Thanks to those of you who prayed for my family after my last post. My mother-in-law came through her quadruple bypass wonderfully. She still has some significant recovery ahead of her, but things are going well.

On my whiny side of things, I have gotten a very rough sinus infection. This is undeniably the worst, fastest-acting sinus infection I have ever had. I woke up Saturday morning at 4 a.m. with an incredibly dry throat. I knew what it meant, but I got up, gargled with salt water and mouth wash (not at the same time), drank some water, blew my nose, and used my neti pot. I went back to sleep. When I got up at 6:30, I thought I might be okay.

By about 11 in the morning, I realize that no, I was, in fact, sick. I had to go to campus for an event with a student organization I am a faculty advisor for, so from 1 to about 5, I sat in my office, graded papers while technically supervising students, and got progressively sicker and sicker.

I was beginning to fear that it wasn’t a sinus infection and that I might have the flu. Because I had a sinus infection a few weeks ago that took me longer to get over than it should have, I hadn’t had the chance to get a flu shot yet. And working with college freshmen is like working with kindergartners, only they have more STDs and fewer pant wetting accidents. They certainly have their fair share of sicknesses, and it’s very possible that I’ve picked up something from one of the 130 plus freshmen I work with weekly.

After I left campus last night, I went to urgent care. I got there about 6:30, and I was told there would be a three hour wait. Yikes. Despite the fact that I felt horrible, I was not up for a three hour wait, so I decided to come back this morning.

I got there at 7:45 a.m., and this time, I only had an hour wait. And that’s with me showing up before they even opened at 8 a.m. Apparently, everybody is sick right now.

The doctor confirmed I did not have the flu. (Whew.) I just happen to have a really, really bad sinus infection. He gave me a prescription for amoxicillin and a steroid shot in the hip. I know this may sound weird, but I love it when I get a shot at the doctor! It may be placebo effect, but I have always believed that I get well quicker when I have a shot than just a prescription.

I also practiced a little home therapy, too. Thanks to BzzAgent, just yesterday, I got a voucher for a free bottle of Jim Beam! I’ll be honest – I’m not normally a big drinker. I am, however, a fan of free things, so that’s why I signed up for this particular promotion, the Jim Beam Bold Choice BzzCampaign.

Last night, before bed, I took about ½ cup of Jim Beam, two tablespoons of raw honey, and the juice of one lemon. This, mixed together, was microwaved until the honey melted. I drank about half of it, and my throat immediately felt better. I’m a big fan of homemade remedies, and this one, courtesy of my mother, is one of the best. It really opens up your sinuses!

It’s Sunday night, I have to go back to work tomorrow, and I feel better although I am clearly not well yet. I’ve got another amoxicillin pill to take before bed tonight, and I’m very hopeful that I’ll feel even better tomorrow. I’m counting on that steroid shot to chase this crud away!

Here’s the bad part – when I am sick, I eat horribly. I always have. I tried to make good choices, but I just didn’t. I ate what tasted good, and frankly, as horribly congested as I was, nothing tasted good. I know I went over my points. I certainly got in no activity, as I spent a good chunk of today taking a nap in my bedroom with Harry Potter weekend playing on the t.v. I’m going to plan out my food for tomorrow. Logically, I know that if I expect my body to heal itself, then I need to eat real food and not the processed crap that I’m craving.

Even though I haven’t addressed it yet, this is part of my 15 Blog Posts to explain my big decision. I just felt like I really needed to mention this, because in a way, it fits with the topic of this post.

Decluttering.

I know that I need to do it. I’ve decluttered a great deal of the junk in my head, (mentally, not snot-related), but I still have more. And frankly, I need to declutter my house.

I’m reading a great book called Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Big. It is literally a life-changing book. The book explores the notion that the same things that cause us to clutter up our heads and become overweight also leads to a cluttered house, and in my case, this seems to be very accurate.

For starters, my home office is a train wreck. It’s embarrassing. I’ll take a photo and share with you after I’ve tackled the clutter, but for now, let’s just say that I could probably earn a place on a certain show on A&E.

And I don’t mean Dog the Bounty Hunter.

Just so you don’t think I need an intervention, the rest of my house isn’t that bad. But at the same time, it isn’t the way I want it, either. The book brings up the great point that if your kitchen counters are cluttered, then you won’t want to cook. I know that for me this is definitely true. However, if you have a clean kitchen, then you’ll be more likely to want to be in there, making healthy, real food.

This really goes for all of the rooms in your home. Home should be a sanctuary, a place to rest and escape. I want my home, every room in it, to reflect that.

I’ve got a list of things I need to do. I started a Declutter notebook that contains detailed notes about what I am going to do.

Tina and I are giving ourselves until Christmas to get our house under control. We can do it! Because truthfully, my office is the biggest problem.

I’m not saying that having a clean home will automatically lead to weight loss, but I do think that there are commonalities between overeating and overindulging in stuff. I like to collect stuff. I like to keep stuff. I like to buy stuff.

I’m about to start getting rid of stuff. I truthfully have DVDs that I’ve had for YEARS that are still in shrink wrap and on my bookshelves. That’s just stupid. Eventually, I plan to open a page here at Stellar Path of stuff that I’m going to sell. And if it doesn’t sell within a month or two, then it’ll be going to Good Will.

Clean house, clean body, clean mind.

All of this will be necessary for the big change coming in my life

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