Ouch

So, keeping on with the new norm... spent most of Saturday cleaning the house for company.  Love having a cleaner house, but good golly did I tear up my back.  Good thing I did my PT before we started the kitchen and bathroom.  Also, I managed to drop a sledge hammer on my bare foot while putting away the tools I used to repair the couch.  Toes are NOT tougher than steel.  In fact toes are not remotely compatible with sledge hammers ever.  So now not only do I move funny from an overstressed back, but I limp with both feet.  It's pretty awesome!  My physical therapy tonight was far more painful than it has been the previous two times.  Hope I didn't over strain.  I'll know for sure in the morning.

My main project this week is to finish up the graphics for Phat Jack's.  Good golly do I wish I'd taken a few graphic design classes over the years.  I'm pretty much teaching myself and learning the hard way.  But then as I have to keep reminding myself, they get what they're paying for, and at the moment that's $0.  So I'm trying not to feel bad about my abilities or speed.  I have made progress and by the time I'm done I'll have more skills than I used to have.

Going to go lay down and hope for the muscles to relax enough to let me sleep soon.
Live long and prosper.
~m

Positive Motion

Had my first day of physical therapy today, really happy to have the feedback and optimistic goals set by the PT.  I'm not usually the person to need someone cheering me on or nagging me, somehow that seems to motivate others while absolutely stopping me in my tracks.  This guy seems to understand where I'm coming from and is more concerned about me pushing myself too hard too fast.  He's also determined that part of why I keep getting set backs is because I'm actually too flexible, thus needing more muscle to support from bending or twisting wrong.  Let's hope that the positive outlook persists and I'm able to push just enough to stop in time to avoid overdoing.  I'm certainly feeling tonight all the testing, twisting, and balancing I did in the appointment.  There's definitely pain and muscle/nerve pain that I won't be able to fix, but if I get back even a little quality of life I'm calling it a success.  So I've got my homework for the week and a good attitude...update to follow.

Sounds like Phat Jack's will be cooking for the Smithfield Soccer games this spring.  We're all excited to dive into the season with our REAL FINISHED TRAILER.  I've been fussing around with a bunch of graphic design projects.  Here's a preview of the simple graphics we're going to start out with.  We're calling the old woman Ethel (as in "don't look Ethel" from the streak) and of course the running man is Jack.  Mom got the power of veto on Ethel in light of the possible aspersions on her character.  She like the rest of us finds the humor in the situation and we all love Jack and Ethel.

  I'm off to dose my aches with birch oil and then have a sincere conversation with my pillow.  It's been a full day and I'm satisfied with the results.  Live long and prosper y'all.
~m

Back on Balance

Haven't updated in quite a bit.  Honestly I was pretty upset and depressed there for a bit.  I'm doing much better now and have come to realize yet again that it really was ok for what felt impossible at the time to happen.

Let's see, what's new and noteworthy.  They cut my position at the college.  I miss the people, but realize in hindsight how much physical stress that job was giving me.  I'm pursuing physical therapy & really enjoying the improvements I'm able to make in my housekeeping endeavors. It's gonna be financially stressful for us, but I'm optimistic we'll survive.  It really is nice to have the time and energy to take on projects around the house.


We're gearing up to start our concession season with Phat Jack's Great food on the move!  Mom and Glenn have been doing a lot of recipe research and menu brainstorming.  With my new more flexible schedule I think I'll be their on call kitchen help most of the summer.  Probably means I'll have to spend a bunch of time camping in Cache Valley. Shucks, I might really enjoy that.

Gearing up for camping season. Having skipped our winter AZ trip this year we're planning to go south and visit our friends the Crawfords at their summer work area Senator's Wash.  We're both looking forward to the trip.  Scotty's doing several mechanical repairs and maintenance on the truck, and I'm planning to do a complete empty, clean out and re-stock of the camper.  It's been several years since we bought the camper and it's amazing how quickly things can pile up in such a small space.

We went rv shopping last Saturday, crawled into as many 5th wheel rigs as his leg & my back could stand to.  Saw several things we liked, and a few things we hated.  We've pretty much narrowed our decisions down to the 5th wheel toy hauler options.  Some of the non hauler trailers are really nice and would be comfortable, but we love the flexibility given with the toy haulers.  It's no surprise that the fancy curtains, electric fireplaces, and pendant light fixtures that are marketed as luxury & all the comforts of home don't do much for us.  We're getting to have a pretty comprehensive list of 5th wheel models we like so that when we go shopping in a few years (because I have a very hard time buying new and owning the instant depreciation of value) we'll be able to find our new home easier.  We're also encouraged to see that the models we liked 3 years ago new are starting to show up in the used market at prices that match our budget.  Now all we have to do is stay patient (we're not always the greatest at that).

Last week I found a pork barbacoa recipe that we both enjoyed.  It's sweet but not too much so and made for really tasty leftovers...however next time I will start with a smaller roast.

Kitties and I have been enjoying the lovely weather the last few days, I open the sliding glass door and they all take turns lounging in the sunshine and sniffing the smellavision through the screen.  The birds are coming back to the yard and every time there's a new chirp or visitor they sneak up to be wild hunter kitties. 

I'm off to do some design work and watch world championship figure skating.  Live long & prosper!
~m