Unsolicited advice for the Flu Bug

First off, this flu this year? Is so terrible I can barely even THINK about how sick I've been on and off for the last few months. To say the least, I'm exhausted ALL. THE. TIME. And I've been over it now for two weeks. It really took its toll on me. So sick on and off for about 3 months now.

So, I tried the pharmaceutical route. To NO avail. The side effects of the flagyl and other anti-nausea and anti-barf things made me even worse. I couldn't even keep down Pepto-Bismol or ginger ale!

Best thing to do? Get some fresh ginger. Cut it up into chunks and let it sit in still water. Carbonated works, but the bubbles are actually not so great for you. Carbonation sucks the calcium out of your bones. Yep. It do.

So, fresh ginger, let it sit in water and even chew on a little piece. It's spicy and it won't taste good, but it takes away the nausea almost instantly.

Also, apples. Apples are an amazing anti-nausea remedy. Apples, onions, ginger, garlic. All of these things actually ATTRACT bacteria and are very porous, so the bacteria looks at the apple or the onion and gloms onto it for dear life and then when you extract it out the other end? So goes the bacteria!

Peppermint and Spearmint are also amazingly wonderful anti-nausea things. I have peppermint oil I use for my arthritis and also when I feel nauseous. Even good old Vick's Vapo-Rub is great against congestion or nausea.

And chicken soup is actually a thing! There are enzymes that happen in the broth part that actually DO make you better. Electrolytes are what are needed. Lots of water can actually have the opposite effect that you desire when you're dehydrated. Smart water is great. Spring water with natural minerals - even better.

Same for when you have a urinary tract infection or are experiencing bladder sensitivity (I'm super sensitive to chlorine in the water). Take caplets made by AZO with concentrated cranberry extract. They even have these little pills that numb your bladder until you can clear it up naturally.

I also am a firm believer in D-Mannose as a WONDERFUL natural alternative to any of those terrible pills the doctor would prescribe. D-Mannose is a little sugar, completely benign to the human body. It comes in caplets that I buy from Natural Food outlets like Whole Foods Market or Natural Pantry or even Trader Joe's.

The bacteria that builds in your bladder from whatever source, doesn't really want to be in your bladder. It's looking for sugar! It likes if you eat carbs or sweet foods. Best thing? Cranberry (acid), tomatoes (acid) and D-Mannose. The D-Mannose sugar passes through the human body very quickly and when it gets into your bladder with the acid drinks or cranberry pills? The bacteria sees the sugar and races right onto it.

When you go pee? Bye bye, Bacteria!

It's amazing. My friends who are professionally trained Acupuncturists and Chinese herbalists told me about a lot of these things. Also my friends who are amazing Master gardeners and herbalists - she and he turned me on to a lot of these things.

Depressed a bit with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? Again, ginger. It's a mood lifter. Also Omega-3 rich foods - salmon, trout, organic eggs...

Also, getting a proper amount of Vitamin D-3 is essential. I take 5,000 I.U. per day in the winter. And I use a SAD light every day for about 10 minutes. Makes me feel elevated!

One more thing - a lot of times we feel nausea because we're congested. If the congestion gets into your inner ear - it causes vertigo, vertigo, then causes you to feel seasick or nausea. I know that's what this flu has been doing to me. It's still in my upper sinuses and ear canals. Ugh. Tough little bugger. I've heard it can stick around for up to 6 months! ACK!

Something we should all practice is honey therapy, too. Local honey has a concentrate of the local pollens. When you have even just a teaspoon of honey each day, it acts like immunotherapy. It helps you build up immunity to the pollens that can cause such terrible allergies in the spring and even the winter. I'm allergic to dust mites (they're everywhere) so I'm taking honey every day to try to combat the allergies which are compounding the bugs that are going around...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anywho, be well out there, kids. And listen to good music and watch something funny. The world is a scary place sometimes, so you HAVE to take time out to take care of your mental well-being.

May I suggest the Brave Girls Club, Soul Pancake and Upworthy as great places to start. TED talks are another inspiration for me. Uplifting.

Onward and Upward, kids.

Cheers and Ciao for now.

Thanks for reading.

Not Possible for me to Love Jimmy Fallon more

than I do right now after watching this AMAZING performance by James, Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell and Drew Barrymore!

(By the by, Drew Barrymore looked absolutely stunning!)

Here's nice morsel for you to enjoy and have a good giggle:

Ack and other sundries

So, my post yesterday had some dumb type-os. I hate that. It's embarrassing when put something out there and then come back to it the next day and find stupid missing or misspelled words.

Yeesh.

Anyway, my friend over there at Bye Bye, Pie raises a good point.

What's up with all the "meaningful-ness" every minute of the day here now?

I'm soooo tired of people trying to be meaningful.

Sometimes a good cry is just that. Gets it out of my system.

Sometimes when I write about something painful, it's just that. Writing about it to get it out of my head for a minute. I don't need flowers or a hug or your meaningful phone call.

Just let me be sometimes.

Case in point: I sent a picture of some beautiful birds to a person yesterday. She's part of the Audubon Society here in AK. Now, mind you, I've lead about 80 kajillion bird and whale watching trips from Canada to the Caribbean over the course of 30 years. I've got a little experience. And I don't put stuff out there if I've not confirmed and reconfirmed it to be true.

I do my homework.

I've got a thing from Mass Audubon, a thing from the Cousteau Society, a thing from a leading private College in Boston, two things from the Coast Guard, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude, and the list goes on and on.

Whatever. It's just what I enjoy, so shut up.

I'm not looking to brag. I'm just telling you I know my shit.

So, I sent this picture to this person and she turns around and texts me these big LONG ridiculous texts telling me that my bird ID is wrong. Well, I never SAID it was that kind of bird. I was TELLING you that the mixed flock had arrived and that they were in my treetops RIGHT NEXT to my bedroom window. I didn't SAY it was THAT particular kind of bird, I was simply TELLING you that they were here. (And, by the way, they're here in my yard again today, but guess what douchebag? You're not invited to see them now.)

Hunh.

Some people, right?

So she gets all bitchy and up in my bidness because I didn't expressly tell her NOT to give me her opinion.

Well, when someone DOESN'T ask for your opinion, that implies that it is not being asked of you.

Am I missing something here?

Do we now have to preface each statement with "Please. Do NOT give me your opinon!"?

Good heavens to Betsy.

So, when someone sends you a picture of a beautiful bird and tells you that there are also OTHER birds that are RARE in this flock, perhaps you can just text back and say, "WOW! Thanks for letting me know!"

I've been at this for a long long time. Just because I look young does not discount my 30+ years of experience in the field.

Don't assume that you know more than I do just because you're old and wrinkled and dried up. And you don't know ANYTHING about the subject, amateur.

This person came by last week and we talked about the birds and my sanctuary-ish yard for about 1/2 an hour. When she first pulled up in her car, she saw me outside getting the mail. And I saw the look on her face. She was one of those reverse-sexist people.

This is what I saw when she was sizing me up:

"Well, you're blonde. You've got blue eyes. Your house is beautiful. You've got a cute little dog. And a nice husband. So, you're obviously not a person with a BRAIN who could possibly know what the hell you're talking about."

So, Icky Person, this is what I have to say:

I've got a life list like you'd dream about. 

169 birds in the East 

(plus about 70 more in the Caribbean, California and Texas,

 but we don't have to talk about that) 

and 155 and COUNTING so far here in Alaska.

 I'm almost at the 500 mark for life birds.

How many have you've seen? Oh. 

Not close to 500 confirmed? Sorry 'bout that.

NOT.

Lately I feel like society has reverted into some sort of ugly version of itself from about 50 years ago.

Men don't respect me and women underestimate me. ALL. THE. TIME.

Alaska needs to get a life, get some education and get the f*ck into the 21st Century with the rest of the world.

Yeah yeah yeah, "Last Frontier." More like last in line at the "Free! Manners are FREE!!" giveaway.

Grow up. 

And just make ANY effort to BE NICE! 

Yeesh.

Ciao for now. I'm gonna go look a the gorgeous flock of Bohemian and Asian Waxwings that love my beautiful yard that I PLANTED to attract birds, butterflies and bees. TWEET!

YES I AM!!

The Superbowl yesterday was the number one watched show of all time!

Wow!! Nice job, PATS and Seahawks organizations! We mobilized big time over here in Anchorage! Had a sold out theater of over 1000 people there for the big game!

And the atmosphere was one of friendly competition. Some of the fans tried giving me the runaround, but I showed them how we do it in Pats Nation. And how we do it in Sox Nation.

Gentle ribbing is encouraged, but no swearing. Especially with the little kids around...

Unsportsmanlike behavior will not be tolerated. That's why those two idiots posing to be Pats fans were removed. Don't drink all day and then pick fights with young people who have ALSO been drinking all day. Jeez. Especially when you're outnumbered about 1000-6. Not good percentages there, bub.

So, that's why YOU got thrown out of the theater. They're not gonna throw out a group of twenty kids who are friendly as hell and who are sitting next to me exchanging blow by blows of the game. They were great kids. Don't be a dick or it gets you tossed out in the cold. Literally and figuratively here!! 

So, Pats Nation once again rules the roost and we have already moved on to the SOX!! 

Many thanks to the Pats and Seahawks again for such a wonderful game, awesome half-time show and hilarious commercial time! It was a great day of entertainment for me (not so much my mopey husband who hails from Oregon!!!) and millions of other fans across the world.

Leave People Alone and BE NICE

For PETE's sake.

So much has happened in the last 48 hours, it's making my head spin.

My friend who was moving out tomorrow is now moving back IN!!  : ) I am not at all surprised. Three years is a long time to just throw away. However, someone's gotta do his part in making things work. I think the therapy thingy is a great idea. Total support being thrown your way, sister friend.

She makes is other people's business about what she's up to because she CHOOSES to blog about it. However, that does NOT give utter strangers the right to make judgements about what she wants to do or not. She happens to be my best friend of 46 years. I do have opinions about things, but it mostly stems from my overwhelming desire to protect her.

When we were kids she was a scrawny little thing (she still is rather petite which pisses me off because she's over there eating lasagna and Sonic burgers and I'm over here with my lettuce and one tablespoon of dressing!!).  I have not once been scrawny until I was an anorexic, running addict in college. That was the ONLY time I was told I was "too" thin.

It sent a thrill through me whenever someone commented on how skinny I was. It was positive reinforcement for a very terrible secret I was carrying. 

The secret was that I was an exercise-bulemic person. It wasn't a thing back then, so I was labeled as anorexic, but I didn't mind the label at all. I felt like it was a badge of honor or something stupid like that.

So back to my friend.

I am an athletic gal with lots of muscle mass - so I felt and STILL feel compelled to protect my bestie over there. She's a flibbitygibbit and neurotic and hypochondriacal and all the things I'm not!  We are polar opposites but have always sort of shared a brain. Same sense of humor, same oddball taste in men, same love of the word and all things associated with bathroom humor (much to my Mom's dismay).

We even look similar and when we were kids we were IMPOSSIBLE to be friends with. We judged everyone VERY harshly and both talk a mile a minute. It's really hard for others to keep up!

We try harder now to be more forgiving of others, but it can be difficult - particularly when you date or marry one of our old flames! Majorly judgmental then! Gotta be expected, right? Hee!

I had to call her a while back when I was in traffic in Massachusetts. I had to pull over from the giggle fits I was experiencing as I was calling her at work.

She whispered "Hi! What?"

I said, "I'm in traffic. Big moving truck next to me!"

And she said, "What is it?" 

And trying not to laugh just hearing her voice is impossible! 

She always makes me giggle even when it's sad news.

So, I said, "The name of the company? A. Duie Pyle!"

And we giggled and snorted for about five minutes and then she whispered, "I gotta go. Boss coming. Have a meeting. BYE!"

And I whispered "Ok. Bye!"

That's the majority of our exchanges.

"Baybee mouse in kitchen. Watched me make a BLT. Will keep you posted!"

That was my email to her recently.

And I got back "I WANT BAYBEE MOWSE!"

And we giggle from our opposite coastal locations and continue being ridiculous 46 years into this friendship!

So, sometimes when you see cryptic postings on Facebook, most times it's meant for her. To let her know I'm okay and what's been happening to me over here in GODFORSAKEN Alaska!!

My puppy dog, baybee mowses, voles, mooses, bears, the baby squirrel who lives in my garden shed, the pretty songbirds in my yard that swooped in at sunrise today and are twittering in the plum tree and spruces in my back yard! So beautiful. Bohemian and Asian waxwings, chickadees, nuthatches, magpies, some sorta sparrows, hundreds of birds here right now!

Between my garden and the critters, I'm completely happy. I don't need human interaction even on a daily basis. And my bestie over there is the same way.

I have such issues LIVING with a person. Ugh. Living with people is terribly hard, if you ask me. I'm much better off left to my own devices about 99% of the time.

When I feel like being social, well, WATCH OUT!! I'm crazy social until I get totally burned out, and then I make my big retreat into my home, my yard, my writing, reading or even watching my favorite comedians online or the many DVDs I've got upstairs.

Which, natch, brings me to Russell Brand's new video about humanity and what it means to have good intentions and good will toward your fellow human.

I'm just gonna throw it out there because I used to watch those terrible, addicting shows about people behaving badly. All the Real Housewives bullshit on Bravo & the rag shows like TMZ or others.

They truly are bad for you and bad for everyone involved. It's a money making machine for rich people and it preys upon our morbid curiosity for how the "pretty people" really live. Well, let it come as no surprise, these shows are scripted and have story lines that the "actors" pitch to the producers. I know people in Beverly Hills who are real friends of the Vanderpumps and the Kyles and the rest of them.

Those rotten shows are simply a way for the rich to get richer and the rest of us to get dumber and be fed the KoolAid by the Koch Brothers and the rest of those assholes.

So, stop. Just stop it. Be smart. Get smarter. Take a class, read a book, wonder at the natural beauty that surrounds you each day whether it's a whale or a little tiny mouse or even an amazing insect like the Luna Moth I found the day before I left for Alaska! I had the whole restaurant marveling at this gorgeous creature, in total wonderment at what is sometimes right under your feet.

Here's the video by Russell Brand...I am his #1 fan right now.

Ciao for now!

Commence the niceness. Thank you!