Ahhhhh....

There's nothing better than those little comforts that just make you relax and feel at ease when everything else feels like utter chaos...

I've been hurting a LOT lately. After my two surgeries(the spinal cord stimulation implant and the revision), I had some really bad weakness and sharp pain throughout my entire back whenever I sit down or stand or walk for more than a short period of time. My chiropractor said it was most likely atrophy of the muscles, which makes the most sense because for 6 months I was healing from one surgery and straight to another and wasn't allowed to bend or twist my back at the waist at all, I couldn't even lift over 5lbs. Imagine that for a minute, and how stiff your back would get at the inactivity after a day, a week. 6 months?!?! I'm also no stranger to atrophied muscles, I had a round with it back when I was 16 in a wheelchair from the RSD at the beginning of it all. My right leg had swelled to twice the size of my other leg and was completely purplish and mottled red. The skin was also cold to the touch, which I was told are classic signs of RSD. I physically couldn't place my foot on the ground because just touching it to the floor made my nerves scream in pain. That was for almost 2 years, and my right leg was so thin after it all from the inactivity, you could feel with your bare hands how completely underdeveloped those muscles were compared to the left leg, which was fine at the time. Now my back is going through it, and it's just so painful... My mom is truly amazing, she's helped me get a new mattress(mine is awful and old with two human-sized craters by having to put up with the RSD patient that spends 80% of life in bed :P) which will be here on Tuesday, and it adjusts which we think will be REALLY good for not only my back, but my RSD as well. SO EXCITED! My arms have been hurting a lot lately too, but I'm seeing my pain doctor soon to see what other options there are until I can afford the next surgery.

I was just sitting here in bed, and turned the stimulation on my device up, and really just had to exhale. It felt soooo much better and I felt like I could relax having a bit of that pain go away again. There really is nothing like it. The closest thing I can think of to compare is like a big glass of water when you're dehydrated, that calm your body feels all over at getting one thing it really needed in that moment. I know, I'm weird, but little victories are all I can ask for right now. :) In this moment I feel relaxed, even though I have a million other things to stress about tomorrow, and that's enough for me right here.

Oranges in a Flower

I'm a little late posting this on my own blog.... *shame* BUT I did get it posted to the Iron Craft page in time. :) I blame more physical therapy abuse on my procrastination.

I finished challenge #2! Yay, cheering *ahhhhhh*. I went ahead with a truffle, as I've really enjoyed candy making lately. For the challenge itself I went with a very fresh orange ganache filling that used orange zest and fresh orange juice, and the result was a REALLY vibrant orange taste. It was not like the Walgreen's orange chocolate I'd had in the past because it was a creamy ganache in a chocolate shell and the flavor of the orange was just so fresh. Being that my family is not big fans of orange chocolate, I tested them out on my friend Magpie and will test them out again on my other friend Christine as soon as I get the chance to get them to her. :) Magpie seemed to enjoy them, so I'm glad I'm not the only one immediately around that liked them. Anyway, back to the challenge.... the theme was hearts and flowers for the upcoming holiday, Valentine's Day, so I went with a rose mold and hand-piped hearts in white chocolate for decoration, which is something I first tried doing for my mom's birthday in December last year. They turned out pretty cute and dainty!

Have a quick look at the other Iron Craft crafter's projects, as well.

 I also made some honey ganache truffles with the square mold and a peanut butter banana chocolate in the reese's shaped mold. The honey truffle is interesting... it's got the sweet honey taste but also the dark chocolate undertones. It's not very sweet but it's not very bitter like dark chocolate can be either. It also isn't like semi-sweet, which is typically what you'd think of as that in-between balance. It's kinda slightly sweet and robust at the same time haha. Very tasty though, as strange as that little thing is. The PBB chocolate is just amazing. It has a thicker consistency as it's mashed banana and peanut butter mixed together(not a ganache, and therefore not a truffle). I came up with this because my mom was talking about her favorite ice cream flavor, peanut butter and chocolate ice cream with banana ice cream, and since I don't have my ice cream maker for my AMAZING kitchenaid mixer yet... next best thing. :D