Everything they say about new teachers catching every bug in the building is true. Echinacea, Vitamin C, apparently it doesn’t matter how preventive you get. I’ve worked around kids for a while, and every new set of kids has a new set of germs to catch. Fun!

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve been fighting a killer sinus infection pretty much since Christmas. I’ve had really bad headaches almost every day, one so debilitating that Adam had to stay home and drive me to work. I wouldn’t stay home because I knew it was too late for my school to get a sub. I just haven’t been able to think straight or focus on things, and sleep has been an adventure in insomnia. More than once a class would come into the library, and I would just stand there having completely forgotten what I had planned for them that day. And forget crafting, it’s all I could do not to go straight to bed after school. It would appear that this sinus business is even what triggered the asthma attack that got me carted out of school in an ambulance a few weeks ago.

As a result of the tension and weird sleeping (plus my everyday life carting books around the library), I had a super stiff neck on top of the headaches. So this weekend I went to my favorite spa, Orange Skye in Red Bank, for a massage. I’m a regular there (it’s near my house), but I hadn’t been since before the holidays. I love this place; it opened just a few months before I moved to this area, and I started going pretty soon after that. I’ve been to a lot of spas, and this one (inside a very cool old house) is my favorite. It’s just such a warm, friendly place, and everyone really cares about their clients’ well being.

And they’re effective. After an hour on the table, including some real concentration on my neck and head, I left feeling fantastic. Head cleared, ability to focus back. And the headaches haven’t returned so far. Now, I’m also on a lot of antibiotics, but after weeks of trying different medications this massage has really helped with the headaches. I have no idea how long it will last, but I am getting tons done this week now that I can think straight again. More fun!