Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Test

Just seeing if this word works..lol

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Declaring My Diabetes: It's been awhile#links#links

Declaring My Diabetes: It's been awhile#links#links

It's been awhile

Well people it has been a while since I have written. This is due to some major changes that has happened in my life. Some very good changes & it has had me keeping very busy!!!
  First, my diabetes has been keeping fairly good, give or take some ups & downs. But the most exciting news is that at 30 yrs old I have finally started college!!!! Yes, a late bloomer I know. But it's the right time and I just felt the need, a clling you might say  to do something that is very near & dear to my heart!!
My overall goal is to become a Diabetes Educator, but to get there I am going for my Associate in Family and Child Studies,then moving to a BS in Family and Child Studies with a minor in Dietetics!!!Who knows by the time I'm done I might  go for my BS in Dietetics!!!!
  If you can't tell I'm SUPER excited about this!!! The best part is that all my classes, give or take a few are ALL on-line through my local University!!! YAY!!!! And I love it!!!!
   Since this is my 1st semester I started all my classes on campus minus one class. But I tell you what all this walking I have to do has done wonders for my Diabetes, I've had to adjust, but it's worth it!!! I definintly start blogging more,but these last couple months have been very busy for me.I'm still trying to find my groove with the classes, school work and raising my family, but I'll get it!!!!
  Hope all of you find yourselves to have a very productive day!!!!!

Declare Your Diabetes & Be Heard!!!!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Quick Note

Well this was my !st time ever doing the Big Blue Test and I gotta tell ya, it felt really good!!!I couldn't get to a computer so I hurried and sent a tweet on twitter & tried to add it on TuDiabetes. I will check on it tomorrow, but I must say, for some reason I was low all day????Puzzling I know...I think alot has to do with stress..
Well I just wanted to write something down because it felt like forever since I have..

I also would like to send a shout out to Andrea over at Sticky Sweet Diabetics for the ever awesome ribbons I recieved!! They were wonderful and I gave all my family & friends them to wear, Thanks Andrea!!
I proudly displayed mine all day Saturday and today,,,more on that tomorrow!!

Good night to all &
Declare your Diabetes. we are ALL survivors!!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Big Blue Test

This is basically a whole pile of people with diabetes testing their blood sugar at the same time and then posting the results.
Well this Saturday, November 14th, is World Diabetes Day. And as part of celebrating that day, the fine folks at TuDiabetes are holding The Big Blue Test. (What the heck is the Big Blue Test? Why I'll tell you how to participate right ... now ...)
Participating in this event to raise diabetes awareness on November 14 is easy:


1. At 2 pm (your local time), test your blood sugar.

2. Run, jog, walk the dog or do anything you’d normally do as part of your exercise routine for 14 minutes.

3. Test your blood sugar again.

4. If you are a member of TuDiabetes click on the home page banner and share your readings and what exercise you did between them. If you have a camera, you can also add a photo of your reading(s) or you exercising.

5. If you have a Twitter account, post your readings on Twitter (use the #bigblue hashtag) and link back to:
    http://bigbluetest.org/

And don't forget to check out http://bigbluetest.org

TESTING AND NUMBERS

Since it's Diabetes month and becoming more active in my diabetic life I wanted to talk about my testing. I find myself testing ALOT.Probably more than I should.Sometimes it's like clockwork, I'll test first thing when I wake up,then again after several cups of coffee. Right before I eat lunch(whatever time that is), after,same for dinner and at bedtime(if I remember). There are bouts throughout the day I find myself testing more than usual due to either I feel funny or "just because"..

The area I really need to focus on is between meals and at night, I often forget & otherwise only test in I feel different. I really need to get better at this and the times, instead of worrying during my 2 hr time after eating.

Then there are times I may eat a later lunch or dinner and snack throughout the day,which throws me way off key. Not to mention breakfast.That's ALWAYS been my "missed" meal, even before becoming a diabetic. I've never been a big breakfast eater, plus, by the time I get my kids ready & off to school I either plum forget,get busy or it's too late.

Otherwise for the most part I do test pretty regularly, I just need to get my times better organized,both eating & testing. Overall my numbers have been fairly good I think. Now, I ALWAYS check for key-tones in my urine(paranoid I guess from too many ICU stays), with those handy little strips.

On a Great note, my A1c is the lowest it's ever been(drum roll please) 7.2!!! My last A1c was a 13.1(yikes), so in 3 months I went from that to this(thanks to all my lows). I would say that's pretty damn good,but all the lows are literally killing me. It's a catch 22, I have an awesome A1c,but way too many lows.Did I mention how much I hate lows? No, well..I do. They are making me more forgetful,drawing blanks and having brain farts(yes I said it). I don't like this at all. If I could just find a medium and having it stay there(which we all want & need), I would be so ever happy.

So all in all, I test more when at times I don't need to, less when at times I do need to, my A1c is way down and the lows are freaking my out man..My numbers like to bounce and I push and push myself to just keep on going.I could sure use a nap for about ,um a week(he-he). But that's not gonna happen so instead I"m deciding to keep on pushing and everyday,for me , is one more day closer to getting my diabetes under control and staying a Diabetic Survivor

Hence, my own design!!! You like?!!!!                                   








SO COME ON FELLOW SURVIVORS, LET'S KEEP IT UP!!!!

Here's to








IT'S OUR TIME!!!!! (My other design!!!)

Friday, October 30, 2009

Candy Monster


Well here we are my friends,just one more day to Halloween,gaining a much needed extra hour of sleep & pleanty of candy. Yes, let's not forget the TONS of candy that my kids will be aquiring this weekend.

There's the excitement of haunted houses,ghosts & goblins, witches and finding the best costume! Oh & the fact of seeing how scared we can make the kids!!(Myself included)

But for us diabetics, the scare comes with the "CANDY MONSTER". I remember as a child, actually still to this day, I would always pick out the Reese's cups & Tootsie Rolls.Yum, yum, yum! To this day those are hands down my all time favorite candies, but I can only eat them in a "low" time....Boooooo..But, did you know both come in  SUGAR FREE, yes SUGAR FREE!! Hooray (I'm jumping for joy right now)!



So far this years Halloween treats at school, instead of filling the balls full of sugared candies, I opted for the Sugar Free! The kids couldn't even tell a difference, the parents were appreciative & they were gobbiled up with no second thoughts! The parents even tried em & told me they were gonna hand out sugar free this year!! Go me(can you see me doing a little jig). It felt really good to be able to give the kids a healthier, less sugared candy. Anytime I can put my 2 cents in on the big D makes me feel like I'm achomplishing a small goal & a good deed, you know since being a diabetic & all has made me more concious of what I give my kids and others these days.

Now onto Halloween night, I know the "Candy" monster will be everywhere with little ghost & goblins on it's tail. I know we will have plenty of loaded, sugary sweets filled to the top of the bags after trick or treating, so I'm just gonna get some of my favs(reeses & tootsie rolls) and stash em for when I have one of my "low" emergencies. At then I might be able to enjoy one at that time,but could live without having a low.

So with the "monster" snaking up in one more day, tell me, How will you avoid all the all too well"candy monster"? Did you do any special sugar free treats for anyone this season?


I wish everyone a safe, fun-filled & complication-free diabetic weekend!!!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

2009

Okay, this blog has nothing to do with Diabetes but I got this from a friend and thought it was too funny not to share because we all have done at least one of these!!!!


YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2009 when...
1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.


2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.


3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.


4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.


5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.


6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.


7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.


8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 30 or 40 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.


10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.


11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : :)


12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.


1 3. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.


14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.


15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING AT YOURSELF

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Trial & Error

 Since becoming a diabetic alot of my cooking has been trial & error, in terms of carbs & knowing how it will affect my blood sugar. Down here in Cajun land(aka Louisiana), we are forever eating some sort of seafood dish, trying new recipes out or making up our own little concoctions. We have an endless supply of different fish(red fillets are my fav.), crabs, shrimp, crawfish(in season), alligator, oysters & bull frogs(frog legs). Since we have our fishing lease in Little Chenier,(which we go ALL the time), we always come home with something! I love,love,love to fish, so going is very relaxing and fun for me but more on that later.



We also have plenty of flavorful spices, seasonings and sauces to choose from, when we don't make up our own! The seafood itself is fine, it's the sauces,gravies & some seasonings that get me. Not to mention the rice. Have I told you how we eat rice with pretty much EVERYTHING. From gumbo's to sauce pecans, etouffee's, you name it, we serve rice with it! Now with deer, duck, quail & squirrel season open, it's a whole new ballgame for gravies and/or fried foods.


To make matters more interesting, when my husband & dad get together to cook that makes for a very eventful, curious time. See they don't exactly measure out ingredients when they are coming up with different concoctions to fix. It's a dash of this, a spoonful of that, which all cajun spices are mixed with numerous things that already doesn't have a "label" per say, so it's very tricky for me to figure out the carb intake, which comes to guessestimating. But the finished product if Always so yummy!!


Living in Louisiana all my life & being raised with all these different spices, flavors & foods has always been "normal" for me, I've never had to worry about ALL the ingredients. But for the past 2 years, I have had to become more aware of reading labels, (when it's there). But when there are no set carb labels written in stone, that's when I just use trial & error.


One day I'll get this whole mess of knowing the exact carbs in all my Cajun foods, but until then, as we say here in Cajun Land, "Laissez les bon temps rouler", which means Let the good times roll!!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

To My Family & Friends, I Thank You

Thank You for listening to me, when I'm rambling on.

Thank You for watching me, when I'm testing my blood sugar.

Thank You for trying to understand when I'm experiencing a "low".

Thank You for reading up on a diabetes related issue.

Thank You for asking,"If there's anything you can do?"

Thank You for asking questions because it shows you care.

Thank You for wondering if I have any ketones, when I get to "high".

Thank You for knowing words & definitions in this world of diabetic language.

Thank You for saying prayers & hoping for a cure.

Thank You for sticking with me in my diabetic journey.

Thank You for being my # 1 fan.

Thank You for seeing how important this is to me.

Thank You for being you and telling me like it is.

Lastly, Thank You for still loving me, with this broken body of mine.


To ALL my family and friends:  You will never know how much your support means to me , the encouragement when I'm feeling down and the listening to me when I'm explaining whatever diabetes related issue I'm having at that moment.

To my Friends: You didn't have to stick with me thru this life changing ordeal, but you did. You know who you are and I Thank You from the bottom of my heart. I am blessed to have a friend(s) like you. I love you so very much.