bountifulplate

Long gone are the days that I would sit on the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean for HOURS at a time with just baby oil on my skin for protection. When I look down and see my 3 1/2 inch scar on the back of my left calf, I know it was a very small price to pay for getting diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma Stage 1B Skin Cancer in January of last year. Melanoma is a deadly cancer. I know that I was really, really lucky that it hadn't spread to the rest of my body. Once you have Melanoma, your chances of getting it again increase. The sun and I have a much different "relationship" now. I mow the lawn with sunblock, sunglasses and a hat. The umbrella we have been using for years is not meant for a table on a deck - it's barely bigger than a regular umbrella. I did some research and got a nine-foot umbrella with UV protection - I didn't even know such a thing existed! Even though it is the summertime, the first time I went to my dermatologist after my surgery, I got an ...

Something happened last Friday night that I thought would never happen, at least not for another couple of years. Do you want to know what that was?!?!? Well, let me tell you!! We attended a party for a neighbor's daughter who just graduated from high school and we left Dominic by HIMSELF in our house for about 30 minutes!!! We had explained to him thoroughly where we were going and when we would be back. We also asked him if he was okay with it and he said yes. The party was literally across the street from where we live, but still. Both the hubby and I wanted to go to the party and we both knew if we brought Dominic, the minute he saw a bug, he would go running back to our house, dragging one of us back there with him. We timed it perfectly, because from 7-7:30 p.m. Dominic watches his absolute favorite show, "Wheel of Fortune." Nothing short of a tornado taking the roof off of our house would disturb him while he is transfixed to the television for that half hour! Sin...

Back in November of 2011, when I went in to the hospital for a stress test because I was noticing shortness of breath and an irregular heartbeat, I ended up getting a cardiac catheterization. It was determined that I have Non-Ischemic Cardiomyopathy; Left Bundle Branch Block and Congestive Heart Failure. Whenever I tell someone I have those heart "issues," they are usually surprised. I think they pictured someone in their 80's or 90's, bedridden or in a wheelchair and hooked up to oxygen. That's what I originally thought too!! Non-Ischemic Cardiomyopathy according to Healthline is a "disease of the heart not associated with coronary artery disease; it manifests in either mechanical or electrical dysfunction of the heart."  According to WebMD , "normally, the electrical impulse provided by the bundle branch travels down both the right and left bundle branches at the same speed and the ventricle contract at the same time; if there is a block in on...