Countdown to sleep

Last night I got maybe one or two hours of fitful sleep, so the goal tonight is to sleep uninterrupted.

Lights out? Check!
Music off? Check!
Drank half of caffeine than yesterday. Check!

Okay, wish me luck!

Someone needs more caffeine

My knee was hurting and I was overwhelmingly sleepy (I got a little over 5 hours of sleep last night), so I laid down at 11:40 am and just now woke up at 1:15 pm. I feel groggy though, so I got up, washed my face, got some soda, and turned on some peppy music. Now I'm going to balance the bank account. I'd been doing that pretty much every day, and I looked at it just now and it's been since April 18, but since most of that time I didn't have any money coming in and out, it shouldn't be so bad.

On a totally unrelated note, I think my fish is lonely. He keeps playing with his reflection at the edges of the aquarium, like he thinks it's another fish. They do school, after all. So while I'm out later I may just stop by Incredipet and pick up some feeder goldfish (they're something like 19 cents a piece) and put them in the aquarium, to keep him company. :)

Okay, back to going through my list. I have to balance this and then pay bills. Hope you're having a good day.

So the night before last

I wasn't online because it was time to do the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, and my laptop, for whatever reason, is always really slow at updating. When I took it from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, for example, it took a grand total of about 24 hours to install the new operating system. Regular updates aren't a problem, but this was a large file and changed some features. So at first it seemed to download way too quickly, and then got stuck on preparing for installation, and in fact, it had failed. I'm not sure what I did to get it going again, but this time it downloaded (slowly, and this was on an Ethernet connexion and not Wi-Fi). It was doing the preparing to install thing again, so by that time it was late and I went to bed for awhile. When I got up and came back to it, I started the installation, then went back to bed. A couple of hours later it was at 50% installation. By morning though, I just had to restart, and it was on its way. Since then I've tweaked the tiles on the start menu and gotten rid of what I don't use, while reordering what I do. I also updated Chrome, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and my anti-virus software (dropping back to the free version of the software; I just couldn't pay $70 or so for the two computers this year. I have not updated the desktop, which is over at YKWIA's, but I will try to do that this weekend, if I can find a time when he's not on it or needing it. It shouldn't take nearly as long as the laptop; maybe an hour or two.

I'm excited about playing the game this weekend, too. I've missed it--we haven't played since late April, and we usually play weekly. We've been playing this ongoing campaign since July 1991, so we've recently reached the 25-year mark. Yay!

Yesterday I got caught up in 'branding' my social media sites for the job search, and updating publications on LinkedIn. I'm up to 38, with one more recently submitted, and while most of those are book reviews, I've done a column, a book chapter, several stints as librarian selector for Doody's Core Titles in the Health Sciences, in two different subjects, and two different sections of a book meant for collection development as well. I also have a finding aid from before I became a librarian, as part of an internship in state publications, under my former name. So it is varied. I would like to frame a research study or write an entire book at some point. I may write an article about shuttering our library, as there isn't much on the subject out there in the literature.

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. I left her messages on her voicemail, e-mail, and Facebook, but I'm not sure she got them. I hope she had a good day.

This morning I saw my podiatrist and ordered some shoes, this time ones that will be good for exercising and walking in, rather than work shoes. Tonight I helped YKWIA with a few small things, did a short grocery run for both of us, and got home about 9 pm, right before dark. I've eaten some bread and cheese and now I think I'm going to take it easy, cool off (I've been warm all day), and maybe read and listen to some music. I got my work done today, but for whatever reason wasn't feeling particularly motivated--I just soldiered on anyway. Tomorrow I must pay some bills, including my rent, take YKWIA for an appointment in the afternoon, and get my allergy shots. I'm up to the green phial; I'm hoping to build up as quickly as I can. I was near the top of the build at one point and then life got in the way--I had to fall back down to silver and start almost over again. Even missing one week is an issue at this point. At my last visit, my allergist actually was telling me about new single-allergen sublingual immunotherapy, which I guess is an indication that I should make the time to come in more often. They're open late Wednesdays, at least. I'm going to stop by tomorrow just because I'll be in the area--down the street about a block--but normally I'm shooting for mid-week. Unfortunately, that doesn't always work. :)

Okay, I think I'm going to go relax before going to bed. I may turn in early--I didn't get much sleep on the night of the update, and I didn't sleep well last night, either. And two nights ago I had a horrible dream where there was a transgender uprising in response to oppression and Muslims were being rounded up like cattle. I think I'd read too much about Donald Trump that day. I count any dreams of oppression and violence as a nightmare, don't you? Hopefully tonight will be more pleasant in the dream department.

Well, I'm up

two hours after I planned to be and feeling terribly hung over, as I've only really had about four-and-a-half hours' sleep total. I'd gone and gotten A from his job at midnight, so I was asleep about an hour and a half before the power went out. It took me a little while to go back to sleep after the power came on, so I slept maybe from 6-9 am. Now I've opened the windows in the living room, since I still had the one in the bedroom open (it had gotten stuffy last night, and with the rain, it's cooler). I've had of all things bean and cheese burritos for breakfast, and I'm working on a cup of caffeine. (No, it isn't coffee, I'm not a big coffee fan. But I still had a little soda from this weekend.) I need to take my medicine and start working on the house. It isn't currently raining, so I'm thinking taking out the trash and recyclables should be my first task. Then I'm going to unload and load the dishwasher. I have a list of tasks from there. I think if I put the radio on, it'll help motivate me. I feel so groggy. I suspect there will be nap breaks today. :)

My lack of sleep is catching up with me

I've only had maybe three hours' worth of sleep,  and I've functioned well,  all things considered.  But I feel like my batteries are running down now.  I may take a nap,  then get up and work on the kitchen.  I know it's late for a nap,  but there you have it.

Apparently

I process codeine cough syrup in about four and a half to five hours, tops, so I woke up coughing slightly at 3:45 am, worse by 4:20, and then by 4:45 I was out the door with a cough drop in my mouth on my way to Kroger for the daytime stuff so I wouldn't be coughing my brains out. Of course, it was thundering and lightning. It was sprinkling on the way to the store, a decent rain by the time I got there, and then all the heavens broke loose while I was inside (thankfully). I proceeded to stock up on vitamin B12 and D, since mine has disappeared, Kroger Mucinex and Delsym cough syrup, as directed by the nurse practitioner. I also got some bread, blueberries, and bananas, more Kleenexes for work--since I went through half a box yesterday, probably, and some trash bags and toothpaste since I was low. Everything fit in two bags. I did forget to get more Ricola drops, though, and I gave some to my cubicle neighbour, who was coughing pretty horribly yesterday, so I'm getting low.

Now I'm back home, and my strangling cough I had through the store has subsided while I'm drinking something. I'll take the Delsym in a few minutes. It's 12-hour, supposedly, so it can stay home. I'm already taking a small pharmacy and a nebuliser around in my backpack these days, anyway. It was funny, I was getting the Delsym and it asked for my ID at the U-Scan. They didn't even need my ID for the codeine the other day at CVS. :)

I did change back to my other masque for the CPAP, the one with the nasal area rather than the pillows going into the nose, as my nose is a little raw these days. But I went back to the sizing card and my nose length is just on the border between small and medium, so I went up to the medium nose piece instead and it fits better, snugger, without leakage. I slept much better as a result. When I slept, anyway. Oh well, I got about five hours total. That's better than one of my co-workers who has a six month old who gets fed every few hours or so throughout the night. So I won't complain.

Well, it's almost six. I was planning on getting up then, but I think I'll take some of this new cough syrup and try to sleep till 7 am, anyway. And right on cue, there is the dulcet tones of my Scottish music (Battlefield Band) which indicates my cell phone morning alarm is going off. Better snooze for 60 minutes....

I so did not sleep well last night

I tossed and turned, and could never get in a comfortable position. My back hurt if I stretched out on my back. If I was on my left side, my shoulder and arm hurt (from the neck issues), and if I was on my right side, my neck itself hurt. Plus I had an awful headache--and that was with a mild muscle relaxant and some Aleve, which hurt my stomach, too. Not good. Also, I had bizarre dreams where I ate my glasses and everything was precise and kind of obsessive-compulsive. Finally, even the sound of the fan, not so much blowing, but settling into place before going to the next breeze cycle, was bothering me, but the breeze itself was helping me to get what sleep I did.

I'm a mess. I can't even manage to sleep right.

I did not sleep well

despite coming in about 7:30 last night and going to sleep by about 8 pm. But then I was up from midnight to 1 am, no matter how tired I was. After that I tossed all night. I may have had too much caffeine by the time I went back to bed. Yesterday and Monday I'd taken care of a friend who was having some issues. Yesterday he had a painful procedure that should have lasted maybe 30-45 minutes but wound up taking 3 hours. I had to cancel my appointment for physical therapy at the last minute because it ran so long, plus he was in pain and I didn't feel like I could leave him. This is someone with a very high pain threshold, but this really hurt him. After someone else came home, I went and did some grocery shopping, and got some things for him.

This morning my lower back is feeling much worse, and I could probably have used PT yesterday. I'm thinking of going over to the complex gym to walk to see if it would help some. In the meantime, I've got the Macy's Parade on. I like the Rose Parade better, to be honest. And NBC is mostly just talking to various NBC stars with the parade in the background, without showing much, so frankly I think I'll turn it off. You may ask, why are we not cooking today? We've put off Thanksgiving till tomorrow to give my friend, who is the cook, some time to recuperate. In the meantime I'm going to go over there later and spend some time with them. But first, I think I'm going to see if I can stretch out my back.

I just called A and my friend is doing better, and his doctor called to check on him this morning. We decided we'd go for a walk later because the weather is so pleasant (it supposed to be sunny and 64 degrees today), so I'll forego the treadmill for now.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

I pretty much petered out after I wrote here last night

and went on to bed, but couldn't sleep for some reason, and I probably didn't actually fall asleep till about 2:30 am, and I got up at 5:30, and what rest I did get was broken by my waking up often. Despite that, I got through my day without being terribly tired. I went into work at 7, getting a couple of egg and cheese biscuits since our cafeteria doesn't serve breakfast until 7:30. I caught up on all my various duties, both the charge entry and library positions. I filled some interlibrary loans. I was going to fill the clinic cart as well, but really, it's pretty well stocked from last time, and probably needs about a half a shelf of new books. I try to keep it full, checking it every week or two.

After work I went over to my friends' house, where we ate and watched various YouTube videos and a few short episodes of something on Netflix. I also got the Cthulhu game notes finished today (yay!), so I won't be pressed to do so tomorrow.

Tomorrow the plan is to get up about 7:30 am and finish the bedroom and vacuum the house. That should make the house livable and presentable. By 11 am I'll be over at my friends' to do grocery shopping and also to take one on an errand or two.

I have a mushroom growing up in the pot that has the little oak tree in it. I should probably remove it, but I am fascinated by fungi, so I'll leave it for now.

I think I'm going to call it a night, even though it's a bit after 10 pm. I may listen to a little music before actually sleeping, but I really have done well today as far as staying awake (I've also taken all my meds as directed, and my blood sugar is doing better as a result, so I am not getting terribly sleepy in the afternoons after lunch like I was. But starting Monday I'm going to try to eat healthier--I've been eating too many snacks when I'm not particularly hungry, and unhealthy ones at that, along with desserts, and I just shouldn't do that. I'm going to start tracking my food again and see if I can lose some weight. I've lost some (I'm 15 lbs under my maximum weight right now, but I could stand to lose, oh, technically about 110 more, although I'd be happy if I could just get down to say, 225 even (I'm at 291 no, at 5'4"), and would like to go down some for health reasons more than anything else. I get the fat acceptance people, and yes, I do believe that you can be healthy and overweight (although obese is perhaps another matter), but I'm not healthy, and so I need to take steps, including diet and exercise, that will help my health. If I can make small changes in my lifestyle, and stick to them, then hopefully I will feel better.

A little excited

Next Monday, May 11th, Charlaine Harris is doing a ticketed book signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington at 7 pm. I must admit, it would be nice to go. I've read the Aurora Teagarden, Sookie Stackhouse, and Harper Connelly series, as well as part of Midnight Crossroad, which is on my Kindle and is the pre-cursor to the one she's signing, Day Shift. Strange for a librarian, I suppose, but I've never actually been to a book signing. Of course, if I get the physical book of Day Shift signed, then I'll have to eventually get the first book in hardback, too. :) I have the Sookie Stackhouse books in book club hardbacks, most of the Aurora Teagarden books, which are about a librarian-turned-sleuth, in paperback (still working on that, through PaperbackSwap.com). The others I've read through the library or on my Kindle. We'll see. I'm not a great fan of crowds. If I go, I'll report back here.

Sorry I haven't blogged in a couple of days. Sunday I came home a little early because Brenda had a meeting so we cut the game a couple of hours short. I went straight to bed for a couple of hours and then called YKWIA at 9:30 (I set an alarm) so he'd be able to watch 'Salem'. But he recorded it so A and I could watch it later. Monday was a friend's '5th birthday' in a 12-step programme and we went to his celebration. It lasted till 9 or 9:30. I got home around 11 pm, and had to be up at 6 am, so I didn't get much sleep as it was and couldn't really bring myself to blog. But I'm glad I went, and I got to meet his co-worker/distant cousin, who came as well.

Today was one of my early days at work, so I was able to leave by 4 for an appointment with the allergist and my allergy shot. One more shot and I'll be ready to go up a step in the shots. I'm feeling much better than I was because I'm on a medicine called levocetirizine that is related to Zyrtec. It's been really helping with my allergies.

Tonight is 'iZombie', which I heard was picked up for next season, so yay! That's at 9. I think I'll take a little nap before heading over there to watch. Hope you are enjoying your week, so far!

After a very rainy day, the sun has finally come out

It is streaming through the living room windows as I write this. My bounciness yesterday, while doing a lot for me then, had the effect of not being able to sleep well last night. I kept waking up every hour on the hour. I don't remember hearing any storms, although apparently there were some. And I spent most of the night on top of my bedspread, which is sort of scratchy. I finally got up and put a blanket down and slept better. But my mind wouldn't shut down. At three or four in the morning, I felt like going for a walk. Given the time of night and the fact that it was most likely raining, that was not such a good idea.

I'm having a quiet night alone again. Dinner will be more spaghetti (I made several servings at once). I think I may watch a little TV--I'm sorely behind on 'Doctor Who', and I'm intrigued by the last episode with mummies on the Orient Express. :) I have them on the DVR. My DVR is actually almost full of things I should really watch. And I'm going to start on the game notes, maybe even finish them if I'm lucky. That would put me way ahead for the week.

Tonight I need to do those things and arrange for a payment of a bill. Tomorrow will be somewhat tough. I'm hoping I have enough gas to get to work and back. But Thursday is payday and I can fill up the car and pay some bills. That would be very good. Thursday and Friday there are appointments to go to, so it will be good to have gas. :) I also need to make an appointment with the gynaecologist, which if I'm lucky I can get in maybe next week. I haven't heard back from the psychiatric practice. It occurs to me that I may have given the wrong phone number. (The prefix for my home phone and cell phone have the same numbers, in different order). I'll call back tomorrow. I don't know what the weekend looks like yet. As far as I know, we're playing the game Sunday, but anything beyond that is somewhat up in the air.

I have to admit, I'm a bit pooped. I did very well at work today, despite the lack of sleep. But my brain is trying to shut down. I wonder if I can lie down for an half hour without wasting my whole evening? Experience tells me no. Maybe I should just eat a bit and then take it from there. :)

3 am

Still awake.  I have been downloading free applications from Amazon. Time to stop and set my clock(s) to wake up in five hours.  Ouch!

A happy thing

So, I'm looking at my calendar on my phone and am struck by the fact that for the first time in weeks--perhaps months--neither I nor a friend of mind whom I drive to commitments have any sort of appointments at all this week. Yay!

Today was good; A and I cleaned house in preparation for the game, then Brenda came over and we played Call of Cthulhu and visited. I normally stay for 'Witches of East End', but I didn't really sleep that well last night and I was pretty tired, so I came on home. YKWIA is recording it on his DVR, so hopefully I can watch it later. So now I'm comfy and listening to some music (Bastille's 'Icarus') and thinking about going on to bed even though it's not yet 10 pm.

Tomorrow I plan on:

1. Getting some things accomplished at work
2. Paying some bills
3. Calling several doctor's offices that owe me co-pays because I met my out-of-pocket max months ago
4. Working on the house
5. Watching the season 8 premiere of 'The Big Bang Theory'
6. Celebrating the autumnal equinox (10:29 PM local time (EDT))

I'm not sure yet if I'll go over to my friends' house or not tomorrow. I really need to work on the house some more. I'd like to get it in order before dark of the moon, which is in a couple of days. I didn't do my monthly libation last time, and I'd like to do so at dark of the moon (which is traditional) and purify the house, which should be clean first.

If I do go over there, I have the ingredients for more squash and couscous, and I'm going to alter the original recipe by adding garlic (it was a little bland as it was written--YKWIA, an excellent cook, suggested the garlic). Also, I managed to find some fresh basil, so I can use that instead of dried, which should help the flavour. But if not, I think everything will still be okay Tuesday, which may be better because A has a meeting on Monday nights, so we'd be eating fairly late if I do it then.

I really pigged out at the game today, eating quite a bit of cheese and some fruit, and a few crackers, plus a sandwich. But as of this morning I was 18 lbs down from my maximum weight, so that's good. Hopefully today won't reverse that trend. I tend to graze on Sundays rather than eating meals.

Okay, I really think I'm going to go on to bed. Good night.

Have I mentioned

that somewhere along the way, while I wasn't particularly paying attention, I've lost 16 lbs? Three more pounds and I'll be back to where I was briefly after my ankle was broken nearly two years ago. Fourteen more pounds and I'll reach the goal my endocrinologist set for trying to increase my insulin sensitivity, which would allow me to ease off the insulin some. I wore a blouse today that had been a little tight/uncomfortable on me ever since I got it and it fit much better and I got a lot of compliments on it. It's a soft mossy green and beige with a pinkish flower on the front. It made me feel good about myself. I also wore a pearl bracelet and strand that were my grandmother's, and a pair of faux pearl earrings I have. So even though it was jeans day at work, and I did wear jeans, I was kind of dressy from the waist up.

In the hour or so that I've been home, I've loaded and run the dishwasher, moved the speaker tower out to the living room, and straightened up the living room some. (I think playing the music has been interfering with my sleep, which usually actually lulls me to sleep, but for whatever reason the same music is keeping me awake. Last night I slept about two hours total, even with gentle Celtic music, and the night before I didn't sleep well. Apparently the richer sound is somehow an issue compared to my phone connected to a little boom box.) Now I'm trying out the charging option and I'm playing some Natalie Merchant and I'm eating a little dinner. I opened the windows to let the almost-autumn air in. But I needed to get some food in me--I'd taken my Byetta about an hour before and it can cause nausea if you wait too long to eat, although at least I haven't had that trouble. My main thing is trying to take it with enough time (at least 15 minutes) prior to eating. :)

So I've finished eating. It would be nice to take a nap, but I'm afraid that I wouldn't wake up easily, and there's so much to do here. Tomorrow I need to take a friend to the pharmacy, which closes by 1 pm, so I need to go over there fairly early. Okay, maybe it's time for a bit more caffeine. :) Maybe I'll watch a bit of 'The Big Bang Theory' while I work on the living room. I got season 7 on DVD today from Amazon with my cashback bonus from my credit card, so it was kind of free. :)

I didn't sleep well last night

I was very restless all night, and I'm not sure why. I didn't have too much caffeine or anything like that. I did walk a lot, of course, much more than today, where I didn't even make my normal 5,000 steps. In fact, I'm at about a third of yesterday's accomplishment. I've been productive today, and not really pooped despite the lack of sleep, but I didn't feel like doing a lot of walking again today.

I did succeed at something else, though. I got my partials in very well (I hadn't been able to get them in after my temporary crown was put on, and just let it go for a few days, then decided this morning that I was going to get them in come hell or high water). I could speak more clearly than I have been, and I managed to eat both a portabello mushroom sandwich on ciabatta bread and corn on the cob without them becoming loose or coming out. It was nice to take them out once I got home, but it gave me hope that I might be able to get used to them and wear them on a daily basis.

Okay, I hate to say it, but I'm going to go in the bedroom and listen to a little music, and most likely fall asleep. I'd like to watch 'The Big Bang Theory' at 8, though, so the idea is to not make this a long nap. As a backup, though, I have set it to record. I don't feel sleepy, really, just a bit tired. I still feel a little restless, and I should put that energy to some use, but I'm just not feeling like doing anything much, even reading. So maybe the music will relax me a bit without my falling asleep, rejuvenate me a bit, and then I can get up and do some things before actually heading to bed. :)

PS (5/2/14): Ha! That wound up being a 12 hour sleep! I apparently was exhausted. All that walking, and then hardly any sleep the night before made me a very tired person. I slept from about 7:30 pm to 7:45 am. I'm beginning to think I should add 'napping/sleeping' to my list of talents.

So I'm at McDonald's and it's a little after 6 am

There was no point in trying to sleep any more, really. I managed to get into a sort of drowsy half-sleep for about an hour at a time, but kept waking up because I couldn't get comfortable. I normally sleep with a fan, for one. The CPAP is crucial for me, of course. So I'm tired and kind of achy. But I did manage a lukewarm shower and dressing in the dark. I wish I'd remembered the allergy medicine I got at the grocery yesterday, though. Mine are in full swing.

I've had breakfast (two egg and cheese biscuits), and I'm on their wi-fi catching up on news and blogging. But I'm behind on my time because of that three-hour dental appointment the other day, so I think I'll go on in to work soon. I just have to be careful I don't get overtime. I can't leave early today because I may be needed to meet someone who did a book drive, and that'll probably be between 4 and 5 pm.

Hopefully the electricity will be back on at home by the time I get there this afternoon. I unplugged the aquarium and little fish tank so the filters/pumps wouldn't run without water.

Okay, I'm going to go check the news for the morning, then head over to work. Have a great day. And hey, at least it's Friday (and in my case, jeans day at work.) :)

I didn't sleep well last night, and I feel like I could spend at least a couple of more hours in bed

But I'd like to take care of the car as early as possible. It's sunny and 45, and supposed to be up about 57, after such bitter cold for weeks, that I suspect a lot of people will be trying to do the same. Still, I'm overdue for an oil change, so I'll at least try to get that done today. I'm just moving really slowly, and I had odd dreams. Oh, well, might as well get up and get going. Have a great day.

Consequences of little sleep

So far today I have overrun the toilet (try dealing with that in a walker), dropped everything I have picked up, practically, and nearly had my cheese--Miracle Whip and all--slide off my bread. I'd like to tackle the bed and get the sheets changed, but at this point I'm not even sure if it's safe to try to feed the fish.

I was actually up to 2 am talking to YKWIA again

but woke up like clockwork at 7 am, so I was a bit disappointed to not get much sleep for the second or third time this week. But I'm not sleeping during the day, either, except maybe an hour here and there. I guess all that time sleeping half the day away stored up some sort of reserve, even though I don't think it works that way. :)

I'm up. I've given myself a baby wipe bath, changed clothes (but not washed my hair, yet). I've gone through my physical therapy exercises involving the exercise band for my upper body strength. I've e-mailed a co-worker who's stopping by this afternoon. I've checked my blood sugar and taken my Lantus, the long-acting insulin, and I'm just waiting for a bit before I can take the Novolog as well and eat something.

I think I'll pop around the internet and see if there's anything interesting to see. If so, I'll share it here.

The Cthulhu game was called early today

so I got home about 7:30 pm, and immediately laid down. I'd been up since 4:30 am, cleaned house, gorged myself on healthy snacks (veggies, almonds, and string cheese, grapes, although as usual I had too much of the latter two. I'm up very briefly because I woke up in pain (it was time for my foot medicine and also my long-acting insulin, so I got up and took those, got a little water, and tested my blood sugar, which was actually quite good. I had taken my other long-acting insulin shot at the bus stop early this morning, taken the short-acting throughout the day, and also took several supplements I've had around the house that are supposed to help with sugar metabolism and diabetes. Since the insulin alone isn't quite doing it, and my doctor seems to think that we should push it up every few months and that's sufficient, I thought this might be an alternative, although I'm a) going to tell him I'm taking them and b) keep a very close eye on my blood sugar. The supplements are things like: cinnamon, fenugreek, alpha liproic acid, B12, and CoQ10. I got them last year but never regularly took them (some are very large). I'm not a big supplement fan--I think some it of it hooey and others just pass through the system. But these are either designed to disintegrate or are powder inside thing glycerine capsules. The plan is to eat the cinnamon with yoghurt and take everything else, at least for a few days, and see if that helps.

What has been helping is my vitamin D supplement. My energy has been much better since he upped my dose. I'm on 50,000 IUs a week now, after a week of it daily. That I do for six more weeks, and then go back to my regular 1,000 IUs a day. But I'm not just coming home and collapsing out of abnormal fatigue like I was.

Even so, things came too early for me to be particularly productive in the newly-found free time. I'm going back to bed and getting up early to do some chores before work (or at least that's the idea). Hopefully the pain reliever I took and the foot medicine will help with the aching and pain I've got going.

I've dealt with chronic pain every since my knees started bothering me in high school. Then in my twenties I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia (or as my friends facaetiously call it, fibrous migraines). I have osteoarthritis in several areas. So I can't say I've been pain free for much of my life. But you learn to deal, of course. But it's getting worse as I've gotten older, and my weight is by no means helping. I know my joints and feet would feel so much better if I lost weight. I've been eating healthier for some time now, but if anything I've gained (a side effect of the insulin, unfortunately), and that's been frustrating. Exercise may be the best thing I can put into the mix, although I hate to say it, it has to be the right kind of exercise that doesn't hurt too much, so walking, which is ideal normally may be out. The pool is closing after next weekend, and I never seemed to really feel like getting in, no matter how much I like water. I think it's really because I'm embarrassed by my weight. So I guess the exercise bike is my best bet, although even my knees protest that. But they're just going to have to get over it to eventually feel better. I've tried to make small changes and make them habit, and I've done pretty well, but the exercise thing has been a void. That's going to have to change. I'm going to have to change.