Poor Tom and poor Tinkerbella. Tom has gotten too shaky to solder things. He’s always been into electronics, computers, and things like that; it’s always been his hobby to tinker with making electronic devices. If he ever starts taking medication someday—and I believe he will—I hope it helps him without debilitating side effects!

Tinkerbella is limping again. This time, it seems to be the other back leg. I don’t know what she’s doing to cause this injury, and I can’t feel or see any visible tumor, luckily. She’s getting older for a rat so it could be arthritis, but more likely, she injured it somehow.

I put a cherry tomato on her lower shelf and noticed she couldn’t get down to get it. Then she tried to get back up into her hammock and couldn’t even do that. She was hanging on with her forepaws and her hind legs were flailing but thanks to my speedy reflexes, I dove into the cage and caught her before she could fall on her butt and maybe hurt that back leg or hip even more.

I put her back in her old cage until it heals. I blocked the upper shelf so she can’t climb onto it, because even if she manages to climb up, she might not be able to get back down. I lowered her hammock so all she has to do is step into it. I shredded some paper and filled it with nesting material for her. Of course, she has her regular food and water as well.

The good thing is that she still wants to be active. She still enjoys her freedom and the attention lavished upon her. I just have to really watch her so she doesn’t do anything too strenuous. When we did closet time earlier, she didn’t even attempt to climb on the boxes and suitcases in there like she usually does.

I mixed some mayo, shredded cheese, and garlic salt in a bowl, then smothered a chicken thigh with it before cooking it at 375 degrees for 55 minutes. It came out great.

I’m also doing a repeat of last night’s meal, only with sugar snap peas and spinach instead of sugar snap peas and squash. I had squash with my first chicken dinner. I couldn’t decide whether to do the cheesy mayo chicken or slow cook it like I did yesterday, but then I realized it’s okay to have the same meat twice a day every now and then. Last night, I scored a yellow potato before adding it to the cooker, and it came out so good! So, I have a whole meal waiting for me in a few hours with chicken, veggies, and a potato.

In between, I have fruit, and I’ll pop a few sugar-free caramel chips in my mouth every now and then so I don’t feel like I’m being deprived of sweets. So far, they’re the best sugar-free snacks I’ve found that don’t upset my stomach.

I also have Cheerios if I want something in between meals. I don’t get yogurt too often, but sometimes I do. I got chicken-flavored stuffing for when I’m hungry enough for more than just a bite, but don’t want to cook a whole meal. I can whip up a serving in minutes.

If cutting sugar doesn’t help my A1C, then I’ll start cutting carbs more. I would hate to cut out potatoes completely because they really complete a meal. Adding them to protein and veggies makes me feel fuller too. I don’t have more than one potato a day, though. One of my meals will usually be just meat and veggies, and the other will be meat, veggies, and a potato.