Things to do while sick

I would to dedicate this post to the wonderful bout of winter sickness I have endured over the past week and a half. 

Merry Christmas to you, illness bitch.

I am still not finished with it (another trip to the doctor come Saturday, wish me luck) and I am praying to the health gods that this goes away in time for New Year's.

Because one, I do not want to live on crackers and Ginger Ale anymore. 

And two, I am going to be crafting a mask for the New Year's Masquerade Bash I'm attending and I WILL wear it.

I am going to wear that mask even if I'm holed up in a bed watching the ball drop in New York and crying to myself.

(Did I mention I'm the fortune teller for this shindig? Oh yeah. Your fate is in my hands. If I make it there, that is.)

So since I have spent many days on the couch watching bad tv and staring out windows, I have come up with a list of the best ways to enjoy a sick day. Or week. Or month. Whatever your evil little winter virus desires, because it seems like everyone's a bit under the weather right now.

Live on three food items.

Ginger Ale.

Crackers.

Applesauce.

Amen.

Watch every Katherine Heigl movie ever made. Ever.

Cringe a lot. 

Make fun of the fakeness. 

Then cry at the end of 27 Dresses.

Terrify yourself by reading Web MD.

Enter in symptoms like "nausea" or "headache." Become horrified when a red thing pops up that says "Go immediately to the emergency room!" Then close the window and pretend it didn't say that.

Create a sick den for yourself.

Bring all of your blankets to the couch, surround yourself with pillows and burrow in. Trap all the germs and cracker crumbs in there with you.

Go on a sick day shopping spree!

Put on sweatpants and rain boots. It is not raining but you really don't care.

Go to the nearest Walgreens, CVS or similar store.

Buy sugary drinks, crackers, tums, trashy magazines and a trashy novel.

Watch trashy reality shows...

...to match the magazine and novel.

Especially anything on TLC. 

Or talk shows where at least one baby daddy issue comes up.

Have an afternoon cleaning spree.

The medication kicks in and you feel invincible. 

You wash the dishes like a pro, get the vacuum ready to go , take one look at all the carpeting there actually is, and immediately head back to your nest. 

Whine a lot

It usually results in people brining you soup.

Use bendy straws

I don't know why, but it's a sick day classic.

Watch cat videos. So many cat videos.

Done and done.

Have a happy Thursday!!

College Christmas Traditions

So, I grew up about 30 miles from Chicago.

My childhood was spent bustin' out that old snowsuit, digging my sled out of the garage and braving the snow. I didn't even feel that cold!

Now I don't know if it's because I'm at the ripe old age of 21 or because winters here have been very mild, but the snow we had last night (the FIRST of the season, what the hell...?) really threw me off.

Immediately I drove 15 in a 35 zone and put on five layers and fuzzy socks when I got home.

I know I live three hours south now, but seriously? When did I become a cold weather wimp?

Anyway, being away from home these past four years has been a little rough. My mother loves Christmas, so she goes all out with the decorations.

All of a sudden I came to college, and where was the Christmas light-up village? Where was the tree? Where were all the presents that I stared at anxiously all December long?

I felt like Cindy Loo Who.

So I have started some traditions of my own, being away. Here are five of my new, on-my-own traditions, college edition!

The roommates and I make holiday cards. Yes, there is wine:

I did actually pay money for owl footie pajamas.

1. Watch drunk people build a tiny snowman in the hand of the statue outside your dorm, laughing hysterically the whole time then try to explain what's happening when the police pull up. 

This does not need an explanation, and variations happen every year. Last year, frat boys in sparkly bow ties sang carols in the hallway.

2. Have a fire alarm go off the morning after the biggest end-of-semester party day.

Watch joyfully as WAY more people than actually live in your building come stumbling out in their ugly-sweater attire. Even more hilarious when you notice one girl is not wearing pants. All the firefighters laugh as they approach the building. One takes a photo with his camera. This only happened once, but it was too good not to share.

3. Volunteer to ring bells and collect money for the Salvation Army outside Walmart. Convince your roommate to join. Sing Christmas Carols at the top of your lungs. Old man drops some change in the bucket and tells you to "stick to your day job." Another old man comes out, asks if he can get a kiss if he donates twice. Roommate says "Well we can sing more! Have a Merry Christmas." Old man replies "...Happy Hannukah." And wheels away.

4. Share depressing holiday stories with your roommates. Like this, for example:

"In kindergarten I learned that you could leave your shoes out on Dec. 5 for St. Nicholas to fill with candy. So the next year, I left my shoes out overnight. I didn't tell anyone about it, just left them there. I woke up early, excited to see what treats I was left, and nothing. Then all of my friends at school talked about what treats they got and I was so sad."
Apparently my parents never heard of the Dec. 5 tradition...

5. Discuss why you are still convinced Santa is real. Offer your proof. Finish the conversation with "Well no one can prove he doesn't exist, so..."

There you have it, my holiday favorites! What are you looking forward to most this Christmas?

The thinking moments

They exist for all of us.

For some it's while drinking coffee, for others it's in the shower, and for others still it's when they've been stuck at home, sick, for the third day in a row.

For me, my moment of deep thought has been all of the above.

(And all three of those things happened today.)

I have been thinking a lot about perfection, and the obsessions that have plagued me my entire life. And have plagued a lot of others for most of their lives, too. Especially women.

Why is that?

If everything is as I want them to be, and I haven't a care in the world, then I worry about the past or future.

Have you ever tried to carry all of the worry from your entire future life and pack it onto your shoulders in one instant?

It's probably not healthy.

"Who will I lose? Will I be ill? Will I be unemployed? What if my children get hurt? What if they hate me? Will the supervolcano erupt on Friday?"

Thankfully for us all, life happens one moment at a time.

Just like we cannot possibly eat a lifetime's worth of food right now, we can't shoulder the burden of our entire future this moment.

We have to digest each minute before we can take on another. 

Taking on too much will just make us terribly uncomfortable.

So at the end of this year, sprinkled with its ups, downs, valleys and hills, I want to say that I am grateful for our imperfect world.

Filled with its dessert and veggie and mystery meat kind of moments.

That is what makes life colorful, worthwhile. It's what makes it living, rather than just existing. This place would be awfully boring without the unexpected variety.

After all, vanilla ice cream may be perfect in its own right, but it's certainly not going to satisfy anyone in the long run.

Our Christmas Getaway

Tom is a local to the town where our school is located, and I live about three hours away.

So since I don't get to see him on Christmas, we decided to go on an overnight trip to a nearby Bed and Breakfast in Galesburg!

It's called the Seacord House. It was built in the early 1890's, is home to two fabulous innkeepers and provided an excellent backdrop for some Christmas cheer.

Backstory on Tom and I: 

We are pretty much old people.

We go to bed as soon as we're tired, and sometimes that's 10 p.m. on a Friday night.

So we walked around town, ate some dinner and were back at the B&B by 7 p.m., where we proceeded to play a board game and ask each other questions like "What is your favorite cake?" and "If you were to be an advocate for a cause, which would you choose?"

(Before we went I asked Tom to write down about ten questions we could choose out of a box, and I would do the same.

I came up with 73.

I am a journalism major, it's what I do.)

And I'm pretty sure we fell asleep before 11.

Also, the B&B was haunted. So when I heard footsteps on the stairs at 3 a.m., I told myself it was the innkeepers (who were asleep) and tried to go back to bed. But if there were ghosts, they seemed to be happy ones!

Without further ado, the trip in photos:

Some fuzzy self-portraits, trusty old digital camera and some Toms.

Downtown Galesburg

Landmark Cafe, home of the AMAZING crepes.

Behold, the bananas foster!

Christmas Tree at the B&B.

Pearl necklace, present from Tom :)

Journal in our room at the B&B. We got to write in it before we left! The earliest entry we found in another journal dated back from 1991. 

Owl watch ring, also a Christmas present from Tom.

Have a lovely week!

I am currently ill...kind of feels like the flu. That's what I get for not having the shot...oops.

Happy Monday!

Thoughts

This weekend I got to escape to a cute little B & B in a nearby town for some much-needed relaxation with Tom. 

I will likely have those pictures up tomorrow (and a bunch of other posts throughout the week I have waiting in the wings,) but I haven't gotten to post about the school shooting in Connecticut, and it feels wrong to post about anything else until I do so.

I won't say much about it, because there's already been overload about it, which makes sense. My thoughts are similar to what has widely already been said.

But I do want to say that when these things happen, (and they have happened plenty of times this year,) the effects of them always shock me. In a good way.

Because the outpouring of support, the sheer amount of people wanting to help in any way they can, even if just through prayers, is astonishing. And it overcomes any one act of tragedy.

It doesn't take the grief away. It doesn't make up for the loss of life. But it shows that there is a lot more good in this world than bad, and while it might spark major political debates, there is always the underlying desire to reach out to those who are hurting the most and show that somebody cares.

It's just unfortunate that it sometimes takes heart-wrenching tragedies to bring that out.

It feels wrong, after something like that, to go on living. To enjoy the holidays. To look forward to tomorrow.

But we have to, because that's what life is about. And we need to live for all those who no longer can, fully embracing the miracle that is every day with the ones we love.

2012 has been a deadly, painful year around the world. Too many tragedies, too many lives lost.

But we're here, on the cusp of a brand-new year. And hopefully, no matter what loss comes along, we experience moments of true and complete bliss as well.

What is happening...?

Things seem odd lately.

But in a good way?

It just seems like everything is falling into place.

Not just for me, but for everyone.

(At least everyone I stalk via Facebook and Blogger.)

Like things are just happening.

Perhaps they've been stagnant for awhile, but now, there seems to be a domino effect of things happening as they should.

People getting the jobs they've been waiting for, two friends you know are perfect for each other finally together, friends who were finally able to get pregnant (I may or may not be talking about Kate Middleton here. I use the term "friends" rather loosely,) school winding down, and for me, finding another project to dive into and spending the end of the year with those who matter most in my life.

So if this is a trend, I eagerly await pleasant surprises that may be around the corner, despite the world's end apparently impending.

It's been a good semester.

Things I eat

So it is the winter time.

(Minus the snow.)

The season for cookies and candy and cocoa and things.

My diet is pretty much half elf, half rabbit.

Sugar and veggies.

Not the best, but I do toss in some meat and eggs every now and again.

So I thought I would share a few of my staples!

Green Smoothie

Now, I cannot really take credit for this recipe. It's brilliant, and I found it here, 

from Kimberly Snyder. But I make variations of it.

And it's not very scientific, but this is approximately how it goes:

-1-2 bananas

-Half cup 100% fruit juice

-2 cups spinach (sometimes I use kale too, but make sure it's chopped up really 

well or it'll kill the blender)

-2 cups romaine lettuce

-1 celery stalk

-Apple 

-Pear

-Juice of half a lemon

-1 tbsp ground flax seed

-However much water you'd like. I add just enough to keep things a blendin'.

 It looks a little frightening and at first it kind of feels like you're eating grass. BUT I have been having them pretty much every day since Halloween, and now I crave them. They're totally refreshing, and you get more produce in a day than most people get in a week.

And they give me a lot of energy. So I'd say if you haven't tried a smoothie incorporating greens before, you should give it a go! Not as scary as they look, I promise.

My Favorite Breakfast

-Oatmeal

-1-2 tbsps almond butter

-Some kind of fruit

I love this, especially in the winter. And it's amazing especially with frozen blueberries, because the outside warms up and the inside stays cool.

Delicious, and so filling.

(P.S.-Tommy made that bowl for me last Christmas! Perfect oatmeal/soup/ice cream bowl.)

Mini Cheesecake

So if you're like me and have a constant sweet tooth, this is a great snack. The ingredients seem a little odd, but trust me, they taste like a cheesecake when you eat them all together.

-Graham crackers

-Cream cheese

-Chocolate chips/strawberries/bananas/grapes...lots of things are good with this!

So there you go!

Also, I may do a vlog this week.

Get excited.

Good luck to everyone on finals/Christmas shopping/other December madness!