Thanks to all for the well wishes, and for the info. This has been one nasty flu that just seemed to hang on endlessly. My daughter was throwing up for 3 full days every time she ate anything, and it attacked my lower intestine for several days - maybe it's just the way our bodies work that it bothered us differently - I don't know. We then spent another couple of days of severe headache (which has been the case for both of us since this started) and just generally not feeling good. Anyway - we are FINALLY on the mend and starting to feel better, yay, just a slight lingering headache. Looks like tomorrow we'll both make an attempt at getting back to our normal routines. Today I lysol sprayed and/or lysol wiped the crud out of everything in my house - doorknobs, faucets, toilet, beds (changed bedding too), kitchen everything, etc., hoping to avoid anyone else coming in here and catching anything or reinfecting ourselves (if that's really possible).
For those who didn't get a flu shot - after this last week, I highly recommend it! Though we've obviously had one strain already, I think I will make appointments this week for myself and my daughter to go get shots if we still can. I sure don't want to spend another week down for the count.
Gardenmama's Journal
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11/23/2008 16:39 #46811
Flu update11/21/2008 15:15 #46786
I hate the fluOK - I officially HATE the flu, and am really mad at myself that I did not take myself and my daughter to get the flu shot. I was planning on it but the time just sort of got away from me. As if being sick isn't already bad enough, I'm sick to death of jello, chicken soup, crackers, and rice! No wonder people die from the flu, it's not really the flu at all, it's the stupid, bland food they have to eat while they're sick!
11/19/2008 22:16 #46764
Bread and stuffI really wanted to go to the Forgotten City movie tonight but my kid is sick with the flu so I’m pretty homebound right now. Since I was home with the sick one today anyway, I decided to do some baking for my daughter’s school. They do a staff appreciation thing once every couple of months where parents donate stuff and then it’s put together in a basket or bag and the teachers can have the stuff at school or they have something to take home. This month they were asking for people to bake loaves of bread for the teachers. I said I would make some banana & banana/nut bread mini loaves. Well, as I wasn’t going anywhere anyway, I thought I would make some extra breads to donate for the teachers. Earlier this week, the woman who’s in charge said they still needed some more people to commit so I thought this might help out. Anyway, it’s been a very busy day and now I’m exhausted. I sure hope the teachers like them.
4 Blueberry with walnuts and pecans
3 Blueberry with chocolate chips, walnuts, and pecans
6 Corn bread with cheddar cheese and jalapeno peppers
5 Pumpkin with cinnamon, clove, and cranberries
3 Pumpkin with cinnamon, clove, cranberries, and pecans
4 Banana
4 Banana with walnuts
4 Banana with chocolate chips and walnuts
Now - my mess to clean up...
A friend of mine stopped by and dropped off these chips for me - she goes to Canada frequently and that’s where she gets them (I’ve never seen them here). They’re my very favorite - yum.
4 Blueberry with walnuts and pecans
3 Blueberry with chocolate chips, walnuts, and pecans
6 Corn bread with cheddar cheese and jalapeno peppers
5 Pumpkin with cinnamon, clove, and cranberries
3 Pumpkin with cinnamon, clove, cranberries, and pecans
4 Banana
4 Banana with walnuts
4 Banana with chocolate chips and walnuts
Now - my mess to clean up...
A friend of mine stopped by and dropped off these chips for me - she goes to Canada frequently and that’s where she gets them (I’ve never seen them here). They’re my very favorite - yum.
mrmike - 11/19/08 22:42
Those chips don't look like they should be good, but them and the canadian hostess salt and vinegar chips....good times....
Those chips don't look like they should be good, but them and the canadian hostess salt and vinegar chips....good times....
tinypliny - 11/19/08 22:40
The famed Mrs Vickies!
The famed Mrs Vickies!
tinypliny - 11/19/08 22:39
I now desperately want to be a teacher at your kid's school! THESE LOOK DELICIOUS!!!!! I wish I knew how to bake well. I just baked once and it was awesome. I think I need to pop out the oven mitts for tomorrow's office party. But I still don't know what I am making. Something with potatoes, lentils and onion...maybe. Indecision!
I now desperately want to be a teacher at your kid's school! THESE LOOK DELICIOUS!!!!! I wish I knew how to bake well. I just baked once and it was awesome. I think I need to pop out the oven mitts for tomorrow's office party. But I still don't know what I am making. Something with potatoes, lentils and onion...maybe. Indecision!
11/16/2008 18:25 #46706
'Tis the Season - almostI started my Christmas shopping this weekend. I keep vowing that I am not going to wait so long but then always end up putting it off. This is actually kind of early for me though, so at least I’m making progress. I have gotten to the point over the past couple of years where I do at least 50% of my shopping on-line, and more if I can find what I’m looking for. I really don’t like fighting the crowds in the malls - bah humbug! Sometimes I think the worst part is actually trying to figure out what to get people. Luckily, I did happen to find one perfect gift. That one you only find once in a great while. My daughter and her best friend are huge fans of the movie (and soundtrack) RENT. Anyway, the play is showing at Shea’s in January so I bought tickets to take them. I got great seats (3rd row in the balcony) and I can’t wait - I think they’ll be really excited. If only figuring out the rest of the gifts for folks would be that easy - ugh!
Also, I know there are many worthy organizations gathering gifts for the needy, but if anyone is looking for someplace to make an unused donation (toys, books, clothes), the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Buffalo and Erie County puts on a "Christmas is for Kids" project every year with gifts going to children who suffer from mental illness and their families. Most of these are families living in poverty and have very few resources. The group is providing for a higher number of kids this year than they originally expected and could really use some additional donations. If anyone is interested or would like further information they can contact AMI Buffalo at 832-4035. I know they would totally appreciate anything someone could give.
Also, I know there are many worthy organizations gathering gifts for the needy, but if anyone is looking for someplace to make an unused donation (toys, books, clothes), the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Buffalo and Erie County puts on a "Christmas is for Kids" project every year with gifts going to children who suffer from mental illness and their families. Most of these are families living in poverty and have very few resources. The group is providing for a higher number of kids this year than they originally expected and could really use some additional donations. If anyone is interested or would like further information they can contact AMI Buffalo at 832-4035. I know they would totally appreciate anything someone could give.
metalpeter - 11/17/08 17:44
I was thinking about seeing Rent Again but decided to save my Money, that might change though. I hope you got your self a ticket also. I will admit it was really good, I just blanked on the guy from law and order who is from Buffalo and was in rent, I didn't see him in the Musical I think he only performed in NYC, but not sure.
I was thinking about seeing Rent Again but decided to save my Money, that might change though. I hope you got your self a ticket also. I will admit it was really good, I just blanked on the guy from law and order who is from Buffalo and was in rent, I didn't see him in the Musical I think he only performed in NYC, but not sure.
11/09/2008 22:15 #46625
Long day - but goodStarted this morning with my granddaughter arriving at 6:30; I was babysitting today while mom and dad went to work. My son, who lives upstairs from me, didn’t actually have to work until about 11:00, so he stayed downstairs, mostly sleeping on the couch, until he had to go get ready. No big deal, I had to get up early anyway because I had to put the ham in for 10-12 hrs. of slow cook since I was having my entire family over for dinner tonight. Got that prepared and started then left son and granddaughter to go meet my regular summer camping group so we could make our reservations for Allegany for next Summer. Initially things were not going so well there as a number of the regular cabins we reserve each year in a group were taken. Things weren’t looking too good and we were pretty surprised and frustrated (we’re usually very adept at our marathon booking method) but we ended up getting a group of cabins together on another trail. It’s a trail we’ve camped on in the past, but not for a number of years now. That reservation stuff is pretty cutthroat and they book up fast. Next year when we book we’re going to have to figure out some other approach. Anyway we have our 10 cabins, in what a friend once referred to as “Cheektowaga in the woods,†and we should be good to go.
Came back home and got back to work on prep for dinner. My granddaughter helped me make a salad, had some lunch and then we kind of hung out, played Lego’s, watched some stupid Disney channel stuff, read a couple books, and didn’t take a nap (damn). Her mom came and picked her up at 3:00. They were invited to stay for dinner but had other plans. All in all we had a good day - but I really could have used a nap.
Finished getting dinner together - had my mom, brother and nephew, and sister and niece over as my mom is leaving later this week for her annual wintering in Florida. We had really good ham, au-gratin potatoes, asparagus, and, of course, the salad granddaughter and I made. Also put out a shrimp (which I hate) appetizer and a bread, bruschetta, olive, and cheese tray appetizer. It was really quite a spread. Laughed ridiculously because I got some of the shrimp juice on my shirt and made some comment about how it stinks and that I had shrimp-boob. This was really only hysterical because anyone who has seen me would know that shrimp-boob is an absolutely absurd oxymoron in my case. Sometimes it’s good just to be silly. Had coffee and delicious cannolli cake from Tops for desert- I’ve decided this is my new favorite cake-it was so freakin good!
Days like today kind of remind me how lucky I really am to have family close.
Now I’m just tired and think I’m going to go and watch what's left of Brothers and Sisters and try not to fall asleep while doing so. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
. Betting I for sure won't make it till the News.
Came back home and got back to work on prep for dinner. My granddaughter helped me make a salad, had some lunch and then we kind of hung out, played Lego’s, watched some stupid Disney channel stuff, read a couple books, and didn’t take a nap (damn). Her mom came and picked her up at 3:00. They were invited to stay for dinner but had other plans. All in all we had a good day - but I really could have used a nap.
Finished getting dinner together - had my mom, brother and nephew, and sister and niece over as my mom is leaving later this week for her annual wintering in Florida. We had really good ham, au-gratin potatoes, asparagus, and, of course, the salad granddaughter and I made. Also put out a shrimp (which I hate) appetizer and a bread, bruschetta, olive, and cheese tray appetizer. It was really quite a spread. Laughed ridiculously because I got some of the shrimp juice on my shirt and made some comment about how it stinks and that I had shrimp-boob. This was really only hysterical because anyone who has seen me would know that shrimp-boob is an absolutely absurd oxymoron in my case. Sometimes it’s good just to be silly. Had coffee and delicious cannolli cake from Tops for desert- I’ve decided this is my new favorite cake-it was so freakin good!
Days like today kind of remind me how lucky I really am to have family close.
Now I’m just tired and think I’m going to go and watch what's left of Brothers and Sisters and try not to fall asleep while doing so. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
. Betting I for sure won't make it till the News.
tinypliny - 11/10/08 18:34
That's B.U.S.Y!! :D
That's B.U.S.Y!! :D
Thanks to (e:Jenks) and (e:Tinypliny) for strighting me out. Also what you wrote (e:tinypliny) is pretty interesting and something I never thought about really.
ok peter have to disagree with you there. Point 1 is pretty accurate. But point 2 not quite as much- they do a lot of research every year into which strains of flu are most virulent etc, so the vaccine is different every year and really should cover almost all the strains you'd come into contact with. Sure it's POSSIBLE you could get another, but unlikely.
And as far as resistance- bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics is absolutely a real thing, and a big problem. That is why it is a bad idea to take abx for a common cold. Or not to finish abx when you are given some. Don't take them if they're not prescribed for you, and if they are, take them exactly as directed.
Viruses, however, are different. Viruses are not alive, they are not cells. They don't work the same way. So you can't really get flu-shot resistent flu.
I for one am all for flu shots. You might have mild symptoms for a few days, and your arm might be a little sore, but I think it's TOTALLY worth it.
Get well soon, (e:Gardenmama)! Good wishes to your daughter as well!
(e:metalpeter): Flu is caused by the influenza virus. It has no inbuilt "error-correction" mechanism like other organisms (such as humans, mammals etc.) have. While in humans, the DNA sequence is checked and re-checked by these error-correction mechanisms to prevent any error, no such correction happens in the influenza viral RNA.
Thus, every offspring generation of the virus is "flawed" or has a different base sequence in its RNA, when compared to the parent virus. This is called a mutation - a change in the base sequence. While mutations are VERY rare in humans, they are a way of life for the influenza virus.
So, every year, the vaccine you get is specifically tailored so that it is CLOSEST to the offspring floating about in that year.
The problem is the virus has yet another arsenal of genetics that defeats vaccines sometimes. The RNA of the virus splits into ~8 fragments before reassembling. This reassembling of the fragments may be jumbled creating yet another source of variation in the offspring virus. This mass-scale reassembling difference is called a structural variation.
It is possible that this new "jumbled" "flawed" "non-error-corrected" completely different virus has the ability to infect other species such as birds and jump from species to species - everytime acquiring new mutations and structural variations.
Evolution, as propounded by Darwin is still applicable amisdt all this scary variation behaviour. What if one of the variants somehow becomes strong enough or "invincible" enough to spread rapidly in non-protected population? This leads to an epidemic. According to historical reports, the Spanish flu pandemic (an epidemic across many populations) killed nearly 50 million people!
This is precisely the reason why you SHOULD get the flu vaccine every year. Vaccine makers work really hard to make the vaccine as close to the current viral strain as possible. But humans err. So do vaccine makers. However, as science progresses these errors are marginal (a couple years back, the flu vaccine was completely off the mark, but people who got it were still protected from some strains and it didn't lead to an epidemic).
Flu vaccines, with all their errors, are EXTREMELY important to maintain, what is called, "Herd immunity". The concept is that if majority of the people are vaccinated, then the virus does not have a chance to jump from person to person and can be easily contained. The "herd" of people have immunity as a whole, so even if individual members of the "herd" acquire the infections, they are less likely to come into contact with other un-immunized individuals and thus cannot spread the disease.
At the risk of sounding repetitive, vaccines are a human measure against epidemics. We cannot deal with 50 million ill people and deaths. Thus, we have vaccine. By not getting the vaccine, you may probably be alright, but its because the rest around you have got the vaccine.
So yeah, it doesn't really matter if you didn't get it. But you may want to reconsider your position and get it next time. :)
There is another 2 Reasons not to get the shot.
1) The way they work is that You get a little bit of it and then your body fights it and learns how to defend it, so they next time you get all of the virus or germs or what ever causes it you defend it and beat it. But you do get a little bit sick when you first get the shot. If your Immune system is done it could get bad.
2) There are different flu strands of the virus. Yes your shot could still help you fight off different strands but you could still get the flew.
Sorry here is the bonus reason if you believe in Science and mutation.
Viruses/germs are living organisms (as I have been told). When you are given anti-botics the germs over time can build up an immunity and then they grow stronger so then new medicines have to be invernted. I assume the flu shot could cause the same thing to happen. As people take them it helps their body cope with it, then as a means of surival (darwinism I guess) or through other means those viruses adapt and get stronger over time. Again I think at this point it might just be a theory. I would like to hear (e:tinypliny)'s view on this.
and get well soon gardenmama and daughter
omg, i hope I didn't start and epidemic imk2.
i didn't get one either b/c (e:paul) said they're full of chemicals and preservatives and probably do more damage than good.
Yes Soup and Tea are good for the throat and stuff but who says you have to eat bland food? What would spicy food do?
Ah, see to me, that bread looks great. It's real food. Fortunately for the bread recipients, I cooked it BEFORE I was sick and I didn't let the girl anywhere near the kitchen while I was cooking.
Suddenly the bread in your last post doesn't look so good :) Feel better
Get better soon! I didn't get the flu shot either so hopefully i'll be alright