Wordless Wednesday: The number 5

I cant believe it's Wednesday. That being said I am being proactive, while today you get some artwork, I am going to also write tomorrow's  blog now so I don't get distracted. Yesterday I had an appointment with my Endo. you will get the details tomorrow. I was entertained by this fact. I made it to the doctor's office 5 minutes early, my glucose at time of blood work was 55(more on this), and my a1c was 5.5. Yesterday was a good day for the number 5.

Who knew drawing the number 5 could be so much fun!!!

Happy Bolus Worthy Day

With today being Thanksgiving, I realized this morning I have 87u in my pump. I panicked for a little bit just hoping that there is going to be enough insulin to cover the day. Granted the 87u would normally cover me and give me enough for about half a day or until 5:00 tomorrow afternoon. It does not take into account my desire to stuff food in my face. So I figured I would list my top 10 BOLUS WORTHY Thanksgiving treats.
You may have your own list, but well steal the idea and write your own blog than.

10.) Turnips - I know it's weird, but they are so good.
9.) Pillsbury Dinner Rolls
8.) Mashed Potatoes - throw on a little butter and Tabasco and these puppies are golden.
7.) Appetizers - Yes I could list them all in this list, but it really depends on the day and that entire vegetarian thing leaves my options scattered dependent on location.
6.) Sweet Potatoes (Yams) - Who doesn't love these things covered in their marshmallowy goodness, hell just give me the toasted marshmallows and I am happy as a Squee in Harry Potter World.
5.) Meringue Cookies - Made them last night, I had to sample 3 just to make sure they came out alright.
4.) Chocolate Mousse Pie - If only there were Peanut Butter in the mix.
3.) Cranberry Sauce - It needs to be the condensed canned stuff. I could eat it all day. Who needs turkey, gimme this stuff and I am happy.
2.) Aunt Gloria's Coconut Bars - These in and of themselves could be a meal covered by like 30 units of insulin.
1.) Pineapple Corn Bread - I truly cannot explain the goodness of this pineapple concoction. I will do my best to take a picture of it, if it shows up today. It is a rarity some years but SOOOOOO GOOOD!!! It deserves mispelt words and junk.

Anyway, thank you all for your support, readership, and friendship. Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Most of you would be bolus worthy Thanksgiving treats too.

Wordless Wednesday: Thankful

Two things I am very thankful for. This was an easy one.

So my diabetes does not want me to exercise and other musings

I apologize it has been a few days, a week, I don't know since I have actually blogged about anything of substance. Call it writers block, call it bloggers block, or you can call it the fact that I was just plain lazy. I don't care, just don't call me about a cinnamon cure. 'Cause well we all know that it just does not work. Yes, you can quote me on it. CINNAMON DOES NOT WORK!!!

Wow, got that one out of my system. YEAH!!!! (sarcasm seems to be working)

Well now on to the real root of my problem. As of late my diabetes is conspiring with my other devices, Beepy McBeeperson (Dexcom), Blue (Animas Ping) and my bed. Yes, well my bed does not technically control my sugars and such, it does keep me happy and awake. So we will go to my first culprit, Blue.

Oh yeah he looks nice and pretty. You can't see the scratches and stuff. No guile what so ever. Yet when we run together he likes to play games. He likes to grab stuff when I run and jump out on me and grab stuff. He really is a jerk at times.

Not to mention Beepy McBeeperson. He is just as much of a pain. He likes to just sit around in my pockets and do not much. So I forget about him. Which is good.

Look at him, no guile on his face whatsoever. I would show you his graph which is pretty cool right now. But you would see where I am right now. I will tell you I am low, I am fine with that, it is just a number. I get yelled at for tweeting while low, darned if I am going to blog while low and have that staring at me as evidence... :-p But yes, Beepy McBeeperson. I am looking at you as I limp around today in pain. Why? Well you see I was playing Ultimate Frisbee last night. It was wet, it was muddy, it was awesome. I had my cleats on and was playing like a champ when low and behold as I was running to make a catch I slipped. It turned into more of a dive than slip, but I landed on you Mr. McBeeperson. You are fine (thankfully), but me not so much. While I do not have a bruise to show off. You hurt me. I swear I think I have a bone bruise, if nothing else bruised muscle or something. I am limping and can't really genuflect or kneel without pain.

Why oh why, won't you just let me exercise in peace to stay healthy. And you Mr. Bed, you are the worst. You inhibit me the most with your comforting presence. Your cozy blankets and warmness. How can I exercise when you call my name all the time. Jerk. Seriously.

All of these things are out to get me, to make me not want to exercise. But I am watching them and their sly ways. I am all about overcoming them, well except Mr. Bed. He is just to awesome!! Peace out cub scouts and all that fun stuff.

Faith Friday: Remembrance

I am sure something else may show up on here today. I have hit a brain freeze/ writers block, whatever part this week. So I went with words already written. Those used on Wednesday at my Grandmother's funeral. The thing is that some of this does not translate over well either since you did not know her or not able to hear the readings. But I felt that there needed to be something to fill the writing void for the week.

There is a phrase from Erma Bombeck that I quote often in homilies, so you may have heard it used before, but I use it because it is really a great line. She says, “When I stand before the Lord at the end of my life, I hope to not have a single bit of talent left and I can say I used everything you have given me.” This line applies to many of us, our lives what we have done or what we hope to do. To give everything of ourselves for others. This too can be said about grandma’s life and all that she has done over the years.

The readings we have heard today remind us of a few things, the first reading from the Book of Wisdom begins by reminding us that , “The souls of the just are in the hands of the Lord and no torment shall touch them. Like Gold tested in the fire he proved them…. Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect.” Our second reading reminds us of the place that the Lord has prepared for each of us. Even if our “earthly dwelling should be destroyed we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.” Lastly we hear in our Gospel passage the last line of the “Father will honor whoever served me.” The Lord honors those who serve and follow Jesus.

            

Each of these passages, each of these lines from Scripture serve as a reminder to us of both how we should live our lives, but also of the rewards promised to us if we do this. If we were to look at the life of Grandma we can see many parallels, to her own life of service. While much of Grandma’s early life is a mystery, even when we have each tried to find out about it, there are some things that we do know, we think. Born January 27, 1928 in Ballandine, County Mayo. Coming to the United States at about 18 years of age. Meeting up with and falling in love with Grandpa. Spending the rest of her years as a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many. Grandma lived a good life.

            

She raised her children well. Even if the stories that my fathers tell us about their childhood antics are true or not the you turned out okay in the end. She loved her family and was always so proud of each of you and your accomplishments as her family grew her she was even prouder of each of us and of all our accomplishments. Anytime you spoke to her on the phone even if it was for the two minutes and thirty seconds we might be able to keep her on the phone. She always had some news to pass on or share about what someone in the family has done. And if you actually managed to talk to grandma for more than 5 minutes at least for some of the grandkids you had to know that something truly special was going on in her life.

             

The love she had, the care grandma had for each of us was amazing. Each of us has a story or maybe a tall tale about grandma we like to remember. Maybe it’s the time she rode home to her house on the back of Dad’s motorcycle, the story of grandma and her one handed vacuuming skills, the food she cooked, etc. We all have a memory that we will hold on to.

We also know of Grandma’s faith and devotion, up until the end her prayer, her desire to go to mass, all of those things are also part of her life. I do feel bad I was never able to get that bucket of Holy Water for Grandma so she could continue blessing everything she owned, I am sure she forgives me.

            

The passages we have heard today all build up in the end to the promise that the Lord has given to each of us in our lives. If we live a good, holy life. If we follow the commandments and what scripture tells us. A place has been prepared for each of us. A dwelling place our reward. Even until the very end of her life Grandma knew this, and held on to it. She was as ready as anyone for being called home to the Lord. When she was told that the cancer had come back and spread, she began planning for the next stages of her life. Where and who was going to say the funeral, what songs she wanted sung, what she wanted on her prayer cards. Prepared for the next step on her journey.

            

Truly for grandma we know where she has gone, where her soul has gone. We know that she can stand before the Lord and say “I have used all of the talent” you have given me, even if sometimes that talent was to cause some mystery or trouble in the family. She did use everything given to her. But we do she is in the arms of the Lord, she is with grandpa, but most especially know how proud she is of each and every single one of you and that she will continue watching over us, even though she is gone. 

An Incident

So as many of you read this weekend may have been a little stressful for me. Just ask the garbage can littered with wrappers from all things chocolate and peanut butter. SO GOOD! However, they were all properly counted and swagged for. So no major spikes. I avoided my morning spike too, but that may have been due in part to my breakfast....

Yeah, there may have been a small bacon incident on my egg sandwich.  It was so good, but I am not sure about how I actually feel about the entire meat thing. I may not dive head first in, but I am also going to do it slowly and snobbishly to avoid getting sick. However, I do share my solidarity with the DOC in my fascination with and apparent consumption of BACON!!!!

Moments of Wonderful

I had a goal and a plan that this month I was going to try my best to post a blog every day. I started out strong, but well to put it blankly. Shit happens. I know its crude language, I would have been more delicate. I blame it on my emotional state. That is my excuse and I am going to stick with it.

Yesterday, November 5, 2011, my grandmother passed away at 4:45 in the morning. She had been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, which had matasizied and spread to her liver and lungs. She refused treatment, but can you blame her?? She was 83, what would the chemo and radiation do for her? Prolong her life by two years, but have her in pain the entire time. No, I don't blame her. So even though she was given a 3 - 6 month time frame, something happened and she was called home to Lord. It is sad, I will miss her and the trouble she caused dearly. (She gossiped and spread rumors and trouble like an Irish Banshee).

So her passing yesterday upset the flow of everything and well I wasn't feeling all that blogging. So today, I thought I would look at a moment of wonderful I stumbled upon. I went shopping at Target for supplies, mouth wash, Cars 2 DVD, Chobani Yogurt, Fall Scented Air Freshener, and of course low blood sugar supplies. AKA discount HALLOWEEN CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For $5 I found this:

125 Pieces low treating stuff. I am so Happy, I mean I can't get that many glucose tabs for $5. BEST MOMENT OF WONDERFUL today.

Faith Friday: Friend of....

Who are your friends? Who are the people you turn to when you are in need? Who do you trust? We all can answer that question pretty easily. Friends, family, the DOC, whomever we all have the one person or group of people who are there for us when and if we ever truly need them. It is awesome. This month when we are so seeking others to help us and support us during Diabetes Awareness month, we have a sure and certain sign of the advocacy out there. Every Friday throughout the month we encounter  Blue Friday's.

Granted we must be careful. Some people who may be wearing blue today, just well may be wearing blue. How awkward would that be. "Hi five for D-Advocacy!!!" "????" "You are wearing blue to raise diabetes awareness right??" "No" (AWKWARD). I can think of a few people who may fall into the awkward hi fiving people category. I won't name names. Kim you know who you are.

The thing is that this month especially as many of us advocate for diabetes awareness, we know we are not alone, unless you hi five the wrong person.  Yet there are more things out there to realize as well. We truly are not alone, even when we think we are. There is someone else there to help us out. GOD. Yeah, the big guy is there for us as well.  Lately there has been a song stuck in my head, I mean stick your head in a microwave trying to pop the kernel of it out of your head stuck. The song is called "Jesus, Friend of Sinners" by the band Casting Crowns. The lyrics are great, the melody is haunting, it is a quality song. The album in fact is pretty amazing as well. If you want to hear the song, I am linking you to a video I found of it.

The lyrics though are what really caught me. Two different reasons though, the first part makes me wonder about how our "efforts" affect those around us, especially when we slam our opinions down their throats, whether they like it or not.

"Jesus, friend of sinners
We have strayed so far away
We cut down people in Your name
But the sword was never ours to swing"

Mind you I am not saying what is being done should not be done or is wrong. Yet at the same time our efforts, our over zealousness can shoot us in the foot. It can be more than people can bear. Sometimes we need to be tactful, subtle, maybe in how we address and handle people and their "ignorance, stupidity, cluelessness."

That was just a random thought, the other part of the song/message is the more important, what we hear in the refrain from the song:

"Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world
At the end our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Break our hearts for what breaks Yours"

Let our hearts be led by mercy, the mercy that you show us. The care you have for us. The support you have for us. Let our hearts realize you are good. Let us remember that in our dark days, our times of need you are there for us. You have given other people the ability to help and support and guide us along the way. What more can I say? We trust our friends and families. We turn to them, when we are truly in need. We must also trust the Lord, believe that what is happening, is doing so for a reason. We cannot understand said reason, at least right now. But we must trust Him who watches over us and guides us. The Friend of all people who believe in him. 

A Moment of Seriousness

Today is November 3, 2011. I know that because my calendar told me that. It is a good day, so we think about everything that is troubling us. 'Cause that is some serious stuff. We evaluate it, think about it, dwell on it, and than guess what happens????

 

#COMPLEXCRABS ATTACK!!!!!!!!

Sometimes we take things to seriously. Those moments of serious are fine. Yet at the same time we need those moments of sanity as well. The silliness, the stupidity, the attack from the #complexcrab. This one came in the mail from Sara. It was awesome. I haven't eaten the Taffy yet though. I am trying to figure out if the true origin of #complexcrabs has ever been fully explained. It shows up in hashtags and random conversations but have the originators ever truly explained it. I know I referenced Kerri on this and her take on crabs. Yet the other story from the #FFL crew, don't know if it was ever mentioned. The origin of the myth is like that of the Service Chicken or Service Penguin. An inside joke that was never truly made known to the public.

(New Paragraph) Sorry old habits die hard. The seriousness will always be there. I realize this. Life can be difficult. We reflect on the issues at hand. Yet we never know, when the #complexcrab will attack, complete with #rosespit (another story, another day). We embrace it, run with it. Find the humor and move on. Don't dwell on it to much.

Wordless Wednesdsay: Tied

I was exhausted last night getting ready for bed. I had just put my pump in my pocket so I could take off my belt and stuff. I was so tired I did not notice my had had gone through my excess tubing and I had tied myself to my pocket. I was also to tired to figure out how I did it. Yet I did have time to take a picture. Sigh. What an idiot.

(Added at 3:00 today. If you are curious I thought I would post a link to my other "tied" incidents with my pump, Murph, now Blue)