I hope you feel better, sweetie. Getting sick SUCKS! Get a lot of rest and catch up on your TiVo.

Sending healing wishes and hugs!!!!

Bronchitis is all around, it seems. I'm glad you got it checked out and got the medicines. Feel better soon! Rest up and snuggle with the kitties.

Aww I feel your pain, I get bronchitis almost once a year my body hates me, and I've never even smoked! Use the time to lavish upon your adorable kitties! They will apperciate the sick time, even if your boss doesn't!

As for Heath, I was sad to hear, I was a big fan as well, but I think the circumstances are the most shocking of all. :(

Get well soon!

I know what you mean about the smoking hangovers! I self-medicated with cigarettes after going through a break up and then it took a while to quit, with a few false starts...I'm now almost at 6 months and it feels great!

But your comment about the smoke hangover made me laugh because I so know EXACTLY what you're talking about!

Oh, and if you feel like splurging a little, there is a wonderful procedure at Burke Williams called Emelie's Intrigue which involves Eucalyptus (sp?) and is great for the immune system. I had it over the weekend and it made me feel 100% better...I think there's a BW out your way...

Take care of yourself, and thanks again for keeping up with the blog...it's always a treat to read.

Get some rest and get better! At least cats can take care of themselves...nothing like trying to stay in bed and having children whining in your ears like a horde of mosquitoes. It's enough to make me want to poke them with my needles.

I get yearly bronchitis too. And I always tell the doc it feels like I've got a cat on my chest. (He doesn't really get it, but has learned to not laugh or stare.) Hope you're better soon!

Ugh, I've had bronchitis a couple of times. And each time it took weeks to gradually go away. Hope you feel better sooner than that!

Ah, Bob is happy. Give him snuggles for me!

I swear, I've been fighting that for a month now. Hope you get better fast!

So sad about Heath. He was one of my favorite actors.

Hope you feel better soon! I had brponchitis recently too! All of the cool kids are doing it!

Dr. Jack Daniels can cure anything.

Gargle and swallow for health and happiness!

Hi Grandma!

get well soon, laurie!

know the bronchitis feeling...although the cats will enjoy playing nurse to and sleeping companions with you.

Feel better!

Get well!

smokey would just like to say: get well, get well soon!

we just got over a horrendous cold -- it took a month to get over.

hope you got the good cough syrup.

;)

Rest up - you life and give a LOT. All will be here when you are ready for full-tilt. Pets to Bob the beautiful.

If there is anything to be learned from poor Heath, it's to be very careful mixing the various meds. Hope you feel better soon.

Bronchitis? Ugh! So sorry to hear that. As you know I am well acquainted with the Evil B. Lots of sleep, bad TV, a comfy recliner and hot tea is about all you can do. Feel better! xo

Feel better soon!

Get well soon!

My cat loves all day naptime with momma too- she got her turn on Saturday when I was sick.

As someone who has suffered from bronchitis all during life, I can sympathize . . . get better SOON!

There seems to be lung crud nationwide, I think.

Definitely know what a smoke hangover feels like - among the reasons I no longer smoke.

Take care!

You be careful with that bronchitis missy because it can very easily turn into pneumonia. So listen to Bob: Stay in bed and rest, rest, rest!

The passing of Keith Ledger is so sad. I loved that he took a chance and did Brokeback Mountain, which I saw in a gay bar. Very sad movie. :(

I used to get hungover from second hand smoke! I tested the theory by not drinking alcohol one night. Felt like crap the next day anyway.

So sorry you're ill; so glad it's curable. Baby yourself with lots of pajama-time kitty-love.

You and Heath just shared in a prayer here.. tho' I might just splurge and offer up another as soon as I hit Send. Get some rest, and may God rest Heath, too, tho' in quite a different way.

*sigh.. 28? I think I was born at 28! Yes, life could be gone tomorrow, so we must love it today.

Get well soon, Laurie! Thank God you have Dr. Bob to take care of you.

My bronchial region often betrays me too, damn it. Totally not fair. Feel better soon!

I, too, am quite sad about Heath Ledger. Makes no sense, especially as he had a beautiful child to live for....

Do feel better very very soon.

I just don't know what to think of the whole Heath thing, but I do know that seeing 1979-2008 splashed around on the news gave me chills; I was born in '79 too.

Hugs to the Bob (and Frankie and Soba too)!

Heh. I would have loved being born in 1979--would save me lots of face cream money right now. Anyway, Heath Ledger, yeah, sad. Makes me think about Owen Wilson and Lindsay Lohan and Britney and all the others whom Hollywood has wrecked (not to speak of Marylin and James Dean, of course).

Hi Laurie's Grandma! The internet loves you.

And Laurie, kittycat nurses are the best in the world. Just give Soba some time to send her piercing stare right into that bronchitis virus. Get well soon!

Sick days are GOOD days to watch BBC America and "How Clean Is Your House".

Addictive, it is!

Feel better soon!

(And stick some chicken & veg in the crockpot for soup!)

I hear you. Went to a beautiful wedding in Santa Barbara on Sunday (after having a blast at your signing on Sat). On Monday, 70% of the guests are in the bathroom vomiting and ........ you get the picture. One of them being myself. Haven't felt so bad in years. Bronchitis SUCKS! Must have awesome cough syrup. Sometimes I call it by name, "Tussy" (short for Tussin with codeine).

Seriously, hope you feel better soon. Get lots of rest! Yay for rest!

Oh, I'm so glad to see you back! Although, I'm sad about your bronchitis. I feel the same way about my betraying body--stupid fat genes! But I'm glad to see you back because I needed a dose of your positive energy. My house went on the market today, which is all for good reasons and all but sort of makes me feel homeless and ungrounded and unhappy. So it's nice to hear you being happy even though your chest hurts. My chest hurts, too, but I think it's my heart.

Barb

I hate being sick, and I'm sorry that you are.

I was heartbroken over Heath, too! "10 Things I Hate About You" was such a cute movie! And he had that sweet looking little girl. It's sad.

Feel better soon!

HtW/dog has spent the past week being super sickbed company.

Nothing is better when you are sick than collapsing back in to fresh bed linen after getting clean yourself, accompanied by a warm, snuggling furry friend.

Hope your recovery continues apace too.

The Jack, indeed does work. I had a mystery bug yesterday and had a lovely dinner of Jack and potato soup. Today I am cured!

Dear Laurie . .so sorry to hear about the bronchitis . . give yourself a pat anywhere you'd like for quitting smoking. I smoked long enuf to give myself emphysema. So, kick me. I've been smoke-free for almost 6 years. And my lovely feline companion, Sheldon, is pleased.
I was stunned by the news of Heath Ledger's death. I was also offended by the media's 'sound-bites', which don't offer the entire message, only those that fit the network's attention span....? Hey. . just remember this . .You've had Paris twice . . the second time with true friends.
As time goes by . .

I hope you feel better soon! Cat snuggles will help.

It was awesome to meet you on Saturday. And seeing your grandma and aunt and uncle - I felt in the presence of royalty!

Thera-flu and Jack Daniels? Really? Could you give those of us who have had this crud for the last month the recipe?

You'd hate to have too much Thera-flu in your Jack Daniels.

Awww, you need to put your feet up and get some echinacea down you. It is totally the best thing. I am dosing the husband with it to ensure we do not have a full onset of manflu in our house, as I'm not sure I could stand the whining. :-)

I also wanted to say thanks, as reading my way through your archives has kept me sane at work for the last week or so. It's lucky I have my own office as the gigglesnorting tends to attract attention...

Oh, and you should go marry Drew immediately. He's a sweetie!

I feel just heartbroken over Heath Ledger's death and of course I know him only through the movies I've seen but somehow his death has hit me so hard. There was something so fragile about him and yet so masculine at the same time. His performance in Brokeback Mountain is, in my mind, one of the best any actor has ever done. His death is just tragic. I wish everyone would just wait for facts to come out and stop speculating about what and why.

Hope you feel better soon. I had what turned out to be bronchitis when you were in Nashville. I don't think technically I could have given it to you but if I did, I'm so sorry!!

I'm sorry you're feeling crappy. Bronchitis sucks. I'm very glad it didn't hit you before your book signing, though! You actually got Lyda to venture well outside her comfort zone!

I was bummed to read about Heath Ledger's death, too. He was so talented and so brave and so young.

Smoke hangover! It's been years since I had one of those. Just the worst. Feel better.

Purly...so sorry bout the Nasty B. I used to get it at least 2 times a winter( and yes it has lead to pneumonia a couple times)but I'm tellin ya
AND ALL YOU WOULD BE SICKIES.......
GET THEE SOME AIRBORNE!!!!now!!!! i HAVE USED IT FOR THE PAST 2 years now and haven't been sick since. The trick is to start taking it AS SOON AS YOU START TO FEEL A LITTTLE FUNKY and continue every three hours.Seriously wish I had invented it...Stuff rocks 5 ways to Sunday!! Your Gram is a cutie!!!So great that you can spend time with her.Get some good kitty lovin and feel better soon! Can Soba blog for you in your absence?......would she even consider such a request ??

bummer hey! I have just returned from a neck ultrasound at $AU163 to find NOTHING. I know we don't wish ourselves into a cancer but really! when you pay that much you want to see something? :-) I live in Perth where Heath's family is, did you know they heard it on the radio first? terrible. We are devastated and are blaming the Americans.. :-) So sad to die alone and so young.

Bronchitis.... blech! I'll second Allison's recommendation of hot tea, but maybe you should turn it into a hot toddy - 1tbls lemon juice, 1tbls honey, 1tbls rum, or your JD 'cause it's handy, fill the rest of the cup with hot tea. Drink one immediately, then drink a second during a long soak in a hot bathtub. Go to sleep for ten hours (surrounded by purring cats, of course!). You'll feel so much better when you wake up!

Get well soon!

It's this HUGE STORM we're having, all the rain, and the wind-chill down to 52. Your delicate southern system can't take it. And yes, the smoking hangover is like a very large critter sitting on your chest hacking and snorting - not attractive.
Take care, drink warm drinks.

You go get better Laurie. As for me, I'm off to the radiology department tomorrow morning myself...for a pelvic ultrasound. You got off lucky (radiology-wise).

And your grandmother is so cute! Now, if that were a pic of me & my grandmother, she'd be squeezing my face, not her own. :)

Awwe, Hun, feel bedder...
....and pound down the vitamin C.

WHAT a hoot that Suzanne's and Jim's outfits match the tablecloth a'la Martha....love it!!!

Breathing is good (used to get asthma). get well soon!

Sorry to hear you're sick, but at least it's not a sinus infection. Maybe it's just me, but the icky green goo that comes with those is just the worst.

Also sorry to hijack your blog for a minute, but I know how much you love animals, and I was reading Karen Moning's newest book and it had a plug for the website, which sent me over to: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

If you click on the link, it will take you to an animal rescue that sponsers will donate food for every click someone makes on the website. Since all of my pets are rescues, and yours are too, I thought it was definitely something you might get behind!

Hope you feel better soon sweetie, and hope the kitties stay healthy too in the new year!~

Chicken soup, I always say--even out of a can or an envelope. And tea and a snuggly cat. I hope you get well soon.--Jenn

I hope you are feeling well soon! JD is a great way to drown nasty germs. After all, if you're going to feel like heck in the morning, you ought to have at least had fun the night before.

I actualy went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago, too. Culprit: world class sinus infection. I am just starting to feel halfway normal. Had a few days of blowing off clients and snuggling in bed with kitties, knitting and whisky toddies, too.

Hope you feel better.

Get well soon!

(28? What kind of ridiculous age is that to die? No, we don't have all the time in the world, but most of us have more than that. Crud. I loved him in 10 Things too. (I still love teen movies. So sue me.) Crud.)

Miss Dot, please do not blame the Americans (of which I am one) The Hollywood stuff you see is NOT America. It's Hollywood, which is some weird Twilight Zone that most Americans dont even understand. I know I dont.

Dont assume that what you see coming out of Hollywood is all that America is. We're just like you, mourning the fact that a young kid is dead.(I'm only 10yrs older and Heath looked so much like a kid to me for some reason, probably why I liked him so much)

I'm actually of the opinion that it was an accident...that he didnt mean to do it. The gossip newspapers and tv shows are driving me nuts. When the news came out that they found a rolled up $20 in his apartment, the gossip news went nuts. It's making me seriously ill to think that they cant show his family and especially his daughter the respect that they need to be given. They've just lost an important part of their family...America and Australia just lost one of the better actors to come up from Down Under in a long while.

I dont think Heath was abusing drugs or that he killed himself on purpose. He had pneumonia (if the press is to be believed) and insomnia. As someone who just recovered from bronchitis while being horribly insomniac, I would understand totally if he was trying to get some sleep while being so sick. I think it was a horrible accident, and not the result of him being corrupted by Hollywood and the drug culture that exists there.

Oh, and Laurie, if you're taking meds for the bronchitis, please, put the Jack back in the liquor cabinet. I watched a doctor on the news today, saying what not to mix with cold medicines, and one of them was alcohol. (they were talking about possible causes of Heath's death)

I really do feel bad about heath I still can't believe it, me and my mom were just talking about it and he didn't seem like the type of person to just..go like that.
I'm glad you got to meet the sweepstakes winners they look like nice people =D

The thing is, the bronchitis would be so much worse if you were still smoking, look at it that way. Do be really careful and stay off work and that; bronchitis is a warning as much as an illness and should be respected.

And yes, Heath Ledger is a great loss. When one thinks of all the Hollywood airheads one wouldn't shed a tear over, it seems particularly unjust - me, uncharitable?

Oh I would SO send you some of my Instant-Healing Geunine Bubbeh's Homemade Chicken Soup if I could! Prob'ly woudn't even need dry ice - three minutes out on the back step would do it, it wouldn't thaw until Wednesday even IN California. But in case no one else has mentioned this (I'm in "write-first-read-later" mode) try hot lemonade with honey. THe "hot" feels good, the "lemonade" gives you vitamin C; the "honey" tastes good and is instant NRG. A splash of your favorite curative would likely be an enhancement. As far as young Mr Ledger - this morning the consensus is that it WAS accidental, no drugs were found, he was fine, and my feeling is, with all the prettyfaces in Hollywood, it's an especial sadness when we lose a geunine ACTOR, they're rather rare. Comparing him to James Dean's whacked if you ask me, he WAS a "bad boy" and cultivated it. They were both young, both actors...but it pretty much ends there. I'm going and watch "Patriot" again. And if lying in bed surrounded by cats doesn't cure you, nothin' will.

PS - your grandma is the BEST! May I borry her? (actually...."borry her to be my sister" may be more accurate....)

Aww, pix of you and grandma are always cute! I know what you mean about medicating. My body has been trying to come down with a cold since the weekend and I've been medicating with curry from Whole Foods, garlic naan bread and cherry pie. I think it's working cuz I'm not getting sicker! Feel better soon, hear?

I'm sad about Heath too and I'm not much of a movie fan, but he was incredible. So young.

I hope you feel better soon Laurie.

Feel better!

Snuggle in with the kitties, relax, and get better! :-)

Hope you are on the mend SOON! Using a humidifier has always helped me when I am having bronchial stuff...in case you haven't tried that yet. Love the Dr. Jack idea...bound to cure whatever ails you :)

P.S. Grandma is so adorable!

Jack, huh? It's a shame I'm not as good friends with him as I used to be. These days I go for the combo of limeade with gin. That way you get your vitamin C as well. Get better soon.

Something seems to be going around now. It is that time of year. Every other person I know has the cold or the flu or bronchitis. I like to blame it on Global Warming. Feel better.

Get well soon! I'm glad you have kitties to nap with you.

My aunt just called me to tell me that she had to put her cat Jake to sleep. (he was about 18 or 19yrs old, and was so weak he couldnt even go potty)

When Jake was younger he looked a lot like Bob does...except that JAke was missing most of one of his ears (he had frostbite as a kitten, my aunt adopted him from the Nebraska Humane Society)

I'm allergic to cats now, and didnt really spend a lot of time with Jake, but I do remember playing with him whenever I was at my grandma's house when I was younger. He was a pretty neat cat then. (I wasnt allergic to him yet at that time)

I hope you feel better soon!

On Heath Ledger. I love that movie 10 Things I Hate About you! I think the shocking part of all of this is he wasn't one of those stars who are constantly in the tabloids acting up. He was so young too! A terrible loss!

Here's a gazillion good healing vibes to you, and hope you're completely feeling better by tomorrow. Enjoy your bed rest with your three professional bedwarmers. Ah, to be in bed with a good book and good cats on a rainy day...that's Heaven (without the bronchitis, of course). Get well!

Is it just me or does Jim totally look like Don Johnson's dad on that detective show with Cheech Marin?

I loved 10 things I hate about you!!

You have been memed by

http://sillymommy2sillygirls.blogspot.com/

Laurie, feel better! Going back to bed with the kitties sounds good though.

P.S. Your grandma--so cute.

Sorry to hear you're sick -- just got over bronchitis and the flu myself. A lot of crap going around! Feel better.

Also was so sad about Heath Ledger -- and also loved 10 Things I Hate About You. He was so good in that. Gone too soon.

Hey Laurie!
Feel better sweetie. Time to relax and enjoy, well, doing nothing but getting better. Just imagine if you were on the east coast. It's freezing here in Philly. I've had a headcold for a month.

Can I come out there?

Helen- no, not uncharitable.
There's LOT of notoriously horrid, untalented and malicious people here in Hollywood who go about drinking, abusing, hurting other people for fun and ruining their children emotionally by their selfishness. Heath wasn't one of them.
The planet (and one little girl especially) is poorer for losing him and his talent. It's merely fact to note that society would be all the richer if it had been one of the horrid people who had died instead.
And no- please don't blame the Yanks-- we promise it wasn't us!
And on THAT cheery note-- Cuddle Bob for me and Feel better!

Water! Water! Falling from sky! help!

during the break in the raining I went outside and walked around and I am completely stunned by how much furniture type stuff I have that apparently isn't made to get wet and I NEVER KNEW!

I've got loads of refinishing to do once the sunny sunshine comes back.

Hope you feel better soon. I am a personal fan of the healing power of vics vaporub. It reminds me of my childhood....

Laurie, Can I borrow Bob?

I fell down the stairs and sprained my knee tonight (you should see me on crutches...very entertaining...for other people)

Since I no longer have my dog to make me feel better when I'm wounded, I want to borrow Bob. I can pay rent. I know I'm allergic to cats, but I'll take some Benadryl or something so I dont get too sneezy.

Bob just looks like he'd be a great nurse.

aw gramma! <3

Ugh bronchitis. I had my very first bout with it in November. Ugly stuff.

And, I had no clue about Heath Ledger's death. I have had a secret, guilty crush on him for a while now (because he was a bit young for me). Such charm. Sad.

Please feel better! I am suffering from "The Bronch" right now too. Ricola Coughdrops are the bomb.

Just PUHLEEZE be careful mixing the flu meds and the Jack. While I am a huge fan of each, I've learned the hardway that it is better to love them individually. Not on the same day.

Trust me on this one...

Wow. I thought I made up the miracle cocktail...I mean cure... of JD and thera-flu. My kinda girl! Add a slice of lemon if you have it, and get better soon.

I hope you're feeling better and Dr. FeelBob is taking care of you.

Not related to anything except your comment ages ago that "Lolita" made you want to be a writer, here's a website that "proves" that reading "Lolita" makes your smarter... the whole thing is very entertaining.

http://booksthatmakeyoudumb.virgil.gr/

Have a relaxing and "recuperational" weekend.

"Kitty pillows" always help when you have the yucks! Hope you feel better!

A smoke hangover? Bossy just threw up a little in her mouth, she thinks.