OK, so I did some research on the interweb on this heartburn thing. I have had it for a maybe a year now. Maybe even a bit longer. But it is in waves. And one thing I figured out myself is that if I get less sleep, it gets worse.

One of the different solutions was sleeping a bit more upright, but that is not the case for me, since I never have problems with it during the night (whenever I wake up) or in the mornings. So we count out that one.

The other and probably easiest way for me to prevent it, is watch your diet. And the last one is surgery. But let’s not go there. It’s not that bad.

So wikipedia gave me this under “dietary modifications”, meaning watch these products:

1. coffee and alcohol
2. antacids
3. foods high in fats
4. eating 2-3 hours before bedtime
5. large meals
6. carbonated soft drinks with or without sugar
7. Chocolate and peppermint.
8. Acidic foods: tomatoes and tomato-based preparations; citrus fruits and citrus juices.
9. Cruciferous vegetables:cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.
10. Milk and milk-based products containing calcium and fat, within 2 hours of bedtime.

So here we have a list that actually is giving me a headache as well. Actually not, I should be happy I found this, since I get a high score on the items I consume. I’ll explain:

1. coffee: daily, but I went down from 6 cups a day to max 3
   alcohol: that is max. once a week a bottle of beer or a glass of wine, so no worries there
2. don’t use them, so no problem
3. I guess that happens sometimes
4. almost every day
5. every day
6. I stopped drinking that stuff years ago, so that is not a problem
7. we’re not going to discuss the amount of chocolate I consume every day here. I am Belgian, that should explain it.
   peppermint: not so much
8. tomatoes on my plate/bread every day
9. cabbage and broccoli at least once a week
10. milk, milk, milk … I love it. And so do our kids.

So…. 8 / 10 ….. mmmhhhh …. Maybe I should change my eating habbits. The good thing is that I can start right away with this. The only problem I can see is the chocolate. But my health is worth a bit more than some good taste and a full belly in the long run. But at least we have a plan now, we’ll stick with it and report back in a few weeks to see if it improved.

Is how I feel today. Totally drained of energy. It started on thursday already, I think. No, I know.

I had a few drinks with P., which was a long time ago (in our perspective). Got in bed before midnight. Zeb woke up a few times during the night. Up early on friday morning. Friday evening Linda went out for a few drinks, and I went to bed just about midnight. Zeb woke up again a few times during the night. Linda normally gets up early in the morning with the kids, but she didn’t feel too well, so I got up.

Now we are getting to saturday lunch, when I am alone at home with Zeb. Milla is off to a birthday party with Linda. As soon as they get back we have to start packing stuff, because we are over to F. and C. for a dinner and something to melt it all down afterwards. Result: a few drinks and a walk home late at night. I get in bed around 01:00 and Zeb does his thing again during the night.

Up early sunday again to get to Linda’s parents. It’s been a while since we’ve been there and Milla has been asking us quite a few times when we go and visit them again. So…. up before the sun (not difficult this time of the year in Sweden), packing bags and in the car. Luckily I get 2 hours of sleep after lunch when we are there.

Sunday evening is the same scenario again. I get in bed late, Zeb wakes me up a few times, and I get up early with him on monday morning. We got home last night which I am very grateful for because a drive home this morning would have killed me. But the coffee at the office today didn’t really help. It just made me feel sick…

So today I will go to bed early and try to get at least 9 hours of sleep…. I need to. So good night and sleep well.

PS: no, I didn’t work on monday and will not do so for the rest of the year. But more about that soon.

Found this today on the interweb:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

8 Rules for writing short stories, by Kurt Vonnegut. Not that I am planning to write anything like that. But I guess you could apply them to blogging as well. Or ?