My show about Vitiligo in Los Angeles

My show about Vitiligo in Los Angeles
Chef Lauren Von Der Pool guest talking about diet !

Tortured Soul -Live House Music Band-and AWESOME!

Tortured Soul -Live House Music Band-and AWESOME!
Hangin with a few members from Tortured Soul!

AT top of Stone Mountain

AT top of Stone Mountain
GOtta always apply Solbar sunblock #50 to my face/body when I am outside in the sun , otherwise my face will burn and the white spots get real pink and will burn. I have no more pigment on my lips & now have to switchup my darn lipstick colors!! so annoying! lol

Me on top of Stone Mountain

Me on top of Stone Mountain
THis is one of my Southern USA oasis. THe hike to the top is beyond amazing!

Sisterfriend and I @ Park 52 Restaurant-Chicago

Sisterfriend and I @ Park 52 Restaurant-Chicago
Not afraid to show my white patches!! gotta be fearless

On Set- Santa Monica, CA

On Set- Santa Monica, CA
My talk show dedciated to people with Vitiligo

Brave and Beautiful Little One

Brave and Beautiful Little One
Vitiligo and Personality!! When I see this little princess, I am so inspired by her ! Pls teach your kids to respect and be kind to those that look different from them, for they are human and are still beautiful inspite of the differences!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Love unconditional-vitiligo or not!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
men are beautiful too with vitiligo!

Anotha beauty from the inside out!

Anotha beauty from the inside out!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

WHen you first see a person with Vitiligo on the face or hands , your first thought is...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Friends with VIt-Gotta love yourself no matter what and WE DO!!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

A VICTORY!

This is so great! Today I interview for my television pilot/show, Dr. Pearl Grimes!!
Finally, this "Rock-Star" Dermatologist's schedule opened up. We will use this footage to educate and inform all of you living with Vitiligo and those that still don't understand what the heck it is!

So we will be looking forward to using that footage and am excited of what other great possibilities are in store with Dr. Grimes and our Pilot.

Be well,

Maia

Thursday, September 18, 2008

MAXWELL Is Coming to Los Angeles

Well my girlfriends and gay guy friends have spent a whole lot of time texting, emailing and blabbing away at who is going to have front row seats and all access to Maxwell's long long long awaited concert tour!

Finally, I had to break it down to all my friends who still are very youthful and tell them, "The only person who has the "access" you want to Maxwell is his model GIRLFRIEND!!!" -LOL So, of course my reality check to them has limited my popularity (temporarily). :-) Everyone in LA practically is scrambling for outfits, good tickets and the info on the after after after party!!

OMG!! Why do I feel like I am 21 again? It is so funny to listen to al lthis hoopla , Maxwell is the soulful crooner that makes any woman want to dip in that bathtub with him from THAT video!! go to www.youtube.com and see what i am talking about if you haven't seen it in a while.

He truly is a talented brotha and I hope that he will be so calming and smooth to listen to that maybe some of my white patches might transform back to brown. It does happen when I am less stressed, eating right, exercising and listening to Maxwell!!--LOL

HOpe to get an interview with him to mention in my blog......................

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

It's Official!! Dr. Grimes Will Be Interviewed for a Segment of the show, "Turning White In Hollywood", (TWH)

Confucius said: "Nine thoughts to one word".


.....And my one word was "PLEASE??!!" my 9 thoughts were repetitive on how I would somehow lock in the renown Dr. Pearl E. Grimes to answer many medical questions concerning Vitiligo on the show. Now it's one thought "relief" and two words "Thank YOU"!!- LOL :-)

Well today it finally happened! Her efficient and very polite office Manager, delivered the news that Dr. Grimes agreed to be interviewed at her offices in Los Angeles, (Mid-Wilshire area).

A HUGE thank you to Mark and to Dr. Grimes! I know that many people living with Vitiligo (and those who never heard of it) will be educated. And many of her patients will appreciate hearing more of her knowledge on this complex condition.

Please log on to www.pearlgrimesmd.com to learn more about Dr. Pearl E. Grimes and of her contributions in research on Vitilgo and other skin disorders.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Invasion of the White Patches

"Humbleness, forgiveness, clarity and love are the dynamics of freedom. They are the foundations power."
-Gary Zukav



I woke up this morning with my head resting on the back of my hand. As I opened my eyes I noticed this large milky way white patch on my hand. It had pink tones on this very white patch.

On days like this, this disorder attempts to break down my psyche or ego about feeling and staying attractive. It humbles me and at the same time causes me to begin the mourning process of losing this beautiful brown golden skin tone my Daddy's gene gave me.


Funny, when my skin color ultimately transforms all white, I will actually look more related to my very light skinned blue-eyed mother! (she is African-American with I am sure a sprinkle of English and Native American) How ironic is that?
....and NO her light pigment has nothing to do with my Vitiligo. -lol

I am nervous about it spreading to my face and creating uneven white patches. By that time,I probably will seek the treatment to expedite the loss of my brown pigment so that the white patches will become even all over.

And you think you have life decisions to make?!!-lol

Maia

Thursday, September 11, 2008

TWH Guests bringing hope to the idea....

"Turning white changes my color but doesn't change my personality. Living with Vitiligo allows me to educate and empower others as I manifest my highest potential, regardless of what I look like."

-Maia La Ville

This is the 7th anniversary of 911 and I hope all of us will take a silent moment today/tonight in honor of those that lost their lives and to their families.

Today was such a great day for the TWH project (Turning White in Hollywood). I finally reached J.D. Runnels, or rather he reached out to me and we had a great conversation about the project. I really hope J.D. and his wife will fly up to LA so JD can really give us his one on one perspective of living with Vitiligo. He sounds like a very interesting man with a diverse background.

To top that off my 1st guest on the show will be flying from Atlanta, Georgia to share her life experiences on the subject as well. Robin is writing a book and is the former spokesperson for Dermablend Cosmetics featured on the Guthy-Renker Infomercials. So, many of us are excited to hear her story of challenges and triumphs in living with Vitiligo.

I am still crossing my fingers for Dr. Grimes in hopes her schedule will free up for this next taping of TWH. We will see.

My other guest who is a superb celebrity make-up artist, Pam Farmer has been swamped with 15 hour days lately. Today she was providing make up for Jennifer Lewis -Disney and text me to say she wants to be a guest on the show. The project is getting it's buzz on and I really hope that the children truly benefit from all of these amazing people who either have vitiligo or are acquainted with those that do.


One step at a time but looks like they are becoming fast steps!!

Ciao,

Maia

Monday, September 8, 2008

Learning Curve

Yesterday my wonderful loving sister told me I need to make some changes to my blog. She said she loves my idea but that it needed some work. This is all so new to me and of course my feelings were hurt but she's good at what she does and so I listened, processed and digested. (Taking the action is coming though-lol)

It will take me a bit to transform the blog but I have alot a work to do and really am trying to get the gist of it. My sole intention is to share with you who I am, what I am about, my likes and dislikes, my honest feelings about turning white and all the going ons in my life, the things I find fascinating and things that just plain irritate me!-this is my intention.

I will continue to navigate the blog waters and hopefully as I grow, so will my blog and readers, all 200 of you. :-) I am not doing this to be popular, like I said it is therapy and the joy of sharing whether one of you reads it or just me! --LOL

It will definitely change and as I evolve with the TV show I am taping to pitch, everything else will evolve too.

Thanks for your interest and feel free to leave your constructive comments or compliments, either way it is all very helpful and fun!

happy day!

What Is Vitiligo? (lesson 1) :-)

Vitiligo
Signs and symptoms

Content provided by MayoClinic.com
The main sign of vitiligo is pigment loss that produces milky-white patches (depigmentation) on your skin. Other less common signs may include:

Premature whitening or graying of the hair on your scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows or beard
Loss of color in the tissues that line the inside of your mouth (mucous membranes)
Loss or change in color of the inner layer of your eye (retina)
Although any part of your body may be affected by vitiligo, depigmentation usually develops first on sun-exposed areas of your skin, such as your hands, feet, arms, face and lips. Although it can start at any age, vitiligo often first appears between the ages of 20 and 30. Vitiligo generally appears in one of three patterns:

Focal. Depigmentation is limited to one or a few areas of your body.
Segmental. Loss of skin color occurs on only one side of your body.
Generalized. Pigment loss is widespread across many parts your body.
The natural course of vitiligo is difficult to predict. Sometimes the patches stop forming without treatment. In other cases, pigment loss can involve most of the surface of your skin.

Vitiligo is a condition in which the skin loses its pigment cells (melanocytes). This results in white patches appearing on the skin in different areas of the body. Vitiligo can affect any part of the body.

......And so when you see people on the street with those white patches on their faces, hands, legs, feet, arms-you now know what it is. One thing important to know that Vitiligo is NOT contagious.

Maia