I celebrate Christmas, but I know that quite a few of you DOC bloggers are Jewish, so I'll happily wish you a belated Happy Hanukkah!

Things should prove really busy from here until the other side of Monday. This seems to be the trend :) I have wrapping to finish and gifts to assemble. I have a full day tomorrow and I'm sure it'll be a late night on Sunday.

The best part of Christmas for me is spending Christmas morning with my nieces and nephew. Emily is old enough know to rip open presents along with her older sister, Catherine. They're very funny and should be quite the site this year.

Goodluck to those of you also crunched for time finished up Christmas responsibilities and good luck to all who are trying to be conscious and diet/stay away from sweets/not take in more than double your normal amount of insulin for this holiday! We can do it!

I've mislead you...

Oh boy. I've gone and mislead you all into thinking 131 represented a blood sugar. Oh no, the other numbers were the blood sugars lately. The 131 was another number and while as a blood sugar it doesn't thrill me as much as a good ol' 100 will, I'd take a million 131s over the crap I've been seeing lately.

It's just over the number of carbs I had while indulging on Papa John's Amazing Spinach Alfredo Pizza and Parmesan Bread Sticks.

But it's the exact number of units of insulin that I took in one 24 hour period of time. Yes, the same day that I ate the PJ's ASAP and PBS. Also the same day I experienced and obvious pump tubing kink or something of the sort resulting in some wonderfully lovely ketones accompanied by high blood sugars. And sure, I don't blame myself for the pump kink aspect here, but everything else about that number was under my control and if I'm going to be really honest--the pump kink didn't account for the 50 units of insulin that I would like to have seen not be a part of my day.

As you may have inferred from this information, I am not the most sensitive to insulin. As matter of fact, I believe that I am about as resistant as anyone I've ever heard of.

Something MUST be DONE!!!

131

That number represents failure to me. So do 324 and 287 and 304 in the a.m. Where's the easy button!!!!

Why are all the amazing foods and beverages so stinkin' bad for us?
and if you're in New England, don't settle for any other brand. Hood is well worth the price! This is a huge symbol of Christmas for me. When I was little my mom and I used to make our own, but it was never THIS good.

The holidays certainly do throw a wrench in all efforts to become more healthy. I'm coming to grips with this. I consider myself in the planning stages of action. I'll get there, but it's just not my moment yet.

-----------------

Today, I was lazy (this laziness thing has something to do with our previous topic). Had I bolused for breakfast I would have been completely out of insulin (including the 11 units they don't tell you about). Not feeling like changing my site at my desk, I injected. I did the same for lunch and changed my set when I got home from work. I loathed injections before my pump. They were the cause of the majority of my diabetes angst! Now, I opt for injections over site changes. All things in perspective, I suppose.

I've been short on time lately. So this is a very quick post to bring to your attention, alana-mireille apparel.

Alana-Mireille was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 2 years ago this past week. Even more recently, she was diagnosed with celiac disease. Alana is an adorable little girl, whose parents were not satisfied with the restrictions placed on her wardrobe by her pump! Motivated by their desire to see Alana comfortably wearing her favorite dresses again, they designed a special pocket and have launched their own clothing line. Right now they only have the dresses, a shirt, and two accessories on the site, but I've been told that a line of cargo pants will be available after the new year and they will continue to add to their line.

What's so special about their pocket, you ask?
From the website: "There are insulin pump pockets on both sides of the dress. Each pocket can be accessed either underneath the dress or the side pocket. You use the side pocket to pull out the insulin pump to deliver the insulin and you use the underneath pocket to hold the pump and the tubing. Therefore the pump isn't going to come out while jumping and playing and the tubing is concealed so it won't snag."

Another great aspect of their products is that they are donation portions of their profits will go to JDRF and the Diabetes Association Inc. in Fall River, MA (not the ADA). The Diabetes Association Inc. offers a camp for children with diabetes as well as support groups and also works towards prevention of diabetes in the community.

So, head on over to alana-mireilleapparel.com and spread the word. Just because they have specialty pockets doesn't mean a child without diabetes wouldn't enjoy one of these adorable dresses! And if you have a boy, be patient, the cargo pants are coming!

a warm welcome

Surf on over to Liz' blog at pumplover.blogspot.com

Liz is a Type 1 diabetic and brand new blogger! I have the privilege of knowing Liz through work (and her father was my high school trig teacher). But really, I know her because of work.

She just started blogging after months of reading your blogs (she hadn't found mine yet, but I went out on a limb and so now she knows where I'm at--Hi Liz).

So, go on over and be sure to leave a comment!

Getting it done

I'm slipping.
And they say it's a slippery slope.

You see, way back when, I'd debate whether or not to take an injection before going to sleep. A dangerous question if answered wrong. Most times I took the shot. A few times, I didn't. Oh well, I wake up a little thirsty, right. And 20 years down the road loss of vision. ugh.

Tonight, I sit here really comfortable-like and the beeping of my pump reminds me that my reservoir is low and has been for hours. The dashes an indication that I'm scraping the bottom.

I'm tired. I'm sick and tired of site changes and insulin vials, of beeping machines attached to my body, of counting carbs and of this disease.

But it's the unknown complications and battles that the future holds that dictate the necessity of dragging my butt off this couch, digging out a reservoir and a site, finding my blue inserter device and getting it done.

Isn't that what it's all about, every day--Getting it done?

Time for Bullets

• This is my first post from my new laptop and my ever so friendly neighbor's unsecured high speed internet (I have DSL, but with his to use, I don't have to bother installing DSL software).
• Kevin has given up sweets for 3 months! Kudos to him. No, I am not going to join him, because I don't honestly eat many sweets, so to give them up seems like the least of my worries.
  
• NaBloPoMo is over for me when I hit that little orange "Publish" button. Not so sure that I would call it fun or wonderful, but it's over. Good Enough.
• Today should be photothursday, but I'm slacking.
  
• My thought is, now that NaBloPoMo is over, I will try and concentrate a little more on something for the weight loss. (Have I said this already. Geez, I feel like I might have, so I'm gonna stop).
• I managed to get the D blogs on my "to read" list down to 41. Stop posting people!
  

That's all. I wonder with what frequency you'll hear from me now... hmm.

catching up...

I have 170 unread Diabetes Blogs to read... I think the number is a little steep, so my suspicion is that a few people republished their blogs and didn't actually write 25-30 blog entries while I was on that short little vacation.

Had some annoying blood sugar issues while I was gone, but I must say that today was just wonderful. 156 isn't a non-diabetic number, but for a diabetic like me 156 makes me smile on a day filled with hard work and travel!

I am really happy to be home and to sleep in my own bed tonight. Speaking of that...

I'll be back tomorrow with another mediocre post to fulfill my commitment to Naplobomo *how is that spelled again :)

After that post, it's back to random posts at random times, but the good news is that I can start thinking about this weight lose initiative idea thing that's been floating around. If we're going to do it, let's do it right! Email me with thoughts. orsa.aetas [at] gmail [dot] com

Had a miserable blood sugar day. Woke up in the mid 300s. Took me until lunch to get to 110. Then I got to deal with lows :) First low: juice. Second low: FRUIT PUNCH tabs. My professional opinion-yum. Back up to 214 by 4pm. Then a big dinner and now I'm in the mid 200s again. Bolus and sleep should help.

One more day. I fly home tomorrow. yay.

It's the simple things...

that keep me happy sometimes. I packed the glucose tabs small container and the large backup, so I wasn't in need when we arrived at Wal-mart, but we happened to walk through the diabetes aisle (we have our own stinkin' aisle--Granted half the items are protein bars and splenda, but whaever). It caught my eye. FRUIT PUNCH GLUCOSE TABS!!! Where have you been my whole life?!

I HATE the BD orange tabs. I get bored with the normal ones, but I use them and the taste isn't entirely offensive to me. BUT a new flavor! I could not resist.

The problem now is taste testing the new tabs. I certainly don't hope for a low and I'm not gonna just eat one, but I really really want to know! It's quite the conundrum. Inevitably, like death and taxes really, there will be another low and the new fruit punch tabs will be tucked away for trying! I can't wait, or can I?

In North Carolina. Only 2 miles from South Carolina. Longest two driving days of my life!!!!!! I'm going to bed! :)

Remember This? And then I called Joslin to have them send me my results and get them over the phone?

Well I received the first set of results very shortly after calling. Another set the next day and my third set yesterday morning.

I think Joslin is trying to punish me for calling; Too bad they're taking it out on a tree.

(I packed and leave in 1 hr 39 mins. :) )

.black friday.

I've left the house three times today...to do laundry. No full contact shopping for me! It was so much easier to dial dell and order over the phone (Thanks Dad!--cashing in on my bday and Christmas combined present, right smack dab in the middle of the two "holidays"). A big "Way to Go" goes out to Phillip over at Dell. Not only is he working today (how quickly I forget what it's like to be in retail), but he also had the misfortune of meeting me via phone this morning. He really was exceptional though; checked all my prices and processed my super-duper 20% off coupon code (Thank you Internet!) AND he didn't seem annoyed at all. :)

I have a bigger task today, however. I need to pack. I'm a last minute person by nature, but I have a special, "oh poop, this is the time!" talent. It's that minute when I need to start the task at hand or else it won't be finished. I have yet to reach that point. I want to be at that point, really, I do. Just like I tried to write those three 15-20 page papers ahead of time in college, but I couldn't, so I wrote 2 one night and the third the other night. Yep, I am a procrastinator and I am good at it. I'm down to 4.5 hours to pack, hit Walmart for any needed "stuff" and get to the movies--Anyone seen Happy Feet yet?--for 7pm. I did have the presence of mind to find my doctor's note for traveling ahead of time. I'm sure there aren't many people willing to write me a note today!

So, NaBloPomo... is gonna be a stretch these next few days, as it won't be my priority. The intention for this exercise was not to wow you with my prose or to win prizes (although, I wouldn't mind), but was more for the self-discipline exercise, so I feel as though I've accomplished the goal with or without a full month's worth of posts.

North Carolina here I come! oh, right, once I've packed... hmmph!

Thanksgiving PhotoThursday

I am most thankful this November for my two nieces and my nephew:


My oldest niece, Catherine. She's the ham and the photogenic one. She's also taking after her aunt and can be seen running around the house with someone's digital camera, snapping pictures and ordering people to smile or sit with whoever the subject is. It's great.


The middle child, Emily. T-r-o-u-b-l-e Also, the wild woman and when you get her started giggling, she just keeps going and going, but watch out if she's sick of misses mommy, she's a terror!


The baby and future spaceman, Aidan. Weighing in at 4 lbs and 3 oz at birth (4 weeks early), he is up to 6 lbs and 3 oz now. Seemingly no adverse health effects from being a premie, Thank God!

I'm including a more up to date photo of him outside of his bubble and at his current weight (18.5 inches!)...


And one of the proud sisters dressed in orange for orange day at Catherine's school.



photo credit: 1st 2 photos: me. last 3 photos: my brother/his wife

beta beta beta

I did it. I switched to beta.
I wasn't going to, but curiosity got the best of me. Well that and the fact that there was something better... or was there?

One of the features of beta, the new, easy to use template rearranger/formatter, I can't use. If I do switch to it, I lose all of my formatting (i.e. banner, font, diabetes ribbon, etc). And some things, like the font and colors are easy fixes, especially with the new beta, but other things like the banner, require more work, so I am holding off on those things.

Another annoyance I have is the signing in with my gmail account. I might have benefited from thinking this through more thoroughly. The gmail account associated with this blog is not my everyday, send me an email, email. This is because I'm sensitive about my anonymity here on the good ol' internet. So, in order to comment on your blog or even write this blog, I have to sign out of my email and log into the other account. Slight annoyance.

However, Thanksgiving is tomorrow, so I'm going to try to be thankful for all the wonderful people at google who have provided me with the best email service I've ever had (yay for less spam and spam that filters itself well and for spam recipes, which I'd never, ever cook). Google also provides me with answers and my calendar. Yay google.

I'm thankful for some other things this evening and here they are in an ever so convenient, bulleted format:

• Did you read about the chemical explosion in Danvers, Ma? I went to school very nearby to that town. I am amazed at how large the explosion was (I had a friend a couple of towns over who were frightened by the blast and apparently it was felt as far away as parts of Maine and NH.) I'm also amazed that no one was killed. It reminds me of how thankful I should be. (If you want to see more photos and info, go to Boston.com, but you'll have to sign up for a free registration.
  
• I'm not a fan of the holidays. I don't have a big family and I just found out on Sunday where I would be spending tomorrow. (I'm not a grinch, really) That being said, I am thankful that I will spend dinner with my two wonderful nieces and my new nephew!
  
• If my scale is correctly calibrated to the one at Joslin, I've lost weight since my appointment and hopefully a little more than just water weight or whatever (technically the scale read 7 lbs under my weight as of October 27th; I hope I'm only being pessimistic without a need to be). Whatever lit the fire under my butt, thank you.
• I'm tired. I am extremely thankful for the bed I have in the other room and the heat that I can afford to keep me warm on a bitterly cold night like tonight.
  
• I'm thankful for my computer :) duh.
• This may be cliche by tomorrow afternoon, but I'm thankful for the Diabetes OC and the wonderfully supportive and understanding people that are a part of it.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

(I'll be back tomorrow with a Thanksgiving PhotoThursday type of post. Can't give up on Nablopomo after all these days!)

oh, and beta has me paranoid just like the comments... I just copied and pasted the whole post, because you never know when a beta program's gonna freak out and delete!

half baked? & weight loss stuff!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this hear before or just thought about mentioning it, but I get a very distinct feeling that God is trying to tell me something. And specifically that I need to eat at home and never, ever eat at restaurants.

Why you ask?

Because most times I visit a restaurant something is screwed up. My picky eating habits used to get blamed for this, but really I've noticed that it's not my eating habits, it's just me.

Tonight's round:

A small local inn restaurant. Menu item: "fish and chips"

My order: "Fish and chips with a baked potato instead of french fries please" (You know an attempt to be healthy!) Oh and I ordered a small cup of clam chowder.

There was nothing wrong with the chowder except that it didn't taste very good. I ate very little of it-the waitress (waitress, didn't we have a waiter?) didn't even ask about it. I wonder if people there normally only put a quarter inch dent into their chowder.

The meal arrives and the tartar sauce is obviously "different." Some would say I'm just being picky, but please, please, if you ever write a menu warn me when something is completely out of the ordinary, such as your use of sweet red relish instead of normal good ol' relish. Yuck!

Entirely more disturbing would be the baked potato; It was half-baked, maybe? Hard. yup. So I ordered french fries to replace the not cooked potato. A few minutes after my father finished eating his meal, my french fries arrived (yup, that long). So, all attempts at being healthy were thrown out the window, the fish just wasn't good without the proper tartar sauce, and we got to pay full price for all our items. Good thing, because a discount might have been too generous.

I just don't get it. Maybe my standards are too high? Perhaps I should just eat hard "baked" potatoes. Maybe I should just order french fries when eating out, just fries, who can screw up fries!?

What a waste of time.

I feel like two days of ranting might come across the wrong way, but too bad :)

-------------

In other news, the whole baked potato ordering was the new attempt at being healthy in this push for weight loss that I've been tossing around the past couple of weeks. I'm brainstorming ideas for us all. I know some concern about starting pre-holidays has come up and I think we should all gear ourselves up for what's to come. Start making some small changes even though it is the holidays. I've started bringing lunch to work. Just a small step. Maybe it's something different like ordering healthier sides at a restaurant (just make sure the restaurant doesn't suck--I'm not bitter; Have I told you all how much I LOVE baked potatoes; once again, not bitter). Or parking the car way the heck out in the middle of the mall parking lot with the employees just to get some extra steps in.

I'm sure there are other ways to work some healthy-ness into our everyday lives. Any suggestions!?

Ignorant much?

Regarding Adam Morrison. Written after Gonzaga was knocked out of the tourny this past spring.

"Frankly, I have grave doubts that Morrison is going to be a top NBA player. He's thin, doesn't guard anyone, and needs the ball all the time. Besides, he is diabetic, which is more serious than many seem to realize."

Read the whole article.

I read this quote today. A lot of things that we hear and read about diabetes makes us angry or disappointed. This short excerpt was no different for me. I emailed the author. I'm not sure if I overreacted or if how I read it, was how it was stated.

To me it sounds flippant. As if the first three reasons he gave were not enough and even if they aren't enough it wouldn't matter, because besides all this, he's a diabetic; and it's serious, folks. UGH.

In my email I pointed out to him the professional athletes currently competing. I only emailed because I think people need to hear it more. They need to realize that we're not going to die tomorrow although we could.

All I ask is that people take diabetes seriously (stop comparing my insulin to your anti-depressants or the research that goes into my diabetes to the lack of research for your condition (non-life threatening)). But while you're recognizing our danger, our challenges, our adversity, please do not limit us. We don't limit ourselves, so anything you say will only further motivate me!

ugh!

Lazy Sundays

Stolen from Julia.

Dude! You're 100% from Massachusetts!

Dude! Me and Sully and Fitzie and Sean are gonna hit Landsdowne tonight after the game, hang out at the Beerworks. I'll pick you up at the Coop at 6.

How Massachusetts are you?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

92% TRUE Red Sox Fan, PLAY ON!

Yeah you are a true and dedicated Red Sox fan, ya wicked sweet ma--hole! Kick those Yanks back to New Yawk where they belong! Go Red Sox! Yankees suck, Yankees suck!!

Are You a True Dedicated RED SOX Fan?
Quizzes for MySpace

Still unsure which question I got wrong on the red sox one. Perhaps the who is hotter one? Since three of the four choices no longer play for the sox and at least one other question was about a former red sox player turned yankee (stupid damon, although I never really liked him, honest), I think they need a new quiz.

Feeling Pressured

I'm feeling very pressured as of late to change over to beta blogger, but I'm standing my ground! I haven't heard any nice things about it yet, so until they make me move, I'm happy where I am! However, they're (google) trying very hard! Anyone have any positives to share?

I know my blog doesn't have a very large readership (although since installing the sitemeter thinger, I'm surprised to see the amount of visitors that I have), but two people or three have expressed interest in losing weight and the idea that perhaps the OC could pull together and encourage each other. Any ideas on how this can be done? I had a friend lose some weight doing a "biggest loser" type "game" at her work--she also won some money. I am vague on all the details, but if you gained weight you had to put money in the pot and you weighed in each week. Not so sure that would work over the internet and money isn't something I'm dying to give away! BUT perhaps we could find something else to motivate us?

If you're interested and didn't leave a comment, let's talk about this. And Scott, you're not allowed to come up with excuses to not join! If you were, then I don't think any of us would be participating (that might be the root of the problem!)

We might need a bigger forum than my blog for this idea, but if a few people are sincerely interested, then let's get the ball rolling and encourage others to join us!

Have a happy Saturday! I'm off to CT to spend some time with the extended family and meet my new cousin for the first time!