Happy #thinkingoutloud Thursday! No idea what I’m going on about? Click here!
1. Last week I wrote to you from the treadmill, and this week I’m writing to you from a horizontal position on my couch. I woke up this (Wednesday) morning with the worst pain between my shoulder blades, so I’ve basically been bedridden all day because I can’t even pull on my stretchy pants 😆 It started out as a small twinge under my right shoulder blade late Monday night, got a little more sore on Tuesday, and basically crippled me on Wednesday.
This spot has been giving me problems on and off for… pretty much as long as I can remember… and I think it’s a seized muscle that’s tied to stress. I get super tense when I’m stressed out, and every now and again the muscles in my upper back seize up and basically force me to rest. Well played, body. Well played indeed…
(note: Over-dramatization for picture purposes. I’m not really that sad.)
2. You know how I mentioned in yesterday’s post that my chocolate smoothie looked a whole lot like a jar of nut butter? That fact becomes even more apparent when you compare it to a picture that I took of some actual chocolate coconut almond butter…
But that’s just further proof about how smooth and creamy it is! 😆 I can’t say I’d recommend drinking the latter, but I do recommend heading on over to Savory Style and checking out my latest recipe. It’s kind of delicious.
3. Speaking of recipes, my Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins hit over 500,000 pins on Pinterest this past weekend, which just… blows my mind 😯 😯 It’s a pretty surreal feeling knowing that so many people are making your recipes, and I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate all the comments and e-mails that you guys send me saying thank you for the healthy treats that you can feel good about sharing with your families.
4. To celebrate, I treated myself to some dried papaya spears….
… which is nowhere near the truth, but I needed some way to segue into the fact that I’m completely obsessed with these things, and that was the direction my mind went. But really… someone needs to take them away from me. Or not. Unless you’re willing to pry them from my lifeless fingers. And that’s just mean.
5. Especially because they’ve been my go-tos when I need something to chew on, seeing as I gave up gum for Lent. It’s been about a week now and I’m doing… okay. The first few days were definitely the hardest, and I had to make a pretty serious conscious effort to stop myself from automatically grabbing a stick — especially after I ate. I haven’t really noticed any major changes in how I feel, but it’s kind of crazy to think how automatic and habitual those kind of behaviours can become.
6. This might also make me a little crazy…
A kilo of sugar and half a kilo of cinnamon that I couldn’t help but grab when I was in HomeSense. You know you’re a food blogger when… 😆 Although, in all honesty, those have nothing to do with being a food blogger. I mean, I obviously use cinnamon and sugar in a lot of my recipes, but I also kind of have a huge crush on both. In fact, those probably won’t even last me that long.
7. Neither will this tea…
I picked it up based solely on the fact that it had the word “Relax” plastered on the front (because that’s clearly what I need more of — see #1), and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I don’t think that I’ve ever had marshmallow root before, but it was subtly sweet and reminded me a lot of liquorice root. I can’t say for sure that it helped me unwind and relax, but I have been sleeping really well lately. Knock.on.wood.
8. And I should probably end this here before it gets any longer. I always mean for these to be shorter posts, but I guess I’ve just think too much 😛 Happy Thursday, friendly faces!
No questions… just tell me whatever comes to your mind! 😀
More places to find me!
E-mail — [email protected]
Twitter — runwithspoons
Facebook — runningwithspoons
Pinterest — runwithspoons
Instagram — runwithspoons
Bloglovin — runningwithspoons
That muscle seize sounds scary! I hope the resting makes you feel better – when my back hurts, everything hurts.
That smoothie looks like perfection! I think smoothies are the thing I miss the most – and what I will be living off of for my first few days / weeks with my own kitchen again. 😉
I seen you say you miss AB! it’s on the internet so that means it’s obviously true and you’ll be coming back soon, right? 😉
OMG, that’s a crazy number of pins! And I totally want you to make them for me. (Yeah, I don’t bake, I just pin).
Ouch on the back thing. I get crazy tense in my shoulders when I’m stressed and my shoulders end up near my ears. Hope it feels better soon.
I hope you feel better real soon 🙂 That Chocolate Coconut Almond butter looks just sinful! Congrats on your Pinterest post that is truly awesome! Have a great rest of the day and hey the weekend is in sights!
Oh no I hope you feel better!
Congrats on so many pins!! That’s so awesome. I love when something I post gets a lot of attention. I can get a little too fixated on it sometimes though and then compare everything to that, but when I am being sane it’s just an awesome thing to experience all the love from people.
Ah, I hope your shoulders feel better! That’s no fun. Haha as for the similar pictures.. whatever works, amiright!?
youareright 😉
Half a million pins! That’s incredible! Go you!
I hope you feel better soon! Back pain is no fun at all.
WOW 500,000 pins!? That is AWESOME!!! Congrats. So sorry about your back, I hope you are better soon! All these photos of food are making me hungry, and I just woke up! I’m in trouble for the whole day. I’m glad you’ve been sleeping better lately.
500,000 pins?! daaaaang girl congrats!
I’m being so predictable (and #basic) by giving up sweets for Lent. But dried fruits, honey/maple syrup/etc. don’t count, I can’t live without those! This means I’m going to start making a lot more fruit-sweetened desserts…and likely using all your recipes as inspiration 🙂
Oh no! Feel better girl! Do you see a chiropractor? I wonder if that could help, especially if this happens often, maybe there’s something more that’s out of place or causing the pull?
I haven’t been to one yet, no. But then again it’s never hurt quite this bad. I might end up going in to see one if it doesn’t let up, but the idea of listening to all those bones crack… eeeeeee 😯
Girl, go get a massage!!! You’ll relax and hopefully they can work that knot in your shoulders out for you!!
Congratulations, banana oat GY muffins, on your 500,000th pin!
Best of luck giving up gum. I’m giving up soda myself – not for lent, I started a month ago, just because I have been drinking 3 cans a day for a long time and it finally dawned on me that I should proooobably stop putting that garbage into my body. It’s been surprisingly easy though – the only time it’s hard is after I eat, which tells me what a huge trigger food was for my soda drinking.
Thanks for hosting this every week!
That’s awesome, Hanna! Giving up soda is actually one of the best things you can do for your health.
I’m sorry your back is bothering you! Try to take it easy and just let those muscles rest and relax. Hope you feel better soon<3
What is it with back pain these days? Mine’s been aching since Tuesday, too, so I literally feel your pain. Fingers crossed you’ll be up and dancing around again soon. Or snowboarding around if that was in the books for you.
Half a kilo of cinnamon? Wow. And I guess it’s ceylon? I know it’s the -real- one but I’m not entirely sure I like it better than cassia [shame on me] because I think the one I get at the store regularly is the latter and that ones delicious to me.
Honestly… all cinnamon is good cinnamon to me. When you use it in mass quantities, it all ends up tasting the same 😆 And I hope you’re feeling better soon as well, Miss! <3
Ah! I hope your back/shoulder blades feel better! That’s never fun. As for the cocoa and cinnamon–I also go through them SO quickly, along with syrup and honey. Omggggg I should really start buying those things in bulk.
Booo for your back hurting. I’m laying on the couch as well, but that’s because there’s nothing else to do except drink coffee and watch the snow fall outside. At least yay for no work!
Congrats on all the pins, that’s awesome! I totally want to bake something today since it’s a snow day, but if I don’t have all the ingredients I guess I’ll be screwed haha.
I’m sorry about your back pain and I hope you’re feeling better today! I admire you for giving up gum. I don’t think I could ever made it giving that up… I chew it like it’s going out of style.
I didn’t think I could do it either, but it actually gets a lot easier after a week or so!
Ooooh no! I hope you feel better soon!
Love this post, thank you for sharing! Always look forward to your Thursday Thinking out Loud!
Congrats on the viral pin! That is amazing!!
I hope your back feels better. That is the worst!!!
drooling over that chocolate coconut almond butter!!
Half a million? I can’t even count that high… Hope your back gets better asap!
I hope your back feels better soon! I actually have a very temperamental back which basically seizes up when I am stressed or (weirdly) if I overeat. It is no joke!! Yoga can help a little sometimes, there are some good back pain videos on YouTube… Good luck!
Hope your back feels better soon! It’s no fun being injured. 🙁
I used to get the worst pain in my shoulder blades while swimming. I had to get deep tissue massages because the knots in my shoulders and back would be unbearable. I hope you feel better Amanda, I know that pain very clearly.
I have a feeling mine are knots as well… especially since it literally feels like I have a little elastic band snapping in my shoulder when I shift into certain positions. Ouch.
That smoothie does look just like nut butter! It would be funny to do a side by side and have people guess which is which!
Hope your back heals up soon 🙂
Rest up that back!! Hurting is no fun!!
I know what you mean about the gum – I used to be majorly addicted and gave it up when I was having jaw problems. So hard!
Boooooooooooooooo to the pains, missy! I hope it feels better soon!
Also, my face hit the screen again. *le sigh*
I know that feeling of looking to grab that stick of gum. And once I succumb to the one, I want more. It’s best when I avoid altogether which isn’t so easy to do although I should just stop buying it! That would solve the problem.
Yikes, I hope your back feels better soon!! I get tightness in my right shoulder blade and Ive never been able to figure out why…maybe it’s stress related as well.
That’s what it’s always been for me! It always used to act up when I was in school and had an exam or deadline coming up 😆
Dried papaya is so delicious, haven’t had it in forever! I also have tightness in my shoulders and upper back tied to stress/tension and I notice all the time that I’m tensing that area specifically. Hope it clears up soon for you!
Wishing you a quick, full recovery, girl! Hang in there! Also, MAJOR congratulations on the Pinterest achievement!
Aww hey Liz! Good to “see” you again. Thanks so much 🙂
I bought essential oil because of the name on the label: Relax. I wonder how much it works just by the mere power of suggestion? Ha! If I drank the tea and used the oil, I’d slip into a coma for sure. 😉
That’s actually sounding pretty darn awesome right about now…
Congrats on your recipe killing it on Pinterest! I hope you feel better soon!
Thanks, Brynn!
Half a million pins?? Errr that’s a big deal- congrats, girl! Hope your back opens up soon. I experienced something similar a few weeks ago and found that a few minutes of yoga helped a lot. It also motivated to buy a proper desk chair so I stop hunching over my laptop!!
Why can’t we get coconut sugar in those sizes here- I go through it like water.
I’d down the nut butter purely because it’s sweet potato-less. No shame.
We’ll turn you over to the orange side yet. I did it with bananas. I’ll do it with sweet potatoes.