Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Day 13 Blogging Challenge

A letter to someone...

Thank you.  Thank you for what you did, because I am such a stronger person, such a more realistic person.  I have bigger goals--much bigger than I could have ever dreamed.  I realized that I have a person inside of myself that is capable of doing a lot more and overcoming a lot more than I ever thought possible.  I learned the meaning of self-love, the meaning of self-respect, and the value of true friendship.  I learned to appreciate my own strengths and weaknesses and that relying on others sometimes is ok.  

At the end of the day, I learned things about myself that I would--quite possibly--have never learned. I lost everything, but I gained everything and then some.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Spice it up

I haven't given up on the blogging challenge.  It's just...it's just gonna take a few more than 30 days to complete!

Between nursing school, nursing school, and nursing school, I have no life.  None.  Add getting one helluva cold to the mix and you get the idea.

So I thought I'd share something, since I know a lot of fellow friends who suffer from allergies, sinus problems, and the like.

Y'all know I lurrrrve my neti pot.
 You know, the little teapot-looking-thing that they sell on the cold and flu aisle at Walgreens?

I've been an avid user for nearly 2 years, and I've seen a definite decrease in the number of sinus issues I've had to deal with.  As a matter of fact, this is the first time in quite a while that I've had a serious case of the can't-breathe-at-all.

Tried and true wasn't cutting it.  Neither was anything else I tried, including, but not limited to: Theraflu, Nyquil, Afrin, Benadryl, Flonase...

Cue the souped-up neti...

With cayenne.



Cayenne pepper, y'all.  A little dab'll do ya, but lordy, it WORKED. For the first time in 3.5 days, I'm breathing.  Breathing through my nose and happy as a clam!

Mix the normal saline solution you normally use (sea salt, baking soda, and water), and add 2 shakes of cayenne.  Strain through a paper towel to make sure you're not getting pepper flakes up your nose. Neti away as usual.

Check with your doctor if you've got something funky going on.  Please and thank you.