multi-hyphenated-me

the hyphens that define my life

Yogi Love September 17, 2014

Filed under: Life — multihyphenatedme @ 9:33 pm
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Back to school germs have got the best of me this week.  Or maybe it was the filth and grime I breathed in while cleaning out three kids bedrooms and closets this weekend (we’ve only lived here a year, HOW do they accumulate so much dirt?).  Whatever the cause, I have been suffering since Sunday.  It’s only Wednesday, not that long, but too long when you’re me.  Or when you are you.  Ain’t nobody got time to be sick.  Our plates our full, our lives continue whether we are sick or well, and we have to either keep up or check out.

Today I finally “called in” sick.  It is hard to call in sick when you work from home.  Earlier this week, I shuffled along in my sweats and slippers and worked with my head on my desk and used tissues littering the floor.  Pretty.  Today, though, I hit a new low and had to call in to check out and take a midday nap.  I woke refreshed and marginally recovered and went back to work, shuffling back out to my desk in my slippers, kicking tissues out of the way.

There are probably many factors to my recovery upswing, including time, ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and sleep, but I am attributing my overall feeling-betterness to Yogi Tea.  Not just any Yogi Tea, specifically Cold Season, Throat Coat, Echinacea Immune Support and Deep Breathe organic herbal teas.  This collection of teas contains common and atypical ingredients from cinnamon, astragalaus, eucalyptus, yarrow flower, peppermint, mullein, cardamom seed, thyme leaf, wild cherry bark, slippery elm bark and tulsi leaf.  A wild combination  that work.  I don’t promote many products, if any, but these Yogi Teas get my full endorsement.

My throat was sore and raw from lovely postnasal drip.  Once cup of throat comfort tea and the effect was noticeably better.  I rotate through the collection each day, enjoying a good, hot cup of tea with a purpose.  My chest congested, Breathe Deep, to the rescue.

As day 4 of my malady comes to an end, I can breathe, I can hear, my body and head ache less and my cough is sporadic.  My voice is still pretty haggard and my energy is low but, as stated earlier, I’m on the upswing.

Before you find yourself combatting back to school germs or the affects of wild dust bunnies, I highly recommend you stock up on Yogi Teas – Cold Season, Breathe Deep, Echinacea Immune Support and Throat Coat.

This concludes my old lady illness gripes and product promotional tour. [cough] [sneeze] I need a cup o’ Yogi Tea.

Disclaimer:  This is not a paid endorsement, no animals were injured in the writing of this promotion, and my only goal is to be well.

I hope the same for you, be well.

 

 

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Be Well October 5, 2013

Filed under: Life — multihyphenatedme @ 10:32 pm
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University recruiting is my favorite part of my job.  Not only do I travel to great cities, awesome universities that make me want to go back to school, I also get to meet really inspiring, energetic and brilliant students that renew my faith in humanity with their fearlessness, maturity and ambition.  These fantastic youth also carry germs.  The only job hazard I have, other than tripping on my way down the hall from my kitchen to my office in my own house, is catching these germs while on campus.  I shake hands with anywhere from 200-300 students.  Despite my hand-sanitizing efforts, I manage to catch their colds every fall.

I’ve tried not shaking hands, keeping my hands behind my back and just nodding but being reserve and intrinsic isn’t my style.  I’m really a hugger so engaging in a handshake is more my speed.

So after my whirlwind tour of Toronto, Cincinnati and Denver last week with poor sleep habits, I invariably caught a cold and ear infection.  I emailed in sick to work on Friday.  How lame is that?  Dear Boss, can’t make it to work today, I’m sick.  This doesn’t mean I can’t stumble down the hall and turn on my office light and sit in front of my computer.  Me calling in sick means I can not peel my head off my desk to look at my computer screen and no way possible am I able to talk on the phone.  I am unable to represent, therefore I am sick.

Sleeping all day Friday and not dragging myself out of bed until 10:30 AM this morning (plus some good meds from Urgent Care) and I’m back among the living.

Let me tell you, nothing thrills my husband more than me being gone for a week then being sick for a week.  How can I make it up to him?  Not well….I’m gone this next week and part of the following too.  Love, love will keep us together (Captain and Tenille quote) but we’re looking forward to October 19 when our lives return to normal.

Being well is my goal.  What better way to be well than to go out at night in the brisk 50 degree weather that’s quickly dropping into the low 40’s tonight for some Halloween fun!  Tonight we went to the Incredible Corn Maze (shout out http://www.incrediblecornmaze.com), specifically for the Haunted Corn Maze.

Here are my Children of the Corn:

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There were four mazes, some up a couple of miles long!  We did two of the mazes, including the haunted maze.  IT WAS AWESOME!!!  The mazes are cut into the corn field.  The haunted maze, with no dead ends, had  people jumping out and scaring the bejeezus out of you.  In the dark!  We ran, we screamed, we tripped, we fell, we laughed and laughed and most of all, we had tons of fun.  At the end, a very tall guy in a zombie clown mask carrying a real sounding but fake blade chainsaw jumps out and chases all who pass.  He chased our three boys almost all the way back to the ticket booth!  This isn’t a spoiler…you see him chasing others while you wait your turn.  Yet our boys kept running, and he kept chasing.  adrenaline was pumping at the end.

Part of our move to Spokane from Orange County California was to expose our kids, and us, to new experiences.  Corn mazes, especially haunted corn mazes and on this scale, are definitely something they never would have experienced in Southern California.  Growing up in Ohio, with plenty of corn fields, we didn’t have corn mazes, so this was a fun “first” experience for all.

A great family night outside, enjoying Autumn weather, getting a taste of Halloween fun and trying something new.

Be well.

 

Be Well September 10, 2013

Filed under: Life — multihyphenatedme @ 8:52 pm
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This is not a post to tell you to eat and drink less and work out more, though this advice is good and most likely we all should follow it (ok fine, just me), this post is dedicated to the importance of well-being.

So far, September has proven to be one hell of an unhealthy month. 

My two sisters were scheduled for a bone marrow transplant – one to give, one to receive, later this month.  We learned this week that my sister in need of the transplant has an issue that conflicts with bone marrow transplant protocol and needs to be addressed by her team of doctors before moving forward with the transplant. Hopefully her doctors figure out a solution sooner than later.

My dad, who is in a nursing home due to a severe stroke, was diagnosed with malignant tumor in his lung.  He had surgery last week to remove the tumor and a quadrant of his lung.  The cancer had not spread to his lymph nodes and he is recovering well.

My nephew’s girlfriend is having back surgery this week to relieve her chronic pain.

My friend’s sister is having a heart transplant on Thursday after a lifetime of heart health issues.

A friend is in the hospital recovering from four broken vertebrae in his neck.

I learned today that a dear co-worker and old friend had a heart attack and is recovering from bypass surgery.

While my thoughts are with those that are in need of care and aid and healing, wishing them all the best in their recovery process, my heart and the message of this post really goes out to those that are the primary caregivers to these patients in need.

 Are you one of those people?  Are you an EMS or first on the scene response person?  Are you a doctor or a nurse?  Or are you a loved one? Or are you just associated with one of these caregivers?

In any of the above cases, your health, your strength – both mentally and physically – are needed like never before.  Your turn to breakdown will come, but, for now, do what you have to do, lean on others if necessary for support but stay strong, have compassion, and do everything you can.Moms naturally fall into this vicious cycle.  We stay up late, getting coughed on or barfed on as we hold our kids close, nursing them through their ailments, pushing ourselves to the limit until the family is outside playing in the sun all happy healthy and well, and we find our maternal selves laid up in bed with an exponential version of their disease.

People also have a tendency to take on others ailments.  My son pulled his left IT band and tweaked his patella tendon on his left leg.  We have been icing and working that leg for a week.  As I see his bum leg getting stronger, I swear his heebie jeebies jumped into my knee. 

Colds, flu and soccer injuries don’t compare to the extreme health emergencies like the those listed above in just my family and friend circle this month.  For the longterm caregivers, know that recovery is going to take a long time.  Care will be arduous and will suck the life out of you if you let it.  There is no sugar-coating it, caring for someone in these extreme cases is hard work.

You must be strong.  You must be healthy.  You must be well, in mind, body and spirit.

What does that mean?  That is for you to decide.  Take time for yourself, get enough sleep, enlist the help of others (this is what family and friends are for), and call on social services for relief.  Whatever you do, don’t carry the responsibility on your shoulders alone, don’t internalize the stress that will create resentment toward the person you’re caring for and love and most importantly, remind yourself why you love the person you are caring for and express that love for them. 

I lack official qualifications to say any of this to you, but I do know from firsthand experience.