June 2nd, 2014

not a badge of honor

A sunburn is not a badge of honor.

Once it starts to get warm in the south, those tell-tale white lines start popping up all over. It’s almost as if by proudly displaying a sunburn, you’re proclaiming to the world, “Yes, I’ve been to the beach, I stood outside for that cool concert, I layed out tanning all day at my pool.” People compare redness and peeling and bemoan the burn, but they keep on doing what they’re doing.

And I maintain that your red skin is not a badge of honor.

Look, I like being tan as much as the next girl, and maybe even more. I was a competitive swimmer, for crying out loud, and I spent at least 4 hours every day every summer in a swimsuit in the pool. I had perpetual Speedo lines tanned onto my back that literally took years to fade after I quit swimming (not to mention goggle strap lines and a swim cap line across my forehead). And, to be honest, I sort of missed those lines and what they stood for.

I’m not sure I ever put on sunscreen once for a routine swim practice. I’d put it on at the beach (I think), but I still accumulated hours and hours of sun exposure.

Lucky for me, I guess you could say, I have a rather olive complexion that doesn’t burn easily, and I can only remember one time in my childhood and adolescence when I really had a bad sunburn. (I got the occasional pinkness, I’m sure, but as far as an all-out burn, only the once.)

I took a brief foray into the land of the tanning bed before my senior prom. I think I went a total of three times. And let me tell you, that shit is addicting. It’s so warm and relaxing in those beds. Which is exactly why I stopped doing it, because I knew just how bad it was for me despite feeling so good.

When I went to the Galapagos Islands in college my ears got sunburned. We spent all day on one of the islands with a desert climate. That night on our boat I was trying to watch a movie and I got desperately seasick. It was one of the rare nights of my life where I skipped dinner and I fell into a deep fitful sleep. The next morning I woke up feeling weird and my ears were hurting. When I went to look in the mirror, I had literal blisters on the tops of my ears. Blisters! I had never even once considered putting sunscreen on my ears–serves me right. I fashioned myself a goofy bandana + hat combo that I wore for the rest of the trip, and every since then I’m anal about putting sunscreen on my ears.

According to skincancer.org, that kind of brief, intense exposure to the sun is the sun exposure pattern that is believed to lead to melanoma. And it’s not like other exposure is good–the two most common non-melanoma types of skin cancer are directly correlated with sun exposure over many years.

Clearly I’m in great shape.

In fact, last summer my doctor referred me to a dermatologist over a mole on my back, which it turns out did have some abnormal cells. The dermatologist removed it, and it was not a melanoma, but it’s still not a good thing! (I like to joke with Andy that now all my abnormalities have been removed, so I am completely normal..right…)

So I wear sunscreen now. I switch to an everyday moisturizer with SPF in it for the summer and make sure that anything I use on my face has it, too. I reapply like crazy when I do go to the pool. I’m sure I could take still more precautions; the CDC recommends wearing sunscreen, covering up, AND seeking shade. (I do at least usually wear a hat, and I don’t stay out at the pool for ridiculously long amounts of time.)

Incidental sun exposure adds up. Sitting in traffic with your windows down puts a lot of rays on your left side. Over the past two weeks I’ve been walking to the MARTA station most days to get to work, and I’ve noticed I’ve picked up some tan from that. Everyday protection matters too.

But what’s really the worst is getting a sunburn. There are some good sunscreens out there these days. There are dry touch ones that don’t feel greasy, there are formulas for your face to keep you from breaking out, there are spray versions for when you’re at the pool alone and can’t ask someone to rub it on your back. I don’t really see an excuse for letting yourself burn, and when I see people with lobster shoulders it just makes me sad.

Because your sunburn is not a badge of honor.

June 1st, 2014

Sunday Funday Links

  • I’m definitely not suffering from burn-out right now. In fact, if anything, I’m in the exact opposite place, where I’m finding myself coming alive again in light of my recent job change. But it can’t hurt to keep these tips on avoiding burnout in mind.

What is it that you really enjoy? What could you do for hours, and even when you only get to do it for 15 minutes, it feeds your whole day? Those activities and practices that energize you, feed your soul, and make you more you are your non-negotiables.

  • It’s almost obligatory that anyone who lives on the internet will eventually share a post from Seth Godin. Here’s mine for this week.

Mass markets and math being what they are, it’s likely that many of the ideas and products you consume in your life are in fact, consumed because they’re the most popular. It takes a conscious effort to seek out the thing that’s a little less obvious, the choice that’s a little more risky. Popular is not the same as important, or often, not the same as good.

  • Food deserts are real and they make me sad. On an unrelated note (or maybe not so unrelated, now that I think about it…), hot cheetos were like gold at my middle school.

I didn’t know that it was a called a food desert, but I did understand all my students had for breakfast was hot cheetos. I used to blame them, think they should know better. Now I know better. Everyone is usually making the best choices they know how.

It doesn't even sprinkle well!
  • Gretchen Rubin, my spirit animal, says she went on a reading bender this week. I’ve been reading like crazy, too, and I love it.
  • I quit Diet Coke periodically. I haven’t had one right now in I think 2 weeks! For me the key was, as Modern Mrs. Darcy suggests, to stop buying 12-packs for home. I can have one occasionally while I’m out and that works okay for me.

Tweet, tweet!

May 30th, 2014

Things I Am Somewhat Obsessed With, Volume 4

  • This makeup alternative:
Physician's Formula Super BB Cream

I’d gotten really tired of putting on makeup, minimal as my routine was, and found that on the weekends I wasn’t wearing it at all and felt fine about life. I had seen this recommended in a magazine and finally picked some up. I love it! It provides a little bit of tint and coverage and also acts as a moisturizer AND it has SPF. Sold.

  • These shorts:
Old Navy Twill Shorts 5"

I bought a pair last year and loved them but kind of forgot about them during the span of year where I wasn’t wearing shorts. I popped into Old Navy a couple of weekends ago when they were having a really big sale and saw some shorts I liked on sale and then realized they were the exact ones I had on! So I picked up another pair. I have them in navy and grey and they’re just the perfect kicking around shorts–not too short, a little stretchy, and they hold their shape. (And, I’m sorry, but I think they look way cuter on me than on that model…just sayin’…)

  • This tea towel I bought at a neighborhood festival recently:
truth.

(Please tell me you know about Sweet Brown). It makes me chuckle AND it’s actually a really good, absorbent towel. Win, win.

  • This Etsy shop that I discovered at the same neighborhood festival:
Big Yellow Dog Designs

Her stuff is really fresh and fun. Pardon my French, but I love the to-do list notepad that says, “F***, you have a lot to do” and the “Cheers, bitches” bottle openers!

Next week I’ll have to do the household edition of things I am somewhat obsessed with. I’ve bought a handful of things since we moved that are little touches but really make life easier or nicer!

What are you digging these days?

May 27th, 2014

disparate thoughts on moving

Hello, world. It’s been awhile. In the past month-ish, we closed on our first condo, I left one job, started another, we moved, and Andy has been to Denver and San Francisco. Whew!

The house search process was, I have to say, relatively painless for us. I think the key factor is that we were open-minded and ready to be satisfied. The most important element for us was location. We had a fairly small radius of where we were willing to live, and it was of the utmost importance that we be within walking distance to a MARTA station (Atlanta’s public transportation) or the Beltline. We also wanted at least a certain number of square feet with two bedrooms. (We were open to either 1 or 2 bathrooms.) We didn’t want a single-family home because neither of us really wants to take care of a yard. So all that being said, there was only so much inventory even available to look at!

We looked at around a dozen properties in the span of about a week. The condo we ended up buying was listed on a Tuesday and we went to look at it that evening. We had seen enough at that point to know that it was the best thing for our needs that we were likely to find on the market. Plus, when we walked in, we both said WOW, and the realtor said, “I haven’t heard that from you yet!” We had liked a unit across the street so we were familiar with the comps and knew the price was reasonable. We basically knew it was “the one,” and we put in an offer that night.

Since we were only moving a couple of miles across town, we decided to move most of our stuff piecemeal via car and then hire movers at the very end to get the big stuff. The big advantage to this is that you can prioritize what you move and when so that you don’t have to go without things you need or want for hardly any time at all. The downside to this is that I drive a Honda Civic, so it takes a lot of carloads to move even a one-bedroom apartment. We did three loads together on one Sunday, and then Andy flew to Denver, and I tried to do at least one load every evening. (I did one in the wee hours of the morning one day as well and then went straight to work.) It was pretty exhausting. This approach to moving makes it feel like it’s never going to be done. But I powered through! The worst part to me is once the furniture is moved and you go back to the old place “one last time” and then the amount of miscellaneous crap you still have to shove in the car is somewhat overwhelming. The last few bags and boxes we packed were very, very random.

I’m in awe of the fact that we had all of this same stuff in our much smaller apartment, because our condo by no means feels empty. However, I think our stuff is more accessible now. Whereas a lot of it was stored before in out-of-the-way, hard-to-reach spots, it’s now all pretty easy to get to.

A friend of mine asked me what my favorite thing about being in our new place is, and I have to say I think it’s the little things: the pot rack that the previous owner installed and left here, the pop containers I finally bought and labeled for my baking supplies, the more powerful microwave, the bigger freezer. We have a little patch of dirt to call our own that my mom helped us plant, and our patio can actually accommodate full-size chairs, rather than the folding plastic ones we had on our old balcony. It’s really pleasant to sit out there. I guess maybe I’m subconsciously more willing to invest in the details because it’s our place and we know we’re intending to stay for awhile.

One piece of advice I would offer is to be patient on ordering furniture, especially when it comes to storage. I was all convinced we needed some sort of shelf or cabinet for the master bathroom until I actually unpacked all of our stuff into the numerous drawers and realized that we needed another shelf like a hole in the head. But on the flip side, I would encourage you NOT to unpack some things that you know will need a new home. We lost some of the cabinets we were accustomed to having in the old kitchen in favor of an open island, so I’m using what used to be storage for extra dishes as a pantry. I ordered a shelf unit to serve as the bar and hold glasses and servingware as well, but it hasn’t been delivered yet. So, I haven’t unpacked the boxes with those items in them because…why should I, when I have nowhere to put the stuff?

And my final observation is that, for goodness sake, it’s worth it to buy some moving “equipment.” Andy ordered some boxes from Amazon, and, while I didn’t think we needed them, there’s something to be said for uniformity and sturdiness. My favorite moving paraphernalia is the dish saver kit from U-haul. It’s a not-too-big box that comes with dividers and foam pouches for various sizes of dishes. I had saved one from when we moved before, and I went and bought a second one, and boy was it worth it. For one thing it helps you feel like your dishes are secure and won’t break. And for another, it keeps you from over-packing a box of fragile items to where it’s so heavy no one can lift it. I also spent like ten bucks on a roll of packing paper at Lowe’s that I really appreciated. It doesn’t have ink on it like newspaper, so you don’t end up with your hands smeared all black. And yes, I am anal enough that I smoothed it all out and saved it as I unpacked at our new place. But that won’t stop me from buying more the next time we move if I think we need it! I repeat: it’s worth it.

The only casualty of our move was a bottle of red wine vinegar that rolled off the top of a box literally as I was trying to wrap it so that it wouldn’t break on its trip across town. Well, and now that I think about it, I have yet to discover where my hairbrush is. (Don’t worry, I normally use a comb! I haven’t been unkempt.) All in all, I’d count that as a success.

May 25th, 2014

Sunday Funday Links

Happy Memorial Day weekend! I am enjoying a nice weekend at home and crossing my fingers for some pool time tomorrow. No formal festivities going on, but I am planning to eat hot dogs for dinner, so that’s basically like a cookout.

  • I’m super impressed by these watercolor flowers my friend Katie made. I don’t know if I have the skills to do that!

  • Your daily dose of cute

  • I’ve been suuuper engrossed in a few books lately, and as I walked home from the coffee shop where I’d gotten lost in the pages for 2 hours, I was wondering something similar: How do you hold on to what you read? Even when a book is amazingly impactful I don’t always retain it, and sometimes even my underlines have lost their weightiness when I look back at them later.

  • On a serious note, this article really resonated with me, and, judging by the responses on Twitter, with some other folks as well.

What I’ve had to say on Twitter: