A Little Girl's Dream

I was never the little girl who planned her wedding at the age of 10. I didn't know what kind of dress I wanted, had no clue (and I still don't!) what kind of flowers I wanted, or what song I wanted to dance to for our first dance. I just knew one thing: I would only marry a man I didn't want to live without and I wanted to find my wedding dress with the women in my family.

There was a time when I wasn't sure I'd get this day.
(Damn you, Melanoma!)

For as long as I can remember I've wanted that special moment that only happens to a gal once. You know, the moment that makes you cry while watching "Say Yes to the Dress!" I wanted that moment when my mom saw me in a veil for the first time. I wanted the moments when my sister nagged me to try on dresses I typically wouldn't wear. I dreamed of the moment I looked in the mirror and said "ah ha" while tears rolled down everyone's face.

I had that moment.

While I greatly wish everyone could have been with me, I had such a great day finding THE dress!

"I Found My Wedding Gown Today!"

My sister, my gran, me, my mom, my future MIL, and my bridesmaid!

(And yes, the dress I picked was one I told my sister I didn't want to try on! Go figure!) 

I know I'm going to feel beautiful in my wedding dress, fair skin & all! 

Hello Again!

Oh my gosh! This is the longest I've gone without posting. Did you think I had forgotten about you? I've been preoccupied with traveling to family functions, wedding planning, and T-Ball!  I hope you've been keeping up with me on Facebook & Twitter because I have shared some great things!

I headed to Cambridge, Maryland earlier this month to be the guest speaker at Choptank's Trot for Melanoma. It was an emotional experience for me because last year I attended the walk in order to meet my molemate Lynette.

This year I spoke of Lynette and her journey on Earth which ended in December 2012. While I tried, I couldn't get through my speech without tears. I miss her and her positive attitude. (While I haven't uploaded the speech yet, here is an article about the trot.) It was such a pleasure to hug Mike, Lynette's husband, and spend some time with him. Bryan and I had such a great time meeting them last year...It was a hard day for me, but not nearly as emotional as it had to have been for Mike. 

2013's Cambridge Trot for Melanoma

Another great thing that has happened this Melanoma Awareness Month. One of my favorite molemates shared her experience with stage IV melanoma and she had our mutual oncologist in on it too! Please watch and share this great video! http://www.everydayhealth.com/skin-cancer/thinking-about-sitting-in-the-sun-think-again.aspx

What's new with you all? Everyone happy and healthy? I sincerely hope so! 

Melanoma Monday

I have to say,  Melanoma Monday was once again successful! Yes, there was a color war going on, but people talked about Melanoma. That's the most important thing! Talking leads to awareness. Awareness leads to early detection and prevention!

Here a few important things that happened today:

* Yahoo shared a great article about Melanoma

* Melanoma Girl shares her story!

* FDA considers attaching warning labels to tanning beds!

* And a big announcement: "Earlier today, in honor of melanoma Monday, L’Oreal Paris announced that over the next three years they will donate over $750,000 to Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) to fund the new L’Oreal Paris-MRA Team Science Award, led by internationally renowned cancer researcher Dr. Meenhard Herlyn, to research ways to help prevent, cure and treat melanoma. They have also kicked off a campaign encouraging people to test their “Skin IQ” and reminding people that “skin cancer doesn’t care what color your skin is.” (Source.)

Yep, I think it was a great Melanoma Monday!

Day Two

...of Melanoma Awareness Month!

Did you all see this article on Miles Against Melanoma's Facebook page? It shows a picture of a beautiful young lady named Linzi Rector. I'm not sure who wrote the article, but I've reread it many times since yesterday. I have to share this part with you:

"A lot of people look at cancer as a battle that is to be fought and won. But Linzi didn’t lose to melanoma. Linzi had the heart and mind of a runner. Melanoma was a race for her to run. And maybe she didn’t finish the race the way she wanted to, but she finished with her head held high, giving it everything she had. Determined. Focused. Strong."

Chills.

Go read the article.

XO