Tag Archives: sick

goals for the week of 1/5

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It’s the first week of goal-setting in the new year! How are your new years goals and resolutions coming along so far? Here’s a post I did this week on my writing blog with some motivation tips {that are applicable for other goals outside of writing} if you’d like to check it out!

My new year has been off to a bit of a slow start because I came down with a pretty yucky head cold. It’s forced me to slow down, savor time with my family, rest a lot, and now that I’m beginning to feel better it’s made me appreciate my good health more than ever.

weekly goals

Here’s how I did on my goals from this past week:
– write 10 pages
– donate purged clothes, books and magazines {doing this tomorrow!}
– mail thank you notes & happy new year cards
– finish reading Edible Stories and MWF seeking BFF
– phone dates with two friends

And here are my goals for this upcoming week:
– write 10 pages
– donate purged clothes, books and magazines
– complete first five chapters of copyediting project
– finish rereading The Architect of Flowers by William Lychack {a superb writer who I feel lucky enough to call my friend!}
– get together with three friends

Question of the day:

  • What are your goals for this week?

saturday upsides: a cozy night in

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saturdayupsidesbutton

Monday is the beginning of a new semester at Purdue, and I’m gearing up to teach my two courses: First-Year Composition and Business Writing. Being back in Indiana means returning to below-freezing temps and snow on the ground, in addition to transitioning from festive vacation mode back to the everyday stresses and obligations of my normal life. Yesterday was filled with meetings and course prep, and {as often happens when I travel} I feel my body fighting off a little bug that I probably picked up on the airplane coming back from California. I’ve been downing green tea, Airborne, and plenty of water, which is seeming to help! Fingers crossed I fight it off and am feeling rested and energized come Monday.

My Saturday Upside is that I am reminded again and again that so much of happiness is based on not what happens to you, but what you make of it. {Or, as Coach Wooden so eloquently phrased it: “Things turn out for the best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.”}

Instead of feeling stressed or nervous for the start of the new semester, I’m choosing to feel excited and hopeful that it will be a great one!

Instead of dreading a long day of meetings, I chose to focus my mental energy on how great it would be to see my friends and colleagues again after a few weeks away. And it was!

Instead of feeling bummed about fighting off a cold, it’s been a great reminder at the start of this new year to slow down and spend time taking care of my body.

I had the perfect cozy night in last night: an easy homemade chicken-and-quinoa recipe I’m eager to share with you soon, M&M brownies for dessert, and snuggling up on the couch with a Redbox rental. I’m looking forward to a laid-back, restful weekend!

What are your plans for the weekend? I’d love to hear your Saturday Upsides!

🙂 Dallas

saturday upsides & healthy apple oatmeal muffins

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Hi everyone! Hope you had a wonderful week and are gearing up for a lovely autumn weekend. I am pretty much over my nasty head cold, but am still feeling a little low-energy. As mentioned, I was {un}kind enough to share my cold germs with Mike, who has been battling the bug as well this week. I took him to the doctor yesterday, which was a good thing because he had a build-up of fluid in his ears that easily could have turned into a bad ear infection! He is currently on a regimen of steroids & antibiotics to clear up any infection and woke up this morning feeling much better.  It will be nice for both of us to get some rest this weekend and {fingers crossed} I will be feeling all better and will have an energetic Marvelous Monday post for you in a couple of days!

In the meantime, I was inspired by my blogging friend Bonnie over at Recipes Happen who has created a series called Saturday Upsides in which she posts each Saturday about looking at the bright side of things. {Check out her post today about the upsides of a busy Saturday!}

My Saturday Upsides today are numerous: both Mike and I are feeling on the mend; we get to see his family this weekend; fun pumpkin carving and Halloween activities are planned. And one bright side of struggling through a few miserable days while your body is battling a cold or flu bug is that it makes you more aware of what a blessing it is to normally be feeling healthy!

Before I sign off for the day, I wanted to share this recipe that I made earlier this week for healthy apple oatmeal muffins. I made a big batch of these on Tuesday evening and ate them for breakfast and snacks all week long. They are full of fiber and heart-healthy oats, plus double-apple goodness thanks to the apple pieces and applesauce. A perfect autumn treat! And they are easy to whip up {which was a requirement for me this week! This cold has seriously knocked me flat!}

I adapted this recipe from one I found on Frugal Homemaking for oatmeal chocolate-chip muffins. Hope you enjoy!

healthy apple oatmeal muffins

– 3/4 cup oatmeal
– 1 and 1/3) cups whole-wheat flour
– 1/3 cup brown sugar
– 1 tsp. baking powder
– 1 tsp. baking soda
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 2 tsps cinnamon
– 1 egg, beaten
– 3/4 cup milk {I used nonfat}
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
– 1 large apple, peeled and cut into pieces {I used a honeycrisp, my all-time favorite apple, but you could use any kind you want}

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with paper cups.

2. Blend together dry ingredients: oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: egg, milk, applesauce, and vanilla.

4. Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Mix together.

5. Stir in the apple pieces. Batter will be lumpy and thick.

6. Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way to the top.

7. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

And that’s it! These muffins are like apple-cinnamon oatmeal in baked form. Warm, filling, healthy comfort food.

What are your plans for this weekend? Any autumn-inspired recipes you’re trying out?

Stay happy & healthy,
Dallas

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– Time spent: 40 minutes {including bake time}
– Cost: less than $5.00

marvelous monday: staying positive when you’re sick

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Hi everyone! I feel like it’s been for…ev…er since I’ve posted. I’ve missed you! As you can tell from the title of this post, I’ve been sick with a nasty cold. Sniffles, coughing, congested, feverish, and soooo tired. You know that weary-bones, sandpaper-eyes tiredness you get when you’re sick? Yep, that’s me.

It can be hard to stay positive when your body is fighting a cold. You’re sick and tired and all you want to do is crawl back into bed and sleep the day away! But it isn’t always possible when Monday rolls around and work and obligations beckon. So, in keeping with the “marvelous monday” theme, I woke up this morning and tried to keep my thoughts on the upside. Here are some things that help keep a smile on my face even when I’m sick:

  • eating breakfast in my cozy Purdue Snuggie that my parents got for me when I decided to come to Purdue for grad school. So warm, and so functional!

  • warm green tea with honey … perfect natural throat soother.
  • snuggling up with a good book {right now I’m reading My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares — a unique, creative romantic read from the author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series}
  • the beautiful autumn leaves outside my window and on my drive to school.

  • sweet phone calls and texts from my parents and brother checking up on me to see how I’m feeling
  • wonderful students who seemed to sense that I was feeling under the weather and were extra well-behaved and participatory in class discussions today.
  • a reminder that I am so fortunate to normally be feeling 100% healthy and energetic, and I need to be grateful for my body and take care of it! As a naturally go-go-go 24/7 type of person, relaxation can be a challenge for me. Sometimes being sick in bed with a cold is the reminder I need to slow down, rest, and take care of myself by making sure I spend some time in relaxation mode, even when I get back to feeling healthy.

Hope you are having a wonderful start to the week! Does anyone have any tips to share for staying positive when you’re feeling under the weather? How about ways you keep your body healthy through cold-and-flu season?

-Dallas

cranberry ice cubes & cherry-cranberry jello

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I came down with the stomach flu last week and completely lost my appetite. But it has been so hot outside that I wanted to make sure I kept hydrated. What really sounded good to me were ice cubes {for the coldness} and cranberry juice {for the flavor and Vitamin C!} My sweetie Mike had the genius idea of combining the two things to make cranberry ice cubes. They are the perfect way to stay cool in the summer heat while also enjoying a pop of flavor!

cranberry ice cubes

-cranberry juice {we used 100% juice, a mixture of cranberry and apple}
– water
– ice cube tray
– toothpicks {optional, to make little popsicles}

1. Fill a large cup with half water and half cranberry juice.

2. Carefully fill the ice cube tray.

3. If desired, add a toothpick to each ice cube for easy removal.

4. Freeze until solid, remove, and enjoy!.

Mike also used these cranberry ice cubes to make Jello for me, which was hands-down the BEST Jello I have ever had! He used the sugar-free cherry flavor and combined with the cranberry ice cubes it was the perfect mixture of sweet and tart!

cherry-cranberry jello

– 1 package sugar-free cherry jello
– cranberry ice cubes
– water

1. Make jello according to package directions, except instead of using regular ice cubes, use cranberry ice cubes!

2. Put into the fridge to chill for an hour, until jello-jiggly!

YUM!

Hope you have a cool, relaxing weekend! Stay healthy!
-Dallas

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Time spent: 15 minutes, plus fridge & freezer time
Cost: $2.00