A few weeks ago the kind folks over at Best Health magazine send me a copy of their new cookbook the “Swap & Drop Diet Cookbook” to review.  When the cookbook arrived and I started looking through it, the first thing that really popped out at me is just how beautiful all of the photographs are.

I think like most people I prefer cookbooks with lots of photos over those without.  I like to know what the recipe is suppose to look like when it’s finished, and seeing beautiful colour photos really entices me to want to make the recipes more so than a cookbook without (or with very few) photos.

This cookbook is so colourful you could almost use it as a coffee table book, I’ve found myself sitting down and looking through it just “for fun” on more than one occasion over the two weeks since it arrived in the mail.

Another thing I really like about the cookbook is that aside from being full of awesome sounding (and looking!) recipes, there are lots of great tips on what foods to swap out to reduce fat and calories, a “choose this, not that” section to help you make better choices when eating out, and a lot of great general nutrition tips.

The cookbook itself is divided into four sections:

1. Breakfasts
2. Light Fare (great lunch recipes/options)
3. Main Meals
4. Sweeties

Being me, I of course went directly to the sweeties section, and found a lot of great looking recipes that I’m dying to try including the rich chocolate torte, blueberry bavarian, and watermelon raspberry popsicles.

So far I’ve had the opportunity to make two recipes found in the cookbook.  One was the “Grilled Vegetables with Balsamic Glaze”

I really liked these, and they were super quick to make since you cooked the veggies under the broiler.  Why didn’t I think to roast veggies under the broiler?  Here I’ve been roasting them for 30+ minutes in the oven like a sucker!

The second recipe I made (or attempted to make) was the “Mushroom Ravioli”

I say attempted to make because I used pre-made pasta sheets from the grocery store, and no matter what I did I couldn’t get the sides to adhere to make proper ravioli.  I blame this completely on the pasta I purchased and not the recipe itself (next time I’ll try using wonton wrappers instead).

By the time I realized the ravioli wasn’t going to work I already had the filling all made and ready to go, so what’s a girl to do?

I’ll tell you what she does, she pretends she’s super fancy and makes “deconstructed” ravioli!

And you know what?  It was DELISH.  I can only imagine how good it would be if you made the recipe correctly since once I opted for the deconstructed approach I didn’t bother making the broth/sauce that was suppose to go with the pasta and ate it plain with a little EVOO & pepper.

This might be labelled as a “Diet” Cookbook, but it really isn’t.  It is more a cookbook about eating healthfully rather than one about eating diet food.  We all should know by now that a diet doesn’t work long term, but a lifestyle change does – and one of the best lifestyle changes you can make is by cooking your own food.  That way you know how it’s made, what’s in it and can make small “swaps” to make your food more healthful without compromising taste.

The only thing I don’t love about this cookbook is that some of the recipes call for Splenda.  I’m not a fan of artificial sweeteners (most make me sick) so any recipe I make that calls for Splenda will be replaced with a sugar or natural sugar substitute.

I’m really looking forward to trying more of the recipes in this book, and am proud to display it on my recipe book shelf!

Guess what Spring Tune Up Challengers!?  Best Health has given me a second copy of the Swap & Drop Diet Cookbook to give away!  Check my post tomorrow (Saturday) to find out who has won this great cookbook and will be adding it to their collection!

__________________________________________

Disclosure: I recieved this cookbook free of charge from Best Health/Readers Digest in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions voiced in this post (and every other post) are 100% my own.

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I’m so excited about hosting my very first Virtual 5k!  As you all know I’ve joined Team in Training to raise money for the Leukemia &  Lymphoma Society of Canada and in order to help my achieve my fundraising goal I am going to be hosting a series of virtual 5K races over the summer (one each in June, July and August).

So what the heck is a virtual 5K!?

A virtual 5K is a race that is organized online and people from all over the world can register.  It’s different from a traditional 5K in that you are responsible for completing the walk/run at any place you desire, at any time during the race timeframe that works for you.  You’ll have the chance to have a personalized race bib, can choose to get a race medal and will be eligible for prizes!

Do I really HAVE to complete it?  Will I still get a medal if I don’t?

I’m not going to police you, but YES you really need to do it.  However, I’ll never know if you don’t….

But in order to qualify for one of the race prizes you will need to submit a photo (or a screen shot of your GPS/mapping app) to show you completed it.  Medals will be mailed to all confirmed race participants (that choose the medal option) so yes, even if something happens and you are unable to complete it you will still have your medal.

How will you determine the winners?

Since I cannot verify times it’s impossible for me to know who came in 1st, 2nd or 3rd.  Instead I will randomly choose these winners from all of the participants that submit a photo after their race.  You will be able to submit your photo by tagging me on Twitter or Instagram (@suziconfesses), posting on my Facebook page, or by sending it via email (suzi@confessionsofafitnessinstructor.com)

How much will it cost?

If you choose to receive a race medal the cost is $20, if you opt out of getting a medal the cost is $15.  I am also offering a discount for those who sign up for two or all three races in the series at once.  You can find the discounted rates in the “Register now” drop downs at the bottom of this post.

I want to participate but I don’t have paypal, what can I do!?!?

Shoot me an email at suzi@confessionsofafitnessinstructor.com subject:VIRTUAL RACE and we can figure it out

I know (and see you) in real life – can I pay you my registration fee by cash or cheque instead of doing it online?

Absolutely!  Just make sure you tell me what it’s for

These races are for charity right?  Will I get a receipt?

I’m afraid not.  While 100% of the proceeds will go towards my Team in Training fundraising, I need to deduct the costs for the medals and shipping from the fees collected and will submit the money as a lump sump to TNT so no individual receipts will be issued.

Now back to the race!

The race medal design hasn’t been finalized yet, if enough people register I will get a customized medal made, if not you’ll still get a sweet running medal, it just won’t be all jazzed up with a custom logo

Ready to register?  As I mentioned above, if you see me in real life and want to pay cash or cheque to certainly can.  For everyone else I’ve set up a PayPal checkout below.  Choose your options and it should take you straight to your PayPal account.  Please make sure your mailing address is current in your PayPal account as that is the address I will be sending your medal(s) to, and make sure you tell me if your regular email address is something other than your PayPal address as that is how I will be sending out Race Bibs closer to the date.

Registration will close at midnight on May 31st.

Register Now:

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This is it folks!  Only 5 days left (well technically 4) of the Spring Tune Up Challenge!

Here are your final 5 workouts!

Lower Body Monday

Tummy Tuck Tuesday

Work it Out Wednesday

HIIT It Thursday

Fired Up Arms Friday

Remember to check in after each workout you complete!  I’ll be randomly picking one commentor from the last two weeks of workouts to win a prize!!! Whoop! Whoop!

One last thing – since this is the end of the challenge, on Friday it’s time to dig out that measuring tape again and take your measurements!  I hope you still have your measurements from the beginning of the challenge so you can see how far you’ve come <3

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I hadn’t planned to post today but while looking through photos I stumbled upon this quick video I shot last summer when I was in NYC for BlogHer.  I don’t think I’d ever even watched it until tonight!  It’s nothing fancy, a quick video of me in Central Park on my way to the #SweatPink meet-up, but I figured I throw it up on YouTube just for fun!

Things to note:

#1: It took me approximately 30 minutes from the time I finished recording this video to actually find the meeting place.

#2: It was nearby

#3: My legs had, had enough and waved the white flag.  I never give up on a workout when at a conference or in a class but after all the walking and all of the classes (bootcamp, Physique 57, the workout with the Rocketttes) I had to give in and sit part of it out.  Boo hiss.

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Disclosure: The items in this post were provided to me free of charge by Loblaws, as always the thoughts and opinions expressed are totally and one hundred percently my own

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a day to show your mother how much you care and how much you appreciate all that she does for you.  President’s Choice wants to help you do that by treating her to a high tea experience with delectable delights from the PC^® black label Collection.

The PC^® black label Collection includes a wide variety of products, you’ll certainly be able to find something to make any mother happy!  Some of the suggested items to make your mom feel like Royal “tea” (I couldn’t help myself ) include:

PC^® BLACK LABEL MIXED BERRY TEA

Delight your mom with the flavours of Thai lemon grass, Egyptian hibiscus, Brazilian açai and North American blueberry, along with a hint of licorice root and zesty orange peel. This refreshing blend is bursting with herbal berry flavours and aromas. All of the PC^® black label tea’s come individually wrapped in pyramid-shaped tea bags. Other varieties includePC® black label Green Jasmine Tea, PC^® black label Chamomile Mint Tea and PC^® black label Citrus Mint Tea.

PC^® BLACK LABEL BLACK CURRANT JAM

This delicious spread imported from Belgium is packed with ripe luscious black currants.Try spreading on warm scones along with clotted cream or on toasted, buttered crumpets sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon.For a savory treat spread along with arugula and crumbled goat cheese inside a tortilla, roll it up andslice into elegant pinwheel finger sandwiches.

PC^®BLACK LABEL VANILLA BELGIAN WAFFLE SANDWHICH COOKIES

These miniature and delicate all-butter Belgian waffle cookies sandwich are rich with a creamy vanilla filling. Perfect for an afternoon tea, serve them on a tiered sweet platter and accompany with fresh strawberries.

PC® BLACK LABEL EARL GREY ALL BUTTER SHORTBREAD THINS

Is your mom a true tea enthusiast? Then we have the ultimate biscuit for her. Imported from Scotland, these tender, all-butter shortbread thins are baked with a traditional Earl Grey tea infusion. The distinct flavours and aromas of bergamot orange make this the perfect pairing for any high tea. To really impress mom partially dip them in melted milk chocolate, let set in the refrigerator then serve on a tiered tray.

PC^® BLACK LABEL CHEESE & BASIL ALL BUTTER BISCUITS

Infused with Cheddar cheese, basil and a hint of sea salt and brown sugar, these richly flavoured coin-size savoury all-butter biscuits are baked in small batches in the Scottish highlands according to tradition. Try them topped with tuna salad for a delectable bite size canapé. Or, combine Dijon mustard and PC^® black label Classic Aioli, spread on top and finish with halved cherry tomatoes.

PC^® BLACK LABEL TRUFFLES CONFECTION

Spoil your mother with velvety rich French truffles made with full-bodied dark chocolate and dusted with fine cocoa powder. Their intensely rich bittersweet chocolate ganachecentre, along with a creamy-smooth texture makes for a truly indulgent sensory experience.

I was lucky enough to try both the Earl Grey All Butter Shortbread Thins

Which I really enjoyed.  The Earl Grey infusion gives a really unique (and enjoyable) taste to the cookies.  I also got to try the truffles

which are dangerously good.  Thankfully truffles aren’t something I can sit down and eat a whole box in one sitting so these are lasting a bit longer than the other two black label items they sent…

I’ll describe these in one word – GONE.  And if I had to use a second word, it would be amazing.  Thank goodness there are only 8 in a box because I would have gained 5 pounds this weeks from cookies alone otherwise.

These too had a very short shelf life:

In fact, they never made it to a shelf at all…

Now, I may not be a mother, but I am a girl and if I did have children I think getting an assortment of specialty foods like this would be a wonderful Mother’s Day gift.  And since they line has so many things in it from sweet to savoury you can put together a basket of items that you know your mom would love.

So if you haven’t already gone out and bought your mother her gift, why not give your mom the PC® black label High Tea Experience?

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I am really excited to be working with Under Armour on a sponsored campaign through FitFluential LLC to help redefine the female athlete with it’s What’s Beautiful campaign

This is actually the 3rd round of the campaign (some of you may remember that I joined the first round back last spring/summer) and I am super excited to be jumping back on the bandwagon to get involved in What’s Beautiful 3.0 and I’d love you to join me!

Under Armour really knows how to do it right, not only are they encouraging women of all ages to go for their goals, but they are setting up some pretty awesome prizes for the women who really own the competition!

Awesome prises aside (and believe me, there are more than just the grand prize to Costa Rica), what a wonderful way for us to come together, form teams and groups to challenge and support ourselves.  To come from a place of positivity to encourage each other to not only meet but exceed our goals.

When you sign up for the challenge you get to define your goal, and personalize your profile page with a photo.  Last year my goal was to show others living with Fibromyalgia that you can still be an athlete (and because I’m using the same profile you can see the challenges I completed last year for that goal), this year I chose a new goal:

To train for my first mud run/obstacle course in July and my first Half Marathon in October and to be able to to an unassisted handstand.

I WILL.

What’s my plan?  Well, I’m going to be focusing on building strength through strength training and yoga (which will also help with injury prevention when training for my half), and trying to get out for at least two runs each week.

I may be a fitness instructor, but if you think I always want to work out you’re wrong.  Part of the reason I became a fitness instructor was so that I would be forced to exercise most days, and even though I’ve come to enjoy it, I still find reasons to skip strength training and flexibility especially.  That’s gotta change.

No, no it doesn’t.

We too easily fall into the trap of wanting to  achieve something, but more often than not we don’t want to do all of the work required to achieve it.

The difference between dreams and goals is a deadline.

We all have goals in life.  Things that we want to do, want to achieve, and may times those goals are fitness oriented.  The time is now.  There will never be the perfect time to lose weight, the perfect time to join the gym, the ideal time to get healthy.  It’s something you do everyday, no matter what the day brings because you know your day will be better because you did it.

NOW is the perfect time to go for your goals.  I’m going for mine and I’ll be sharing my journey here on the blog and on my Under Armour What’s Beautiful page (you can find me here) and I’d love to follow you and share your journey.

What are you waiting for?  I WILL. and you can too.

Join today by following this link –> http://bit.ly/ffiwill

#whatsbeautiful ? You are.

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Are you sitting down? Yes? Good. Because this giveaway is about to knock your socks off! We are bringing you not one, not two, not three (you get the idea) but SEVEN amazing Canadian products. Yes, they’re Canadian and they’re spectacular!

How does it work? Try and stay with us!

We wanted to team up and share some of our favourite, local and just generally awesome products. We will be choosing seven winners (one for each product or prize pack).

Who is “we”?

We are, Davida from The Healthy Maven, Katy from Fit in Heels, Tara from I’m Fit Possible, Sarah from My Mostly Healthy Life, Michelle from Push Pump Progress, Laura from Scribbles and Sass and Suzi from Confessions of a Fitness Instructor and we have teamed up to basically bring you the coolest giveaway ever.

Y’all ready for fo’ this? You have to imagine Jock Jams Get Ready For This by 2 Unlimited playing in the background as you read the rest of this post!

Eat Clean Diet

Win one of two Eat-Clean Diet and Raw
Elements Inc sponsored goody bags! Goody bags include Tosca Reno’s favourite
Sunwarrior supplements, a special recipe from Tosca and two titles from Tosca
Reno’s bestselling Eat-Clean Diet series.

1 back issue of Clean Eating
Magazine (June/July 2012)As well as a recipe from Tosca using the supplements in the goody bag.

Back in November, Michelle stumbled upon a local Toronto based company called Urban Running Girl. Urban Running Girl makes running shrugs…yes, that’s right…RUNNING SHRUGS! These shrugs are designed for active women. “The idea of a running shrug came about from the need to keep warm while warming up during and early morning run, particularly in the spring and fall. It’s too cool to start with only a tank top or t-shirt, but once you are warmed up and/or outside the temperature rises. Then it becomes too warm for a long sleeve shirt or jacket”. These shrugs come in a variety of colours: purple, black, pink, orange and turquoise. The shrugs are made of tech material that wicks away quickly, it also has fold over cuffs that you can use to cover your hands on cooler days!

Prize: One awesome running shrug in your choice of colours!

Allergic Solution

Omega Crunch Shelled Flax

Prize Includes: One 225g shaker
bottle of Regular Shelled Flax.

Koge Vitamins

These ain’t your momma’s vitamins, but if you’re a nice kid you should get
them for mom, anyway…it IS almost Mother’s Day! 
Koge takes the confusion out of buying vitamins, as simplicity is their
motto; there are only four options. Koge’s expert team of doctors and
nutritionists have put together multi-product vitamin packages designed to
ensure you receive the holistic benefits you desire. Each tub has 30 packs of
vitamins, so all you have to do is take one a day and enjoy the benefits. The best part about Koge (besides wicked vitamins and spirited,
down-to-earth, cute founders)? For every purchase, they donate vitamins to
children in Africa under the age of 5 suffering from malnutrition. It’s a
win-win; improve your health and permanently improve the lives of others. 

Prize: One month supply of Daily Essentials. They’ll provide you with
a complete set of healthy nutrients required for optimal day-to-day
wellness. Your body will be at its best, no matter what the day throws your
way.

Face of Hope

Located in Strathroy Ontario, Face of Hope is a skin care company that absolutely ROCKS! Why? I will totally tell you! Here are some legit reasons:

• 100% All Natural ~ 90% Certified Organic
• Simple yet very effective, containing highly active natural ingredients
• Handcrafted in small batches
• Amber glass packaging that is 100% recyclable
• Pure Organic Floral Waters are the only waters used
• Essential minerals – assists the health & vitality of the skin
• Vitamins A, E, F and C and Omega 3, 6 and 9 oils – offers support and nourishment for the skin

Prize: The Prevent & Repair System (travel size) has been formulated to create a state of well being and balance for the skin. This daily routine of cleansers, toner, treatment and moisturizers provide all the nutrition needed for healthy glowing skin. Ingredients containing pure vitamins, minerals and omega oils are all carefully combined to produce Six powerful products that all play a role in reducing acne, redness, wrinkles and sun damage.

NoSweat Laundry

Need a recap? (I know I do!)

Here are the prizes up for grabs:

1. One of two Eat-Clean Diet and Raw Elements Inc sponsored goody bags.

2. One awesome running shrug in your choice of colours from Urban Running Girl.

3. Yeast Free Bread Mix, Pancake/Waffle Mix, Vanilla Cake Mix, Carob Cake Mix and a recipe book from Allergic Solutions.

4. One 225g shaker bottle of Regular Shelled Flax from Omega Crunch.

5. One month supply of Daily Essentials from Koge Vitamins.

6. The Prevent & Repair System (travel size) formulated to create a state of well being and balance for the skin from Face of Hope.

7. Two full-sized 500ml NoSweat laundry detergent (one in sweet freesia and one unscented), one travel size citrus rush laundry detergent and one mat spray in sweet freesia.

What do all of these products and companies have in common? The are Canadian and we absolutely love each and every one of them. Of course, they love us right back too!

Can we get a round of applause for these ridiculously fabulous companies? Now it’s your turn! Simply enter using the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win of of the seven awesome products or prize packs. This giveaway is open to all residents of Canada and the US. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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It seems that most people liked having all of the workouts for the week laid out for them in advance so that’s how I’ll do it again this week.  There are only 12 days left in the challenge so if you’ve been slacking there is still time to put it in over drive and get some serious calories and muscles burning!

The past two weeks I’ve given out prizes at the end of the week, but now we are going to start over fresh.  For the final twelve days be sure to check in each time you complete a challenge/workout by commenting and at the end of the 12 days one person is gong to win one final prize.  And yes, if you won one of the first two weekly prizes you’ll still be eligible for this final prize so keep those comments coming!

You’ll see I’ve included some of Bex’s videos this week, I want to keep switching things up for you so that you don’t get bored

And now for this week’s challenges:

Cardio-rrific Monday

Monday’s challenge is to get in a full hour of cardio.  Get your heart pumping and get your sweat on!!

Tummy Tuck Tuesday

Work it Out Wednesday

HIIT It Thursday

In the video she tells you to do the routine through 2 more times but I’m happy with you finishing as the video finishes, I want this to be a quick and sweaty workout so you can do it a few more rounds through if you want but you don’t have to

Fired Up Arms Friday

Lower Body Saturday

Stretch It Out Sunday

Enjoy!  And don’t forget to check in!!!

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Post tags: challenges, spring tune up

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I’ve been keeping a secret.  Outside of those directly involved only a few people know because I’ve been trying really hard to keep it a surprise (though if you follow me on Twitter you might know since I tweeted Jamie and Alyse about it yesterday afternoon.

I’ve joined Team in Training for the Nike Womens Half Marathon in San Francisco this October.

I’ve been thinking about it for the past few months (actually it’s been on my mind for well over a year), and since I teach fewer classes in the summer than any other time of year it seemed like the perfect time to raise money for such a wonderful cause without putting a mot of extra stress on me.

Every year I try to raise money at least once for different charities/organizations, I feel like if you can help you should and since Leukemia and Lymphoma (and cancer in general) touches so many lives everyday it felt like a natural fit.

I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me (both in fundraising and training) but I’m really excited about the adventure I’m about to embark on.

For any of you that aren’t familiar with races, or the Run Nike Womens Series, this race is one of a kind.  How many times do you finish a race to firefighters dressed in tuxedos handing out little blue boxes?

That’s right friends, you get a Tiffany’s necklace instead of a race medal when you finish.  My friend Kas ran the Nike Womens Half in DC this past weekend and was kind enough to let me use some of her photos.

Here is her necklace front & back:

I am still in the process of getting my donation page set up and getting my thoughts together on where to go from here.  There is going to be an epic Zumbathon here in the Valley to help me raise money, I’ve got plans for a new product in my Etsy shop where all of the proceeds will go to TNT, and I’m going to be putting together a 50/50 pool where all of you can place bets on what my finishing time will be for the half.

It’s going to be F-U-N yo!

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Well it’s time again for me to bring you all up to speed on what’s going on with me health wise.  I have to say, I’m really hoping the need for these posts will so come to an end.  It seems like it’s one thing after another with me lately.

First off, I will say that as far as the hormone imbalance goes, I’m sure things aren’t 100% back where they should be but I’m feeling a lot better than I have been.  I haven’t had any heart palpitations, or breathing issues for a few weeks now.  I’m sleeping well at night (with the exception of last night, which I’ll talk about in a minute), and what’s perhaps just as important is the fact that I haven’t had to use sleeping aids to get to sleep  for a few weeks.  That’s right no melatonin, no sleepy time tea (we ran out so I had to go all last week without it and survived!), and once in bed I haven’t even been using my iPod to go to sleep.  It had become my “normal” to listen not watch) a movie or TV show in bed to help me quiet my mind and go to sleep and I haven’t been doing that either!  Sure there have been a few nights here and there where I found myself  using my iPod but it’s certainly become the exception and not the rule.

However, my mysterious atopic dermititis (which appears to be allergic contact eczema) has not got better.  Well, it did get better, but then got worse.  I’m for sure going to have to get my doctor to refer me for allergy testing.  I really think it is due to seasonal allergies, but at this point I really want to know exactly what I’m allergic to.  I know that I’m allergic to gel toothpastes and chlorine (and MSG, but it’s not really an allergy) but since I haven’t been in contact with either there is clearly something else causing this reaction.  I sort of think it’s seasonal allergies as I cannot think of anything I’m eating or using that is out of the ordinary, and I have had this on my eyelids the past few springs but thought nothing of it and just used a super moisturizer.

Here is what my face looked like two weeks ago:

it’s visibly red and thought you can’t see it, it was quite rough and itchy.  I used all sorts of creams and potions and while it got a bit worse over the weekend it cleared up considerably.  The next week there was only a bit of redness and a lot of dryness but it wasn’t bad (I might mention it was also quite cold that week).  Last week was more of the same, it would get a bit bad but then it would clear up.  Here is what it looked like on Friday

Again red and dry but not too bad.  You can sort of see on my neck a small spot starting.  Thursday was the first warm/humid day we’ve had and Thursday night’s Zumba class was a really sweaty one.  I spent most of the weekend looking like this:

complete with pout.

Then Sunday this was the worst patch:

And then yesterday happened.  It was warm, Zumba was sweaty and of course every time I sweat it irritates the area and it gets worse.  I had a hard time sleeping last night because I was so itchy!  Both sides of my jaw are now quite bad and I have this awfulness on my neck

I also have lighter patches up by my one eye, around my mouth and on my eyelids.

This girl needs to see a skin specialist stat.  But we all know how that goes, it’ll be months before I actually get to see someone, and God willing this will be long gone before then.  At least I’ll have photos and can get allergy testing.

I’m now taking Benadryl

p.s. teaching back to back Zumba classes while hopped up on Benadryl (and Benadryl makes me verra sleepy) was quite interesting.  Hopefully I don’t have to do that too many more time!  I’m *trying* to avoid sweating since it keeps making it worse, but in my line of work that is easier said than done!

I’ve tried about 10 different topical creams/ointments/potions but am still very much open to any ideas you guys might have while I play the waiting game to get into the doctor!

Speaking of Benadryl, it must be almost time for me to take a new dose, my face is getting all itchy again.  That’s it for today, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that next week I can post a picture of a red-free (or at least largely diminished) face!

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