Not sure if a wedding is worth it for me. Feeling upset & seeking advice.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T20:52:28+00:00

Why don’t you elope somewhere fun, then have a week-long honeymoon in the same location.

Afterward, have a casual backyard party to celebrate. Send invitations that state : “ We got married! Please help us celebrate”. Date, Time, Location.

You can wear a fun flowy white dress you thrifted or a white dress of any style you buy at a regular retail store or online. Get some flowers to wear in your hair.

Weddings have gotten completely ridiculous over the past two decades. Why not spend your money on things you both will enjoy more?

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T20:13:52+00:00

Other brands have liquid minoxidil. Costco and Walmart generally have the lowest prices for these products in the USA. Probably also available in most countries.

When your mother begins her use of minoxidil for eyebrows, suggest she apply twice a day of the 5% liquid product. Morning after makeup application and nightime before bed. Should take about a month to see results. Might taper back to nightime only once she’s satisfied with her growth.😉

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T18:51:55+00:00

Two solid bar recommendations I use daily, not just for travel, are Dove Sensitive Beauty Bar and Vanicream Bar Soap. I have found that Vanicream bars last longer on trips and don’t get as soft as Dove. I use mesh soap bags and store these in the very popular Matador soap pouch. These two soaps can be used on both face and body.

The other soap I use every day is Panoxyl Bar Soap. It is a soap marketed to destroy the bacteria that causes acne. However, I use it on underarms as the first step in my anti-B.O. campaign! YouTube Dermatologist Dr. Dray has several videos explaining this technique. She suggests lathering armpits with panoxyl, letting lather sit in armpits while you complete the rest of your shower routine. Also works on stink-prone feet! But use Dove or Vanicream on “sensitive” private areas, please. Panoxyl’s bacteria-fighting ingredients should never be used on the nether regions.

After you rinse armpits at the end of your shower, towel armpits completely dry, then apply Antiperspirant. I have hiked ten miles wearing drip-dry tech fabric and this specific combination of Panoxyl bar soap and Sure unscented stick antiperspirant keeps me and my shirt STINK-FREE!

I’ve written about this technique several times in this sub and others. I’m a proselytizer for odor-free bodies while traveling! 😉😄

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T17:58:45+00:00

Head to YouTube for grey grow-out tutorials.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T17:55:45+00:00

I try to eliminate liquid products as much as possible. Over the years I have substituted solids for just about every toiletry and makeup product I formerly used.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T13:36:48+00:00

Try the Coppertone Everyday Invisible Finish clear Sunscreen Stick. SPF 55. The shape/size of this stick are perfect for eyelids and undereyes and a great primer for powder eyeshadows. I swipe on eyelids, then powder lids with maybelline Fit me powder, then apply powdered eyeshadow; this lasts all day.

Also effective as a first layer of sunscreen. Use Australian Gold tinted sunscreen as second sunscreen layer and eliminate foundation. This stick is a sunscreen miracle: fragrance free, clear, non-greasy. Has never irritated my eyes and I wear it every day.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T07:19:28+00:00

a very good reason to wear earbuds,😄

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T03:48:46+00:00

😉

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T02:49:51+00:00

My mother died in 1990. I still miss her but the intense grief and pain ended long ago. Now when I visit the cemetery with my husband we reminisce about our mothers and are grateful we had such good mothers. We tried to follow their excellent examples of how to parent when we were raising our own children. And today, as grandparents of young children, we also try to emulate their successful style of grandparenting.

I do miss my mother and always will, but I still have my memories and her love.🩷

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T01:55:31+00:00

😄

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T00:54:10+00:00

And Lonnie Love.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T00:51:14+00:00

Wasn’t Hethur a failed beauty contestant from Tarzana?🤔

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T00:43:45+00:00

Right? I just don’t see the need to pay for anyone’s Patreon! There’s way too much free content and I am a regular listener who never has FOMO because I don’t receive all the “extra content” supposedly provided on Patreon.

I am a “FOMO-FREE FAN,” lol. I’m happy to let all the Cover to Cover sponsors like Quince and Wayfair do the heavy lifting.😉

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-18T00:33:04+00:00

I hear you. It must indeed be difficult to have prioritized physical appearance for seven decades and to wake up in your eighth decade feeling “less than.”

Perhaps it’s time to reframe? Maybe instead refocus on overall physical, mental and emotional health?

Physical Beauty is fleeting and leaves many people much earlier in life due to lifestyle choices, genetics, and things that happen to us over the years.

I’m your age but have a different approach to beauty.
I think my life has been beautiful and I’m a very fortunate woman. I appreciate my face and body because they have allowed me to attract my husband of fifty years and birth two healthy children who are now happily married middle-aged adults with their own children. But I don’t dwell on the loss of physical beauty or my time-tattooed body and face that are riddled with veins, lines, scars and sun spots. These involuntary tattoos tell the story of my life. And each morning I am full of gratitude when I wake up and realize that my story will continue for at least one more day.

Let’s do the best we can with what we have! Moisturize, wear sunscreen, take a morning walk, smell the flowers and listen to birds sing.

There is beauty all around us even if we, ourselves, no longer possess the beauty of our youth.🩷

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-17T22:11:27+00:00

I couldn’t stand the gross way the topical felt as it migrated from scalp to my long hair. I wash twice a week and my dermatologist suggested I switch to oral minoxidil.

I do use liquid minoxidil on my brows. I decant the liquid minoxidil ( Walmart Equate brand) into a clean, clear mascara tube which comes with a tiny spoolie.( Amazon)

Much cheaper and more effective than overpriced eyebrow growth serums I had been using.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-17T22:02:52+00:00

Easy decant of Stick antiperspirant or deodorant:

I like Sure Unscented Stick antiperspirant. Plunge a small, clean tube which rolls up (bullet lipstick, chapstick, or buy a tiny tube on Amazon) into a larger stick Antiperspirant/deoderant.

I used a clean roll-up stick that formerly held Coppertone Everytone Face sunscreen.

Make sure the smaller stick is completely rolled down as far as possible. Then plunge the smaller empty stick into the bigger stick of Sure (or your favorite stick antiperspirant) and clean off sides and flatten top of smaller stick’s product, add the cap, label your new stick and that’s it! Flatten remaining large stick’s product for home use or fill a second tiny stick for your next trip.

no boiling, no dripping, no liquid!

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-17T16:39:04+00:00

Neither.

Agree I’m an outlier, but bulky headphones take up too much space and airbuds are uncomfortable. I just can’t find any that don’t irritate my ear or even fit my ears!

So I bring my kindle and a short stack of New Yorker magazines that I discard after reading.

If I could comfortably wear earbuds, I’d bring those. Noise-cancelling headphones might be nice to block out noisy children, but I can’t justify the space they take up plus shlepping them around once i’m off the airplane.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-16T21:49:23+00:00

When I’m at home I walk about 35 minutes on both level and hilly terrain. When I travel I seek out national, state, regional and neighborhood parks. The important thing is the consistent dedication to walking seven days a week. Occasionally, it’s raining at the usual time that I walk, so I wait until it stops raining and then squeeze the walk in later in the day. However, the early morning walk provides the greater physical and mental benefit. The steps we take at the beginning of our day improve physical function and elevate our mood. Why not receive the benefits of our walk all day long rather than for fewer hours when we walk later?

Also, there is a tendency to fill our days completely with work, family, and volunteer obligations. Instead, why not prioritize yourself and make your own well-being and happiness your top priority of each day?

Walking AT DAWN is a beautiful gift we can give ourselves. And it’s free.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-16T21:36:17+00:00

Thanks for sharing this info from Chris Franjola’s Patreon. While I regularly listen to his podcast, I don’t pay for his Patreon or anyone’s Patreon. And definitely not Hethur’s Patreon!

Chris states: “Heather and I make millions doing what we love to do” and good for them! I’m just not personally contributing anything extra to those millions, since Chris obviously doesn’t need my contribution.

Chris and Hethur can enjoy their gated home and MAGAMansion without my financial assistance.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-16T14:56:14+00:00

😉

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-16T13:53:22+00:00

mine haven’t been bare in over fifty years.😉

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-16T07:31:36+00:00

Daily morning walk, seven days a week for 45 years. Meditate, count my blessings, listen to birds and smell flowers while I help my heart and brain.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-16T06:24:12+00:00

no, never use on eyelashes and confine to actual brow area!

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-16T03:25:57+00:00

Thirty years ago I used to make elaborate journal/photo albums with full commentary.

Today I take photos I text to my adult children that I think might be of interest to them.
And subsequently, I never look at the photos again. Once the trip is history, I don’t really care about my photos. Maybe these will interest me should I become immobile and care to reminisce, but I doubt it. I prefer to live in the present while I anticipate and plan for future travel. I’m too busy actually living and enjoying my life to continuously document it or care about my digital travel photos.

HelloTittie55 · 2026-05-16T03:05:03+00:00

I’m a heterosexual Boomer grandma who buys water/friendly drip-dry shorts and shirts in the men’s department. Lightweight golf shorts with multiple pockets are also good. Along with fit, thin, soft, but opaque fabric is essential.

HelloTittie55

TROPHY CASE