The photo is from the 4th of July last week, which we spent out at Harding Lake with the rest of Fairbanks. The weather was lovely and the food was not bad either. We tried the tow tube a few times behind our friend's boat, which was fun even though I bit it and was cold and dripping by the end. Good times.
So I have been mad busy these last 3 weeks with the research class and also with mucking up my back in a most unpleasant way. I leaned over to pick the cat up (not with the knees, but hindsight is 20/20, eh?) and wrenched my back. At first it just hurt, not horribly, but painfully enough. A week went by and I had pain all down my left leg, to the point that I was crying at night and unable to ever get comfortable in any position. Ow. Nerve pain sucks. I went to the doctor and got some pain stuff and muscle relaxant, but nothing seemed to work.
Then I tried Capzasin cream, and I tell you it saved my life. It is a little unpleasant, slathering yourself with hot pepper essence, but it worked and it doesn't have that minty Ben-Gay/Icy/Hot smell. I highly recommend it.
Now I am going to physical therapy and working really hard to lift with my legs. I am also done with the research class and spent most of this week writing a thesis proposal. Blegh. I am glad to be done.
Summer seems too short. I will be 30 next week. (Yikes!) And I have wasted my summer working and taking classes. Dangit. 
