Sick :( plus more odds & ends

I am sick. :(  

I'll cut to the point: I took a rapid test this afternoon (first one I've taken, although I had two PCR tests, back when they were easier to obtain), and it was NEGATIVE -- so I don't have covid. (I think?) I'll admit I might not have done the test quite properly. I checked several different sources for advice on test-taking:  I waited 30 minutes after lunch to do it, and I swabbed the insides of my cheeks/gums before doing the nostrils. I tried to do the back of my tongue/throat but I have a strong gag reflex, so that wasn't too successful. I'm also ticklish and swabbing the nostrils was... interesting. Not sure I did enough rotations or that I went in deep enough. (And yes, I did get pregnancy test vibes, waiting for the results!) 

Anyway. I may try again tomorrow, just to be sure -- but I'll admit it was a relief to just see that single line on the test!  

The only place I've been within the last week that I could have picked up covid (or anything else), besides BIL & SIL's house, would be dh's cousins' house last Friday (and they already had it in early January).  And before we went there, we stopped in at a local bakery to pick up some cannolis to take for coffee. We wore masks;  not everyone there did but it wasn't that crowded/busy -- fairly spacious --  and we weren't there more than 20 minutes. Otherwise, I've been home. 

I started feeling like I might be coming down with something on Monday night. I was very tired -- I haven't been sleeping great lately -- and I thought I felt a bit of a tickle at the back of my throat. I gargled with warm salt water (Grandma would be proud of me!) before I went to bed. I was relatively OK until mid-afternoon yesterday, and then I just started feeling crappy all over. Not REALLY bad, but not great either. My throat is not really SORE, but it feels dry and slightly scratchy. I can feel it up into my nasal passages too. My eyes feel strained and a bit dry, even though the humidity in our unit is the best it's been in a while, I have a mild headache, and I just feel tired/fatigued/lethargic and a bit achy all over. This is all fairly par for the course for me whenever I get sick. Sometimes it develops into a full-blown cold, but sometimes I will feel like this for a few days and then it eventually subsides. The last time I felt like this was two years ago, just at the start of the pandemic. 

I may have jinxed myself. BIL called dh yesterday morning and said, "You know you're coming here for Easter dinner on Saturday night?"  (This is how my BIL issues an invitation, lol.) I was happy about the prospect of spending part of Easter weekend with the nephews & their wives and Little Great-Nephew -- but apparently SIL's family will be there too. Including us, that adds up to 16 people -- 14 adults and two small children -- which is a few too many people in a small space for my comfort right now (and the weather isn't supposed to be great, so not likely we can spend a lot of time outdoors or with the windows open). "We can call and tell them you're not feeling well," dh offered. Be careful what you wish for...!   

Of course, if I'm sick already, I don't need to worry about THEM giving anything to ME -- I have an excuse not to go. ;)  But if I'm still sick, and not able to go there for dinner, I won't be able to go for a scheduled (and much-needed) haircut on Saturday afternoon either.  :(  I guess we'll see what happens & how I'm feeling by Saturday. 

Whether or not I had covid, I didn't want to pass anything along to LGN, so we skipped our usual visit with him & SIL this morning. :(   I've been doing more saltwater gargles, taking ibuprofen, sucking on Halls lozenges, drinking lots of fluids, and diffusing and rubbing in an essential oil blend (including eucalyptus, tea tree and cinnamon) that supposedly bolsters the immune system. (Can't hurt, right?) 

Good Lord, it DOES feel like waiting for a pregnancy test result!! 

• Meanwhile, "back home" in Manitoba, the impending blizzard I wrote about yesterday is under way. My sister actually went to work this morning, only to head home at lunchtime (while the buses were still running...!).  
• One of the national news channels had a live report from Winnipeg this morning, where it was already snowing heavily. I noticed (& pointed out to dh) that the reporter was not wearing mittens or gloves (even if it was snowing, I guess it wasn't that cold). At the end of the report, the in-studio anchor said to her, "Hey, I'm a mom, put some gloves on!!"  Hey, I'm NOT a mom, and I said it first!!  (Mothers do NOT have a monopoly on noticing these things...!) 
• Bloglovin seems to be functional again, on both my laptop and cellphone app. :)