Welcome to the Neti Pot!

This week I got sick.

This was a major drag, because last weekend I was fine, but on Sunday I started sneezing. I figured it was allergies.

I continued to sneeze on Monday. "Damn allergies!" I thought to myself.

I went to work, and then to an after work meeting in Northampton at La Veracruzana, a Mexican take out/eat in restaurant. I was super proud of myself because I drove into Northampton, parallel parked, went to the meeting and then drove home in the dark - all by myself!! (Remember, I'm a new driver, so these were firsts... don't kill my buzz, dude.)

(La Veracruzana Side Note: I took home two Carne Asada Burritos for Andy and me... they were fine, for what they were, and the salsa was great, and I appreciated that I got some limes with the order... but I really find myself missing Burritoville and it's creativity!!)
Anyway, somewhere on the drive between La Veracruzana and my house, I came down with an awful head cold. I was suddenly so congested and disgusting that I could barely be alive. I was sneezing non-stop... it was gross.

A day later I'd had to miss work and was still nasty, so I forced Andy to drive me to Whole Foods where I purchased my first Neti Pot.

A neti pot is a little pot (kind of looks like a mini tea pot) that you fill with warm saline water (you buy the neti pot salt separately and mix it in, or use Kosher salt), and then pour it into one nostril for it to come out the other. Sounds gross, right?

It kind of is, at first, and when I first did it I felt like I'd jumped into a pool... it's just that water-in-your-nose-and-face-cavity feeling. But you get over that.

The whole point is that the saline washes out toxins and mucous and crap that's making you all congested and nasty. And, by Golly!, it worked! It absolutely worked. I've been doing it twice a day for three days now and I feel great. I would definitely recommend the neti pot to anyone. I mean, people swear by it for relief for allergies, sinus issues, everything, and now I know why. I'm a true devotee for life.

Hooray for the Neti Pot!!

And if you have a hard time picturing the process, here's the official how-to video to help you:

Day Trips & Fun Spots in the Pioneer Valley

Andy has four days off next week. We'd initially thought we'd make a trip to the Cape at some point, but because of various life things right now I suggested we do a "vacation at home" instead.

So, instead of spending the money to go away and stay in a hotel AND pay for every meal, we'll stay here at home but do vacation-y, explorer-y trips each day.

After all, we've lived here in Easthampton since June and really haven't explored much, like Mt. Tom or anything. We just went to Look Park in Northampton for the first time on Monday!

With this plan we can also actually splurge on a few nice restaurants and maybe even buy some "souvenirs" in our travels, AND get some exercise AND have fun in the nature and towns of the Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts.

I was reading a recent post in a great local blog, in the valley, that has some amazing pictures from Mt. Pollux (click on that link to see them). So, I think we might try that for a picnic one (clear) evening. The sky from that spot just looks breathtaking!

Also on my list is the Montague Bookmill, which sounds very exciting to me, and the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst. Have I mentioned I'm an English Teacher? This is the stuff that gets me going!

(Now that I think of it, Mark Twain's house is in CT... maybe I should see how long the drive is?)

If you know of any fun places to go to see, eat, enjoy - whatever - anywhere here in the Pioneer Valley, please suggest it!!

What Is This World Coming To?

I can tolerate a lot. But not this.

I just stumbled on an old survey posted on Pop Sugar UK, asking readers who their favorite Mr. Darcy is from movie adaptations of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" -
Colin Firth from the BBC production; Matthew Macfadyen in the film with Keira Knightly; or Elliot Cowan in an ITV version.

Anyone who knows me knows that I own the BBC version of P&P and watch it several times a year. At least. For me, there is only one Mr. Darcy, and that's Colin Firth. You can't beat a man like that in a role like that.

But, apparently the readers of Pop Sugar UK disagree - Matthew Macfadyen came in on top at 50%, followed by my fave, Colin Firth at 35% and the other guy at 14%.

I just don't understand. Are the readers younger, and can't get into the idea of now-slightly-older Colin? Have they not seen the BBC version? Are they just younger and stupider? I don't get it. It really makes me nervous about the future of our world, particularly regarding pop culture, which is something I hold very closely to my heart.

I think the only way to get out of the funk of disbelief is to go watch my Mr. Darcy. NOW.

Who is YOUR favorite Mr. Darcy? (And if it's anyone but Colin Firth, explain why - please! educate me!)

(For my (and nearly every other woman's) favorite clip, click here.)

What's Going On

I'm a very busy person.

Here are some things I've been busy with lately:

• Looking for furniture I'll probably never be able to afford to furnish the house that I don't yet have.
• Looking at houses in the Northampton, MA, area on the MLS site and trying to figure out which ones we could actually afford to buy without giving away our first-born.
• Watching "When the Levee Broke."
• And "Dexter."
• Trying to figure out if I've been wrong all these years by putting commas and periods inside quotation marks. (one example: "When the Levee Broke". -or- "When the Levee Broke.")
• Reading "The Blind Assassin" which is strange but pretty good.
• Looking at the google analytics for this blog and trying to figure out what it all means. Some things I've found out:
• thus far no one has ended up on my blog through a search engine.
• I get a surprising amount of traffic from the London area.
• I go onto my blog more than anyone else. Hm.
• Looking for some neat Czech glass item to bring back for mom.
• Looking for a wacky Czech t-shirt (size SMALL - nothing else will do) for my brother.
• Looking for anything that could possibly be an okay-present for my step-father who, wants and needs nothing.
• Limiting cigarette intake before we come back, at which point I will not be smoking.
• Losing 4 pounds (hell yeah!)
• Getting snippy with some beyatch on a food site who undermined all of my suggestions to another member on where to eat in NYC. (see below)
  

• So, maybe I didn't realize that Tony Bourdain is (according to this woman) no longer "involved" with Les Halles... on their site they do refer to it as his home base, and didn't he do a "No Reservations" last year of him in the kitchen there? No matter - she didn't need to shoot me down on everything. I was quite perturbed by it and wonders why people can't just be positive instead of feeling better about themselves by shooting others down. Hmph!
• Taking wintry, snowy walks in the woods.
  
• Drinking beer. In pubs. While eating fried cheese. Sooo good.

What have you been doing lately?

What's on my mind today

-Getting a driver's license once I come home (Yes, I'm 30, BUT I'm a New Yorker - don't judge!).

- Getting a job (thus the need of the license to drive my sorry self to work... I'm reminded of the end of my favorite movie, "Goodfellas", Henry Hill's last line - "I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook." That's exactly how I feel after this work-hiatus I've been on. Oh well.).

- Why it took me so long to watch "The Wire" (We finished season 2 last night and are trying to hold off on downloading anymore before the christmas gift of an itunes gift certificate comes floating it's way over here... SUCH a good show!)