LOVE YOUR SKIN!

This is a Link Up to raise skin cancer awareness!
With Katie Wilkes from Pretty In Pale


1. What's your daily skincare routine?
Well I probably have a pretty basic routine compared to others! In the shower I use Mary Kay's Botanical Effects face wash for dry skin. It puts tons of moisture into my skin and it feels INCREDIBLE! Here is a link to check it out (for some reason my laptop is being annoying and not letting me upload a pic of it!) Mary Kay Botanical Effects

2. A skin product you could never live without?

This is a tough one because there are several I absolutely cannot live without! Definitely sunscreen is number 1 on the list, but I also LOVE moisturizer (MK Botanical Effects Hydrate Level 1) and makeup remover!

3. Have you ever used a tanning bed?

Yes! I tanned a bit a couple years ago and then stopped because I couldn't afford it anymore. Now that my dad has passed away from stage 4 melanoma I will NEVER set foot in a tanning bed ever again.

 

4. Thoughts on spray tanning?

I believe that pale is beautiful, but if you absolutely MUST have a tan I will recommend spray tanning over indoor tanning. 

5. Favorite brand of sunscreen?

I don't think I have a favorite brand...anything that is endorsed by The Skin Cancer Foundation and goes on without a gross, greasy feeling. And it has to be waterproof.

6. Biggest skincare splurge?

I probably splurge on makeup the most lol. 

7. Celebrity with the most perfect skin?

Oh man, Emma Stone and Dita Von Teese have GORGEOUS porcelain skin!

8. Feature you're most self-conscious about?

I am definitely the most self-conscious about my acne. The medications I'm on cause acne pretty bad and it's just sooooooooooo annoying.

9. What do you think about botox?

I think people should age naturally!

10. I feel most confident when...

I have a full face of makeup on, I'm wearing a nice outfit, and I'm smiling!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently!

I really haven't forgotten about my blog, things have just been a little crazy around here lately. Lots of stress and worrying. I have a lot of things I need to start writing about just to get off my chest and out of my mind, so fear not--lots of updates probably going to start happening today.

I hope all of you are doing well, feeling well, and having a wonderful Monday!

Help raise money to find a cure!

This is my personal fundraising page for those of you wish to donate directly to Aim at Melanoma through me :) Every donation regardless of how big or small it is matters and helps! Help be a part of finding a cure, funding research, and raising awareness!

Please forward this link to your own page and share with your friends and family who may want to donate! And if you’d like to join my team and walk with me you can do so through this site! Thank you so much and have a wonderful night! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask!

This walk is being put on in honor of my father who passed away in July from complications of stage 4 melanoma. It is something I am extremely passionate about and I would LOVE to reach my goal of raising $1,000.00 to fund research and to help find a cure! I can’t do this without any of you!

http://www.aimatmelanoma.org/en/aim-for-action/1158/1159/portland-2013/6413.html

To Whom It May Concern at the CCFA

Dear CCFA,

Please don’t take this the wrong way but these ads are doing more harm than good in our fight to raise awareness. This disease has literally almost killed me. Not because I couldn’t stop using the restroom but because a med I was taking to control symptoms caused me to develop pancreatitis and my kidneys were beginning to shut down. I was in the hospital for three weeks and had to have a bowel resection due to a perforation. 

When people see this ad campaign it makes them believe that my disease consists of needing to use the toilet constantly and that has NOT been my experience. Please try an ad campaign that is less demeaning and that doesn’t make a mockery of my Crohn’s disease. I love the CCFA and I have been in the awareness walks and donated lots of money and time to you, but I refuse to support you if you keep running ads that devalue my experience. The loss of blood, nausea, lack of immune system, malnutrition, 3 yrs on 80mg of prednisone, the constant pain, pills, and infusions. Did you notice that my biggest issue with Crohn’s doesn’t involve being stuck on a toilet? Try making ads that are actually realistic and maybe then we as an IBD community can be taken seriously and stop being known as “the pooping disease”. 

If you can’t do that then you have just lost a huge CCFA supporter, fundraiser and all of my friends and family who once thought you all were on the patients’ side.

Sincerely,
Melissa Stewart

the time has come...

I am sending a prayer up right now before bed: Please, Lord, please let 2013 be a year that beats 2012 in every way possible. My family, friends, and I cannot handle anymore stress, ailments, loss, or sadness. I just want a year that will open my mind to everything the Universe has to give me. I want an open mind, and an open soul. I wish desperately that my dad could be ringing in the new year with us, but he will be in Heaven with his friends and partying it up like crazy. He deserves it. 

This year was so hard on me. I had a ridiculously hard surgery to overcome, my dad got sick and was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma and he died in July after being diagnosed for 5 months. He fought so hard and he kept a smile on his face the entire time. I wouldn't trade my last moments with him for the world. I just hope nobody else has to endure that ache and pain in their lives in the new year. Please send up a prayer of happiness for those who need it, health for those who need it, and love for those who need it. 2012 is so done. I am ready to say goodbye and shed the skin and bad energy off of me that the year has draped over me. It is done.

 I am surrounded by a white light of beauty and protection and love and I know my loved ones are as well. We deserve all the best in the world and it is coming for us. Stay open-minded and the universe will bring you what you want...even if it isn't something you necessarily need right now. Go with it. Accept it. Everything happens for a reason and if we don't understand what the lesson is that's being taught, keep asking questions and keep asking for help. You will find the answers in unexpected places. Just hang on to your beliefs and resolutions. Something good will come to everybody this new year. 

You all deserve it.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

This is in Corvallis where RJ and I spread some of my dad's ashes. It's not at the Wildlife Refuge which was my first choice, but due to the weather conditions we chose to go to Peavy Arboretum, which is another place my dad used to take my sister and I. It was raining but beautiful. We walked to the lake (which we have dubbed December Lake) and found this perfect spot. It was amazing. I cried, and prayed for him. I could feel him there with us. The mist coming down with the rain was ethereal. I love you dad. Rest in peace. You are my hero, my inspiration, and forever my dad. Happy birthday.

Update on health and my dad's birthday.

Well my IBD friends, I did indeed have a Remicade allergy. My poor mouth is chapped and split from the swelling, but it's getting better. I am doing 20mg of prednisone for 3 days to help the allergy reaction. My GI has finally agreed to do a colonoscopy (will be picking a date tomorrow) to see if I do in fact have active disease. I know in my soul that it is my Crohn's; he thinks it's IBS, which is bullshit because with IBS you don't fucking bleed when you use the bathroom unless it's from an external cause. 

I asked my PA what she thinks my next course of action is now that I have literally exhausted every option when it comes to Crohn's medications. She said if I do have active disease, the last medication I can try is Tysabri...which is scary and not available locally, so I'd have to drive every 4 weeks to the large hospital over an hour away. It's where my dad had his chemo infusions and where he died :(

Speaking of my dad, tomorrow is his birthday. He would have been 58. I haven't really processed these emotions yet and I am just so sad. After school RJ and I are going to  go to the wildlife refuge where my dad used to take Kim and I (my twin) on walks ALL the time. We called it Walking In The Woods. I will be spreading some of his ashes there. It will be very sad but I think he'd be happy with that choice. I will post pics tomorrow and write more later. 

Just please, everybody, be sun safe. Wear sunscreen or makeup/moisturizer/lotion with an SPF EVERY SINGLE DAY, EVEN IN WINTER. Melanoma (and skin cancer in general) can strike whether you tan once a year, or you have never a day in your life. Know your risks. Melanoma Research Foundation has amazing information that can literally save your life, as does AIM for a Cure, which is the organization that is hosting the Melanoma 5k in 2013 I will be helping with and participating in! Check them both out, read the stats and facts, learn your risk factor(s), and please-if you are able-donate to both. Any amount helps. Also check out these blogs that will not only give you inspiration, but it may change your life: Adventures With My Enemy Melanoma is written by my friend Chelsea who is a Melanoma survivor and has amazing insight and spirit. Pretty In Pale is a blog written by my friend Katie and she lives in Oregon and is the amazing Melanoma warrior hosting the Melanoma 5k I am participating in in Oregon! Happy reading, and have a wonderful night!