chez maladies

I have not put on makeup since Monday morning. For those of you who do not know me (or many other Southern women) well, this also means that was the last time I left the house.

While Coquette was the sickest last week -- we are so sorry, Mademoiselle Fourmont, and hope you are all better now -- CurlyHairDay is the sickest this week. I had a sinus infection a month ago, gave it to my lovely husband, then I got better, then he got better, then he got sick again, then I got sick again. I usually get two or three bad sinus infections a year (bad allergies) but not in a row. I mean, really.

Since my head is pounding, sleep is but a fond memory, and I cannot speak without being interrupted by a violent coughing fit, I have been home from work since Tuesday morning. In my time off from work, I have realized several things:

1. The last time I missed four consecutive days of work due to sickness was January 2002. This was after a trip to France, where I developed a sinus infection and subsequently became convinced my brain was going to explode during the flight home. (In case this ever happens to you, antihistamines are your only hope. In my experience, their basic effect will be to make you slightly less convinced of the possibility of imminent brain explosion.)

2. What I thought was my new phone's crazy and amusing ring and laser light show is actually a torture device for those with pressure-filled eardrums and eyesockets.

3. There is a lot of free stuff on our On Demand cable. Why just this morning I watched Anthony Bourdain go to Peru. He is very funny...though I haven't read one of his books, since I like food and have been told I'll be wary of anyone else preparing it once I am privy to his insider's take.

4. My cat Maggie sleeps a LOT. She is a good nurse, though. She wanders around after her naps and meows and checks on me and sometimes wants to be petted and then goes off to sleep again. Maybe I am just jealous because I cannot sleep right now due to the sickness.

5. Plumbers are expensive. We had a clogged kitchen sink and despite previously mentioned efforts and new tools, were not able to solve the problem ourselves. One plumber, plumber's assistant, and new pipe in the basement later, everything but our checkbook is better. I will not be complaining, though, because there are no longer dirty dishes in the guest room. (Do not be alarmed, there were only a few fragile glasses there while the plumber was plunging -- you read that correctly, plunging -- the sink. But still, no one wants dishes, much less dirty ones, in their guest room. ick.)

6. It is hard to choose the right blue to paint your living room. More on this soon.

7. I treat Kleenex as if they are rationed, I am out of coupons, and I have only begun the first blizzard of the Russian winter. One blow and throw? Oh, heavens, no. Those puppies get turned and twisted and folded before they get trashed. Gross? Not something you wanted to hear about? Well it's not something I really wanted to think about either, but given the scope of happenings in my life this week, I am trying to be positive and I therefore see this as an eco-consicous behavior on my part. *curtsy*

8. ALSO, our friends at Kleenex make this new antiviral kind! Don't believe the hype? Well, all I can say is they are wonderfully soft and yet by 2am made my nose tingle a little...so there must be somethin' in there. I have the green box.

9. Per my mother, each instance of her catching me sans socks was quickly followed by sickness during my childhood. I have informed my lovely husband, who immediatly agreed to pester me into putting on a pair whenever necessary. He is tired of this too, clearly.

I am going to go eat a popsicle.