#LoveMe Challenge – my vocabulary test

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So, I’m day three into the #LoveMe Challenge. Today, I am supposed to provide a word that describes me. For someone who works in a creative field, this is an especially tough request. I mean, part of my job is to know a bunch of words. Just one word too? Heck, it depends on the minute. Sometimes I would say… Read more »

#LoveMe Challenge – photos and my loathing of selfies

Nicaragua Selfie

In case you missed yesterday’s post, I decided to try the #LoveMe Challenge. Today’s challenge is to post of photo of yourself. This one is really hard for me because I really dislike having my photo taken. On PepperScrap’s site, the home of the challenge, she even addresses that people shouldn’t shy away from the camera. Hmm, guess I’m not… Read more »

#LoveMe Challenge – cancer and all

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While I was browsing Pinterest, I came across the #LoveMe Challenge. According to the page I found, #LoveMe is a challenge to love yourself. Everyday there will be a prompt for you to look at yourself, embrace who you are, and hopefully help you learn that you are beautiful, you are amazing and you need to love who you are…. Read more »

Melanoma – a primer for my mom

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Yesterday, I called my parents to wish them a Happy New Year. I had to time the call for halftime of the early bowl games – and absolutely avoid any of the Ohio State-Alabama pre-game coverage or my dad would probably disown me. Anyway, I was chatting with my mom and realized that she was paranoid that everyone in my… Read more »

Initial pathology report to close out the year

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My surgeon called and left a message just now. Of course, I wasn’t expecting a call on a holiday eve and didn’t have the ringer turned on. (I think I’m one of the few in today’s American society that doesn’t keep my phone grafted to my fingers…To be honest, I would be just fine if I never had to physically… Read more »

Paranoia, hope, and whatever’s in between

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Now that I know that I can make pink melanoma, I’ve been obsessively looking at all my other moles, regardless of what color they are, what shape they are. I’m sure it’s going to be a lifelong obsession – along with trying to find the highest SPF sunscreen my body will tolerate. Naturally, I’m a little concerned about another pink… Read more »

The excision… it sounds like a title of a horror movie, doesn’t it?

So, if you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering about the surgery to remove my pink melanoma. It’s actually not really surgery at all. In fact, if you want to get all technical, it’s an excision. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. When my dermatologist called me with the news, I admit that I wasn’t thinking as coherently as I… Read more »

How did I get here? Skin cancer and me…

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The prevailing wisdom is that if you avoid tanning beds, wear strong SPF, and reduce your exposure to the strongest rays of the sun, you reduce your chance of being diagnosed with skin cancer. But what if that advice came just a little too late? I was a typical child of the 80s. I played outside all the time in… Read more »