Week in Review, Week Ahead

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. This week, it's a good thing I didn't have any big plans because On Tuesday I came down with a cold that kicked my ass. I know, I said that last time (did I? I don't know, I think i might have), but this one...Not only did it have this terrible sore throat and hacking cough, but it also made me loose my voice. I was off work three days (wed., thurs. and fri.). And then it was the weekend. I'm still recovering, but I'm mostly better. I wanted to get some exercise -nope. I wanted to sleep well - that didn't happen either. I did take lots of pictures. We have our christmas tree up and all our decoration about so I had lots of inspiration on the days that I didn't spend almost entirely in bed feeling miserable. One out of three...better then nothing.


Some cool things I found this week:

Leggo My Eggo! is a gruesome and incredible piece of pancake art. Yeah, you heard me: PANCAKE ART. How cool is that? There's also a gory Mouse trap and a full breakfast - bacon eggs and toast! - all out of pancakes. Awesome. via serious eats

Breaking News: Gingerbread town massacre

What'd your True Love give to you? (and can you name them all in 5 minutes?)

How to take a Great Photo for Your Social Media Avatar 

Oh Hai!! Uz eatin dis??  Raccoons sure are cute, too bad they're mean. Also, I wish they'd stop knocking down my bird feeders.

This week I'm focusing on getting better and then it's Christmas! I've got a couple of presents to wrap and that's all that I have to do before Christmas. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

I have no Words

So, I've got another cold, and this one has the added benefit of causing me to lose my voice. Which is terrible for anyone, but for someone whose job it is to talk on the phone it's really not good. Can't talk, can't work. Can't work, don't get payed. You see my predicament. So, I've been scouring the internet for tricks and tips to help speed my recovery. What I've found is that a lot of the tried and true remedies may actually be myths.

Almost every advice site suggests tea with lemon and honey.  But according to this ABCnews article, that's not really a good idea. Tea and lemon are both acidic, and that can cause acid reflux, which is not good for your vocal chords. They do however, say that herbal and caffeine free teas are alright, as warm drinks can be soothing.

Another thing that's suggested on several sites is some form of alcohol. The two most common I see are a Hot Toddy or a shot of whiskey. However, alcohol dehydrates you and that's the opposite of what you want to do. In fact, what you SHOULD be doing is drinking lots and lots of water. Keep your throat ultra hydrated. it's also suggested all over the place that you use a humidifier. I don't have a humidifier, though, so that's not really a help to me.

So what can I do, other then drink lots of water? The only other tried and true method to getting you voice back is to not talk and definitely don't whisper (old friends who took voice lessons used to tell me this all the time. It strains your vocal chords and can make things worse, not better). So I'm staying silent today.


image by addictedimage