What's mine is Rad: allergies

Oh yeah, that's why I loathe spring-- It's allergy season! I took one of those tests last year where they prick your arm 60 times and inject everything imaginable and I found out that I am allergic to cedar as well as Kentucky blue grass and Elm. Here they are:

These beauties which all reside in the same valley as I, can go under the category of "Green Things I HATE!!" But in all fairness, it's actually my bodies fault, not the plants. See, the pollen floats in the air and goes up my nose. My body, however, mistakes these types of pollen as foreign invaders trying to make me sick, and it attacks them. My white blood cells start producing an army of black belt fighters and my blasophils create a bunch of inflammation and release histamines which makes me itch like crazy. The war going on inside me makes me feel terrible and it takes all my energy. If my nose only knew that all the fuss was over some harmless air particles!

But here's the current issue I'm facing this week-- Is it a cold or allergies?

I feel terrible and look deathly
Runny itchy nose
Itchy eyes
Sore throat and guck back there
Congested
All the sleep in the world isn't helping
My verdict- It's probably a combo of both, but I really can't tell. I feel this way every spring.

One thing I'll never understand though is why my outdoor seasonal allergies feel better when I go outside. The allergists I've seen all think I'm crazy. But every year I notice that walking around and enjoying the pollen-y breeze sort of alleviates the symptoms. It could just be a temporary fix, only to come down on me later with 10 times the wrath. But it's such a gorgeous day, so I think I'll go lie outside. If only I had a good book.

But on a more positive note- I've been keeping myself busy in other ways besides feeling sorry for myself. It was my day off yesterday and I made my lovely sister-in-law Taralyn a birthday cake for her sweet 16. Promise I didn't sneeze in it!

Thank you to Channing for being my friend and mentor, and teaching me what a crumb coat is, so I can make beautiful treats such as this. I still need to work on my scrolls a bit more though!

My sweet 16th birthday cake was my sister Elissa's wedding cake from the night before. It's true- Everyone forgot my birthday. Does the movie 16 candles ring a bell? Thanks Lis.
The next week mom gave me this: