sickness is apparently a season in new york

Want a pep talk on a dreary day? Don't look here.

January is hands down the most depressing month of the year. I gave Lyle a speech (on the way home from an enjoyable day at church of all moments) after we got home from our holiday break from the west coast in SUNNY CALIFORNIA. The topic of this speech? January 2 is the most depressing DAY of the entire year and January is the most depressing MONTH of the year. I won't bore you with the details, but here were the major points hit:
- taking down of holiday decor
- everyone's "over" the cheerful holiday gestures and services and greetings
- it is cold for NO reason (no chestnuts roasting over an open fire) and might I had there are SPRING lines out in the clothing stores and sandals everywhere. What am I supposed to do with that for another four months if I am NOT going on a cruise anytime soon? I mean, I did tank and buy a new pair of white jack purcell's, but I have yet to wear them (it's been at least two weeks now) because there is snow on the ground and ice everywhere. I seriously don't think I'll ge to wear them until March if I am lucky. What was I thinking? I might as well buy a new swim suit while I'm at it!
- everyone is broke and killing themselves at their job to pay back their credit card debt from the holidays

The list could really go on and on (and I did to poor Lyle). At the end, he really had no words except "wow". Something I might add to the January list of complaints (BESIDES THE FRIGID COLD TEMPERATURES I HAVE NEVER HAD TO ENDURE BEFORE IN MY LIFE) is the fact that I am sick (yet again).

Let me break down my history of illness. I get headaches which turn into migraines quite frequently compared to most. I suffer from being affected by the pressure changes, so when a storm comes in, I can feel it about a day in advance. Mostly that just means I have to take out my contacts, wear my glasses, and take some ibuprofen before my headache really gets bad. If it does worsen, I take two excedrine migraine with a diet dr. pepper and I am golden! This happens probably once every month or so. No big deal. I also get a cold at least once a year. Sometimes I am out for a day, but usually I don't skip work over a cold. I would rather skip it for a treat and play hookie or if I REALLY have a bad migraine. Other than that, I have had mono, I used to puke my guts as a kid, but grew out of it in high school, and I have had mono twice. No big deal.

Since arriving to the island, I have been sick at least 4 times I can think of off the top of my head. That averages almost once every 6 weeks! My sicknesses have lasted approximately 7-10 days before I am completely healed and I have missed 1.5 days of work so far due to sickness. I have had TWO seperate cases of a fever (which I don't think I have had since I got mono in high school), and I had a few random puking incidents (which yes, did make me nervous we might be expecting - PLEASE NOTE, WE ARE NOT). Mostly I have had disgusting throat viruses. I sing and dance and shout for my job all day long, so you can imagine the strain and pressure my vocal chords get, but I have pushed through. I am just getting over my last cold and it has caused me to reflect on the root of all these sicknesses. Is it whatever everyone in new york says, "your body will get sick for about a year and then you'll adjust"? Within the last two weeks I have had two seperate shots of wheetgrass (equivilent to 2 lbs of green vegetables each), plenty of fruits and veggies, excercising non stop, getting up to 10 hours of sleep a night, and getting plenty of attention from my husband. Is this not enough to keep me healthy? Finally I broke down in tears (poor Lyle) complaining to Lyle that I am sick all the time and we decided I would start to religiously track how my body feels. If I am still constantly getting sick I am going to see a doctor in the spring. For now, I am choking back zincs, zicam, oj, mucinex, and water to keep me going. Wish me luck!

On another note, the NY kids club started its new semester this week. That meant we had to start from the top with more pizzazz (yes, pizzazz is now part of my vocabulary) and more creativity to keep our product selling and thriving in our economy. I not only teach rock climbing, gymnastics, and mommy & me classes, but I also now teach cooking, and I teach in the classroom (with art projects and such). It has forced me to step up and take on more responsibility as a leader at the kids gym and put more confidence in myself. I truly believe in our product, which makes it easier to sell. It was sad to see some of my kids leave as they won't be returning, but the real tears will come at the end of the year with our little 2 & 3 year olds. My hours have bumped up as well. I went from working 25-30 hours a week to 30-35 hours a week. This will almost kill me, but I won't let it. Hopefully it will kill my fatty holiday belly and that is all. My only super positive note of the entire post: I did get a raise this past semester though...I guess I'm doing something right?

Lyle is working hard toward his next semester. It was (and is) super difficult to get motivated again and jump back in the game, but he is determined to do better than last semester (which is hardly possible), but I am trying to be supportive. We just want January and February to be over so that March can be here and we can enjoy the sun and 50 degree weather again (50 degrees...am I serious?).

So here's to going to bed now and waking up in March? I will try to look forward to fun things in February. Here's to finishing out January with a smile ;)