First.... Tooth update (sorry to be so obsessed with my stupid teeth, but they hurt so it's hard to think of anything else)

After nearly 2 weeks after I broke my tooth, and it was still hurting a lot. Friday I broke down and called the dentist and he told me to call a specialist to have it looked at. He also gave me a prescription for a strong painkiller and an antibiotic. The antibiotic I've been taking 3 times a day (as prescribed); the strong painkiller I've been trying to take minimally, mostly at night to help me sleep as the tooth pain has been keeping me awake. And I'm so sick of eating soft foods like scrambled eggs and canned pears by now it's not funny.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to call the specialist until Monday morning, as their office is closed on Friday afternoons. I called and got an appointment for yesterday. I went in, answered some questions, and the dentist tested my tooth. Yep, root nerve was damaged (as my original dentist was afraid from the beginning would happen, as the damage to the tooth was sitting right on top of the nerve and he didn't know if it was possible to fix it without the root canal.) So I had the first part of a root canal done. I'll have the core fill done in a few weeks, and then I'll have to have crowns put on that and my first root canal tooth.

Hopefully, it will hurt less now at least. For some reason it was really sensitive last night--I was trying to eat chicken noodle soup (though my husband sifted out the chicken so I only had shreds of chicken in mine, since I can't chew it) but it really, really hurt. I wasn't supposed to need to take the prescription pain killer, but it hurt so much even after the prescription anti-inflammatory (for my hip, but it helps with teeth too) and over the counter Tylenol that I ended up taking it anyway, and it still hurt most of the night. Owie. It feels somewhat better now, though, thankfully. So fingers crossed that it stays feeling better.

I have a very full 2-3 weeks planned ahead of me. I can't afford to be in pain that whole time, but I also can't afford to be so medicated that I'm groggy.

On another note, I am (very slowly) trying to get caught up on blogs, as some of you know. I apologize that I just haven't had time to stay on top of the blogs--I miss reading my friends' blogs. Once I get through the next 3 weeks, I should have some more time, but for now I'm doing the best I can.

Which is why I wanted to laugh when I read a blog today saying that if I wanted to find time to exercise and cook healthy meals, I could probably cut television time. Admittedly, I have watched more television in the last, month or two than I usually do.... but that's because I had 42 beaded flowers to make and I prefer to make them while watching television. But even so, I probably only watched tv at most 2 nights a week.

I have my "guilty pleasures"--that is, inactive recreational activities. I need to read, at least some, every day. If I don't, I pretty quickly become very stressed and generally unhappy. Though, to be fair, I've only finished one book in over a month and am close to finishing my second--and I can usually read 2-3 books a week. So, yeah, not spending a lot of time reading lately.

I also play video games. It' something I do when I'm really stressed or in pain or not feeling good (so I've been playing more when my teeth hurt, because I don't feel good and can't concentrate on doing anything else more productive) . But even then, it's not something I've done every day, and I get little enough "me" time that I admit, part of me resents the suggestion that I give up that time in favor of something I don't particularly enjoy, like cooking or the gym. I don't need the extra guilt trip every time I take time for myself.

I know, part of the problem is that most of the things that I really enjoy doing--beading, reading, knitting, kumihimo, video games, etc.--are inactive. There are also things that are active that I enjoy, too, and I'm trying to do more of those. For example, I'm trying to organize a group bike ride sometime Labor day weekend. But a lot of those activities aren't things I can do every day--especially if they require other people (like tennis). And most of those things aren't activities I can do after the weather turns cold, which since this is Michigan rules out part November-March at the very least.

It's a balancing act. I guess a part of me just resents the suggestion that I'm overweight because I spend all my time sitting on my couch watching television. Because, you know, I don't. I have a very, very full schedule, and I don't get enough "me" time as it is. Maybe I should sit down and do a time analysis... except that requires, you know, time. And that's something I just don't have a lot of.

And a lot of that I know is related to why my stress levels are always so high. I just don't know what to do about it, because I've already cut out everything I could.

But things will get easier in 2-3 weeks. Hopefully. At least, a number of big time commitments will be out of the way by the end and hopefully I can concentrate on finishing my dissertation etc.