I'm sorry that I missed a couple of podcasts last week; I was really sick. When I spoke to you last, I was beginning to lose my voice and feel achy with a sore throat. I assumed, however, that with some good food, and a good night's rest, that I would be fine the next day. Wrong! I went downhill from there. I had originally caught the cold from my son, and then my daughter and I both got really ill. So, it's been a miserable week, with no energy, coughs, fevers, chills, and not a lot of fun in the house. Thankfully, my brother has been visiting from New Zealand, so he has been able to entertain the children more than me. What does a person have to do to get over this kind of sickness? One thing I have found to be very helpful, is to drink lots of fluid. That is something that doctors always say, and, at times, I haven't really paid much attention. But, you will find that if you have a cough or a blocked nose, drinking lots of water and juices makes you feel much better. Your mucus isn't so thick, so you can cough or blow your nose more effectively. I know, these details are a bit gross, but it's all common English that's useful. We normally use the word 'snot' for mucus, or we say that we are 'snotty'. However, in the U.S.A the word 'snotty' is very commonly used to describe a person as proud or unfriendly. So, when you use this word, make sure that your listeners know exactly what you mean. Anyway, another thing that helps when you are experiencing a bad cold, is to use an extra pillow at night, so your head and chest are elevated. This helps you breathe more easily, and it helps your nose and sinuses drain more easily. You might wish to take spoonfulls of medicine to help relieve some of they symptoms you are living with. Nasal decongestant unclogs your nose; an expectorant loosens the mucus in your chest so you can cough well; cough suppressant reduces coughing; and anti-histamine reduces the kind of allergy symptoms we get such as itchy eyes and throat. Most people have these medicines in their bathroom cabinet somewhere. It is useful to keep them handy, just in case. I'm so glad that I'm over the worst of my cold; I'm about one day away from being fully recovered. Our routines will get back to normal: the kids in school, some at home for homeschooling, and me back to podcasting. So, don't make the mistake I made of over-extending yourself and getting ill; it's not worth it. Sometimes we need to baby ourselves to avoid these yucky colds.

Grammar notes.

Cold related vocabulary: expectorant, to baby oneself, sinuses, decongestant.

1. Expectorant is great for loosening mucus in the chest so you can cough well. However, you must drink lots of water so your mucus doesn't get thick and choke you!

2. Relax, keep warm, take vitamins and chicken soup, and basically baby yourself. That way you can avoid getting ill.

3. When you have a sinus infection, you get pain and tightness across your forehead.

4. Decongestant unblocks or unclogs your nose.