I'm Not Being Paid For This Post

However, Coolibar, if you see this, I'm definitely willing to discuss becoming a spokesperson.

If you ever see me on the sidelines at one of my kids' many (many) soccer or baseball games, you'll be able to pick me out immediately.  I'll be the tall woman wearing the big hat.  I have a collection of a good half-dozen broad-brimmed hats, all SPF50 and mostly from Coolibar.  I also have a lovely collection of SPF50 long-sleeved and short-sleeved T-shirts, which I wear (along with one of said hats) while watching my kids play sports, gardening, cleaning the pool, walking the dog, or doing pretty much anything else outside during daylight hours.

And before you ask, I'm not a Goth or neo-vampire sort by any means.  This is just the sad consequence of having genetically Irish skin that spent the better part of its childhood years outside in the tropics before the invention of effective sunscreens!  My dermatologist has informed me that I've had my full lifetime's sun exposure and then some already and that I should stay out of the sun as much as possible going forward.  This not being even remotely practical given my life situation, I stay out of the sun as much as I can and wear some combination of these UV-protecting items when I can't.  And go through sunblock by the gallon, too.

Many of the older SPF50 fabrics are very heavy, which is tough when it's already hot outside.  You melt like a popsicle within minutes of going outside wearing those.  But I saw something new on the Coolibar website a while back, and suggested to Himself that the kids get me one for Mother's Day.    It's a very lightweight long-sleeved sun wrap, with sun protection that supposedly lasts even through a lifetime of washes.  I wore mine through my entire recent vacation to North Carolina, LOVED it, and ordered two more in different colors from my smartphone during the drive home!  The white one now lives permanently in my car, so I always have it with me if I need it (along with a big tube of sunblock and my favorite sunhat.)

Like I said, I'm not being paid to put this out there and have no ties to this company whatsoever (except for the large amount of money that I spend there)...I just really love this wrap and thought I'd share in case anyone else has the same kind of need to avoid sun that I do!  Please consider this a public service announcement.