The 6th Day

Wednesday (1), Thursday (2), Friday (3), Saturday (4), Sunday (5), Monday (6)... Okay, so, today's my 6th day in my new living space. And so far things are going great!

Ramiro and I share a room that's smaller than my old bedroom at my parents' house. Which has made things very tough/interesting. We've really had to make the most of the small space and we've both had to get rid of a lot of things.

Also, there's no "my stuff" and "your stuff" anymore. It's "our stuff." We've combined our DVDs, our VHS tapes, our CDs, our games, our books, our art supplies, and (omg!) our comic books. We share a very small closet. It's been a tough adjustment!

On the other hand, we're very grateful for each other's company (not to put words in his mouth or anything, but I happen to know he enjoys having me around). And I love having him around to talk to all the time. Now when I read/hear/see something, I don't have to think "Gee, I wish Ramiro was here to read/hear/see this too!" because he is here. So that's really nice. And, as I'm writing right now, I still have just enough privacy and space to think. Which is something I was concerned about (what with it being such a small space!). So that's quite a relief too!

The first meal we cooked together was a bit of a mixed bag. haha. The hamburger patties came out fantastic and the yams were great too (except that they finished about half-an-hour later than we anticipated). But we failed to follow the directions on this weird multi-grain pasta (boil water, then add the pasta) and it turned into a weird paste. And we didn't have any cream, butter or real cheese... So we made an Alfredo sauce out of milk, sour cream, and Parmesan powdered cheese. It actually tasted just about right (amazingly!), but was a bit grainy. Live and learn, right?

However, I've noticed that I have a lot less back pain here. And Ramiro noticed that I don't have my weird stomach distress hiccups anymore (my "meeps" for those of you who know me well). And I feel a lot more relaxed. Now that I have so much responsibility, there's really no time to be "emo" about things. It's a whole new beginning! :)

Anyway, Ramiro and I also share this computer now, so I should probably get off and let him have a turn!

Until next time...

--Lauren*

For Dummies

Okay, so I'm a bit sick right now. Haven't been feeling my Smurfy best for the past couple days. Not sick enough to stay home from work mind you (threw up, but no fever = usually not contagious to others), but sick enough where I feel pretty darn crummy by the time I get home from work.

On the other hand, not feeling well always has the advantage of slowing me down enough to catch up on my reading. Here's a list of what I have read or am currently reading as of late:

• THE LOW BLOOD SUGAR HANDBOOK by Edward and Patricia Krimmel
• HYPOGLYCEMIA THE CLASSIC HEALTHCARE HANDBOOK by Jeraldine Saunders and Dr. Harvey M. Ross
• THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF HYPOGLYCEMIA by Roberta Ruggiero (she's super nice--she sent me an e-mail not too long ago!)
  
• SUGAR SHOCK! How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life-- and How YouCan Get Back on Track by Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C, with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
• HYPOGLYCEMIA FOR DUMMIES by Cheryl Chow and James Chow, M.D.

Okay, I'm going to stop for a minute. That last book is by far the best in that list. I was very skeptical about the "For Dummies" series of books, but they are honestly fantastic (or at least the ones I've read so far have been!). They have good information and are written in a way that can usually make me laugh, or at least stay in a relatively good mood. This is important since most of the books I've gotten from them are about very "serious"/hard-to-deal-with subject matters (which some books make relatively depressing). In fact, the "For Dummies" book on Hypoglycemia is so good that's it's actually referenced in a couple of the other books on that reading list of mine!

I also have/read:

• BIPOLAR DISORDER FOR DUMMIES by Candida Fink and Joe Kraynak
  
• SPANISH FOR DUMMIES by Susana Wald
• SPANISH FOR DUMMIES AUDIO SET by Jessica Langemeier
  
• INTERMEDIATE SPANISH FOR DUMMIES by Gail Stein, M.A.
• STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR DUMMIES by Allen Elkin, Ph.D.
• BACK PAIN REMEDIES FOR DUMMIES by Michael S. Sinel, M.D. and William W. Deardorff, Ph.D.

Those last two came in the mail just earlier today. I read a few pages into each of them and so far they're both pretty good. I have high hopes.

Speaking of back pain, I treated myself to an early Christmas (maybe birthday?...since my family isn't exchanging Christmas gifts again this year) gift: A back massager for my chair. With heat!

As I write to you, I currently have a ThermaCare heat wrap on my back. Which is fantastic. But, I got to thinking: with all the money I spend on disposable heat packs, I may as well invest in something a tad more permanent. And, hey, bonus!--Maaaaaaaaassssssssssaaaaaaaaaage. I can't wait.

Ever since my back sprain last summer, my back hasn't quite been the same. I try to be vigilant about the exercises the Physical Therapists gave me, but it's hard. They're so time-consuming! But I try to at least do the twisty one for sure and maybe one or two of the other ones before I head off to work each day. But, lately, I've been having a lot of back pain in spite of things. So much so that it wakes me up at night. Hurts.

In other news, I'm working on a short black & white comic. It's going to be only about 4 or 5 pages long. It's "creepy." It may be for something or it may not. I don't know yet. But I'm having a lot of fun doing it and I'm sure that you'll get to see it either way. (Though don't expect it any time soon since they've increased my work hours and I don't have a lot of free time anymore...and what free time I do have, I'd rather spend with Ramiro).

Until next time...

--Lauren*