Sick, sick, sick

That's what I am. Sick. I NEVER get sick. Not like this. Some allergies in the fall give me an annoying cough, but I haven't really been sick in 7 or 8 years. During that time 7 or 8 years ago, I was constantly with the sinus infections, strep throat, etc etc. I started taking Echinacea and it was like a little miracle. I wasn't sick anymore. Ever. Well, now I am. The shakes, (although oddly I am not registering a fever on our thermometer. I have all the symptoms of a high fever, but it's saying I'm 99 degrees. Is it possible for a thermometer to have an expiration date? This is a very old thermometer. The kind you stick in your mouth and hold under your tongue for three long, gruelling minutes, then take out and try to find the damn line.) Anyway, I digress. The shakes, the sweats, the nausea, the vomiting. And the thing that upsets me the most is staying home from work. Not that I love my job so very much that I miss being there. But that I am using up all my carefully accrued PTO while lying nauseous on the couch watching re-runs of Home Improvement.