SNIFF SNIFF COUGH COUGH

I hate having a cold. It becomes a significant issue how far away a tissue box is - my nose gets red and sore - I run out of breath walking from the kitchen to the sofa (translate that into getting something to drink and watching old movies all day). I fall asleep at odd times and in odd place (I actually dozed off sitting on the toilet), and yet can't sleep for any beneficial amount of time - last night was completely broken up into negligible naps that left no sense of actual rest.

And for me there is a certain amount of panic along with any cold. I have had what they call 'recurring pneumonia' (why can't I have recurring good skin? Or recurring good hair days?). My lungs are a third of the size of normal lungs, and are not very strong. Once they get any fluid in them (which is what pneumonia is), they have a lot of trouble getting rid of it.

It also hasn't helped that along the way, I was over-treated with penicillin when I was a child (allergic to that now) and mis-treated with a sulfa drug (allergic reaction plus destroying all those good white-blood cells for a while) - when I do get sick, there's not a whole lot left.

So here is what needs to happen. I need to be someplace both warm and dry (hey, that's why I live in Arizona!), I need to be house that is clean (hmm... difficult there unless I kept an immaculate house all the time... which I obviously don't), I need to have someone warm and responsive nearby at all times (I got that already -- Murray!), and I need a lot of fluids.

Aye, there's the rub.

See, when I think, hmm, I need fluids - well, of course we begin with Caffeine-Free Diet Dr. Pepper, which I have about six cases of. So that will last, what, a couple of hours?

So who is willing to come over and make me mint-touched hot chocolate with half-melted marshmallows - or hot Tang (which sounds weird, but it's GREAT) - or perhaps a double chocolate milk-shake from Cold Stone Creamery?

Any takers?