Riffday: back to... um... normal. I think.

Nell took the early flight back to Seattle Sunday morning, Dean went back to work yesterday, and MadMax went back to school today.  So we are as normal as we ever get around here.

1.  I went to the doctor to get three moles removed today-- two on my face, one on my scalp.  She froze the one on my scalp, but the two on my face she ... um.... removed.  I don't want to get too graphic in case any of you are eating lunch.  It didn't hurt while she was doing it because of lidocaine, but now?  Ouch.  It's not horrible, just pretty sting-y.  And while I'm whining, with all the advances in medical technology, etc, why the hell hasn't anyone come up with bandages you can put on your face?  You should be able to buy them in rounded shapes in fair, medium, and dark skin tones.  3M? Johnson and Johnson?  are you listening?  There is nothing. 

Turns out I am surprisingly (to me) sensitive about this.  I am embarrassed to death to go out with these two band-aids on my face.  Which is odd, because I don't think of myself as being particularly vain.  I almost never wear makeup, I spend less than five minutes a day on my hair.  But it must be pretty bad-- I figured MadMax would make fun of me for being sensitive about it, but when I picked him up from school and told him I was embarrassed to go to the post office, he said, "Yeah, you probably shouldn't."  Ouch.  (Again.  but different ouch.)

2.  I've read so many New Year's posts over the last few days that I can't remember what I learned where.  But thank you to whoever turned me on to Fitocracy.  I've only been using it for three days, so I'm not sure how it will be long term, but so far it is fun.  You enter your workout every time you do one and get a point value for it.  Then you can work toward point goals, etc.  It's a very social network, but I'm not interested in the social part of it as much as I am the points thing.  That appeals to my OCD self-- I can totally get into working toward 2500 points by the end of the month (or whatever).  Oddly, my usual 45 min on the treadmill was 72 points, while the 45 minute walk we took on Sunday afternoon was 92-- seems backward to me since the walk was mostly on level ground, and the treadmill was done at 4-6% incline.  And then 15 min of yoga today was 58 points.  Really?  for yoga?  cool, because yoga makes me feel great but i don't do it all that often because I'm just not that motivated.  But for 58 points in 15 minutes, I might get a lot more interested. ha.

3.  Soft drinks.  At least three or four different posts I read were about giving up soft drinks, so apparently I am not alone.  So far I'm doing OK-- I had already cut back to not having one everyday, and that is probably the hardest part.  But I do get a craving for one with certain foods.  Since I'm already off caffeine, I think it is the fizziness I miss the most, so I bought some sparkling cider.  That works pretty well, but it may not be all that much better than a soft drink.

4.  Movie report:  I saw three over the holidays, and the Muppet Movie was hands down the best.  Unless you have muppet-phobia, you should really find a kid and go.  I borrowed one of the neighbors' daughters because MadMax refused to go.  Cute movie and surprisingly thought-provoking about what it means to grow up.  Sherlock Holmes 2 and Mission Impossible 8 (or whatever the number is) were typical thriller blockbusters, not a thought-provoking moment in sight.  Not worth it unless you enjoy the genre, which obviously MadMax does.  I enjoyed Sherlock Holmes more than MI8 because I like Robert Downey Jr; don't particularly care for Tom Cruise, and that's what MI8 is all about--the glory of Tom Cruise.

and that's it for me today.  I think we are finally done boxing up all the books.  It only took a week. :-)