Camping, hiking, adventuring

Wow... so I've been doing things!
Camping was all kinds of fantastic. I slept outside two nights (and the last was with Sarah in her tent...I must admit..it was nice to be warmer). We went out on the lake on a friends raft and paddled about... and hiked all the way around the next day. Enjoyed each others company. Nothing that really sticks out, but just a good time. MUCH better than last year, to be sure.

Then the next weekend was a visit to Sarah in the Bay (great time chatting in the jacuzzi). And then Sunday was backpacking in Tahoe. WOW! 1.3 mile hike ALL UP HILL. And we're not talking about some steady slight incline...I mean this sucker was steep! And halfway through, the trail was covered in snow in batches. :D We pitched our tents by a small lake, with the place to ourselves. No moon at night, so the dark sky was littered with stars.
Sleep was a little funky to say the least. It was 35 degrees out for starters, plus the tent I was in was on a slant.. so I kept sliding off my mat and bumping into my friend (who slept like a rock, apparently). But once it warmed up a bit in the early morning, I slept better, and had the most amazing dream I've had to date.
I can't remember any details, but I was falling in love with a man.. and he was going to be my husband. It was the first time ever that a dating/marriage type of dream wasn't just awkward and wrong feeling. (Normally, I ALWAYS feel uncomfortable, and thinking things like, "This isn't right..something is wrong." But not this time.) It was just wonderful and I was so in love with him. I don't remember his name, or what he looked like. I recall thinking that he reminded me a bit of my brother, and that's it. *sigh* I'm lonely and longing for a man...if you couldn't guess.
Moving on...
The next day we hiked up the face of a mountain. No joke. The trail was totally covered in snow so we couldn't really find it (there were patches of earth..but randomly...). We knew the general direction we want to go (up and over the summit), and we just blazed our own trail. Awesome is not an adequate word. There were bushes growing out everywhere where there wasn't snow, so we tried to hike through them as much as possible, hoisting ourselves upward by grabbing hold of them and pulling ourselves along.
The top was just a breath taking view... LOTS of snow, so we could keep hiking (which would have just killed us anyway..since we weren't use to hiking with packs). So we blazed our way back down the way we came... and with even more riotous laughter and fun. I basically skied down the snowy parts on my feet. We all fell at least twice. I only got one bruise! And that was from scrapping a twig nub from a tree I was skirting past.
Then we hiked to Eagle lake, had lunch, and went home. I think we did a total of 4 miles hiking... maybe 5 hours? (SO much uphill madness!)

I'm against funky sunscreen lotion, so I didn't have any protection and wound up with a bit too much sun (so much for no tan lines this summer!).

And today we went sailing! Averaged about 25 knots. GREAT day. And got even more sun on my face... oy! I am RED. I put some Arnica Cream on it..hopefully that helps.

The tension in my throat is still there.. and seemingly pops up at random times. Every time it does I try to figure out the 'why' but never can. I think I'm just so lonely. And I hate how desperate I am for a man... I feel like nothing good can come out of desperation. It seems like once I can let go and be at peace..THAT'S when I'll find him. Ugh catch 22.
PLUS I don't think I am in the shape that he would want me to be in... and I hate how over weight I am. It's not deathly obese, but it IS unhealthy.. and for some reason I'm having one hell of a time trying to get myself in order! Good grief what's wrong with me. *facepalm*

I've decided to take some piano lessons from Joe... good ol' fashion legit piano lessons. I'm excited about that, and hope to goodness it's not to late for me to learn proper technique. We'll see!

And I'm thinking about getting another kitty for Zoe. She seems to be taking to waking me up at unearthly hours of the morning to play. She needs a playmate. Seriously.

Okay.. I think that's an update. Sailing pics some other time... Bed calls.

Counts aren't up yet.. clearly....

From the mad itching madness that was hives, I managed to create some bruises and petechiae..and have been putting some Arnica cream on it to help it out... well JUST now I found another bruise...just now... nice and purple with a hard center (from all the bleeding). It hurts a little..so I must have bumped it on something...though I don't remember at ALL. *sigh* We're not out of the woods yet. :P Come on, platelets!!












<--That's the new one... bugger.

Do a "feel good" dance

Today.. I feel.... good. Quite good. Very good. Do a little dance good. :) I enjoy this 'good' sensation and hope it hangs around. It's always welcome.

Laying low...literally

Last night I re-dosed my constitutional... which made for some cool dreams (descriptions to follow momentarily). Upon awaking this morning, I discovered my hives were gone... however, not but 10 minutes after getting up they started returning (Mainly on my feet... but as time progressed, it showed up on my hands and ankles as well). I hypothesized that the action of laying down helped, so after breakfast I hopped back into bed to rest/read... and low and behold, my theory was true. I wound up falling asleep in my prostrate position, and had yet another cool dream.

Dream one:
Stuff happened before this, but this is the point I remember... I was seeing the earth explode from outer space...but it wasn't really exploding, it was just what it would be like if it did... like a theory. Anyway.. it exploded (which was a pretty spectacular sight), and then imploded and turned into a black whole. And the nearby debris was either sucked in or started orbiting... then everything in our solor system started shifting because of the Earths absents/shift in gravitational pull. And then because of the shift in our solar system, that eventually shifted our galaxy. And then because of that, eventually the whole universe was shifting. It was intense. And gorgeous! I LOVE being in outer space in my dreams, and it doesn't happen often. And for some reason it's really hard for me to fly about and look at things. I can fly on the Earth no problem, but space gives me issues. Maybe I just need more practice..heheheh.



Dream two:
Okay.. can't really remember this one. But I do remember slowly walking through a mirror. Walking through walls/solid surfaces is no biggy any more..since I do it all the time. But walking slowly is a little different, and a wild sensation. I can't describe it. But I can still feel it when I wake up, and it's slightly infuriating that I can't seem to do it.
Then it shifted, and I was following a sent that I had caught in the air... I didn't know what it was, but I could follow it. (This was taking place in Blacksburg). I followed it from the street and through some yards and into the parking lot that's next to the tennis courts (I realize that description only makes sense to me.... or anyone who lived on that street...but I digress). Then I found the source of the sent: a basket ball. I picked it up and then turned around to find the people who were playing with it (there were 5 of them). They started coming towards me, and I started backing away... but they caught up to me before I could escape. I remember two of them were Indian, with very dark skin. One of them looked Greek, with really curly hair (he was cute). One of them was One (that's a name of a character from some old story writings back in high school...long story... just know he's very good looking)...and the other guy was cute as well. One grabbed me and picked me up, and that is unfortunately as far as the dream got. It could have been good, I'm sure.. and worthy of censored details...but alas, not this time.

Dream three:
Not sure how we got to this point, but I was in a pool, fighting to the death with some guy... And just when it seemed like the other guy miiiight win, my trainer walks by the edge of the pool near me and says something about 'good job' and me passing a test. Then the other guy started laughing lightheartedly... The whole thing was a test, and there was a point where I had almost killed him...and said that to the guy as we were swimming to the edge. He smiled and whispered, "We don't need to mention that." Apparently he wasn't expecting me to get the upper hand at any point.
Then it was getting time to leave, but we started going off of the diving board, and having WAY too much fun. I remember the sun setting and it starting to get dusk, but no one wanted to stop..and the more fun we had, the more we stopped caring about leaving. It was a great feeling.


So there you have it! I've been up for a while now (about 4 hours) and the hives are starting to come back ever so slightly.... at least they're on their way out!! But if I don't lay down, they'll just continue to itch. Bleck! So back to reading I go! At least it was crappy weather today! (Which is just maddness... it's June.. and California... those things just don't go together......) Good day to not do much.... Though I can't WAIT for summer to start...

A quote from my dad a few days ago that I thoroughly enjoyed:
Summer's canceled due to lack of interest.

Hives, platelets, and creating...

Last night I noticed my tummy itched a bit... however, I was 2/3s away from sleep and couldn't be bothered with the 'why' of the situation. Upon arising, I realized the insides of my wrists itched and were red/bumpy.... Hives. Joy. And as the day has progressed, so have the hives. I don't want to take Benadryl... but if this doesn't clear up by tonight.. I might give in. So far I've tried Rhus Tox, Histamine, a conglomeration of hpathy remedies specifically for Hives, (I walked into the natural foods store and the owner asked what I was looking for. Before I could even finish telling him about my hives he handed me a a box that said "Hives" on it... Apis Mell. was in it..which was what I was looking for), and I made a 'crude' antidote to what I think caused the reaction (strawberries.... I could be wrong about that though). At any rate.. so far NONE have worked.... and I'm not sure how long it will take.. and I am DYING here... just covered in red, itchy welts (as per normal when I get hives)... I mean head to toe here. Hands (both sides), arms, chest, shoulders, stomach, butt, legs, feet, back, neck, face. Good.... grief.
I want to call my hpathy practitioner... but I think she's upset with me, and of course I hate even the idea of someone being upset with me. Yes.. I have issues. But I'm not positive about that... I saw another doctor (I have a SLEW of them now) who also does hpathy (but a different approach). I think both are great, and both are helping! I'm just trying to get my life back. I didn't think it would seem like I didn't trust her anymore or something.. I just wanted this guys take, which was totally different and just as helpful. *sigh* Well what's done is done.
I itch SO bad.. it's outrageous... and I look slightly monsterish with this welts. Yikes.

Got a CBC yesterday. Platelets are 32! WHOOOO! Haven't seen a '3' in the tens place in QUITE a while. I'm trying not to get too excited..cause it's just too soon to tell if anything is working, but man I can dream can't I?? I'll get them checked in another month to see how the progress really is.

After another amazing session with my CSTherapist on Tuesday, I came home and rocked the creativeity. I finally made a necklace that I've been wanting to make for quite some time now (it's for a friend). She has AMAZING eyes and the stone 'Tigers Eye' really matches that... so this is what a made:

I'm pretty sure she doesn't know (or read) this blog.. so it's safe to put up the pic (cause it's a surprise).
I took this with my phone just to give the idea.. I'll take a real one later.