Hiking South Mountain
Tara, Jenny and I hiked South Mountain yesterday. It took a total of about 3 1/2 hrs round trip. The hike is 7 miles long. I have been having pain on and off in my hips for the past few months so I wasn’t sure how I would do. There was a lot of climbing involved too. There were loose rocks so you had to be careful not to slip as well. When we got near the top, I realized that I had a blister on my right heel that started to hurt like Hell. The shoes I wore were really old and the plastic in that area was worn off. We shoved some tissue in my sock but it only helped for a few minutes. The rest of the hike, I tried to ignore the pain because there was nothing else I could do. We took a pic when we got to the top (see Moblog). Going down was much easier, but took almost as long because of the climbing and loose rocks. Jenny actually slipped on some rocks and fell. She hurt her ankle a little but was able to walk fine. Jenny remembered right before we got to the bottom that she had breastpads and I could’ve used one to pad my shoe. So now she is to blame for the blister!! When we got to the bottom, I threw my shoes in the trash! Tara wasn’t even fazed by the hike. She could have slipped on a dress and gone to the prom without even showering.
We had to rush home because we had plans to go to the Phoenix Zoo to see Zoolights. We took showers, ate dinner and took off. It was packed, so we had to park at least a mile from the zoo. I am not exaggerating. They said that there was a shuttle bus, but they lie. We walked the whole way. Then we walked around the zoo. I won’t lie, my hips were hurting. There was no way that I was walking the mile+ back to the car, so Sam and I waited at the zoo entrance while the rest of them fetched the car and picked us up. He said he didn’t want to leave me alone, but I know he was just using it as an excuse to sit.
Before we went to bed last night, we looked up online about the 7 Summits of Phoenix. It is 7 mountain trails that people hike in the area. The trail we hiked on South Mountain is considered “Difficult”. It is second only to Camelback Mountain, which is considered “Strenuous & Difficult”.
Jenny’s ankle is a little sore and swollen today but not too bad. She is able to walk just fine. My legs and hips are sore today, but are getting better as the day goes on. The blister is the worse part. It hurt every time I tried to move in bed while I slept. We MAY hike one of the other 7 Summits next week. Eventually, we will hike them all. We think we will conguer Camelback Mountain in February. I hiked North Mountain last year with Jenny and Alex, so that one is already crossed off our list.
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It’s Christmastime
We are pretty much all ready for Christmas. On Thursday, I am cooking dinner for Louise and Sherrene so we can celebrate with them too since we are traveling to Phoenix/Maricopa for Riley’s first Christmas. I have most of the Christmas shopping done and Tara wrapped everything for me (I hate to wrap). I have to work Tuesday and Wednesday and then I will be able to cook and also pack. Erin and I are driving down Friday afternoon and the rest will come either Saturday night or Sunday morning. Jake was going to go with Erin and I, but he is behind again on his schoolwork so I decided not to reward him with an extra day of fun. Sam has a job to do on Friday and Saturday and Tara wants to watch Kevin’s wrestling tournament on Saturday. Originally, they were the only two coming later.
Sunrise Ski Park hasn’t opened yet. I was hoping to get in a day of skiing before I left, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Oh well…
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Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis
Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis sounded pretty scary to me when my eye doctor told me that’s what I have. I guess it wouldn’t sound so bad without the word “giant”. Anyway, my contact lenses have been bothering me for months. They were the same brand I have been using for years, but they changed the name. I got my eyes checked in January and the trial pair was fine. After wearing them for a month, instead of wearing the new ones with the new name, I wore my old ones since I had almost a whole box left and the RX was the same. Everything was fine until I ran out of them and started wearing the new ones with the new name. That same day, I started having problems. Just general itching and irritation while wearing the lenses. After a few days, I threw them away and put on a new pair. Same problem. I was thinking maybe they dispensed the wrong size and the fit wasn’t correct. Nope, checked the RX and they were what was prescibed. I tried moisture drops. No help. Sometimes I could wear them for a day with minimal discomfort, other times, they would start bothering me within minutes of putting them in. I called the doctor about a month ago and told them my problem thinking maybe something was wrong with the batch of lenses. They gave me a new pair to try. Same problem. After having to wear my glasses almost all the time, I decided I would have to go back to the doctor and pay for the exam since my insurance won’t cover anything until January. So today was my appointment. I told her all my symptoms and after examining my eyes she said that I developed an allergic reaction to the plastic in the lenses and that the edge of the lenses were wide causing the irritation. She thinks they changed the composition of the lenses without telling the doctors because she’s had other patients with the same problem.
She gave me two different types of lenses to try starting tomorrow. One is a monthly lense with a different plastic and a narrow edge. The other is a daily wear with a narrow edge. Hopefully, the monthly will work for me since they are cheaper. If neither works, I will have to take a steroid medication for, I think, a month or so to decrease the swelling so I can tolerate the lenses.
I am thinking I may submit a claim to my insurance since I have an eye condition that prompted me to have an exam and I just didn’t want a new pair of cool glasses. It’s worth a shot anyway.
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I am a bad blogger
I am a bad blogger, so sue me!
This weekend was great! Jenny, Jeramiah and Riley came for a visit. They just got a beautiful new minivan that they took their first roadtrip in. We basically just hung out and relaxed. Jenny and I made an awesome dinner last night and Tara baked a cake for dessert. We drank a bottle of wine or two as well.
Riley is growing so fast. Soon she will be crawling. She is sitting up and rolling all over. And getter cuter by the day!!
Sam and Jake were gone on a hunting trip. They left Thursday morning. Jake actually got a deer all on his own early Saturday morning. While Sam was lolly-gagging trying to warm up and drink some coffee, Jake tracked the deer in the snow and shot it straight through the heart. First hunting trip, first deer!! They came home late last night. They were hunting north of The Grand Canyon so it was about a 6 1/2 hr drive. Sam said it was pretty windy so driving the truck hauling the camper was quite an adventure.
Anyway, I will try to be a better blogger. 
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