The return of the rain.

The rain is back, and we love watching everything green up. The generally overcast days are nice, too -- it doesn't always make a huge difference in temperature, but mentally it's very comforting. And when the storms pick up it can even get a bit chilly. We've been rained out of volleyball a couple of times already (which I don't remember happening much last year), but in general when we play, we really notice the change in seasons because we're not battling the sun in our eyes when we're on the east side of the court.

One thing we'd kind of forgotten about: bugs.

We're in the midst of the June bug craze, these couple of weeks when the erratic-flying but slow-to-escape-the-fly-swatter and don't-seem-especially-smart bugs are everywhere. We wake up to dozens dead on the floor.

And mosquitos. We've been having a tough time of them inside our condo. We keep the doors open for the breeze -- and we don't have any screens, so it's a free-for-all. Brent makes a homemade non-toxic bug spray that works pretty well, and we've taken to lighting mosquito-repellent incense spiral sticks just outside each door first thing in the morning, and sometimes again in the evening. That's helping quite a lot. I've really noticed a difference, though we do each occasionally still get bit while we're inside. Brent moreso than me.

Redness and irritation.

Several weeks ago, before we took our trip, I noticed a couple of little bumps on my left leg. I thought they were aggravated mosquito or sand flea bites (not at all unusual around here), so I didn't think much of them.

A couple of days later, those little bumps had spread -- first just on my thigh, then on my low back. Before long, they traveled up my spine and started coming around on my rib cage. Super, super weird.

To this day, I'm still not sure what caused it.

They didn't really itch, but occasionally I'd feel a little flash of a heat everywhere they rash occurred. It was irritating and uncomfortable, but not really painful. I showed it to a couple of people (sorry, you couple of people), and they instantly said, "Heat rash."

I thought this might be the case. In April, the wind had died but the rain hadn't started, so it was especially hot -- especially in the house.  I would sit to work at the computer, and I just always felt slightly damp. Since the rash only really showed up in places that are normally covered by clothes, it made sense.

But those are supposed to clear up in a couple of days. This one didn't.

We started thinking it might have been a reaction to too much basil. I had recently inherited a large basil plant, so I'd been making -- and eating -- pesto by the bowlful. I've since had basil with no outbreak, but we thought it might have been a case of basil overload.

I was starting to think I was scarred for life, but after about a month it started to look less irritated. Slowly, it started to subside. And now my skin looks and feels like skin again.

Ideas? Cripes.

Getting excited about ReMIX...

Brent and I are both Vemma Affiliates -- we actually met at the Vemma convention three years ago. We've used and loved these products for years (five years for me, about eight for him), so we both get pretty excited about stuff like this: the Verve line is growing! Verve ReMIX launched while we were in the States, and already is set to break records: 200,000 cans sold in the first 40 hours!

It's popular because of what we already know and love about Verve: the Vemma vitamin and mineral formula with mangosteen, 80 mg of natural caffeine, no gluten, no artificial sweeteners/colors/flavors, and no high fructose corn syrup -- and also because of what is new about ReMIX: a new refreshing flavor that combines Bold and ParTea at a lower price point.

If you use energy drinks -- or make mid-afternoon coffee stops -- Verve is an excellent healthy alternative. And now with ReMix, you can do it for less.