An update on my back

Well...I'm still experiencing some pain in my neck/back. :(

I found this picture of the C5 and C6 Radiculopathy (whatever that means...lol). All I know is that on the last visit to my chiropractor my doctor was saying that I could quite possibly have a bulging disc in my neck that is causing this pain but without an MRI he can't properly label and/or diagnose this.

While some days are better than others I'm hoping that my recovery continues...I can handle the dull annoying pain (if I have to) but its this strong, gripping pain that just annoys me and makes me feel so miserable. :( I'm hoping to feel better soon so that I can get back into the gym...gotta work off some of the snacking habits I've aquired since being down...eek! lol

Determined to look fine in 2009 -
~Shannon ;)~
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Warm Footsies!

Ok...this is a very LAME picture but check out the cute socks I found at the mall today...cupcake knee-highs!! LOL Aren't they just adorable?!

I just couldn't resist the urge to own these, can you blme me? ;) I'm thinking I need to put some sort of HOT outfit together for when I make my return to the gym...LOL...it would be so very Strawberry Shortcake 80s style and I think the people that I normally work out with would get a good laugh~ LOL!

~*Stampily Yours*~ Shannon Buck! :)~

Recipe: Couscous Salad Greek Style

Couscous Salad Greek Style
Preparation Time: 6 minutes
Cooking Time: 12 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
1 Cup - Dry Whole Wheat Couscous
3/4 Cup - Low-fat, low-sodium Chicken or Vegetable Stock
3/4 Cup - fresh squeezed Orange Juice
2 T. - Best-quality Oive Oil
1 T. - Lime Juice (that's the juice in 1 lime)
1/2 Cup - Grape Tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 Cup - Green Onions, chopped
1 Cup - Cucumber, chopped and seeded
1/4 Cup - Chopped Fresh Oregano
1/2 Cup - Feta Cheese
Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste.

Directions:
Bring stock and orange juice to a boil. Add couscous and stir. Then turn off heat and cover pot tightly. Don't peek. Let stand.

Make dressing by combining oive oil and lime juice. Whisk and set aside.

Back to the couscous. Remove lid and fluff grains with a fork. Add chopped vegetable and drizzle with dressing. Add oregano and season with sea salt and ground black pepper.

My Comments: Loved this! Very flavorable and colorful. Everyone loved it!

Determined to look fine in 2009 -
~Shannon ;)~

My 150th post brings gifts!

Yup...this is my 150th blog post...very exciting! And what's even better is that I was showered with great gifts today, too! Woohoo!

My dear friend Pam sent me this adorable picture frame highlighting a moment in Italy...isn't it fabulous! I just love the cute cupcake card she sent me too!

Thank you so much Pam...I love it! It was well worth the wait! I can't wait to look through all the pictures you sent me, too! Very exciting! You are awesome and your artwork is always top notch and amazing...I can't wait to see you and hang out with you again really super soon! (*(*HUGS*)*)

~*Stampily Yours*~ Shannon Buck! :)~

Mmmm! Cupcakes!

Lookie Lookie! I finally did it! I finally sat down and made myself a cupcake thanks to Tresa's wonderful pattern and instructions! I had to improvise in a few spots as I quickly realized a couple of easy mistakes on my part but all in all I think it turnd out well and I can't wait to make another. :)

Also, a big thanks to Becca for being my hand model...lol! :)

~*Stampily Yours*~ Shannon Buck! :)~

Here's the little critter!

For those of you that have followed my status updates on Facebook & Twitter you probably already know how I'm feeling about this little critter...lol.

This here is Sammy. He is my 10 year old daughters new little friend that her 20 year old sister bought her without asking Mom & Dad if it was ok. OY! While he is a cute little thing with ugly red eyes this little critter loves to sleep all day and run on his little treadmill thing ALL NIGHT LONG! If I have to get up in the middle of the night for anything I always think to myself, "Hmmm, it's raining again?" before realizing, "Nope, it's just Sammy." LOL

But anyways, I just wanted to show off this cute little picture of him. He had crawled down the arm of my Mom's coat sleeve and snuggled right in. :)

~*Stampily Yours*~ Shannon Buck! :)~

An update on my health...

I am so sorry that I haven't updated my blog in almost a week. I've been down with my neck/shoulder/back and OY have I been hurtin'. :(

I'm not really sure what I did to trigger it but when I was doing an exercise at the gym I ended up pulling something...or at least that's what it felt like. But did I slow down? Nope! I kept on going and then later paid the price...ACK!

I have basically been suffering from neck spasms and my shoulder feels like the bones are grinding on each other and it hurts down into the middle of my back, too. I did go see a chiropractor 2x this last week and I really think that it helped to relieve a lot of the pressure. I'm currently taking ibuprofen 3x a day as well as some heavier meds to relax my muscles and also take away some of the discomfort. Most of my pain comes at night when I can't find a comfortable position to sleep in and I end up wandering the house because standing is my only decent position...UGH!

I'm hoping to get back into the gym soon but for the time being my doctor wants me to lay off all exercising...especially anything that has to do with my abs or arms. I'm hoping to be on the mend soon and back in the gym sometime in April. *fingers are crossed*

Thank to everyone that has left me get well msgs on Facebook and in my inbox. I truly appreciate it. :)

Determined to look fine in 2009 -
~Shannon ;)~
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Recipe: Zucchini Lasagna

Zucchini Lasagna
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
1 - Large Onion, chopped
2 - Garlic Cloves, minced
1 - 24oz Jar low-fat, low-sodium Tomato Sauce
1 lb. extra-lean Ground Chicken or Turkey
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste
1 - Egg
2 cups - low-fat Cottage Cheese
1 tsp. - Whole-Wheat Flower
1/2 cup - skim Mozarella Cheese, shreadded, divided
2 1/2 cups - Zucchini (about 2 medium), sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces, divided

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large nonstick frying pan, saute onion and garlic over medium heat until tender. Add tomato sauce and ground meat, and bring all ingredients to consistent heat for 10 minutes (until browned). Season with salt nd pepper, to taste. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, slightly beat the egg. Stir in cottage cheese, flour and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.

Pour 1/2 of meat-tomato sauce mixture into a 1 1/2-quart roasting pan. Top with 1 1/4 cups zucchini slices and cottage cheese mixture. Then cover with remaining meat-tomato sauce mixture and zucchini.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake 10 minute longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

My Comments: I thought this was really yummy for a healthy lasagna recipe. I would definitely make this again. Even my 10 year old ate it! :)

Determined to look fine in 2009 -
~Shannon ;)~

Words can't describe...

I know its Sunday and not a regular snail-mail day but I just have to tell you...I was so blessed today by a gift that my SWEET SWEET friend Amy sent to me that I would've gotten yesterday if I would've taken the time to walk out to my mailbox - LOL!

Amy sent me the most BEAUTIFUL bracelet and most adorable card with the most sweetest note written on the inside! I was absolutely beside myself to receive such a generous gift...WOW!

Amy...thank you so much! I'm planning on calling you tomorrow to thank you personally but please know that you touched me so much with this heartfelt gift today that I just wasn't able to pick up the phone to tell you. You had me in tears because of your sweetness and your incredible words (inside the card)...heck, I'm not even sure that I'll be able to hold my tears back when I do get you on the phone...LOL! Thank you so very, VERY much...I absolutely LOVE IT and even made sure to wear it today. It's GORGEOUS!!!! :))

~*Stampily Yours*~ Shannon Buck! :)~

I'm getting sleeeeepy!

Holy cow! Sleepiness has finally caught up with me, I think!

I have been complaining for some time now that my sleeping habits are a bit screwy. I've basically been averaging between 4-6 hours of RESTLESS sleep at night (such as waking up every hour or so thinking that its time to get up when its not!). Could it be that through all the good eating and exercise my body doesn't need a large amount of hours to function like it once did? Hmmm! I'm thinking this is!

Well, last night I got in at least 8 hours of pretty much restful sleep and I have been draggin' butt all day. :( I am sitting here trying my hardest to resist a nap since I know that tonight we need to "Spring Ahead" with the clocks and stuff but I honestly don't know how much longer I can hold out. OY! I think its fair to say that at this point...sleeping is for the birds! LOL

Determined to look fine in 2009 -
~Shannon ;)~
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I met Helen today!

An update for:
Thursday, March 5th, 2009

Dear Blog Journal,
Today I met Helen! Helen is a benchmark workout that I'm proud to say I made it through...even with my achin' shoulder! Woohoo!

Here is what we did for the Workout:
Warm Up:

• Band Walks
  
• Band Squats
  
• Monster Walks
• Lunge Walks
• Little Skip
• Big Skip
• Lateral hand walk
• Bear Crawl
• Frog Hop
• Inchworm
  

Skill was: 5 rounds

• 1 arm kb push press 3x each side
  
• pistol squats 5x each side
  
• spiderman 5 each side
  

Workout was: Helen

• Run 2 laps (I rowed 500 m)
• 21 KB swings
• 12 ring rows - tabletop
  

Determined to look fine in 2009 -
~Shannon ;)~
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Oops! I'm turning pink!

An update for:
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

Dear Blog Journal,
Today was the first day back in the gym for me after taking a little bit of time off with my neck/shoulder pain so I took it really easy on the workout. It's now evening and my neck/shoulder don't feel any better or worse so I suppose that's a good thing, right?

Other than that I started some tanning sessions this week and as of tonight I think I'm a little pink...eek! LOL Oh well. At least I'm on the verge of having some color again. YAY!

Here is what we did for the Workout:
Warm Up: x3

• 10 2 hand swings
  
• 10 wall squats
  
• 10 pushups
  

Skill was: 3-4

• 6 heavy medball squats & carry
  
• 10 powerwheel rollouts
  
• 10 cross chop to halo
• TGU x3 each side
• sandbag half moon x 12
• run 1x around the block (I did 250m row)
  

Workout was: 7 1/2 minute Test

• KB hi-pull / snatch
  

My food intake:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup Oatmeal w/ 1 scoop Glutamine & 3/4 scoop Max Pro Vanilla, 1 oz Max Ultra 100 Vitamins
Snack: Tall Pumpkin Spice N/F no whip Latte
Lunch: Chili
Snack: Granola Mix, Grande Pumpkin Spice N/F no whip Latte
Other: 4oz Monavie
Dinner: 2 slices pizza
Snack:
Water intake: Not enough!

Determined to look fine in 2009 -
~Shannon ;)~
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March Team Club Project

Hi everyone!

I know, I know...its been a while. My back has been bothering me a bit (still) and so I haven't been too active when it comes to my blog because I haven't really had anything new and exciting to post about...until now! :)

This is my March project for my Team Club group! I had fun making this...lots of distressing made it extra messy but that's ok...because I'm very partial to the rustic look, anyways. :) Enjoy!!

~*Stampily Yours*~ Shannon Buck! :)~