Author Archives: Nicole

Back from my trip – Scandinavia, Part One – Copenhagen

I’m back home from my amazing trip. First, let me say that the cities of northern Europe are beautiful. I had never been to this area of the world before. And it was nice to be in a place where the sun’s rays weren’t as strong as central Texas! But of course, I did make sure to wear sunscreen every… Read more »

Europe-Bound in 48 Hours!

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As readers of the blog may know, I planned a whirlwind trip to the Nordic Countries and Germany earlier in the summer. And now, I’m sitting with less than 48 hours before I get on the plane to fly to Copenhagen. I’m excited to be going and getting out into the world again to explore. I’m grateful for the opportunity… Read more »

9 Months Since the Excision

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Excision scar

A few days ago, I celebrated a milestone of sorts. It’s been nine months since the excision. I’m in San Francisco for work and have been doing quite a bit of walking this past week. The scar still aches at times, and if I’m going uphill, it can be somewhat sharp. And when I get off the elliptical, it seems… Read more »

Gearing up for Europe

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As I mentioned in earlier posts, after my amelanotic nodular melanoma diagnosis and subsequent excision, I realized that I had put off a lot of things that fed my soul. Traveling was one of the casualties that I was bound and determined to revive. And in the late Spring, I bought a plane ticket to Europe to go explore the… Read more »

Make sure the sunscreen actually works

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There’s a story going around that Honest sunscreen, from Jessica Alba’s company, has not been living up to what it’s supposed to be doing. Parents are complaining that their children are still getting sunburned even though they supposedly reapplied every hour. Now, I don’t use that brand of sunscreen, but if you noticed your kid was getting red after being… Read more »

Happy Birthday to Me

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Yesterday was my birthday and it was a time of fun, but also reflection. I woke up thinking that this time last year – things were so different. I was still waking up in the same bed, same room but I was waking up a year older, a year wiser, a year sadder, and a year different than the person… Read more »

Sunburn Art – Are you F-ing Kidding Me?

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So, I will say up front, there’s a strong likelihood of salty language in this post. There is a “trend” of acquiring a sunburn in a pattern and calling it #sunburnart. First of all, I’m going to say this the clearest way possible – these people are idiots. Sunburn is never “art”. Sunburn is skin damage. Sunburn is painful. Sunburn… Read more »

The Diagnosis of Malignant Melanoma Can Have An Upside?

Michael Flatley, the Irish dancer most well-known for Riverdance, was diagnosed in 2003 with malignant melanoma. He states in an article in the Irish Mirror that his diagnosis prompted him to take a hard look at his life and reevaluate his priorities. Wealth and material things were no longer as important as his family, friends, and his art. Getting a… Read more »

Unexplained Dizziness

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So, in what seems to be a summertime ritual for me, I am again suffering from a case of what I lovingly refer to as “the dizzies”. Every summer, I end up with a horrible bout of what doctors refer to as vertigo. None of them can offer any explanation, nor does there seem to be any decent treatment except… Read more »

Are You Really Protecting Yourself from the Sun?

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I just read an article on sneaky ways you get more sun exposure than you may think. Some of them are pretty obvious when you think about it: driving, sitting by a window at work or on a plane. But things like your scalp? I mean, I wear a hat all the time because I have the thinnest hair imaginable;… Read more »