Needed: Rest.

Glad this week is almost OH-VER. I haven't slept well most of the week and my back has been hurting, which scares me A LOT. It hurts in the surgical site area, and I think it's from the constant sitting in one position at work. I can't get comfortable at work, with my arms out in front of me typing all day. I keep repositioning myself to find a comfy spot and I can't find it. My boss doesn't know about my spinal cord surgery, and I'm not sure how much she (or any boss) would be willing to accommodate a brand-new employee for yet another medical condition. She already knows about the diabetes and the celiac disease. I just hate feeling like the problem employee. I don't want her to think "great, what have I hired." I am afraid to call my surgeon's office because I'm afraid they will recommend working a reduced work week, to work my way back into working full time. But I can't afford that. And I know for a fact my new job will not accommodate that because they have already stated the company does not hire part-time employees. So I'm planning a weekend of complete and total rest, preferably spent on my back. During the week I'm going to have do try to do less work at home after work (cleaning, cooking, laundry, errands) and focus on rest rest resting my back. I'm so scared one of my health conditions is going to jeopardize my work.

So tonight I made a yummy gluten free meals that I hope will last me through the entire weekend. I had a 2 1/2 lb container of ground turkey from Sam's Club that I thawed but had not made a plan for, so I flipped through my recipes and decided to make Confetti Turkey Loaf before it spoiled. It's very healthy and tasty. That took up 1 1/2 lbs; the remaining pound I used to make a batch of Manwich sloppy joe mix (less healthy, but easy). Then I baked 5 sweet potatoes in the toaster oven.

Here's the quick version of how to make the turkey loaf. Saute onions and peppers in a pan with a teeny amount of oil, then dump in a big mixing bowl. Add 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey, 2 eggs, a chopped up carrot, fennel seed, salt and pepper. Mix it up.

Make 1 cup of cook wild rice (I made it in the rice cooker). Soak the cooked rice in 1/2 cup canned coconut milk for about 5 minutes.

Add it to the turkey/vegetable mix. Throw it in a greased loaf pan. Bake for a hour.

Before

After

Thanks for listening to me this week. I've had a bad week. Between the nightmares and stress, a $4000 medical bill for uncovered services during my spinal cord surgery, and now my surgical area causing me a lot of pain, I'm ready for the weekend.