It’s gone. No regrets!

Before:

And after:

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!

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!

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?

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!