The wanderlust: Australia

The beach where we went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef.

The day before I flew to Australia, I went to happy hour with a couple of friends who spent the entire time trying to convince me I was going to be (a) bitten by a poisonous spider, (b) stung by a box jellyfish, (c) eaten by a shark, or (d) bulldozed by a 6-foot-tall kangaroo. I'm disappointed to report that I didn't see a single dangerous monster my entire two weeks abroad, unless you count Australia's merciless sun.

While Australia is known for some of the highest skin cancer rates in the world, they've also become a leader in melanoma prevention, banning indoor tanning beds and encouraging sun safety in schools. As someone who has been very active in advocating for melanoma prevention here in the states, I've often looked to Australia for inspiration.

The purpose of my trip was pleasure, not business, so I ended up doing more sightseeing than research. But I'm pleased to report that I survived two weeks sans sunburn, thanks to SPF 50 and some of my favorite UV-protective hats and scarves.

I hope you'll enjoy some of the photos from my trip below. I think it's important to acknowledge that, even though I've been impacted by skin cancer, I won't let that scare me from snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef or taking a walking tour through the rainforest. Nature is gorgeous and I feel blessed to be able to experience as much of it as I possibly can. Here's to checking another box off my bucket list.

My bestie from college and host while I was visiting Australia.

Koala! Hands down, absolute highlight of my trip.

Opera House.

Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The Whitsunday Islands from above.

The Twelve Apostles. Photo doesn't do it justice - it was stunning!

More from the Great Ocean Road.

Practicing safe sun in Australia.

Wallaby!

Street art in Melbourne.

Aussie Rules Footy game.

Oh, the places you'll go

Last week, I was sitting in my office, reading through a proposal for a grant, when I looked up at my calendar and realized it's been exactly five years since I was diagnosed with melanoma. How funny it is to think back five years. In some ways, I feel like I'm the same person, but in so many other ways, I feel like I'm not.

I watched a TED Talk over Christmas break called, "The psychology of your future self." The premise of the talk is that--because we can't imagine where we'll be in the future--we underestimate how much we'll change five, ten, or twenty years down the road.



Here's a snippet:

At every age, from 18 to 68... people vastly underestimated how much change they would experience over the next 10 years... Why does this happen? We're not entirely sure, but it probably has to do with the ease of remembering versus the difficulty of imagining. Most of us can remember who we were 10 years ago, but we find it hard to imagine who we're going to be, and then we mistakenly think that because it's hard to imagine, it's not likely to happen. Sorry, when people say "I can't imagine that," they're usually talking about their own lack of imagination, and not about the unlikelihood of the event that they're describing.

The bottom line is, time is a powerful force. It transforms our preferences. It reshapes our values. It alters our personalities. We seem to appreciate this fact, but only in retrospect. Only when we look backwards do we realize how much change happens in a decade. It's as if, for most of us, the present is a magic time. It's a watershed on the timeline. It's the moment at which we finally become ourselves. Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they're finished. The person you are right now is as transient, as fleeting and as temporary as all the people you've ever been. The one constant in our life is change.

This year, instead of coming up with a traditional New Years Resolution (or in my case, usually about 15), I decided to set one goal: Travel to Australia to visit my good friend from college.

Sounds simple enough, right? Then why have I been putting it off for the past year and a half? Perhaps the thought of spending a whole paycheck on a flight is scary and it's inconceivable for a work-a-holic like me to take 12 days of PTO in one fell swoop. But I'm doing it! I booked my flight over the weekend, and now I have a little less than three months to plan my trip to the other side of the world. I'm giddy with excitement, and yes, a little scared, but I hope that by continuing to push myself a little outside my comfort zone, I'll become an even better version of myself in 2020, 2025, 2030, and beyond.

Road tripping

I just got back from a four-day road trip down to Southern and Central Oregon with Tim. Even though it's only a few hours away, I hadn't been to Crater Lake or Bend since I was a a kid. Our trip wasn't as glamorous as my trip to Cabo or Napa Valley, but it was AWESOME.

Our first stop was Crater Lake in Southern Oregon. In case you've never heard of it, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. and the 9th deepest lake in the world. Because the water is so deep (and clean) it's the most jaw-dropping deep blue you could imagine. While we were gaping at the view, Tim and I met a lovely couple who was visiting from New Mexico. They snapped this picture for us.

Tim and I did a hike from the rim of the crater down to the water. It looks like an innocent, 2-mile hike, but the steep drop in elevation makes for a beast of a walk back up. (In case you were worried, I'm wearing SPF 50 in this picture.)

After Crater Lake, we drove up to Bend, which is a growing town in Central Oregon. About 15 miles south of Bend, we found these incredible lava caves. Apparently, tubes of lava from nearby volcanoes carved out tunnels in the rock. Now, you can rent a lantern and hike about a mile deep into the lava caves. Needless to say, it was pretty freakin' cool. I'm also quite proud of myself for overcoming my claustrophobia and not totally freaking out about being 30-minutes deep into a cave full of bats and goodness knows what else.

In the decade since I've visited Bend, several trendy microbreweries have also sprouted up. We visited a few of them, including 10 Barrel and Crux Fermentation Project. Rumor has it they're opening a 10 Barrel taproom in my neighborhood soon. I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of their flagship beer--the Apocalypse IPA--but the food was great and I can never say no to a taster tray.

As you can see, it was a pretty action-packed weekend. Not to sound like too much of a cheeseball, but I feel pretty lucky to live within driving distance of mountains and lakes and rivers and waterfalls and so many other beautiful natural resources. If you've never visited the Pacific Northwest, I highly suggest you book a trip.

Where did April go?

When life gets tough, I just need to remind myself: I climbed this!

I can't believe it's almost May. This month has been a blur. It probably seems like I've gone MIA, but I've just been really, really busy with melanoma-related activities. Earlier this month, I traveled to Utah for a meeting with SolSurvivors, a patient advocacy organization based in Salt Lake City. (This is the group I'm working with on the PCORI-funded project.) Then today, I had a chance to meet with this guy in Seattle. Everyone I've met since I began working on this project has been incredibly receptive to the idea of involving patients in the design of cancer research and outreach projects. There's still lots of details up in the air and lots to figure out, but I'm feeling very confident about being able to engage more laypeople in the melanoma research process going forward--and that's incredibly, incredibly exciting to me.

Meanwhile, it's crunch time as we prepare for the Northwest Melanoma Walk on May 31. I've connected with several new partners for the the walk this year, so it'll be interesting to see how the event evolves from last year.

Protecting my skin from the hot Cabo sun.

On a slightly unrelated note, this month I also accomplished something I never thought would be possible: I turned off my iPhone for five full days while I was in Mexico.

Coming from someone who checks her email at least 50 times a day and practically cuddles her phone when she goes to sleep, I was expecting to go through withdrawals. But, surprisingly, the company I kept while I was vacationing was enough to distract me from that constant nagging feeling that I needed to check my email. I suppose the margaritas and shrimp tacos didn't hurt either.

Disconnecting during an incredibly busy time--both at work and for my patient advocacy activities--was oddly liberating. I embraced relaxation to the point where I barely felt like myself anymore. I danced until 4 a.m. and climbed a huge mountain of rocks (see photo above), even though I'm ordinarily scared of heights. I heard people talk about their tans and sunburns, and I barely batted an eye.

My amigas!

I think one of my strengths as a human being is my ability to be empathetic and compassionate to others. But let's be real: caring is exhausting. It was nice to know that I could almost "turn it off" for a few days, just so that I could get a little down time.

Coming back to work on Monday was a bit of a rude wake up call. My inbox was full and I had several major deadlines to meet. Regardless, Cabo '14 will go down as one of the best trips ever. Crazy adventures with great friends--and I was finally able to chill out enough to enjoy it. Definitely just what I needed to get me through my busy season.

Spring break state of mind

Sun Bum sunscreen / Butter london nail polish / Vintage cateye sunglasses / Stella Dot beige leather handbag / Gap loafer shoes

The past few weeks have been busy, busy. I have lots of exciting things in the works that I can't wait to share, but for the time being I'm going to keep my lips sealed and simply blab about my upcoming vacation plans.

When I was in college, I never went on *spring break.* My family paid to fly me across the country to go to college, so they couldn't rationalize spending $1,000 to put me up in an all-inclusive resort when I was 19. Fair enough. Nearly ten years later, I finally have the opportunity to travel to Mexico for the first time this April. After all the traveling I did last year, I've been getting a little stir crazy the past couple of months. Plus, I need an excuse to shop for shorts when it's still nearly freezing outside. Needless to say, I'm stoked.

Because of the whole skin cancer thing, traveling to exotic, sun-filled locations continues to present some challenges. I'm obviously not going to have a tan when I arrive in Cabo, and I'm probably going to be paranoid about getting a sunburn while I'm there. But that doesn't mean I don't like visiting tropical islands or drinking piña coladas on the beach. I love going on vacation. I wish I could travel more frequently than I already do. In fact, at some point during the next year or so, my heart is set on visiting a good friend of mine who is currently living in Australia. What this means is that I usually end up spending a fair amount of time under the beach umbrella and I pay extra to check luggage because I have too many bottles of SPF to fit in a quart-sized plastic baggie. Sometimes I wish I could be more "normal," but what does normal really mean, anyway?

Now that 2013 is over, can I take a nap?

When I was a kid, I spent every New Year's Eve reading through old diary entries. Now that I'm a grown up, I have a blog to scroll through when I'm feeling nostalgic. Without even having to look through a year of entries, I can tell you that 2013 has been one of the busiest, most exciting years of my life. Stressful at times, but for the most part, quite rewarding. Here's a brief look back at the past year.

In Spring 2013, I testified for the Oregon State House of Representatives and Senate in support of a bill to ban minors under age 18 from using indoor tanning beds.

Testifying for the Oregon State House Health Care Committee.

Ultimately, the bill passed, and I was invited to the signing ceremony with Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber. The new law goes into effect in January 2014, so I'll be following closely to see how tanning salons handle compliance with the new restrictions.

Oregon teen tanning ban bill signing ceremony.

Meanwhile, I was also pretty busy planning the 2nd Annual Portland Melanoma Walk, which took place in May 2013. The event raised nearly $40,000, which was more than double our original goal!

Portland Melanoma Walk 2013.

More Portland Melanoma Walk.

Throughout the year, I got to travel to some pretty exciting places, including New Orleans, the Dominican Republic, Washington DC, Boston, and Sonoma Valley.

New Orleans in Spring 2013.

My best friend's bachelorette party in Sonoma.

Jessica's wedding week in Punta Cana.

Chelsea's bachelorette at the Oregon Coast.

Wine tasting with Tim and his family in Napa.

Several very important people in my life got married in 2013, including my friends Jessica, Chelsea, and Liz, my cousin Jameson, and my brother Andrew.

The bride and her MOH.

 

My brother's wedding in August 2013.

Me and Tim at Chelsea's wedding.

And let's not forget: I survived a three-mile run while being pelted with paint.

Me and Debbie at the Color Run in Fall 2013.

Earlier this month, as 2013 began to wind down, I started wondering whether it would be possible to "outdo" myself in 2014. How could I possibly schedule more than 10 trips or beat my fundraising goal again? While there are never any guarantees, I have a feeling that 2014 has some pretty exciting things in store for me. My philosophy on life these days can be summed up by a short quote from Louis Pasteur: "Chance favors the prepared mind." After years of preparation, I'm definitely ready to make my mark on the world.

With that, I wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe New Year. 

Cheers,
Katie

Labor Day in Napa Valley

Here are a few photos from my Labor Day trip to Napa with Tim and his family. I tried some new sunscreen while I was there, so I'll be sharing a review of that soon.

Special thanks to Instagram for making me feel like an artist. Well, sort of.

Sending love to all students and teachers who are heading back to school this week, including my mom! :)

View from our deck at sunset.

Barrels at Sterling Winery in Calistoga.

Grapes!

The most amazing wine and cheese pairing ever at Brown Estates.

Hello, summer

Wine tasting in Sonoma for Liz's bachelorette.

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! I've been caught up in vacation mode for the past two weeks. The last weekend in June I spent in Sonoma Valley for my best friend's much-anticipated bachelorette party. We stayed in a gorgeous "chateau," tasted countless varieties of wine, and had a Real Housewives themed in-house catered dinner. Everything was over the top and fabulous.

After the mini-vacay, I had a super short work week. I spent the 4th with my boyfriend and some of our friends and had so much fun. I won't lie: I absolutely love summer. I know I can't bathe in the sun all day like I used to, but what's better than spending a hot day by the pool, sipping sangria with a handful of close friends? Nada.

To my credit, I plowed through my bottle of Neutrogena Beach Defense. Even Tim used it. Also a crowd pleaser: Neutrogena Wet Skin Spray SPF 50. I don't always trust spray on sunscreens (I've been burned too many times!), but I like how you can apply this one on damp skin.

I didn't take any photos on the 4th (whoops!), but I have plenty from the bachelorette weekend to make up for it. Here are a few of my favorites.

Liz and me.

Walking around the vineyards.

Champagne toast.

The house we rented.

May madness

Portland Melanoma Walk 2013

I've had a busy, busy, busy month. We had the Portland Melanoma Walk on Saturday, May 11. The event surpassed all my expectations--almost 300 attendees and we've raised $35,000 and counting. The walk has more than doubled since 2012, which I'm thrilled about. As a volunteer-run event, I think we've made amazing progress with the limited resources we have. There seems to be quite a bit of potential for continued growth, too, so all the chaos seems to have been worth it.

Renting port-o-potties: the less glamorous aspects of event planning

A day after the walk, I flew to Austin, TX for work. I wish I'd had more time to spend being a tourist! I also wish I'd had a bit more time to catch up on sleep before the trip. I was probably still a little sleep deprived from waking up at 3:30 a.m. that Saturday.

Austin, TX!

Now I'm back in Portland. Still busy, busy. Looking forward to summertime when I can zone out, curl up with a trashy beach read, and spend more time catching up with friends. August looks promising? :)

So proud of my fellow "molemates" for all the great things you're doing to support skin cancer awareness this month.

"Drink bottled water and don't burn"

The Hard Rock, Punta Cana.

Hola! I made it back from the Dominican Republic in one piece. The whole trip was surreal. We'd be planning it for almost a year, so when we finally got there, I think we were all a little like, "Is this really happening?"

Boat and swimming excursion - so fun!

Punta Cana is truly unlike any place I've ever been. Granted, I'd never been to the Caribbean, nor had I visited a Spanish-speaking country before, but STILL. The Hard Rock resort was insane, and the beach was truly the perfect backdrop to my friend Jessica's wedding ceremony.

Gorgeous location for a wedding!

I am also very proud to share that I made it through the whole week without frying myself! On our shuttle from the Punta Cana airport to the resort, our driver warned us: "Drink bottled water and don't burn." I'd already heard that the Dominican sun can be incredibly intense, so as I mentioned in my last post before I left for vacation, I was a little worried about getting a sunburn. Some helpful hints that kept me from burning:

1. Don't skimp on the sunscreen. It takes about a shot glass or 1 oz. of sunscreen to adequately protect your whole body. When I packed for the trip, I calculated how much sunscreen to bring by assuming I'd need 1 oz. for every two hours I spent in the sun.
2. Reapply, reapply, reapply. Since we spent a lot of our time in the pool, I often reapplied my sunscreen more frequently than every two hours. For example, one afternoon we swam from about noon to 4 p.m. During those four hours, I reapplied SPF 30 to my face, neck, ears, and shoulders about five or six times. Some of my friends who didn't reapply as frequently ended up with severe sunburns and blisters.
3. Seek the shade. When possible, I hung out under the shade of a beach umbrella.
4. Create your own shade. I'm notorious for burning my scalp, so I made sure to bring a hat on the trip. It ended up being a huge lifesaver! The hat not only saved me from burning, but it also kept my crazy beach hair in check.

Proof that it's possible to go on vacation without burning.

Now it's back to the real world. I'm usually such a slave to my iPhone that I didn't think I was going to be able to unplug for the whole week. But I did! Aside from a few quick Facebook posts to check in with friends and family from home, work and email were the furthest things from my mind. A much needed mental vacation. Congratulations Dustin & Jessica! Thank you for planning such an amazing destination wedding.

Have you gone on any fun trips this spring? Or do you have any vacations planned for this summer? Anyone else been to the Dominican Republic?

P.S. One more day to enter my Fitbit giveaway! Please enter and share with your friends.