Pain in the Neck, etc.

My neck has been getting pretty messed up in my sleep lately. Every couple of weeks I wake up with a lot of stiffness and soreness. My husband says I've been tossing around a lot in my sleep lately... my dreams have been very vivid, actually. Nothing important or even too interesting, but very clear and real-seeming. Last night I dreamt that I went to the grocery store but I realized halfway through my shopping that I forgot to bring my wallet with me. It was very annoying.

Anyway, I must've done a pretty interesting maneuver on myself Sunday night because when I woke up on Monday morning my neck was particularly sore. By the end of the day, it hurt so much that I was relieved I'd decided not to go out to art night; I couldn't even sit up in bed anymore and was forced to lie down with a heating pad under my neck just to keep the pain at a managable level. Tuesday night was pretty much the same, but I think it hurt even more. Yesterday and today it's just been sore, though. Much better.

Yesterday was chore-tastic: I vacuumed the carpets, scrubbed and swept the kitchen, and did two loads of laundry because my son had thrown up all over his bedding the night before. Lovely. Oh, well... still much better than being stuck in bed with nothing to do. Ever try beading flat on your back? I don't recommend it.

My mother-in-law's birthday is coming up and I'm making her my special golden carrot cake. It's got orange zest in the cream cheese frosting and toasted pecans, golden raisins, and crushed pineapple inside. Yum! Here's a pic of the marzipan carrots that I just made.


When they get put on top of the cake, all I have to do is pipe a bit of green icing onto the end with a "grass" tip. It's the way we always did them at the bakery I used to work at and they come out really cute. I had so much fun making them... it really brought back memories. Making large batches of marzipan and cream cheese icing were regular parts of my job. I really enjoyed that job... shame I had to work with the Queen Bitch of the Universe there. Oh, well... if it wasn't for her I guess I wouldn't have decided to have a baby and become a professional housewife, so I guess it wasn't such a bad thing, after all.

Okay, I've gotta run and work on my jewelry shop stuff some more. I really want to get everything together so that I can open it soon!