Come and gone

The holidays have pretty much come and gone for me. I spent the last week with family, visiting in NC, hanging out at my parents, and being with my fiance' and his crew. On Wednesday, we headed back to our apartment and began the task of unpacking our gifts and organizing our stuff. In a tiny apartment, I tend to get overwhelmed with clutter. I'm not a superbly organized person so I've signed up on one web site to receive an organizational update a day.

We're laying low for NYE it looks like. With the busy-ness that will be 2008, it might be nice to start it off quietly. Hopefully some good food, a glass of bubbly, and the hope that 2008 will be a completely awesome year.

Wednesday---the holidays are coming

Ah, halfway through this week! So glad that time is flying by as we get closer and closer to the holidays. After a busy weekend directing our church's Outdoor Christmas Pageant, attending Ross' little brother's swim meet, celebrating my sister's 17th birthday, and being with family in general, both of us were exhausted. Good exhausted, yet exhausted.

Our weeks are filling up at work and at home, but it's great to be able to spend this exciting time of the year together, Ross and I. For the past 4 years, we've been away from each other and had to go our seperate ways to sepnd time with our families. This year, we'll be traveling to NC to see my family the weekend before Christmas and then heading to Ross' grandparents the weekend before NYE. We'll both end up staying at our own parent's on Christmas Eve, but will get to see each other alot during the day.

Work-wise, I'm staying busy. I was in Philly for the day on Monday (YAY for taking the train). I had my first work holiday party last Friday and it was a blast! I work with some great people!

On the agenda for the rest of the week:
- Gym tonight (to work off the calories from the delicious treats that I've eaten at work this week!)
- Shopping for my work Secret Santa tomorrow
- Scheduling a prescription pickup before I head out of town on Friday
- A trip to Richmond to see my lovely college roommates (our Christmas gifts to each other is a night on the town and I AM SO EXCITED!)
- Cleaning my apartment before said trip

Hope that during this busy time of year things are well with you! Leave me a comment and let me know how life is!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my best friend, my admirable adventurer, my car ride companion, the "Arthur" to my Beatty".

Happy 17th Birthday, Little Sister!

Wahoo!

Wahoo! I did it! A whole month of posting on this blog, during the most stressful month I've had since graduation. Congrats out there to everyone that was able to participate.

This month has allowed me to get to know more people in the Diabetes Online Community and for me to share alittle bit more about myself. I hope to be able to keep up with posting frequently (no more gaps from February to June!) even with the busy months ahead.

As for tonight, dinner and the drinks out on the town to celebrate NaBloPoMo being over, it finally being December, and surviving week #1 at my new job!

Have an awesome weekend and see you Monday!

Same old

I'm glad that tomorrow is the last day of NaBloPoMo as for the last week, I've had pretty much nothing to write about. Blood sugars are trucking along, counting carbs, finding I have less time to sit and snack at work which is good for my numbers and for my waist line.

Maybe tomorrow I will have something inspiring to write or something. For now it's just the same old, same old.

Today

I'm reduced to bullets as I'm home late from dinner with my fam, and up early to try a new way to get to work.

-Uncle and Aunt in town before heading to NYC, so the fam went out for dinner at my favorite Tex-Mex joint. Always an experience.
-Work is going swimmingly. I love my job so far. People are great. Things are great.
-I think I may actually be able to pull this Christmas pageant thing off. Please remind me next year when I think about doing this again how stressed I've been.
-Wedding is in about 6 months. Time to put it in gear after the holidays.
- Thought of the day I heard today on the radio: "Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important." So true.

Night!

Another Meme...Yes!

1. Were you named after anyone? Nope, my dad had a dream that he and my mom named me Allison. That's it!

2. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday, during a movie.

3. Do you like your handwriting? Yes, it's a mix of cursive and print and sort of small and boxy.

4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey breast

5. Do you have kids? Nope

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? I think so. I'm alittle standoffish at first, and sometimes I can be sort of awkward.

7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Not a tone

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes.

9. Would you bungee jump? Yes

10. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios and Special K

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Not normally. My shoes are mostly dress shoes or flip flops. I treat my tennis shoes like they are as well

12. Do you think you are strong? Physically, no. Mentally, it depends.

13. What is your favorite ice cream? Chocolate Chip from Baskin Robbins.

14. What is the first thing you notice about people? General appearance

15. Red or Pink? I like both.

16. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? My not so toned body

17. Who do you miss the most? My Nana and Papa

18. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Gray pants with black flats

20. What was the last thing you ate? Manacotti...delicious and so carb-filled

21. What are you listening to right now? MTV- I think "Made" is on

22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Periwinkle

23. Favorite smells? Cupcakes, cologne, Keri lotion (the brand my nana wears), apple pie

24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My dad

25. Favorite sports to watch? Softball

26. Hair color? Medium brown.

27. Eye color? Blue

28 .Do you wear contacts? Yeppers

29. Favorite food? Italian, or Mexican, or Ethnic food in general, or a cheeseburger.

30. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? Happy endings. I hate scary movies.

31. Last movie you watched? The Holiday on DVD yesterday.

32 What color shirt are you wearing? A white shirt with a pink sweater.

33. Summer or winter? Early summer or late fall.

34. Hugs or kisses? Hugs. Kisses from my fiance'.

35. Favorite dessert? Ice cream

36. What is on your mousepad? I have a laptop and use the touch pad

37. What did you watch on TV last night? Heroes and The Hills

38. Favorite sound? Laughing

39. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles, I guess

40. What is the farthest you have been from home? Panama City, FL. My life is boring.

41. Do you have a special talent? Umm...I remember people really well. Like today, I saw a girl and remembered her name from a church thing I went to in 6th grade. Is that weird? Do you say, oh actually I've met you before or do I just pretend I met her for the first time?

Stress

I start my new job tomorrow and the Christmas pageant I'm directing is in less than two weeks. I'm slightly stressed (read: very stressed) and I tend to freak out a bit. My numbers go alittle crazy and I tend to snap at people, or just become a crying-blotchy-not-so-cute mess of a human being.

I wish that I had the personality that I could just take my own advice. I always tell my friends that they spend more time worried about the test/problem/appointment than the actually event itself, but I do the same thing. I worry for days/weeks/etc about certain things that I can't change.

Maybe it's having diabetes and always wanting to have the upper hand in most situations-being well informed, prepared for anything, ready for the worst- that makes me stressed out when I don't know what's going to happen (not knowing how the new job is going to pan out, making sure we have enough actors for the pageant and not knowing where the heck to even begin in trying to sort out my thoughts about the night of the pageant itself).

Thanks so much, Big D, for contributing to my already tightly wound, prone to stress personality.

The Basic Blog MeMe

1. How long have you been blogging?
I started my blog in September of 2006, during the fall semester of my senior year of college.

2. What inspired you to start a blog?
I was inspired by the blogs that I was reading and really wanted to be part of the Diabetes community that was emerging online

3. Are you trying to make money, or just doing it for fun?
I do this for fun, to learn more about other people that are living with diabetes, and as a somewhat creative outlet.

4. What are three things you struggle with online?
I struggle with finding things to post (because some days my life is boring), deciding how much to post about myself, and wanting to play a bigger part in the online community.

5. What are three things you love about being online?
Reading the stories that other people deal, being able to more adequately explain this disease to people I know by directing them to places where I know that it's so clearly explained (for example, sharing posts with my family and going, "this is how it is") and getting to know new people around the country/world.

6. And if you could entice someone else to start a blog, who would it be?
My fiance' or maybe my dad. They're the smartest guys I know.

Out

I'm out of things to blog about.

I saw a Meme circulating, which means I may have something to talk about tomorrow.

Black Friday

So on America's biggest shopping day, I managed to only buy something for myself. A black pencil skirt from the Gap. It fit perfectly and I know it's something I'll wear. My family always likes to get "in the midst of it" and today we did a good job of getting out early and hitting our favorite DC-area mall.

I've already gotten a good majority of my Christmas shopping done already and didn't find anything today that I just had to get. My family is rather small so I've picked things up for them over the last few weeks and am pretty much done. My fiance' and I are still trying to figure out what we're going to do for each other this Christmas.

Heading out on the town tonight to meet up with some friends, should be a good time.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you get to celebrate the day with family and friends!

Our turkey is in the oven and we're planning on eating around 2pm, then heading to the movies, a tradition in our family. What are your plans for today??

Home for the Holidays

At my parents' house for the holiday and just shared with them this blog and many of yours out there. Thanks for helping me explain how there are more people that feel sort of like me.

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for you, OC!

Random 7 MeMe

Thanks for the tag, Jillian!

The Rules:
1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

1) I was obsessed with the band 98 Degrees when I was in middle/high school during the boy band craze. (98 Degrees was the one with Nick Lachey) I saw them in concert twice and Jeff Timmons was my favorite member.

2) I have one younger sister, who is 16, but looks like she's about 5 years older than me. Whenever we go to family functions, everyone thinks she's the oldest. At orientation for college, 4 years ago, she got yelled at for being in the auditorium with my mom and not with her group. She explained that she was only in 7th grade.

3) I have a freckle between my big toe and second toe, on each foot. I think that's weird.

4) I have already purchased my wedding dress for my wedding in June. I've also purchased the bridemaid dresses,found the place, reserved the church, and designed the "save-the-date" cards. I guess I feel like I'm ahead of the game and that's weird to me.

5) I played Little Red Riding Hood in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Into the Woods" at my high school the last semester of my senior year. It was awesome and so much fun.

6) I love purses, shoes, and coats. I just picked out a new coat for Christmas! It's long, dark green, and has a very European feel with great buttons on the pockets. I love big leather bags, because I can put all my crap in them. And my favorite pair of shoes are a pair of black, leather, Ferregamo pumps that I got at Nordstrom Rack on sale when I was in school. Full price, I would have had to eat Top Ramen noodles for every meal for a year to pay for the them. Thank God for sales!

7) My favorite movie of all time is Can't Hardly Wait with Ethan Embry and Jennifer Love Hewitt. If I ever need a good laugh, I put it on. It's frickin hilarious.

Allison (Lemonade Life), Kassie, and anyone else who hasn't been tagged, give it a go!

Darn you, Water Heater!

I took this week off since I didn't want to start my new job right before a holiday. I came home from the gym this morning and got a loud knock on my door. A plumber sent by the condo association was at the door to inform me that there was a leak coming from somewhere in my condo. Unaware, I let the plumber break into the utility closet that our landlord didn't give us the key for, and of course, there's 2 inches of sitting water coming from our water heater.

They're sending another plumber out tomorrow to fix the valve that is broken, and a contractor to make sure there isn't any water damage to the wall and no mold since I'm allergic.

Ugh, it sucks to be an adult....can I go back to college?

Brothers and Sisters

I finished watching disc one of ABC's Brothers and Sisters and one of the characters has a daughter that was diagnosed with diabetes. I assume type 1 because she has all of the symptoms (going to the bathroom and drinking tons of water), but even in a scene where the family is in the hospital, they never say which type. Ergh...do any of you all watch Brothers and Sisters???

More about "Him"

Ross and I met for the first time when we were in 9th grade, during Mr. Pell's Social Studies class. He was a smart guy who played soccer, but I was interested in other people. He was dating a girl named Allison but I always thought he was really cute.

Fast forward two years. My good friend Stefanie, who I played softball with, liked Ross and I would throw the softball over hear head during warm-ups so that she would have to talk to Ross to get it. That summer she started dating Ross' best friend.

A few months later, a mutual friend of ours invited me over to hang out and after a night of truth or dare. I realized that Ross was a really cool guy. That week we talked online and hung out. He invited me to see Ocean's 11 with him on a Saturday evening and he kissed me after he walked me to my car. The next day, after school, he called me and asked me to be his girlfriend.

We dated throughout high school, and decided to try and make it work when we went to college, 2 hours apart, even though everyone including our parents told us that it probably wouldn't work out. We broke up for 4 days during the first month of freshman year in college.

We've been together ever since. He encourages me to be a better person and pushes me to follow me dreams. He's one of the most loving people that I have ever met. He challenges me, but also makes me realize that life is sometimes not as serious as I believe that it is. He's loud and outgoing and I am more quiet and reserved.

I didn't believe in high school love and never thought that when I agreed to go out with an awkward high school junior that he would turn into the most driven, handsome, 23 year old that I could have imagined.

And in June, he's going to be my husband.

Another new beginning

Today was my last day at my job. On the 27th I start my new position doing marketing for a fairly large health NPO. I'm super excited because I believe so strongly in the mission of this organization and hope that by being there I can contribute to the work they're are doing.

For the next week, I get to relax, get my apartment organized, go to some doctor's appointments, and spend some time with my family. I'm super excited to start my new adventure.

Alone

A low. One that sneaks up on you. When you're not expecting it. It scares you because you were fine. And then you're not. In a strange place. You're just trying to get things done. I was trying to get some pictures printed to send to my family. Derailed. Digging through the bag. Meter, Checker, Strip. Check.

50. Fruit snack.

And then the feeling that if something was to happen I was in the middle of DC on a cold, rainy night. And there was no one around who could help me if I needed it. I try and be courageous and normally believe that being prepared is the key to this disease.

But being prepared today didn't make me feel less alone.

World Diabetes Day

Even though, as another blogger mentioned, everyday is World Diabetes Day for us that live with this disease, I would like to hope that we made strides today in informing other people about how much diabetes can affect the lives of people. Thanks to the organizations that helped to make diabetes more visible today. Even though nothing was happening in DC, it was great to see some of the pictures from around the world.

Happy(sorta?) World Diabetes Day to you!

Sicko

I rented Michael Moore's Sicko since my fiance' is out of town. Interesting movie that you sort of have to take with a grain of salt. It brought up some pretty valid points though. Has anyone seen it? What are you thoughts on it?

My favorite part of the whole movie was when Moore was interviewing a British couple who have just had a baby in a London hospital. The child is absolutely beautiful and he yells "How much did you have to pay for that baby???" and the couple gets the most ridiculous look on their faces. It cracked me up.

I don't think they'll let me back in Giant

Tonight, after the fiance' boarded his plane to Nevada for work, I ventured out to get a few movies (Brothers and Sisters: Season 1 and Sicko) and headed to Giant to pick up some groceries for this week. I needed to get some gluten-free pasta and veggies to go in a pasta salad I'm making for my office potluck on Wednesday and some staples to get me through the week being by myself (Ben and Jerry's Low Fat Cherry Garcia and yogurt).

After going through the self checkout, I reached into my huge bag for my wallet. Digging around, meter case, extra infusion sets, sunglasses, checkbook- awesome. OK, I can write a check however ancient that might be. I realize my wallet is in the pocket of my coat (it's a small one, I put it there yesterday after I got gas), but I can pay for my groceries since I have my checkbook. Wrong. I need my license to right a check.

After being pretty much humiliated it front of the cashier that walked over to my self checkout, I tell them I'm going home to get my wallet. They save my order, I void my check, and they keep my bags. I hightail to the closest exit to set off the emergency alarm.

About half way home, I decided I wasn't going back. I'm not sure how I could have walked back there without being completely embarrassed. I 411ed Giant on my way home and explained that I would not be coming back, but I had some perishable items that they might want to put away, and thanked them.

I found my wallet. And headed to Safeway. And thought of putting two pints of Ben and Jerry's in my cart, because it's been that kinda of day.

Family

My family is changing. In about 6 months, I'm gaining another family. Yep, after I get married, I'll have a sister-in-law and brother-in-law to add to my small, but cozy family. Along with my new mom and dad-in-law. I'm excited to have a few more people to pick on and joke around with. I played some Guitar Hero with my future BIL tonight and had an overall great time.

My future MIL is a great cook and made the best beef stew I've ever eaten. It was delicious on a cool day like today. Since Ross, my fiance', and I have been together for 6 years, I feel like I've known his family for forever. We started dating when we were 17, dated through college (and long distance, no less) and got engaged in March. I'm excited to start a life with him and become a bigger part of his family.

Nothing like it

There's nothing like having dinner at a really great restaurant with your fiance' to start the weekend off. On Thursday night we went to Vapiano's, a really cool pasta and pizza place. The carb estimation was alittle off because of the homemade pasta and fresh tomatoes. But we ended up having a great time at a really cool bar called 1223, or MCXXIII (I think?) on the outskirts of Dupont Circle. A pretty relaxed atmosphere and normally a great open bar special on Thursday (6-9pm, $15, all you can drink) and on Friday (5-9pm, $20, all you can drink).

Last night, the fiance' and I picked up Guitar Hero for our Wii. Needless to say, my wrist and forearm are killing me. I didn't think I would like the game, but it's crazy addictive! We also met up with my younger sister who crashed at our place last night. We got up this morning and decided to spend the day walking around Georgetown. We grabbed lunch at Johnny Rocket's and then managed to walk a few miles through the neighborhood, down to the waterfront, past the Watergate Hotel and the Kennedy Center, and then through the GW campus to Foggy Bottom. My sister is 6 years younger than me, so it was great to get to spend some time with her since the last 4 years I've been away at school. I make it a policy to see my family atleast once a week since I only like about 22 miles away from them.

I'm back at my parent's tonight as tomorrow at my church I'm recruiting people for our outdoor Christmas Pageant. Yes, I'm directing it. And yes, it's proving to be much more work than I thought.

Ugh, the blood sugar is high again after dinner with my parents at my favorite Tex Mex place...gotta go and take care of that, nothing like trying to correct a crazy high.

D-Blog Day Thank You

Thanks to a community that inspires me to write about my struggle with this disease, that makes me feel like I'm just like them, that leaves comments that explains that they understand, amd makes me feel alittle more normal.

Thank You Diabetes OC

A night out and a short post

I'm starting the long weekend off right with a Thursday night date with my fiance' and then a happy hour event with his coworkers, so who knows what time I'll be home.

We celebrated a coworkers bday today with a gluten free cake that I thought was much more carb friendly than I expected. Clocked in at a 53 mg/dl and am nursing a regular Mt. Dew. I used to be obsessed with Code Red Mt. Dew pre 'betes, but now not so much. How did I drink this stuff?

Hopefully a nice report on the DC nightlife to come tomorrow!

Meltdown

I was fine.

Then, I wasn't.

I was a stupid fight over how many noodles I should have with my stir fry. How many were in the bowl progressed to how I felt about myself, then how I felt about this disease. He was trying to take care of me because of what he read, because he cares. He read watch "your carbs for better control." He was only trying to make sure that I'm ok.

It was like my brain completely shut off. I was mad, then all of a sudden I was so sad. I didn't want to talk, I threatened to leave, and then as he held me, I just explained that I hate this.

I hate this disease for making me feel like I did tonight. Out of control. How it makes me feel about myself and how it's the one thing that as hard as he tries, he'll never understand completely.

I said some awful things. To the one person that I truly would do anything for and who I love. Because he was trying to help me. Because he loves me. Because he's going to be my husband in a few short months. I must learn to let him help me.

I know he would take this away if he could and I wish tonight that he could have taken it away. I wish that the word diabetes never came into play when we talked about our future, about our family, or when we talk about our daily dinner.

I wish tonight that I didn't have diabetes.

Let's Dish

Since I'm finding this NaBloPoMo thing more difficult that I thought, I've resulted to searching the Internet for themes for certain days.I found a site (TMI Tuesdays) that provide some questions that I'll try and write about here.

And since some of the questions are WAAAYYYY TMI, I picked a mild one: What did you eat for dinner yesterday?

Last night, we fixed bbq pork tenderloins with baked potatoes and salad. I do this thing once a month called Let's Dish where you go to a kitchen facility after ordering meals online and prepare the meals using all of their ingredients, recipes, and dishes. The menus are awesome and we end up not eating the same thing over and over again. You do all of the prep work at the kitchen facility and then package everything in freezer bags. When you're ready to eat the meals you take the freezer bags out, let them defrost, then most take under 30 minutes to cook through either in the oven or on a grill (we use our George Foreman ALL the time!) It's great for Ross, my fiance', and I because we love great food, but don't have a ton of time. Makes dinner alittle less work after a day at the office!

Reading

Now that I take the Metro to and from my office I've been able to actually start reading for pleasure again. After 4 years of reading for classes, it's great to relax on the train with a book. I finished Cheating Destiny by James Hirsch a few weeks ago and was completely impressed. If you haven't read it, do it! It's awesome and is probably going to be gracing the Christmas stockings of my mom and dad.

My fiance' just finished reading it and the conversations that it has started has been awesome. I feel like he has learned more from the book than he has in the 6 years we've been together. It's great to be able to discuss diabetes with him and feel like he understands. A few weeks ago, he even let me test his blood sugar (118mg/dl after eating....bastard!) just to see what it was.

Right now, I'm reading Gluten Free Girl. I don't have celiac but I love reading the author's blog, http://www.glutenfreegirl.com/ and her book is proving to be a great read.

Check them out if you haven't!

Doctor's appt

I have a follow-up endo appointment tomorrow with a somewhat new doctor. I get stressed out to go to the doctor's in the first place. And I know the doctor is going to be looking at my numbers and I'm going to be trying to justify them. (Does anyone else feel like that? You show up with your log book/computer print outs and you have to go "I have no idea what happened there....and there....and there....oh, and there!)

My A1c went down from an 8 to a 7.1 so I feel like we have good things to talk about. We also have to try and figure out some thyroid stuff.

Will update you all tomorrow!

Have an awesome evening!

Saturday

Ah, the weekend! Nothing like sleeping in and being lazy and doing all the stuff that I've managed to ignore this week. Grocery shopping, making a delicious dinner, and relaxing.

Last night, Ross (my fiance') and I went out downtown around George Washington University with some friends. Nothing like having a few drinks and hanging out.

We're trying to figure out what to do tonight...but chances are, we'll end up staying in and watching a movie.

Happy Saturday!

Dear Perez

Dear Perez Hilton (aka the Queen of All Media),

Thanks for posting about Halle Berry today and generating more than 200 comments in about an hour. As I sat at my desk and watched the number of responses to your entry about Halle Berry's completely crazy statement about weaning herself off of insulin, I was amazed by people's reaction. There was the ever present "F-U Perez!!!" and "You're fat Perez!" but there was also comments from Type 1s like me who fill their minds with your celeb coverage like it's crack (or candy, for us PWDs). Comments like "I'm a Type 1 diabetic and there is no cure" generated responses of "it is possible in some circumstances to get off insulin if you’re a type 1 diabetic" and even a mention of Type 1 diabetes meaning a mental disease.

Perez, I do not have a mental disease. I'm not a hypochondriac that read something and thought I could have diabetes nor did I start exhibiting the symptoms of diabetes on purpose. I did not do anything to my body to viciously start attacking itself. I do what I have to do to live and that is give myself insulin through an insulin pump. I monitor my blood sugar 5-10 times a day and I try and do whatever I can to keep myself healthy. I value this life and I chose everyday to live proudly with diabetes. If there was something that I could do to not have diabetes, I would gladly do it. If it was to eat raw foods, I would try it. (But having tried to educate myself as much as I can, I don't think that will help...can someone say starvation diet and how that didn't work in the long run?)

Thank you Perez for giving diabetes a place today in mainstream popular culture. Thank you for trying your best to tell people that there is a difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes even though you may have had your information alittle bit wrong. Thank you for starting a dialogue that includes at present 340 comments from people who know alot about diabetes, and from people who know very little.

Thanks for starting National Diabetes Awareness Month off with a bang, Perez.

(And Halle, don't you think you've stuck your foot in your mouth enough these days? You may be a beautiful woman and a talented actress, but one thing you are not is informed)

Many thanks,
Allison

(check out the original post at http://www.perezhilton.com/ on the 2nd page)

Day 1: I almost blew it

So I almost blew it on day one.

I thought about posting today at work, but was slightly preoccupied because I GOT A JOB OFFER! Yes, I pretty much got an offer for my dream job. Everything is still in the works but I'm excited to start something new (after 6 months at my current job, sometimes you just know where you're supposed to be.)

Anyways, it's a great way to start out National Diabetes Month and I'm happy to be writing about it here on Tales of a Twentysomething

If you're doign NaBloPoMo, leave me a comment so I can check out your blog!

Home Sweet Blogger

After playing around with Wordpress and Blogger, I've decided to stay put right here. I'd like to learn more about custom headers, so if you all have them and know how to build them in Blogger, let me know. That's one feature that I really like about Wordpress.

Also, I'm signing up for NaBloPoMo, so it looks like this space will be getting some time from me in the next month. Just because I haven't been posting, doesn't mean that I haven't been out there reading. Thanks to all of you who have sent me comments, I've added you to my Blogroll and continue to follow your journeys.

Hope this Halloween finds you well.

Update

Hi All!

It's been forever since my last post. I am in the process of changing layouts and moving to WordPress. Hopefully, I'll be done moving everything this weekend.

Hope you all are well!

Allison

Update

Well, so much for getting back to blogging and everything.

Here's an update:
1. I've been at my job for 3 months and it's growing on me. I'm taking an online marketing class and learning more.
2. We have a place for our wedding reception! YES! (and it's gorgeous, FYI)
3. I just got a chance to go to Disney World for the weekend to see my family (who were all down in Orlando on vacation) and had a fabulous time. It was a good way to finish up the summer.

Diabetes-wise
1. First endo appointment with my new insurance and everything on the 18th.
2. Changed some basal rates and am hoping to do more basal testing soon (I want to try out that feature on the Cozmo- has anyone done that yet?)
3. My office is walking in the ADA Step Out for Diabetes in DC. I went last year and had the best time. Now, setting our fundraising goal...

Are there any DC Type 1s out there in the OC?

Have a great weekend! More to come, I promise!

Please try and top this week

I've had one of those days-or weeks- that makes having diabetes seem like the biggest pain in the ass. I pretty much haven't been able to buy a break. In general, actually, it's been a week where you go "is life really suppose to be like this?"

Saturday began with me going out with friends and managing to drop kick my Deltec Cozmo across the street while running to catch the Metro. I picked up my life-line from the middle of the street, checked to make sure I wasn't oozing internal organs from my sticky site, and managed to insert a new one on the Metro (going backward no less!) The cap on the pump has a pretty nice gash, but nothing to warrant any return trip (seeing as my new one should be shipped any day now)

Monday morning I was on the Metro on my way to work, when a woman in a motorized wheelchair entered the train. Her bag on the back of the chair got caught and another gentleman and myself pulled it loose as the annoying voice of Metro screamed "DOORS CLOSING!" The woman continued to block the entrance of the busy train and as I went to get off, she decided to get out of the way too, wheeling herself right over my left flip-flop clad foot. My toes screamed and I couldn't help but give her the nastiest look I could muster, in between my tears. The throbbing continued for the morning and my toes are a slight green, but nothing broke and it seemed like one of those good Samaritan stories gone terribly wrong. You help someone, they run over your foot.

And then yesterday I spent 2 hours on the Metro going 2 stops. Yes, my train was behind a disabled one and I spent 40 minutes underneath the Potomac River only to be deboarded at the next station. At that point, roughly an hour an a half into my trip, Fiance was called and dinner was had in Arlington. Sometimes, DC just sucks.

Yesterday also led me on the pursuit to get an initial appointment with my PCP at my brand new HMO. I tried to schedule online and they told me I was shit out of luck. Beads of sweat on my brow, I'm surveying test strips and insulin like I'm about to head to a bomb shelter for a year. I think I can maybe make it until September? Today, I called for good measure and my PCP has TONS of openings. I got to pick a time on Friday. I can tell already that this is going to be an adventure. Also, since I'm new to paying for diabetes stuff, can anyone give me a rough estimate of out of pocket expenses for a month? I had military insurance before and well, I was spoiled rotten. A ballpark would be great so I don't keel over and force Fiance to sell his organs for supplies.

Alas, I make it to Friday and a hot one at that, and go to Happy Hour with my coworkers since this week, well, sucked. No beers or anything but a Diet Coke and good conversation and then BAM- pump decides to DIE! On my walk to Georgetown to meet Fiance and friends, I get error messages, key stuck messages, and overall bad times. I get the pump running enough to test, but of course, not to bolus as I dig into my potato skins and other delicious bar food. 30 more minutes of pump being a pain in the ass and I'm on the phone with Deltec asking "What the heck is going on?" At this point, buttons aren't working and I'm pissed off. They tell me they're sending a new pump, but not until Monday and I'm scrambling to figure what I'm going to do about shots since I'm endo-less and can't seem to remember what types of insulin I have at home in the fridge. Then, by the grace of God, and maybe Computer Hacker Savvy Fiance, the pump is magically working, but not until we're safely on our way back to our apartment in the burbs away from the fun-ness that is Georgetown on Friday night.

I'm home now and the pump is...pumping. I had the "you don't understand what it's like" discussion again with Tipsy Fiance which ended with both of us in bad moods and him in bed and me running things over in my head like "what if I didn't have diabetes?" or "why does this frustrate me and why do I let it since I know this is my life?"

This has been one for the record books, ladies and gents.

5 years

Yesterday, I "celebrated" having diabetes for 5 years. 5 years ago yesterday, I went to the doctor's to have some allergy medicine refilled and explained that I hadn't been feeling well for awhile. Later that afternoon, my adventure with this disease began.

Diabetes frustrates me on a daily basis, but I believe that it's taught be more about who I am than anything else in life. It brought be a great internship last summer, and it continues to make me wish that I was a doctor (so instead of 4+ years of school, I work for a medical NPO.) It makes me more sympathetic to others who have to struggle daily to manage their health. It makes me more active in our political system and I continue to submit my letters to my congressman and my sentators, encouraging them to make decisions that benefit people like me. It made my family closer because I knew at first I could not do this by myself. It makes me value everyday and appreciate the people that I spend my time with.

But, there are days like today and day's like yesterday, I wish that diabetes didn't exist. I wish that July 22 was a day I remember because it's my fiance' mom's birthday, not the day that I packed up and headed to Walter Reed. I wish that it wasn't the day I had my first shot of insulin or my first finger poke.

5 years ago...

Brief Update!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine completely flew by! Friday night was spent with some awesome people my fiance' works with. We went to Adams Morgan and danced and spent Saturday and Sunday wedding planning and looking at reception sites for our BIG day! I get more excited the more I talk about it, which has been ALOT lately!

Diabetes wise, I'm still trying to get insurance stuff in order. Hopefully after this week, I'll be set up with a new doctor and on my way.

Getting things in order

I finally managed to finish filling out my forms for the Cozmo upgrade. I just got my packet a couple of weeks ago, even though I swear I called on the first day. I can't be mad, because the Smith folks happen to be the best people in the entire world. I appreciate them more now that I'm out on my own---with my own insurance that I'm navigating along. I'm still trying to get things set up with a new doctor and with new 'scripts and am wondering if I made the right choice going with an HMO rather than the PPO. Darn you great insurance for spoiling me rotten.

In other news, I joined a gym last week and have taken a few classes with the fiance'. He's the only guy in the classes but it's great to have him there. My numbers have been excellent this past week and I'm chalking it up to the exercise.

As I posted earlier this month, alot happened during my last few weeks of college. I got an A on my senior seminar paper looking at the portrayal of diabetes in film as opposed to the real way it is. I looked alot of blogs for help with this and am happy to be a part of the blogging community like the Diabetes OC. I also got engaged to my boyfriend of 5+ years and we moved in together. We're getting married next June and are in the early stages of planning (ok, I already have the dress, and I'm obsessed with it!). I got a job with a medical society doing some marketing things and am enjoying working in DC. Honestly, DC in the summer makes me so happy. I work in a great neighborhood and there's tons of stuff nearby. On Fridays, we have a walking club that walks during lunch and we strolled to the White House. Even growing up around here, I was awe struck by the fact I was at the White House and more impressively, could see the Capitol Building. It was a perfect day and I'm truly blessed to be living this life right now, enjoying everything that this big city, that sometimes feels very little, has to offer.

If you've been lurking, please leave me a comment so I can check out your blog.

:o)

Weighing in....

If you check out http://www.cnn.com/ scroll through recent headlines and take a look at this article: http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/06/17/diabetes.bulimia.ap/index.html.

What do you think? How does it portray the diabetes community? Does it talk about the advances if diabetes technology? Advances in research? No, it talks about diabulimia. Here's some advice CNN: 1. Do a series of articles- like what is Type 1?, how is it managed?, what are the complications?, and then maybe information on complications and other social issues involved.

Maybe I'll have a different opinion in the morning....What do YOU think?

Introducing "Silly Sightings in the City"

Now that I'm officially a commuter, I've seen some pretty crazy things on my trek into DC in the mornings and on my way home to the NoVA 'burbs in the afternoon. I've decided to incorporate all the crazy stuff and my general thoughts about the city into this blog once a week and will call it "Silly Sightings in the City."

I hope you enjoy.

Silly Sightings Week #1 and Week #2
1. Many men in blue seersucker suits. Seersucker strikes me as funny, I'm not sure why. I guess I expect to see a frat boy in it, and not middle aged men.
2. A man with a "Special K" tattoo, like the cereal logo, holding onto the same pole as me on the train. It made me hungry.
3. A little boy staring at my pump tubing sticking out from my shirt and probably thinking I was going to blow up or something. When I smiled at him, he scowled at me and looked at his mom. I imagine he was relieved when I got off the train without combusting.
4. A woman who looked like Bert from Sesame Street. She had the biggest and most bushy uni-brow that I have ever seen in my entire 22 years.

I'm back, I think

Hi all,

Holy moley! I haven't posted since February and it's....JUNE! What the heck! I've been a busy girl---I finished my thesis, ran my organization's Gala and Finale event, got engaged, got a job, and moved! I'm now a DC commuter and loving the city.

Here's to more frequent posts and getting back to blogging!

A

He's some kind of wonderful

My boyfriend and I have been together 5+ years. Most people that I meet in college are sort of shocked to hear that I've been dating someone for that long and our relationship has endured the 127+ miles to and from his school to mine and almost 4 years of being apart. But, I love him more today than I ever thought I would love anyone in my whole life.

As I start applying for jobs and trying to figure out what I'm going to do back home, one of the things that makes me less nervous and more happy is that we'll get to be together. I'm happy that I'll be able to meet my sweetheart for dinner in the city, spend the weekends with him doing things like getting groceries and helping him to clean up his house, and hopefully living close enough to him so that I can be there if he needs me.

There are days I wish he understood more about diabetes, but I know he tries as hard as can. I asked him this weekend if I could put a site in him and couldn't help he would probably think I had gone off my rocker. I just thought if maybe he understand what it was like to just do that, maybe he would understand me just alittle bit more (I even offered to let him wear a groovy patch if he wanted) I'm sure that having a girlfriend that breaks up with you because her blood sugar is low is not pleasant (yes, this happened freshman year and was the closet I had ever come to passing out. I had to call him and tell him I couldn't really remember why we fought and that I was sorry.) or even convienent. But, since the beginning, he's been there. In the clinic where I was diagnosed, he was there for me to rest my head on and hold my hand. He is there to be uncertain of the future with. To rely on when there's no one else around who know what to do. To be comfortable enough to show the site to and comfortable enough to say, "Please scoot over, you're laying on my pump cord".

We go together better than pancakes and sugar-free syrup. We balance each other like orange juice and low blood sugar. We love each other more than a diabetic loves cake (and as I diabetic, I certainly am crazy about cake!).

Reddog, you are my best friend and I love you. Thanks for putting up with me, taking care of me, and being the light in what seems kinda dark. <3

Frosty Friday

<---Current art obession: "Waiting" by Andy Warhol

Well, here in VA were blanket and trying to dig out of the great ice storm that hit on Tuesday evening. Since the temperature rose above freezing this afternoon and caused the ice from the roof of my apartment building to melt, there is now a huge icy patch on the bottom stairs going out of my apartment to the parking lot which I manage to slip on and fall down the remaining steps into a huge puddle. No broken bones or anything, but a mildly busted up hand and very sore butt and knee. My good friend was behind me and fell when he went to help me up. It must have been a funny site, now that I think about it.

Diabetes wise, things are going alright. Nothing new to report, which I feel is a good thing. My weekly average is alot better than last week, even after eating things that normally make my body freak out like lasagna (I made it from scratch on Valentine's Day for my roomies since we didn't have class).

I applied for a job today, so I'm beginning to stress alittle less when it comes to stuff like that even though I'm still uncertain exactly what I want to do. My degree when I finish will be in Sociology (yes, it's okay to say "What are you going to do with that?" My friends still ask :o)) but I'm really interested in marketing, programming, event planning in the diabetes arena. It seems like alot of people in the OC have pursued careers related to diabetes...is it something you all feel into or actively pursued? Also, how do you all deal with the diabetes in interview settings? For example, if you are going to work for a pharm company, a diabetes nonprofit, or a medical device company, would you mention that you have diabetes? I know employers can't legally ask, but if you consider that having diabetes a selling point, do you bring it up? Let me know what you all have done!

Hope everything is going well with everyone!

Better days

<---Current art obession: Kissing on Valentine's Day Times Square - May 8th, 1945 Artist: Alfred Eisenstaedt

The last few days have been much better bg-wise. I finally was able to get things under control and have been checking religiously and trying to remind myself that things will be okay.

I spent the weekend in VA Beach with one of my best friends and boyfriend and had an absolutely amazing time. I love getting away for alittle while and I love experiencing new things. We had an awesome dinner at a restaurant called Fellini's (as in the director) on Friday night and then spent the evening dancing at a very cool club/bar in Norfolk. Saturday was spent shopping and enjoying time with my roommate's family--and eating amazing food that my roomies parents had made!

The next few weeks look to be busy ones with school and organization committments. I'm trying to not stress and take a few minutes each day to be in the moment and to try and relax. I don't want to look back this time next year and go "Jeeze, that was your senior year and you spent it worrying about everything, you loser!" When I was exploring ways to deal with my stress last semester, this is something that I really tried to embrace, but failed at. I had a hard time managing stress and I don't want to get so bogged down that I spiral into the sea of "OMG I'm drowning in everything that I need to do."

So, today I brought these Valentine's Day cards that you get to assemble at Target and did that between classes instead of starting my homework (I loooove crafts and the only reason I don't have all my artsy-fartsy stuff at school is because I have no space). And you know...I was in an awesome mood the rest of the day, having completely glued and glittered until I was as satified as a kindergartener after art class--seriously running around my apartment showing my roommates what I had made

It really is those little things that make days that could just be "blah" so much better.

Oh geeze...

Last night, I checked my bg before bed and was startled by a 486. Holy crap. Waves of panic. 3 glasses of water, multiple checks. I saw that my tubing was completely blocked. Got the kinks worked out, but woke up every few hours and check. Sailed in at a 175 this morning.

Now...pizza from a campus event for dinner and probably more gummy sour candy than I should have had and I'm 496. WTF! This is sooo not me. How does this happen? I think I'm doing so good, then BAM, like a MAC truck, I'm down.

I was looking at my averages and they have been pretty high. I need to get back on track.

NOW.

7 thoughts

<--- Current art obession. Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffanys. (Because my sister is obsessed with her and because she's pretty much a style icon.)

1. I made it back to school after a very relaxing weekend home in NoVA. No clubbing or bar hopping, but lots of fun with my family. I got to hang out with my little sister and enjoy some quality time with my mom and dad. My boyfriend was home this weekend, so we saw Alpha Dog with Justin Timberlake, went to dinner, and hung out. Always fun.

2. My roommates and I went to a coffee ship downtown tonight to do homework. I got alot done and got the chance to enjoy a delicious smoothie beverage. BG has been alittle high since then.

3. Even though I don't have class tomorrow until late, I have a "to do" list a mile long (cleaning my room is on the list...)

4. I need to finish my resume. And start applying for job. And decide what I want to do with my life.

5. Spring Break needs to hurry up and get here. With my senior seminar undergrad thesis in the works and a few other class projects starting up in the next few weeks, I am counting down the days until I get on plane and head to sunny Panama City for 7 days.

6. I love bulk sour gummy candy. Gummy worms, gummy gears, sour patch kids, sour gummy worms, neon worms, the sour watermelons, gummy sour fruit salad. All of them.

7. I am ready to graduate and start something new. Don't know where I'll end up, or what I'll be doing, but I'm ready for something different.

Wednesday---Is the week almost over?

<---Current art obsession: L'Instant Taittinger. Artist: Unknown. It's in my hallway of my apartment and it's cute. :o)

Even though it's only Wednesday, this week feels like it's been going on forever. No snow day on Monday forced me out of bed and across campus for meetings, lunch with my roommate, set up for an event for my job, class, Happy Hour at Chili's with my class, and Student Organization Night for my organization. I got home and felt like I hadn't seen my apartment in years. Tuesdays are my marathon days on campus with 3 classes from 11:00-4:45 and work from 5-8:30. I got home and allowed myself to veg out and watch John Tucker Must Die. Yes, I am lame and it doesn't take alot to amuse me.

My numbers have been pretty good the last few days. I had a low before bed on Sunday night, suspended my pump, and then fell asleep and forgot to turn the damn thing back on. 289 at 5am. Crap.

Another awesome thing I figured I would share with you ladies...Have you seen the Nick and Nora PJs at Target? The ones that look like old man pajamas? I have several pairs in completely outlandish prints-Dogs, Pink Poodles in Paris, Clouds, etc. They have these awesome pockets on the shirt which hold my pump perfectly. I always get stuck in my tubing at night if I just throw the pump in bed with me or I end up on top of my pump and my back hurts. If I drop my pump in the pocket, it's pretty easy sleeping. I've even pump my little black case with my checker in the other pocket and I am fully armed for any diabetes related nightly incidence.

They're pretty affordable at Target (the regular ones sold at the high end places can be alittle pricey) . Check them out. --->

I'm heading home to Northern VA this weekend to get my haircut, see my boyfriend, and to go out in DC. Should be a much needed good time.

Have a good one!

SNOW SNOW SNOW and grooviness...

<---Current art obession: Couple Walking Through Central Park, NYC Artist: Steve Linder

Virginia has been hit by it's first snowstorm this year and I'm very excited!!! Have you seen the movie "Snow Day" that came out a few years ago? The little girl in the movie is obsessed with snow days and the town she lives in only ever gets one at a time. She does everything she can to keep the Snowplow man from plowing. It's hilarious and my roommates and I are all about getting a snow day tomorrw. No more wishing for a delay, we want a full day! We'll see what they announce tomorrow at 6am. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the idea of maybe not having to go out tomorrow and the idea missing another nonprofit class (no class last week because of MLK) which is a complete waste of time in the first place.

One of my new obession in life are my Groovy Patches from www.groovypatches.com . I got them in my stocking for Christmas from my parents after having bothered them about ordering them. I pretty much don't wear a site now without wearing a Groovy Patch on top of it. I got Tropical ones for when I go to Panama City for Spring Break in March, but have been rocking the Retro and Butterflies. I'm sure my roommates are entertained when I change my site and run out of the bathroom with my shirt pulled up around my head, pointing at my stomach. Check them out. I'm a huge fan and wish I would have thought about this.

Hope each of you have been doing well. Let me know what's going with you!

:o) Allison

My week #1 encounter with someone who doesn't know a thing about the 'betes

<--- Current art obession: The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night, c.1888 by Vincent Van Gogh

Wow! The first week of class went fast and so did this long weekend!

I'm busy working on a couple of events for the organization that I direct on campus and trying to keep up on all the work that I have already this semester. I'm taking a block class on immigration and I think there was almost 100 pages of reading just for this week. When you have 4 other classes and 2 projects to work on, the reading isn't very thorough. :o)

At the beginning of the semester, I always have run ins with people about my diabetes. It came up when I was talking to a girl in 2 of my classes. She was asking what I thought I was going to write my senior seminar paper on and I was explain my interest in the 'betes and she said "Well, my dad has diabetes"- I assume Type 2 and am not really in the mood to have the difference in diabetes talk with her- but I ask, just to make sure. She says she doesn't know.

I can't get over how you live with someone and don't know. I mean, I know about my parents' health issues only so when I go to the doctor's I can give educated answers AND not look like a complete DUMBASS about my medical history. I just said "Oh" at this point, because I didn't want to get into it anymore than I had. It frustrates me when people don't know the difference between the two and really pisses me off when they have a personal connection to the disease and are completely uneducated. <---I'm done ranting, I promise.

So what do you all say when you meet people like this? What do you say to people that don't seem to care about a disease that affects MILLIONS--20.8 to be exact--of people and people they know---like us--on a daily basis??? How do you educate without being too pushy?

Musings

<-- Current art obession (a new feature of my blog)- "London" by Andrea Laliberte

I made it back to school safely and was reunited with my roommates and all my school friends. I'm still trying to imagine not coming back here next semester. It's definitely going to be a shock.

My schedule is pretty nice- no classes til the evening on Monday and Wednesday (only one on both nights) and no classes on Friday (a senior's dream!). 3 classes on Tuesday and 2 on Thursday. It's pretty nice. Even though I'm not in class alot, I'm going to be on campus a ton- holed up in the library doing research for my Senior Seminar class where I'm writing an undergraduate thesis. Yeah, it's going to own me. But, I have a good idea for a topic- last semester I wrote about the portrayal of diabetes in "Steel Magnolias"- notice how Shelby NEVER tests her blood sugar during the whole movie??? I'm thinking of doing the portrayal of diabetes in the media in general and connecting it with how diabetics are almost seen as a deviant group, etc.---I took a deviance class last semester and I think I could totally make it work. Any thoughts?

Diabetes-wise, things are great. My numbers have been pretty decent. The increase in exercise with running across campus and stuff has been really good. I've also been watching what I eat with the whole cholestrol thing.

Did you all know that the “Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act” (H.R. 3/S. 5) was introduced in the House and Senate last week and is expected to be voted on Thursday, Jan. 11? Make sure you contact your representative- you can sign up online through the American Diabetes Association Advocacy http://advocacy.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AC_homepage and they'll help you with contacting the right people.

:o) Allison

Last night home

I always get sad the night before I go back to school. Tonight, I said goodbye to my boyfriend and tomorrow I'll say goodbye to my parents and my sister. You would think as a senior I wouldn't get sad and would be ready to go back, party, and officially be done. But I'm not.

I hate leaving. I love my family and feel the most comfortable being here daily to make them laugh. I love that my sister yells at me before I go anywhere to make sure I have low snacks, my mom tells me to check before I get in the car, and that when I'm at the mall I have someone there to hold my pump and so I don't have to find a bench to check my blood sugar. I love that I don't have to explain why my pump is beeping to these people. When I say "I don't feel so good" they know exactly that I'm low, need juice, need...them.

At school, I'm pretty much on my own. That scares me sometimes especially with those lows at night when I want my mom. Kinda like the one that Kerri described a couple of days ago at www.sixuntilme.com. When you want someone to sit with you or hold you or something, but since when I'm at school all I have is my roommates and you can't really ask them to hold you because that might be just alittle wierd, as much as you love them.

Technically, this is the last "last night home before going back to school." I like that idea.

In 5 months I'll be a college graduate. I'll be done. I'll have the rest of my life to live. Wow.

Happy 2007!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you all had a great evening celebrating. My boyfriend had a party at his apartment with a bunch of friends from college and some friends from our high school. It was a great evening and it was fun to ring in 2007, which will be a big year (I graduate in 5 months...Holy crap!!! Must find job. Must decide what to do with my life.)

My Christmas went well with my family and we traveled to NC to visit with my grandparents and cousins. It was nice to celebrate with them and get a chance to hang out, without having to worry about what I was missing at school or something like that.

Diabetes wise, everything has been pretty great. Nothing to exciting to report. Did any of you all receive the new Cozmo update about their changes to their pump? Check out their website www.cozmore.com and see the new features their adding. Some of them look pretty interesting. The only thing that totally bums me out is that they are redoing their colors and getting rid of my Atomic Purple (which I got because it's my favorite and one of my school's colors...but I digress...). The new colors are pretty, but I'm surprised they didn't introduce a pink one or something to capture the hearts of all those little pump wearing girls out there (me included!).

Do you all make resolutions? I'm trying to make health resolutions this year. I'm going to work to keep my A1C under the fabulous 6.8 and try to lower my cholesterol and try and excerise more. I haven't really taken advantage of the gym on campus- so since it's my last semester, I might as well. :o) Let me know what you all are resolving to do!

Here's to blogging more, stressing less, and living life to it's fullest in 2007!