Stay chilly my friends...

I’m not sure if it’s the weird weather changes, excessive cold temperatures (for Cali) or basic PMS, but I’ve been experiencing some gnarly headaches. At least once a day I’m floored by these mind-numbing waves, to intense to ignore yet not exactly a migraine. Interestingly enough, while having dinner with friends last week, the subject of intense headaches/remedies/silliness came up in conversation.  “ What do you do when you have a headache?” our host asked. “No wait, let me tell you what happened first,” he begins. While visiting family in Texas, Aileen was suddenly stricken with a horrible migraine; right smack in the middle of holiday festivities. After trying pills, relaxing and such---it was becoming quite clear that nothing was working. “What are we gonna do????” I can only imagine her sweet face looking up at her husband. (She’s super cute btw.) And then came a suggestion from an unlikely source, her father-in-law. By reputation, a man who doesn’t speak---suddenly says, “Get her a Slurpee.” And so a few drug stores, one Coke Slurpee and one quick brain freeze later-----Voilà! Her migraine was gone.

Now enter silliness and a question that got me thinking. Flash foreword to a couple weeks ago: while Aileen’s husband was across the pond in London--Executively Producing a fabulous new flick---again she found herself with a migraine. “Hellllllp meeeeeee.” She begged from miles away. “Relief is around the corner. Why don’t you go get a Slurpee??!!!” he asked. “I was in to much pain to move!!” she stammered, laughing as they recounted the desperate phone call. And I completely understand this notion. Be it headache, cramps, backache---whatever. Sometimes you’re just in too much pain to want to move at all…period. Besides, that’s what loving, supportive, fantastically cute hubbies and boyfriends are for right? A creature of similar being, her husband lovingly and patiently directed her to kitchen to throw some ice cubes in the blender, add water and drink it “really-really-really fast!” And of course it worked.

His funny question was, “if it were you, would you have dissolved into the couch in pain or gotten up, got in the car and drove your ass to get a Slurpee??” We all laughed as Aileen flashed him a sweet look from across the table. “ I probably would have waited in pain till Kev returned from work and forced him to get me one.” I said proudly. You know I got my girls’ back. “Seeeee!!!” Aileen laughed. But this did get me thinking about the similarity between their home remedy and mine. Usually when I get a headache: I grab my silly lookin gel eye-mask from the fridge, strap that baby on and tear open a popsicle or similar frozen treat. That along with a few Ibuprofen usually does the trick. And sometimes the coolness feels so good I scratch the pills altogether.

So the next time you have a headache, maybe try adding a little cool to your day. Plus your eyes can be sensitive to too much heat, bright lights, dust, etc. Using a cold eye-mask can help beat stress, headaches and even relax puffy eyes. You can pick up a gel eye-mask at any drug store, Target or Bath&Body Works. My personal favorite is a Target special that only costs $3 bucks and can be cooled in the fridge or freezer for the ultimate chill. 

And since it’s an unplanned snack, why not keep it healthy? My favorite frozen treat of the moment: frozen Greek Yogurt Pops by Yasso. They’re gluten-free, fat-free, kosher and contain no corn syrup. You can find them at your local Gelson’s Market.