Jenerally Speaking

So, guess what kind of weather we’re having right now?
Yep…it’s the snowy kind.  According to Accuweather.com, we’re supposed be getting about 20 inches by Friday.  My daughter already found out that she has off tomorrow and this isn’t even the worst part of the storm yet – we’re supposed to get almost a foot of snow on just Thursday alone.  I have a feeling that no one will be going anywhere until the weekend.  That’s fine by me.  As long as I know my family is home safe and sound, I have no problem with snowstorms.  They give me a chance to snuggle with my blankets and pillows and tea and books and laptop and watch the snow fall outside the two large windows in my room.  I love that. 

So, things have been good here.  I’ve been going to physical therapy for the past few weeks to take care of the neck and back pain I have. Wish I knew how it all started – I still want to blame the mono I had last year.  I feel like I never really recovered completely from the mono.  In any case, the PT is helping a little…I’m definitely not getting any of those tension headaches anymore.  Thank goodness.

Sadly, I have bit of a new problem now.  I have been trying to get back into some kind of exercise routine again – good for stress, good for the heart, etc.  Well, I think I went a little too crazy with the stomach crunches the other night and I ended up pulling some kind of muscle in my abdomen.  At least, I think that is what happened.  All I know is that I started feeling some kind of weird pain slightly below my ribs and toward the center of my stomach area.  Over the next few days, the weird pain began to feel more like a ripping, burning, OUCH kind of pain.  Sometimes when I bend over, it actually feels like something it hitting up against my lower rib.  I think it’s strained or swollen or both.

Either that or it’s that tumor I’ve always been afraid of getting.  "It’s not a tumor," said Arnold.

In any case, I now have to put ice packs on my stomach for the abdominal muscle swelling and heating pads on my back for the back pain I have.  LOL  Seriously.  I am a little broken.  I’m heading to the doctor on Monday just to make sure it’s only a sprain.  This sure puts a damper on my exercise plans.   Oh well!  The exercise machines will be waiting for me until I get better.  In the meantime, I’ll just stick with some yoga and my strength training.  I always liked arm and shoulder exercises better than those darned crunches anyway.  It stinks a little when we start getting old. (Psst…this is where someone posts a comment to assure me that 30-ish isn’t old.)    I sure don’t feel old most of the time, but when my body starts falling apart after a few stomach crunches, I definitely start to wonder!