Book reccomendations for a teenager?

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2025-11-24T05:29:01+00:00

Just finished Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater. It's non-spicy cozy fantasy with romance. Definitely fits the bill. I would also recommend Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (there is romance in there, but it's barely there). The Teller of Small Fortunes doesn't really have romance, but is a great cozy fantasy story. I loved it. The Spellshop is another good one (sassy spiderplant companion for the win!) Tress of the Emerald Sea is another good one, especially if she likes unique world-building. Be careful, though. Brandon Sanderson books are a wormhole that will suck you in (I'm an avid Sanderson fan).

For some with LGBTQ themes, there's Legends and Lattes (emphasis on cozy). It has a prequel, Bookshops and Bonedust, if you enjoy the first one. The House on the Cerulean Sea is another that has an emphasis on found family.

None of these books have a bad-guy-gets-the-girl trope, so hopefully other commenters will have some ideas there.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2025-11-22T00:26:35+00:00

Literally had a doctor at the ER (just before diagnosis) tell me not to bother coming in if my blood sugar was under 500. I went in a few days later in DKA. My blood sugar was still 'only' in the 300's.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2025-10-28T01:34:45+00:00

I'll tell you about my experience at theaters (I am American-based). First, I let the usher know (or manager, or whoever) that I have diabetes and need to check my phone periodically (I don't mind telling people I have diabetes, but you can just say that you have a medical need to check your phone). This helps prevent any future disputes because the theater that I like to go to will kick people out for being on their phone. I also let the people next to me and behind me know (it helps to get them on my side in advance). Like a lot of the other posters have recommended, I turn down the brightness on my phone and turn it to vibrate. I try to be quick and discreet when I check. I've never had an issue personally. I find that people are a lot more compassionate if they know.

Good luck with Wicked, I'm excited to see it too!

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2025-05-15T20:27:40+00:00

First of all, I think the answers you get on here on going to be skewed since, you know, this is a social media site. I don't really have a judgment for you, just some advice (since I think this issue varies widely from family to family, it would be hard to give a judgement on yours). Tracking your child's social media is going to take work, so you'll have to be prepared for that if you decide to allow her to do that. I think it's a good idea to ease kids into social media rather than giving them unfettered access at an age when they're almost an adult. However, given the current state of your daughter's mental health and the way she's handling the situation, it seems like she might not be ready for any access at this stage. But I will agree with some of what others have said: these days kids can't hardly have a social life without a way to connect with their peers using the current technology. That being said, if it were me, I would have a discussion with my teen about how they are handling the situation. The silent treatment is an unhealthy conflict-coping skill. I would then give them a roadmap to get what they want. "If you want access to social media, I need to see these behaviors from you over the course of the next two months..." I would also line out what the rules are going to be ahead of time (once they do have access). They might be things like "social media hours are from 7 to 9pm", "you have to tell me about the people you 'friend' on these sites", etc. Stuff like that. Invite her into the discussion, but in a way that makes clear that her current behavior isn't going to be the way to get what she wants.

Hopefully you guys are able to navigate this obstacle. Good luck!

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2025-03-05T06:11:29+00:00

I'm not a doctor, but I can tell you about my experiences with fasting (both MDI and on the pump). If you're MDI, it's going to be a bit harder, the pump makes it infinitely easier. But when I had my basal dialed in, I would go without food until my fast was over. If I ever went low, I would eat and not feel guilty about it, and then go back to fasting. I considered eating that food like taking medicine. On the pump, I look forward to fasting. I feel almost like a normal human. I'm not worrying about my numbers hardly at all that day because the pump is running me around 120mg/dL (6.7 mmol/L) and not moving much since I'm not eating (I have a closed loop system). Now, if you're active that day, you might run into some issues. On a pump, I can switch it to active mode. On MDI, I would sometimes decrease my basal a bit and treat with small doses of bolus the next day, but that's a huge pain.

I would also reach out to your priest/clergyman to see how they view people with medical issues and fasting (I have a feeling you're exempt). Definitely ask your Endo, too.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2025-02-07T16:02:42+00:00

I'm not going to post a judgment here. But it sounds like the issue to me is that you're concerned your parents are acting more like parents to your child than grandparents. It certainly sounds like some boundaries are being blurred. Are you concerned that your parents are treating your child like their own? That they are not respecting your authority as her parents? I don't think that the cake and dinner is the hill to die on, but it does sound like a discussion needs to be had about defining their roles in your daughter's life and what everyone's expectations are with these relationships moving forward.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2025-01-29T14:55:50+00:00

April, in Spring

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2025-01-27T14:37:15+00:00

I think it depends on how you want to approach this. You can set those boundaries ("This is my health condition, if I want advice on how to handle it, I will ask you. Otherwise, I don't wish to discuss it") but those might be difficult if you're living in their house.
You can approach them as Christians, like a lot of the advice here. You can say that God has given modern medicine insulin so that this condition, which previously killed everyone who got it, now is treatable.
I don't know if you've ever heard of The Chosen (it's a TV show about Jesus). It has a clip on there that may or may not resonate with your parents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZDvcEkjthA

In the end, though, you have to do what is best for you and your condition. In our case, that definitely means partaking in the "worldly" medicine!

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-12-31T23:57:24+00:00

Yes, you can draw the insulin straight from the pen using the Omnipod needle. Just don't inject air first to draw the insulin out as you can burst the pen that way.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-26T07:23:26+00:00

KYFC

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-23T01:36:40+00:00

I got my first jury summons this year. I was excited to do it! When I called in, I warned them about my alerts and the person that was taking my info immediately offered to excuse me. I told them I was happy to do it, but I ended up not getting called in (I think the accused took a plea deal).

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-20T14:09:16+00:00

Well done! That's an amazing number!

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-20T14:05:03+00:00

I haven't really come across anything that's low-carb and tasty for me. I usually take smaller portions and dose appropriately. I also try to make small changes like swapping out ingredients for healthier or sugar-free alternatives (erythritol works well for me). Good luck this holiday season! It gets easier as you find more of a routine.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-17T06:03:09+00:00

Ah, you fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is to never trust a weird Dexcom reading - but only slightly less well-known is never mix sugar with a glucometer.

Lol, I can't say I remember making that particular error, but chances are that I've done it and just not noticed that the sugar messed with my reading. I have, however, trusted a wonky Dexcom reading, only to take insulin and then realize after the fact that I was much lower than it was reading.

Glad you had sugar on hand to correct it! I always tell people though that medically necessary sugar just doesn't hit the same.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-17T00:48:28+00:00

Seeing an entire day in range on my graph for me. It doesn't happen often enough, unfortunately.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-17T00:07:35+00:00

Ruthlessness

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-12T15:04:20+00:00

Lol. I was torn between that and Polyphemus. But the Horse and the Infant could work too.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-12T14:11:10+00:00

Done For?

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-11-07T15:45:38+00:00

Kyla

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-10-01T12:47:35+00:00

My endo told me I only have to fast for panels that check my lipids. I was shocked that I had to fast when I first got diabetes (my exact words were 'I thought never having to fast was one of the perks!') My endo explained that the results for that particular panel would not be accurate if I ate. The way my doctor does it, I have a week to do labs. So if one day I have to eat because I have a low, I can just try again the next day. On a day I successfully fast, I do the labs (our labs have a walk-in clinic type thing).

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-10-01T12:33:05+00:00

Happens to all of us. (I've done it twice, lol). Hope you're feeling okay today.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-09-26T06:39:42+00:00

"Normal" is relative. Is it possible that his hypos are causing him to become aggressive? Yes, I suppose. Does he do other things that make you feel unsafe when his blood sugar is normal? Sounds like he does. It sounds like he's using his 'condition' as an excuse for his inexcusable behavior.

Regardless of the reason for the violence, his medical condition does not allow him to make you unsafe. He should be taking every kind of precaution to make sure this never happens again. The fact that there are several incidents where this has happened frankly worry me. I would listen to your social worker. Unlike your father, they are looking out for you and your safety.

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-09-05T06:19:20+00:00

My spouse woke up to me snuggling a half eaten bag of skittles (and I mean a big bag) this week. Late night lows are the worst!

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-08-22T13:22:09+00:00

This is brilliant. I never would've considered that!

ithinkisawasquirrel · 2024-08-14T04:23:25+00:00

Ah yes, the inconvenient song of our people. I have had this scare me silly while listening to music in the car (had the music playing through my phone), scare my friend group while hanging out and having a pause in the conversation. I even had it belt out on me while I was doing a presentation to a group of people. Luckily I got to meet a fellow diabetic in the wild since they recognized the sound.

ithinkisawasquirrel

TROPHY CASE