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! 😀
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Kudo’s to you for a positive attitude when injured, I’m the complete opposite I get so angry and miserable when I injure myself (and everyone around me lol). Now about that Smoothie I think I’ll make two….one with banana and one without and see which I like better lol. Not a banana fan (I know I know). Feel better soon.
Arlene
Oh girl so sorry about your back!! Back issues are no joke and stress can definitely make them worse! I also wonder if your seating arrangement isn’t ergonomically correct? When I worked at an office we had a person who would come evaluate everything from our chair placement, height of the monitor and position of the keyboard because if anything was out of whack there could be physical issues eventually. Just a thought! Feel better!!
That could definitely play in to it, especially since I slack on my posture big time when I’ve been sitting for long periods of time. Thanks, Amanda!
Oof, and the shoulder blade is such a sensitive area. Feel better soon!
P.S I just about fell in love with PUKKA revitalise about a month back; cinnamon, cardamom and ginger with a twist of orange peel . I need to snag the “relax” for my evenings!
Chocolate Coconut Almond Butter has come to my mind and likely won’t leave till I eat all of it.
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
I hope your shoulder pain gets better! Get a lacrosse ball and roll around on it. It hurts, but it always helps me with sore a sore back and hips. Mmm that chocolate smoothie does look delicious, but also a lot like some almond butter!
Thanks, Sky! That (and foam rolling) is actually what I’ve been doing, and I -think- it’s let up a little bit. Fingers crossed!
You poor thing! I hope that you are feeling better now! There really is nothing worse than when the body seizes up like that. I have a muscle in my left shoulder blade that goes on me a lot, but its just severe pain on that side of my body. I can still function, but its pretty painful. I roll it out on my massage ball, which of course hurts even worse, but Im a sicko and I like pain that defeats another pain 😉
Congrats on rocking Pinterest!! Hope you feel better…that back pain sounds like zero fun!
Giving up gum was the best thing I ever did…I used to go through PACKS..and I seriously mean packs of gum a DAY..I think I was worse than a smoker >.<. But I finally gave it up after trying to fix my stomach problems. It was really hard at first, but now I don't even miss it. My wallet is thanking me…along with my jaw and my stomach. I've saved so much money, my face doesn't get swollen from excessive chewing, and no more bloating! :). I know its hard, but stay strong…and who knows you may even give it up for good 😉
Thanks, Ariel! I’ve heard about the bloating, but I never knew it could cause your face to swell!
OH NO!! SO crummy about your shoulders. My body decided to grab a mini bug that my boss brought to work. I blame the fact that I had just claimed “I’ve not been sick in over a year” for that. Also it has forced me to sorta kinda rest. I did go to spin class today, but the sweat session felt great. YAHOOOO CONGRATS on the recipe pin’s, can I have your autograph!? Famous friends yay. 🙂
Aww that sucks about the bug, girl! I hope that you feel 100% better soon!
I look forward to your future recipes that feature all the cinnamon!!
I love all the Pukka tea flavors! And hope you get that shoulder issue figured out! Happy Thursday, Amanda! 🙂
OH NO! I’m so sorry to hear you’re not feeling well! I’ve been having similar problems too, so I can relate. I’m glad you’re taking some time to rest and that your Relax tea seems to be helping you out! Take care and feel better!
Thanks, Tricia! I hope that you feel better as well!
That smoothie and those muffins! Look so delicious! Makes me want to bake some muffins now. I really hope your back feels better! I carry stress in my back too, it sucks.
Giving up gum for lent…That’s a good one! Some days the amount of pieces I’ll go through is Kookie, but then I won’t have any for a few ideas and feel fine. I like to chew gum, but sometimes it gets out of control…My jaw appreciates it when I take a break…LOL!
ohhhhh those muffins!! I need to stop hating baking…
You do! That makes my heart just a little bit sad…
Dried papaya spears?! I must find these!
That recipe for the muffins sounds delicious! I hope that niggly shoulder pain improves!
Wow congrats on that many pins! That’s crazy!
I’m obsessed with HomeSense. The food section always has the best deals! And don’t even get me started on all their cute dishes haha.
Right?! I Feel like I get all of my photography props there! Sometimes it can be a little crazy overwhelming, though… I end up wanting ALL the things so I walk away with none 😆
Hahaha, love the side-by-side jar pics. That’s hysterical. CONGRATS on the banana muffin pins!!! That is thrilling and an awesome accomplishment.
Congrats on your Pinning achievement. I can’t even imagine. I’m SO terrible at Pins (I have like 6 followers lol) and basically all social media. I am the anti-social media girl. I don’t even have my own facebook …I just don’t like it. I’m #weird. THAT SMOOTHIE ZOMG. Your food looks amazing, girl!
Have you ever had chili dried mango? It scared me at first, but it’s kind of amazing. I’d totally go for some papaya too!
Way to be rockin’ those recipe on Pinterest, girl! You’re awesome 🙂
Chili dried mango?! I haven’t, but it does sound kind of amazing…
Well I’m hoping you’re feeling better today, fully rested and de-stressed. I didn’t want to say it yesterday but yeah, the body does send some pretty extreme signs when you try to work around the root problem.
The half million pins is incredible. Well deserved my friend. When I told the Hubby about it, he said I want to see this picture that’s worth so much. Then I showed him, and he said, Yeah, I’d eat that. 🙂 🙂
I had a cup of sleepy time tea last night. I still want to try the Mother’s Little Helper from David’s tea. It has valerian root which is supposed to be calming.
You know you can always tell me that I’m being stupid, because most of the time I’ll agree with you 😛 And valerian is actually pretty amazing. I used to use a tincture back when my insomnia was really bad, and it would knock me out cold.