I love Mac & Cheese. I love the stuff out of the box just as I love the gourmet fancy stuff. Last night I made some baked mac & cheese and everyone in the house loved it. The beauty is - it was super easy!

I used only what I had left over from other dishes and I will be the first to let you know, it's probably not the best choice for a healthy dinner, but it is a little less fat and all the comfort!

Saturday in the Sun

Saturday was BEAUTIFUL. Not too hot, not too cold and glorious sunshine. We went over to Ricky's parents house, and because it was nice we thought we'd bring Mr. Bruce. The boys decided the weather warranted a game of Pop Fly Frisbee, and Bruce wanted to join.

Waiting for dad to throw the frisbee.




Running to the other side of the street trying to get
to the Frisbee before the other guys got it.

 

He decided when they guys got crazy, he'd just watch.

He got it once or twice, and then just stood on top of it.

He took a ton of breaks... his legs are little!!! :-)

Makes me pretty excited for summer!

Playing Pretend

I am not all that experienced at photography, but I do love it. If I could I would spend all day, everyday taking pictures of anything I could find. I was lucky enough to be able to take some photos for a friend of mine of her adorable son Desmond. Let me tell you even though he is shy, once he shows off those pearly whites, you melt a little inside! His momma better watch out - he is going to be a heart breaker! Here is a preview.

See I told you, HEART BREAKER.



Take 2

Well, my back as of tonight is doing better but I had quite the episode this morning. I decided that I was going back to work (had been out Tuesday &Wednesday) this morning and I had to drive in. I decided to hold off on taking the pain meds until I arrived in fear my driving would be "impaired". Turns out this was not such a good idea. By the time I arrived at work, I was in full on spasms and in tears when my co-workers got in. They were all very supportive and let me cry it out and not judge me (which they never do, I love those ladies!). My mom called to check up on me and I was in a ton of pain, which she could tell by my voice. She made me an appointment with her (and Ricky's) doctor for 10 AM to make sure it was nothing more than a severe back sprain/spasm. While in the waiting room I had a massive spasm and had to sit there and wait for it to pass until I could move again.

After a quick exam, everything but a "very nasty muscle strain" was ruled out. She sent me home with more pain pills and a physical therapy referral. The physical therapy was optional but she told me if I do that, it will probably heal more quickly.

I decided to go home instead of return to work because I was still in a ton of pain. I read somewhere that your muscles need TONS of "moisture" to heal, so I decided to drown my muscles to try and get them to heal faster. I have drank 3+ 1 liter bottles of smart water and intend to hopefully drink 3 more before bedtime. We'll see if that works!

I've fallen and I can't get up

My lower back has been nagging me with aches for the past 2 weeks. I think I somehow tweaked it doing laundry or some other household chore. I have just been popping some advil when it is really bothersome and going about my day. My loving husband scheduled me a massage for Monday night and I was looking forward to feeling normal again all day.

During the massage I could feel my muscles loosening and as far as I knew when it was over I was going to be good as new. To my surprise (and panic) when I tried to sit up and get off the table, I couldn't. I fell back down onto the table and thought, "ok that was weird, I'll just push through it I must be sore." Tried again and no luck. After several minutes I was able to seal crawl (that's the best way to describe it) to the bench. I was able to put my regular clothes back on for the most part but my whole body was shaking and my whole back felt like ripples of pain shooting through it. The massage therapist asked me if I was ok, and I told her to come in and let her know I couldn't move. After a couple more tries, I got back on the table and she placed an ice pack on my back. Ricky called me during this time and I told him he needed to come to where I was. When he got there, he basically had to force my body into the upright position and carry / drag me to the car. The pain was so intense just from that short distance I was squeezing his had so hard in the car that my whole left arm went numb and started to tingle. We drove straight to the ER and he put me into a wheelchair. I could sit to the side and lean over for the most part, but if I moved my back would start spasming.

After about an hour sitting in the same position, my back would spasm if i did nothing but breathe in deeply. Ricky's mom and brother were in the area and they came and kept Ricky and I company. It was nice of them to come and kept me semi distracted until I finally got a room. Julia (my mother in law) has had a lot of experience with pain management in the past and knew the questions to ask the nurse and the doctor. I eventually got a shot of Dilaudid while there and sent home with pain meds, muscle relaxers, and anti inflammatory meds. That shot basically knocked me out cold, physically and mentally. Once it kicked in fully I was home and trying to eat a piece of bread and I just couldn't do it. Trying to get my brain to tell my throat muscles to work just wasn't happening and I ended up almost choking twice. I started to drift into sleep but kept being woken up because my skin was extremely itchy.

As of now I am doing better. I have been in bed basically two days straight and am really looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. I can walk, but very slowly and it's more of a shuffle than a full walk. I'm just going to have to take it easy for a few more days and if it's not better by Monday I have to get a referral for physical therapy.

The doctors still don't really know what happened besides just telling me they think that my muscles are just "angry". I am hoping they cheer up soon!!

Obsessive

I know, I changed the blog layout again. Sorry. I can't help it, it's a little problem I have and I become a little obsessed about it. I found this adorable spring layout, and considering mother nature has decided to make it winter again, I made it spring on my blog :-)

What a World.

In light of what is going on around the world, I have to look at my husband, family, and friends and realize I am truly blessed. I got to work this morning and read all about the newest earthquake (7.4 in case anyone hasn't heard) and tsunami warning that has just been issued for the very part of Japan that was demolished just a month ago. I have now heard about the large earthquake in Mexico today, as well as the shooting in Brazil. I could make this blog about everything bad that is going on in the world right now and run out of space to type.  

I have to remember to count my blessings while I still have them. At any moment something could happen to me or god forbid my husband, family, friends, or anyone for that matter. None of us know what the future holds and we sure as heck don't know when our number is up. I am going to try my hardest to live in the moment. I get caught up so easily in my day to day life figuring there will always be a tomorrow. With everything going on around the world, I have no idea if any of us will actually have a tomorrow. There are so many things far beyond our control. I don't know if I believe that the world is going to end December 12, but if it does, I want to be able to know I lived my life.

Travis! Travis! Travis!

Tonight my mom, my mom's friend Jill and my friend Holli are all going to have a girls night out. Travis Tritt is going to be at the Emerald Queen Casino in concert, and to be honest I think he better watch out for us crazy chics! I've loved his music since I was 9 or 10, and he has some great songs. Just for fun, this was one of his most memorable songs/videos. Sad, but so good!