Thursday, February 3, 2022

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? I'm having a cup of Dunkin with my usual scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. I need to get some more of that Colectivo that I had last month. I love our coffee chats because it's a great opportunity for all of us to talk about things in our lives outside of running. This month I have a lot to share, so let's get to it!

If we were having coffee... I'd ask if you were playing Wordle. Don't tell me you haven't heard about it! It's a daily puzzle where you have to guess a 5 letter word in 6 tries. I love word games--I'm addicted to Words with Friends--and this is right up my alley. What's nice about it too is that it isn't an app--it's just available on the internet and you get one puzzle a day. For now anyway. Apparently, the New York Times bought it. I'm sure they'll be charging us to play eventually like they do with their other games. 

If we were having coffee... I'd tell you that this week I received an email that InknBurn is going out of business. I was shocked! It seems like they've been picking up steam over the past couple of months, churning out new designs like crazy. The story is that their rent skyrocketed and the owner is planning on launching a new clothing business. Something feels off and my spidey senses are tingling. I think there's more to the story--I mean, why not find a new space or look for a buyer for the business? I'm certain that the resale market will stay strong. However, I'm grateful that I've already thinned my INB collection. 

If we were having coffee... along those same lines, I'd tell you that my favorite CBD company, ChilWellness, has gone dark. I received a cryptic email a few weeks ago that they were working on 'something new'. I really like their products and was so sad to see this. My son is having some issues with his shoulder and he wanted some of that magical CBD salve I love. Fortunately, I found what appears to be a worthy substitution and ordered it for him. Let's see how he likes it. 

If we were having coffee...maybe you'd notice something different about me. I'd tell you about my recent eye surgery.

Over the past decade, I've progressively developed significant sagging in my upper eyelids. It was starting to affect my vision, not to mention causing a dramatic change in my appearance. I started to hate looking at myself in the mirror, asking myself: Who is that old lady, and what did you do with Wendy? I knew it was only going to get worse and with a big birthday coming up this year, I decided it was time to do something about it.

After doing my homework, I finally got up the courage to consult with an oculoplastic surgeon--this is an ophthalmologist who is trained to do corrective surgery on the area around the eyes. He told me I had ptosis, which is sagging of the eyelid muscles, most likely due to 45 years of wearing hard contact lenses. as well as genetics. Menopause hasn't helped, either. I agreed to a repair of the muscles and removal of the excess eyelid skin. He also realigned my eyebrows, which had become uneven due to the weak muscles. The repair took about an hour and was an outpatient procedure done in his office. I had minimal pain after, which responded nicely to Tylenol. I did have a significant amount of bruising and swelling, along with blurred vision, and I took about 10 days off work to recover. The bruises are fading, the swelling is receding, and the stitches are out. Although it's still early, I could not be more thrilled with the preliminary results. I don't look dramatically different, in fact, you might not notice it at all. 

I wasn't sure if I wanted to share my experience so publicly, but I thought there might be someone out there who is going through something similar or is considering this surgery. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or want to learn more about my experience. 

What would you tell me over coffee? Are you playing Wordle? Have any of your favorite brands gone out of business? I see that Skirt Sports is back and better than ever! Do you have any questions about my surgery?

I'm linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date and with the ladies of Fit Five Friday:  DarleneMichelleReneeJenn, and Zenaida.

39 comments :

  1. Well, you know I might overshare sometimes -- and for the same reason. You never know who you'll help.

    Hard contacts? Wow! While I've been wearing contacts about 37 years, they are soft -- I can't imagine hard contacts. Glad everything went so well for you, Wendy. I was born cross eyes, so I've had eye surgery twice (the second was for a lazy eye) -- I don't remember the first, though, obviously. I do remember the second; I was about 12!

    My guess is that Wordle will not remain free forever now that the NYT owns it. Nope, i don't play it. I probably should.

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    1. Who knew that hard contacts were so destructive to the eye musculature? I haven't put them back in yet--my eyes are still pretty dry. Plus I have to learn a new method to take them out.

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  2. I'm so glad you are on the upswing from the surgery and that you're already seeing good results. That's so crazy about INB. They for sure could've sold that company. Balega was sold and the ambassador program vanished just like that. Sigh. Yes, I've never been a SS fan but wonderful things are happening there now!

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  3. I wouldn't say I'm addicted by any means, but I do love word games, and as you know, I started playing Wordle last week. Today's word? JESUS (that's not today's word, for those of you who think I just spoiled it for you)! I got the middle three letters correct on the first try, and it still took me 6 tries to get it right!!!

    My aunt had the same surgery done a couple of years ago - her eyelids were sagging so much, it was affecting her vision. I'm glad your recovery and healing has gone smoothly.

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    1. I sure didn't want to get to that point. My eyelids were sagging pretty badly already!

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  4. Of course I'm All In on Wordle. I don't know if I should share this or not, but if you google Wordle archive you can get all of the puzzles. One Wordle a day is amazing, more than that is less so but now that I've started I won't be able to stop until I've caught up.

    My two cents is that as long as you're comfortable sharing your surgery experience==>you SHOULD share it! I would bet that a lot of people have this issue and don't know that it can be fixed.

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  5. Yep, I am hooked on Wordle. I love that it’s once a day. I’m worried about the NYT buy, but it’s great for the Wordle creator who was struggling to manage the crazy popularity!

    I’m glad your eye surgery went well. I’m so anxious about things like that!

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    1. I think we all know that NYT will add Wordle to its repertoire!

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  6. I'm completely addicted to Wordle and so disappointed the NYTimes buy :(

    I felt the same way about the INB email - something doesn't add up. I have a healthy supply of ChilWellness so I hadn't noticed they've gone dark - that's a bummer. Keep me posted on whether you like the substitute you found.

    I'm so glad to hear that your surgery and recovery went well.

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    1. Stay tuned. Chil Wellness promises they haven't gone away. But it's always good to have a backup plan.

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  7. That's exciting about the surgery, as it's something you've been wanting for a while. Glad everything went well. Eventually- when everything is healed and if you feel like it- I would love to see before and after pictures. I can't believe you've been wearing hard contacts all these years! I would think they're uncomfortable- I wear soft and even they are getting more and more uncomfortable as the years go on.
    I'm laughing so hard at "wordle is the sourdough starter of omicron." Yes... 2019 self would be saying "what in the world???"

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    1. I will share photos once i'm completely healed. But one of my coworkers told me I look so much younger--10 years younger, she said, that i'm going to hold on to that!

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  8. I believe my mom had a similar surgery a few years ago. Hope you heal quickly and get the results you are looking for. I was surprised to see that Inkburn was going out of business too. I only have a few pieces but they are fun. Laughing at that tweet so true!

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  9. My mother in law had a similar surgery, though I think hers was primarily cosmetic, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I'd be interested in the same, I've always had droopy lids. Anyways, I hope your recovery is smooth. It might be interesting to do a 'tell-all' post that shows the bruising? so that others know what to expect. 10 days away from the office might be hard- could you have worked if you wanted to, or did you have to take time off?

    I love Wordle! I really hope that the NYT keeps it with one word a day, that's part of the fun!

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    1. It was great to be away from the office for 10 days. My partners covered for me and I did absolutely NOTHING. Cocoa is still sad that I went back to work, lol

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  10. I confess, I have never heard about Wordle. I know, I am missing many good things in my life!
    Glad that the surgery and the recover went well.
    Have a great week end!!!!

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    1. Wordle is definitely an American phenomenon! And like everything here, it will burn out soon...

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  11. I just played my first Wordle game yesterday and thought it was pretty fun. I figured I might as well try it now that it's still free as I'm sure NYT will charge a fee for it eventually.

    So happy to hear that your eye surgery went well and that you are loving the results so far!

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  12. You and Coco were the first two I thought of when I read about InkNBurn.

    I wondered about the surgery when you posted on IG. Glad it was a relatively quick recovery and you're already seeing improvement. LOL on Worlde/Omicron starter. It's so fun even though I hate hate hate mastermind.
    Starbucks peppermint mocaha and regular dunkin in my cup this morning, which reminds me I need a refill. I got CBD salve in the Malibu bib pickup and it's so nice not to smell like a medicine chest, even though I don't feel a difference.

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    1. I need to hook you up with the good stuff! I'm a huge fan of my CBD salve, but as you learned, they aren't all alike!

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  13. The eye surgery sounds scary (anything eye-related creeps me out). If I'm ever restricted to presscription glasses, I'll be sporting the glasses themselves. My eyes are so sensitive, I can't fathom having even a tiny thin contact lense in my space, LOL. I finally did my first Wordle this morning...took me three tries.

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  14. I've been wanting to talk to you about the collegen you use and wondered if you noticed a difference. I found a container in my cupboard and decided I should use it before it expires..lol

    I am now intrigued with your eye surgery. I too wear hard contacts and have for years. A few years back there was another running blogger who had this surgery done. She doesn't blog anymore but you might know who I am talking about.

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    1. I don't remember who it was, but certainly i am willing to talk to you about the surgery! PM me if you have questions.

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  15. My dad had that surgery so I’m thinking it will be in my future. We had a patient in the ED that had that surgery and it went bad. The surgeon nicked something and she came to the ED with swelling and bleeding from her eyes. It looked pretty scary. We had to send her to another hospital to fix the problem.
    I work with the husband of one of the InknBurn designers and he told me a while back that they would be closing up shop. I don’t recall why. I’m okay with it though, I think I too have moved on.

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    1. Your story really reminds me of how important it is to pick a good surgeon!!! How on earth did that turn out?

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    2. I have no idea. That’s the thing about the ED, once they leave us we rarely find out what happened.

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  16. I like Wordle and I now play French and Spanish Wordle, too - really good for learning the common letter combinations. Well done on getting your surgery, that was brave and strong of you. I hope you continue to heal well.

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  17. I wrote about Wordle too! How funny! I had no idea you had surgery. Thank you for sharing it with us. I hope you heal quickly. I used to wear gas permeable lenses. Then I had lasik surgery but now am back to wearing glasses. I do miss having that "perfect"vision.

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    1. That's why I've never gotten lasik--my vision is so poor that I can't even wear soft contacts. They said I'm not a good candidate for it and would probably need to wear glasses anyway.

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  18. I'm so glad you were able to do something to make you feel more confident <3

    I love Wordle. It's the first thing I do every day.

    I was really surprised by Ink N Burn. It was a strange thing.

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    1. I think there's more to the INB story than they are sharing. It doesn't add up.

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  19. Thanks for sharing about the eye surgery. I kind of expect I might need that in the future. "Saggy" eyelids run in the family and I've worn soft contacts since I was 14, so I'm sure I haven't helped the situation. I'll hit you up if I think I need to look into it. Glad it ended up going well for you.

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    1. The most important thing is going to a good surgeon!!! Do your homework.

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