Sunday Funday

It's a gorgeous Sunday morning here in Roanoke, Virginia. I mean, it really is stunning. The temperature is in the mid 70's, not an ounce of humidity, and a light breeze. Ah, wonderful. I am nursing an ear ache (doctor thinks it's swimmer's ear which is a bit odd because I haven't been swimming) but he's sending me back to follow-up with my local oncologist on Monday due to some issues in my neck. Fun times, yes?

Despite the aching in my ear--and the urge to just rip it off--I am having a lovely and relaxing weekend.

PJ's, messy hair, balcony weather, and catching up on blogs!

Yesterday I spent a lot of time browsing other blogs--see my post about it here--trying to find a way to gain attention to this blog. Recently, my pal Al blogged about a conversation he had with his father. Since Al's brother died from melanoma, Al has put a lot of time and effort into raising melanoma awareness. Not only does he have one of the best blogs, he submits ideas and articles to local news channels and newspapers, AND he also sells these awesome coffee cups! (There are other items listed on his site too.)

Buy Your Own!

OK, back to the conversation Al had with his dad. Al printed off some of his blog posts for his father to read, and while he agrees with us that Al's posts are wonderful, he said, "But it seems like you're preaching to the choir."  (Read full blog here.)

Al's father is right. While we have attracted the attention of many folks involved with Hotel Melanoma, we need to branch out and make contact with people before they become melanoma patients. This is my latest goal.

So, yesterday thanks to the ear ache, I spent a lot of time on the computer. And what do you know, I stumbled across this awesome blog called Back East Blonde. I liked Nadine's blog from the minute I clicked on it, but I became a follower once I read this post titled: "Regrets: The Crispy Years." She talks about how she doesn't have a lot of regrets, but she truly regrets the time and money she spent on something so dangerous as tanning. She writes, "Overall, it makes me sad that I did this for so many years. And the consequences are something that I'll have to live with." She even posts the statistic that says tanning bed usage increases the chance of melanoma by 75%. Yes, I like this girl.

It was a nice surprise to see a normal blog discussing the risks of tanning. Of course, the next blog I stumbled to was doing a giveaway of a tanning membership & lotion (although she brags about how healthy she is....) so we still have a ways to go; however, people are starting to pay attention.

Plus, I really do believe--now--that we all look so much more attractive in our natural skin tones.

As Lauren Conrad said, "Tanning is so old school."