Nervous Neti

So, I bought a neti pot last week.

It looks kinda like this:

I tried it out the first day I had it, following the directions on the box (which were surprisingly straight forward).  Tilt head forward, seal pot against top nostril, twist head to stack nostrils, open mouth, slowly pour water into sinus cavities.

There is nothing quite like the sensation of drowning in a pool to pull you back to your childhood years...

I've never liked the feeling of getting water up my nose. I questioned why I was now doing it willingly... along with with whether or not I had knocked my head against something recently as my sanity was also in question.

Unwilling to give up so easily, I tried again. Same sensation, but this time it seemed like it was actually doing something. I got the end of the pot and called it good.

Everything smelled like water.

I don't even know how to describe it. It seems like a smell fabric softener companies would be trying to recreate. Everything just smelled clean. My sinuses burned, but it seemed worth it.

I've been at it for a few days now, and I think I'm going to stick with it. It does a surprisingly good job of helping to alleviate sinus headaches, which I'm quite prone to. I've gotten a little better at getting the water to flow through, and it burns less when I do it now.

What do you do to battle allergies and sinus infections?

*slip*

As some of you remember from my New Years resolution post, one of my goals for this year was to go cash only in my purchases. For the most part I've been quite successful. There were some slips in January however, and I feel that for the sake of keeping myself accountable, I should put them up here.

Our company had it's Christmas/New Years party the second weekend in January. I think they had started planning the party a little late and all of the good venues had filled up, so they moved it into the new year. We had an evening in the ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald. Absolutely gorgeous.

I love this hotel

I had a dress picked out that I planned to wear for the evening. We're not a super stuffy office at work, there's only a handful of guys that wear suits, and that's only if they have a client meeting that day. I figured it would be suitable. The day before the party I was talking to one of the ladies in the office, discussing what we were going to wear. I described the dress and her eyes got wide and she said "Oh no, that's not fancy enough. It's a semi-FORMAL cocktail party".

Well crap.

I went home and raided my closet only to discover that the dress I was planning to wear was the most formal thing I owned before it jumped to my all out formal graduation dress. So Saturday afternoon, the afternoon before the party, I was doing the mad dash power shopping in West Edmonton Mall. How bad could it be, all the New Year's dresses should be on sale, right? Wrong. Almost every store I hit had already cleared out their party gear, leaving me pretty hooped for well priced selection. I ended up scouring the racks in Winners, coming up with just 2 dresses in my size. I ended up settling on this silver silk Michael Kors cocktail dress. It was originally $225, marked down to $77. A bit more than I wanted to spend, but I was short on time. The picture doesn't do it justice, but lets face it, what more do you expect from dressing room lighting? Debit Card Damage: $80.85

The next one really was no more than lack of restraint. I should have gone home, grabbed the money, and come back. Instead, I shopped impulsively. I really need to work on that. Victoria's Secret was having a clearance sale: 10 pairs of underwear for $20. I don't remember when the last time I got underwear for $2 a pair was. Thankfully (and kinda sadly) their bras don't actually fit me, so the damage was somewhat curbed in that respect. I'd been meaning to get some underwear, so that was a plus. Right price, wrong method of payment. I accept responsibility for this one. Debit Card Damage: $21.00

This one was related to me being sick for a couple weeks. After a week of being sick, and nothing really helping to curb it, it occurred to me that what I was feeling felt more like a sinus infection than a cold. I checked online, and sure enough the symptoms were a direct match. Monday I went in to the doctor's office to be checked out. Sure enough, sinus infection. So, out came the prescription pad. Rather than going home and getting the cash out of my envelopes and picking up the drugs the next day, I bought them immediately after the doctor's appointment. I already had a raging sinus headache, and I was looking for relief. Debit Card Damage: $14.64

The last one was a case of me breaking down and buying some music on iTunes.
Credit Card Damage: $8.43

Total non-cash damage: $124.92. The rest of my spending for the month of January was done with cash: eating in, eating out, socializing, toiletries, you name it. Not good, but much better than it would have been otherwise if I wasn't trying to go cash-only. It's definitely making me rethink and plan my spending.  I'm hoping February goes a little better, because I really don't know what happened with my finances last month.

*Forgot a date. Spent $3.50 on hot chocolate. Total damage $128.42*

Frugal Health Remedies

As you may be able to glean from the title, I'm coming down with a cold/the flu. I'm right miffed about it too, because I managed to stay healthy in the weeks leading up to Christmas when everyone else around me was sick. *grumble*

I for one am not a fan of over the counter cold remedies. For the most part I find them to be mostly slick marketing. Do you have bottles of both Tylenol Cold and Tylenol Flu in your cupboard? Look at the active ingredients, you'll notice they're identical. The cold and the flu are both viruses that evolve over time; the products don't target the virus, they help with the symptoms. Kudos to whoever came up with that marketing scheme. Ditto with NeoCitran. Make a cup of honey lemon tea, then take a tylenol (or generic equivalent) and an antihistamine. NeoCitran is the same thing, only weaker. Look at the back of the box and see for yourself!

My mom used several home remedies when I was younger, mostly because they worked well, but also because they were cheaper/safer than over the counter medications. I had some gallbladder issues as a kid (tmi?), and the doctor wanted to put me on some heavy duty steroids for it. My mom took me home and gave me Watkin's strawberry extract, the same thing she was giving our goats, and it cleared right up. I'm not saying you should never listen to the doctor, or that all medications are bad, it's just this was a more frugal option that would cause far fewer serious complications. It worked well.

On that note, I'm going to throw a few of my usual cold remedies out there. Mom, if you're reading this, let me know if I've missed anything. If you have any of your own, PLEASE put them down in the comments section. I want to kick this thing as quickly as possible!

For Sore Throats:
Thinly slice an onion, and put it in a pot over low heat with a couple tablespoons of water. Cook the onion down until you have lots of light brown liquid. Stir in some lemon juice and a tablespoon of either brown sugar or honey, then drink the liquid.

I'm not entirely sure why this works as well as it does. I know the sulfuric compounds in onions and garlic are great for tackling bugs, but I was under the understanding that they were fragile compounds that broke down when heated. That and they're neutralized by citric acid as well. It may just be the sulfur in it, I don't know, all I know is that it works. The dose of vitamin C helps too.

For Throat Congestion and Sore Throats:

This is kind of a no brainer. Put the kettle on to boil and pour yourself a mug of hot water. Add a generous squeeze of lemon juice, and sweeten to taste with honey. Drink it as hot as you can stand it. Repeat.

The fluids help flush mucous and irritants out of your throat, and the heat helps kill off bugs. The lemon hits you with a decent dose of vitamin C, and also helps kill off bugs. The honey has anti-viral/anti-bacterial/anti-fungal properties, and makes it a little more palatable/easier on the throat. The less processed the honey, the better.

For Upset Stomach:

Same as above, just reduce the lemon and add sliced or grated fresh ginger. Ginger is well known to naturally calm nausea. Church & Dwight (parent company that makes tonnes of well known products) actually uses it to make a natural version of Gravol.

For Sinus Congestion:
I have some pretty wicked seasonal allergies, and I picked up this trick from a coworker while I was in university. You need some Vicks Vapour Rub. Rather than putting it on your chest or back, rub it under your nose and across your cheek bones under your eyes. Your eyes will be watery for a bit, but shortly after you'll feel a popping sensation as the pressure in your sinuses is relieved. You'll want a tissue, as your nose will likely start running after. For some reason putting it on top of the sinuses works better than just putting it under your nose. I have no idea why.

*Additional Tip: One of my friend's suggested putting it on the bottom of my feet. WOW does that work well! I don't know if it stimulates the nerves like refexology does or what, but it works*

Anyway, hopefully that will help someone else out there. Please help me and post your own home remedies?

400-ct Acetaminophen Extra Strength (500 Mg), Rapid Release Gelcaps / Compare to Extra Strength Tylenol Rapid Release Gelcaps
Celestial Seasonings Herb Tea, Lemon Zinger, 20-Count Tea Bags (Pack of 6)
Handy Solutions Vicks VapoRub, .45oz. Packages (Pack of 8)