A Good Night's Sleep

I think I had the first good night's sleep since sometime before Thanksgiving. It's amazing what a new perspective that puts on a day! Yesterday, I went to my appointment with a pain management specialist - in this case, an anesthesiologist with a sub-speciality in pain management. I had to explain this to one of the kids, who couldn't quite figure out what he was going to do except tell me to buck up. Based on the history of hip and knee pain, MRI results, and physical exam, he knew exactly where the problem was (L4-5) and felt he could fix it. (So weird, since my back did not hurt. At all.) I came home with a handout:

I had the procedure done yesterday afternoon, and it really wasn't too bad except for about a minute when he told me I might feel a "little burning" in my back or butt when he injected the steroid. A LITTLE?!?! It felt like someone had PUNCHED me in my right butt cheek! Dr. B asked if it was where I had been feeling the pain, and it was EXACTLY in that spot, so he knew he had injected my back at the right location. And I feel really good today. YAY!

So Happy Tuesday!

I love this dish towel. My friend - and the best knitter I know - made this a few years ago. In addition to being a great knitter, she is pretty good at embroidery too! (Funny story: Nancy had knit this most gorgeous sweater/jacket, with cables upon cables of the most intricate nature, and when I saw it I fell in love with it. I asked her if I could ever make one, and -without hesitation - she said, "No." And I totally wasn't offended! When our friend Teri saw it, she said she wanted to be willed it when Nancy died. It's that wonderful.)

But anyway. Before I went to my morning appointment yesterday, I threw a little something in the crock pot. I had seen this recipe for butternut squash, chickpea, and red lentil stew, and since I had everything except the butternut squash, which I picked up on Sunday, I thought I'd give it a go. (Thank you, Jenna!)

Looks pretty, doesn't it?! I sauteed the onions, carrots, and jalapenos, then added the garlic. My kitchen smelled pretty wonderful around 7:00 a.m.!

I then added the garam masala to coat the veggies, and it REALLY started to smell good!

Then everything went into the crock pot, and I set it on low for ten hours:

And this is the final result:

It turned out thick and aromatic and incredibly flavorful - and it made a TON!! I measured it out so I could figure out the nutrition facts, and it made 10 cups. I froze about 2/3, and will be having some for lunch today. (If you're interested, in a one-cup serving, there are 167 calories, 1.4g fat, 36g carbs, 10g fiber, and 9g protein.)

My other meals were pretty unremarkable. Who am I kidding, they're all pretty unremarkable. But I do like to share a good recipe when I find one. I had the Abs Diet Mango Tango smoothie for breakfast, and for lunch I'm a little embarrassed to let you know that I had a banana and a Lean Cuisine pizza. I am really trying to get away from processed food, but I knew I had the epidural at 1:00 and just wanted something fast, and this was in my freezer from when I thought that was the way to lose weight. Oh well. Dinner was homemade and delicious.

So today is Tuesday - on to a few hours at the museum and then to knitting! Have a good day!