Today’s Everyday Adventures post is truly a little bit of everything. And that is why I love sharing these posts. You get a look at my life that you normally do not get to see.
These were a total impulse buy that my family is loving. And by family I mean everyone but me. I am a total wimp when it comes to spicy foods. We will definitely be buying these again. I think they may replace regular ketchup for some in my family.
I have been dealing with some neck and shoulder issues. I have actually been dealing with them for several years. Nothing too major, but enough to be an inconvenience. The neck and shoulder pain lead to almost daily headaches, which again are nothing major or migraine like, but none the less not fun to deal with.
A few years ago, after having a bunch of tests done for the headaches that would not go away, my doctor said to me, “Has anyone told you that you need to deal with all that tension and relax a little?” Ouch. And not in the ouch it hurt my head or shoulder, ouch to the reality of being hit with the fact that I tend to be a little uptight. 🙂 Okay maybe a lot uptight.
Reality hit me that he was right. The main problem I had and have is the fact that I hold my stress and tension in my neck and shoulders.
I don’t relax well. I think there are many reasons for that, all too long and a bit personal for today, but I need to learn to relax. Or at least relax a little bit.
I had actually been doing better until recently. Over the last few years running has helped me a ton. It is a great stress reliever. Besides that I have tried everything from essential oils, massage, physical therapy, the chiropractor, and more. All help some, none completely solve it because the reality is that what I need most is to take time to relax a little. And not just do nothing, but truly relax.
The last few weeks my neck and shoulders have been a mess again which means my headaches are worse and that means I need to get back to work on relaxing. Reading is one of the things I enjoy and find relaxing, so I am trying to take time out each day for reading.
I am not much of a breakfast eater, which I also need to work on, so this week I tried to sit down each morning for fifteen minutes or so of reading, with a cup of hot chocolate and at least a little something for breakfast.
I am not sure how much it is helping, but I am hoping it will help some. We will see.
And on a totally different subject I love the Oregon Starbucks coffee cup my mom brought me earlier this month when she visited. I am not a coffee drinker, but it is perfect for a cup of hot chocolate and reminds me of home!
Some days are just tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich type of days. And although I have a homemade tomato soup recipe that I love, I totally cheated and served some that I bought at Sam’s Club. It was easy and delicious!
This week I officially feel old…
I got bifocals this week. There is something about turning 40 that really does make it feel like everything is falling apart, especially when it comes to your eyes. I guess I should be glad that I made it to almost 42 before I actually needed bifocals. 🙂
I have worn contacts since 8th grade. There have been a few years that I did not wear them due to allergy issues, but I have worn contacts the majority of the last 25 years.
The last 6 months or so I have had trouble reading. Let’s just say that my arms are no longer long enough. If you are over 40 you know what I mean. I do pretty well in the morning, but by late in the day I have had to put on pair of reading glasses that I picked up at Walmart.
I have said for a long time that if I had to wear reading glasses the majority of the time I might as well give up contacts. I have never seen the point of wearing contacts and needing to wear another pair of glasses on top of them.
When it came right down to it though I am not ready to give up my contacts and wear glasses all the time. And I did not like to have to continually find my reading glasses to wear with my contacts. So, I gave bifocal, or I really multi focal, contacts a try this week. Because I have heard so many people complain about bifocals, I was prepared to hate them. Instead I love them.
I CAN READ AGAIN!
Seriously they are so much better than the cheap reading glasses I was wearing on top of my regular contacts. I can’t believe how much I love them. They did not take much time at all for me to adjust to, and did I mention I can read again!
A lot of people wear two different contacts. One for distance and one for close up. I was not sure I would like that, so I am glad I gave the muti focal contacts a try. They are working great so far. They might mean I am getting old, but at least I can read again!
And now if I could just get used to my new bifocal glasses…They are taking much longer to get used to then the contacts did.
One of the benefits of being a blogger is occasionally receiving unexpected boxes of fun stuff in the mail. I recently got a box from Udi’s that I was totally not expecting. It was full of gluten free bread.
We have been loving the bread. I had not tried their Rye Style Gluten Free Bread and was excited that it was in the box. It is delicious! If you are gluten free and miss rye bread you need to try it. Delicious!
We have this hanging at both our house and my husband’s office so I walk by it all the time. One day this week I was having one of those days. You know the ones. I found myself stopping to actually read it and then reread it. I decided to take a picture and share it here in case some of you are needing it as well. I love the quote and there is a lot of truth in it. Some days we just need reminded of it.
And in case you missed them I have been sharing dump cake recipes that don’t use a cake mix. So far I have shared a pumpkin dump cake without cake mix, a gluten free peach dump cake without a cake mix, and a gluten free pumpkin dump cake without cake mix.
Next week I will be sharing a chocolate cherry dump cake without cake mix and a gluten free version of it as well. We are headed into the holidays soon which means busy schedules so I love having quick and easy desserts to share with you.
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Have you tried Atlas treatment for the neck/shoulder tension and headaches?
Did a miracle for me. For the first time in my life my back is straight (I am tall and stooped a bit before). Headaches went from heavy headache needing medication once a week, to once every 4 to 6 weeks.
https://www.atlantotec.com/en/method/procedure-atlas-therapy-treatment
I’m with you on the contacts issue! I’m 42 and have worn them since I was 15, so I can’t bear the thought of NOT wearing them. But….I have been having more and more problems reading well, needing to tip my head back or step back a bit to see more clearly, etc, plus I sew, and I’m finding it impossible to thread a needle without reading glasses. Last time I was at my eye dr., he thought I could wait a little while yet. I want to try those multi-focal lenses. Sounds like a winner!
And…those quotes are spot-on! I need them daily.
I really was prepared to hate both bifocal glasses and the contacts, but they really are not bad at all. I love the contacts and am so glad because I do not want to wear glasses all the time. The only thing I have noticed is that occasional I have to blink a few times to get them to focus when going from distance to up close. Besides that they have been great. My bifocal glasses are taking a little more getting used to, but even they have not been as bad as I thought they would. Being able to read and see up close is worth it.
Where did you get the Mother Teresa print? I have just a printed copy of that on my fridge, but I would love to have something nicer.
I actually bought the file off of Etsy. I think it was either a PDF or a JPEG file. I think if you search the first line or two of the quote on Etsy it will come up. I took that PDF and had it printed on canvas through Sam’s Club. Other places do that as well. It is basically the same as getting a picture printed on canvas. It turned out great doing it that way.
I had no idea that Sam’s did that. Thank you so much!