Up in the middle of the night again.....

I have had this problem : waking up in the middle of the night with back pain, for the past 2 months. The dilemma is this... do I take a muscle relaxer - then attempt to actually function in the morning? Muscle relaxers make it very difficult for me to talk straight. Or do I take a pain pill, which again, makes it difficult for me to function.... Or do I just get on the computer and browse? Looks like I'm choosing the computer option for now. You know, I just realized that posting at 2 AM doesn't seem like such a smart idea. This post probably doesn't make any sense. But then again, no one has ever accused me of making sense. :-)

Update.....

Well, I haven't blogged much in a while because life hasn't been great. First of all, in late March, I got the flu really bad! After 8 days of being really sick, it turned into an ear infection, so then I had to go on antibiotics. Then, because I had been so sick and unable to exercise, my back started to really act up. Last week I went in for more cortisone injections because I just couldn't take the pain any more.

So yesterday, it seemed like the cortisone was starting to work, so I acted like I usually do, and tried to get something accomplished. With the help of the boys and Steve, we cleaned up our little flower bed in the front yard. I love the way it turned out, but my back took a beating! I was really careful, but that just doesn't seem to matter. I woke up at 4:00am with excruciating pain. It's so frustrating! But, at least the front yard is looking better. :-D

Battle of the Chores

So, last night Steve was joking around with the kids and telling them that we created them for our own personal slaves.... yea right! LOL Well, Ryan actually was mad about that, (nothing surprising there!) and he just kept saying, "I am not your slave", to Steve. The fact that he was so serious when he was saying it, just totally made me laugh! And, Steve kept teasing him about it, because Ryan's reaction was amusing him.

Looks like the Schultz's are going to Washington...

It's so funny, Steve got an email last Friday saying that he was not chosen to work for ONR, (office of naval research), this summer. Steve was not pleased, because he had been told, it was already a done deal. So he sent the guy who is sponsoring him an email, and got no reply. Well, apparently, the guy was out of town, and when he saw Steve's email asking him what had happened, he quickly found out that there had been an error. Steve was suppose to get the email telling him he had been accepted. So, now we get to find housing and about a million other little details.....

One Vegetarian Recipe Success

Not all of my new recipe's have been edible! But this one was a hit!


Barley Black Bean Burritos

1 cup pearl barley (don't use the quick kind or it will turn to mush)
1 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup water
1/2 lime (juiced)
2 t. Mexican seasoning
2 t. minced garlic
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can vegetable broth
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
12 6 inch flour tortillas
3/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
lettuce
fresh salsa

1. Put the first 9 ingredients into a crock pot on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3.

2. Add cilantro

3. Serve on tortilla with lettuce, cheese and fresh salsa - YUMMY!

It's Trick or Treat for me ;-D

Kathy, my sister in law and neighbor totally rocks! She gave me a GU to try for my run, and it totally worked. So today she went to the runner's corner to get more gel's for herself, and picked me up a ton of different things to try. When she picked up such a variety, the clerk made a funny comment about trick or treating! This may sound really strange, but I am so excited to run tomorrow and try one of these! It's like I can just surprise myself in the morning and pick a new one.

Attention all you runners!

I have a question.... I have been getting horrible heartburn while jogging. I can not jog first thing in the morning with an empty stomach. My blood sugar is just too low for that. I have tried eating oatmeal, 2 hours before, and it still happens. I've tried toast with a little bit of almond butter, a protein smoothie, pancakes (ok, I knew that one was a mistake before I even started running), and it still happens.

So I'm thinking on Wednesday to just try eating an apple an hour before I run and see how that works. If anyone out there has had the same issue, please tell me how to solve it!

Basement Bathroom is Done!

The bathroom is done! Wooooo Hoooooooo!!!! Here are some photo's.

Experimentation in Food

http://www.thechinastudy.com/

After reading the china study, I have decided to start cutting back on meat and dairy. I'm not planning on becoming Vegan or anything. I just thought, that with the strong family link I have to cancer, it would be a good thing for me to do. There is no way I can or even want to change overnight. But I am going to start making some small changes. For example, when I made chicken fajitas the other night, I just doubled the vegies, and put in half the amount of chicken. And everyone loved them.

I'm planning on finding some new recipes that are vegetarian, and experimenting with those. If I find any that are really good, I'll have to post them. And if anyone has a really good one, I'd love for you to send it to me. Have a great week everyone!

Happy Birthday Eric!

I love that Eric was born on Valentine's Day! He turned 14 today! He is now 5'9", and is so close to passing me up! Argh... He is getting so old. I know I have few precious years left with him before he leaves home. And honestly, that makes me sad. He is really good for being a teenager. At least, so far...... :-D