*Cough, Cough, I'm sick* Cold Remedies on the Cheap

Hi everyone! (Cough, cough, I'm sick.) Or at least, it seems like I might be getting sick. Tis the season though, and I do work at a community college after all. I don't typically take OTC medicine, but on occasion, as some happens to give me nightmares. So while I wait for a normal prescription to be filled, I am doing my typical remedies in the meantime. They do help lessen the blow, at least I have noticed. (I am not a doctor, nor do I claim to be so do not attempt some of these remedies without a doctor's approval. Especially if you are already taking medicine.) Most are natural remedies anyway, but I just wanted to put that out there that you should always get doctor approval when doing new health related things. Regardless of how simple they are.

Stock Photo of a woman sneezing

Humidifier!

Humidifiers come in two types: warm mist and cool mist.  It's basically just heated water in a machine that comes out as steam to clear the airways and allow for restful breathing. I happen to use a Children's cool mist humidifier, that I purchased at Target, a few years ago for about 30$. I also add to it what I will mention in the next category.

Essential Oils!

Essential oils can be bought at most health stores, for relatively cheap. You only need a couple of drops at the most for usage in your diffuser or humidifier. Never handle them on your skin directly. Some do come diluted in a base oil like almond, or jojoba, however, many are pure oils. I do advise to dilute them in the water without touching it. Less is more. Too much and it will be very over powering. Oils that are good for colds include : Lavender, Mints (Rosemary, Peppermint, etc), Eucalyptus, and Camphor.


Lemon and Honey!

This combination is awesome! Honey is a natural antioxidant. Some people use it in salves, I use it as an antibacterial cough soother. It also helps with sore throats. To make a very thick cough syrup out of it, mix equal parts lemon juice and honey into a table spoon and take it like that. Some people (like me) find that to be too sweet and prefer to add it to hot water as a sort of tea. (I sometimes add a shot or half a shot of Brandy and turn it into a Hot Toddy (folk remedy), but I am of age. If you are not of legal drinking age, just don't. Seriously. lol)

Salt Water!

This combination can be used as a warm soothing rinse to aid in a sore throat's healing process, or as a nasal irrigation rinse. In both cases, do not ingest the salt water. I also hate netipots, might I add. I do use saline to moisturize the nose, but nasal irrigation makes me feel weird.

Chest Rub!

Vicks Vaporub is quite nice too, but it is really expensive, unless you find it on sale. Store brand chest rub works just as well.

Warm Moist Towels/Hot Packs!

If you have sinus pain, a warm towel or a warm hot pack can help relieve the pain in your sinuses. The hot pack will stay warm a lot longer than the towel by the way. Test the temperature, and do not leave it on for long periods of time.

Vitamin C!

You can take some tablets, multivitamins, or just eat or drink your vitamin C if you are very anti-pills.



That's all for now! If you know of anymore useful and relatively safe/legal remedies, please feel free to comment below.


Till Next Time!

Hachi

Teriyaki Salmon Stir-fry with Noodles

Hi all! So as a follow up to my grocery haul blog, I have a mini recipe blog! This was actually made for dinner on Sunday, but I am posting it today to not overload everyone with blogs.

A bowl, spoon, water, chopped garlic, teriyaki marinade, sriracha sauce. and salmon

So in my bowl I mixed :

6 tablespoons teriyaki marinade

1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce

1/4 tsp garlic

4 tablespoons water (you don't really need to add the water, but that marinade is so sodium filled that adding the water helps to dilute the heavy sodium taste)

1 salmon (with the skin on, it is better for you too)


I marinated the salmon for 1 hour, although 30 minutes is fine as well.

After marinating the salmon for 1 hour, I preheated my oven to 375 F (190 C, Gas Mark 5). I put my salmon on a pie pan wrapped in foil and baked for 45 minutes.

In the meantime, I took one of my frozen stir-fry with noodle packs and cooked it in a non-stick skillet adding some water and teriyaki sauce to keep it flavorful.

Then I took half of the salmon and added it with the stir-fry and there you have it! Dinner :)

Till Next Time!

Hachi

Sales, Savings, and Groceries! Oh My!

So you guys know I love a good sale. There were amazing sales for this week's ad at Ralphs (a Southern CA grocery chain owned by Kroger). Although I bought 15 items at 53$, which seems not so good until you realize what I got for that price. With further ado, here is this week's grocery haul. For the record, my kitchen counter is a bit small (with my Kruger machine and my microwave in the way), so I tend to take the pictures on my stove. Not pictured (1 pk of store made sushi for lunch, watermelon slices)

12 pk Natural Brown Eggs, 1 lbs of ground beef, 1 pk of salmon

8 pieces of chicken breast, 18 pieces of chicken drum sticks, 5 lbs of St. Louis style spareribs

Ignoring the chicken in the back, 1 large bottle of teriyaki marinade, 5 pks of frozen veggies, and 1 lbs of large shrimp.

When thinking about the price of each individual item, based off of the amount purchased and spent, each item was about 3.53$ each. I consider this a purchase well done since everything aside from the veggies individually cost over 5$ each. According to Ralphs, I saved about 25$ and I consider that a win in my books.

Do you guys love supermarket sales? and how do you save at the supermarkets? Let me know below and if you have any tips to save more. :)



Till Next Time!


Hachi

Sweater Weather Tag

Hi all!

So sorry for the delay in blogs, I have been so busy with work, traveling back and forth between Northern CA, and Southern CA. I am back though! So I will do something a bit different in this blog and do a tag. Also I will be tagging all of my readers, that are also bloggers to do this tag. :)


Sweater Weather Tag:



1. Favorite candle scent? 

I really like Vanilla Bean scents. They are usually subtle and considering most candle scents make me sneeze my head off, these are heavenly.


2. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?

I am not a big fan of chocolate, so that would be the lowest point on the totem. I would have to choose tea, hands down. I used to have fourteen different flavors of tea at one point, but drank most of them. Coffee is ok on occasion, but tea is still my love. Green tea, especially <3


3. What's the best fall memory you have?

I think my best fall memory was when I was a little kid in elementary school off on the countryside in my hometown in the Central Valley of Northern CA, and I would play with my friends on the playground. We would gather all the leaves up and jump and roll around in them. Good times, good times. I still jump in leaves, btw. I enjoy the crunching sound they make when I step on them.  :)




4. Which makeup trend do you prefer: dark lips or winged eyeliner? 


I would have to say winged eyeliner. Mostly because I don't wear lipstick all too often, and all my lipstick is rather dark.




5. Best fragrance for fall?




I don't like seasonal smells, it goes along with things always making me sneeze. I can tolerate some Victoria Secret sprays though. Sweet Daydream is my staple. 


6. Favorite Thanksgiving food? 

Ham, because I am not a fan of turkey, to be honest. I also love sweet potatoes and marshmallows. Cannot stand stuffing though.


7. What is autumn weather like where you live?

It is currently hotter than the blazes here in Southern CA. Today it was 103F degrees (39C). Normally it's windy, with mild weather in the 50s-70s, depending where you are in California. It can also rain, and we actually have four days of rain in this coming week's forecast. Everyone knows we need the rain here in California.


8. Most worn sweater? 

My Lucky Brand jacket with Japanese artwork and graffiti all over it with Osaka and Tokyo written on it. I have had it for years. It's always covered in holes that keep being sewn up, but it's cozy and nostalgic.

9. Must-have nail polish this fall? 

No go-to's but I do like blues and purples.


10. Football games or jumping in leaf piles?

I like both lol.


11. Skinny jeans or leggings?

Leggings, because I only like boot cut jeans.


12. Combat boots or Uggs? 

Not a fan of Uggs, my feet get hot enough in normal shoes. I don't need all that extra fur making me overheated. Cowgirl Boots would personally be preferable for me. Norcal countryside lady, I am.


13. Is pumpkin spice worth the hype? 

No, but it's ok on occasion. I had a tall PSF today with soy. Not bad, but annoyingly overpriced.




14. Favorite fall TV show? 

Downton Abbey (since it originally comes on in the fall, although January in the US -_-)




15. What songs really gets you into the fall spirit?

All of the Nujabes beats because I love primarily instrumental music, and his music makes me feel at peace like fall does. "Horizon" is one of them :)



Hope you enjoyed my tag, and like I said I tag all of you readers to do it as well. :)



Till Next Time!

Hachi

September Favorites!

Hi Everyone! Happy September! We are inching closer to the greatest season ever! Fall, or autumn as I typically call it ! :) So I decided to do something a little different and list my favorite things about September.




PSL (Pumpkin Spice Lattes) -

Yes, I'm one of those lol However, I kind of prefer making my own drinks, so I think this year I will bet making my own. I know there isn't real pumpkin in it, because it's pumpkin pie spice haha (I'm a baker)

stock photo of PSL

Pho -

Well...technically it still feels hot as the blazes here in California, but I associate the coming of the autumn season with pho.  I actually had some yesterday because I was sick. Rare Beef Pho, please!

stock photo of pho

3/4 sleeve shirts -

They're really good for when it's not too hot, but not freezing cold. That'll probably be more useful as we get closer to the latter end of September.

stock photo of 3/4 sleeved shirt

Cardigans -

They are awesome go to's for those days, when you might want to cover up, but don't want to over heat.

stock photo of a cardigan

The changes in the leaves -

I love when the leaves change and fall to the ground. The crunch, crunch, crunch you hear as you walk on them or jump in leaves. Yes, I might be 24, but jumping in leaves never gets old haha.

stock photo of changing leaves

So that's a few of my September/start of autumn favorites.  Do you have any September favorites? Let me know in the comments below :)



Till next time!

Hachi