Winner: "Sixtyfive Roses" signed book

Lisa Munley is the winner of the "Sixtyfive Roses" signed book giveaway.

This book chronicles the relationship between Heather and her sister, Pam, who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at age four, and the journey their family went through. Heather's parents went on to start the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and with the effort for research and new treatments, Pam was given years to live instead of months.

Five percent of the proceeds from book sales go to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Keep checking back for more giveaways from Uptown Liz.

Giveaway: Free "Sixtyfive Roses" Book, Signed Copy

May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, and nothing seems more appropriate than to give away the touching memoir, "Sixtyfive Roses", by Heather Summerhayes Cariou. This book chronicles the relationship between Heather and her sister, Pam, who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at age four, and the journey their family went through. Heather's parents went on to start the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and with the effort for research and new treatments, Pam was given years to live instead of months.

Many celebrities are a fan of this read, including Celine Dion who wrote the foreword and Eva Longoria Parker who has optioned the film rights.

Five percent of the proceeds from book sales go to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Enter the contest by leaving a comment to this blog entry (see rules below). Tell us how Cystic Fibrosis has affected your life, or what your favorite product is on Uptown Liz (or any thing else you would like to comment on). The winner will receive one signed, copy of "Sixtyfive Roses".

Giveaway Rules 1) You must be an Uptown Liz subscriber to our blog feed or our newsletter. 2) Enter the contest by leaving a comment to this blog entry. 3) The winner will be randomly selected on Saturday 6pm PST. 4) The winner will be announced on the blog Sunday (the following day). 5) This item cannot be shipped to a PO Box address.

Body Care Ingredients That Kill

Since losing my 28 year old sister, Liz, to breast cancer, I have done a lot of research on health. One of the many things I have discovered is how toxic our personal care products are to our bodies. Our skin is our largest organ, absorbing 80% of what goes on it into our bloodstream and vital organs. My sister was a huge perfume and lotion junkie, where I was addicted to lip gloss and skin care.

Once I started becoming more aware, it was shocking to discover what we are putting into our bodies. We are using these goodies to look better, but in reality, we are slowly destroying our health (from the inside out). I started buying products that boasted "No sulfates, parabens, etc." without reading the full ingredient list. Further research showed this was only the beginning, and most products claiming to be "natural" or "organic" were false advertisers.

I found this ingredient list from Health Wanted - one of my favorite blogs - to be very helpful. I keep it in my purse and refer to it when I'm purchasing personal care products.

May is Military Appreciation Month

I am the daughter, daughter-in-law, granddaughter and cousin of veterans. I am also the proud sister of a soldier in the United States Army. May is Military Appreciation Month, and there are many ways to honor and give back to our service men and women.

Send a letter of thanks to http://www.amillionthanks.org/.
Ship a care package to a soldier through http://www.uso.org.donate/.
Write an uplifting message at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/.
Hire a veteran by visiting http://www.hirevetsfirst.gov/.
When you see a service man or woman say "thank you".
Contact your local VA and volunteer your time.
Fly the flag on your house or place of business.

To support military causes by shopping, go to the military page on Uptown Liz.

Photo caption: Ramona Russell (right) with her brother, Nathan, who is serving in the Army.

Oprah: Dr. Oz Talks About MRSA

During today's Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Oz discussed MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) as the new "super bug". The information on this infection was the most comprehensive I have heard and I encourage all of you to watch the show.

Recently, a friend of a friend (who was a young boxer) died from MRSA, but not before having his hand amputated to try and fight off the infection.

Another friend contracted MRSA from not changing her razor frequently enough and shaving over bumps on her legs. The only signs/symptoms she had were a minor-looking rash where she shaved; she needed two rounds of antibiotics to treat it successfully.

Although I'm a very good hand washer and a bit of a health nut, I still caught MRSA - through my acne.

Last year I was diagnosed with it after a routine visit to the dermatologist for acne. This was the first time I had heard of this "super bug", and showed no signs (or symptoms) of the infection. My acne - which I had struggled with on and off since I was a teenager - was particularly bad and despite my best efforts, not going away. My dermatologist - who is aggressive and happens to culture the most MRSA out of all the doctors in her practice - decided to test for it even though it looked like just a bad case of "puberty".

She told me it was hard to treat and gave me an oral antibiotic and a cream for my nose and perineum - this treatment combination was showing to be the most successful her practice had seen (less than 10% had to come back).

Some panicked preliminary online research recommended throwing out cosmetics, bleaching household surfaces and washing sheets and towels in hot water. When I asked the dermatologists (three to be exact), they all had varying opinions on the matter. One said to go the very aggressive route, another said to do a bit of cleaning and the last one said that the antibiotics would be enough without doing anything else.

Being the germophobe diligent housekeeper that I am, I followed the aggressive, five alarm fire, terror alert advice. I threw out any product that had touched my acne (I kept products for lips and eyes), bleached the entire house (including door knobs, light switches, drawers, basically anything my hand had touched), and washed everything in hot water for two weeks.

Interestingly enough, no one close to me got MRSA, which was a relief after making my list of family, friends and children I may have infected and practicing my "MRSA phone call".

I attribute kicking MRSA's butt to diligently taking my medication, being on few antibiotics most of my life, compulsively cleaning my bubble house, eating right, exercising and several years of being treated with alternative health care (I have recently learned that the alternative practitioner I see has a successful oral and topical treatment for MRSA.).

To find out more about MRSA, watch today's episode of Oprah and go to Oprah.com.

Pangea Organics Earth Day Coupon

In celebration of Earth Day, Pangea Organics is offering 20% off your entire online order through the end of April (code "ALWAYSEARTHDAY").

The ecocentric bodycare line - known for their packaging that you can plant - is made with the highest quality organic and cruelty-free ingredients and without petroleum, sulfates, detergents, synthetic preservatives, GMOs, artificial colors and fragrances.

Not only is Pangea Organics good for your skin, it's good for the planet as well. A portion of their profits go toward building the Pangea Institute - "an emerging, non-profit organization dedicated to researching and teaching all aspects of sustainable living and business practices".

Stroke Warning Signs

Stroke is the leading cause of death in the United States - behind heart disease and cancer - killing over 160,000 Americans every year. Two thirds of the six million afflicted are disabled, which is the leading long-term disability in this country. Twice as many women are killed from a stroke than breast cancer, but think they are at greater risk from cancer.

The good news is that 80% of the strokes are preventable.

Risk factors for stroke include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, family history of stroke, obesity, previous strokes and ignorance of these risk factors.

Some warning signs:
WALK (is your balance off)
TALK (is your speech slurred or face droopy)
REACH (is your vision all or partly lost)
FEEL (is your headache severe)
TONGUE (ask the individual to stick out their tongue to see if it's crooked - going to one side or another)
STR:
S: Ask the individual to SMILE
T: Ask the person to TALK and say a simple sentence
R: Ask the person to RAISE both arms.

If you recognize any of these signs - even if they go away - call 911. If given the right treatment within the right amount of time, a stroke can be reversed. FAST - a great acronym to remember - stands for FACE, ARMS, SPEECH and TIME.

For more (surprising) information on stroke, go to the Stroke Awareness Foundation.