Fun and Practical Ways of Getting Rid of a Cold

 Forgive the tardy post but as you may have guessed from the title I have been sick with the cold.   As I have been lying in bed coughing and hacking, I actually discovered many ways you can feel better.  

1.      Rest-  I hate to state the obvious but any doctor, naturopath, or witch doctor will tell you that the ultimate way to get rid of this nasty virus is to stay in bed and sleep lots. Phone in sick, let TV babysit the kids and forget all your other troubles. 

2.      Liquids, Liquids and more Liquids- Yes, it is important to stay hydrated especially when you spend a lot of time coughing and choking.  Your mouth will feel dry, your throat will be sore and you will find yourself sweating a lot.  So be sure to drink a lot of fluids especially hot beverages.  I happen to know the best hot beverage you can take for such a nasty cold.  That is my Dragon Fire Tonic.   

3.      Let off a little steam- If you have a humidifier or some kind of steam maker then use it!  Please know that you can put some wonderful aromatherapy to good use with this.  Personally, I like to use Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Rosemary and Pine.  These work the best when you are congested.  If you don't have anything like this, then never fear just take your dear sweet time in the shower.  Believe me this helps too.

4.      Watch some good ghost movies- This is just my movie genre preference but they always seem to make me feel better.  They don't have to be ghostly but if you're going to lie around all day, you might as well enjoy yourself.  Besides, all those ghost movies remind me of my home world.  And when you are scared, you may forget that you are also miserable. 

5.      Meditate- This may seem unnecessary to some but many studies have shown that the mind and body are connected.  If you take care of your mind, your body will start to take care of itself and you will get better faster.

6.      Put Vicks under and around your nose- this is something that I just tried.  It was suggested by a friend and it works!!!  It stings the nose a bit (if it's red) but it heals faster, stops running and makes it so much easier to breathe.  Don't forget to put Vicks on your chest and back as well.  Every little bit helps and reminds you of what your mother did when you were a child.

7.      Cough and Hack until it's out of your system – This is pretty self-explanatory.  The reason why you cough in the first place is to get the virus out of your system.  So let it all out!  Blow your nose as well.  Don’t be dainty.  Be loud, long and strong. 

8.      Vitamins, Herbs and Minerals - You will need to take Vitamin C, Echinachea, Ginseng and Zinc.  These four will help boost immunity and get rid of the cold faster. 

9.      Drink some wine - It may not cure it but it sure feels good until you pass out.  (See #1)

10.  If all else fails call an Exorcist - Why not?  You've tried everything else.

You want to take special care of yourself.  A little pampering, indulgence and T.L.C. will go a long way.  Treat yourself as you would treat a child. In the end, you will not only feel better but you will have experienced a little love as well.  It’s almost like a vacation except you suffer instead of your wallet. 

Krampus - The Legend and Movie

This poster belongs to Universal Pictures and Legendary Pictures

Because it is the holiday season, I recently went to see the movie "Krampus" in the theater.  I was interested see how closely the movie followed the real story of our Christmas Devil.  It turns out it is not very close.  The moral is the same but not the story. 

The real story of Krampus is simple.  He is both a companion and rival to St. Nicholas.  We ladies of the Nether Realm love St. Nicholas.  He is the perfect man. He listens, gives amazing presents, and makes his living by travelling.  Anyway, St. Nicholas sees to the good children and rewards them well; Krampus on the other hand punishes the bad children.  There is a lot of exaggeration as to how he punishes them.  Truth be told, he does not kidnap them or eat them.  He never did that.  He used to put them in a sack and beat them but that was during the dark ages.  Now, he's the one that leaves coal and ash that is meant for the naughty children to clean up in their stockings and around the house.   

Krampus is a unique demon in that he can be reasoned with and you can get rid of him fast.  All you have to do is give him a drink of schnapps.  Too bad most exorcisms aren't that easy. He'll be happy with you for the following year because of that lovely little fruity liqueur and will leave you alone.  However, he and Santa will still watch you over the year to know if you have been bad or good. 

This Krampus in the movie is much more evil and more brutal.  Yet he isn’t as fearsome as I thought he would be. There is a lot of humor considering this is a horror movie.  It reminded me a lot of another Christmas horror movie called "Gremlins."  It may have been meant to frighten but the execution made it a hilarious spoof. That is not a bad thing, in fact I found it to be a breath of fresh air.  Whenever, you see movies about demons (holiday or otherwise) you expect that there will be a lot of gross-out scenes that could result in nightmares.  I'm glad this wasn't the case. 

The one thing that the tales of Krampus and this movie have in common is what Christmas truly involves.  That is being together with your family, sharing the love that the season brings, and giving rather than receiving.  These are the things that good people do and what we should strive for all year round.  So be good for goodness sake. A little bit of naughty should be accompanied by a whole lot of nice. We don’t need to have a demon remind us of that do we? 
    
 
 
 

Ted 2

I have recently seen the movie "Ted 2".  There was slapstick comedy, gross out scenes and downright nasty jokes.   All of which I am a huge fan of.  Like its predescessor it was both wickedly funny and strangely heartwarming.  It provides a message about how important it is to have that kind of true friendship no matter how it came to be. 

Both of these movies explore the relationship between John Bennett (played by Mark Walberg) and his stuffed bear (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) that magically comes to life.  As a child, John makes a special Christmas wish for his bear to be alive and be his friend for real.  Christmas wishes are very strong but that is just not something that happens in this world.  Because it did, this bear was famous for a time.  John being eternally grateful has Ted in his life all the way up to his adulthood.  This is where the real story hits. 

John is a little more mild but Ted turns into a hard-drinking, sex-crazed party animal.  And that was just in the first Ted.  In Ted 2, this bear decides to settle down with his trailer trash tramp of a girlfriend (played by Jessica Barth).  They get married and decide that they want to have a baby.  There is a problem though and it's not just because of his lack of reproductive organs (honestly I thought they would play with that more).  Ted is not considered a real person.  He and his friends fight this.  He like anyone else has thoughts, feelings and a soul.  That is what they are trying to prove.

They go through alot of trouble to do this and I can not reveal the outcome of it.  Besides, they should just come to the Nether Realm.  Toys with spirits in them are considered people just like everyother mythical creature.  They contribute to our society and very well at that.

Ted doesn't contribute to society though.  In fact, his favorite pastime is smoking grass if not screaming obscenities at everyone.  Yes he is fun to watch.  Frankly, I think it is rather comforting to know that there is a possessed teddy bear out there that happens to be a foul-mouthed drug abuser who is fiercly loyal to all those he loves.  Sounds pretty human to me and even if he isn't, he's pretty damn close.   

It's a really funny story

My friend, Bobby and I decided to see the new "poltergeist" movie because Bobby, himself is just that, a poltergeist.  He wanted to see what a human's take on his kind were.  Here's a tidbit, he hates most ghostly movies so I did not know how he would react. 

We were sitting in the theater and I was enjoying my popcorn.  Bobby has a weakness for peanut M&Ms.  He can't eat them being in ghost form but that doesn't stop him from trying.  He makes a hell of a mess.  We were sitting in the back because we wanted to be discreet.  Mystics can see ghosts, poltergeists, etc just fine but humans can not.  So we were sitting and chatting, minding our own business until some smart-ass teenagers sat beside us.    We were talking about the actors in this movie but because these boys could not see Bobby, they assumed I was talking to myself.  They made some rather unkind gestures indicating that I was crazy. 

Bobby didn't appreciate that.  He transformed himself into a mist and flowed towards these boys (you know the way ghosts do).  Bobby slipped under their seats and flipped the seats up with these boys sitting in them.  Suffice to say, popcorn, pop and sour patch candies were flying everywhere.  These boys were screaming so loud that they could wake the dead (pun intended).  The theater staff asked these boys to leave assuming they were goofing off.  It was freaking hilarious!

With the troublemakers gone, Bobby and I resumed our conversation but that didn't last long.  This big disgruntled man came with a huge armload of snacks and sat right on top of Bobby!  I told this man that my friend was sitting there but did he move?  Of course not!  Naturally, Bobby got pissed and tossed all this man's snacks up in the air and spilled them all over him.  The best part was seeing this man's pop being dumped on his big bald head.  Bobby humiliating these jerks is like an art form.  I love going to the movies Bobby.  I get entertained before the movie even starts. 

Poster belongs to 20th Century Fox and MGM

We finally got to watch the movie. Bobby didn't like it (surprise, surprise).  He thought the ghosts are depicted as evil and it was an unbalanced characterization. It bummed him out.  I can't believe it got so many negative reviews.  I happened to enjoy it.  It was thrilling, exciting and an interesting look into the spirit world.  I liked all the characters especially the cynical psychic (played by Jared Harris).  There were some points where he really made me smile.  I liked the story because it made me jump in a few places.  The good news is it was consistant with most of the original story but updated.  I liked how it ended.

But what we both agreed on is the depiction of the spirit world.   Neither of us has actually seen the dark world but we have heard about it from reliable sources.  The movie's spirit world sent shivers up and down my spine. The special effects were excellent.  It was a very entertaining movie with a moral towards bravery.  When you face your fears and stand up to an unbelievable  obstacle, you can survive and be stronger for it. He he he.   That is funny isn't it?  To get an uplifting moral like that out of a ghost movie?  All in all, it was a fun hour and a half. 

The Good Witch

Looking for a little insight on how magic works here in the Earth Realm?  Well a wonderful show called the "Good Witch" which is featured on the Hallmark Channel is a perfect example of what magic is here in the Earth Realm. 

This show it about a mysterious, free-spirited and kind-hearted woman named Cassandra Nightingale (Played by Catherine Bell).  Many people believe her to be a witch and noone truly knows for sure whether she is or not.  But one thing is for sure is that she knows how to work her magic to help others.  It is possible here in this world to have magic.  It is just a little harder.  You need an open and kind heart, a positive attitude, and the strength to persevere even when everything seems to crumble down around you.  That is the key to magic here in this realm. 



Anyway back to the show.  Cassie owns a kurio/botanical shop called the Bell, Book and Candle which contains all kind of oddities that help people in many different ways.  She also owns a Bed and Breakfast called Grey House which is also her home and reputed to be haunted.  Pretty cool yes?  Here's where it gets better, she also has an uncanny knack for knowing what people need and what happens to those around her.  This is how she helps them.  But sometimes this enchanting woman needs help too and that is where her family and friends in the fictional town of Middleton come to play.  With their own gifts or even just their love, they give her what she needs the most.  A family.  She brings out the magic in them and they all become a unified community. 

I'm not ashamed to say that I hope to do what Cassie does for other people.  It is important to help others.  This show inspires me and I hope it will inspire all of you too.  There are many words to describe what this show gives to us.  Some would say hope, others probably say entertainment but I say it gives us magic.  And now who says that we mystics can't do the same thing in this world?

PS.  It's not just a TV series, Check out the movies too.  It's how the magic all begins.