Being sick is no fun…
Do you ever miss the good old days of childhood? Remember back when staying home sick meant spending the day in your favorite pajamas, curled up on the couch, eating crackers and watching Disney movies. Then around lunch time, Mom would bring it a bowl of Campbell’s Tomato soup, made just the way you like it. As an adult, staying home sick means lying on the couch and noticing everything around the house that needs to be done but having no energy to accomplish it all. You would stay in your comfy pajamas, but the dog needs to go outside and it would be inappropriate to show your pajamas to the entire apartment block. The dishes are piling up in the kitchen sink, the floors need vacuuming, laundry needs to be done. You try to do at least some of it, but you have to stop halfway through to rest. Your stomach grumbles from hunger but the thought of getting up and making something is too exhausting.
Yeah… today is day three of this awful headcold. I had to stay home from work yesterday and today. (Used up all my sick days, too. Well, that is what they are there for.) I was able to get my taxes done, vacuum half of the apartment, and whip up a batch of rice and lentils in the rice cooker yesterday before my energy was completely zapped. Today I am mustering as much as I can just to do these few dishes and two loads of laundry. *sigh* I am tired, I keep have mini-fevers break out at the weirdest times, and I’m running low on tissues. I would love to go relax in the pool, but it is currently occupied by college students. That would be too awkward.
I still cannot believe I fell sick. I went two years without falling ill, and now I have been sick twice in only two and a half months. I had a mild case of the flu over New Years and now this headcold in the middle of March. I think stress, a lack of adequate sleep lately, and not eating enough fruits made me suspectible to some of the colds going around the office. I need to build up my immune system again.
In other news, I think staying away from additional fats and oils as well as my daily exercise (biking to and from work and some extra routines now and then) is paying off. Jessi stopped by last night on her way home from work to see how I was doing, and she told me she saw a remarkable difference. “You have gotten so small!” I had not noticed until she said so, and when I put on my pajamas last night, it was obvious. The pajama shorts I bought about two years ago and were originally skin-tight. Now they hang off of me. My thighs are much smaller and you can see the muscles in my legs now. My stomach is also flatter and I feel like I have a six pack, even though it is not visible yet. Walking pass the bathroom mirror today, I could not believe that was my reflection. As annoying as it seems when you are trying desperately to lose weight, gradually changing your eating habits and increasing your daily exercise really is the best way to improve your overall health. I have been biking to and from work since the middle of October-that is five months-and only now am I becoming aware of all of the great improvements. I was able to ride 12.5 miles last Sunday and only got tired on the last mile (on the way home). I was flabbergasted!
Well, I better go move the laundry over to the dryers.