I Did It... Unofficially.

I Did It... Unofficially. This is my 30th (actually 31st!) blog post for November. I didn't sign up for NaBloPoMo because I honestly didn't know if I could do it. And I hate to not finish something I start.

I'm pretty proud of myself. :) I feel like I can officially sign up next year. :P

My Coolest Cousin

My family lives all over the country. Both my mom's side of the family and my dad's side. I've never lived closer than 6 hours away from any of my first cousins.

Currently, most of my cousins reside in California. I have one in Missouri (who is much much younger than me), and my 2 cousins in Texas. One of my cousins came in from Texas to visit our grandmother for Thanksgiving. I don't think I've seen him in about 4 years...maybe longer.

It's sad, but everyone is so busy and so broke all the time, that it's just not happened. I was thankful to get to visit with him for a few days. I have vowed to make a trip to Texas in the next year or so to visit, and he and my other cousin are going to both try to come back to Tennessee pretty soon.

It is nice to have family. And I think I appreciate them more because they live so far away.

The Day After Turkey....

My grandmother is in the hospital. She went in the day before Thanksgiving. There's nothing seriously wrong with her (we think), but the doctors are all on vacation so she has to stay until they can come back and do the procedure that they need to. So she will probably be in there until Tuesday.

It's kind of sad, since her son flew in from Texas to surprise her and brought my cousin with him. I hate that they haven't gotten to spend much time with her.

I did get to cook Thanksgiving dinner, although it was somewhat sad because my grandmother wasn't there. We wanted to take her some food, but she was on a liquid diet. :(

My uncle and cousin leave to go back to Texas tomorrow.

My niece, who has cancer, is also in the hospital. She is having another type of treatment done and has been in there for over a week and has to stay for another. Sadly, I can't even visit her over this holiday weekend since she lives in Michigan.

These are two of my family members who have had to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital. It makes me sad.

I have always hated hospitals. The smell funny and I have too many bad memories as a child with diabetes and a few trips with DKA.

The one thing that I do remember is the hospital gift shop. No matter what hospital it was, there was always a gift shop. And I learned, at a young age, the bigger the hospital, the better the gift shop. I had a knack for suckering my parents into buying me something from the shop any time I was in the hospital. In fact, my troll/bee came from a hospital gift shop.

Today, I was visiting my grandmother at the hospital and couldn't help but look in the windows of the hospital gift shop. I saw this cute little guy, and thought in the spirit of the holiday, that I would post his picture here. It's a nice thought from a not nice place.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's officially Turkey Day! I am posting late due to a day full of food and family. It's nice to have time to just be a family together.

In the true spirit of the holiday, I am going to share with all of you what I am thankful for:

-My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, I am nothing. Without Him, I would not be.

-My family. They are disjointed, and slightly dysfunctional at times, but they are mine. I love them and they love me.

-My church family. They keep me together and focused on the true meaning of life and love.

-My friends. Sometimes I feel as if we grow farther apart as time passes, but I know that I could call any of them right now and they would do whatever was in their power to help me. God has truly blessed me with some fantastic people in my life.

-My job. It's not my dream job. But I have a job. And it's got great health benefits, which we all know is so vital to our diabetes management. Right now, I feel like it is where I belong.

-My friends in the Diabetes OC. Even though I've only personally met one of my fellow bloggers, I know that I have been blessed by you all. I feel like I know so much about you and your lives, and I'm thankful for being allowed into your life.

-My country. I feel so blessed to live in this great nation.

Getting Desperate

I'm getting desperate....for posts.
I've spent the evening early cooking for tomorrow. My uncle flew in from San Antonio to surprise my grandmother for Thanksgiving. We knew he was coming...he didn't tell us he was bringing his son. :)
My favorite cousin is here! I've not seen him in around 3 years. Actually, it's probably been longer than that.
What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish, bloggers?

Vacation

I'm not really on vacation. But I am spending the entire week at my mom and step-dad's house. They, and my baby sister, went to Missouri to see my grandmother for Thanksgiving. I opted out to be sure that my dad and other grandmother had someone to cook Thanksgiving dinner. And in doing that, I am dog-sitting for my mom and step-dad.

It makes my drive to work in the morning about 10 minutes longer, but that's not a biggie. It's just weird not having all my stuff around. And having to remember to get diabetic supplies to bring here in case I need to change a pump site, or a sensor, or whatever.

Any time I actually go on vacation, it's like a huge production. I have a list of all the supplies I need...not to mention the fact that I over pack in the clothes department too. After all, you never know what you might need.

I always make 3 lists, anytime there's a trip that would last more than 3 days.

List one = Clothes

List two = Bathroom supplies (i.e. make-up, hair, shower)

List three = Diabetic supplies times 2. (I'm always afraid I'll run out. Or have a string of bad pump sites).

Do any of you guys have a rule of thumb when it comes to packing diabetes supplies for a trip?

Secret Santa

Check it out! Thanks Allison. I can't wait for this first Diabetes OC Secret Santa.

Twitter

I have joined the dark side. I still don't know how to find people too well on this thing, so if you want to add me, find me. My name on there is cerichards21. I am trying to follow people right now, but I swear it's so confusing. :(

Food Meme.

Thanks to Lee Ann for the meme. It's desperation time in the land of NaBloPoMo. :)


1. Can you cook? If yes, do you like to cook?


Yes, I can cook. And yes, I like to cook.





2. When do you eat with your whole family?


Well, I live alone, so eating with my whole family doesn't happen very often. Maybe at holidays. But if you are counting just the family that lives in your home, all the time. :)





3. What do you eat for breakfast? Cereal or a piece of wheat bread and peanut butter.



4. When, where and how do you eat on weekdays?


Usually breakfast is between 7:30 and 8:00, lunch at 12:00, and dinner between 5:30 and 7:00. Most of the time I eat a home. As for the how, well I guess I eat like everyone else does. Chewing is usually a good thing. :)



5. How often do you eat out (in a restaurant)?


Does this include drive-thru? If so, about 2 or 3 times a week. If it's actually sitting down in a restaurant eating, probably only 2 or 3 times per month.



6. How often do you order delivery/take-out?


A few times per week I do drive thru.





7. Regarding no. 5 and 6: Say there weren’t financial reasons would you do this more often?


Possibly. I like to eat out in restaurants, but it's not always healthy.





8. Are there any “standard dishes” you serve regularly?


Spaghetti. Hamburger helper (I know it's not really cooking, but it's quick and easy for just me). I love to make soup and chilli, especially in the winter time.



9. Have you ever cooked for more than 6 persons?


Last Thanksgiving I believe there were 7 people. My grandmother isn't able to cook anymore, so I cooked for my dad, brother, his wife and 2 kids and myself. This year I am cooking again, but there will be less people there. Only 4 of us this year.



10. Do you cook every day?


An actual meal? No.



11. Have you ever tried recipes from blogs?


Nope



12. Who cooks more frequently at your home?


Me. Cause it's just me.



13. And who cooks better?


Me. Cause it's just me



14. Do you cook totally different compared to your mother/parents?


Somewhat. Some things I do exactly the same. Others I think I am more health conscious about.



15. If yes, do you nevertheless eat at your parents?


I eat there sometimes. I love my mom's cooking.





16. Are you a vegetarian or could you imagine being one?


Not a vegetarian. I don't know that I could be either. Sometimes I just crave a steak!





17. What would you like to cook which you haven’t dared to make yet?


Does it count for baking cakes? I have a couple of types of icing that I haven't dared yet.



18. Do you prefer cooking or baking?


Baking.





19. What is your greatest misery in the kitchen?


The lack of space to put all my cake decorating stuff. And the lack of counter space. Oh, and the pink and blue pineapple wallpaper that I can't take down because I rent. :)



20. What do you dislike?


Not big on super spicy foods.

Movie Review

I went to see Twilight last night. It was pretty darn good. There are mixed reviews on the internet. Some say it's great. Others say it's not. Personally, I think they did a great job with the small amount of money (only $37 million = very small in movie terms) they had to film. Not to mention the fact that the book is extremely descriptive, which can be hard to capture on screen.

It was worth my money, and worth my time. I intend on seeing it again when it comes to my small town.

Weirdly enough, diabetes visited me while I was waiting at the theater last night. It was advised (since several of the shows were selling out) to show up pretty early to the theater to get in line, since the seating is first come, first serve, even if you had your ticket early like I did.

The movie started at 7:30 and I was at the theater by 6:20. There were about 30 people in front of me waiting in line. Since I was by myself (and feeling a little dorky to be by myself at a movie) I had my mp3 player going in my ears. My pump started to vibrate. My blood sugar had shot up to 202. Gave a correction bolus and really wanted to get a bottle of water, but there were about 20 people behind me and there was no way I was going to give up my spot in line! :) So I suffered through. And came out of the movie at 78. Pretty good for me.

I have also officially hooked my friend/secretary at work on the Twilight series.... oh, and I've gotten to Jill too. :)

Family Effects

We all know that diabetes affects everyone in the entire family. It affects friends. It affects jobs. It affects every aspect of life as you know it.

Lee Ann wrote just the other day about how it affects her husband and how much it can affect a relationship

Kerri wrote about how ingrained in our lives the little bits of diabetes are.

Our blogs, our lives, our family, our work seems to revolve around diabetes.

We get together and raise a fuss when TV tries to incorrectly portray our disease. We get Disney to change their minds.

We are powerful. We are all different. We are all special. We all have things in common (other than diabetes). For some, it may be a common TV show we like to watch. For some, a common hobby.

One of the biggest things I have learned since finding the Diabetes OC, is what my parents went through. I see parents like Mark and Paige, Naomi, Jill, and Lynnea, I realize I am getting a small glimpse of what my parents dealt with. I am seeing a tiny sliver of the fear, worry, guilt, and life that my parents got handed when I was diagnosed with diabetes.

Is it bad to feel guilty for making my parents angry when I wouldn't eat? Or worry when I ended up in the ER (many, many times)? Or for making them be scared for my future, and what that future might hold?

I do feel guilty sometimes. My dad and I were talking with my aunt the other night. She's in visiting from California. She wasn't around for all of my childhood, so we could only tell her stories. We talked for about 30 minutes. My dad and I taking turns telling story after story of stressful situations and hospital visits. Some of them I remember. Some of them I don't.

I hate that my parents had to go through so much with me. Sometimes I hate it even more so because I am adopted. They knew nothing about diabetes. It didn't run in the family. And I got it. They got me healthy, after an initial scare of being born 1 month early with a heart valve that didn't want to work at first. They didn't really sign on for a sick kid. But yet they got one. And, if I can say so myself, they did a fantastic job handling it.

I know that there were things I didn't see. Breakdowns I never heard. Tears I never saw. But overall, they did a fantastic job of taking care of me and helping me learn to take care of myself. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't without incident. But I came out the other side unscathed.

Sometimes I worry about getting married. Or even getting in a serious relationship. I am a lot like Allison in my lack of relationships. And I wonder how diabetes will take a role in any relationship I might have. I worry that someone will get in and then decide they don't want the trouble of dealing with diabetes (I know he wouldn't be worth it anyway, but it doesn't change the rejection factor). I know that this isn't an issue for some people. Kerri's article Love Me, Love My Diabetes always makes me feel better.

But that fear is still there. It takes a special parent to raise a diabetic child. The choice is not voluntary. Diabetes visits your life and doesn't give you a choice.

But as an adult Type 1, a person can have to choice to enter my life, or to not enter it. So I am beginning to think it takes an even more special person to marry a diabetic. That is voluntary. They do have a choice. And yet they chose to do so anyway.

I am truly sorry about the slightly rambling post. But I have a lot on my mind today. This post is kind of a reflection of my thoughts.

Up and Down and Down and Up...

Blood sugars have been crazy all day. I woke up this morning at 190. Did a correction bolus. By the time I ate breakfast I was 112. Dropped to 63 a few hours later. Drank a juice box. By lunch I was still only 79.
We had Thanksgiving at work today. Since I was only 79, I got my food and started eating. I ate for a few minutes and then did a dual wave bolus. 50% now 50% over the next 2 hrs.
After I finished eating, I was sick (I really try not to overeat, but it's so hard when it's Thanksgiving). After eating, I went back to my desk and I was not feeling well. I thought it was just my stomach overeating. After a few minutes I realized that I couldn't focus on what I was reading, so I knew it was a blood sugar thing. Sure enough, I was hanging out in the high 50s. I knew if I waited a little while it would be coming up (I had eaten a piece of my pumpkin spice cake = 60 grams). But being patient was not easy.
My instinct to panic eat started to kick in. So to ease my instinct, and still not over do it too much, I went and got a spoon full of whipped cream that was left-over.
Within about 30 minutes I was up in the low 100s. Much better.
Around 4:15 I was high. I knew it. My sensor didn't catch it as quickly as I did. Sensor said 171 and rising quickly. I tested: 202. Did a correction bolus.
An hour later, 273. Another correction bolus. Skipped dinner.
An hour after that, 138. Snacked a little. Bolus.
Currently hanging out in the 130s. After a day like today, that's okay with me.

Thanksgiving at Work

Too busy to blog tonight. I am making a pumpkin spice cake with pumpkin filling and cream cheese icing for Thanksgiving at work tomorrow.

Blogging is a Full-Time Job!

Okay, I have decided that blogging could really be a full time job. Even if I don't blog every day, like I am this month, I am often thinking about things to blog about or things I've read on other blogs.
Seriously, if someone would pay me (and offer me top-notch insurance, of course) I would just blog full time. I would travel to meet all of you fellow bloggers and blog about that. Then I would travel to meet famous diabetics and interview them and blog about that. And then I would travel to fun things like WDD in another country, or the Children With Diabetes conference (of course, blogging all the way).
Anyway, I was just thinking that I needed to go to bed and realized I hadn't posted yet today. And the fact that blogging can be a full time job popped into my head....and onto this blog.

And, I know I'm pathetic, but I am super excited to go see Twilight on Friday night. Sadly, I am going alone cause I have no friends (that live around here anyway) that have read the books or have the desire to go see the movie. But that's okay. I am treating myself to a girl night. I am going to get my hair done, go see the movie, and maybe even take myself out to eat.

Watch the Trailer on Yahoo! Movies

Cold and Snowy...

I hate Monday nights. I have class an hour from my house. I leave work as soon as I get off and just get there in time for class to start. Most of the time I don't have time to stop and eat. Class ends at 8:00 and I can sometimes stop and grab something then. It isn't good for my diabetes because I get so hungry and then my blood sugar likes to rise. Not to mention the later I eat, the harder it is for me to control my blood sugar (because I'm asleep when it starts rising!). I know I could pack a dinner, but I always forget...or maybe I'm just too lazy.
But, the good news is, that on the way home it was snowing. :) It probably won't stick, but it's still cold enough to snow. And that means there's always the chance of precipitation. But, hey, a girl can dream, right?
My class I am taking this semester is Sign Language 2. I took Sign 1 last semester. I LOVE it. I find myself signing songs on the radio. This is fine, as long as I'm not driving. :) Does anyone out there in the diabetes blogosphere know any sign language? Just a curious question.

This is what I woke up to this morning....

Not much. But it was some snow. :) It's gone now... :(

Stupid CGMS...

Not wanting to work right. :( My readings have been off for the last 24 hours. I just ripped it out. Going to try a new one today.

Happy World Diabetes Day?

Today's the day folks. And while I'm glad there's a day to bring awareness to this disease that effects so many people, I'd much rather just not have diabetes. I'm sure that most of you agree with me.

Often people ask, "What will you do when there's a cure?" I don't think about that very much. Mostly because diabetes has been with me for so long. I believe a cure is possible. I believe there will be one....someday. But for now, that hope for a cure is so deep inside me that I forget about it.

And like it's said every year, I hope this one is the last. But in all reality, I think it is probably not the last World Diabetes Day. So those of you who live close enough to somewhere that you can participate in the WDD activities, please do. And post your pictures and stories so I can be jealous. :P

Living in the middle of nowhere, there's nothing going on for WDD. So instead, I am getting up this morning, getting ready, and heading to work. Where my co-worker's husband is a T1 and my supervisor's daughter is a T1, another co-worker is a T2 and two other co-workers' husbands are T2. In a small office of about 15 people, there are at least 6 of us that are directly effected by this disease.

Here are so sobering facts that were sent to me in an e-mail from Diabetes Daily:

First, let these numbers really sink in:
-Every 10 seconds a person dies from diabetes-related causes.
-Every 10 seconds two people develop diabetes.
-Over 250 million people live with diabetes worldwide. In 2025, this figure will reach 380 million.
-More than 200 children a day develop type 1 diabetes.
-In developing countries, close to 75,000 children live with diabetes in desperate circumstances.
-Type 1 diabetes is increasing fastest in pre-school children, at a rate of 5% each year.
-Type 2 diabetes has been reported in children as young as eight.
-Type 2 diabetes affects children in both developed and developing countries.

Trying...

Okay, as I've mentioned before, I am unofficially trying to do the NaBloPoMo. This weekend may be the breaker for me.

My church has an intensive 3 day program that they do a couple of times per year. It's called Encounter. And I am going to be there this weekend. So posting may not happen.

I'm going to try, but you never know.

I am going to try to make it a point to post tomorrow, since it is World Diabetes Day. I figure that's the least I can do.

Monday Again??

All day today, it's felt like Monday...again. After having yesterday off for Veteran's Day, I had to go back to work. As much as I am glad that we have a holiday to honor Veterans, I HATE having a day off in the middle of the week. It always seems to throw my internal clock all out of whack.

I fought high blood sugar almost all day yesterday. Today, it's only been slightly better. I think I have discovered that weekends and off days mess with my blood sugar. I am going to have to figure this out.

My job is not an active job. I sit at a desk all day long. But for some reason, on weekends, my blood sugar likes to run higher. And even when I bolus for food, it seems I never bolus enough.

Does anybody else have trouble keeping the blood sugar in check during the weekend?

On a lighter note, I have a quote of the day for you:

"Some people are like Slinkys. They aren't good for much, but they make you smile when you push them down the stairs."

If any of you watch the Biggest Loser, I have a couple of slinky people on the show this season. **cough**vicky**cough**heba**cough**