Category Archives: SICK

In Search of a Restorative Effect

Posted on 12.18.2011 | 12 Comments

Oh man.

First order of business: Last night my sorority sisters wanted to know if the Oreo Truffles would be appearing on the blog.

Behold.

And yes, instead of actually editing my photos tonight, we’re just hitting the “Lomo” filter.

Today was a case study in how doing this…

Mission: Accomplished.

Turned into this…

Cocktails, anyone?

For the record, the two are totally unrelated.  My cookies did not strike me down.

Long story short, a quarter of the way into my run (it was 40 and sunny out on The Tundra today), I got smacked with the migraine of the century.  Which turned into…um…really not good.

Who knew that the 12 pack of Ginger Ale I got as a bonus at the gas station for buying a gift card for our Adopt-a-Family would actually come in handy?

Despite the fact that food wasn’t terrifically interesting to me today (that I ate toast for breakfast should have been a warning sign of its own), my mother’s mild chicken curry that sits in a slurry of vegetable sauce over rice did have something of a restorative effect.  I like to think of it as a modern twist on chicken noodle soup.

What do you turn to when you’re sick?  Soup?  Flat soda?  Toast?  Tums?

Bloggers: Do you regularly edit your photos for your blog before posting?

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Posted in Baking, SICK

Let the Games Begin!

Posted on 09.10.2011 | 10 Comments

I feel like I’ve thrown y’all nothing but sulkiness for the past few days, so thank you for sticking with me, kittens!  I just know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.  Will we see it until Monday or Tuesday?  Speculative.  But we know that it’s there.

In the meantime, while we continue to slog through this mess (I’ve almost bested an entire roll of toilet paper – it’s my impromptu Kleenex), please know that your kind words and remedies mean the world to me.

When I rolled out of bed this morning I felt Not Worse.  While that’s obviously not as good as Getting Better, it’s far more desirable than Worse.

Not Worse meant that I could probably make an attempt at an honest-to-goodness social life, so today’s Big Event was attending a friend’s 30th birthday party.

Yes, 30 is a big deal.  But Marcus and I were especially excited to attend because they had orchestrated a rather epic Olympics-themed party.

For context, there was an opening ceremony, complete with a torch run into the stadium and a lighting of The Official Torch Of Our Games.

Go Big Or Go Home.

One event is good, but lots of events are better.  Obviously.  So, Marcus and I competed together as team ciete ses (I didn’t take spanish in high school so I’m now under the impression that what I actually intended to write was…cienta seis) in the events of Bocce, Frisbee, Bean Bag Toss, Ladder Golf, Hammerschlagen and Beer Pong.

I meant to take pictures of all of the “arenas” to give you a real feel for what we were contending with, but I waited a little bit too long if you know what I mean.

I walked away with this snap instead.

NOT AN ACTUAL EVENT.

Also unpictured and unplanned events: Set A Cinderblock On Top Of The Hammerschlagen Stump And Hose It Off In The Direction Of The Spectators AND Try To Use A Machete And An Axe Instead Of The Hammerschlagen Hammer.

Sometimes things start to deteriorate and it’s your job to just hang on, right?

We ended up in a four-way tie for first and got eliminated in the play-offs after a ferocious round of Bean Bag Toss.  I can truly say that it’s the first time I’ve ever really tried at that game or have played it sober.  So I guess you could chalk this one up as a night of firsts.

What’s the most elaborately-themed birthday party you’ve ever attended?

What’s your favorite backyard game to play?

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Posted in les sports, SICK

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Posted on 09.08.2011 | 7 Comments

Kittens, I rolled out of bed this morning and yes, I did The Yoga.

But no, I did not feel better in any sense of the word.

Which would explain the Ziploc baggie in my purse that is stuffed full of Sudafed, Those Awesome Mentholyptus Cough Drops That Kill Your Appetite Dead and some sort of Target brand emergenC or whatever that stuff is called.

Mutiny on The Bounty Central.  Right here.

After hustling over to a post-work doctor’s appointment, rocking a temperature of 97.4 and being informed that while I may feel like hell, I am NOT antibiotics-sick, I was released into the wild.

The Doctor is a marathoner and he told me that as long as I wasn’t coughing (I have some extremely casual asthma), I was good to go with the whole running-thing.

I interpreted this to mean that since I haven’t been dedicating my efforts to coughing today, I could probably sneak a run in.

Which is really great, right?  Homegirl has to train.  The beat goes on and all of that.

Except for the fact that by the time I was wrapping up my regular loop, I had completely lost my voice, was coughing up a lung and felt like my head was going to explode.

All together now: DO NOT WANT

There really is no moral of tonight’s story except to say that I took one step forward and two giant steps back.

At this point, nothing sounds more appealing than bed, so I think I’m going to excuse myself to go pop a few more pills and action some hardcore restorative sleep.

Do you think that four day weeks are easier to get through or harder?

Generally speaking, I think that they tend to drag and there’s not a lot of work to be done.  But this week has just blown by for me.  Has it been a struggle?  Yes.  The fact that tomorrow is Friday is nothing less than a small miracle.

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Posted in Running, SICK

This is the way I live.

Posted on 09.07.2011 | 13 Comments

I woke up this morning and it felt like I had swallowed sandpaper.

As it turns out, my body’s limit is somewhere between No Activity and A Double Date, A 20 mile run, Wedding Dress Shopping, A Surprise Engagement Party, A Wedding Of The Century and 10 Hours On The River.

Lest y’all think I’ve been taking this sitting down, I am here to inform you that I have not.

The following totally holistic remedies have been tried and even though I don’t think I’ll really know the results until tomorrow, just typing them seems to make them sound more legitimate.  So here goes…

  • Snarfing a bag of Halls Lemon-Honey Mentholyptus Cough Drops
  • Eating Indian food for lunch
  • Going on a Burn It Out run post-work (my body runs a degree cold so I was hoping to make it up to fever-level)
  • Drinking more than a few glasses of Prosecco
  • Eating asian food that is so spicy even Marcus had to back down as I gleefully went back for spoonful after spoonful of green curry

I can’t keep my poor peepers open much longer than this, but just know that I’m really hoping the road to recovery ends at 5:15 tomorrow morning when I roll out of bed to do some yoga.

In the meantime, it’s time to tuck in, curl up and call it a night.

What do you do when you feel The Crap coming on?

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Posted in SICK

Breaking the Streak

Posted on 01.09.2011 | 24 Comments

Today, I snarfed six pills before 10 AM.

Breakfast of Champions.

And then I spent the remainder of the day making my best effort to date at setting the world record for sneezing.  It was not my most adorable moment.

But you know you’ve given up any semblance of dignity when you’re letting a roll of toilet paper double as Kleenex because at this point it’s softer, and you’re using Carmex on the tip of your nose because it’s so chapped.

Kittens, We press on.

Before The Holidays Happened, I noticed that Marcus and I were falling into a food rut.  I mean, we always cook dinner together and enjoy healthy meals.  But I think that sometimes we all reach a point where the entire weekly menu is composed of Old Favorites or Fallback Plans.

Actually using the cookbooks I have would be the logical option.  But a couple of weeks ago, Kirsten posted her recipe for Lasagna and I’ve kind of been dying to try it for a couple of reasons:

  1. I’ve never cooked Lasagna from scratch (though the Stouffer’s frozen is a family favorite for sure).
  2. Marcus claimed that he doesn’t like Lasagna.  Just like chili, beans and rice, ricotta cheese and cruciferous vegetables, I couldn’t wait to prove him wrong.  Again.

The fruit of my labors.

Before.

After. Wonderous ocean of cheese and meat.

I thought it was delicious.  I loved the excuse to use the red Le Creuset casserole dish that Santa brought me.  And, for the convenience-minded, I was astonished that the whole arrangement could be completed from start to finish in all of an hour.

Lasagna Lovers: Do it.  At once.

Marcus’ Take: “I disliked the cheese blend.”

At which point I gnashed my teeth, squinted my eyes and informed him that he was no longer allowed to eat mozzarella or goat cheese, (which he eats with unbridled enthusiasm At All Other Times) under our roof.

Cheese blend that, Mister.

Is there a food you love to cook that your Person just won’t go for?

Do you ever end up in the Old Favorites/Fallback Plans rut?

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Posted in Cooking, SICK

In The Haze

Posted on 01.08.2011 | 12 Comments

People, I am in The Haze right now.

I rolled into the Park Nicollet Urgent Care when it opened at 8 AM.  And at 8:23 AM I rolled out, having set a new record for fastest in-and-out trip to Urgent Care.

Ever.

Decisiveness is key in these situations.  As is a bit of self-diagnosis prior to The Event itself.

So here I am now, hopped up on Sudafed and a Z Pack, giving thanks for the fact that the heaviest machinery I’m required to operate is the three-pound netbook taking up residence on my lap.

In all seriousness, there was a point this morning where I was debating whether or not I was meant to empty my water bottle into the recycling bin (made of cardboard) or the sink.  Following that incident, I knew that the responsible, adult decision would be to have Marcus supervise me while I actioned an Egg Bake for One for my lunch.

Sometimes, you have to pull yourself from the game.

As for The Paint Chip Extravaganza, I got a major kick out of your responses and the editorializing that accompanied it.  And then I realized I actually had to count the freaking things.

The magic number?  90.  Congratulations Brittany @ Be Deliciously Healthy! E-mail your mailing address to tenaciouslyyourskw at gmail dot com and I’ll mail you your lovely prize!

Voila.

And make sure you treasure this one forever, girlfriend.

Part of me wishes I was joking, but the other part of me is really kicking myself for not buying the Sand Dollars Playing Cards a la those Dogs Playing Poker paintings.

We can’t win every battle.

What’s the most ridiculous souvenir you purchased on vacation?

Have you ever been in the antibiotic/Sudafed-induced haze?  Spill the antics, people.

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Posted in SICK, vacation

Back Ashore

Posted on 01.07.2011 | 12 Comments

image

I had this grand vision where Marcus and I were going to take just TONS of snaps and I would barely know what to do with myself, trying to sort through the best of them.

In the end, we only took about 10 on our own and I particularly loved this one because I never thought that we would end up in a pink and green polo (or Polo in my case) situation.

But it did and there we were.

And now we’re at MIA and I’m hacking away on my DROID, which is obviously The Ideal Typing Arrangement.

The Bahamas were fun in the sense that I had never been. But having spent a disproportionate amount of time in the Caribbean relative to other vacation spots, I have to say, they were lacking a lot of the Glory and Splendor that I’ve come to expect from Paradise.

Verdict: If you’ve never been, you’re not missing the party.

I did end up wearing seven of the eight dresses that I shoved into my suitcase in a frenzied fit of over-packing.  As superficial as it sounds, it was really pleasant to have a dress for drinks and a dress for dinner. Someday, in a different world where I’m no longer a Career Woman, this will become a way of life.

Presently speaking, my poor body is oh-so-excited to return to a normal eating and exercise schedule.

I didn’t put on my running shoes once, and not-so-miraculously, my legs didn’t fall off.  We walked the boardwalk in Miami Beach, swam for hours on the ship and trotted all over Nassau. Marcus invoked the “No Elevators On Board” rule, and so we walked up and down stairs until I thought my legs might actually fall off.

Because cruise ships are the epic realm of over-indulgence, I ate and drank what I wanted, didn’t eat what I didn’t love and managed to make it off the boat without needing to be rolled down the gangplank. 

Lesson: I need to give my body more credit.

And, as relaxing as this vacation was, I’ve got to say that I’m truly thankful that I have the entire weekend ahead of me to get my life in-order.  Especially since I think tomorrow will include a trip to Urgent Care to address the souvenir sore throat/quasi-ear infection arrangement I seem to have found myself with.

Joy.

Do you give your body enough credit?

Have you ever gotten sick on vacation?

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Posted in SICK, technologies, vacation

Turban Time

Posted on 12.28.2010 | 10 Comments

image

I know, some of you are wondering Kat, wtf is going on here? 

For what it’s worth, me too.

But The Migraine Turban happens.

And when trying on a cocktail dress in an improbable size happens at the same time, we learn yet another one of the many definitions for The Perfect Storm.

What we can take away from this: I am both shameless and adept at multi-tasking.

With that, it’s really time for me to go and sleep this one off.

Do you get migraines?

What is your go-to headache remedy?

I usually do a combo of The Turban, some Excedrin (Imitrex doesn’t work for me…go figure.) and a lot of water.

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Posted in SICK

Liberate – Medicate

Posted on 03.15.2010 | Leave a comment

Um, pretty sure I owe you all lots of pictures.  MANY pictures.  Pictures of things!  And pictures of me.

Patience.

But for your strife, I will share with you the recipe for my favorite Refrigerator Pickles as well as a photo of what went into the refrigerator just before I turned my computer on.

Beautiful, no?  They’re definitely a warm-weather-only meal.  Which means they’re appropriate for this week, seeing how I kicked it off yesterday by sitting with Dad and Spot on the porch for three hours.  Glorious spring.

What’s not glorious is that all of the stress in my body (and hell if I have a clue where it’s coming from) has migrated to my neck, making turning my head and things of that ilk a little bit more challenging to do.  I’m in the middle of using a combination of muscle relaxants and anxiety pills (Not at the exact same time, no Heath Ledger cocktails for moi.) to get my neck to give.up.the.ghost.  Running seemed to help earlier this evening, but really,  I would like to have a normal range of motion kthxbai. 

More miffingly, I ordered the cookbook, Vefa’s Kitchen (it’s greek) like, almost three weeks ago from Barnes and Noble.  I went to check on it this morning (the order) and learned that they’re only now planning on shipping it out on March 17th.  What is that all about kids?  We’ve got ethnic dishes to get working on here.

So let’s talk about something liberating, shall we?  Since thus far, we’ve only managed to discuss my body’s raging rebellion and the issues that we as a nation face with any sort of overland delivery service.  My fix?  Bring back the Pony Express for sure.  They did not have those problems then.  Coincidence?  I think not.

But in the spirit of liberation, I THREW MY ALMOND BUTTER AWAY TODAY!!!  I know it’s supposed to be some sort of wonderful superfood that you can put on sandwiches and fruit and in cereals and yogurts.  It makes me nauseous.  I can’t stand the scent.  IT does nothing for me.  I can’t be on board with that sort of thing.  So, at approximately 6:41 AM, I tossed it into the bin.  Forever.  You all probably think I hate the earth now or something assinine like that.  I’m just being honest – Almond Butter is a no-no.

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Posted in Cooking, SICK

Parched.

Posted on 01.24.2010 | Leave a comment

The most pesky part of this ’bout of crud that I’ve been dealing with over the weekend is the thirst.  I am by nature, an over-hydrator.  But this weekend I have been thirsty like someone who has been crossing the desert, or who has to haul their own water each day from a well several miles away.

Example: I woke up at 3 am this morning with a headache I would expect at the onset of a hangover.  Except for the fact that I haven’t been boozing.  What was going on?  THE THIRST.

To prove to you all how unstoppable the thirst is, I’m on my second carton of orange juice for the weekend and have been drinking water like it’s going out of style.  I cannot win.

To make today slightly more productive than yesterday, I’m going to make a variation on Tomato-Bread soup that Claire Robinson made yesterday on Five Ingredient Fix (it sounded delicious and I am still in hearty food-mode, but since it’s pretty much ALL tomatoes, it’s healthy) and start writing the packing list for Hawaii.

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Posted in SICK