Seasonal Ick...

Everyone around me is really excited about the weather getting cooler but I have not found joy in the lower temperatures yet.  Every year I get sick the first time the temperature starts to drop significantly.  I'm not sure if it is allergies or something else.  Other than this time of year, I am typically fairly healthy.  Even when I do get sick it usually isn't bad enough to miss work.  That is pretty amazing for a teacher!  I'm also very gifted about putting off being sick until weekends or holidays.  I start feeling bad on a Thursday or Friday and am over it Monday morning.  (Note to the people I saw at the Halloween party on Saturday: I checked my temperature and it was 97.5 so I didn't endanger anyone...not with my germs at least.)  As I continue watching Mike do all the chores, I would like to give a shout out to all my favorite remedies.
This is our favorite soup!  It is the kind my parents made when I was sick.  They also gave me lemon-lime Gatorade.  Isn't funny how the soup makes me happy but the Gatorade makes me want to throw up?  One of the ways Mike and I knew we were meant to be together was when we discovered I like the broth the best and he prefers the noodles.  A few weeks ago we tried a new recipe for a modern spicy Asian chicken soup and it was so good.  I don't think it is a good idea to eat it when you don't feel well because it has some serious flavor that could be upsetting to a sick stomach.  It would definitely clear out your sinuses though.  We have a bunch of really great soup recipes...that could be an entirely different blog post on its own...hmmm....Even though we don't have kids, Goldfish crackers are still a staple.  I introduced Mike to the idea of floating the crackers in the hot soup.  You have to catch and eat them before they get to soft.  This is probably the point when I usually start feeling better since I'm playing with my food.
I am definitely willing to admit that I am typically a brand conscious girl.  I don't take it to a ridiculous level but there are just some that I gravitate to.  Typically we buy Kleenex brand facial tissues but my raw nose needed a little relief.  My choice was to purchase the Puffs brand tissues with lotion in front of me or continue searching for other options.  My nose is currently soft and smooth.
Even though I don't drink sodas I should drink more water everyday.  Usually when I am sick I hibernate and end up dehydrated which makes me worse.  This time I was able to drink plenty of water and I think it definitely helped me get better faster.
My family always had really awful tasting cough drops so I was amazed when my college roommate introduced me to Fruit Breezers.  They don't taste bad at all.  In fact, they taste like candy.  Better than that, I can feel them working right away.  They soothe my throat and even help clear out my nose a little.
Mike and I try not to take medication very often.  When I have to take something to make it through the day I take Tylenol.  The Rapid Release Gels are amazing when you have a headache because they work so fast.  Sometimes it seems almost instantaneous.  The Tylenol cold products are pretty amazing too.  They manage to make a sick day at school very tolerable.  I'm so busy I forget that I am sick...until it is time for another dose.

If I have time to be sick you'll find me on the coach with my pillow and favorite penguin blanket.  I am blessed to have a very comfy sofa.  (Picture Note: this isn't my sofa or my living room...I'm sick and there are dirty tissues all over the place.)

Though I love napping on my couch I do relocate to my real bed at night.  It is also really comfortable.  When Mike and I bought our mattress we made sure to get a good one!  (Picture Note: you are correct...this isn't my bed or my bedroom.)
Finally, the only good thing about being sick is having my dear sweet husband take care of me!  Most of the time he makes me homemade chicken soup.  I can usually even convince him to give me a massage, put my socks on my feet, and tuck me in.  I think he ends up getting less sleep than I do when I am sick and restless.  I do my best to take care of him when he isn't feeling well.  Luckily, we aren't sick very often and it is even more rare that we are sick at the same time.

Family Vacation!

I've been having trouble coming up with something to blog about.  I don't really want to talk about work and right now there isn't much else going on.  As I searched for inspiration I came across some family vacation pictures from summer 2006.  It was our last four person household family vacation before college graduations and weddings.  We went to Arizona and had a great time!  Most of the picture are quite random so I'll do my best to dazzle you with commentary.

My family does enjoying eating out, but we also enjoying being able to cook in every now and then even while on vacation.  Don't get the wrong impression, our plates almost never look this healthy.  I guess pretty scenery makes you want to live life to the fullest...that or all the walking around reminds you that you should really shed those last few holiday pounds so they don't follow you to the pool.

Beautiful!  I can't remember the name of the hotel.  I would love to go back...and actually swim in the pool this time.  Our family spends our vacations doing a bunch of stuff instead of relaxing.

One of the things I remember most was talking to my sister as we went to sleep about the future.  We were very excited that this would be the last time sleeping on the pull out sofa bed together.  We were both planning weddings and looking forward to the days of not sharing a hotel room with our parents and therefore having the nice bed.  (Sorry Mom and Dad!)  We laughed and gave each other a swift kick for old times sake.

I think I took of picture of these ducks because I couldn't take a picture of the quail that were everywhere.  Ducks I can keep up with and take a picture of...quail not so much.  The quail were really cute though.

I'm starting to notice I have lots of pictures of random things and almost no pictures with people.  I know what they look like though.  If I hadn't taken a picture of this frog statue, I would not have remembered it at all.  The frog looks really grouchy.  I think I would be grouchy if I was in the sun all day too!

Have you ever had that moment when you wish you took a picture of something before devouring it?  I attempted to artistically arrange the forks as a short-term monument to a really good piece of chocolate cake.  The more amazing aspect of this is the fact the four of us shared one plate...and germs!  

Have I mentioned my family is from Wisconsin?  We were really excited to see this Wisconsin theme restaurant!

Only a Wisconsin theme restaurant would have an entire section of the menu dedicated to cheese.  Take that you California cows!  They didn't serve California cheese because they knew they could do better!

If you are in Arizona during the summer you should definitely drink lots of water because dehydration sneaks up faster there than it does in Texas!  The murky glass of water is actually lemonade....Dad always has to be "special".  I did appreciate the really big glasses of water...until I had to go to the bathroom every ten minutes.

As a trained history teacher I appreciate historical things...most of the time.  I was pretty lost as to what all of this was about.  It was one of those "let's stop there" kind of moments that didn't turn out to be very rewarding.

Why look at old stuff when you can take pictures of random lizards?  This reminds me of the lizard that is currently inhabiting my classroom at school.  He is more like a gecko though.  He spends most of the day behind my file cabinet but does enjoy greeting me when I walk in every morning.  Hopefully he fares better than my pet ladybug last year...he fried on my windowsill.  We he hadn't moved in a few weeks I knew something was wrong.

This is the kind of old stuff I find interesting.  You can't tell from the picture but this dwelling was unbelievably far up the side of this cliff.  I would need an insanely tall ladder.  The natives living in this area carved all sorts of cool  buildings into canyon walls.

We also visited a little place called the Grand Canyon.  Mike always talks about going to visit and taking the tour where you ride a mule all the way down to the bottom and camp there for the night.  No thanks!  I would be interested in going rafting on the part of the Colorado River than runs through there though.

Unfortunately, our vacation ended abruptly when we realized that everything really is bigger in Texas.  I couldn't live with ketchup bottles this small!  No wonder they give you so many at one time!  The novelty of these did eventually wear off though when I realized there are a lot of places where you can buy both mini ketchup bottles and their tiny Tabasco sidekicks.

I forgot to mention we saw lots of cactus while we were there.  Though they are potentially violent, I do think they have a fairly friendly appearance since they always seem to be waving at you.  The blurry guy in the back ground is my dad doing his best cactus impersonation.  For those of you who think he is doing a good job...my dad is the one on the left.  See him now?

Overall, it was a great family vacation!

Hurricane Top Ten!

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like Christmas 

Number Ten:

- Decorating the house (with plywood).

Number Nine:

- Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season.

Number Eight:

- Last minute shopping in crowded stores.

Number Seven:

- Regular TV shows pre-empted for 'Specials'.

Number Six:

- Family coming to stay with you.

Number Five:

- Family and friends from out of state calling you.

Number Four:

- Buying food you don't normally buy . . . and in large quantities.

Number Three:

- Days off from work.

Number Two:

- Candles.

And the Number One reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas:

- At some point you're probably going to have a tree in your house! 

*This was sent to me by my super serious principal...couldn't believe he stooped to sending junk mail like common teachers!

**If you know me well...you know that I can't stand the song they are singing in the picture above.  Luckily, this picture is mute!