I get a skin exam

Photo by Chris Slupski on Unsplash

One of the biggest organs we have is our skin. It covers us from head to toe. If you start googling skin you'll start off with some fun facts and probably very soon go into a dark scary place.

But, hey, that's the internet in general.

I wanted to write this post because I have never done a full-body skin scan thing before. I only ever went to the doctor to solve some weird rash or have warts removed.

This was a little different.

This was someone checking out ALL of your skin.

A few years ago I had flat warts on my face, yes my face. I had to have them removed by a dermatologist. I made this exam because I was worried they were coming back. My primary doctor is fine at freezing planters warts, I've had those too, but will not, and rightly so, remove items off of my face. If I was worried I knew I needed a dermatologist anyway so I figured why not just go straight to the doctor I need.

I called to make an appointment and after rambling about all of my concerns the lady on the phone said the best option is a full-body skin scan.

Fast forward a few months because appointments at the dermatologist's office book up fast. I show up, fill out some paperwork, and then get escorted to a room. The nurse and I chat for a few minutes and then she says here's a robe/sheet please put it on flaps untied in the back. All the way nude, like no undies or anything. The only other appointment where I go all the way to my birthday suit is my yearly women's exam.

I am not really surprised I just assumed undies would be okay. They were not for this office. I say that only because a co-worker who also gets yearly skin exams says she gets to keep her undies. Different doctors I guess.

The doctor then came in, she explained how this is going to go, confirmed I'm not wearing any makeup, and then has me sit on this "chair", It looks like a dentist chair but it slowly raises up and then lays out flat into a table.

So there I am, in a weird sheet/robe, laying flat under a harsh light. Isn't this how weird science fiction horror movies start?

I lay flat on my back as this harsh light is pointed at me and she starts at the top of my head in my hair and works her way to my toes then I flip over and the same thing happens. Flaps are opened and closed as needed and then in just a few minutes I'm done.

That's it.

The doctor lowers me down so the table is now a chair again. The good news is that there is nothing she sees of concerns. I ask her about a few specific spots on my face, these are all just cosmetic things that can be zapped with a laser if I want, However, they are not warts and they show no concerns. I then proceed to ask other questions I wrote down, such as:

Is one type of soap better than another? - Nope

I have dandruff and to keep it at bay I rotate shampoos is that right? - Yup, you've found the best option

Is there a better brand of lotion than another one? - Nope, it is whatever works best for you. They all do about the same so whatever works for you stick with it.

I asked a handful more but it was pretty much to find what works for you and stick with it. There is no perfect anything because there are so many different types of skin. Oh, and eczema will get worse as I age and cause some of my other skin reactions to get worse as well.

Fun!

After I stopped asking a million questions the doctor left, I put my clothes back on, went to the front desk and made my appointment for next year.

Wham bam thank you ma'am.

I wrote this post today because I had no idea what to expect. I could have asked my co-worker, or looked online, or even asked the lady on the phone but I forgot. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up of what they too might experince if they get a full skin scan. I do think everyone should too, as part of their yearly preventative maintenance doctor visits.

Has anyone else gotten a full skin exam? If so, was your experience similar? Please leave a comment below and let me know.

Fort Nights Are The Best

Husband and I are not huge in celebrating Valentine's Day. I shall now list my reasons and feelings for this statement.

• It feels forced and so commercialized. It is just another holiday to go spend money on stuff not needed and food items that will ruin my New Years' resolution to lose weight/eat healthier. 
• I am really bad at being romantic, my brain is honestly not wired to be all sappy and sweet. When Husband and I were still dating when I said the perfect line I would pat myself on the back for a WEEK. That much praise for saying one sentence or line correctly is kind of sad.
• Holidays though advertised for weeks still seem to just pop out of nowhere and it stresses me out a bit. I am all for avoiding things that stress me out
• I've worked in the restaurant world for too many years. This holiday can be NUTS with long waits, hungry people, specials, stressed out everyone trying to achieve that, "perfect" moment. No thank you. Next to Mother's Day, I run from going out to restaurants on Valentine's Day.
• Out of the five love languages which are, Quality Time, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, and Gift Giving, Gift giving is always number 5 for me. Number one and two are usually tied for Quality Time and Acts of Service. 

This is why we actually planned last Friday night not because it was Valentine's Day but because we were both off of work. 

What did we do? You can tell by the title, we built a fort. 

We've built forts in the past. It's a fun date night and we try to do it about once a year if not more. Plus it brings out the kids in anyone to say, I built a fort last night!

We normally built the traditional fort with sheets, chairs, and a ton of blankets and pillows on the floor. This time we went for something a little different. 

I looked at Husband and was like fort's don't always involve tents sometime's it just areas guarded by people. He agreed and set to work arming all of my teddy bears, making sure they covered all of the doors and windows to the living room in our house while I changed, cooked our frozen pizza dinner and put the movie on.

A few minutes later we were snuggled up to watch the new Aladdin. Side note, it was really cute! The bears protected us and kept us safe while we enjoyed the show. 

It was a good night!

What are your favorite silly date night activities? Leave me a comment below!

Water No Ice Please

Photo by Jana Sabeth on Unsplash

I like my water without ice. If I honestly had the perfect water it would be just a little cooler than room temperature but not cold. 

I have been given a weird look by many friends and family members since most of them seem to enjoy super cold water. It isn't a teeth sensitivity as much as just my ability to chug the water if I so choose. 

I also dislike water fountains because I don't feel satisfied with them. Yes, I had some water but it just leaves me wanting more. If I have the option I'd rather fill a cup up from the water fountain and then drink.

I really like water but am bad at drinking it, so when I do remember it is normally is like let's make up for the last 4 hours without drinking water, chug, chug, chug. 

I also drink just water at restaurants. I have been, and continue to be, in the restaurant world. I am not trying to save a few bucks, I just don't like soda or tea. Even if I do order coffee or an adult beverage I also ask for a glass of water.

What has changed recently is the additional information with my water request. I have started to ask for no ice. I have hesitated on this request for years because drinks without ice slosh all over the place and as a former server that is stupid annoying. Just like martinis. Those are super cute glasses and usually pretty yummy BUT bringing them from point A to point B when not sitting AT the bar sucks, a whole bunch.

I would request no ice because I was trying to be nice to the server or whomever. However, I am 33 years old and if I don't want ice in my glass, then I'm going to use my voice and request no ice in my glass.

As silly as it sounds, so far so good. I also know that if I did get ice in my water I would not send it back and I would not complain. It is the same thing with lemons. If I get a lemon sweet if I don't get a lemon okay. It is water, and I'll live. 

To all my future servers, here is my apology in advance but I will not change. 

Does anyone else like room temperature water? Or need to always have ice in their drink? If so let me know with a comment below!