sick as a dog

For the past 24 hours, I have kind of felt like death itself, sniffling, coughing and feeling like my head might explode. Imagine my enthusiasm. Luckily, I was able to get a co-worker to cover my shift today, although in the hourly-wage world that means that I'll be missing out on some hard-earned cash. Boo.

So as I was lying on the couch watching "Parenthood" on Netflix, guzzling water and feeling bad for myself, I figured that I might as well take this opportunity to share my essentials for when the cold of death overtakes your immune system.

1. Juice. Much to the dismay of Hubz, I'm not much of a juice drinker and rarely ever buy it. However, when I'm sick, juice is a must, preferably Naked juice.

Vitamin c is a must for me and this stuff is tasty!

2. ...More vitamin c! Surprise surprise. Grapefruits have been on sale lately at the grocery store and we loaded up on a whole bag of them.

 

Lately I've been just eating these like an orange, except that I have to take the actual fruit out of the skin of each section. Make sense? I just can't handle that stuff. It's too thick!

3. Leafy greens. Obviously these babies are healthy for you and are an important part of any diet the way it is. I always feel better and have more energy when I eat more spinach and other leafy greens. When I'm sick I feel completely drained of energy so these definitely help.

4. Tea. Nothing makes me feel better than a mug of tea. It soothes my throat, helps ward-off headaches and just makes you feel comforted.

This tea is is one that we got at my favorite coffee shop in Sioux Falls. It's orange passion fruit and it's super mild. I love it.

4. Showering. When I'm sick, I'm usually in the tub at least twice a day. There's just something about the hot water streaming down on me that just clears out my sinuses and allows me to breathe... At least for half an hour or so.

5. Omega 3 fatty acids. Today I had salmon for lunch, not only because it's delicious and it's what I had at home, but also because of the omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3s are super good for you and most people are deficient of it. It helps brain function, immunity and also helps your hair and skin be healthier! Salmon is a great source of omega 3s.

6. More omega 3s. I take a daily fish oil supplement for all the above reasons, especially since I don't eat a lot of salmon, mainly because of how much it costs to get quality salmon.

I got these supplements at the chiropractors office, but you can find fish oil supplements pretty much anywhere you can get other supplements and vitamins.

So that's it... Plus if all the above fails, I'm also rather fond of the blue Tylenol PM cough syrup. It knocks me out like.that and after I wake up from a 3 hour nap I usually am feeling significantly better.

So tell me, what are your "sick as a dog" essentials?

K.

december goals

it probably seems odd to be setting monthly goals for the month before the new year... oh well.  i've never really considered my life to be normal, so why start now, right?  it's more fun that way.  as i'll explain in the next couple of days, i planned on 2011 being much different than it actually has been.  i planned a year of success, accomplishment and adventure.  turns out that 2011 would actually be a year of struggle, pain and doubt.  however, there has also been beauty in 2011.  the lord is faithful and is bringing perseverance from struggle, beauty from pain and strength from doubt.

i want 2012 to be everything i hoped 2011 would be... but i'm not giving up on 2011 quite yet.  i've still got one month left, and even though it's the craziest month of the year and i have 11 christmas celebrations i'm expected to attend, i want to make this last month of 2011 count.  here are some goals to help me transition into 2012:

1. complete the chalene johnson 30 day challenge.  i attempted to finish this in october but fell off the bandwagon about halfway through the month.  it's a really cool challenge though and i know it will help me accomplish both short-term and long-term goals if i stick with it.
2. workout at least 1000 minutes.  this can be anything from walking to yoga to a beachbody video, as long as it gets my heart-rate up and my fat cells crying, it counts.  hopefully this will counteract some of the christmas treats and craziness... and hopefully it means that i won't need to ring in the new year with bigger jeans.
3. have at least two date nights with the hubz.  with all the time that we will be spending with friends and family this month (which is such a blessing, may i add), it's important that we get some alone time to keep our relationship in check and keep my from getting crabby-crazy.  plus, it's just plain fun.
4. track food/exercise intake every day.  this probably sounds kinda crazy but i'm really trying to commit to my weight loss and right now that means tracking everyday and staying committed everyday.  at least with weight watchers i can still have a couple mint mochas and coconut bon-bons and i don't have to feel guilty about it.
5. blog at least 7 times.  i don't like how little i've been blogging lately.  blogging brings me joy, purpose and an outlet from everyday life.  i don't want to let something that i enjoy and is actually good for my health to slack just because life is crazy.

so that's that.  i want to end 2011 on a positive note and get a jump-start on 2012.  join me, will you?

-k

p.s. i hope there's a lot more of this happening in 2012... just sayin.