Hey guys. It has been about two weeks from my last post. You may have seen me commenting on other blogs here and there but for the most part I have been off the computer for the whole two weeks.

Why? Well, this is why…

My neck is jacked up guys.

The red lines show where my neck is positioned now, the blue ones are where it should be for correct posture and support. I have been in a great deal of pain and sitting at the computer is when it feels the worst.

Sorry, I’ve been completely MIA. Each time I’d sit at the computer and comment on a few blogs with the intention of writing a post to explain where I’ve been, I’d just start hurting too bad to continue.

I’ve started seeing a chiropractor again and we’re making quick progress of realigning my neck, but now I’m dealing with the soreness and stiffness that comes with the agressive but necessary neck adjustments.

How did this happen? I think it’s a combination of things for me. If you’ve read my Running with Scoliosis post, you know that I’ve had a spinal condition since I was a teenager and it’s caused me a lot of pain throughout the years. Scoliosis is never going to go away, so it’s my responsibility to stay on top of my chiropractic care to manage it, and I haven’t been. I waited nearly a year to restart chiropractic care after moving to Decatur, so that’s my fault.

The next problem is that I’ve been at the computer a lot more since quitting my job last year. Some of that time is spent doing blog work, but more than is necessary is being spent goofing off. All that extra time sitting in an unsupportive chair in front of the computer has really taken a toll on my back and neck. Again, totally my fault.

The last part, is that our mattress is way overdue for replacement. Neither of us get good sleep on it and regularly wake up uncomfortable or in pain. I’ve replaced our pillows with memory-foam contour pillows this weekend, but the mattress is harder to deal with. We might need to get a really good mattress pad for now to make it more comfortable until we can afford to replace it. At least that one’s not entirely my fault.

All of these problems have slowly compounded in my neck over the last year, and a few weeks ago they finally added up to what you see in that picture.

I guess the lesson here, for myself and for you, is – do not neglect your health!

I’m feeling much better now, still really sore but not in the pain I was last week. Ready to be back to blogging!

What is one thing you do to stay healthy outside of diet and exercise?

June 6, 2011 Alayna Discussion 14 comments

Do you wanna hear the good news or the bad news first?

I wanna end on a good note, so let’s get the unpleasantries out of the way, shall we?

I got my hair cut yesterday for the first time in a year.  Before……….

My hair was just past the bra strap. I am not quite 5’2″, so when my hair is that long it drags me down and makes me look even shorter. Not only was it getting hard to manage but now that the temps are getting warmer out I needed to lighten it up a bit.

Fun fact: When I was in high school my hair was long enough for me to sit on, and it was curly, so you can imagine how much longer it would have been if it were straight! (I have no way of scanning photos right now or I’d show you, it really was ridiculous.)

So anyway, I got it cut yesterday and I’m really disappointed. The girl who cut my hair seemed like she had never cut bangs before, I was really kind of confused watching her cut it. Well…here’s the after…..

This is what I asked for, I even brought this picture with me….

Yeah…um…not even close. It’s fine though, I’m gonna let it grow out a bit and try again.

Ok, let’s talk about good news!

So do you remember that Jeff got in an accident a few weeks ago? His car is out of the shop!

Here’s the before…

And after!

Ahhh! It looks brand new! 😀

I was all upset about my haircut and then I heard the news that Jeff’s car was all better and that snapped me right out of it!

Hair will grow back, but a car is harder to replace. All it took was a little perspective to make me feel better. Now, on to the weekend!

April 9, 2011 Alayna Discussion 7 comments

Forgive me for not posting over St. Patrick’s Day. We had enough of our own shenanigans to deal with without even stepping foot in an Irish pub full o’ hooligans.

We still needed a drink or ten after this mess though…

Jeff got rear-ended on his way home from work and the offender drove off! He’s in a rental for now as the repairs will probably run for 3 to 4 weeks.

We were pretty stressed after that and weren’t exactly in the mood for a crowded pub, even though The Marlay had a bunch of fun festivities planned and had extended their patio for the growing crowds.

We opted for Thai instead, at Garlic again because it’s awesome and because we could walk there (rather than try to drive while nervous and end up with two wrecked cars.)

I started with a cocktail called The Mission. It was essentially a Thai-inspired Manhattan made with Thai whiskey. Good and strong!

Jeff had a Tokyo Black porter beer. I love the little half-naked sumo dude on it!

We split this basket of calamari. Each piece was lightly fried in tempura batter and wasn’t the least bit greasy. It was coated in a spicy-sweet chili sauce that we were mopping up.

I decided I was gonna order something way outside my usual, so I went with pineapple fried rice. Woah! It was amazing! It was like every single grain of rice was bathed in a delicious coating of caramelized pineapple juices. It had a wonderful oniony note running through it and was packed full of juicy chicken and bouncy shrimp.

The plan was to then either hit up The Marlay to grab a pint or head over to Thinking Man’s Tavern and crash at the bar. Both of us were just too tired though. The adrenaline from Jeff’s car wreck had worn off and by that time we just wanted to go home and curl up with warm cats and Netflix, which is exactly what we did.

Honestly though, aside from the mauled car that we nearly had paid off, we spent St. Patrick’s Day doing exactly what we wanted.

Also, I didn’t wear green all day and never got pinched! I must be lucky, right?

March 19, 2011 Alayna Discussion 7 comments