The Proof is in the Pictures

For the past three days (Thursday, Friday, and today) I have been watching the children of one of the ladies in our ward. I have tried to take them outside to do fun things with them so they don't get bored. Each day we have gone and played in the sun. Thursday we went to a couple of parks around their house and stayed out for a couple of hours. Friday we went to a bigger and newer park on the other side of town and played outside for another couple of hours. And today we went outside to a local skate park and played for another couple of hours. It has been fun. However, on Thursday I noticed that my arms were breaking out again, so I have been trying to avoid the sun and keep to the shade as much as possible. Today I stayed in the shade for all but fifteen minutes, and for the last hour of the time we were in the park it was nice and cool and cloudy. I just had James take these pictures of my arms to show you all proof of the torture my body experiences when exposed to the sun for longer than ten or fifteen minutes. I promise you I am not making this thing up. I hope they give you a better idea of what the spring and summer are like for me.

The hikes are done

So for those of you who think that I no longer update this blog, you are wrong. I am still alive and have been busy trying to do other things that took my attention away from this. However, suffice it to say that I have decided to make a renewed effort to update this more frequently for the two or three (perhaps it is only one?) of you who like to check in on me every once in a while.

The hikes are off. I'd like to think I truly did my best to hike and enjoy the beautiful area in which I live, and I did have fun, but it's not worth my health anymore. You see, I prefaced my then new idea of hiking ever saturday with the information about my allergy to the sun. Perhaps I was just fooling myself into thinking it would be fine because it is not. Sadly, I am having some serious problems with my arms and hands breaking out after only being in the sun for an extremely short period of time. I thought perhaps the continual exposure to the sun would allow me to lessen the breakouts, but this has backfired...something fierce. I can not be in the sun now, and need to avoid it as much as possible. I don't know for sure what this allergy is caused from though. Some have suggested it might be lupus, some think it's due to lack of sunscreen (which is not true, I use it when I go out into the sun), and others think I am making it up. I went onto WebMD (a very good site information wise, but very bad for trying to check your symptoms because it always says you are dying) and tried to see what information I could find relating to photosensitivity (sensitivity to sun exposure) and found a plethora of things. I've spent the better part of the past few days trying to find out as much information as I can. At this point in time I can safely say I am not going to die, but I do have a couple of rare autoimmune diseases that I was formerly unaware of. :) (That's a joke by the way. Any of you who frequent the webmd website are sure to laugh at that...I hope). Anyway, once I figure out exactly what is going on then I will let you know. Until then, I am perfectly content sitting in my cold, dark apartment while summer activities are in full force around me. God bless the person who invented air conditioning!

Just a quick update

I know I have written on here for the past...well, month really. Life has a way of getting ahead of me and the next thing I know it is a month later. Tomorrow James and I are having a big BBQ with both families and the missionaries to celebrate my birthday and memorial day. It should be fun. I won't be able to hike tomorrow since I will be spending most of my time on getting things prepared for it. On Monday (my actual birthday) James and I are going to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and I am really excited about that. Ok, gotta go. I'll post more pictures up the next time I log in. Sorry this is boring, but I promise next time it will be better!

No hike today

There was no hike today, my friends. The reason being I had a migraine all day, which just went away about an hour and a half ago. I really do hate these things. It makes my life miserable, and it's so frustrating not being able to do what I planned on doing because of it. Poor Zack felt bad, even though he assured me he was fine with it. I told him we would go on Tuesday and take Jelly (my mom's dog) with us. I feel bad for him too. I enjoy his company and love doing things with him. He's like my right hand man! That kid is just awesome! So I felt really bad today that I had to cancel on him since I knew that he was really looking forward to it (he even called me on Friday afternoon to check and make sure we were still going). So, Tuesday after we go on a hike I should have more pictures to post and better things to update you on. I don't know how long the hike will be, but we should be able to hike for about an hour or so. I'm going to pick him up after work around 4:30 pm and then we'll drive to Rabbit Mountain and hike from there. If we get there around 5:00 pm then we should have a good couple of hours to hike before the sun goes down. I'll keep you all informed!

Potentially Bad News

So most of you are aware that I went on a hike on Saturday for about 45 minutes, and will be going on a much longer hike this weekend (I'm talking two or three hours). Well, there is some potentially bad news with this new goal of mine. See, I'm kind of allergic to the sun. If I am in the sun for longer than 15 minutes I tend to break out in little blisters all over my arms and legs, or whatever part of my skin is actually out in the sun. James likes to call them sun spots. "Look at my arms James," I say to him after I have been in the sun that day. "Oh! You have sun spots all over your arms." He replies. It makes me laugh really, and helps me not feel like some sort of leper with an infectious disease. At any rate, after the hike on Saturday my arms started to break out and I have spent every day since slathering prescription medicine on them followed by lotion in order to prevent them from turning into something worse than what they already are. The "sun spots" are little water blisters that burn, itch, and otherwise wreak havoc on my skin. Then they pop and turn into scars or truly painful sores. Ok, maybe I am getting a little too detailed for some of you, but I wanted to paint the picture. I have been trying to take care of this in the hopes it will all be well again by Saturday just so I can do the same thing again next week. I have tried applying sunscreen, lotion, wearing protective layers (which is extremely bothersome considering it is hot outside) and other sorts of remedies but to no avail. And the downside of having the effective prescription medication is that it thins my skin, making it even more pleasant for when the contact with the sun occurs. Ok, I just wanted you all to know that my weekly hikes might need to be adjusted due to this new problem, but I will keep you all informed. :)

Hiking Trip - Week 1

Today was the first day of my spring and summer hikes and I must say it was a rousing success! I was nervous about how I would handle the difficulty of hiking after having been away from it so long. I am happy to report that I did much better than I expected! Zack and I had a blast! From the moment we stepped out of the car I was pumped. I had honestly forgotten what it feels like to be out amongst nature, to be one with the goodness that is this Earth, and to appreciate God's beauty.

The weather was perfect for our first hike as well. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot. The wind was blowing a gentle breeze against our faces as if encouraging us to continue onward. The worn, yet still rugged trail was full of rocks and surprisingly pleasant travelers. I was impressed with how the prospect of being outside in the natural environment brings out such friendliness in people. Everyone...every single person we came by smiled and said hello. There is something to be said about people like that. I think those who suggest there are no more niceties in the world should go take a hike...literally! It makes a person feel good, wanted, appreciated, and supported.

The hike was thrilling, mostly because it was a straight incline to get to the summit (well, what we called the summit before the trail split two ways) and the path was uneven. That is what made the hike so fantastic though. On one side of us was a steep mountainside, and the other a slopping meadow full of wildlife. We could hear dozens of birds in the bushes, and saw loads of grasshoppers (which I personally cannot stand), bees, and cacti. I was especially impressed with Zack's knowledge of his surroundings. He told me all about the different types of rocks we passed, and even paused to show me some examples. It was refreshing to see him so excited and appreciative of nature when he has interests in other things that most 11-year-old boys do such as skateboarding, swimming, and riding his bike.

The only problem with the hike today was that we really didn't have enough time. We were only able to hike for about 45 minutes and it really didn't leave any time for hiking further than we did. Next week we will be taking this same trail to the summit and then branching off to the Little Thompson River trail. It should be fun. We are taking my families' dog Jelly Bean as well. She's a black Chinese pug and completely full of energy, so it will be a blast! I'll put more pictures on here next week of our adventures. For now, I am completely exhausted so I must sleep. Good night everyone!

My New Adventure

I like creating new, simple goals that I can achieve without feeling completely overwhelmed at the larger ones I set and don't ever achieve. (I know you are all shaking your heads right now in agreement with me as you reminisce about past goals that fall into this very category!) So this time I have decided to go a little bigger and set a goal that I can work on each weekend through the spring and the summer. And that new goal is...I am going hiking!! :)

That's right! I have decided to go hiking on a new trail every Saturday and take pictures. I will post those pictures and a little blurb about my adventures each week to share with all of you the beauty that is Colorado. I'm going to start this new adventure tomorrow and continue each Saturday until my last hike which will be November 1, 2008. Tomorrow my little brother Zack is coming with me. He is super excited about it, and so am I. I think he might be a frequent traveler with me on my hikes each Saturday.

Some of you may be asking what has prompted this new goal of mine. You may be thinking to yourself, why would she want to go hiking? There are plenty of other things to do on a Saturday during the summer. Well, to those of you who may be thinking this, here is my answer: I love the mountains, and I think it's pretty ridiculous that I have lived in Colorado for over eight years and have only been to the mountains once or twice. I used to work in the mountains of Southern California and loved being in the crisp mountain air. I was close to nature, and enjoyed the peacefulness of the experience. I miss that and I have been reminded of that much more lately for no specific reason. That's when I decided to do this each week. I really am excited about it!

So bring on the water bottles and granola bars! I am ready to leave my footprints on some mountain soil and capture the moments in photographs to share with each of you. Keep an eye out for the updates!!