Can I stop getting sick now? Please?

As is common this time of year, my upper respiratory tract, sinuses and throat all want to kill me.  And I mean that quite literally.

I've had horrible allergy issues since autumn came for a visit. Then I got a sinus infection the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  Now?  Now I have strep throat.

At work on Friday my throat was really hurting, it burned to eat or drink anything and my voice was hoarse.  I figured if I still felt bad on Tuesday I'd go back to the doctor since that would be one week after the antibiotics finished their course. 

Yesterday morning I woke up and my mouth felt horrible.  Dry, coated in something and it hurt to breathe because my throat was so raw.  I figured I was dehydrated and the coat of ick was from sinus drainage.  I put on my big girl panties and headed to Zumba.  After class I was wincing every time I breathed in and so I looked in the mirror and opened my mouth wide.  White patches.  CRAP!

I called Marshall, told him I was cashing my YMCA check and heading to Immediate Care. 

The PA on duty was the one I saw the week before and she looked in my ears, throat and nose and said "Well, the good news is... your nose and ears look great.  That throat?  That is not a happy throat." 

A quick strep test later and I'm given antibiotics for my shiny case of strep and was sent on my way. 

Given that I wasn't running a fever and that I felt fine aside from the soreness in my throat I kept on about my previously planned Saturday.  That included lunch with Marsh and Matt, going to the Wilson Christmas parade, and heading to a birthday party for my friend Jennifer. 

Lunch was Olive Garden.  Soup... heavenly soup. 

The parade was a ton of fun! I was walking with the dance studio where I teach Zumba and since we had such a small turn out of Zumba folks I just walked with the dancers and even did their little dance routine with them.  This means there is not video of me dancing with a large group of tiny high school age and younger girls on the local TV station.  I didn't think that through. 

Oh well. It was a good 2 miles of walking, one of those while dancing.  yay extra cardio?

After coming home and getting changed we headed out to Jennifer's house.  Her birthday party was a really muted even but it was SOOO fun! We ate pizza and snacks and talked and played games on the Kinect. 

I learned that I'm pretty awesome at Dance Central. I got a 5 star rating on my first attempt at Push It.  I want this game so bad it hurts.  Seriously... too much fun!

The only down part of the night was that the antibiotics I'm on started to make me feel really sick.  I had forgotten how bad sulfa medications made me feel.  My stomach started cramping towards the end of the evening and by the time I got home I felt like I was going to spend the evening calling Ralph on the porcelain phone.

I got changed and in to bed and held on as the room spun until I passed out.

Today I am feeling gross still but not nearly as bad as I was yesterday.  My throat is still hurting and I'm trying really hard to speak as little as possible.  (Those of you who know me in real life know how hard that is! The rest of you can guess by my blog!) I also skipped Zumba this afternoon and took a 3 hour nap after sleeping for 13 hours last night. 

For dinner I made a giant pot of chicken soup with brown rice and veggies.  It was perfect, exactly what I needed today.

All I can hope for at this point is that I get through tomorrow with minimal side effects.  I have to drive to Winston Salem for a meeting.  I have to present information about a number of things during the meeting and I hope my voice holds out and that I'm not trying to hold back vomit the entire time. 

This week could not POSSIBLY get better...

This week has been sufficiently insane and I couldn't love it more. Here's the skinny on what's been going on this week.

Monday: Work was incredibly busy, fulfilling and made me kind of high on the rush of deadlines.  I had a fantastic class at my senior center location.  A new student showed up who wound up being an old friend from my previous job! We had lost touch when she left about a year before I was laid off.  It was really exciting to see her and catch up a bit! This class planted the seeds of fun for Tuesday!

Tuesday: Run, run, run! Work was a whirlwild of getting ready for this meeting next Monday in Winston.  My eyes were about to BLEED from staring at PowerPoint all day.  Zumba double class fun ensued after work.  After class on Tuesday someone commented that she wished we did Shake Senora at the start of class rather than at the end.  I asked why and she said it helped to make her feel more comfortable.  It's a silly dance and makes you face your class mates so I can see her thought process.

So we tried it! It really did change the energy of the class.  Normally the first 2-3 songs are warm up.  I tossed Shake in as the end of warm up.  It's silly but it's still a good cardio song so it fit in the flow.  It was really cool everyone was off to the races with laughing and joking and just giving it their all.  It worked out well in both classes and tonight I'm going to try it with Big and Chunky or Drop it Low which are two of our other fun songs.

Wednesday: This day shall be known as the day of incredible awesome.  First off - my month end weigh in.  Down to 328.  Huzzah! Progressive weight loss! The scale keeps moving downward in a slow, but mostly steady, pattern. This starts my day off on a happy note.

I had an awesome meeting with the team for the Monday meeting in Winston.  The PowerPoint was well received and the edits were minimal.  Then I had a good talk with my boss about some other job related stuff and I'm really excited for things yet to come.

After work one of the temps on my team said something that just made my heart break that we're losing most of them at the start of the new year.  I love working with all of them and I really wish we could hire them all on permanently.

Then dinner with Marshall and his folks for his birthday.  My beloved turned 32 yesterday and we had a tasty meal out at Ruby Tuesday.  Nice and calming.

Later in the evening I taught at the YMCA and class was incredible.  Firstly, it was my first 20+ student class at the Y on my own.  Very cool.  Secondly, using Shake Senora at the start helped to bring in new folks and let them just have fun and not feel so nervous.  Thirdly, I got an amazing compliment after class.  One of the new students caught me after class and told me she loved class, said it was a fun and joyful class, she loved it and she would be back. She also honked and told me I rocked as I walked to my car. 

At this point the outside was suffering from a sudden dust storm.. because that's the only excuse for my eyes getting so watery.  I rarely get compliments so three big ones in a day is like hitting the lottery for me.  I felt so loved, so appreciated and so grateful.

After class the lovely Miss Sarah surprised me with a very thoughtful gift - a "Christmas bonus" of sorts - for all the help I give her.  It was completely unexpected and incredibly sweet. She is so awesome and never fails to remind me how much she appreciates my help.

Then we met Marshall and Matt for a birthday drink at the local bar.  It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.


Thursday:  Already a great day.  Lots of good news all around. Marshall should be finishing up this thesis defense shortly so hopefully more awesome to come!