Real Life with the Taylors: Home Remedies

A few weeks after Tim and I "officially" started dating, I went home with him to meet his family who (if I haven't already said this a million times) are WONDERFUL.  They were at a very unique stage in life...Tim's dad was recovering from a bone-marrow transplant.  Praise the Lord, it has now been 10 years since he was diagnosed with leukemia and he is cancer free!


Since he was in the very early stages of recovery and on a lot of immune suppressants, everyone in the house had to be VERY careful about germs.  He was basically not allowed to leave the house.  So, my first night there, Tim's family was extremely kind and welcoming, and we sat down to a dinner of Philly cheese steaks.   Then I wasn't feeling well, so I went in the bathroom and threw up.

I won't gross you out with all the details of the incident (that was repeated several times), but the Real Life Moment was this:  I had just brought stomach flu germs to the home of my future in-laws the first time I met them, including a sweet man with no immune system.

I DO NOT recommend this course of action.  But some things can't be helped.

I do have a point here.

Tim's mom was so kind and nurturing (and so was Tim, actually), and she kept on offering me some hot tea.  

Hot tea? I thought to myself. My mom always gave me 7 up when I was sick to my stomach.

In an increased effort to help me feel better about my situation, Tim's mom told me that the first time she spent Christmas with her in-laws, she had the stomach flu, and her mother-in-law would offer her hot tea.

Hot tea?  But my mom always gave me soda (they're from the east coast) when I was sick to my stomach she said.

Why would you want soda?  Its so cold and bubbly.  Hot tea feels so much better going down, explained Grandmother.

So my mother-in-law tried it, and--sure enough-- it was much more soothing.

This story inspired me to try it.  Hot tea is now my go-to remedy when I'm sick with anything.  It's so soothing.  I still like 7 up when I'm sick, though.  And only when I'm sick... it tastes kind of disgusting any other time.

All that to say... everyone has their own home remedies!

Tim's are very...original.  Also, they are reason #246 we should not be parents.

Headache?  Eat some ice cream.  BLT's have also proven effective on migraines.
Sinus trouble? Eat some ice cream. You won't be better, but you'll feel better.
Sore toe?  Ice cream (eaten, not applied as a salve.  That would be a waste of good ice cream)
Stomachache?  I know this seems counter-intuitive, but... ice cream.
Fever? Ice cream will lower your body temperature.
Bad case of the grumps?  Ice cream.
Need to lose some weight?  Ice cream. (This one is not actually a scientifically proven fact.  It is more that Tim has been known to gain weight when we don't have ice cream around the house)
Sore throat?  Ice cream.
Itchy throat?  Bubbly soda.

So basically, ice cream is like windex.  Except much more pleasant.

What are your home remedies? Let's turn the comments section into a great reference tool to cure what ail's ya!