Yay for Spring, Boo for skin-cancer!

Summer is near my friends. The warmth of the sun is slowly progressing day by day, ingenerating a brightness inside of my soul. This is my favorite time of the year; the passing of winter to spring, and more importantly the change in my skin tone from pasty white to a more not-so-pasty tone. This is always a good thing. However, every year, the sunbathing tradition scares me more and more. As much as I love laying in that chair, eyes closed, soaking in the strongest of the sun's rays day after day, as much as possible, I refuse to do so without the proper protection. I do not want to be leather-face by the time that I am 35, nor do I want skin cancer, so I have turned into somewhat of a sunscreen nazi, and I would encourage the rest of you to do the same. You cannot turn back the "aging-clock" of time, well, not without lots of money and a risk of looking like Joan Rivers once you become addicted to it, so my vote is for the much more simple and affordable approach....SUNSCREEN!! And, no, SPF 4 does not do the job! If the thought of your skin one day resembling pig-skin is not enough to scare you, then the very-possible risk of skin cancer should. This includes tanning beds people! If you go by the books, you should always wear minimun of 30 SPF when sunbathing, and reapply every 2 hours. I cannot say that I am that strict with myself, but I promise to make a conscious effort to do so, as long as the rest of you will put forth some effort as well. I challenge each and every one of you (again, pretending I have tons of readers) to put aside your vanity, grab some sunscreen and APPLY!...everyday before you leave the house. You don't have to be sunbathing in order for your skin to be damaged. Famous words from my mother and mothers around the world I'm sure..."Just because you are wearing sunscreen does not mean you won't get any sun!" My mom exhausted this expression every summer growing up, and I never took her advice until now, and much to my surprise, she was right! You can still achieve that summer glow, except without the sunburn and the peeling of your skin. Peeling skin=not good! I am a HUGE fan of gradual self tanners such as Jergens and Aveeno, and also of spray tans for that quick "special event" tan. Consider yourself officially challenged! It's not going to be easy, but I can promise that it will be worth it! Ok everyone, on your mark....get set.....GO!! TO YOUR LOCAL WALGREENS TO BUY SOME SUNSCREEN....and self tanner or whatever else you need.

I love Walgreens by the way!

Kate Greene, my hero

So, I couldn't really find a friend to join me in my quest to get fit, however, I have found what I like to call a "cyberpal" to join me on my journey, or I on hers?. Either way, I have found the inspiration that I needed...and she goes by the name of k...a...t....e....g....r.....e....e....n....e! Thankyou Kate. You are my hero. All it took was a couple of "bootcamp updates" and I'm officially motivated. WoooHooo!! Look out world...get ready for K-squared "new and improved!"

*The pic is me after my 10 mile bike ride in the Destin "Crabtrap Triathlon 2008"