A Nice Souvenir From My Vacation in Tampa!

Last week Jessy and I decided to take a road trip to visit my sister and nephews in Florida. We had absolutely perfect weather and my sister took us to some gorgeous beaches. Siesta Key has white powdered sand and crystal clear water. I'm just used to burning hot sand that makes your feet feel like they're bleeding! This was a very nice change. We also went to Anna Maria Island for a day and it was sooo beautiful...and the sunset was the cherry on top! I also got a little work done and even had time for a photoshoot!

On our final day in Florida we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and had a blast! Hulk, Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, and The Doom are just crazy! One word of warning though, the "Fast Pass" is great to avoid lines but you can only use it once per ride...and it's an extra $40 on top of the $79 ticket price!

Now I must explain the title of my blog post. I try to stay out of the sun as much as I can and when I am in the sun I constantly reapply sunblock and also use sunblock chapstick. I do this for 2 reasons: 1) I had melanoma in my foot and my dermatologist would probably kill me if I showed up with tan lines. 2) I get really bad sun blisters on my lips. I managed to come home with just a slight tan but my lips however are another story! Instead of the usual big blister on one side of my top lip, I ended up with loooots of tiny little bumps all over my top and bottom lips!! Ahhhh!!

So...if you are prone to cold sores, I have a few tips I'd like to share. When I feel a cold sore coming on I take 2 L-Lysine pills (can be found in any drug-store) per day. It's a natural amino acid that promotes healthy collagen. Abreva, although very expensive, is the only cold sore medicine that gets rids of the problem fastest. Campho-Phenique is another pretty good alternative if you have time to let the blister run it's course. However, Abreva did not work this time for me. I think because it was from the sun and not from a change in weather, my normal methods didn't work. My lips were really itchy and dry and the Abreva made them even drier. To make a long story even longer, I tried Aquaphor -- which is actually the jelly that my doctor gave me after my foot surgery to keep my wound nice and moisturized. It sealed in moisture and my lips are back on track...thankfully...

I'll spare you photos of my busted lip and instead share with you a couple photos of the beautiful sunset on Anna Maria Island....