Sleepy, but good, and Ode to my Storm Chasers...

I'm doing a bit better handling work stress since Monday. I've been keeping up with my daily devotions with renewed fervor (morning rosary, Living Faith readings) and that seems to be helping.

Relatedly, over the course of the past month, I've been battling what I'm pretty sure is a pinched nerve. At first, I thought it was simply a stiff neck. I woke up with it, which happens to everyone at some point. No big deal. Well, by the end of the day I thought I may never be able to move the entire upper half of my body ever again. This was the stiff neck from the very pits of hell. I applied heat, left work early, rested... I went to bed hoping it would magically disappear by morning, like they usually do.

No such luck. By the next afternoon, I had to take some ibuprofen so that I could concentrate on other things a bit. Finally, the day after that, it started to subside. But I noticed a lingering stiffness in that side of my neck and shoulder. Even now, 5-6 weeks later, that side of my neck is slightly stiff when I warm up for bellydance. But the more worrisome part is that for about 3-4 weeks now, the hand on that side gets a pins and needles sensation on and off all day. That's where my pinched nerve hypothesis comes into play. I made an appointment with my doctor, just to be sure, so we're all good.

But at any rate, I'm pretty sure I'm aggravating the situation with my poor posture at work. I'm a librarian, so I'm sitting in front of a computer for a large portion of my work day. Yesterday, I started noticing that I don't sit all the way back in my chair and tend to slump my back over as I work at my desk. I then started noticing that the pins and needles sensation started up almost exclusively when I was slumped in such an aforementioned manner. And for the first time, my overall back felt sore yesterday. So, since then, I've started sitting up straight in my chair, and my hand and back feel a lot better. I googled 'pinched nerve' (the librarian thing, I can't help it) and found that getting proper rest, good diet and exercise can all contribute to helping a pinched nerve heal faster. With my stress at work, I've slacked lately with my daily walks, and I haven't been sleeping well. I've resolved to make things better. I started walking again, and last night I psyched myself up for a good night of sleep. It actually worked, I was pretty surprised. I still feel tired, but I think that's a cumulative effect from the past week.

Overall, I'm doing better. I shouldn't take my health for granted. Striving for physical and emotional betterment in the world of the Catholic Librarian...

And...*drum roll* yesterday I came home to my brand new Storm Chasers. *angels sing* The instant I got home, after kissing Hank and Mike, I sliced open the box, picked up the boots, and slipped them on my feet. They fit like a dream. And the new design is SO cute, even Mike said so. I wore them on my commute this morning, and on my daily walk this afternoon, and they performed superbly. They're adorable, comfortable, and keep my feet toasty and dry. They're resting comfortably right now over by my coat and I keep peeking there to admire them. Storm Chasers, how I love and adore you. Let us never be parted again...