Did I mention that I had a dermatologist appointment today?  Because I had very minimal healthcare while both unemployed and at my last job, I hadn’t been to the dermatologist in over a year. Now that I have much better healthcare, I can visit all those professionals who cringe at my hypochondriac ways!

For me, it wasn’t a good thing I missed a skin check—especially since ten years ago, I had Mohs Surgery on my face to get rid of the Squamous Cell Skin Cancer I had been diagnosed with.

I was very fortunate in that I only had two layers cut out.  It hadn’t gotten deep.

It’s been a battle to come to terms with the fact that too much sun is actually bad for you.

Yeah. Lilly White Skin and the Sun’s Rays aren’t the best combo!

Growing up on Long Island meant summers at the beach.  Every day –except when it rained, and there were even rainy days where we just went to the beach because it was fun.

The beach is probably a lot more skin-friendly in rainy weather anyway!

The high school years were spent getting a “base”, which meant beginning on the warm days during the end up April, sitting out in the back yard on those woven chaise lounge beach chairs and slathering a mix of baby oil and iodine on arms, legs and face.

This was funny in “There’s Something About Mary”..but in reality, I DID this. So did my girlfriends–and my sisters–and my mother!!!

 If we were really lucky and the weather became really warm, we would sit outside in our bathing suits and, like little rotisserie chickens, we would turn our bodies to the sun as it rotated the earth.

I’ll sit out in the sun until I’m well-done!

Oh. And those record album covers that opened up—they made great DIY sun reflectors.  Covered with Aluminum foil and placed at our chins so the sun could hit our faces, not only cleared our skin, but did pave the way for future damage.

We didn’t think about the aftereffects of later years.  We were not aware of the price we would later pay by trying to achieve that coffee-colored, golden goddess skin that looked so healthy and glowing during the summer.

Who didn’t want that tan?  The ad is such a throwback to ignorance though.  You get older looking skin after a while.  But–the scent of Coppertone is just so delicious!

Then there were the Irish American girls like me. The ones with freckles and pasty-white skin.  We burned. We blistered.  Forget “Fifty Shades of Gray”—we were “Fifty Shades of Red”! And any phase of a tan was acquired at the end of August—with two weeks to show that slight darkening before going back to school.

My parents spent a small fortune on Solarcaine!!  We all burned except my mother!!  Ouuuuuuuuch. I can still feel that!!

I was so jealous of my olive-skinned girlfriends!

Anyway, the first time I had ever even been to a dermatologist was when I moved back into Manhattan.  In my early thirties, I noticed a shiny pimple on my chest that didn’t go away.  I went to a local derma, he cut it off, took a biopsy and all was fine.

Then about 12 years ago, I noticed a dried pimple over my eyebrow that wouldn’t go away. It was odd because it would sometimes become crusty and sometimes bleed, but it never got bigger.  About a year of trying to get rid of it with creams and rubbing alcohol, I mentioned it to my sister, a nurse, who pooh-poohed me because of my hypochondria.

A year later it was still there and I made an appointment with the Dermatologist who I still see.  It was skin cancer, I had the surgery and that was a huge wakeup call to me.

I don’t burn anymore.  When I do go out in the sun, I am cautious.  I sit under an umbrella. I use sunscreen.  Although I don’t like to, I’ll wear a wide-brimmed hat—but my wigs protect my scalp so it’s double protection.

My view of early-morning Stone Harbor from under the umbrella.  

The beach is one of my favorite places to be during the summer. Whether it’s the Mediterranean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean, they shore has a calming effect on me.

Bonaparte love the beach so much when we are in France that we even dine on the beach!

 I’m not going to stop enjoying the summer months—especially here in the Northeast when we get about six to eight weeks a hear of true summer!

You can find me here if the weather is good!

So, you can just imagine how anxious I was this morning!  I was $hitting in my pants with fear that one of the bumps or freckles or marks on my skin was going to “be something”.

And as I parked the car, I did a glance at my face that was minimally made up and it didn’t look that bad.

Minimalist makeup today. I wore the Laura Geller Balance & Brighten powder foundation.  It looks good too!

I made my way up the stairs and into the office.

This was more like an anxiety-ridden trip up the stairs–forget the grand entrance!

Dr. Covello called me in and did a very intense skin check.  I even took my wig off so she could check my scalp!

Dr. Wildemore and Dr. Covello.  Two of the best Derms on Philly’s Main Line!  They are so nice!

And I had a moment of shock—because for the last ten years, I’ve always had little bits frozen off my body or burned off.

And this time.  Nothing.  It was the greatest skin check I’ve had!  Nothing had to be frozen off my face or arms or legs or chest!

My lightly fake tanned legs were ready to do the happy dance!! My skin is fine!!

Now I can relax for a week until I make the next doctor appointment for my colonoscopy.  Then I’ll really be $hitting bricks.

Seriously though.  If you haven’t done so already, please make an appointment with your doctor to have your skin checked.  The process takes less than twenty minutes.  Do it for yourself!

We’ll be at the pool this weekend rather than the beach though. I don’t like the beach during holiday weekends.  Traffic is too taxing.

But I’ll be sure to put a ton of sunscreen on and protect my skin from damage and drying up like leather.

And speaking of leather……………. remember Chippy ate my wallet on Saturday?

Talk about skin damage!  Look what Chippy did to this leather!!!

I headed over to Amazon in search of another one.  The wallet that I had, I loved. And received a ton of compliments on it, but over the years the slots stretched a bit so I wanted something a bit more secure.

I found a really nice one for a little less than what my nibbled wallet cost.  It’s RFID blocking and made of waxed leather. The finish is very nice and I love the reddish-brown color.  In case you are interested, I put it on my Amazon Page for you to check out.

Here’s a better look.

The wallet came in this adorable box and was even placed in a small dust cover.  I’m such a sucker for packaging!!

I can repurpose this dust cover to carry cosmetic brushes when I’m traveling!

The patina is nice and lusturous and I love the fact there’s no designs on the leather.

Plenty of space for cards…

And more space on the flip side.

I can keep bills that Chippy hasn’t eaten in this zippered compartment.

It holds a ton of stuff very neatly.  Overall, I give this an A!!!

It’s funny because I don’t like to spend a ton of money on a wallet—it’s in your purse and the only time anyone sees it is when you take it out for a moment.  Amazon has some pretty nice ones too–I’m definitely a fan this online way of shopping!  Are you??

I’m going up to apply some fake tanner now.  Have a great evening and take care of your skin!!!!!