Cold fighters

 

Still feeling not the greatest today but, I have been upping my Vitamin C and getting rest.  Maybe it is the weather….it has been cloudy and rainy here.  I have just been so tired lately even when I get sleep and go to bed at a very decent hour.

 

 

Sources of Vitamin C all citrus fruits this includes lemons and limes so go ahead and squeeze that lemon or lime wedge in your water.

 

A perhaps surprising source of Vitamin C is Broccoli along with some calcium.

 

 

 

I have been drinking Emergen C to help my immune system fight off this cold.  I have also been making a drink that is surprisingly good despite what you might think.  It is apple juice heated with Kudzu root (here in the Eastern US  it is not seen in a favorable light)  but, it does help with having a cold.

 

 

All warming spices help too to heat you up and break up mucous these include but are not limited to Garlic (anti microbial, anti infectent basically anti everything), ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne, etc. 

 

Echinacea will help you more if you have been taking it prior to catching the cold or other virus.  I personally prefer Astragalus this has a bit more of a kick and you can take it any time since this is an immune booster.

Admittedly you may be wondering how or why I know all of this.  I studied under a herbalist who has credentials and currently at least last I knew works for a few pharmaceutical companies along with our University Hospital.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beating it off with a stick

Yesterday my daughter was coming down with a cold and spent about an hour screaming and crying because she could not breathe through her nose.   I completely understand that especially with allergies and colds that I suffered through as a child.

Today I am starting to feel as though I am getting it as well.  Arrgh.  Trying to beat it off with Chai tea, vitamin C and rest I even took a 2 hour nap something I rarely do.  Usually 30 min is my maximum/power nap.

I finally got an order in from a company based in Canada.  It has been very annoying for me just because I thought I would be receiving it via UPS and not regular mail.  I had contacted the company via email (yes I am aware they probably get a lot in and maybe cant answer all of them at one time.) because there was no number to call to find out where my order was, if it had even been shipped yet, if there was a tracking number and what it was.  I got no response from any of the emails I sent so I will no longer have any more dealings with this company.  I sent 3 emails and got my credit card statement saying I had been charged for the order I placed February 13th.

As a minimalist yes I still have the dreaded credit card but, I have plans for it.  For starters so far this year I have not gone over $300 worth of charges.  I pay off my balance every month and once my current card “expires” in August and I am sent my “new” card I will not be accessing the new one and basically close the account.  I much prefer to pay either in cash, use my debit card that works as a credit card or gasp write a check.  It just saves money in the long run for me and my family.

How do you usually pay for things?

Vegan Sweeteners

 

I just wanted to touch on some vegan sweeteners.

 

 

 

 

Turbinado sugar is vegan along with raw cane sugar both are dark to light brown.  Along with plain old brown sugar.  All are great sweeteners.   White sugar is however not really vegan friendly just because of how it is processed to get that white color basically by using charcoal made from animals to “bleach” it and make it sparkling white.

 

 

 

For liquid sweeteners there is agave nectar, sorghum, and maple syrup.

 

All are great for sweetening your coffee in the morning, or for baking with.  It just depends on what you want to use.

More strict vegans will argue that honey is not vegan but, as a vegan I do use it just because for me I use local honey and it is also cheaper that allergy shots especially when you have a lovely insurance company that is trying its damnedest to deny coverage for “pre-existing conditions” bleh.

 

 

 

Those are for the most part the vegan sweeteners that are approved vegan.  Hope this helps you with your sweetening needs and baking.

My favorites are sorghum, maple syrup and honey in no particular order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend plans

My weekend plans do not include very much.

I need to go to the library and pick up books I have requested and return a few items that I have checked out.

Hopefully have my daughter go and visit with my in laws just cause I really could use a break.

Try and sweet talk my husband into downloading or at least showing me how to install the latest adobe flash player so that way maybe I can watch a few things on my computer.

Spend some quality alone time with my husband (nudge nudge wink wink).

Hopefully find our taxes from last year and make a copy so that way I can mail it to those who have requested it.  They are in the illusive spotted box that I could have found if my husband had not rearranged the office.  Yup I still need to get rid of more things so that way this is not such an issue.

Hopefully get up early Saturday morning and make banana nut muffins.

Cabin Fever Perks

I have to say that not being able to leave my house  does have its advantages.

I am saving money by not shopping usually at my favorite book stores and not going out for coffee.

Less clutter by not buying books.

Not having my daughter get upset because she did not get x at the store we were in.  Even though she has been told/we have had this discussion before that usually we are not in a store to buy something for her.

Could I catch a bus to take me to most of these destinations probably with a bit of finesse but, have no desire to stand out in the cold with a 3 year old on a street corner.  Plus said 3 year old might not listen to me and stay out of traffic.  Not a fun thought.

Less money spent on gas and wear and tear on my car.

I have to think of ways to keep myself and my daughter entertained while my husband is at work for the next 12 hours or so.

There are probably more but, that is all I can come up with for now.

How far would you go?

I recently watched the recent/newest episode of Castle and just to give you a small dose of what happened in case you do not watch the show.  Castles daughter Alexis is kidnapped along with a friend of hers.  They find a suspect who has been injured and Castle “persuades” this suspect to give up what he knows.

This hit me a bit hard just because I have a daughter and feel that there is almost nothing I would do for her.  There are of course a few exceptions such as breaking the law and murdering someone.

So this is my question to you or at least those with kids and this does not matter on age or gender.

What would you do for your child?  What are your limits if any?

If you would like to try a hypothetical situation then think on this one:  Say your son or daughter calls and tells you that their significant other just abused them physically (it does happen to men too so dont scoff and say the guy is just a wimp and yes your son is buff or not) and they are needing a place to stay and are wanting to come home but since they left in a hurry they do not have very much cash on them.  Would you send them enough money for a hotel room, and either a bus ticket or plane ticket?  Would you ask them what they wanted to do about their job and still send them money for at least a hotel room for the night?   Would you demand that they call the police and insist on a restraining order?

 

To Move or not to move that is the question

My husband would like for us or at least has been talking lately of us moving to a smaller town outside of the smaller city we currently live in.  I do not want to do this for several reasons.

1.  We shop, mainly grocery shop where we live.

2.  There are more restaurants here so if we decide to go out to eat it is not such a long drive.

3.  There are movie theaters here so if we decide to see a movie it is not so far to drive.

4.  More parks to take my daughter to.

5.  More schools for her to attend when she gets there and wants to go to school.

Now for the downside of this

1.  As you can tell from the above it would be more expensive to even go “into town” just because we would burn more fuel.

2.  My mom would probably be rather annoyed just because she would not be able to see her granddaughter as much.

3. My husband/my daughters father already works late so with him having to travel even further to and from work the odds of being late to work and getting home from work even later just gets that much more annoying for both of us.

4.  I have lived in a small town before and yes there were things I enjoyed about it but, a lot of things I did not.

5.  Cheaper rent but again probably eaten alive by the cost of gas to get my husband to and from work.  What we would save might just not be saved.

6.  Moving is such a pain in my backside with or without help.  Usually with little to no help.

The upside to this is that we could rent a house instead of a duplex.  The only problem is that this house usually floods in the basement so we could not use the basement for very much and I really do not want to even put our washer and dryer in this house.

Both locations have farmer markets and schools.

I really do not want to do this and we have talked about it before and agreed last time not to do it so I really hope that my husband really thinks this through again and decides not to do it.

 

What do you think should we move or not?