1.  Right off the bat I’ve got a dilemma: how do I write a 40 things post when I’ve spent the majority of the last week out of commission?

2.  Day 1: Heating pad, meds, naps, Netflix, takeout.

3.  Day 2: Heating pad, meds, naps, Netflix, takeout.

4.  Day 3: Heating pad, meds, naps, a little rain, Netflix, takeout.

5.  I will say this. Nothing forces you to embrace asking for help like calling the hubs to say please come home, I can’t move and Gracie has to pee.

6.  Don’t get me wrong, these fur babies were thrilled to see me take up permanent residence on the couch, but still.

7.  I don’t stress about taking a timeout. If I’m sick then the world keeps on spinning just fine while I recuperate.

8.  Even so, stuff falls through the cracks. Big stuff, little stuff, life stuff, then we have to clean it up. Ugh.

9.  I’m starting to come out the other side — if “other side” means manageable instead of crippling pain. I’ll take it.

10.  Right before my back blew out I made this Chicken Chopped Salad with Jalapeño Dressing.

11.  I’ll say straight up that I can only review this from the adult perspective.

12.  It was one of those weekends where the kids either a) were always off and running somewhere or b) didn’t feel adventurous enough to try a salad. Whatevs.

13.  Okay, salad first. I was looking to add another option for the summers when anything at the stovetop feels completely undoable, and this meets that requirement.

14.  I will say it is freaking SPICY. The salad calls for a small sliced jalapeño and those seeds kicked my butt all over the place.

15.  As for the dressing, I don’t typically like ones made from Greek yogurt. It feels like some annoying switcheroo where the dressing looks creamy and decadent but then tastes like, y’know, yogurt.

16.  This one was a nice surprise, though. Mine came out a lot thinner than the photos but that may have been because my only option was nonfat yogurt. Or maybe I pulsed it too long. Who knows.

17.  Nobody else felt like giving the dressing a try which in the end meant more for me so yay! Extra dressing for the win.

18.  Anyway, I give the salad two thumbs up. Just keep that heat level in mind if you try it out.

19.  You want to hear fabulous timing? We’re taking family photos this weekend.

20.  It’s been more than a few years since we had any done so it’s beyond time. Generally speaking I’m excited about the prospect.

21.  I guess it just kinda figures I’ll have to put clothes on this train wreck of a body and navigate a local park without falling down.

22.  Worst case scenario I guess I can step aside and watch the kiddos grin.

23.  Just kidding, I’ll muddle through.

24.  Muddling: what all the greats aspire to.

25.  Has anyone figured out how to wrangle their email inbox?

26.  How can I get out from under this avalanche short of burning my internet history to the ground and starting over with a top secret email I only give to family and friends??

27.  Is there some sort of deal with the devil I missed? Or does everyone just accept deleting fifty spam messages a day as routine?

28.  I go for long stretches convincing myself I don’t care, but really? It makes breaks a real bitch.

29.  Sometimes I’ll step back for a few days — for a media timeout or because, you know, life — only to find I’ve got a boatload of messages to slog through when I log back on.

30.  It’s depressing. To say the least.

31.  Technology: the best of times, the worst of times.

32.  I also keep getting this super fun alert announcing my passwords have been involved in a data leak SO YOU BETTER CHANGE IT RIGHT THIS MINUTE.

33.  Okay. First, I just can’t take a compromised Buffalo Wild Wings password seriously. I can’t.

34.  Second, I love The Cloud™, I really do. Can’t explain it exactly but whatever.

35.  The thing is I don’t trust it. Apple is super helpful with their offers to create these unbreakable passwords they’ll store in — Ta Da!! — The Cloud™ but nope, can’t do it.

36.  Because once I lock down my healthcare website with Fvgs&^sYt71.Bn$~9wqM and The Cloud™ “forgets” it I’m pretty much screwed, no ifs ands or buts.

37.  Plus let’s say by some miracle I retain Fvgs&^sYt71.Bn$~9wqM in this foggy memory bank and it’s involved in a data leak then the site’s STILL compromised. Along with any other account I used it on.

38.  I don’t use easily hacked passwords, I just don’t use Fort Knox level ones. Either way it seems like the data leak problem is the same, though.

39.  Maybe I’ll find a magic fix for passwords and email both.

40.  Bottle that ish up and we can make a million dollars off it, guaranteed.