Ahhh. Back in Orem. I worked from home yesterday because I had a doctor appointment in the morning with my endocrinologist who is also my primary care provider. I didn't really get much work done — Probably 3 hours. I'll have to try to make that up the rest of this week.

Doctor, do nothing.

The news from my doctor is that I'm doing great. The nurse took some blood to measure my HbA1c levels and it came out at 5.9. FIVE POINT NINE! WOW! That's square in the “non-diabetic levels” area. For comparison, my last HbA1c test last September measured 7.1. So... that's great. I don't sleep as much as I should. I don't exercise much. I don't eat super-well, and I'm healthy! Heh heh.

I've been taking fish oil supplements to see if I can get my HDL cholestrol levels up and my triglycerides down. I had problems when I tried Zocor (didn't do anything) and Advacor (messed up my blood-glucose levels) before, so my doctor recommended trying an alternative to the natural method of raising your HDL level (eat more fish) and recommended fish oil supplements. It hasn't been bad. The only side effect is that I sometimes burp up a fishy-tasting gas after taking them. I usually take them before I go to bed so I don't really notice.

My doctor had me go to the lab to have some blood drawn for a lipid panel. This will tell us if the fish oil supplements have been doing anything. Hopefully it will be an affirmation for fish oil because I much prefer taking them to taking a prescribed medication.

The bath at the end of the tunnel

Our basement bathroom is inching closer to completion. Lots of things got done this last weekend. I got one coat of paint on most surfaces. Christine's dad came up and helped me install the water valves for the hot and cold water lines for the vanity sink and the cold water line for the toilet. He also helped me install the light bar above the vanity. I got the shower light installed and put the covers over the air vent and the fan.

So what's left? We got some vinyl floor tile to put down on the floor. I need to paint some more before we do that. Well... here's a list of what's left to do:

• Finish painting (second coat)
• Install vanity
• Install vanity fixtures
• Lay down flooring
• Install baseboards
• Install toilet
• Install tub surround
• Install tub fixtures
• Install towel racks and toilet paper thingie
• Take bath

Gaimers delight

Hey, there's a new version of gaim available. Yay.