In defense of the neti pot

Yep, we’re about to veer into TMI territory. Put yo’ hat on.
neti-pot

I’ve had troubles with my sinuses off and on for about a year and a half now and at one point was subsisting on daily Sudafed to alleviate the pressure in my face. My eyes would hurt and get red, and it felt like something was pushing from the inside of my cheeks and through my gums (I even thought I had a cavity for a while). Never having had allergies or even a sinus infection, I didn’t figure out what the problem was for a couple of months – all I knew was that my face hurt.

I hated to depend on Sudafed to feel better so I started eavesdropping on my sinus-plagued co-workers for a more natural solution. The clear frontrunner in the fight against sinus trouble was something called a neti pot. I’ll spare you a demonstrative video and give you the written rundown: you fill the plastic pot with a saline solution (provided in most kits but you can also make your own solution), fit the spout against one of your nostrils, lean over your bathroom sink, and then tilt your head so the water runs up one nostril, through your sinuses, and then out the other nostril. It’s perfectly safe, I swear. You might feel like you are drowning the first couple of times but as long as you breathe through your mouth, you’ll be fine.

The best part is that the pressure relief is immediate. As in right that second. You might hear a popping sound comparable to the popping you hear in your ears when pressure is released, and MAN does it feel good! I’ve read that you shouldn’t use the neti pot more than a couple times a week because too much “irrigation” can lower your immunity, so I’ve been using it about twice a week or when needed, and to great success. I highly recommend it if you have nagging sinus issues and you’re sick of feeling like your face is about to pop off.

#26: New Bride Chicken Curry

After convincing myself that after this holiday weekend’s food extravaganza I REALLY shouldn’t be ordering us pizza (especially considering I did no cooking at all), I decided to tackle another recipe from my Indian cookbook last night. The curry, made with onions, tomatoes, garlic and an assortment of spices, turned out a little more soupy than I thought it would but that could be because I decided to use boneless chicken instead of bone-in chicken like the recipe said, cutting down the simmering time by about 20 minutes. I used boneless because that's what I happened to have on hand. I thought the broth had excellent flavor but all that flavor was lost in the brown basmati rice I made to accompany the curry. So maybe the curry would be better all on its own, sans rice? It still tasted okay on the rice, just very mild.

Substitutions/omissions: I used one onion instead of two so Mark wouldn’t be completely overwhelmed, and I also cut back the cayenne pepper since a teaspoon and a half seemed like a whole lot of spice to me. I think I could’ve thrown in the extra half teaspoon though, especially since I’m now nursing a cold! And as mentioned earlier, I subbed out bone-in chicken pieces for boneless thighs.

Mistakes: I don’t think I made any!

Repeat: Probably but without the rice. Maybe next time I’ll use rotisserie chicken to save more time.

Sweetness

Crazy day, y'all.

Our office manager is out on vacation so I'm covering her position for a couple of weeks; meanwhile our server decided to FREAK OUT today, which never makes the office very happy. Quite antsy, in fact. But you know what made this day better? My sweet, sweet co-worker brought in the most amazing almond cake about a month ago and I begged her for the recipe. She said I needed a special pan for it so she'd track down what type it was and bring me the recipe. I forgot all about it until today, when she showed up PAN IN HAND all the way from Minnesota (her sister shipped her one just for me) along with the recipe card. I'm so thankful to work with such sweet people. :)

More things to be grateful for:
  • My bestie Jess should be showing up in five minutes so we can watch yesterday's episode of the Sing-Off.
  • Pizza Hut should ALSO be showing up in five minutes.
And the doorbell is ringing. Happy day.

California love

weather LA

Looks like the Seattleites will be bringing the rain with them to California this weekend. Here’s hoping it will keep the locals out of Disneyland so we can run around and have some fun! We’re attending a friend’s wedding on Friday in Los Angeles and will be free to roam the rest of the weekend. My brother went to college in L.A. and I loved having an excuse to visit California – sadly, that excuse moved back to Colorado four years ago so I haven’t been back since. Hurrah for four-day work weeks!