Beating the Pollen Season with Local Honey

Ahhhh, springtime.  I love the milder temps (although we had a mild winter to begin with here in Atlanta), the chirping birds building nests, and the budding flowers.  However, the pollen was outrageous this spring with counts as high as 9000 on some days.  Yes, that's right -- 9000 pollen count!  I'm not adding extra zeroes for the fun of it, believe me.  :) Any pollen count over 1500 is considered to be in the "extremely high" category, and we went waaaaay above that.  We are truly in the midst of Pollen-apocalypse here in the deep South!

 azalea blooms

Well, the 9K pollen count wore me down.  You name the symptom, and I had it.  Watery, itchy eyes. Sneezing.  Stuffy nose.  Runny nose.  Sore throat.  Headache.  Blech!  I needed help.  I started out with an OTC medication, but a friend of mine suggested local honey.  I know this blog is about taking "small steps daily," but I was looking for a huge step in getting relief from the evil pollen invading Atlanta.

Local honey from Moye's Pharmacy and Earl Grey tea from Teavana

The idea behind eating local honey is like gradually vaccinating the body against allergens in your area, a process called immunotherapy.  In other words, it's like getting allergy shots but a LOT more pleasant.  :) I did some cursory research (which is to say I briefly googled the topic) and found that a lot of people feel immunotherapy works for them.

So . . . off my husband went to purchase local honey at Moye's, a local pharmacy chain.  I must say that we both were suffering and we both feel better now.  I don't know if it's due to the meds I briefly took or the local honey, but I do feel better.  At any rate, I enjoyed sipping hot tea each night with a tablespoon of honey added to it.  Ahhhhh!

Going Green . . . for Tea

Growing up in the Deep South, I thought I'd always be a sweet iced tea girl.  However, during my college days at Mississippi State University, I developed a taste for hot tea (among other things -- shhhhh!).  My two favorites were Earl Grey and Constant Comment from Bigelow, and I also loved the Oolong tea at Chinese restaurants.

Fast forward 20+ years and enter Teavana.  I had zero idea hot tea could be so . . . specialized, not to mention expensive!  My brother treated me to a beautiful thermos and Earl Grey from Teavana for my birthday recently, and I must say I'm hooked!  

Reeeeally nice thermos from Teavana -- pardon the wine glass! 

With some Christmas money I received a short time after, I ventured into the world of green tea by purchasing Gyokuro Genmaicha, a blend that is made with toasted brown rice.  A friend of mine said he loved drinking green tea with honey and one Splenda packet.  It helped him sleep like a baby at night.  I'll be trying that for sure!  :D

Gyokuro Genmaicha in Teavana canister -- I cannot believe this picture turned out so well!

Drinking hot tea is relaxing to me and just one more small way to remember to take time for myself after a busy day at work and then at home being a mom.  And, by shopping at Teavana, I'm able to get a new toy for my Kalvin the Kat!  

Kalvin the Kat playing in a Teavana bag.
I think it must have smelled like catnip to him.  LOL