Allergies Push You to the Edge

I will get right to it.  Last week, I put this thing up my nose:

Yes friends, that's a neti pot.  As in the kind you load up with saline and then pour solution in one nostril and out the other, flushing out your nasal sinuses.  If you get REALLY good at it, you can run the saline through your nose and out your mouth.

Sounds fun, huh?

As I've written before, I have ungodly allergies.  I am allergic to everything!!!!  Sinus infections leave me howling in pain - just the fear of getting a sinus infection gives me the shivers.

I am on allergy meds, but I am not too great at taking them on a regular basis, because apparently I am a masochist.  I've heard actually that a neti pot is the best way to manage allergies, that if you use it on a regular basis, an allergy-addled person - such as myself - can greatly improve her quality of life.

Well, okay then. 

Many of my friends use neti pots and love it - big, big fans.  So, a few years ago I bought one for myself... and proceeded to let it gather dust on my shelf.  I don't know - I just couldn't bring myself to use it!  It seems so gross!

Finally, last week, I bit the bullet and tried it because Bossyboots dared me.  And you know... it wasn't all that bad.  Afterwards, I could indeed breathe much more freely.  The actual process felt super weird, but it wasn't horrible or terrifying.  (I am really good at taking normal life events and making them ridiculous.)

And now you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm a grodynose.  (sigh)

A Snowy New Year's Eve

This NYE recap is a bit late... this really effed with my schedule.  I place the blame squarely on my nose!

Anywho, Bossyboots and I decided that a New Year's trip was in order - with the holidays closing down and a return to the daily grind imminent... we knew we need to get out of the city!  Much as I love my Chicago, city living is noisy and hectic at all turns.  Getting out once in awhile is required for mental health!

First off, we decided to be as grandma as possible by choosing a small town destination and staying in a bed and breakfast.  Neither of us had ever stayed in a B&B before, so this was going to be a new adventure.  (Can you call acting fifty years older than you are an adventure?)  :)  We found a B&B that looked promising in Galena, IL, a teeny resortish town about three hours outside Chicago.

Ummmm, we totally loved it.  Complete, undying love.  We stayed at a place called Ryan Mansion that we found (where else?) on the world wide web.  Bossyboots was skeptical at the whole idea of a B&B at first.  As he put it... "I am not so sure I will want to get up early to eat cereal with a table full of strangers I will never talk to again."  His fears were allayed the moment he saw this, however:

French toast with cream cheese and orange marmalade - NOMWe loved the Ryan mansion.  After a three hour drive through snowy back woods, the mansion was so welcoming.  The breakfasts were outstanding - the first day, we had quiche and breakfasty apple pie.  Apple pie for breakfast - WIN!  And... there was a Walmart nearby, which we made a point to visit at least once daily.  Bossyboots is a bit in love with Walmart, at times.  I think his ideal date outfit might be if I were to wear a Walmart tshirt.  Srrsly.

The main foyer

The proprietor was SO nice...  The sitting rooms were comfy, and they had a number of antique parlor games that were actually super entertaining and we made full use of.  They also kept sipping brandy for guests in the parlor, which made us feel high class - though I had to remind Bossyboots that it was SIPPING brandy, not gulping brandy.  Also a funny moment.

We were pretty laid back on our stay in Galena.  Because I was laid out flat with my sinus infection, we mostly holed up at the B&B and watched DVDs and just hung out.  This was actually perfect.  Our aim was to relax... so we did.

For New Year's Eve, I drugged myself up with my prescription sinus infection meds and the two of us got all gussied up for a steak dinner like the proper fogies we were! 

Behind this smile is a head full of snot.

My nose is all twisty in this photo because it's thinking of ways to kill me.

Our last day, we puttered around Galena.  The town is full of shops - and not shops full of cr$p (though they definitely exist) but shops with teas, spices, and sports memorabilia.  I sampled a hot sauce that almost burned my face off.  True story.

Suffice to say, I think we will be going back sometime soonish, and we will definitely be staying at the Ryan Mansion again, if nothing else, so that I can take blackmail photos of Bossyboots inhaling the sipping brandy. :)  We were shocked that we loved the B&B experience so much!  Have you ever tried something new and been pleasantly surprised?

Me and My Snot

Do any of you have allergies?  I have allergies.  The kind of allergies that try to kill me.  If you look at my childhood photos, most of them include me holding Kleenex and sporting a red nose.  I am pretty sure I marked every spot in my parents' house with my runny snot.  Gross, but true.  My nose has been trying to kill me since I was a wee tot. 

When I was eight, my Dad took me to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist for allergy testing.  The printout of my allergy results was about eight pages long.  As the allergist put it, "Anything that has fur, pollen, or atoms attached... your daughter's going to snot all over it."  He put me on a nasal steroid and pills that made me sleep all day, so.... that wasn't going to work.  I just had to learn to live with my traitor olfactory appendage, and my family had to learn to deal with the snot. 

Thankfully, by the time I grew to be an adult, allergy medicine grew up, too.  Zyrtec-D and Flonase saved my life!  You may think that's overdramatic, but when you get to kiss your boyfriend without snot on your face, it's rather exciting.  It was a whole new world.

Regardless, sometimes my allergies still find ways to get me in the form of sinus infections.  If I travel anywhere with grass or trees, I get one.  Usually the infection is minor, but sometimes it's a doozy.  I feel like I have the flu, but it's really just my sinuses playing Chemistry Set behind my eyes.

Guess what? Warm TX weather + Six hours of recirculated air on a delayed airplane + Freezing Chicago weather + IL forest reserve = The Worst Sinus Infection of My Life.  I have been sick for over a week now, and I probably have another 3-4 days to go.  At its apex, I couldn't use four of my five senses, and the left side of my face and teeth were swollen and itchy.  Freak show.  Seriously, I felt like the only thing to be thankful for was that I wasn't throwing up.  Thankfully, I have an ENT who called in lots of good prescription meds so I can kill this infernal infection.

Until my sinus infection decides to stop playing havoc with my face, I am happy to make use of the wonders of modern medicine, especially the Tylenol PM, which will hopefully help me sleep more than two hours tonight. (sigh)