I Have An Emergen-C

It's THAT time of year..

It's inevitable. The temperatures are changing which means that sure as sh*t-we are all gonna get sick. And sure as sh*t, Monday night, on my drive home from work I noticed I had sprouted a sore throat that wasn't letting up. Christ! I can't get sick this week! My store manager is on vacation which means I HAVE to be at work for the next 8 days-sick or not. I had to think fast. If gone unattended, this could be an emergency of epic proportions.

Did I just say emergency? I think I did and that is exactly what came to mind when I decided Mr. Cold was asking to come into my body from the cold. I had some Emergen-C  at home and I knew this would be weapon of choice against the dastardly cold knocking at my door. I made the Emergen-C with hot water, because by now, not only is my throat sore but I am feeling a chill down to my bones.

It tasted good.
It made my throat feel better.
All of a sudden I wasn't so cold anymore.
The question was-did I kill the cold?

1000 mg of Vitamin C is no joke, (besides all the other sugar and crap that it is comprised of) and two days later I am still hitting the Emergen-C two times a day. But am I sick with a cold? A little.. slight congestion, sore throat gone...no fever and I'm up and feeling OK. I think it may have worked to shorten the duration of this cold. Hey! How about that?

I'm not taking any chances though. I figure a day or two more of this remedy, rest and taking it easy and we may not have an emergency on our hands.

Clyde And His Bonnie

The legend of Bonnie and Clyde is at it again. A married couple from Quincy, MA ; Joseph and Jennifer Carrier, decided to support their heroin habit by robbing banks up and down the East Coast with their seven dogs in tow. Their brazen crime spree started in Ludlow Mass when they robbed a bank and made off with not-enough-cash-to-make-it-worth-it. To make things worse-the couple made their getaway in a stolen brown Buick Encore-that Jennifer is wanted for the theft of.

Living the glamorous life of crime, these two then continued on to Florida where the Bonnie and Clyde act continued. Joseph walked into a Wells Fargo in Palm Coast and demanded "large bills". The teller reportedly gave him $300.00, before he reached in and grabbed more leaving with $800.00 total. I'm not sure these two-with their seven Brussel Griffons dogs-can live a life in the lamb and support a heroin habit on $800.00.

So they would, of course have to do it again. And do it again they did, yesterday. This time they chose a bank in Wilmington, Delaware and took off in the stolen car. Police were called and the couple was spotted on I-95 where a high speed  chase ensued.You know how that goes... the couple was arrested and taken into custody. I'm thinking Bonnie and Clyde didn't have a heroin habit that made them sick, but the addiction is still the same. The addiction the the high. The high that they get from stealing and the high they get from the drugs.

These two had a better ending to the story than Bonnie and Clyde, although they may not think so. They get to continue living-without each other-in prison and have a chance at getting clean and turning their lives around. Bonnie and Clyde didn't get that opportunity-prison or not. They ended up dead. Killed by the authorities that hunted them in an ambush. Although their story went on  o became one of legend the real tragedy is that they never got to live long enough to realize that crime, really doesn't pay.

Media Junkie

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I'm slightly obsessive compulsive at times. Like most people, I am attached at the hip to my mobile device and have been chastised by My Guy, My Kids and my mom about tuning out while zoning out on my cell. A self admitted news junkie, after completing my latest update on my operating system I was pleased to find a new "News" ap that I did not have before. After close inspection I have decided that this is the greatest thing ever! A news ap that I can tailor to all my favorite news feeds! Who knew? I certainly didn't and now that I have this beauty at the touch of my finger tip I'm unstoppable. 

CNN, Huff Post, Fox News, Buzz Feed, The New York Times, ESPN and many, many more. All just for me and whenever I want. This doesn't sound like a problem, does it? But it is. The problem is that I find that I am no longer alone with my thoughts as frequently as I should be. If I find myself with a spare moment, I am at my newsfeed scrolling voraciously for anything that sparks my interest. Good for everyday news but bad for the brain which doesn't leave much time to decompress. Yet I can't stop scrolling. Obsessive? Maybe. Or possibly I'm just someone who craves knowledge. 

Take for example yesterday's NFL games. I am competing in a football pool with 19 other people for money. Since the pool has started I have consistently been in the top ten, but yesterday? I really stepped it up. After a 2.5 hour session yesterday morning, researching and carefully making my picks, I submitted my choices a few hours before the deadline. Not feeling very confident, I decided NOT to obsess over the stupid pool and go about my business. I thought a workout would be just the thing to get my mind off football and I began my workout-mobile device in hand. It is my music device after all, so it had to be with me. It wasn't long before the ESPN ap was front and center with the live game day feed right in front of my face. There I was, working out, listening to my playlist, watching 2 games on my phone. Of course that continued for the rest of the day while I had the TV, NFL Red Zone and my IPad and IPhone all live to the games I had chosen. Seriously, I never missed a down on any of the games and My Guy joked that he has created a monster. He just may be right. 

When I'm working it's not an issue, and when I'm chilling out-the TV is my best friend, but you can bet during commercial breaks the phone is in my hand and engaging my attention.  I know how to relax and I know when it's time to put the phone down, but the lure of the information that I may be missing is sometimes too much. Am I hopeless? I'm not sure, but yesterday certainly didn't help me to come to that decision. I went 5-0 on all my football pics and am currently in 3rd place in the pool. Doesn't look like I will be unplugging any time soon. 

The Stomach Sleeper

My mom always said that I "could fall asleep on a picket fence", and she would be right. Put me in the back seat of a car on a long ride and soon enough I will be out cold. When I board an airplane-no matter how long the ride-I always drift off to dream land shortly after take off. So it was much to my surprise that just as this summer had turned into fall, I found myself awake at some strange hours of the night. I go to bed anywhere between 10:00 and 11:00 PM, usually not waking up until 5 or 6 AM. Lately? I'm awake at 12:30 AM, 2:30 AM and 4:45 AM and so forth. I can always fall back to sleep, but the waking up in the middle of the night is becoming more and more frequent.

I did a bit of research and learned a few valuable things:

• I am a stomach sleeper, which could be part of my problem.Sleeping on your stomach is BAD for several reasons, but the one that really stopped me dead in my tracks is this: Stomach sleeping causes WRINKLES!!! OMG! I tell people all day long how to prevent the forming of new fine lines and wrinkles and I just realized that I am putting my face in jeopardy almost every night! I never really thought about it, but I have been seeing those "pillow marks" or vertical lines on my face and cheeks that just don't fade as quickly as they used to.  I also sleep on my side-another wrinkle producer-and the tell tale signs show more on the side you sleep on. Oh the horror!

• Stomach sleeping is also bad for your back and neck. I am always looking for a neck and shoulder massage, now it totally makes sense. This form of sleeping also puts an enormous strain on you spine and spinal strain can cause numbness and tingling. No wonder I sometimes wake up with "dead arm", like my arm has fallen asleep-but I am wide awake. And forget about what it does to your neck? turning your head to the side on your pillow causes your head and spine to be out of alignment, a recipe for more pain. 

• Here's the kicker- AGE and STRESS can be a large contributor to "middle insomnia". Great-I've got both of those in spades and I wonder why I'm waking periodically through the night? Alcohol consumption and an underlying condition could also be the answer to waking in the middle of the night. Let's hope there is no underlying condition because I'm not giving up a glass of wine at dinner. Or two. 

Bottom line is doctors say that waking in the middle of the night is a normal occurrence but that you should be able to fall back to sleep easily. So far I have been lucky to drift back off to sleep, but I have been more conscious of the position I sleep in. While I am sleeping on my back more frequently, I wonder if this position change may have something to do with the middle of the night waking? Back sleeping is not my sleeping position of choice, but if it means a better night sleep, I will continue to try it.

At most, my face will someday thank me for it, of that I can be sure. 

Tuesday Tidbits

• I went 4-1 in the football pool this week! I'm officially tied for 6th. I'm also slightly obsessed.

• I'm disappointed in the Ray Donovan season finale. I like a badass Ray Donovan and this episode gave me a resigned and weak Ray Donovan. I guess I understand the reason why they chose to end the season the way they did-it's about absolution and redemption, OK, I get it. But in my opinion they over played their hand a bit here. They put too much focus on Ray's two weaknesses-the Catholic church and his family and I don't feel like it resolved anything for me. I'm thinking that's exactly what it was meant to do. I'll be waiting till next season Ray, don't you worry. 

• Scientists have discovered evidence of flowing water on Mars! Exciting news that some say could lead to the discovery of some form of life on the planet. I wonder-is this a ploy by Hollywood to promote the opening of Matt Damon's new movie "The Martian"? Just a thought.

• The Pope is the cutest man in the world. I love him. 

• Today I consider myself fortunate for all that I do have in my life and fortunate that I will not focus what I don't have....and I'm fortunate that I feel that way. 

• I'm going to see Frack this weekend in North Carolina. It's Parent Weekend at HPU and I can't wait! I miss my boy so much!! He is pledging a frat Pi Kappa Phi and he's rally excited about it. I'm loving the fact that this frat boasts the best GPA on campus and they take academics VERY seriously. So much so, that Frack has to log in 12 hours of monitored study time during the week as part of his pledge duties. Is this great or what?

• Babies are everywhere in my family. Lately there have been most joyous visits from 2 great nieces and a great nephew. I'm not going to even think about the fact that this means I am old..no, I am going to rejoice in the fact that my beautiful nieces and nephews whom I have enjoyed watching growing up are now becoming parents themselves. The love I feel for their children is so overwhelmingly satisfying. It's a beautiful lesson in the circle of life.

Dipping My Feet Into The Pool

So last month My Guy invited me to join his NFL football pool. I was a little nervous about joining a football pool with 20 guys, so I recruited my BFF to join also. I played Fantasy Football once before and made it all the way to the playoffs, but this is different. This time I need to follow the entire GAME and not just my beloved New England Patriots, but all of the games in the league. I need to watch the spread and ponder and learn about lots of other teams. Shouldn't be too hard for someone who has worked in sports journalism not that long ago, right? I still follow and understand and read about and root for all sports-mostly my hometown teams-but sounds like a piece of cake right? Wrong.

Week 1 started and I was a nervous Nelly-searching the web for anything that would help me with the prospects for the first game of the season. After reading ESPN and finding several football pick sites, I took all that information and I sat down to make my picks. The Pats were opening the season on Thurs Night Football against the Steelers. The spread was Pats -7. Of course I took it as my top point pick, with all the "deflatgate" bullshit, I figured My Tommy was gunning for blood. I then went on to pick 4 other teams, mindful of the line and submitted my picks.

I was right about My Tommy, but Vegas has a way of snaring away all your glory. The Pats won, but only by 7, which means I scored a "push" and took only half of my intended points. Better than a loss, I figure, and not bad for a pool rookie. I ended up going 2 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie. Respectable enough and good enough to keep me in 13th place.

This Sunday that same anxiety overcame me as I knew my picks had to be in before the first kickoff. My cherished Sunday morning ritual of leisurely reading the paper and then watching CBS Sunday Morning was fast replaced by nervous energy spent pouring over the sports pages and the web. 2 hours later, I came up for air and was ready to make my picks. I made one fatal error though....
I was going to take Cleveland and take points for my biggest points pick-heck-two Heisman winners dueling it out on the field and even though it is the Browns, I figured this Manziel's last chance to prove himself. Just before I made the pick, I asked My Guy what he thought about the Cleveland game...

He warned me about following the NFL Pick sites-he showed me ESPN and USA Today and explained about home teams and point spreads. He gave me this valuable piece of advice-that even the experts get it wrong some time. "There are no locks," he said, which now left me even more confused. I asked him who his 5 star pick was and he replied with this, "New Orleans is playing the worst team in the league at home. They are giving 9 points, but I'm thinking it's a safe bet." Now, My Guy went 5-0 in his first week, so he added, "You should bet against me. I'm probably not going to go 5-0 again"

Don't ask me why, but I started thinking; Brees at home-Tampa on the road-Tampa sucks, and 9 points is a LOT-2 score spread-at home-I'm doing it!!! Guess what? It was the only game I lost on Sunday and had I taken Cleveland I would have gone 5-0.....

Lesson learned, but I have to tell you that playing in this pool has made football on Sunday's so much more fun! I know that you can't be a hero every week, but I'm having a ball trying.
Sooo...anyone have any picks for THIS Sunday? I'm all ears.

I Was Just Thinking...

I saw this picture of Paris Jackson today and it got me to thinking about Michael Jackson's kids and where they are now. You know how a picture or a story gets you thinking about people that really aren't in your realm of life, yet you can't stop wondering what happened to them?

A quick internet check on Paris finds the 17 year-old beauty seemingly happy and attending a private boarding school in Utah. She certainly has turned out to be a beautiful young lady, and social media pictures show her to be dating.

Her 18 year-old boyfriend, Chester Castellaw, is a soccer player for the Real So Cal youth soccer club. When not away at school she resides with her grandmother, Katherine Jackson and cousin Tito in California and her two brothers. She seems to be doing much better since her reported suicide attempt when she was 15.

Her brother Prince Michael also seems to be faring well.

The Loyola Marymount student, 18, is focusing his studies on a career in film and television. Reportedly a great student, Prince is said to be committed to his studies and focused on receiving a degree. Good thing because as the heir of his father's vast estate, he will need a good head on his shoulders to navigate all that entails. Talk about pressure. Let's keep our fingers crossed he stays the course. I think it would be a great testament to his late father.

Last, is their brother, Prince Michael II, "Blanket" who is 13.

Reportedly bullied for his name "Blanket", he changed his name to Bigi Jackson. Blanket, as he was known by his family, is said to be quiet, funny, respectful and helpful to others. Here's hoping he can live a somewhat normal teen aged life.

After reading and reporting all of that, I am left to wonder why I care? But strangely I do care-Michael Jackson's children were the young and  innocents caught in the madness that was his life. I could be wrong, but it looks like his mother is doing a good job raising his children. And as I said before, it would be nice if despite it all, the 3 kids turned out to be decent, happy and successful adults. As a parent, that's the best you can hope for.