Deathly Ill

I'm sick as can be with a nasty head cold. Luckily I have this little sweetie to hang out with. I had no idea how I could possibly be sick and still take care of her, but I had nothing to worry about, really. She's surprisingly empathetic and understanding for eight months old. We underestimate babies, I'm afraid!

If this is what Coco had last week, I feel so sorry for the little sweetie! This is the worst headache I've ever had and it pains me to think that I stopped giving her paracetamol after her fever went away. Poor baby!

We had a surprisingly wonderful day together, all things considered. I learned today that she is happy just to be near me, even if I'm flat on my back and miserable. She played with her basket of toys and chirped and talked while I dozed nearby. And then we had two very long, very snuggly, very cozy naps together. I love being with my baby girl. Thank you, Coco, for being so loving and sweet. xo

Have a great weekend and see you back here Monday. 

Zurich Marathon

J had a wonderful marathon on Sunday, his first of many in Zurich. We walked down to the Porsche dealership on Bellerivestrasse to cheer him on at the 22 mile mark and he looked great!

He finished in 3:56 and wasn't even that sore today. Way to go, J! We are so proud of you. xo

Scotch Non-Toxic Nail Polish

Having painted nails is something I have come to absolutely adore. It makes me feel pretty, feminine and a little bit fancy, regardless of what I'm doing, when my nails are painted. But it does bother me that nail polish and nail polish remover are so stinky and toxic. Did you know that there is actual formaldehyde in nail polish? Eeew! Because of that, I try to go polish-free for at least one week each month so that my nails have a chance to breathe. But I miss the polish during those weeks.

Now I might not have to!

Scotch Naturals makes non-toxic nail polish in a wide array of stylish and current hues. They even have non-toxic base coat and top coat AND soy polish remover. I'm really dying to try it! The colors are so vibrant and the bottles are classic and preppy.

Aren't they lovely? Scotch even has a kids line called Hopscotch. Cute! Oh my. When I was a little girl, I would have been over the moon! 

Would you try it, or do you use non-toxic nail polish? Are natural or non-toxic beauty products a priority for you? Ever since having a baby, I've been more concerned with making sure the things we put on on and inside our bodies are safe. I'd love to hear your tips and favorites! 

PS - Rainbow Nails and Chanel Manicure

{photos from Scotch Naturals}

Chic SPF

After reading this article, I decided to get (even more) serious about sun protection. Naturally, I already use a moisturizer with sunscreen, but a couple of months ago, I added a super sexy Stetson hat to my sun protection routine. I absolutely love it!

It's a men's hat and my head is so unbelievably gigantic, I have to wear a men's LARGE! Strange, but true. I love wearing a hat because I don't get a burn in my part line and it boosts my protection efforts on my face. 

If you're not wearing sunscreen on your face everyday, you really need to cultivate this anti-aging, anti-skin cancer habit. Here are a few suggestions for you.

For foundation-like coverage, use Clinique City Block. It packs a lot of SPF punch with a whopping broad-spectrum protection factor of 40, and it gives moderate to full coverage. 

To look positively luminescent and have flawless invisible coverage, use Lancôme Teint Miracle. It feels like silk on your skin, but it's best for winter use as it only has SPF 15.

For no-tint, anti-aging, use Arbonne RE9 Advanced Restorative Day Crème. It goes on smooth and matte, has an SPF of 20 and is suitable for drier skin types as it's very moisturizing. Added bonus, it will stop those pesky wrinkles in their tracks!

Enjoy your summer - and remember, sun protection and the pale skin that goes with it are ultra-chic!


{photos from here and here and here}

Endspurt

You know that immensely difficult last push through a long and arduous task, like say the school year if you're a teacher? Well, in German they actually have a word for it: Endspurt. It translates very well. In Switzerland, people will wish you a "good endspurt" much like you might wish someone a happy birthday.

I'm taking all the wishes for a good endspurt that I can get. These days, J and I are just SO tired! Really, we are seriously running out of steam.

Luckily when trying to push through an endspurt, there is a breakfast that is fast, easy as pie and gives you lots of energy right through lunchtime. Just the ticket. Thank you, oatmeal, for being so wonderful!

Traffic Jam

I probably have the most beautiful 15-minute-walk "commute" in the world. But like regular commutes, it has its drawbacks. Every once in a while, I'll be a little late to work due to running into these folks. It's okay. They make up for the setback in cuteness.

Woo Medicine

I am currently recovering from what is possibly the worst head cold I have ever suffered from. The doctor sent me to the pharmacy to get a few things. The first item was Triofan, a fabulous nasal spray with a decongestant in it. If it weren't for Triofan, I think it's very possible that I might never have slept again!

photo from topwell.ch

Triofan is your standard drug. It's a pharmaceutical with xylometazoline hydrochloride in it, which is why it works so rapidly and makes breathing so easy possible again. 

The doctor also told me to get something else: Weleda Doron Drops for Cough. 

photo from weleda.ch

These are definitely NOT a pharmaceutical. In fact, they fall into a category that many would describe as "woo." These drops are not a Homeopathic, but an anthroposophical medicine. If you have not heard of Anthroposophy, it was started by Rudolph Steiner, who also founded the Waldorf school movement. I definitely consider Steiner to be 100% woo and I'll admit that after doing my masters thesis on his Waldorf movement, I am not a big fan of his educational philosophies. This makes me a bit biased against anthroposophical medicine.

That said, I like that doctors prescribe this stuff here. As a first course, it's always better to pursue the over-the-counter nasal spray and drops route rather than to take antibiotics!  Initially, I was unbelievably impressed at how effective the drops were, in fact, I couldn't believe it. But that was before I had read the Triofan box and realized it had bona fide drugs in it. 

Now, I am not entirely convinced that the drops work. Here is why: I took the drops at the same time as I took the Triofan. My cough was caused by mucus dripping post-nasally into my lungs and then being coughed back up. Yuck. So when the Triofan cleared up the nose, Ahhhhh, naturally the cough went away too. 

The next time I have a cough I'm looking forward to taking some of these drops and seeing what happens. Given how acute my pain and misery were yesterday, I am very thankful for the Triofan and its drug content. 

Overall, I think Switzerland has a really good balance of western medicine and alternative therapies. Yes, many people consider homeopathy, naturopathy and acupuncture woo, but these therapies can and do work for a lot of conditions.  I am an especially sensitive person so holistic medicine really appeals to me as it investigates how the body is functioning as a whole and how a disruption in one area can have repercussions in other areas of the body.

That is not woo, it's just common sense!!

Happily, I have a supplement on my insurance that covers alternative therapies. As healthcare reform moves forward in the US, I hope that this is something that will become possible at home, too. I'm happy to pay a bit extra each month to have access to acupuncture, naturopathy, massage and so on. And in the end, it probably saves the insurance companies a lot of money. When people pursue preventative measures that are natural it's just plain cheaper than traditional western medicine that involves lots of costly pharmaceuticals and technology. 

So, bring on the woo - and the drugs! They can work together. 

Head Cold

Working with three to six year olds means being sick in the beginning. Immediate sickness, guaranteed! It is a documented fact that schoolchildren are the grubby ones who carry all the germs, and seeing as I'm new here in Switzerland, I'm getting acquainted with a whole new population of bacteria and viruses. Lucky me! But I'm not the only one. All of the new staff at work were grumpy, tired and miserable with a nasty head cold last week.  

Enter Otrinol, my new best friend in Der Schweiz. Otrinol is Sudafed in a nifty 120 mg, 12-hour time released capsule. Other new friends of mine include Tonopan, a wonderfully strong pain killer, and Nasobol, a sort of head cold spa treatment. Just drop two Nasobol tablets in a bowl of almost boiling water, toss a towel over your head, and inhale the heavenly menthol and eucalyptus scented vapors.  

Hopefully this weekend I'll be feeling well enough to spend some time with people-friends rather than these guys. Until then, there are worse things that being hopped up on Otrinol.  

35 CHF worth of relief.

Larch Mountain

What better way to spend a gorgeous sunny day in Portland than with crèpes for lunch at Chez Machin followed by a 10 mile walk up Larch Mountain.  In fact, it was so gorgeous yesterday that sitting at an outside table at Chez Machin, I was able to bask in the sun in jeans and a t-shirt!  This February spring weather is definitely one of the best things about living in Portland.  Every year we're treated to two weeks of bliss.  I've been in Oregon long enough to know that it's going to get cold and rainy again, maybe until June.  But for now, long live the sun! 

The craggy summit.

It was so clear you could see (l to r) Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams 

Of course, Mt. Hood was grandly beautiful.

Me and Joel at the top!

If you'd like to walk up Larch Mountain, just take I-84 east from Portland to exit 18 toward Lewis and Clark State Park/Oxbow Regional Park, Turn left at Crown Point Highway, Continue on Historic Columbia River Highway, Continue on SE Hurlburt Road, Slight Left on SE Littlepage Road, Slight Right on SE Louden Road, then follow signs and Turn Right at E Larch Mountain Road.  You can park at the closure gate at milepost 10 and walk up Larch Mountain Road the remaining 5 miles to the Sherrard Viewpoint.  The road reopens sometime between May and July and then you can drive all the way up.  Walking is much more fun, though!  The view looks way better when you've earned it.  

Get a Grip!

I was so completely inspired by this photo when I saw it. For several reasons, but we'll get to that in a minute. It came from The Awesome Summer Journal, a blog by a woman who lives freakishly close to where I live. Weird! And it makes it extra fun to read her blog because I know all the streets she's talking about, and restaurants and all that. This picture was taken on the Hawthorne Bridge. See more here.

But the reason that this picture really inspired me is this: I get so bogged down with teaching and how demanding it is and how tired Joel and I always are by the time we get off of work that I don't even take advantage of this amazing city I'm living in. My first thought upon seeing this photo? What's the point of living so close to everything if you don't even bother to get out and walk around? Exactly. So, if there's one good thing about being sick, it's that by the time you're well enough to sit up and think a little bit, you discover a sliver of time that didn't exist before and you use it to get new perspective on life. Maybe that's why I get sick so frequently. I need more perspective. Huh. Well, anyway, I would like to enjoy my life more than I do, and I'd also rather not be so rushed and overwhelmed the majority of the time.

I think I will make a list.

Phew!

After literally months of procrastinating, I finally went to a Bikram class on Tuesday. Today I am still sore! It's good to get back into it again. I am hoping to try out a couple of the different studios in Portland and find my favorite. The studio I went to on Tuesday is really beautiful and peaceful and close to work. At Bikram Yoga Phoenix, where I practiced in Arizona, the instructors talked a lot throughout the class about the benefits of the poses, noting that during one posture you're aiding digestion, that in another, your strengthening your fingers and keeping arthritis away. I found all of that health benefit speak very motivating as I sought to release into the asanas. I noticed that during my first class here in Portland there wasn't a lot of mention of those things. None actually. Hmm. At any rate, it is still my favorite thing to do to feel healthy, rejeuvenated and transformed. Now I just need some cute new yoga clothes from Lululemon.

Detox

Since being sick, I've been taking lots of supplements, avoiding sugar, had no alcohol and generally feeling really healthy. I'm craving some yoga. I can tell my body's ready to go even further toward health and feeling wonderful. I miss this. When I return to Portland, from my visit in Spokane, I'm going to sign up and do a 30 day Bikram challenge. Pure detoxification, here I come.

Smoothie

Our blender has been turning out some fabulous smoothies as of late. My recipe of the moment? Mango Banana Orange. Mmmm. To get the smoothest, creamiest, protein rich smoothie around, pick up some Fage Greek Strained Yogurt. It's also exceptionally tasty with honey and berries. I think I'm off to whirrrr up a few smoothies right now!

Elusive Summer

Just as the school year came to a close, I came down with a dreadful fever. I have now been sick for five days. I'm starting to feel much better at last.

Oddly enough, having the time to reflect while lying in bed has been nice. I feel relaxed and ready to enjoy my summer, and I know I'm not going to cram too much in. When you're sick and resting time moves differently. More slowly and naturally. It's easy to become stressed out about enjoying one's vacation enough or resting enough or getting out of town enough. All sorts of 'enoughs' can get in the way of actually doing things. I don't feel that I will start my summer wanting it to be enough. It's not something I have to go after, grab at and force into place . If I simply relax, it will come to me. I feel very grateful for this time to enjoy the simple things in life and leave my worries behind.