It’s my second go at this so I initially wasn’t too nervous. Sitting in a cold waiting room can take its toll on a girl.
I kid you not.
Normally my doctor sees me pretty fast, but today she must have been running behind because I had to wait for about an hour in the waiting room. Which of course made me very anxious? I snapped pics to try and zone out. Listening to Blue October definitely helped.
In the end my doctor removed two samples from two different moles that looked wonky to her. Since I am a melanoma survivor she is sending my samples to a lab that specializes in skin cancer. She and I are most concerned about their location. They are on the same side and in the general area of my back where the last one was. Any weird looking mole on my body is going to be concerning in general however because “once you’ve had melanoma, there is a chance that it will come back—either near the original tumor or at a different place on the skin”, makes us both a little nervous.
I’m very lucky to have an awesome doctor. I’m actually very scared about having to go back to seeing the doctors at a military treatment facility (but that is an entirely different post-one I am in no mood to write about now-or anytime in the near future.) If it does turn out to be positive I’ll have to go have the actual mole removed for staging. Then that will determine the next step. Depending on how deep it is determines how much surrounding skin is removed. Right now I’m not thinking about that — I’m just waiting for the results.
I did come away with five whole stitches and as an added bonus my son thinks I’m “way cool!” He has yet to experience the pleasure known as stitches. He can’t wait to get some of his own-preferably from a skateboarding injury.
I meanwhile am thanking my lucky stars that he hasn’t injured himself in such a way as to necessitate stitches!
Now it’s just a “wait and see” scenario.
In the meantime I’m considering moving to Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, the weather in Seattle is pretty much, rain, rain, and more rain right? Someplace generally un-sunny is exactly what I need. I really want to live in Europe for a bit and up until now had my heart set on either Spain or Italy– but the weather there is generally warm…right? How’s the weather in England? Cold, rainy most of the time eh? I dunno. I’ll have to do some Googling.
Oh…After my appointment I went for a little retail therapy at a few local consignment shops. I scored a vintage Izod jacket and a jewelry box as well as some books. I only paid $20. After I went to CVS and got some new nail polish. (I’ll share the colors with you later — but my new favorite is actually a favorite color of mine (see my shirt in this photo for a general idea of the color.) As a little treat I pampered my tootsies and am happy to tell you that they are perfectly prim at the moment. The hubs cooked an amazing lunch (he also vlogged it so you can be sure that will be up soon.)
In all my day had some good high points and some serious low points which included a little heartache.
Protecting my skin is a major priority for me. Not only because it is the smart thing to do and by doing so I avoid any sun damage that can age my skin, but because in 2006 a mole on my back turned out to be melanoma-the worst kind of skin cancer a person can get. The kind that can spread throughout your body. Let me tell you sitting in my skin cancer specialists’ office and having him tell me about survivability rates over a mole on my skin has a weird way of putting things into perspective.
I grew up in Miami. I also have extremely fair skin. As a child I practically lived at the beach, and although my mother did a good job of protecting my skin I still managed to get burned. As a teen I can especially remember a few really bad sunburns. Turns out it was more than likely that damage that caused my melanoma.
A few weeks ago I discovered another weird mole on my back. I’m going in this Wednesday to have it biopsied. I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t at least a little worried…
That is why when I was approached by Neutrogena to test one of their sunscreens (I already use a number of their products including their sunscreens daily) I couldn’t pass it up.
For about a month now I’ve been using Neutrogena UltraSheer® Liquid sunscreen with an SPF of 70 daily. This is my new favorite sunscreen especially for everyday wear. It goes on flawlessly under my makeup and is not greasy at all. It also doesn’t have that very strong “sunscreen” scent that I’m not a particularly big fan of-an added bonus. It comes in a 1.4 oz bottle and should be shaken with each application. It’s got a little marble in it so you can hear that it’s mixing. The consistency is that of a very liquid lotion and it absorbs quickly into my skin. I use it on my face, neck, and décolletage daily. I’ve also used it on my arms and shoulders with great results.
Each time I’ve used Neutrogena UltraSheer® Liquid I’ve put on makeup including foundation and I like that it doesn’t make my makeup look funky. It actually acts as a great matte base which is a wonderful bonus especially because I must wear sunscreen everyday.
I highly recommend this product because I think its great and I can’t stress enough the importance of protecting your skin-regardless of your skin tone.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Tidal Labs. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Very shortly I’m going to be moving — yes we’re selling our house, but that’s not the move I’m talking about. I’m going to be closing house here at The Pink Chandelier and will be moving to WriteSpell, www.writespell.com. I also predict another change in a much more blonde direction.
I’m a big supporter of the (RED) campaign.
And not just ’cause the t-shirts are pretty freakin’ awesome.
That’s all.
If you don’t know what (RED) is, here’s some info from their website joinred.com
(RED) is a simple idea that brings together our power as people who buy, with our power as people who care.
When you buy (PRODUCT) RED™ items, up to 50% of the profits go directly to those who need it. (RED) has some of the best brands in the world creating (RED) products to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. American Express, Apple, Bugaboo, Converse, Dell, Emporio Armani, GAP, Hallmark, NIKE, Penguin Classics, and Starbucks are all working together to make it happen.
For more information check out joinred.com
*No I wasn’t paid for this post. Just wanted to share. That’s all.
A few weeks ago I introduced Pop On Pals to my two year old, Evan. As I opened the box he squealed with delight and couldn’t wait for me to find the scissors to open the box before he began playing with it (see photo below). Evan doesn’t normally enjoy toys for his age group, preferring instead to play with his older brother’s (age six) toys. I can’t really blame him, his cars, and legos are very entertaining.
I am happy to report that Evan actually played with his Amusement Park and continues to do so almost daily. His favorite part is the roller coaster (I’m not surprised) and he also enjoys putting his little pal on the ferriss wheel for a spin.
Record my brain. That way when I have a kick ass dream-that inspires a brand new story I don’t have to get out of bed in the middle of the night.
I could just lay there and narrate silently what I wanted to get out of my head so as I don’t forget it. It’s while I’m laying there half asleep when my ideas are great. For whatever reason once I get out of bed their awesomeness seems to dissipate.
Or perhaps its because I’m awake and the doubt monster starts to creep in.
Either way I was up from a dream wide awake and said to myself. “Self that is pretty awesome. You should write it down.” Looking at the clock and seeing that the number four was in front I laid in bed with my son’s foot on my chest for another twenty minutes until I realized that I wasn’t going to get any sleep until I actually wrote the scene I’d dreamt about down.
Normally when this happens I jot it down in a notebook I keep by my bed or make a voice memo on my iPhone. This morning however I had an urgent need to write. This hasn’t happened to me in quite some time so I wasn’t going to fight it.
This dream resulted in the beginnings of a new story. I’m very excited. So much so that I think I’m going to put the one I’m currently writing on the back burner thinking instead that perhaps this new story needs to be written first.
I recently received a lovely Song of India Orchid Garden from ProFlowers.com. I love orchids and so when the opportunity arose for me to receive a delivery from ProFlowers and tell you all about it I thought an orchid would look quite lovely in my kitchen and it does.
My orchid was delivered via national courier and although I could tell that it had been well packaged when shipped somewhere along the way it got a little banged up. When I saw this I was quite worried that the plant inside would be damaged. Luckily ProFlowers took precautions and the plant was wrapped in cellophane and aside from a few of the blossoms having broken off the plant was in great shape. Although it was disappointing to see three blossoms had fallen off (or been broken off by rough handling by the carrier) it did not distract from my orchid’s beauty. I also liked that Pro Flowers included an instruction packet ensuring that I will be able to enjoy my orchid for quite some time.
Here is the plant’s description per ProFlowers:
For a very unique presentation, we’ve paired a fresh yellow Phalaenopsis orchid with Song of India foliage plant in an elegant black tapered tin. The pair will add an exotic flair to any décor. With proper care, the orchid blooms will last 8–12 weeks, and the foliage plant will continue to thrive until the orchid is ready for the next blooming season! Care instructions included.
I think choosing a green plant when you want to send a gift other than flowers is an excellent idea. Not only will your recipient be able to enjoy your gift for much longer than flowers; the gift of a green plant is sure to become “part of the family”! Green plants make wonderful housewarming, graduation, promotion, or “just because” gifts.
I received the Song of India Orchid Garden free of charge to facilitate this review.
My life would be full. My photo album would be bursting at the seams with pictures cramming up every available space and filling out, falling to the ground, like a breadcrumb trail where ever I went. The photos symbolic of love. The love I feel, have shared, and have felt from others.
Yesterday my friend Noelle asked me to help her revamp her wardrobe to reflect her style. I happily obliged and we went about playing dress up in polyvore. I love polyvore it is a great outlet for me to express all things pretty and girlie that I don’t really get to share with anyone here at home-seeing as how I live with a bunch of boys!
Lately I’ve been fascinated by the stars-okay I’ve been fascinated by starlight for ages but this morning I created a little ensemble for someone make believe named Lilliana. Yes. Polyvore is like Barbie but for big girls!
I came across this the other day and I was instantly attracted to it. So I set it aside and decided I’d write about it later on.
I looked at it again this morning and was suddenly struck with…well, the obvious.
I’m sure, beyond a reasonable doubt when Mel Brooks made this statement, “If you’re quiet, you’re not living. You’ve got to be noisy, colorful, and lively.” He was talking about children. I’m also pretty sure (we share the same birthday — that’s why I’m sure) he was specifically talking about my children.
No. He’s never actually met my kids. But that has no bearing on the fact that he was talking about them.
Allow me to explain further…
Last Sunday after Mass we took our boys to Wal-Mart. They behaved so perfectly whilst in Church that we must have been high on joy because we thought we’d be able to go in and get out relatively quickly.
I don’t know what we were thinking. I really don’t.
An hour and a half later, after chasing after, bribing, and then finally giving in and feeding them a McDonald’s happy meal we managed to get out unscathed.
I say unscathed because no one was physically injured this time.
The last time we went to Wal-Mart Evan, while trying to get out of the cart fell backwards into a very full cart of groceries. Luckily he landed on the bread and cereal boxes and by some miracle of God managed to not crush the eggs.
Again, I don’t know what we were thinking because after Wal-Mart we made a go for Costco.
Yes. The hubs and I are gluttons for punishment. We must be.
Ten minutes into our food sampling escapades Michael decided he was tired and needed to sit down. Off went the husband to fetch a second cart so that both boys can sit in the ginormous basket that is a Costco shopping cart.
Things were going rather smoothly after that. Until we reached the frozen food section when Mike decided he’d had a rest and no longer felt tired. Evan being the little brother understandably wants to be “like Mike” –so as soon as Michael’s feet hit the floor, Evan began wailing to be let out. A worried glance passed before the husband and I as we set the little guy free under the assumption that his father would hold his hand and I’d push the cart.
Things didn’t happen quite like that.
Picture this:
Little boy running a muck in a very crowded over-sized super center. Me feeling like I could use a drink. (Or rather grabbing a bottle from the wine section cracking it open against that huge and mostly empty cart and chugging straight from the bottle-while trying not to cut my lips.)
It didn’t take long for the hubs and I to decide to call it quits. While I checked out he went off and bought them a berry smoothie.
Looking back though-while I sit here at nap time I can’t help but smile. My children know how to live. They are full of color, vibrant liveliness, and with all that Cuban blood in them they certainly are noisy!
As much as I’m smiling right now, I don’t think we’re going to try shopping together as a family for at least another ten years.
Yeah right. Who am I kidding. We’ll be back at it this weekend!
A few weeks ago I was watching So You Think You Can Dance when this song came on. I immediately grabbed my iPhone and went in search of this song “Jar of Hearts”. It was love at first lyric for me. I intended to write a post about it but forgot until last night while watching my favorite dance show and saw Christina Perri perform. This gal is phenomenal. Her voice is wonderful. Watch her. I’m in musical love. You will be too!
I’ve watched all her videos on YouTube and aye ya yay! Que musica!
And who do you think you are
Running around leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You’re gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don’t come back for me
Who do you think you are
I was not paid to share my new musical crush. I did so out of the kindness of my heart and my absolute adoration of music.
Giving thanks and being grateful is practically an art form these days. So many have this attitude of entitlement. I can’t express enough how important it is for me to acknowledge and give thanks for the many, many, blessings in my life. It is also very important for me to teach my boys to be appreciative of the many blessings they have been given. I know I certainly count my lucky stars for the wonderful privilege it is to be their mother.
With this in mind I’m going to make it a regular occurrence to publicly share my gratitude. I may do it in a letter to someone, thank God for something great or even the simple every day things. After all I truly love the mundane.
Please keep an eye out for them. I may even get around to leaving a “Mr. Linky” where you can celebrate your own special way of giving thanks and spread the gratitude and love through out the blogosphere.
As my first form of giving thanks I’d like to thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read this post and if you do comment. I know we all live really busy lives and the fact that you stopped in to read what I’ve written really does mean a lot to me. Thank you to my loyal readers who for some strange reason come back again and again. Thank you if you’re a new reader, I certainly hope you enjoyed your time on my little piece of the internet.
This weekend we’ll be looking for a new place to call home. Our house is currently under contract and we’ve got a tentative close date. We’re hoping that everything can be done by then. With that date in mind, we’ve got about six weeks to find some place new to call home. I was going through my closet trying to decide what I was going to wear because after we’re done hunting my husband and I plan on taking the boys to Chuck E. Cheese (yes I know we’re gluttons for punishment.) Then later we’ll have dinner at Carrabas. It has been a while since I played in Polyvore and with the idea that visualizing our new home and everything I want in it would be a good thing, it was the perfect excuse to play!
My major requirement is the bathrooms. The floor plan I used is actually one that belongs to an apartment complex that is more like town-homes and that is first on my list. We currently live in a three bedroom townhouse but I’m thinking we could probably manage to downsize to a two bedroom — especially one that has a loft where the boys could play. All of this is dependent of course on availability and what they actually look like!
Photo: Alice Wainwright Park, Miami, FL. Source: www.flickr.com/photos/vgm8383
I woke up with a sense of whimsy.
Whimsy as defined by dictionary.com is the quality or state of being whimsical or fanciful.
Yep. I’m feeling whimsical; much like I did when I would play dress up in my mother’s heels or hide and seek among the coral rock of Wainwright Park. A park that was magical through my little girl eyes. A place where my grandmother would take me almost daily on our afternoon walks when I was a gaped tooth little freckle-face.
I would imagine I was on a great safari on walks through the “jungle” or an archeologist climbing to her next great discovery as I scaled the greatest coral mountain ever to be discovered.
Imagination is important. It is important for me to foster a love for the imaginary, for the magic that can only be found in make-believe in my boys. I think I’ll build a den out of sheets today (it’s bed linen washing day after all) and play with my boys. I’ll start us off on some adventure and hand the reins over to Michael and let him take us to places only his imagination can think up. I think I’ll start us off skateboarding in space or riding a roller coaster into the ocean.
Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded.
And the atoms in you left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand.
It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics.
You are all stardust.
All the things that matter for evolution and for life weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars. The only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode. — Lawrence Krauss
If God created the heavens which I believe He did, then this is certainly plausible.
Either way my favorite part of this quote is “You are all stardust.”
It is poetic.
Much like life itself is. There is something divine in all living things. Perhaps…It is stardust.
I’m going to go to sleep thinking tonight about the stars. Not something completely out of the ordinary for me.
I love a good cocktail. I also love one that I can whip up in a snap. I also love supporting the men and women of our armed services. As an Air Force wife the USO is a program that is near and dear to my heart. Which is why I just had to share with you a very easy way you can support our troops by simply clicking “like”.
BACARDIUSA’s “Salute to Summer’s Best 60 Second Cocktail Program,” will be donating $1 to the USO for every new facebook fan they gain up to $100,000. That’s right. For each person who “likes” the 60 Second Cocktails facebook page Bacardi will donate one dollar. How awesome is that?
A friend who also happens to be a sorority sister (which makes her even more awesome) posted on her facebook tonight that she gave a ride to an expectant mother nine months along. She is that sort of person, always willing to lend a helping hand. If there were more people like her I think our world would be much nicer.
Sometime this week in her honor I’m going to go about seeking opportunities for random acts of kindness-something I do when the opportunity presents itself but I don’t purposely go about looking for it.
I mean I’ve paid for other people at a tole, or put in a few quarters in someone’s meter that was about to expire, given food/money to panhandlers etc. I haven’t gone out of my way to look for ways that I can make a random person’s day better.
Always remember, only your heart can be broken.
Your soul and all its pieces, are immutable and unchangeable,
and most importantly impossible to destroy.
I didn’t write that. I’m not sure who did, I read it somewhere once and wrote it down. Tonight, I felt like sharing it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m sitting here watching Titanic, and it’s got me in it’s romantic, sentimental, sad grasp; but I was reminded of this quote, so I got out my journal and decided to share it here with you.
Love, our hearts…our souls. Topics I love to talk about.
I think they’re intertwined like those bamboo money trees. They compliment and enhance the other, much like blush, mascara, and lip gloss can each enhance the eyes, cheeks, and lips. When each is combined can make a face just a little bit prettier. Unlike makeup however our hearts, the way we love and our souls (ideally) are not superficial.
They make up who we are. Are heart ache, our joy, all of it. It’ what life is about. A series of moments, experiences, choices.
That…I believe when we close our eyes for the last time never really goes away.
My belly aches blue Lorazepam flu I’m down for the count Always three times a day Sometimes four A bee stings right through the arm The high swing I ride upon My eyes can’t quite focus on The nurse with my Lucky Charms —- Blue October
Now it’s just a “wait and see” scenario.
My life would be full. My photo album would be bursting at the seams with pictures cramming up every available space and filling out, falling to the ground, like a breadcrumb trail where ever I went. The photos symbolic of love. The love I feel, have shared, and have felt from others.
A few weeks ago I was watching So You Think You Can Dance when this song came on. I immediately grabbed my iPhone and went in search of this song “Jar of Hearts”. It was love at first lyric for me. I intended to write a post about it but forgot until last night while watching my favorite dance show and saw 
A friend who also happens to be a 
I find it curious that one of the greatest minds of all time believed he had no special talents. Humble or self deprecating?
