Allergies, Sinus Infections, and a Life Changing Remedy

I tend to think that when you get sick, your body will take care of itself. Sometimes I'm right, and sometimes I need to learn to lean on the benefits of modern medicine. One semester at OSU I was feeling like crud and after 2 months I finally decided to go to the doctor. Turns out I had bronchitis. It was not my proudest semester in the GPA department and I could have really done myself a favor by making a $7 trip to the on campus "Voo Doo" doctor.

Usually once  or twice a year I get a sinus infection. I would probably get more but I usually can detect one coming and I drown it in Vitamin C. A week and a half ago I failed. That ever familiar tickle in the back of the throat got me. I felt like total crud. I also knew that the little girl next door had strep and we had spent two days before with her parents at my birthday party. I had a wedding coming the following weekend so out of the interest of others I needed to go make sure that I wasn't contagious. We conveniently have nice urgent care about half a mile away. I'd say you could walk there but when I think about it, those who need urgent care typically aren't in the condition to pass on transportation.

Turns out I didn't have strep (Yes! Can still go to the wedding!) but the ever common Sinusitis. Of course he gave me a bunch of pills. I hate taking antibiotics. I put them and going through the xray scanner at the airport in the same category. I know there's a lot of data out there that says that it's not a big deal but it still makes me uncomfortable. Truth be told, I don't take the flu shot either. I think it's going to GIVE me the flu. I also think that I'm young and strong enough that if I came by the flu under natural conditions I think I would probably survive it.  If you're a person with actual medical training and I am making you crazy, I apologize. This may feel to you like it feels to me when people say that climate change isn't real or is caused by "natural cycles." Hand to forehead.

If you don't have Sinusitis like me, this yo-yo weather and copious amount of rain might be giving you allergy troubles. It's actually even bothering Pistol. I had to take him to the vet because he kept scratching his ears like crazy. The bill wasn't awesome. But he's our kid and I guess you do anything for your kid.

Over a week later and I am still not feeling great. I have so much pressure in the front of my head and after working for a few hours on the computer I have been having to take a break for several hours. I don't have time to take breaks because I have a deadline for a paper coming up. Eek!

I was reading a blog several years ago and I believe it my sorority sister Elle who wrote it. Either Elle or Kathryn, but I think it was Elle. She wrote about this contraption called a Neti Pot.

She explained how it worked (much better than I am about to) and I didn't know that it was for me. Until I couldn't breathe and I couldn't sleep and I was miserable about a year ago. Then I was ready to give it a whirl.  So if you have nasal congestion you go to Walgreens and buy this little pot. It comes with 60 saline packets and at the rate I am going that's going to be nearly a lifetime supply. You fill the little pot with water and the saline packet. Then you put it up to your nose and lean your head over the sink. I find that you wait until your spouse is out of the room. I think it puts a damper on the romance.  You have to breathe through your mouth or you get a sensation that is akin to being in the ocean and getting water up your nose. It's no good. Anyway, you do this and water comes out the other side of your nose and with it goes all kinds of gunk that was making your life miserable. Then you breathe the sweet scent of oxygen. Because you can breathe again. 

Now I probably wouldn't do this in the work bathroom either. Maybe you work in a really cool place. I work at a school and the bathroom makes me lose all hope for humanity. I don't want to be part of the problem. Or risk contracting something else by staying in there any longer than I have to. So my back up which I am sure is far less natural and overall good for you is a vapor inhaler. You're only supposed to do it once every four hours or so which indicates to me that it's probably not that good for you. 

But if you're in a pinch, this sucker works. 

So if you're feeling like crud, I hope I've helped you out. We can't be our best selves when we feel like crud. Unless our best selves is cuddling with our dog and watching Harry Potter. When I think about it, maybe that is my best self. I'd also like to breathe while I do it though. 

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A Coffee Shop, A Farmers Market, and A Paper

I have a paper I am working on for a conference in Portland, OR in a few weeks. It's about how states create policies for Renewable Portfolio Standards and how those policies diffuse to other states. I'm basically taking an over-arching theory and applying it to a specific policy. So far so good. I am running low on time and I need to start another paper like yesterday (still waiting on university approval).
I have discovered that I am not awesome at getting work done at home. When I have a serious deadline, I'll get done what I need to get done. But if I have a couple of days to work with then I'm pretty distracted. As a result, I travel around from one library to another to get some concentrated time in to work. It's unbelievable what I can get done at a library in 3 hours compared to what I get done at home in 8 (as I write on my blog from the library).

Well what's a work day without a cup of coffee? Don't all serious academics drink coffee in all of their sophistication? More like imbibing copious amounts of caffeine in order to meet deadlines. Tomato/ Tomato.

I decided to give this new place a try in Edmond, "Evoke".
I went in and it was a total hipster spot. I like hipster spots so I'll take it. I told him to make me something that would make me a repeat customer.

I ordered a caramel latte. I'll be going back. 

Then, I remembered that the Farmer's market is on Wednesday and Evoke is right by the Farmer's Market. I bought some of these lanterns from a girl that looked to be about 12 years old the last time I went. They have a solar cell in the lid of a Mason jar. You charge them up during the day and they illuminate at night. They actually work pretty well! At $10 a pop I decided to invest in the youngster's entrepreneurship. I bought 2. Hey, it's not like she was selling shares....

Anyway, all of the lanterns have different decorations inside. I think they're really cute and a fun conversation piece when we're hanging out on the patio. Come over and hang out on the patio and I'll tell you all about 'em! I told my mom I would pick up one for her, so I can now scratch that off of my to do list. 

If you've never been to a Farmer's market, well it's an experience that you need to have. It just feels like you are part of a community. They are all over the place so they're easy to find. A quick Google search led me to this link which lists where there are Farmer's Markets across Oklahoma. 

It is nice to support local farmers. If you have questions about their product, they are right there to answer them for you. You also help the environment by reducing CO2 emissions from transporting foods from long distances. There are many people who pledge to only consume food that is produced from within 100 miles of their home. This requires one to amend their eating habits to only consume certain foods during the season in which they're produced for their location. Even if I haven't committed to it yet, I think it's an interesting endeavor. I do think we spend too much time letting other people that we don't even know make decisions for us and what we put into our bodies. It makes sense to me that we should take more responsibility for what we consume and provide to our families. 

Another cool way to eat locally is to sign up with the Oklahoma (or others states) food Coop. You can learn about it here. Through this program you order food that you would like online (I often order different meats and eggs) and on the third Thursday of each month you go to a location near you (there's 2 sites in Edmond) and pick up your stuff. It is a great way to support local farmers, know where your food comes from, and dictate the quality of food you want (such as no hormones or antibiotics and such). There are a TON (like literally thousands) of items you can search through. I encourage you to look around! It's kind of like an online Farmer's Market.

Well It's time to get back to the paper. I have about an hour and a half before I need to meet up with my in-laws and pick up my puppy. Then maybe I'll venture to another library. We'll see how this data set building goes. 

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Pick Up a Paper Already

You get two posts in one day today because I am suffering from writer's block on a project I am working on. I did a great job this morning finishing up one project and as soon as I am finished with this post I'm getting back to work. Promise.

Somehow we get the Edmond paper for free (maybe everyone does?) and we subscribe to the Oklahoman on Wednesdays and Sundays. Matt reads it online so I don't know why we get the print copy. I bet it would be cheaper to just get the online version and I wouldn't have to keep recycling the print version. I'll look into it. Well I feel bad that we get the print version so I try to look through it, but usually I'm not that interested in the paper. Well that all changes today.

During my writer's block I have been picking up the paper today. I've decided that I am sick of TV. I have watched quite a bit this summer, even if it's just in the back ground while I am working on a project. There's also a lot of crud on TV today. The story lines might be riveting, but really, it's crud cluttering my mind with unnecessary junk. Like Breaking Bad. It's a good show. The writers are excellent. But I can't really get over the fact that I am rooting for a guy who makes meth and has killed people. I don't like that and my time is much better spent doing oh thousands of other things.

Like reading the paper. There's actually a lot of interesting information in there. I ready one article today about how Clinton was so much worse than Weiner. MMM... probably going to call that one a wash.

I learned about some cool stuff coming up in and around the city. It's because of the paper we learned that Stoney Larue and Wade Bowen are coming to town in a couple of weeks and Matt got us tickets for my birthday.

I also found a cool article about how wind power has exceeded projected expectations in the last year. It also said that Oklahoma is ranked No. 2 for wind power capacity in the U.S. . I thought this was especially interesting because I had recently had an argument with a guy about wind power and wanted to show it to him. I was even going to thank him for challenging my ideas because it was irritating so it forced me to look further into the situation and that folks is how we learn. Turns out he de-friended me so I didn't get to show it to him.

Then I read an article from last Sunday's paper about the top 10 and bottom 10 recipients of gifts and lunches to state congressmen from lobbyists. I sent an email to both of the representatives who accepted $0 in gifts and lunches and told them that I appreciated their refusal. They were both Republicans. So don't say I'm not willing to give the other side a chance.  You probably didn't say that, I'm just being sensitive. It's hard being a Democrat in Oklahoma.

Anyway, I obtained all of this interesting information and I can't wait until Matt gets home so I can tell him about it while we actually do something productive like finish my lawn chairs or work in the garden. That sounds much better than sitting around and watching TV even if it has been a million degrees out lately. So I better get to that paper so I can hang with Matt when he gets home.

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Going Green and Saving Some: Trashbags

The last time I remember buying trash bags was in July 2012 when that was one of our assigned items for a lake trip with some friends. We went to target and picked up our stuff and I thought "Yikes, trash bags are expensive!". Their entire purpose is literally to be thrown away. Sounds like a good way to throw away money to me.

Matt's family has always kept a big garbage can in the garage and used grocery sacks inside or just made frequent trips to the garbage can. At first this was foreign to me. Where is your trash can??? They have a trash compactor but I have always been terrified to use it. What if I put the wrong thing in there? I feel like there's special rules to the trash compactor and if I was ever going to try to get them to love me despite being a registered Democrat, I wasn't about to break the trash compactor. So for years, when I visited I'd walk out the the garbage can in the garage when I was done with my zone bar wrapper. Zone bars are sort of like protein bars. Matt's family doesn't usually eat breakfast and so when no one was in the kitchen I would rummage around for pre-wrapped items and down it and destroy the evidence. Some things feel like a big deal when you're first dating a new guy and especially when you're staying with the family. Now, to Lisa's credit (Matt's mom) for the past several years she almost always has breakfast stuff available when I come over, or I make myself some eggs and she doesn't make me feel weird about it or anything. It's hard to be a breakfast eater in the non-breakfast eater world.

Anyway, back on track. After Matt and I got married we adopted the same system (rather, he forced it on me because he had already been living in our home for a year). Trashcan in the garage, small bags in the house. This took some getting used to. It's also a little hard to explain to guests. But seriously, it's now a much easier system. It also smells better. And we RARELY buy trash bags .

Although I am a dedicated reusable bag....user, some how you still end up with bags. Maybe you go in for just a couple of  items. Maybe you forget the bags. Maybe you accidentally left the bags in the garage before you left. Then there's the issue of shopping for clothes and such. I haven't started bringing in my own bags for that yet. I'm a little nervous they would think I was shop-lifting. Then I would have to give them a whole speech about saving the environment and how we all need to do our part. Then we both would be embarrassed. So this is our pantry and we just have one of those command strip hooks and we take it out the the garbage can as needed (typically once every day or other day).


Now remember, the order is reduce, reuse, recycle in terms of benefit to the environment. Through this system we are reducing the number of trash bags purchased, and reusing bags that we have some how accumulated (despite my best efforts). So we'll call this a win.

We do have a normal trash can, it's just in the garage. We put things in there that don't smell as well like left over food or things that might not fit in the little bag. It only gets emptied once a week or so (I honestly don't know, this is Matt's territory) so we need to purchase trash bags MUCH less often. Much.

We don't really produce much trash because we recycle so much. Starting this summer they brought us one of these big boys. And they increased the number of things on the recycling list. What a good day.

In further effort to reduce trash (and thus the number of trash bags we need) we compost all of our vegetable and fruit scraps. Along with dryer lint, egg shells, and just about anything that is living but rodents wont get into. Don't compost meat or you'll have a whole world of issues on your hands.

I have a cute little stainless steel can I keep under the sink. I line it with compostable bags. I got a box for free at a sustainability conference that have lasted me almost a year now. I am going to the conference again in October so maybe I'll get the hook up again.

This is the brand that I use. They're about $8 on Amazon and like I said, they last about a year for us, and we consume TONS of produce. They are 3 gallons. So 3 gallons x 25= 75 gallons of diverted waste from the landfill in one year. And we are talking minimal effort. 

So then I take it out to the composter out in the back yard. We have a door out the back of the garage so I probably have 15-20 steps involved. 

Nice non-invasive (as in the aesthetics aren't too bad) composter. Every now and then (like I dunno twice a season when it's warm) you turn it over to mix it up. 

And then you get dirt!

That right there is all of my old fruits and vegetables turned into nice nutrient rich dirt. And then I put it on my garden. So I save money on compost too. 

These aren't huge things, but they add up. And so does the impact on the environment. These aren't the sole solutions to the impacts of climate change, but if we all take on some project that meets our interests, we really can help things out. Furthermore, we could do things like pay attention to the things around us. Where do we recognize inefficiencies? I remember at OSU they were always watering the sidewalks instead of moving the sprinkler over a few feet so it would actually hit the grass. We should give people a polite call when we see stuff like that to reduce waste. It's better for the environment and it's better for budgets, which is better for tax payers. Don't mind me, I am just over here saving the world's problems....

Just kidding. I have a long way to go but I believe in fighting the good fight. And I think it's all terribly interesting and fun. 

Side note: While I walk looking up the link to the compost bags on Amazon, I noticed that the same brand for extremely affordable under the sink composters and you can find them here. There's a nice low-risk way to see if composting is for you! If you do go for it, let me know how it goes!

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Birthseason

It's no secret. I love birthdays. I love my birthday. I love your birthday. I love his. I love hers. I just love 'em. We even celebrate Pistol's birthday. We threw him a dog party once.

My birthday seems to last a little longer than just a day. I don't know if I have ever had just a birth-day. When I posted about making a budget, I also mentioned a book by Gary Chapman on the 5 Love Languages. My love language is gifts. I kind of hate admitting that because I think it makes me sound superficial. But you also can tell someone's love language by how they express their love. I am always buying gifts for others. Sometimes for no reason at all, just because I think it will make them smile. I think this makes some people who have a different love language uncomfortable with this because many people don't know how to respond to random gifts. Oh well, I can do what I want =)

This probably adds to why I love my birthday so much. People are speakin' my love language. And it honestly doesn't even matter what you get me. Cost has nothing to do with it. It has everything to do with you thought of me, decided I was close enough to purchase something for, then you took the time to do it, and then you gave it to me. You must really love me. This even applies to cards because how I see it, you thought of me, went and obtained some piece of stationery (or napkin, old receipt, whatever) and put together a little note, put postage on it, and sent it my way. That's a lot of trouble and I really appreciate you loving me enough to do that.

This year my birthday started in May. My best friends at school are Siva and Wes (and my roommate Lauren). Well I made it pretty clear that I was not about to travel to Lubbock anywhere near my birthday because I had a really long, daunting semester and didn't want to even think about Lubbock until late August. My sweet friends put together a birthday party for me after I had just spent 4 hours on a my last final exam which included 17 pages of hand-written answers. It was the perfect relief from a really long couple of weeks. We had a few beers, some pizza, and some quality time together before I left for home the next morning.

And they even got me a card that included a sash, and an extremely generous gift of an external memory drive to hold all of my documents for our Comps exams next year. It was even wrapped in Texas Tech Paper. I just realized that I wore the same shirt on the last day of school as the first day of school.

You can tell I am a little worn from one picture to the next. I'm tellin you, last year was rough. I'm also a lot less tan. Yikes.

Anyway, those boys made my heart so happy and made me feel special for my birthday all the way back in May.

Then birthday celebrations went on hiatus for a while. Then 2 weeks before my birthday my parents came to visit. My dad wanted to buy some new boots so we took him to the Oklahoma City Stockyards.

Some how I ended up with these.

My dad always wanted me to be a cowgirl so he is pretty easy to persuade for cowgirl attire. Are these not the most beautiful boots you have ever seen? It makes me wonder why I am not wearing them right now as I type. Even if I am on the couch in my athletic shorts.

Then my in-laws came to town the next day. Lisa and I went shopping and somehow I ended up with these. I was told that all of the older ladies of Alpha Delta Pi love Anne Klein items because of the lion logo. I can get on board for that. 

Then Matt started "birthday week" gifts. I got a gift each day. This my be my new favorite tradition. Holy Moly. 

On a side note: How did I get so lucky? 

And Lo couldn't contain the surprise anymore so she sent me a picture of what she made for me and I'll be getting very very soon (WHEN SHE MOVES 45 MINUTES AWAY!!!). We have an OSU room and this is going to be PERFECT.

And then one of my dreams came true. There is a restaurant in Marlow Oklahoma called Giuseppes. It is my favorite restaurant. They have a sea food lasagna that is to die for. Like the alfredo may literally kill me, but I'll die a happy person. Lisa told me a few years ago about this magical place in the restaurant called "The Broom Closet" that is for a single group and they have a special door you go through and a special menu. 

                                                      

Looking inside you think, where the heck is this place? And then a light bulb turns on outside the door. A man comes up to that little black window and says "What's the password" to which Lisa replied "Italy". Then he slides this door and we find a room. It was so beautifully decorated and the lighting was really neat. They also had this long tassel that you pulled when you wanted them to come serve you. We had wine flowing and appetizers and delicious bread and a lovely meal. It took several hours but I loved the time spent with the family. I don't know if I have ever laughed so much with my in-laws and it was such a great time. It was an incredible gift and I love them for providing that experience for me. 

Then it was adventure day.

There is a new "Skytrail" (you can learn more about it here.) by the Oklahoma River. It is 8 stories of ropes course obstacles. I decided that I wanted to do that for my birthday. My brother is typically up for adventure stuff so he came with his friend T.J. (and of course Matt came too).

First we stopped by The Mule and had lunch. That's a macaroni and cheese sandwich. Oh my. 

The harness adds a certain level of comfort about the whole ordeal. 

Some times it was scary. Some times it was challenging. And most of the time it was fun. And then you got to go down a 72ft slide at the end. 

Afterwards our pass included kayaking and Paddle Surfing (or Stand Up Paddle?) or other self-propelled water vessels. I've always wanted to paddle surf so I jumped right on it. When we were in Mexico they gave us a surf board and a paddle but that wasn't quite the same thing. That adventure was a real test in balance. This more appropriate board was actually quite easy to stay on. I never fell off which was good because the Oklahoma River is rumored to have some pathogens that I'm not prepared to deal with. 

It was a long exhausting day but it was SO much fun! I don't know if I have ever been so thirsty in my life since it was 103* but it was well worth it. I was really grateful to get the opportunity to just have fun and play!

Then I still had my actual birthday to look forward to!

I got up in the morning and enjoyed a nice cup of hot cocoa from a neat chocolate spoon that I got in the Amsterdam airport.

 Twas delicious.

I sat on the patio and looked up a birthday devotional. I was feeling really grateful to the Lord for my wonderful 27 years and His blessings in my life. I thought it would be appropriate to spend some time in His Word. One of the devotions I read said that we should be embracing our age because it puts us one year closer to heaven. I suppose that's one way to look at it!

Matt's Mimi took me to the Salvation Army Tea at a local country club. The theme was "Downton Abbey" which I didn't realize until I got there. This was a fortunate coincidence because I wore sort of a "fascinator" just because it was on sale at the Dillard's sale. Pretty cool!

It was a lovely event and I would really like to get involved with the Salvation Army when I have finished school. They really are an incredible organization that does so much for the community. 

Then it was time to party party party. Love and I have a birthday that is about a week apart and we have many overlapping friends so a joint party just makes sense. He came up with the idea for a Stillwater themed birthday. I went around to the bars in Stillwater and got a few posters to hang up and my mom made a cake of The Strip (otherwise known as Washington St). 

I had a 319 shirt which was our beloved bar when we were in college (now known as College Bar). Love had a Willie's shirt which is the bar where Garth Brooks got his start. 

And Matt had on a Jammer's shirt which is what 319 was before it was 319 (and later College Bar).

We event made Jell-O shots in syringes like Murphy's. 

 And Sarah did so much to help putting the party together (Sarah is Love's girlfriend)

 And some people even enjoyed playing the corn hole game that Matt and I made (and his mom made the bags).

Pete is hard to draw. One is post the freshman 15. 

And then Matt gave me my final birthday present. He bought us tickets to see Stoney Larue (and others). Stoney sings "our song" (Feet Don't Touch the Ground) and we try to catch him at concerts when we can. Can't wait!!

My birthday was a huge reminder than I am blessed so far beyond what I deserve. I am so grateful to all of my friends and family who contributed to such a wonderful event... even if it lasted much longer than reasonable. May your birthday be a reminder to you of all the lovely things in your life. 

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