I am oh so happy to report that I have finally, after three weeks of illness, kicked my strep throat! Woohoo! I had a lot of time in bed, a lot of cups of tea, a lot of time feeling down and sorry for myself, a lot of attempts at exercise while still feeling under the weather - only to crawl back into bed afterwards, and finally... I have made it out the other side! Woooohooooo!

I have found it hard to get back into my daily exercise pattern since spending three weeks enjoying the comfort of doing nothing. With my work schedule change, I also no longer need to wake up at any given time, and somehow that makes it a lot harder to get up at my previous tradition of 7am! So today I got my butt up and out the door before 8:30am and went to a PumpFit class out in Papamoa. Wow... It was hard! Both instructors were there and they took turns pushing us hard enough that we were all sweating by the end! I thought it would be hard to focus after my few weeks of rest, but turns out, I worked harder than I have in any other class! Perhaps I was trying to prove to myself that I was 100% healthy?

After the class I wasn't quite ready to head home, and my body wasn't quite ready to sit in the car, so I went for a nice leisurely walk around the Gordon Spatt Reserve. I came across such a nice little marshy bird sanctuary and enjoyed strolling along and listening to the springtime sounds of birds, birds and more birds! 

It was such a lovely morning and I am just overjoyed to say that I am feeling better!

Now.... bring on Summertime!!!!

I have some good news...and some bad news. 

If you look back to 11 days ago, you will see that I posted about feeling "under the weather". What I didn't know at the time was that all that rest and "healing" I was doing... was just prolonging my illness...

The bad news: Doctor says I have strep throat... which would explain why for the past two weeks I have barely been able to eat anything other than mushy food and why I am suddenly out of pain killers. I am now on antibiotics for 10 days to clear it up. I have been instructed to rest for a few days (which I've already been doing.. so it truly is a virus that needs to be cured because I swear to you, my body has been given more than ample amount of rest to heal itself!) and that I should be back to normal in a week.  Lucky for me the weather has turned so my few days of rest will not be spent mourning over my lack of playing in the sun... as there is no sun to play in!

The good news: Well, it's kind of good news... more so "interesting" news I'd say. This is the third country that I have experienced strep throat in! The first being my home country Canada, the second was in 2007 when I was in South Africa. That was a very disappointing time to be so ill as it was a 6-week trip...not a lot of time allocated to "rest" and "healing". And this, the third time, in New Zealand. 

Sure experiencing strep throat in multiple countries may not seem like something to boast about.. but hey... when you've been on the couch for a few days, you're sipping on water and wincing every time you swallow and sleeping so much it's hard to remember the last time you went outside... I'd say it's fair to look for any and every teeny tiny positive thing to cling to!

And that is my update. May you all be healthy and well! 

siiiigh, after trying so very hard to ensure I was getting enough sleep and down time to kick the bug I could feel setting up camp in my throat... I am sick. Oyi I hate being sick. I just don't see any point to it really! honestly.. on this trip I swear I am getting more sleep than I ever got when I was home, I am eating healthier, getting heaps of exercise... why does my body need to be attacked by some silly bug? How... Rude! 

So, I am spending time on the couch, sipping hot lemon and honey, wishing this little bug will find a new home soon. Hope everyone else is feeling well, rested and full of energy!!