Thanks, Jay Z.
30s Life List
January Success: 30 days of no alcohol for this 30-something!
I cannot wait to kick back and drink a beer with my teammates after practice Thursday — my 30 days without alcohol challenge is complete (yes, that 31st day is a “freebie”). And I earned it!
This month has been nothing short of stressful: tryouts for derby and adjusting to subsequent practice schedule, medical issues and weird doctor appointments, planning and executing a friend’s bridal shower… I can’t tell you how many times I wanted a drink. And, considering that we never drank our bottle of champagne on New Year’s Eve (we didn’t drink at ALL, so technically speaking, I’ve already accomplished 30 days off the sauce), I’ve had to look at that tasty bottle of Rose for THIRTY DAYS. Down the hatch for brunch on Sunday.
The challenge was to get my head in the right place for the beginning of my season. I also need to find alternative ways to deal with my stress. If I had drowned my feelings in vodka then I likely would have been hungover or generally feeling pretty crappy and unmotivated to do HALF of these things. But I’ve had a clear mind and my body feels pretty good. It wasn’t life changing, but it was definitely a test.
More about my 30-days-for-2013 resolutions challenge.
Up next: waking up before 8 am every day in February. Yeah, it’s not 30 days, but we do what we can with the short month (I’m drawing in the 31st from January to make it at least 29)! This is going to be harder than not drinking.
30s Life List: 52 Books in 52 Weeks
Do you have a Life List or Bucket List?
I have a few items on mine.
One, is a goal to get back to reading. I love reading — or, at least I did at one point in my life — but I haven’t made the time to do so. In fact, I spend WAY too much time mindlessly trolling the internet instead. This, a shutdown mode of my multi-tasking brain in overdrive, which doesn’t allow me to watch a television show or movie OR sleep like a normal person. Ultimately, with my intent to return to school next Fall, I need to get my brain in shape.
Goal setting promotes motivation and focus. By setting clearly-defined goals, you can take pride in the achievement of tasks that initially may seem lengthy or impossible. As you progress through the steps of “goal work,” you embrace challenges and overcome obstacles, ultimately succeeding at something that makes you very happy.
I attempted the 52 books challenge last year, but derby responsibilities got in the way. I need to make time to unwind though even from that, and reading helps me do that. By this time next year, I want to have 52 books — of all topics, lengths and genres — completed.
I’ll be keeping a weekly log here (I also created a Google Doc) to help me track. I’ve completed my first book since Thanksgiving week (via Kindle), and halfway into my second (checked out from the local library). I read two books at one time; it’s weird, but I’m always getting ready to finish one while I’m already started into another. Remember that aforementioned multitasking brain? It’s a blessing and a curse. I like the convenience of bringing my Kindle everywhere, yet still enjoy the page turning of real books (book stacks and shelves make me happy). I can love and appreciate both.
Week 1, Book 1:
1. “My Mother Was Nuts” by Penny Marshall
I’m also in the middle of “Nixon’s Darkest Secrets” and starting Kelly Cultrone’s “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside” (should be a quick-and-easy read) and have two others that go back to the library next week on my “to finish” list. And another two just received from Amazon (I suppose these two from Malcolm Gladwell could wait a bit though).
Ambitious? There’s no other way.
51 books left to go!
More about Goals from a Psych perspective: The Paradox of Goal Setting from Psychology World — takeaway: don’t fear failure, and do your best without focusing on the results.
Please recommend a good book in the comments!
Have you had your yearly skin cancer screening?
It’s probably not a good thing when your dermatologist tells you, “Wow! You have a lot of moles!”
But, this is what happens when you get to your 30s after a lifetime of worshipping the sun. Thankfully, I stopped all that nonsense a few years ago. But as you know, the damage is done. Then, she proceeds to inform me that I’ll get even MORE spots before I turn 40. And then, that sun damage will start making friends on MY FACE. Groan.
I love my new derm, by the way — especially in the way she communicates the method of protection:
Abstain (stay out of the sun)
Keep it Covered (wear appropriate clothing)
Use Protection (SPF always; sunscreen in makeup is NOT ENOUGH)
In that order, to prevent skin cancer and sun damage that’s inevitably a part of aging.
Well… today is biopsy day. I’m having three “funny” moles removed — only one of which is a raised, somewhat ugly thing in my armpit (thank the Shaving Gods that I don’t ever have to nick that thing with my razor again). The other two: one is flat, under the skin on my belly and has an irregular border; the other, is almost black in color, which I never noticed because it’s practically under my butt cheek.
I had a friend some years ago who died too suddenly because of a skin cancer issue that was left ignored and untreated for too long. You’re NOT too young, so be proactive — ALWAYS get a yearly skin cancer screening if you were a Sun Goddess in your early years (or used tanning beds ever) and ESPECIALLY if a mole ever changes. Finding this stuff early is the key to surviving it.
And remember your ABCDs:
Asymmetry
Border
Color
Diameter
Evolving