post-christmas

i hope you all had a great christmas! (if you celebrate. if not, i hope you had a nice weekend.) i got some lovely christmas cards some from friends in the DOC that i enjoyed - they're on my fridge! thanks to you all!

i had a great holiday weekend, and i'm enjoying a nice little staycation this week. 

i had my handy dexcom with me this year, so for all the celebrations, i was keeping an eye on what my blood sugar was doing as i devoured the treats of the season. 

pretty much everything went as usual, i bolused for what i ate, and watched the graph climb and drop. i actually did really well on christmas day, i didn't go over 200 after my meal ... so when i decided i would indulge and have one of my aunt's delicious chocolate covered rice crispy treats (and bolused of course), i was pissed as i watched the graph shoot up with a straigh arrow. sigh. lesson learned. but it was totally worth it. 

hope you all have a great new year! 

[almost] wordless wednesday

this, and many other boxes and containers of cookies and sweets, 

tempt me at work every day this time of year. 

(and of course i give in sometimes.)

guest posting

today i'm guest posting over at america's dietitians.

you should stop by and check it out. :)

hope everyone is ready for christmas! i can't WAIT! my favorite holiday of the year.

JDRF walk recap 2011

last night was the awards dinner for the jdrf greater louisville walk to cure diabetes. we hadn't been before, and last year my team and i won some awards and wanted to go this year. 


mom, dad and my friend becca went with me, and it was a fun little hour. met some new people, ate some good food, got some awards and had these ADORABLE sneaker cookies that were DELICIOUS.


and, becca was adopted into our family for the night with our last name on her name tag. :) 

the totals are in!


i raised $1,255 and received a golden sneaker award for fundraising excellence and my team raised $2,497 and received the bronze achievement award for fundraising! WOO HOO!! 

thank you SO MUCH to everyone who donated, walked, came to the fundraising activity, asked their family and friends for donations, listened to me asking you to donate for months; i couldn't have done it without your help!

the awards are hanging out on the shelf with the awards from last year. :) 

hey team, next year, let's go for a higher level! 

learning...

so i've had the dexcom on for almost a week ... and now i know how ridiculous my blood sugars are on a day to day basis. geez. it's almost embarrassing. but ya know, i have diabetes. it's not going to be perfect.

my blood sugars have been i guess okay during this week ... i'm noticing the reaction times based on certain things i eat and some other stuff i want to work on for myself (including getting my ass back on a regular workout schedule. sigh. i miss bootcamp.), i am trying to perfect my delivery time when i bolus for meals ... why is it so hard for me to perfect the combo ratio? what percentage now? what percentage over the next hour? should it be an hour? a half hour? more than an hour? i hate math.

i got excited yesterday because i thought i was doing something right ... my 12 hour graph looked like this!

i hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, had regular meals, regular boluses ... things were just working out in my favor i guess. and then i jinxed myself by saying it out loud.

this morning, i look like THIS.

now, my blood sugar checks this morning have been in the 220s and 230s but i mean, seriously? wtf? why? i didn't eat anything unusual, but apparently at night my body was like hey guess what THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN.

i'm really happy about it. which is probably also helping me come down at a nice rate ...

life with diabetes continues.

it's arrived.

yes. it's official. i'm a dexcom user. 

last night i charged her up and begged asked allison to come over and stab me in the back of the arm (my preference for dexcom location - and i couldn't reach so of course i needed her help) ... which turned into a series of ongoing jokes the rest of the night but we won't go there. 

i just thought it was funny that they include cards about the computer software in ten languages.
kind of a waste of paper.

we're good to go! first night was lovely, i'm sure i'll have many stories to come.

diabetes humor

(comment by mom under photo...)

ps - endo appointment today!!

the book of better

have you all heard of this book? it's been buzzed about around the twitterverse a little, a few of my fellow bloggers have read it, kim wrote a review ... and when i read her review, i told her i agreed and my review would be quite similar.

i got an email from three rivers press about the book that said: It’s ultra-visual, resoundingly positive, and completely different than any other book about Diabetes out there. ohhh, ultra visual? positive? COMPLETELY DIFFERENT?? i'm in. 

the book of better is by chuck eichten, who is type 1 and is the creative director at nike. you guys. i'm a graphic designer. i am in LOVE with the way this book looks. and the coating on the cover? don't get me started. yum. it just LOOKS GOOD. so let's just say he was off to a good start.

i really enjoyed the book. it was easy to read, it was funny! i found myself chuckling at the puns and funny phrases he used throughout. i related to the way chuck felt. the style of the book made it feel ... less, hmm, formal? i'm not a professional book reviewer by any means. I LIKED IT. there. 

it made some good points ... basically the gist is that you can make life with diabetes better. no matter how much better, better is better. even just a teeny bit. that's still better. i am a fan of this thinking. every little bit counts! chuck talked about how he's not perfect, living with diabetes can't be perfect (hey, subtitle...) but you can make it better. if you just TRY. i'm not going into details because, well, i think you should read it. it's a quick read too, which i am also a fan of. 

it also had some points that i wasn't sure i agreed with; a few specifics: saying that just turning down your insulin pump when you feel low will make feeling of being low go away ... i mean, that's one part of it. but clearly that is not all you have to do. and not everyone uses an insulin pump. another was that one page actually read 'you can make your type 2 diabetes go away.' uhhhmmm, what? i mean, i knew where he was going with it, but that part made me squirm a little. i felt like there could have been a little more information provided about that. if someone who was recently diagnosed with type 2 was just picking up this book to learn about it, they might feel a little mislead. and there is a page toward the end where United States was spelled Untied States. ohhh, that misspelling slipped through the cracks. 

there were pages with huge graphics that i was nodding at. yes, diabetes IS totally unfair. so are lots of other things in this world, but sometimes it's nice to see it in print. it's affirming that i'm not the only one who thinks so.

'through it all i have retained my good looks.'

and i mean, who doesn't think this is funny? if you don't have a sense of humor, probably you. but if you didn't have a sense of humor, i don't think you'd be visiting my blog very often. ;)

all in all, i'd say this is a good read. you should probably getchyaself a copy! i thought it was a positive outlook on how to just make a little effort to make life with diabetes better. 

Disclaimer: i got this book from three rivers press but they did not ask me to write about it or post a review in any form. i am of course not a professional book reviewer of any sorts. i just wanna tell you what i like and don't. thanks bye :)

yay!

in case you were wondering about the status of my dexcom ...

woo hoo!! hopefully dr. awesome will let me bring it home with me so i don't have to take the class that is sure to be slow and repetitive since i know how to use it when i have my appointment on monday. :)

[almost] wordless wednesday

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas! :)

 at work 

and at home

in case you missed it ...

this happened yesterday ... 

hopefully this time next week i'll have it, since i see dr. awesome on monday. :)

appointment rotation

this morning, lab work.

waiting.

wednesday, dentist.

next monday, endocrinologist appointment. maybe my dexcom will be here by then!

good ol' glucoaster

so EVERY. NIGHT. this week, i have been low before bed. and of course my body waits til i am already IN bed, after checking blood sugar, getting ready for bed, laying there for a while and wanting to fall asleep. then it says, he guess what? feel that? yeah, you're probably low. you should probably check again. SUPER!

check it, low. correct, wait, check, go to sleep.

every. night.

i have been up past midnight and sometimes 1 am all week. do you know how annoying that is? if you live with diabetes, yes, you do.

but of course, i have been waking up around 170 every morning. i will take this over the alternative of waking up incredibly low, but it's still frustrating and not the number i want to see.

i think it has something to do with me being more active this week, i haven't had much time to sit down. i'm not eating anything out of the norm, just not sitting on the couch all night every night.

good thing i have an endocrinologist appointment in a few weeks. time to see dr. awesome (late, because i had to reschedule my last appointment and i'm behind) again!! :)

wordless wednesday

third day in a row for galoshes and the umbrella ... that's enough for now.

making my dream a reality

remember back when i fell in love with tried the dexcom? and it was awesome on vacation?

and i said i wanted to get my own ... and then i didn't. (still looking for that money tree. and for lower medical expenses.) 

dexcom.com

then last week victoria wrote that awesome post that made me want to hurry up and get the CGM already. 

...

i just faxed my endocrinologist's office the paperwork to start the process of getting my own dexcom.

that is all. 

:)

world diabetes day

on this world diabetes day, i am looking back where it all began.

i was cleaning and sorting through some things last night and found a bag of old supplies and papers. i have been hanging on to it for who knows what reason, and it's time to get rid of some old stuff. it's a glimpse of the beginning, when diabetes became a part of my world. (PUN ALERT! did you get it?? haha. i'm a nerd.)

here are a few highlights:

supplies from my first pump. (anyone know where i can donate these?)

totally don't remember getting this pamphlet. but i don't remember reading really any of the stuff i found.

my first meter! ahhh, i do remember checking my bg on this. but, barely. i remember random things, like sitting in the break room at my job three days after i was diagnosed and my manager sat with me while i checked my blood sugar and gave myself a shot before i ate lunch. random memories.

you might have to click these to read what they say. meal planning, the danger of DKA, learning to think like a pancreas (really?), hypoglycemia ... i don't recall reading these either. but they were printed in july of 2000. maybe my parents read them? maybe it was part of the information i absorbed but it was all such a blur i don't remember specifics. 

ahh, the search for a pump. looks like something my dad might have printed ... different pumps that were available when i was choosing the one i would get. wow. they look so old school.

i remember getting these books. apparently i read the one on the left because i have highlighted sections. it's so funny how i wanted to make sure i remembered such basic things; now i can spout off everything i noted and so much more. 

i guess at the time it was one of those things that i knew i would have to 'deal' with ... i didn't realize that it was going to be such a huge part of my life. that's what happens when you are crazy overwhelmed with a life change. 

and wow, how life has changed. 

11.11.11

happy veteran's day! thank you to all who have served our country.

blue (and green) striped socks, blue pants and my blue wrist band. blue friday, HOLLA! 

i do it to live.

sometimes, when people learn that i have diabetes, or i meet people for the first time and it comes up, etc, the following conversation happens (and yes, it has happened to me multiple times):

person: oh wow. and you have to give yourself shots every day?
me: well i use an insulin pump so not every day, but yes, every few days it's like getting a shot. and i check my blood sugar at least a few times a day.
person: oh my gosh. i just don't know how you can do it. i couldn't do that. i wouldn't be able to.
me: well, i have to. if you had to do it, you would.
person: oh no, there's no way. i know i couldn't do it.

sigh. let me simplify it for you, person reading, who may be thinking the same thing.

i do it because i have to. if i don't, i'll die.

there it is for ya, in black and white.

I DO IT TO LIVE. i like living, i think it's pretty dandy and fun, and i don't want to go anywhere any time soon. so, again, i do it to LIVE. and if you think you couldn't do it if you had to, that makes me sad for you. i value my health and life enough that i will do what it takes to remain healthy and alive.

[almost] wordless wednesday

last night i was checking out some things on my blog, and when i reviewed where traffic was coming from, i discovered this:

um, i'm sorry, who's that #4? is this real life? listed among amazing diabetes advocates and bloggers whom i know and admire? NO WAY THIS IS TRUTH.

i look up to kerri, scott, lee ann, george, allison, jessica, kim, sarah and christopher. and there my name is, listed among them. GASP. these are people i call my friends. my amazing DOC friends who rock at life.

apparently this is real life. i don't feel influential ... but if you guys think so, i thank you.

ps - i scheduled my dentist appointment, my blood work appointment and endocrinologist appointment and told them i want to turn in my paperwork to get a CGM. (victoria may have been the final nudge i needed to get one.)

oh, hey november...

now that we're into the second week of the month, maybe i should post something, huh?

welcome to diabetes awareness month. and yes, i missed posting on the first ever type one day. but i wore blue. and i have a blue wrist band i'm wearing every day for november.

so, there's something that's been hanging around in my head for a week that stemmed from the full page, full color advertisement that JDRF ran in The New York Times and The Washington Post.

the ad caused a bit of a reaction, as you might expect. many people were angered by it, but some were not. i was one of those who were not angry. i realize it's a 'scare tactic' advertising style (what's up bachelor's degree in creative advertising), but the ad is the truth. and the truth hurts.

i've been having a hard time trying to wrap my head around all the different thoughts i've had about diabetes lately, and when this ad popped up in links on twitter and on facebook all week long, it made my brain hurt more because i couldn't figure out how to say everything i wanted to say.

today, my friend victoria wrote a blog about this exact same topic. and she was not the first. and i'm sure not the last (well, i won't be the last i guess). there's this post. and this one. and this one. and this one. also this one, and this one. and i'm sure others that i haven't gotten to yet. (do you all know how big the DOC is?? for real. it just keeps growing!)

and my exact thoughts as i was reading it were, 'yes, yes, exactly, i agree, i know how you feel, i think those things too, i don't tell my friends about that, uh huh, yes, crap i really need to get a CGM now and stop waiting...' and i immediately sent her a message and thanked her for putting my thoughts into a well written post. she saved me some time today. :)

so, instead of writing a post that sounds almost exactly the same as victoria's but not as eloquently spoken, i'd like to invite/ask you to go read her blog post. it's the truth. it's the things i don't often talk about. but it needs to be shared.

kthanksloveyoubye.

happy halloween!

appropriate costume for a diabetic. cotton candy. 

so many low blood sugar jokes...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! i hope everyone has a great one! :) 

random update

i feel like i haven't been blogging much lately ... sorry about that. life happened.

a few random updates ...

the JDRF walk was a success (i know i've already written about this), our team's unofficial total was $2,420. but i KNOW we have more than that because people brought some cash/check donations the day of the walk and those haven't been calculated on the web site yet. so AWESOME JOB!!! :D

i need to schedule my endocrinologist appointment. i had to cancel the last one because i was out of town - wow, what a slacker i am. FAIL. i need to get on that. like, TODAY.

my back is 'jacked up.' i've been seeing a chiropractor and he's helping ... it's a slow process. basically, your whole spine is supposed to move and sway all together in every direction (obviously.) and mine does that, until you get to the very bottom. then it doesn't move like that. super! that explains my lower back pain and hip pain.

which leads me to this ... my dad pointed out something i hadn't thought of. a few years ago, i was seeing an orthopedic surgeon because i was having some major hip pain, and basically they never figured out what was wrong, and i kind of learned to deal with it ... or it went away, i'm not sure. well, dad said that it makes sense that they couldn't figure out what was wrong with my hip - because the problem is my spine. it's all connected. thank you anatomy.

so i've been hanging out with my ice pack and trying to take it easy and i'm not wearing heels (good thing i have cute flats). if you wanna come hang out on the couch, that's where i usually am.

are you sitting down? prepare yourself. i've also STOPPED DRINKING DIET COKE. i'll give you a minute. i know. it just kind of happened ... i didn't say 'i'm going to stop drinking diet coke!' (that NEVER works for me) i just ... did. i've been drinking iced tea and water. woo hoo! going on two weeks. yep, i'm shocked by myself. and i don't want it, crave it, nothing. just don't really think about it.

my work's gala was last weekend, that's part of the reason i haven't been blogging much. life's been really busy ... now that it's over, things are calming down and i'm not as exhausted, so i have the time and energy to write more.

and, just for funsies, here's a picture from the gala - it was 'a masquerade affair.' :)

don't tell her about my drink. 

wordless wednesday

me + couch + ice pack = my nights as of late.

jdrf walk 2011

the walk was awesome, of course. our team raised over $2500! thanks to everyone who raised money, donated, walked with us, supported our team and enjoyed our hilarity. and now, a picture summary of the amazingness:

oh yeah, and this amazing mullet: