Recent ruminations

Yesterday was my 39th birthday and either I've been thinking and reflecting on life (ruminating) or I've magically morphed into a cow and I've been chewing cud (ruminating). I'm definitely going with the first choice. Now that I'm a year older and a year wiser I have the following tidbits to offer. Bear with me if it takes a quick second to get to the point:

Today I feel dehydrated, fatigued, and slightly nauseous. I'm irritable, lethargic, and sensitive to noise; especially the noise made by four overstimulated kids. According to my symptoms I have a hangover. The only flaw in this conclusion is that I wasn't out getting drunk last night; I was playing Wii. Quite the conundrum, isn't it?

And so it is, without further ado, that I offer my first tidbit. It is possible to be hungover without having actually consumed alcohol. In order for this to be plausible I've decided to create a separate class of hangover called a holiday hangover. Just as an alcohol hangover occurs as a result of overindulging in liquor, a holiday hangover results from, well, too much holiday. I have been baking and hosting and eating and wrapping and shopping and baking and staying up late playing Wii and baking and entertaining. Did I mention there's been a lot of baking going on around here?! And now I'm shot. And it's my birthday. And I am clearly hungover.

Yep, that's pretty much the way I'm feeling at the moment.

The good news is that the same things that are supposed to work for a regular hangover should also take care of a holiday hangover. A few websites that I perused recommended the following solutions. I've made a few edits to clarify:

• Sleep. 'Ya think? Of course sleep will help. I'm taking it one step further and advising that you step away from the Wii. Maybe even go to bed before your guests. I know it seems obvious but I'm fairly certain this is how the whole cycle begins.
• Replenish your body with fruit juice and water and avoid caffeinated beverages drink lots of caffeinated beverages. I'm fairly certain that Diet Coke is the nectar of the gods.
• Eat mineral rich foods like pickles or canned sardines. In Poland, drinking pickle juice is a common remedy . Seriously. What would that accomplish? Instead I recommend that you avoid Christmas cookies at all costs. Other foods to avoid include, but are not limited to, sausage, red meat in general, cheese trays, and pretty much any type of appetizer.
• Drink a Bloody Mary. While your blood is dealing with the new alcohol it's ignoring the old, and the juice and celery are full of vitamins . The whole "hair of the dog that bit you" thing has always sounded suspect to me, but then I'm not an authority on hangovers, either. In the case of the holiday hangover, though, a Bloody Mary might just do the trick. Or maybe a nice glass of Cabernet.

I know I said that I had tidbits (plural; as in more than one) to offer. You're going to have to wait until tomorrow for the next one. I'm older now. I'm moving a little slower...