kickin' it: more than whiskey...

I don't want to speak too soon, but I'm starting to feel better! There! I said it! And lest you think that whiskey was the only thing that tipped me back over from the edge of the abyss, I have to confess that I have a new favorite back-from-the-brink health elixir. It is simple, but when you are so low that you are considering antibiotics in order to evict the grossness that is growing in the back of your throat (I know! Sorry! But you can imagine it, right?!), please give this a try. It seriously turned my week fully around.

I got this from my friend Jen, and I don't know where she got it or I'd give more credit...

Sore Throat Gargle
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar (I usually use more)
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
2 TBS honey (I never use this much. Maybe a heaping teaspoon?)
Put all in the bottom of your favorite comfort-mug and fill with hot water.

I started with gargling this, which was great and immediately effective, and then just started swallowing it, drinking about half of it as a tea. I have never finished a cup - or rather, I've never needed to finish a cup. This is what happens - all the junk starts to MOVE. (This is really the too-much-information part right here) This is when I go and hang out in the bathroom so I can spit and hock and make really undignified sounds (to their horror and my glee!) to my heart's content.  And somewhere in there I use my neti pot as well.  The first night I used this I went from lying on my bed feeling overwhelmed with mucous and pressure in my head to sitting in my kitchen having a happy conversation with my husband for the first time in days.  Cayenne. I am in love.

ps -  I took these photos at a friend's farm; as we were walking to our car at the top of the drive I noticed this beautiful little nest and went to take a picture of it and then noticed that it is surrounded by what I think is poison ivy (the white berries). Birds love these berries - what a lovely little perch.