Beauty

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette

Exactly!  Not only that, but the pressure from experts and friends will only exacerbate the problem.  I see patients every day who come to the hospital because they are simply overwhelmed.  All the pressure, worry, anxiety and stress turn into physical symptoms.

I started coughing a month ago.  At first I thought it was psychosomatic because I had spent a long time talking to a regular patient of mine who had pneumonia.  Then I thought it was a cold.  Then I entertained the idea of allergies.  Then I thought it might be dust in the house.  Then I decided it must be a reaction to mold.  Or it's lung cancer from inhaling whatever BH has been vaping.  If our windows are coated our lungs must be, too.

Have I seen a doctor?  Of course not.  I don't even have a PCP and I'm still getting bills for my broken hand.

I think a lot of it is stress-related.  Work has been crazy busy (no pun intended) and I can't relax at home because I feel like I have an urgent project to complete -- and there's an enormous emotional factor involved.

But then there's another side of this.  The majority of people I've lost that I've cared about had heart issues.  The last thing you need is stress.  The last thing I need is to hear is that you aren't well.

I'm not the biggest proponent of pharmaceuticals but sometimes a pill really does make a difference.  You can't reduce your stress if you have this condition hanging over your head like a Dutch oven.

What if you start the medication while you're addressing all the things you need to do? 

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@just bee

This is me—well, except for the details about your work and personal life.

I’m a worrier.  I always have been.  I invent things to worry about because I don’t seem to be happy if my life is going smoothly.  I worry about my worrying.  Then, I wonder why I’m stressed, and worry about being stressed.  The OG never could quite understand this because he wasn’t this way, but he accepted it and over the years helped me to deal with it.  Just having him around calmed me to a certain extent.  Nobody else does this.  They just expect me to “deal with it”.  “It’s life, I don’t understand why that bothers you”, etc.

I’m not a fan of pharmaceuticals either, but the quarter-milligram tranquilizer I take every few nights helps me to at least get some sleep that night and I can deal with life better the next day.  I’ve considered the same—to try some drugs and see what happens.  Because, as you say, most of the people closest to me have passed because of heart problems.  Now I’m worried about my own heart.  Don’t misunderstand—it’s not the dying that bothers me, it’s the all the stuff that precedes that, the length of time that all takes, and not to mention the critters that I am responsible for.

I know I’m inventing my own problems.  My rational mind keeps telling my emotional mind this all the time, but it seems to be losing ground lately.  So I have decided to wait until my doctor appointment in June and see what happens then.  Of course, until then I will worry myself sick about what he is going to say...😬😄

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@geezerette

Ditto.  I feel the extra pressure because I'm the one who worries and feels responsible for everything and everybody.  BH is the opposite.

His truck is dying and he's not worried.  I'm worried.  I'm worried that it's going to die in traffic on the way to the mechanic.  That's why I told him that he can't take it in unless it's my day off and I'm in my car following in case the truck dies en route resulting in a fiery five-car pileup.

I'm not a pessimist.  In fact, I'm an optimist.  I believe that anything is possible.  It's just that I believe it's probably going to be the worst thing.

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@just bee

This absolutely convinced me we were separated at birth, for sure!  And it’s probably why we hooked up with guys that were the opposite from us. Can you imagine living with someone who thought just like you do?  I can’t.  I would be absolutely paralyzed with worry and fear.  (Sort of like now.)😆

I can so relate to the truck thing.  The battery in one of my cars just died.  Luckily it was sitting in my driveway at the time.  A friend replaced it for me and the car seems to run fine now.  But I have to go to town later so I’ve been out there at least twice this morning to see if the thing will start, just knowing that I’ll get to the grocery store with all my perishables and get stranded with a car that won’t start.  If only I could use this imagination for something productive! 

I do have to admit that you were smarter than me, though.  You picked a young cub.  (Pun intended.⚾️)   Maybe it’s a good thing he doesn’t take your worries seriously.  Or, maybe, when he gets stranded on the way to the mechanic, it will teach him a lesson.🔧

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette

Ditto.  I feel the extra pressure because I'm the one who worries and feels responsible for everything and everybody.  BH is the opposite.

His truck is dying and he's not worried.  I'm worried.  I'm worried that it's going to die in traffic on the way to the mechanic.  That's why I told him that he can't take it in unless it's my day off and I'm in my car following in case the truck dies en route resulting in a fiery five-car pileup.

I'm not a pessimist.  In fact, I'm an optimist.  I believe that anything is possible.  It's just that I believe it's probably going to be the worst thing.

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@just bee

This absolutely convinced me we were separated at birth, for sure!  And it’s probably why we hooked up with guys that were the opposite from us. Can you imagine living with someone who thought just like you do?  I can’t.  I would be absolutely paralyzed with worry and fear.  (Sort of like now.)😆

I can so relate to the truck thing.  The battery in one of my cars just died.  Luckily it was sitting in my driveway at the time.  A friend replaced it for me and the car seems to run fine now.  But I have to go to town later so I’ve been out there at least twice this morning to see if the thing will start, just knowing that I’ll get to the grocery store with all my perishables and get stranded with a car that won’t start.  If only I could use this imagination for something productive! 

I do have to admit that you were smarter than me, though.  You picked a young cub.  (Pun intended.⚾️)   Maybe it’s a good thing he doesn’t take your worries seriously.  Or, maybe, when he gets stranded on the way to the mechanic, it will teach him a lesson.🔧

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@geezerette

Well, the best laid plans and all that.  I suspect the reason BH is so gung-ho about getting things in order is that he isn't in tip-top shape.  I'd mentioned the circulation issues and I think those are related to the foot surgery he had when we were first dating.  To repair the foot he all but lost after a motorcycle accident.  The one that happened when he collided with a fire engine on his way to the bike mechanic.

I think I see a pattern here.

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette

Ditto.  I feel the extra pressure because I'm the one who worries and feels responsible for everything and everybody.  BH is the opposite.

His truck is dying and he's not worried.  I'm worried.  I'm worried that it's going to die in traffic on the way to the mechanic.  That's why I told him that he can't take it in unless it's my day off and I'm in my car following in case the truck dies en route resulting in a fiery five-car pileup.

I'm not a pessimist.  In fact, I'm an optimist.  I believe that anything is possible.  It's just that I believe it's probably going to be the worst thing.

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@just bee

This absolutely convinced me we were separated at birth, for sure!  And it’s probably why we hooked up with guys that were the opposite from us. Can you imagine living with someone who thought just like you do?  I can’t.  I would be absolutely paralyzed with worry and fear.  (Sort of like now.)😆

I can so relate to the truck thing.  The battery in one of my cars just died.  Luckily it was sitting in my driveway at the time.  A friend replaced it for me and the car seems to run fine now.  But I have to go to town later so I’ve been out there at least twice this morning to see if the thing will start, just knowing that I’ll get to the grocery store with all my perishables and get stranded with a car that won’t start.  If only I could use this imagination for something productive! 

I do have to admit that you were smarter than me, though.  You picked a young cub.  (Pun intended.⚾️)   Maybe it’s a good thing he doesn’t take your worries seriously.  Or, maybe, when he gets stranded on the way to the mechanic, it will teach him a lesson.🔧

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@geezerette

Well, the best laid plans and all that.  I suspect the reason BH is so gung-ho about getting things in order is that he isn't in tip-top shape.  I'd mentioned the circulation issues and I think those are related to the foot surgery he had when we were first dating.  To repair the foot he all but lost after a motorcycle accident.  The one that happened when he collided with a fire engine on his way to the bike mechanic.

I think I see a pattern here.

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@just bee

😱  Not good.

[PAlady]

just bee - DH used to travel a lot for work, his flights did not come in until 11:00 at night.  He was famous for letting his gas tank get down to E.  He would always laugh and say he would call me if he ran out of gas.  I put him on my AAA card and never looked back.  He could call them if he ran out of gas, not me.

[just bee]

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@PAlady wrote:

just bee - DH used to travel a lot for work, his flights did not come in until 11:00 at night.  He was famous for letting his gas tank get down to E.  He would always laugh and say he would call me if he ran out of gas.  I put him on my AAA card and never looked back.  He could call them if he ran out of gas, not me.

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@PAlady

Ha!  I put BH on mine, too!  In fact, I got him to switch both his car and our home insurance to AAA.  Just this year I realized that we could get discounts on our insurance that we'd never taken advantage of.  Like, if you're a Costco member, an RN or a member of some professional organization.

My stepfather was a AAA member and I've been one since I was a teenager.  One of the many things I learned from my stepfather was this: NEVER allow your fuel gauge to fall below a quarter of a tank.

And I don't.  BH frequently waits for the fuel indicator light to remind him.

Oh -- and we made it to the mechanic this morning without incident.  The best part was that the office had a Boxer.  I do like a business that has a resident beast.

[just bee]

Sad news from Australia.  Number 16, a trapdoor spider who was monitored for years by scientists, was killed by a wasp sting.  She was 43.

Number 16

1974-2016

It's not known when Number 16 passed away, but it was sometime during that year.

"On 31 October 2016 we found that the lid of the burrow of the oldest spider, #16, had been pierced by a parasitic wasp." 

"Having been seen alive in the burrow six months earlier, we therefore report the death of an ancient G. villosus mygalomorph spider matriarch at the age of 43."

Godspeed.

(I'd post a photo but I suspect not everyone is a spider fan.)

[KaySD]

@just bee, a good curry is worth it. Plus we'd miss you if you had to spend the rest of your life in the slammer.

Some time ago, I made a list of all the recurring items I use. Not food, but household, personal care, beauty. It was a longer list than I expected! But all things I actually do use and replace. Then I decided how much I needed to keep on hand, or in other words, what would trigger me to buy more. Often it was opening the last and only spare. Each month, I'd just look at the list and place an order for everything that had hit the threshold.

Well, the list keeps changing, of course, and I don't always stick to the once a month thing (darn amazon prime), and I do sometimes buy multiples to get a better price. But overall, this approach has worked very well for me. I don't even have to look at the list much anymore. I just know that if it's something I decided I only need one spare of, and I have that spare, I don't buy it. 

Makes me me feel quite organized and in control. Even if that's an illusion...

Beauty products are the hardest, because there are so many shiny new things to try. I had it all pared down to a set of things I used every day. Then one got discontinued and I had to hunt for a replacement. Then they reformulated one and I didn't like it any more. Then I saw something new I just HAD to try. Then I got a bunch of things as a gift. Then I got some things for a trip. And there are all those samples...

And so so it goes, and I now have a lifetime supply of eye shadows, face masks, and tiny packets of who knows what.

But minimal dish soap, coffee filters, and floor polish.

Could be worse.