Hello from the sick house. Flu is rampant in our area and at Finn’s school right now and we were not spared.
WE HAVE BEEN HIT BY THE FLU
Finn went down on Saturday night and had a cough and high fever. I went down last night and the worst of my symptoms are a gross cough, fever and a relentless headache. I slept until about 2p today and then made it out of bed once I got my headache under control.
This was the message I got from my Oura ring when I opened the app this morning. It was not wrong! I turned on rest mode and went right back to sleep.
In case anyone finds yourself in the same situation (and I pray you don’t), what has worked for me is alternating taking Tylenol and Advil every three hours for fever/body aches and taking an Advil cold and sinus with pseudoephedrine in it for the headache. You can only take that once every 12 hours so I just swapped one of the Advil for that. I’ve also drank two Liquid IVs today since fevers can dehydrate you.
It’s so nice that you can take a home test now for flu and covid. I ordered mine on Amazon for same day delivery. I had a flu shot so I am praying that it helps lessen the severity and duration. The last time I had flu (in college) I was deathly ill for almost two weeks and didn’t get out of bed for days so I’m taking it as a good sign that I’m up and working on the couch.
I’m registered to run a trail race this weekend that I will be so bummed to miss but I’m just going to have to wait and see. I’m just grateful we’re getting this sickness out of the way before our cruise!
In the meantime, it’s not the worst thing to be cozied up with the puppies. It’s so cold out! I am very sad to miss work though. I had to cancel seven clients and get a sub for my yoga class today.
When Finn was sick on Sunday, I spent the day reorganizing my office. I pulled everything out of the drawers and closets and there was a moment where I wondered what I had done.
This result was totally worth the effort though.
LIFE BEFORE SICKNESS
Here are a few more things that happened before sickness fell on us…
8 mile run on Friday.
Friends + family yoga classes for the group I’ve been working with this January. They absolutely crushed it. I’m proud of the work they’ve done and I’m excited to see them in action once live classes launch!
Sam’s Club extravaganza. The way I cannot walk out of there without an item of clothing is wild. I got a cute gray heart sweater for Valentine’s Day and a pullover that is a dupe of the lululemon softstreme.
The best hair day! My favorite stylist Terra moved to Pinehurst last summer. I struggled to find someone to replace her but have been happy with Viviani at Salon 8. Well, Terra has been traveling back to Charlotte once a month to see her old clients and I was able to get in to see her! We had the best time catching up and did a pretty significant chop, root color and a Brazilian blowout. It was time to lose a few inches and I’m obsessed with the cut.
LISTENING TO LATELY
I’ve listened to some great podcast episodes lately so I wanted to share some with you!
- Attachment Masterclass on Being Well
- Mel Robbins on We Can Do Hard Things
- Limerence, Love and Life Transitions on Being Well
- Anxious and Avoidant in Relationship on Being Well
- Why We Don’t Change on Being Well
- Oliver Burkeman: New Year, Same Me on Everything Happens
- Lori Gottlieb on On Purpose with Jay Shetty
- Mila Kunis on Mom Guilt, Aging and Keeping it Real in Hollywood on Goop
- Cultivating a Courageous Heart on Tara Brach
- The Three Refuges – Gateways to Belonging and Freedom on Tara Brach
You can see that I listen to a lot of Being Well. It’s been my favorite mental health focused podcast for a year or two now. It’s hosted by Dr. Rick Hanson who is a clinical psychologist with 45 years of experience and his son Forrest. I find it to be so relatable and practical. When I listen to this podcast, I feel like I learn something or am challenged to think about things in a different way.
I also listen to the Something Was Wrong podcast for hours on end while I’m doing puzzles haha.
SNOW IN FLORIDA
It’s snowing at the beach! My dad sent me this cute photo of Beau.
And of their parking lot! They rarely get snow so this is a big deal for them.
Alright, that’s it for me. I’m going to shut down the computer, find something to eat (nothing sounds good at all) and watch a movie.
QUESTIONS
Has your house been hit by sickness? It’s been a brutal winter!
What’s one thing you can never leave Sam’s/Costco without?
What podcasts have you been enjoying lately?
Any movie/show suggestions for my sick days?
I’m so sorry you’re sick. How rough to have both COVID and influenza. Hopefully the flu shot makes this a short one and you are able to get to your race this weekend. Oh, and your hair looks gorgeous! I’m curious about the Brazilian blowout but my hair is quite curly.
We are also sick in our household. After having a month long cough, along with fatigue that I put down to parenting and the holidays, over the weekend I came down with a sudden fever. I got into the doctor on Monday and he said I probably have multiple viruses. We live in Canada so I can’t seem to find those tests you’ve shared. I told him it felt like more than that and asked him to listen to my lungs. Sure enough after he listened and sent me for an X-ray, I have pneumonia and am on antibiotics. This is a rough flu season! Just empathizing, especially in regards to taking care of little ones while sick yourself.. phew it’s hard.
Thanks for the podcast recommendations. I’ve already bookmarked quite a few. Take care of yourself and hopefully feel better soon!!
Oh Tara – I’m so sorry to hear that you have pneumonia! It’s so widespread this season. I’m relieved to hear that you finally have an answer and some meds to support you!
I only have the flu – not covid. Thank goodness! I can’t imagine having both at one time – that would be intense!
I’m glad you liked the podcast recs. 🙂
Have a good day and feel better!
Similar to your college experience, I had the flu years ago as an adult [I hadn’t had the flu shot] and was SO SICK. High fever that finally broke. I’ve gotten the flu shot religiously each year since that experience.
I am 99.9% sure I had the flu a few years ago after a winter work conference (all the symptoms – just didn’t take a test) and it was really different being vaccinated. It was about 3 days and while not fun, manageable and I recovered much faster. I hope you are soon feeling better. So sorry you and Finn are sick! <3
Hope you are all on the mend. I wanted to ask about Brazilian blow out. My stylist recently recommended it to me, I have think hair that I am always blow drying and flat ironing and it’s getting pretty damaged. Is it worth it? Safe? Really no work to do after you shower?
Hey Julie! This is my second time doing it – and I really like it! You are chemically processing your hair but the tradeoff I receive in not having to do so much heat styling is worth it. BB seals the cuticle of the hair – does not “relax” or straighten it. So I still have my waves – just a little smoother and more chill. It’s overall faster and easier to style. Only lasts a few months though!
Awesome! Thanks!