Category: Just me being me

The Coronavirus: What I’m Doing

You guys, I’m all thrown off. I came down with a pretty awful cold last week, so that pretty much sapped my energy for anything other than just getting my work done. Then the poo hit the fan with the Coronavirus in Maryland. Starting this week, schools are closed for two weeks (possibly more). People are hoarding toilet paper, many offices are going to telework schedules, and people are being encouraged to stay home as much as possible.

As my friend Anna says, THIS IS BANANAS.

Needless to say, I’m stressed out. My shoulders have been living up around my ears and I have a constant ache in my neck. So, being the planner I am… I’m trying to reduce my stress by being super organized.

So, in case it helps some of you, here is what I’m doing to prepare/stay sane:

Cancelling Meetings & Appointments

Basically, any work meeting that would have taken me into the world (outside of the office) has been rescheduled for April. Non-essential appointments, like Jack’s orthodontist follow-up have also been rescheduled. Travis and I were supposed to have a weekend away at a Virginia hotel this month… cancelled. I’m still waiting to find out what is going on with my job and whether I can telework more.

Limiting Exposure by Quitting Public Transportation

I typically take the metro train to and from work each day, it’s an inexpensive and convenient way for me to get into and out of the city each day. However, for the next few weeks I’ll be driving. It’s going to cost a ton more money for me to park in the office garage each day, but it’s worth it to keep away from people and germs.

Stocking Up on Food

We typically order Home Chef deliveries every other week, but I bumped it up to every week through the end of March. Since we will be staying away from restaurants for the next few weeks, this is a nice way to be prepared without having to buy out the freezer section at the store. We do have some freezer options too, just in case. I also stopped by our local Aldi on Friday and stocked up on our normal breakfast/lunch/snacks food too. We should be good to stay at home for a while.

Scheduling Delivery Options

Once we go into what I’m calling ‘introvert lock down mode’, if we do need to buy something I’m planning to either use Amazon for a straight-to-our-door delivery, or the pick up service at our local grocery store. That way, we can reduce our contact with other people as much as possible. Social distancing is my jam.

And of course, we are washing our hands. A lot.

Do you have any recommendations for me to add to my list?

More and More Pieces of Me

I wrote Pieces of Me way back in 2012, but in a way it feels like it was yesterday. If you haven’t read it, I urge you to click through and check it out — it’s a more thorough review of my moles vs. melanoma saga. Back then I had four different moles removed and had resigned myself to the fact that I’d be getting annual mole checks the rest of my life.

Well, since then I’ve been sticking with my annual mole checks, except now my yearly checks have increased to every 8 months. My dermatologist takes a look at each part of my body in what I call the ‘worlds most awkward striptease’ and any sketchy looking moles are either photographed for observation or I’m scheduled to come back and have them surgically removed. Two weeks after each surgery, I return to have my stitches removed and get my lab test results.

Each time, my moles are considered between moderate and severe on the pre-cancer meter. Each time I am relieved to not have melanoma.

At this point I’ve lost count. I think I’m up to having between 10 – 12 moles removed? At some point, you would think I’d run out of spots. Right?!

Anyways, my latest round of stitches have come out. And I’m healing again. The scars this time are pretty gnarly, but they’re better than skin cancer. And eventually they’ll fade just like the rest of them.

So, 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.

My 2020 Goals

As I mentioned before, I don’t do resolutions. Instead, I like to pick specific and attainable goals to focus on for the year. I’ve been letting the idea of my 2020 goals marinate for awhile and I think I’ve finally come up with this year’s list.

Rather than choosing a word, like “Balance” in 2017 and 2018 and “Thrive” in 2019, I’ve decided to pick a phrase: “Do something about it!” This year’s focus is on being my own problem solver, not procrastinating and pushing myself outside of my box when necessary.

When it comes to my specific goals, here’s what I’ve come up with for this year:

Goal #1: To Get out of my Rut

Specifically: Plan a fun weekend each month of the year.

It becomes so easy to just work-work-work every week and then chore-chore-chore each weekend. If I’m lucky, I snuggle up on the couch with a book or a television show for a bit, but still… I get stuck in a rut. My plan for 2020 is to plan (and look forward to) one weekend of fun each month. I’d like it to be a weekend *away* each month, but I’m not sure if that is sustainable for the whole year.

My initial list includes: a weekend at Kingsmill to celebrate my mom’s birthday, a snow tubing trip, a weekend at my bestie’s house, possibly traveling for a conference, a trip to Universal Studios, beach weekends, and more!

Goal #2: Take Care of Myself

Specifically: doctor’s appointments, annual screenings, dentist appointments, massages, pedicures, etc.

I’m 42 years old, which apparently comes with a bunch of health-related appointments. Just off the top of my mind:

  • Annual physical – once a year
  • Annual OBGYN check-up – once a year
  • Annual mole check at the dermatologist – once a year, sometimes every 9 months
  • Annual mammogram – once a year
  • Doctor’s appointment/labs to keep an eye on my cholesterol – every 6 months
  • Dentist cleaning/check-up appointments – every 6 months

I feel like I’m missing something? Anyways, there are also extra appointments… like next week I get to have two more moles cut off and tested. Then I get to go back two weeks later to have my stitches taken out. If I have to force myself to get poked and prodded, and sliced and diced… I feel like I need to get some annual goal points for it!

The other part of taking care of myself is self-care. This includes hair appointments (cut and color), massages, pedicures and doing my own fingernails. These little things make me feel happy and I often put them off way too long. So my goal for 2020 is to keep up with a more frequent massage and pedicure schedule because it makes me FEEL good.

Goal #3: Improve Healthful Habits.

Specifically: increase our automatic deposits into our retirement accounts, drink more water, incorporate more movement into my day, pack my lunch, exercise, and learn.

Let’s break these into little bite-size goals:

  • Increase our automatic deposits into our retirement accounts: I’ve already taken the first step by having a call with our finance guy to discuss our plans. Increasing the monthly amount for our existing account was easy, as a verbal instruction was all he needed. Now, it’s on to the paperwork for our second account. It’s sitting on my desk and I’m hoping to get everything together and turned in… soon.
  • Drink more water: Why is this one so hard for me? I can literally go days with just drinking coffee and the occasional sip of water with meals, but I KNOW I need to get more water into my system. I have a big cup at work, so my 2020 goal is to drink at least that cup full during the workday, every day of the week.
  • Incorporate more movement into my day: it is very easy for me to sit down at my desk and not get up again for hours. Sure, my iWatch reminds me when I’ve been sedentary for too long, but I’m pretty good at ignoring it. I’ve decided to give myself a goal of doing laps around the office. I initially set 10 laps as my goal, but so far I’ve only gotten up to 5 laps. I’ll keep trying though!
  • Pack my lunch: I spend less money and eat healthier when I pack my lunch, so my goal is to pack my lunch 3 – 4 days each week.
  • Exercise: In addition to just being more active throughout the day, I also want to get back into a gym routine. I’ve already signed up for a 10k in April, so I should probably do some sort of exercise before I run it.
  • Learn: I am a total nerd and I really do love learning. I’m planning to continue checking out lots of random books at the library, and I’d like to take some lessons throughout the year. Maybe do an iSky visit and a cooking class (perhaps one with Jack too!). I also bought myself a ukulele because I’ve always wanted to learn how to play a stringed instrument, so I’m slowly learning how to play!

How about you…do you set goals or resolutions for yourself for New Years?