once all the cards were taken care of, I headed over to the MVA (Maryland’s version of the DMV) to replace my license. Twenty dollars and 30 minutes later, I had a new license and headed off to work very late.

I had no money with me.  I did have a Panera gift card in my actual wallet (still safe and sound!) just in case, but one of my co-workers covered me for pizza.  My boss lent me $20 for gas to make sure I could make it home … it was going to be close! Of course I could have also gone to the bank and filled out a withdrawal form, but the branch of my bank nearest my office isn’t all that convenient. And the area is a little questionable. And there are usually long lines with people cashing their checks on Fridays …

At least my husband’s ATM still worked so we could get some cash for the weekend, but we had no credit cards since we use joint accounts. D’oh!

And then on Sunday, the supermarket called. Somebody had turned in my change purse.

Everything was still inside. Sure all the credit cards were canceled. But the $5 was still there. And even better, the Visa Gift Card! Untouched, still wrapped in a receipt as I left it. I’m thankful that it was turned in! Too bad it was found after I canceled all my cards, but I had to do it. Better to be safe!

We have survived all week without our credit cards. I can’t believed how unsettling it’s been. Not that I usually buy a lot during the week, but I like to know I can!

Thankfully, the new Visa and ATM cards arrived today. The others will be here soon.

Ahh. I feel better now.

getting older

I guess there’s no denying it. I’m a grown-up.

I own a home. I’ve been married for almost nine years. And today, I turned 35.

This birthday is harder than 30 for sure.  My 20s are far behind me. I’m getting wrinkles (well, some of them have been there for a while). And I’m thinking that those light hairs I’ve been finding might be white rather than the blond I’d prefer them to be.

But it doesn’t have to be all downhill from here … right?

I’m certainly in better shape than I was 10 years ago. I have a better grasp on who I am. I’m eating better and exercising more.

I’m happy. I’m healthy. I have a husband who loves and supports me. I am surrounded by friends and family that are there for me.

I guess things are pretty good. I just wish I wasn’t so old!

november wrap-up

I’m sure glad that’s over! Thirty days of blogging is no big deal. But 30 days of cleaning is pretty tough!

Actually, I only posted 28 cleanups. My family has been in town for a few days so I couldn’t work on any of my messes. But I’m getting close. I think I’m going to have to keep this going a little longer!

But not daily. I need a break!

a long day

I started my day with a five-mile run. I hurried home to shower because I has a lot to do!

After putting together a lasagna for dinner, I baked a dessert (so we didn’t only have leftover pie). We started snacking on cheese, crackers, chips and dip shortly before my brother and sister-in-law arrived with my six-month-old nephew.What a cutie!

We hung out, had an early dinner, and then opened Christmas presents. It was fun to celebrate early.

The little guy fell asleep and they packed him up and headed home. It wasn’t too late, but I was getting tired, too! I started dozing as we watched HGTV.

Nothing too eventful, but I had fun with my family.

Now, off to bed! I’m running early again!