{ Back pain, fall crafting, grocery shopping }

I woke up with the worst lower back pain.  It's nothing new for me, osteoporosis runs in my family, and with it, scoliosis etc. 

A few weeks ago, I was going through my medical records, just out of curiosity and I came upon a report for a chest X Ray that I had done when I was 4 months pregnant with Jasmine. 

In the report it states.....well, actually, let me backtrack a second and tell you why I was getting the X Ray.



You all know that I grew up in Portugal and that is where I received my first immunization shots.  One of the shots we were given as children, were the BCG vaccines which were for the prevention of Tuberculosis, which was quite a common thing in Europe at the time.  The downside to that shot, is that anytime we are tested for Tuberculosis, it will come up as positive.

Ok....now back to the X Ray, one of the pregnancy tests they administered was for Tuberculosis and of course mine came back as positive and even though they knew I had the BCG shot as a child, they still have to do an X Ray to be sure.

Everything came back fine and clear for the lungs, but the technician put on the report that they found I had Dextroscoliosis  in the upper thoracic spine and lower lumbar spine.

To tell you that I was shocked when I read that, would be an understatement.  It certainly explains a LOT of the back issues I've had over the years.

When my stepmom was visiting I mentioned it to her and she wasn't surprised at all because it is quite common in the family.

Now I deal with back pain and mostly lower back pain, usually around the area of the epidural, but mostly when I've been on my feet for long periods of time. 

I didn't do anything yesterday that required me to be on my feet, so I'm not sure why I woke up with this pain but it's quite debilitating to the point where unless I'm sitting down, the minute I stand up, the pain is quite bad and makes it hard to walk.....but, I still managed to get to the grocery store this morning, I just moved slower than usual.

I spent $250 for the next two weeks, and I did get a few extras that I usually don't get.  I didn't take individual photos but you can see my fridge above.  Some of the items I bought were:

Milk
Creamer
Cream Cheese
Sliced Cheese
String Cheese
Ham
Bread Loaf, hotdog buns
Butter and cooking butter sticks
Wonton wrappers for egg rolls and cream cheese ragoons
Olive Tapenade Hummus
Garlic, Potatoes, 1 onion (still had some), lettuce, radishes, broccoli and broccoflower

In the freezer:

Two frozen Freschetta Pizzas, one Three Meats and one Three Cheese
Chicken Tenders
Applewood and Hickory Smoked Bacon
Chicken Thighs,
Chicken Breast Tenderloins (2)
Ground Beef
Sirloin steaks (I never buy steaks, but hubby has been asking me to please get some, so I did)
Steak for Portuguese steak
Jalapeno Cheese Brats and Cheese Brats

Sugar, Flour
Olive oil and vegetable oil
Chips
Pretzel Chips (they were on sale for 89 cents)
Diced Tomatoes and Tomato Sauce
Tuna
Olives
Taco Seasoning
Yeast
Cereal, Oatmeal
Syrup and Boysenberry Syrup

And then a few toiletries, cleaning products, dog treats and toilet paper.

Not bad at all for the price.  I'm truly happy and blessed that I can continue keeping my budget at $250 for two weeks, over all these years.

I've been reading The Removes by Tatjana Soli, for an upcoming review.  It is such a good book and I am really and I mean REALLY enjoying it.  I can't wait to tell you all about it.



I've also been crocheting a few items for Fall, and I'll show you once they're done :)

For the moment, I'm just hanging out on my bed, trying to keep this back pain at bay.  I've got a lidocaine patch on the area, I've taken motrin and I've also used Tiger Balm or Icy Hot when I'm not using the patch.

I'm sure by tomorrow I'll be feeling better.

Oh I also wanted to tell you about a show I found yesterday on Netflix.  It is called Lords and Ladles.

I've always been fascinated with shows like Victorian Farm, or Victorian Kitchen Garden, Wartime Kitchen and Garden and any show that focuses on cooking meals from the 1800's and before.

Lords and Ladles falls into that category, there are I believe two seasons already.  Three Irish Michelin Chefs then travel to castles and manor houses all over Ireland, learn a bit about the families who resided and still live in them, and cook a full meal from old recipe books, journals or menus left behind from previous house cooks.

It is fascinating to watch and it brings together two of my passions which is cooking and old times.

The rain has continued outside, actually gave me quite a good soaking when I walked out of the grocery store this morning.

And that is what my Saturday has been like.  I'm about to go soak in a hot tub with some Epsom Salts and see if that helps my back, then I'll read a little more of my book and continue watching Lords and Ladles.

Have a wonderful Saturday night!

xoxoxoxoxo