Beauty Musings.

So it is a beautiful Friday morning but I am inside- sitting under a hair dryer while ApHogee 2-step protein treatment dries to a helmet on my head. Might as well put this time to work by updating my blog with some beauty musings that have been rattling around my head for a while.

Last night I hennaed my hair since it has grown out a good 1/4 inch since I did it the last time & the grays were getting distracting. I swear my hair grows much faster since I started doing henna & even though the henna makes it grow out sooner, the grays blend better (at least for a while) because the henna turns them into coppery highlights. My daughter is actually a little jealous of my grays since they do add so much dimension to my hair. LOL.

Today I am doing the protein treatment because my hair is just baby fine and can use the added treatment. The treatment is kind of a PITA since it does feel very sticky/gluey as you wait for it to dry & do it's magic. I buy it from Sally's Beauty- not exactly cheap at like $20 a big bottle & then you have to buy the special condition (2-step) too but it does make a significant difference in my hair's texture. It's also good to have a whole head hair dryer (got one for daughter since she likes to use curlers in her hair) for the drying process. Your hair will dry to a stiff helmet which can cause breakage if you try to bend it too much in this state so this kind of hairdryer seems to work best. The rest is rinse & condition which is easy.

So my various beauty thoughts.

*Really rather tired of my pant fit problem of late. Yesterday I hit TJ Maxx and tried on about 10 bottoms. I bought ZERO. I even tried on specifically made ones in "Curvy" fit (graphic showed a Kim Kardashian-esque rear) and STILL had significant gaping at the waist. I am guessing that I am a size 2 waistline with size 4-6 rear & thighs. =( It is very frustrating to not be able to find decent fitting bottoms. I guess I am just a freak-- or I was born in the wrong fashion decade. Still upsetting to see gutty women being able to wear pants (bulging out on top just because they can fit their pancake arses and pencil thighs into them.
*Along the same lines I was telling my daughter how I feel sorry for her generation because I am guessing the vast majority will have weight problems. Her comment was "I'm not worried because I will never let myself get fat." but I told her it will still affect her because she won't be able to find clothing to fit or have to pay an arm & a leg to have everything altered. Already have that issue with her- like when she needed black pants for Steak N Shake-- Kohl's had ONE pair of size 2 black pants that were appropriate. The black pants in the junior's dept. were all made super long flares which was against the dress code at SNS. We went to the girls dept and found size 16 ones that fit her but I had to take in about 2 inches on the waist to make them fit decent. Several years ago she was looking through my yearbooks and said "You didn't have fat people back then." I pointed out examples of what we considered "fat" back then-- I even considered myself borderline "fat" since I was stocky compared to my peers. Her response was "Oh, all of those would be normal now." That to me is sad. It is also sad that my 44 year old not perfectly fit body is often times in better shape than many of the "athletes" let alone the majority of her peers. Her work at SNS definitely has changed her mind about weight issues. She would often complain about the customers who were seriously obese requiring  5 or more refills of sugary drinks. Other times she would be melancholy that a "loving" parent would buy more food for kids that are already obese because the kids don't know the difference between hunger and being so packed with food one can't move.
It is truly an epidemic- recently our health insurance sent us notice of the latest premium increase- since getting it 3 years ago, the premiums have increased to over 33%-- that's absurd to me- how many individuals' had that amount of increase in their paychecks??? We as a family have not had a single sick office visit- so I know we aren't causing "increases in health care costs." I don't blame the insurance company, nor the government, I blame us-- I happen to live in one of the fattest states, one that has one of the highest # of smokers, and I have to pay for these people's poor health habits. I'd have no bitterness if they were even TRYING but here is a typical scenario I would have (even before my weight loss.) Football practice morning- ME-- running in the park while practice is going on. Another mom- seriously overweight- sitting on the bleachers. After I finish up, she says how she wishes she could do what I do- not saying she has to be running but she could have used the time to walk rather than just sitting watching me workout. It's when people don't make the connection that they can do something about this. We'd all be a lot better off if people started taking responsibility of things they do have control over. Not saying everyone needs to be a size zero but saying that everyone can make healthier choices-- rather than sitting on the couch watching TV- get moving & think about what you actually eat. A lot of times people will say "I don't eat much" but if they really tracked everything they ate/drank- they may be amazed at the calories consumed. Starting to think we need to start charging for health insurance like life insurance-- not saying that people who have some sort of health issue out of their control should pay more-- but those things that are within a person's control weight & smoking should pay more- maybe that would motivate change?

*EYEBROWS!!! This is a pet peeve of mine- see so many "commas" as eye brows, especially in young girls. Thicker eyebrows are in yet I see so many young girls with barely there brows but the worst of it is that they have plucked them into commas- thick dot & skinny tail. I may not even take issue with the over plucking IF they weren't true arches-- NO ONE HAS ROUND ARCHES in their eyebrows naturally. It just drives me crazy because these otherwise beautiful girls just look surprised and ridiculous. Like a beautiful picture frame eyebrows are important!!!

*I HATE ALL MASCARA COMMERCIALS/ADS--- most seem to have the model in full falsies while purporting get the look of false lashes with just this mascara!! Even when it's not full on false lashes they'll say-- "lashes added to increase lash count" & yet you can see that the length was also increased.  ARGH!!!!

*Nothing to do with beauty but really happy with our switch to just cell phones. Not a single political call. There are days when my phone hasn't had a call for nearly a week. So seriously did not need a landline. Only questionable thing is that my youngest had 5001 texts last month... apparently his friends are VERY into texting & happy to see him have that. My older son was in second place with 1500 plus, and daughter took 3rd with 1300 plus- I came in last with a measly 200 & some. LOL Came in second with minute usage-- daughter used up the most which was shocking since I am the one doing the "home" calls like calling the sewage co. to get adjustment when we water our lawn. Well, this is my latest installment of tidbits.