#27: Pay it forward.

Date Completed:  2/24/2010

As mentioned in the blog intro, some list items are lighthearted - others have more depth. This post falls into the latter category, and I’ll insert the following disclaimer:  I’m not a doctor – I just play one at work.  The statements in this post are personal thoughts only, but my hope is that they might help you facilitate conversations with your family members and medical practitioners at your personal discretion.  Many of you know that I’ve been on an adult wellness kick for years - I believe in a healthy balance of fitness, fun, food, family, faith and friendship.  I’m going to use this list item to “pay forward” some information I’ve learned:

Women’s Health

Ladies, it’s really important to stay current on your annual exams and screenings whether for cervical or breast cancer.  Neither exam takes more than 10 minutes and the benefits of early detection well outweigh the exam inconvenience.  Did you know that despite what you may hear in the media, most insurance plans still cover an annual mammogram for women who meet the age or family risk criteria?  Call your insurance provider to check.  Did you know that it doesn’t actually hurt to get squished?  Seriously, I stubbed my toe once and it hurt worse.  Did you know that according to the CDC, 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV with another six million new diagnoses each year?  Did you know that HPV is so common that at least 50% of sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives?  There are only a couple of strains that are life-threatening to women, but guess what – they can be found through a routine PAP exam with HPV test.  So please don’t put off getting your annual exam.  And if you, or someone you know, is age 9-26 (or even outside that range), talk to your doctor about the Gardasil vaccination to get the facts.  Insurance often covers the cost of this vaccination for that age range.  While insurance will not cover the price of Gardasil if you’re over age 26, you can pay out of pocket for this series of shots with your medical practitioner or local clinic.

Adult Wellness

Some of you may know that my father was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 33.  He was given six months to live at that time and miraculously survived another 36 years.  Did you know that CDC facts state that of cancers affecting both men and women, colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the U.S.?  You’re in luck – a colonoscopy can help with early detection!  If you are age 50 or older, or at increased risk due to family history, please talk to your doctor about this simple procedure.  Is it an annoying day before the procedure?  Yes.  Will you survive the procedure?  Yes – trust me on this.

Are you (or your parents or grandparents) age 60 yet?  If so, and you have had chicken pox at some point in your life (regardless of whether or not it was mild or severe), you may develop shingles due to the virus still present in your body.  In 2006, a shingles vaccine called Zostavax was approved for use in adults age 60 or more.  Shingles is a terribly painful (and I mean TERRIBLY painful) condition that most commonly affects adults in this age range.  Please talk to your doctor to determine if the vaccine is right for you.

Have you had your tetanus shot in the past 10 years?  If not, call your doctor!  If you live in a region that is higher risk for pertussis (e.g., Minnesota), be sure to check to see if your vaccine also covers that.  Adacel is a common brand name vaccine that combines all of your protection in one shot.  Will your arm be a little sore the day after?  Sure.  Will you survive?  Yes.  I can give you a 20 minute arm routine at the gym that will hurt worse.

World Travelers

Do you travel internationally?  Did you know that the CDC website is always up to date with immunizations suggested for your travel based on your destination and timeline?  Travel immunizations are not required for some destinations, but others are, so it’s important to check well in advance of your next international trip.  Some immunization sequences need to be started as much as six months before your trip, so plan ahead.  Is it fun to get “stuck”?  No.  Will you survive?  Yes – I’m still alive and well, last I checked.  Talk to your doctor or reputable travel clinic such as Passport Health.

General Health – Top 10 Tips

1. Drink water.  If you exercise, live in a warm climate or travel often by plane, drink LOTS of water.  Kidney stones suck.

2. Speaking of exercise, do it.  Do what you can.  If you have a bad knee, consider lifting arm weights.  If you have tennis elbow, consider the treadmill.  Just move.  Better yet, bring a friend with you – whether it’s to the gym, or on a walk.  Just have fun.

3. Watch your posture, especially if you sit all day at a desk.  Consider a headset if you’re on the phone all day.  Consider a wrist rest while you’re at it.

4. Be aware of your state laws regarding talking on cell phones and/or texting while driving.  I saw recently that Oprah even has some sort of pledge campaign going to avoid texting while driving.

5. Wear sunscreen whenever and wherever possible and talk to your doctor about any unusual dermatological concerns or changes.  Don’t wait.

6. If you’re on a high protein diet, drink lots of water and eat fiber, even if it means using a supplement such as Benefiber - it has no taste and dissolves in water.  Berries are super low-carb.  Fresh spinach is great for a salad.  Egg whites have no fat, cholesterol or carbs.  And if you’re looking for a no-sugar carb for energy, try instant unflavored oatmeal – after microwaving, swirl in a small amount of your favorite extract (Target sells almond, vanilla, maple, coconut, orange, etc. in the baking aisle and it lasts forever) and top with fresh berries or sliced almonds.  You’ll be amazed.  Lastly, consider a multi-vitamin that your physician approves to be sure you’re getting all of your nutrition.

7. Consider using one pharmacy for all of your prescriptions.  This can help identify potential drug interactions especially if you take any ongoing maintenance medications.

8. Remember to take care of your eyes, especially if you spend a lot of time at your computer, in low lighting, in the sun, etc.  If you can’t remember your last eye exam, maybe now is a good time to make that appointment.

9. Find a dentist that you like, even if you have dental anxiety like me. If you live in Minnesota, I’m a HUGE fan of Boger Dental.

10. Consider an advanced directive, regardless of your age.  The link below has branches to every state's free form for your review if you're interested - your local health provider or faith center may also have forms.

http://caringinfo.org/PlanningAhead/AdvanceDirectives/Stateaddownload.htm

#21: Try a new food.

Date Completed:  1/1/2010

I’m a creature of habit.  It’s not that I’m opposed to venturing out in general – I love trying new things and I can be quite adventurous when I want to be.  I’m kind of like the 80/20 rule, I suppose.  Predictability (about 80% of the time) has a certain comfort but I like when I surprise people (the other 20% of the time) because it’s fun to watch their reactions.  When it comes to food, I have my favorites (sushi!) and eating tends to be more about the experience than the actual food.  I did get adventurous on New Year’s eve though…deep fried pickles.  Trust me – nothing deep fried is on my common food list and the thought of it wasn’t all that appealing, but we were really hungry by midnight.  Since the owner of Hooters was hosting the party and I knew I needed to check this item off my list, I figured it was worth a try.  Who knew that pickle slices dipped in batter and soaked in grease could be so amazing!  It turns out that pickles don’t like to be photographed, so our group shot from NYE will have to do.  I think I gained a new appreciation for State Fair food that night.  And speaking of the fair, my friend $BHW (he’ll appear later on the list) would quote Jeff Foxworthy as saying, “If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair.  Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'You know, we're alright.  We are dang near royalty.'”

#79: Attend a MN professional sporting event.

Date Completed:  2/14/2010

So after 22 years in AZ, I moved back to MN in the spring of 2005.  Other than a couple of St. Paul Saints baseball games, I had not actually attended a game since the 80’s.  I haven’t been much of a MN team fan (I’ve been bitter since the North Stars move), but I’ll admit I had a glimmer of Vikings spirit in the playoffs this year.  After that loss, I was much more interested in the Super Bowl commercials and munchies.  Josh and Casey even came over that night to support the 2Girls2Lists cause (see video below) and I love that they wore my Devil gear, but I digress.  Anyway, since this is all about the list, I was so excited to be invited to go with my friend Sharon to see the Wild play hockey on Valentine’s Day.  The game was awesome – serious fights in the second and third periods, a sell-out crowd of >19K and a 6:2 victory.  They even honored the 2010 Olympians from both MN and Vancouver teams.  The seats were amazing – row 9 center ice – and while we didn’t catch any pucks, we did have a blast.  Thanks Sharon, for making this the best Valentine’s weekend I can remember!

#22: Send a hand-written thank you note.

Date Completed:  1/9/2010

Right before the 2009 winter holidays, I had to make a trip to the South for work.  A coworker of mine surprised me the night I arrived with a special holiday gift that couldn’t have come at a better time!  We were having a pretty challenging day, so her thoughtfulness and timing were very much appreciated.  That night at the hotel, a couple of us cracked open her gift of a bottle of chocolate Cabernet because after all, I couldn’t carry it back on the plane!  For any dark chocolate-loving red wine-drinking readers, you definitely need to check this out.  With respect to the list though, I’m trying to make a point this year to ditch technology every now and then and go back to a simpler life in order to appreciate some of the little things.  So…snail mail, for example.  Remember it?  If someone asked me how much a stamp cost, I probably couldn’t even tell them because it’s been that long (actually mailing holiday cards is on my list this year, though!).  For this item, I actually borrowed a stamp and mailed a hand-written thank you card to MoLo.  It felt nice to take time to remember her kindness.

#71: Reorganize iTunes.

Date Completed:  2/2/2010

Some things are just plain annoying when they happen, but on the up-side, there’s always room for another item on the list.  So, I was typing a document on my laptop, and when I clicked “Save”, I received a message saying the hard drive was out of space.  Impossible, so I snooped around and eventually found that when I configured iTunes years ago, I accidentally set it up so that a copy of each song was saved in a separate iTunes folder, thereby doubling the space needed for my music.  Anyway, I don’t know if I was rushing or irritated when I tried to fix this, but I ended up completely erasing all of my iTunes library when I deleted the duplicate song files.  I thought it would be simple enough to fix, but none of my old .wma files transferred (only .mp3 and .m4p), probably due to the new iTunes version.  I ended up having to re-load each and every CD to rebuild the library and playlists.  While it was a mind-numbing process, it was fun to see how my music tastes changed over the years.  I mean, who knows when my Crystal Method phase even was.  I suspect it may have been somewhere between Beastie Boys and Social Distortion.  Hmm...I need to find my old License to Ill - after all, I'm pretty sure ill'n is somewhere on my list!  “So what’s the time?”

#24 (February): Participate in one volunteer/non-profit activity each month.

Date Completed:  2/6/2010

February’s event was really special to me.  I have a beautiful, energetic and inspiring friend who has been showing Cystic Fibrosis (CF) what she’s made of since 1985.  Once again this year, J’s Crew took over the stairwell at IDS Center – that’s 50 floors / 1,280 steps – in downtown Minneapolis to support Climb for a Cure.  This was the CF Foundation’s 29th year of “going vertical” to defeat CF.  We used social networking this year to help increase participation and donations so a huge thank you to those who so graciously participated by either climbing or sponsoring.  J’s Crew was 50 climbers strong this year (the largest team we’ve ever had) and we collected over $9,600 in donations which will support CF research.  To see more pics from the climb, please visit our Facebook Page.  Be sure to join the Facebook group if you’d like to be notified of next year’s climb.  For more information, please see the CF Foundation site.  Thank you again for your support this month!