Fruit Munchies

Something random that I enjoy that enjoy that I buy from Sherwyn’s are these packages of dehydrated fruit/veggies that are collectively branded as ‘Just ‘ They have a web site, Just Tomatoes, etc! I particularly enjoy the Just Fruit Munchies. I’ve been a big fan of craisins for a while now because I love cranberries. They are great in oatmeal and cereal. With that in mind, I thought maybe I would try mixing in Just Cranberries in with granola for a breakfast treat… Erm, not so good. I guess I don’t like cranberries as much as I thought I did. The flavor of these dehydrated cranberies definitely is an acquired thing. Pucker up!

Son of Bulging Discs

I’ve been meaning to post a follow-up here for a while, but a plague has had a vice-like grip on me for the past week and a half and I’ve just not been doing much. It’s been a nasty mucous-filled business that is a mystery, as noone (luckily) that I saw while on my trip has come down with it. Blech!

Shortly after my last post, we got the results of the radiologist’s report and a re-review led us to conclude that I don’t have just three bulging discs. The case happens to be that all four of my lower discs are bulging. I took my camera with me one time recently and they obliged me to take a couple of photos of my MRI film.

Bulging Discs

-As in bulging discs of the spine. Multiple bulging discs. Who knows how it happened, all I can say for sure is that I’ve dealt with pain in my lower back for a long time. If I bend slightly in the lower back and am twisted in just the right way *OW*. Also, sitting up from a prone position has always been an iffy thing for me. It has had its good times and its bad times. I definitely have noticed that I have fewer issues/pain when I’ve been in good shape.

So, I finally made an appointment to have a physical and discuss my back problems. Luckily for me, the general practicioner I picked out of a long, non-descriptive list from the insurance site happens to be part of a small office with a chiropractor and clinical massage therapist! Perfect! Prior to my making a trip back out to Ohio to spend the weekend/Valentine’s day with Sara and Jadah (more about that soon), I had a marathon week of appointments. First I was off to the general doc on Monday for a physical, who directed me to visit the lab on Tuesday to have bloodwork, etc done (which I have since learned all came back just fine, including my cholesterol levels, woohoo!) and to also make an appointment with his chiropractic and massage associates. My examination with them Wednesday night resulted in a trip Thursday night to an MRI center to get wedged into a giant magnet to get a detailed picture of my lumbar spine. I received a huge packet of prints with many pictures on each something similar to the following…

Getting back into the groove

This particular groove happens to be fitness related. I have off and on enjoyed being active and feeling the sort of good that only comes from being in shape. It blows my mind to think back and realize that it’s been nearly six years since I ran the 2000 Chicago Marathon:

Your search on the following:

Bib = ‘9302‘

returned 1 total athletes:

BIB	OVERALL	OVERSEX	OVERDIV	FIRST_NAMES	LAST_NAME
9302	10273	7933	1266	Benjamin	Adair
CHIPFINAL	CLOCKFINAL	HALF	SPLIT_15K	SPLIT_30K	AGE
04:01:18	04:11:07	2:06:35	1:33:32	2:56:33	25