Gourmet Crock Potter

I never really intended for this blog to be so fibromyalgia-heavy, but the change in season brings an onslaught of symptoms, so it's what's on my mind most.  And while I may not often be able to stand for more than 5-20 minutes, I've learned I can still create some tasty dinners through the magic of the crock pot.

When I lived alone, I was hesitant to use it much because I didn't want to eat the same meal 4-8 times in a row.  However, now that I get to share dinner (and dinner-duty) on a regular basis, I'm discovering how wonderful this great little invention is.

Tonight's menu: Pork Ribs.  Yumm!  This will be my first ever attempt at ribs, but my uncle assures me that I can't mess it up.  Here's the instructions:  (I guess for those used to cooking more often, this might also be termed a recipe.)

• Put an empty bowl upside down in the bottom of the crock pot.  (This is to keep the ribs out of the juices while cooking.)
• Cut the ribs into pieces that will fit inside the crock pot.  (I quartered a full rack.)
• Put your favorite spices or dry rub on the ribs.
• Put the ribs inside the crock pot, on top of the bowl, making sure they won't land in the juices.
• Cook on low 6-8 hours.
• Heat up your favorite barbeque sauce to serve with the fall-off-the-bone ribs.

And now my homage to the crock pot.

Oh, dear crock pot
You make my life great
You cook dinner for me
And Kyle, my mate

You've been through a lot
In your thirty plus years
Cooking all sorts of things
From stew to pig's ears

Though harshly clothed
In 70's orange and brown
You may be ugly
But don't let that get you down

 
Your usefulness far exceeds
Any sacrifice of beauty
And you never hesitate
To fulfill your duty

So here's to you
Working late on a Sunday
I love you so much
That I'll see you again Monday.

Thanks to Uncle Jeff for the recipe.

Thanks to mom and dad for letting me inherit your wedding gift, the crock pot.

The Fibromyalgia Translation Service

Lucky you!  I'm here to offer you a service today, a translation service.  For the past six years, I've been living on my own.  I never really had to spend more than 6-8 hours with any one person on a regular basis (except for some trips), so I never realized that my interpretation of normal words isn't normal.  I mean, my dogs have done a great job knowing what I mean!  If the dogs can figure it out, I never thought that maybe other people would have trouble.

Ahh, but now I'm living with Kyle.  It's been great!  I can't believe how easy it's been to live with him after so long alone.  But I'm starting to realize that his normal and my normal are very different things.  Simple phrases like "I'm okay" or "I feel good today" are interpreted very differently.  So that's why it's your lucky day.  I'm here to translate for you.  You may want to take notes.

"I feel good today"

• I got more than four hours of sleep.
• I could work an eight-hour day without having to take pain medicine, and be able to come home and rest on the couch with the hope that tomorrow might also be "good." (Did you notice the couch time?  I do love me some couch time!)
• I can probably do somewhere between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours of aerobic exercise (followed by some time on the couch, of course)
• I have likely showered and brushed my teeth today.  Congratulations would be appreciated.
• I can walk without limping.  You likely didn't notice this.  You think it's normal.
• NOT I'm ready to go on a four-hour bike ride with you.
• NOT I can cook dinner, run errands and clean the house.  Are you crazy?

"I'm okay"

• I'm likely in an amount of pain that would cause you to be very whiny, but if I whined every time I felt like this, you wouldn't be my friend any more
• I would do well to be in a reclining position for the remainder of the day/night
• After some pain meds, I'd be willing to carry on a conversation with you, but right now I'd rather wait for them to start working
• I might be walking with a bit of a limp, but I can still get around.  Just think of this as your chance to stroll.  I can probably keep up with a casual stroll.
• This is not a good time to get frisky
• Get near me at your own risk.  I probably brushed my teeth, but likely haven't showered (it requires standing for more than two minutes)

"I don't feel well"

• My pain is likely above a seven on a 1 to 10 scale.  Don't ever accuse me of a low pain tolerance.  I'm still not whining.
• There's a strong chance I got less than two hours of sleep.  Of course, if you happen to live with me, you might have also gotten less than two hours of sleep.  Sorry!
• You likely don't want to try to talk to me because I'll probably be bitchy and/or grumpy and/or mean.  It will be directed at you but you won't have deserved it.  You've been warned.
• I have lots of drugs in my system and feel none of those wonderful side-effects that are the reason people get addicted to these drugs...they just take the edge off for me.  Talk about not fair!

It's hard for me to remember a time where I wasn't in pain.  It's just part of my life.  I've learned to deal with it and sometimes even accept it as my lot in life.  Sometimes, I'll get mad at my body, but the last thing I ever want is for you to feel sorry for me.  However, understanding my language is a great way to be supportive!

I Won the Bet

So this past weekend, i went with my boyfriend to VeloSwap.  It's a giant yard sale full of everything cycling.  He rented booth space to sell a lot of his stuff in order to afford to buy my engagement ring.  What a sweetie!  So, of course, I thought I'd tag along and try to help him sell stuff.  I mean, I can be persuasive if I want to be.  And you better believe in this case, I wanna be!

So as the day was winding to an end, Kyle turns to me with a challenge.  There was a bike stem that had been sitting on the table for sale all day for $5.  He said that if I could sell it for $1 or more, he'd propose by the end of November.  (We'd already sold his road bike and knew he'd made enough to completely pay off the ring.)  Up until this point, I'd gotten a promise of engagement by the end of the year, but it was looking like December 31 might likely be the day.  So, hell yeah, I took the bet!

Needless to say, it doesn't take a whole lot to convince a woman to spend a dollar to help a sister out!  That's right.  It took less than 5 minutes to sell that bike stem to someone who had absolutely no desire for it.  Take that, sucker!  So, within a month, I should be posting some exciting news and a picture of a beautiful shiny ring.  Can't wait!

What a Rush!

In the last few weeks, I've discovered a new high...ebay.  I know, it sounds strange, but watching the numbers at the end of the sale time is so exciting!

I've been selling Japanese toys on ebay for my boyfriend.  He recently moved in and "we" decided that he needed to grow up and get rid of most of his toys.  I also decided that I didn't want to have to wait years for him (with some poor money management skills) to have enough money to buy me a fantastic ring.  So, with all this money disguised as thousands (literally) of Japanese toys, I decided it would be my new project.

So each week, I get up the motivation to start photographing and pretending that I really care about Gundam action figures and Neon Genesis dolls and how sad I am to see them all go.  I post about 10-12 up per week (I know...it's going to take at least two years at this rate to get rid of them all!), and then wait the magic six days, 23 hours and 57 minutes and wait for that three-minute high.

3 minutes to go:  "Bummer!  Only one bid, and we're just going to get the minimum."
2 minutes to go:  "Okay.  We've got some competition.  It's only a few bucks more, but maybe we'll get a war."
1 minute to go:  "Damn.  It looks like $6 over minimum is where we'll stay."
30 seconds to go: "There we go, a couple more bids and we're up $12 now."
10 seconds to go:  "I knew you had one more in you.  $20 over.  Way to go!"
2 seconds to go:  "Holy Shit!  It just jumped up $60.  Whohoo!  Here comes the sparkly ring!"
5 minutes after:  "Hey baby, do you have any more of those boxes I could look at?"

So, we're on our way.  Thanks, ebay!

Fighting Fibro

As you may have noticed in my blog info, I've got fibromyalgia.  In a nutshell, fibromyalgia sucks!

There's no definitive test for it, but if you don't have everything else it mimics, it's probably fibro.  There's also no definitive treatment for it.  There are some medications and treatment options that work for a good portion of us, but for the most part, it's a guessing game and a bunch of trial and error to find the right mix of behavior changes, diet changes, medications, alternative medicine treatments and exercise to make you feel better...sometimes.

I don't mind sharing that I've found that acupuncture, aerobic exercise, and Cymbalta to be the best mix for me.  But even that doesn't always make the cut.  Advil is probably best for the pain, but did I mention yet that I only have one kidney?  That's a story for another post, but needless to say, the one thing I'm supposed to stay away from to keep the remaining bean healthy is Advil.  Go figure!  So then, I get low-dose narcotic prescriptions, which work, but have the dangers of addiction, tolerance and that pesky little problem about not driving or operating heavy machinery after you've taken them.  That wipes out the work day!

Some nights I don't sleep at all; others it's up and down with crazy cold sweats and hot flashes.  And let me tell you...the idea of spending the next 50 years of my life with menopause symptoms is not exactly what I had in mind.  Some nights I'm so tired the only thing I can do is lie in bed with my eyes closed...not sleeping.  And then the nights where sleep would come if it weren't for the pain.  Sorry...not trying to gain sympathy.  I don't really like complaining

I'm no doctor and I don't know all the science behind the pain, but from my understanding, there's nothing physically wrong with me, my brain just interprets nerve impulses as pain.  So, today I tried a new thing.  I like to call it "Get over it and just walk already!"  See, the last couple weeks, my knees hurt so bad that I end up limping and hobbling around.  However, I had the insight that if it is based on bad brain signals, then maybe I could override them with good signals.  I mean, if there's nothing physically wrong with me, I can't do more damage by walking or climbing stairs, right?  You see my logic.

The verdict: it kind-of worked.  So it still hurt some, but it did seem to wane after awhile.  I'm not sure if it was just the normal ebb and flow of my daily pain or my new brain power, but it's worth another try.  Next stop...hypnosis.

The New Normal

I'll admit...I'm no creative writer.  I like to think I can be witty, but I'm not necessarily known for my humor.  I'm just kind of normal...well maybe a little crazy...okay, maybe both.  But what's normal anyways?  There's either no such thing or it's almost everything.

Admit it.  We all want to be unique and we all want to be normal.  It's just that no one ever really knows what's what.  Things that I think are crazy may be normal to you, and what you think is unusual is my everyday life.

So here we go.  I'm not sure where this ride will take us, but I'd love you to join me on it.  If there's one thing I've learned, it's that life is more fun when there's someone to share the joy, and the pain isn't so hard when someone else is with you.  Thanks for joining me on my journey to a normal life!