Category: Just me being me

I’ve shared about my experiences about pre-cancerous melanoma cells a bunch over the years. Basically, my dermatologist does a visual body scan on me regularly and if a mole looks sketchy we cut it off and have it sent to the lab. For the past 11+ years, most of the time the test comes back from moderate to severe on the pre-cancer meter.

In January 2021, my dermatologist was concerned that a mole on my neck looked suspicious. As much as I tried to convince her it was just a shy introvert with bad people skills, she encouraged me to have it removed and tested.

After all the moles I’ve had removed, I was resistant at having this one cut off. Reason 1: I HATE anyone touching my neck due to a childhood surgery that left a very faint scar. Reason 2: My scars tend to stay bright pink for a while before fading to white and I was concerned that I would look like I had a hickey on my neck.

I did it though and she removed my shy little neck mole one year ago.

When I posted last, I gave you a 5-month update on what the scar looked like:

So, for those who are curious (and maybe apprehensive about having their own mole removed), I wanted to give you a 1-year update:

Here… let’s get a little closer:

Pretty amazing right?! I thought the scar looked pretty good after 5 months but it’s almost invisible after a full year. And as it turns out, when they tested it in the lab the mole was severe on the pre-cancer scale.

Consider this your reminder to please, please, please book a yearly appointment with your dermatologist to have your moles looked at. And tell your loved ones. And tell your friends. Because you might end up saving someone’s life. If I can influence just one person to go and have their moles checked, it will be worth it.

I last wrote a resolutions/goal’s post in 2020… and we all know how that year went. I skipped it for 2021 because we were still in the middle of the pandemic and I was just trying to keep one foot in front of the other. I’m feeling optimistic for 2022 though. We are all fully vaxxed in my house (and I get bonus points for being boosted) and we have a fun family vacation on the calendar. I figure I might as well write down some goals for the year.

Oh, and as a reminder I don’t do resolutions. Instead, I like to pick specific and attainable goals to focus on. In the past, I’ve also tried the whole ‘word of the year’ thing like Balance (2017 and 2018), Thrive (2019) and Do Something About It (2020… hahahahahahaha).

For 2022, I think my short phrase of the year will be: Small Steps.

There are literally dozens of quotes attributed to a bunch of different people all with the same theme: take small steps to add up to something big. And that’s my goal for this year. Taking bite sized nibbles towards my goals.

I have a few specific habits I’m hoping to start/keep up this year and I even made myself a little habit tracker to stick in the back of my calendar.

For 2022, I’m hoping to take small steps for each of the following habits:

• Use my Peloton app every day – I started this in December 2020 and have kept it up for over a year. I plan to continuing doing something on the Peloton app every single day, whether it be a cycling class, a stretch, or even a 5-minute meditation.
• Exercise 20+ minutes – This seems redundant to using the Peloton app, but this is actually a separate goal. Doctors recommend doing 30 minutes of aerobic activity 5 days a week. So, I’m going to make it a goal to do 20 minutes or more of some sort of aerobic exercise at least 4 – 5 days a week. This can be an active Peloton class, taking a walk around the neighborhood, or a dance party!
• Track water intake – My doctor told me yet again that I MUST increase my water intake. So, I recently downloaded an app called Waterllama to help track my daily liquids. I’ve noticed it helps me drink more, even if it is still very hard to get up to my daily intake goal. I’m planning to keep using the tracker for 2022.
• Adding the Mediterranean Diet to my life – I’ve been dealing with some health issues and the Mediterranean way of eating has been recommended to me by my doctors (again). So, I’m tracking each time I can incorporate a Mediterranean breakfast or lunch into my meals. Changing my entire diet at once simply doesn’t work for me, so instead I’m tracking little steps and trying to add better choices to my daily eating.
• Starbucks visit – I love a nice Starbucks run on a day that I’m working in Baltimore. It’s a great chance to get up from my desk and walk a few blocks to pick up a delicious drink (and maybe snack too). However, it can get out of hand now that I’m in Baltimore three days each week. So, my co-worker and I try to only go on ONE Starbucks run a week. I plan to track my visits for 2022.
• Avoid soda – I’m not a huge soda drinker, but sometimes I tend to get sucked into a soda kick. This will help me track how much I’m actually drinking so I can determine when I need to cut back a bit.

That’s it. Nothing crazy groundbreaking. I’m not looking to run a marathon or lose half my bodyweight. I just want to incorporate some healthy small steps that will hopefully become long-term habits this year.

Almost a decade ago, I got into the habit of posting an annual birthday photo. I have no idea why I started, but each year I enjoy looking back at a little slice of my life from the year before. I get all judgy with previous hair colors and take a close look to see if I’ve grown any wrinkles.

Looking back at previous photos to compare to this year is kind of funny. Thanks to the pandemic, I wear less makeup now than I did back when I started this little project. In my 30’s, it would be unheard of for me to leave the house without at least putting on some eyeliner. But now, I’m out and about with a bare face more often than not.

I take better care of my skin nowadays with a gentle face soap and a few lotions and potions. I’m back to dying my own hair because frankly I’m a control freak and was never really happy with the color my stylist would cook up. I feel like I’ve found my style – a mix of comfortable, professional (when I have to be), a little bit of edge, and a sprinkle of I-don’t-give-a-damn-because-I-like-it. And tattoos.

Sure, I still sometimes fixate on those jiggly bits and will never have that flat tummy from my early 20’s. But I’m mostly fine with that. I feel confident and strong when I crush my Peloton workouts. I mentally reprimand myself for negative self talk. I remind myself that I eat heathy for my body and my future. I focus on being strong and fit, not an unachievable goal of becoming skinny. I’m a work in progress.

And here I am at 44:

If you feel like doing a little clicking, here are my previous birthday posts: 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, and 36.

And just for funsies, here are my last 8 birthday photos. If you click through really fast, it’s like I’m aging right before your eyes…

This year I didn’t really do anything too fancy to celebrate. Travis, Jack and I had a delicious brunch and then we went to Ikea so I could make my walk-in closet dreams come true. My husband helped me carry multiple 79 pound boxes up to our second floor without any complaints, so that was a birthday miracle. My man hates stairs! In the evening, we had a wonderful dinner with my parents at a local restaurant, followed by ice cream. It was a pretty perfect start to year 44!