Anyone who knows me knows I've been under the weather for more than a month now.

My raspy cough has reverberated around the office quite a few times, not to mention the sneezing.

Problem is, once I catch a cold I can't get rid of it.

As a child, I missed a lot of school days because of being sick.

I spent much of several winters in bed, wrapped in blankets, covered in mentholated vapor rub and sucking on cough drops. I felt miserable, but the love of family always helped me recover.

When I became a teenager, I didn't catch colds as often. And, if I did, I never got sick enough to be exiled to bed.

When I turned 23, I got sick again, lost my voice and spent several weeks fighting a runny nose.

Within a few years I was back to being exiled at home because of being sick, only this time it was the couch. Now I was fighting sinus problems that just zapped me, but no matter how tired I was I couldn't find a way to sleep.

It was during one of these bouts with a cold that wouldn't let go after five weeks, a friend, who stopped by to check on me, made me a yummy, body-warming, sleep inducing Hot Toddy.

When I woke up the next day after 16-hours of deep sleep, I called my friend and got the recipe for this wonderful "adult" elixir.

Combine one ounce each of bourbon whiskey, honey and lemon/orange/lime juice and two ounces of hot water. Mix and put in the microwave for about two minutes.

I personally have come to like using the old-fashioned stovetop method. That way you can inhale the vapors while the mixture simmers before you drink it.

PLEASE REMEMBER: This isn't recommended for children!!