Tonight I started to get some terrible pains in my back and legs. Earlier, I worked the store all day and stood up for 9 hours fixing and cleaning so I figured it must be muscle pain and soreness so I didn't think anything more. That night I went to bed in hopes to wake up pain free. 

Fail... I didn't sleep a wink. Tossed and turned all night because the pain was so bad !! Lying hurt, sitting hurt, walking hurt... everything I did was so uncomfortable! I spent all of today in bed, in and out of sleep, suffering. 

By the night, the pain still lingered, so I pulled out my heating pad and applied it to areas of my leg with the most pain - for me, it was my upper thigh and the back of my knee. 

I woke this morning with the pain still humming through my body. That's it ! I got off the bed to see if walking around would help, and as I passed the mirror, I took a look and realized my entire chest, stomach and arms was now covered in a rash. 

"Lovely" I thought. Panicking as my brother's wedding is on the Saturday - this better go ! No way do I want to wear a turtleneck and long sleeves ! Ha. 

I started trying everything to speed up this virus !! (** listed below are things that helped me)

When I woke, I was hoping the rash would at least go down... but lo and behold it had spread up my neck to my face and down my legs -- Now I'm covered !!! Ahhh ! 

My hands also started to hurt a lot and my knuckles started swelling. I felt like I was falling apart. 

Luckily in the night I was able to get hold of some Calamine lotion and pasted my entire body down with it in hopes it helped.

This morning the pain in my legs woke me up and my head started hurting and I've became a walking rash !! 

Later in the day my eyes started to get red and I became very weak.

I need to leave the house ! I've been tired of lying down all day. So covered in a sweater and jeans, I headed to work and did some runarounds with Mom. It felt so good to be out of the house, and even though my rash was still there, it started to finally look a little better.

The day before my brothers wedding, my rash is now gone. The pain in my legs eased up but my eyes were still a little bloodshot. 

Lucky for me I didn't get the bad headaches during the virus or fever but not everyone experiences all the symptoms. 

The day of my brother wedding and the following day the migraine came and lasted the entire weekend, ruining my enjoyment of one of the happiest days for my brother. 

All in all... I sucked it up and tried to enjoy my brother's wedding as much as I could. 

The virus also left both index fingers bruised with a rash. 

And remember, the Aedes aegypti mosquito (Yellow Fever / Zika mosquito) only bites in the daytime, or so Dr. Sanjay Gupta says.

The last week I have been down and out with the Zika virus. Ekkkk I know, trust me! The first 2 days were very mild but the rest of the week I was in bed right through. I am just so happy to be getting better again and back to blogging. 

I am super excited Summer is drawing in closer !! I have been wanting to create a Summer bucket list, just so I can work up on getting shit done! 

1| Photography - Ever since I could remember, I loved capturing images. Photography was my thing. 2 years ago I invested in upgrading my equipment and bought a Canon D70. Something I thought would have been my dream camera. Sadly.... I hardly used it. I reached to the point I didn't want to tote around 6 lenses, hurt my shoulder and miss perfect shots - So... I sold it. I sold everything and took my money and got this baby. 

I had a very mini version for years and it was my everyday camera - now this is mine and she is beautiful. 

2| Series - I am so completely obsessed with this Netflix series. I binged watched all of Season 4 the same week it came out. I now await Season 5 !!

3| Baking - Baking became a huge passion of mine when I became a vegan in 2004. Since at the time I knew of no other vegans - or desserts - I had to create my own. 

I eventually grew to not have much of a sweet tooth - but my hands just need to be occupied, plus, I love seeing people stuff their faces with my goodies. That 'mmm' look is priceless every single time!

4| Beauty - Summer means beautiful skin, am I right ladies? This is a constant re-purchase in my beauty closet. I have raved about Glamglow in the past and I shall continue to! If there is one thing in this world that can guarantee my skin look flawless all the time - without makeup, it's this !

5| Summer-loving - A time to spend basking in the sun, soaking in the ocean and going off on crazy adventures ! Falling in love, exploring your hometown and living in the moment (which we seldom ever do anymore) // So this summer... laugh, shine and most importantly, do something YOU love.

 As for now, it's time to get this link-up summer party started !

Link up your favourite summer post ! 

If you don't have, anything bright, shiny and sparkly will do. 

Be sure to visit a few new blogs, follow and leave footprints of love. xx