It’s worth considering, especially if you have any type of respiratory health problems. Personally, I have a lot of trouble with my sinuses. I had surgery on them a few years ago, and that improved things, but they still give me a good bit of trouble. And my daughter has allergies and is highly prone to strep. As a matter of fact, she just finished a round of antibiotics for that very thing.

I never really considered the possibility that our pillows could be contributing to these things. Then I watched this video:

Now, our pillows are far from new. Hubby and I bought pillows for our bed about 5 or 6 years ago. He also uses a feather pillow that was handed down from my great-aunt to prop his head up due to his acid reflux, and heaven only knows how old that thing is. As for daughter, she insists on having her head propped up too, and the pillows on her bed range in age from 3 years to who-knows-how-old.

After watching that video, I’m ready to buy some new pillows as soon as possible. But after a while, they would just be in the same shape as those old pillows, right? Well, not necessarily. National Allergy makes some nifty allergen pillows that are designed to keep all that nastiness out. They have a bio-filter that keeps microorganisms from getting into or out of the pillow, eliminating the cause of infections and allergic reactions. They also have a treated cotton shell that prevents any of that junk from growing on the surface, and a membrane that keeps moisture (which provides an optimal environment for bacteria and fungi to grow) from entering the pillow.

I’ve noticed that my sinus problems and the daughter’s allergy symptoms are usually worse in the morning. I’d love to give these pillows a try and see if they make a difference!

It’s getting to the point where it’s something like this All. The. Time. And I’m beyond tired of it. Every time some small thing makes our lives a living hell, I think about how it would be totally insignificant if only we were rich. Of course money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can make life a whole lot easier.

I know my family is far from the poorest out there. But I also know it’s much further from the richest. While those with money are looking into medical travel to get the procedures they want done, we’re trying to scrape up the money so I can keep going back to the same so-called doctor each month and keep experimenting with substances that may or may not keep me mentally glued together enough to function like a normal human being. I know nobody said life was fair, but does there really have to be such a big discrepancy?

I guess that’s my rant for the day. Hope it didn’t depress you too badly.

It’s a good thing, too, because cigarette smoke really screws with my sinuses. I can tolerate being around one person who smokes on occasion (like Hubby). But if I’m in a room with several people lighting up for more than a few minutes, I end up in pure misery.

Hubby actually quit smoking for about a year and a half. But when things started getting ridiculously stressful for us, he started again. He never was really a heavy smoker, but since he’s been inviting various family members to stay with us who smoke, he’s started smoking more. He always goes outside or opens a window so it doesn’t get too smoky in the house for me, but I can still tell a difference in my sinuses. And it’s also made a difference in our bank account.

I’ve thought about seeing if he would try an electronic cigarette to help him kick the habit again. I’m not sure if he would go for it, though. The first time he insisted on going cold turkey, with only gum (and not the nicotine kind) to see him through the cravings. But I’ve heard good things about the e-cigs, and maybe they could help him stop smoking for good. Maybe I can casually mention them now and then and make him think trying them was his own idea. That could possibly work.

I really wish he would give them a try. Even if he had to use them for a long time, the refills for those things are much more economical than actual cigarettes. So Hubby, if you happen to read this, think about the money we could save!

I’ve also warmed up to that WWE game that I mentioned in a previous post. It hasn’t gotten to the point of addiction or anything, but I do need to stop playing them so much. That’s time that could be better spent on more productive pursuits.

Pumpkin has also been playing it a lot, especially the wrestling game. It’s getting to the point where I have to put limits on it for her. I wouldn’t be opposed to buying a Playstation 3 myself, but I’m almost afraid to because I’d have to spend too much time policing it.

I’ll probably just leave well enough alone and let her enjoy the PS2 in moderation while it’s here, and refrain from buying any more game systems. The ones we have don’t interest her enough that she plays them every day, so I don’t have to keep telling her (or myself, for that matter) to turn them off.

One of the reasons I can’t stand this weather is because I have to wait until Hubby’s truck is available before I can go anywhere. I’m a bit of a homebody for the most part, but I do like to be able to come and go as I please. And when there’s snow and ice everywhere, I can’t do that. My car is a rear wheel drive and sits very low to the ground, and those two qualities make travel in inclement weather dangerous (and often impossible).

They’re calling for even more of this junk this week, so I’ll probably be stuck here for the duration. At least I got out to the grocery store last night and stocked up on food. Pumpkin went with me, and she took some money to buy something. She found two Valentine-themed things she wanted, but when they rang them up, she didn’t have enough to pay the tax. I had already given her all the change I had, so I told her to keep her money, paid for them with the debit card, and wished her a happy Valentine’s Day. At least now I don’t have to worry about not getting out to look for gifts for her before the big day.

I was hoping to have a romantic evening alone with Hubby for the holiday, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. So I guess I’ll prepare the dinner I had planned for the two of us for the family, and try to get Pumpkin in bed early so we can have some time to ourselves. Oh well. Valentine’s Day isn’t the only day of the year you can be romantic, is it?

At any rate, I hope the snow and cold weather doesn’t produce any ill effects other than making travel hazardous. I think we may have finally found a way to keep our water from freezing (at least I hope it will work all the time). Now the big thing we have to worry about is all this frozen stuff melting too quickly and flooding the basement. Good times.

It’s really not a lot of work that I need to get done. But as you may have gathered, I don’t do very well under pressure lately. All I can do is suck it up and give it my best shot, but what if my best shot doesn’t cut it? Yes, I know I’m overanalyzing things and should just get down to business so I’ll have a fighting chance. But that’s not easy for me to do lately.

It’s too bad I can’t just make a trip to the nearest college bookstore and sell textbooks to make some extra cash. I could certainly handle that. But all of my college textbooks are long gone, and I’m sure they would bring little to nothing today even if I did have them. So I suppose I had better buckle down and get some work done.

I can’t deny that I’m impressed with the graphics on them. They’re much better than those on the old Playstation 1 WWE game we have. And I even tried playing it once. Not bad, but I just couldn’t get into it. I mean, pro wrestling is one of my guilty pleasures and all, but for some reason a video game featuring all those guys who are on serious hgh pills (or something like that) just isn’t my cup of tea. I’m more into the old Atari-type games.

BIL also brought one of those little plug and play games with a bunch of those types of games on it, and I kind of like it. I sat and played this pyramid game for nearly two hours the other day. But I even got burned out on that for some reason. Not a bad thing by any means, because playing video games isn’t exactly productive or educational.

He’s got a ton more PS2 games, so I’ll probably run across something I like eventually if he’s here for long. But I’m not going to actively seek something to play.

I knew I was doing a bad thing when I bought it. But it kept calling my name, saying, “Kriiiiiistyyy… take me home!” And I did.

Oh well. I don’t guess it’s such a bad thing to have a little treat every now and then. It’s not like I do it often, and I’m not so obsessed with my weight that I chase the cheese with a handful of the best fat burning supplement money can buy. (Still, it probably wouldn’t hurt to try such a supplement. Maybe someday.)

Other than my little cheese splurge, I’ve been eating reasonably well lately. Now if I could just make myself exercise, maybe I could get in better shape.

I need to buy some more acetaminophen, but with the big Tylenol recall that’s going on, I’m almost afraid to. I almost always buy the store brand, but I’m not sure if those are part of the recall or not. I guess I’ll have to pour through the website and see before I go to the store.

Personally, I prefer Aleve, but Hubby can’t take it. So when money is tight like it is right now, I usually buy acetaminophen. If anybody has any advice regarding saving money on pain relievers, feel free to share in the comments.

But things just didn’t work out that way. In fact, it seems that I’ve lost my focus altogether and this has become a rather general blog instead of what it was intended to be. I guess it’s because I ended up being less inclined to be a webmaster and more oriented toward being a writer over time. I like creating websites and all, but it’s turned out to be more of an occasional hobby than a passion for me.

Sometimes I feel like I’m spinning my wheels here. I guess I should probably try to create more content that relates to the site’s intended purpose, at the very least. Then again, it’s my blog with which to do what I see fit. So if I want to write about nothing but rubber chickens, I can.

I guess what I’m having here is sort of a blog midlife crisis. Just overlook me. I’ll get everything figured out in time.