oh hey there...

I'm back.  Woo hoo!

Read the about page for a quick update on what's been going on here.  I'm super excited to once again share recipes and talk about what we've been eating - especially since Mike and I have been following a ketogenic diet for about eight months now.

I'll be posting a ton of tasty low carb recipes, so get ready for that!  I also am looking forward to posting more about life in general...since I actually have a life again.

And now, without further ado...I'd like to present an illustrated list of things that have happened since I last blogged.

We bought a house!

...and then our yard flooded.

Puppies happened (I know, shocking).

I cooked some delicious low carb goodies.

We played outside!

Saved the best for last - so much love.

...happy Sunday, guys.

patience is a virtue

I just wanted to write a bit about my recovery and how I've been feeling. This has truly been a learning experience for me, though like everything else that's hard, I know I'm becoming a stronger person because of it all.

The most difficult thing about post-op has been the fact that I have clear cut limitations that will remain until I'm six weeks out. Regardless of how I feel, I can't bend, twist, or lift. That's rough - do you know how many things in the world weigh more than five pounds? I generally do things really fast and I try to be as efficient as possible. This surgery has made me slow down and take my time, which I suppose isn't a horrible thing. And maybe I'll have a more toned butt after all of this because I'm doing a lot of squatting.

I'm calling my doctor tomorrow because I'm hoping to get an appointment sooner than the current one I have scheduled at the end of June. I know I can't push myself here, but prior to the surgery, he mentioned going back to work part-time four weeks after my surgery date - I'm optimistic that with how I'm feeling, that could happen.

I was terrified before this surgery. It made me want to throw up. It basically was my worst fear come to life. I'm proud of myself...this was a big decision for me and I'm so glad I went through with it.

Today I told Mike, "You know, I don't think my back hurts," which sounds like an odd thing to say because God KNOWS I'm sore as hell. But I actually don't think the pain I've had every single day for so long is there - and that is an amazing thing.

i'm alive!

So my surgery was a week ago today! As I mentioned before, I had surgery on my spine to hopefully decrease the amount of pain I'm having due to scoliosis and a generally pretty messed up back. I was able to find two amazing doctors who were confident that they could help me by doing a spinal fusion.

I was presented with two options: an XLIF procedure, and a normal spinal fusion.

There was a pretty significant chance that for a few reasons, my doctors would be unable to perform the XLIF. They wouldn't know if they could do it until they started surgery...luckily, they were able to!

A more minimally invasive procedure is obviously preferred, so I was really happy that they could do the surgery this way. I'm in a lot of pain, though, and can't even imagine what my recovery would be like if I had a regular surgery - so I'm counting my blessings!

I'm not able to lift anything heavier than five pounds, or bend, or twist. Which means I'm pretty useless. I'm also super bored. Hopefully as I feel better, I'll find more stuff to keep me busy that doesn't involve a lot of moving around...I'm going to go crazy!

Mike has been working from home to take care of me, and so since I was feeling a little better today, I made us breakfast this morning. Last week, my mom brought us approximately 300 pounds of food from an amazing Italian deli - we had some yummy leftover ham and a lot of arugula, so I made a frittata. It was tasty! Easy, too...I wasn't exactly up for anything super intense :)

Arugula & Ham Frittata (you could put pretty much anything in this, though)

6 eggs (I used 5 egg whites and 1 whole egg)

2 tablespoons milk

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups arugula (or spinach, or anything else you have on hand)

1/2 cup chopped ham (I think prosciutto would be amazing in this, or smoked salmon!)

1/2 teaspoon herbes de provence

salt & pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a pie plate with non-stick spray.

2. Chop the garlic and saute in olive oil over medium heat for about a minute, then add arugula and saute until wilted. Set aside.

3. Combine the eggs, milk, ham, salt, pepper, herbes de provence, and the arugula. Pour into pie plate.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

my story

Hi! Over the next few weeks, I'm hoping to turn this into something pretty awesome.

Unfortunately, I'm kind of on a time frame here to get my act together, because I'll soon be having a spinal fusion and will be down for the count for a bit.

Why the hell would I start a blog before major surgery, you ask?

Here's the scoop: I had my first surgery for scoliosis when I was seven. My doctor fused (or joined together) three of my vertebrae to stop the curvature in my spine from progressing. I spent quite a few months in a body cast, but all in all, the surgery was a success, at least for many years.

I never felt that I was pain free, but it was tolerable, and I lived normally. Around age 23, I noticed a huge shift in my pain level. I've spent the last year coping with this chronic back pain, and for anyone who has experienced any type of chronic pain, you know it isn't fun.

I grew frustrated that I was so young and so limited by how I was feeling, but I always seemed to rely on my doctors to find answers for me. In the past few months, I realized that while I can't fix my back pain right now, there are a ton of ways that I can control my life. Feeding my body in nutritious, yummy ways is what initially motivated me to begin this blog, and spending time in the kitchen has become some kind of therapy for me. I hope to share that with any readers I gain along the way.

I want this blog to be a happy place, complete with ways to grow, live life to the fullest, and provide ideas that will keep you inspired, fulfilled, and content.

xo, Lindsay