In mid-October, I was sick for more than a week. I had a lingering fever and a really nasty cough. By the time I went to the doctor (on day 6 of the illness), they were worried about pneumonia, but luckily the antibiotics did their thing and I got better. So when I woke up on Sunday with a sore throat, I went into denial mode. Surely I couldn't be sick, AGAIN, already. I had plans to go to church with two friends, work at my office all day, and then see the same friends for dinner, so I got dressed and went down the hill. It didn't take long for me to realize that I had made a poor decision. By the mid-afternoon, I could no longer deny that I was thoroughly ill, so I cancelled on dinner and made my way home, where I immediately got into bed. And experienced two more days of feverish misery. I am not sure my throat has ever hurt so badly in my life. And I was out of any sort of pain reliever/fever reducers. Luckily, a kind friend brought me drugs, soup, and 7-Up, so at least I didn't have to go out into the freezing cold (literally- the temp here has been dropping below freezing at night, and isn't getting much above 40 by mid-afternoon). Last night, my fever finally broke, allowing me some solid sleep (finally!), and today my throat is feeling a lot better, although I am still really exhausted.

... I know I need to take it easy the next few days, but I am getting anxious about getting enough work done, and I'm really running out of time before Christmas, especially since I am going to Istanbul next week. Of course, that's part of the reason that I DO need to take it easy- the last thing I want is to spend my 5 days in Turkey feeling sick.

Of course, my trip to Istanbul is not my only upcoming turkey adventure, as I'm roasting one on Sunday for a Thanksgiving party that I am hosting. Per the advice of a friend, I am going to try brining it first- we'll see how that goes. I'm a little, tiny bit nervous. Or a lot nervous. This is my first time roasting a bird!

Stay tuned for details on how my Turkish adventures panned out...