Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Death to Downtime

I need to end this diabetes downtime I've been having. I was doing pretty well, and then recently I've slacked off on BG monitoring, good eating, exercising, remembering to take all my medications...

I guess we all need a vacation now and then, but it's been tough getting out of this vacation mentality. "Back to work, brain!" I tell my mind. My mind, in turn, says "Okay!" while not getting up from the lounge chair and reaching for another mimosa. Does it count the carbs in that? Hell no.

Am I proud of this? Hell no.

I need to make an appointment with the endo nurse practitioner. I haven't seen her in months and she's usually pretty helpful. However, it's just the dread looming that keeps me from picking up the phone. A doctor's visit means lab tests. Lab tests means I'll see just how much I've messed up lately. On the other hand, if things don't look too great, it's not like I'll be surprised. Sigh. This happens to all of us.

In terms of getting more excercise, the apartment complex's pool opened this weekend, so I think some swimming will be in order soon. I'm not the best swimmer, but hey...kicking around with a pool noodle, back-stroking from one end to another, horsing around with my husband AND staying cool sounds like some really terrific exercise.

Slightly random question for those who might know: what does it mean if one of your ankles is more swollen than the other? My ankles swell up a lot, and the right one seems worse than the left these days. Should I be concerned?

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

May Madness, now with more bizarre animals!





These snuggly but uggle-y little fellas are elephant shrews. We went to the Philadelphia Zoo this weekend, and it was a really great time. Watching animals is always entertaining, and it was surprisingly relaxing. Out of all the animals at the Zoo, the ones acting the craziest were the humans. The Philadelphia Zoo is, in my opinion, pretty well-organized. They do a good job of providing information about the animals in the exhibits that is simple enough for children to understand, but what's written doesn't seem below the adults, either.

But oh, those wacky humans...it's amazing how people can be presented with information that is literally right in front of their eyes, but they ignore it. I heard a number of children saying to parents, "Mom, what does this animal do/eat/sound like/etc?" The answers were right there. The parent would give some kind of disinterested reply or just take their best guess. Aren't kids supposed to learn at the zoo? At least once in while?

I think this means I'm somehow meant to be a mother someday. I look at the way people handle their own kids and think of all the ways I'll handle my own kids...

But that's neither here nor there.

Anybody notice that there's something strange about May this year? It seems like everyone I know and love is having some kind of problem, trouble or sadness this month.

My father-in-law's fiance and my best friend's dad have both been diagnosed with MS...

Work is crazy...I've been doing the work of 2 people because my co-worker in the graphic design department threw her back out...

My uncle is, from what I've heard from my mom, pretty seriously depressed--losing weight, falling asleep at work, not telling anyone what's been happening...

Friends have broken up with significant others, fallen on hard times, been stressed to the breaking point at their jobs...

I skipped a couple of doses of my anti-depressant, and I was in a hideous, self-loathing funk for most of Sunday. I don't want to repeat that one again. Ugh.

And blah blah blah...

On the other hand, I hope to end the month on a high note...Friday I get to go see one of my favorite bands ever, The Faint, and I plan on dancing my pants off. Then it's a looong weekend thanks to the holiday, which will hopefully lead to a cleaner, more harmonious apartment. I will try to whittle down about half of my wardrobe, scrap that old desk we haven't used in a year, etc, etc...

So was May a rocky month for you too? Or was it a good one?

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Happy Mothers' Day

I'm not a mother. Not even close to being a mother...that's years away from now.

But I wanted to take a moment today to say Happy Mothers' Day to all the moms of the Diabetes OC.

I wish there were d-blogs when I was first diagnosed so my mom could have had more support...

I'm glad that some of you are moms WITH diabetes, because for so long, the thinking was that women with diabetes shouldn't have kids. You helped prove everyone wrong, and now I hope that someday I can lock down my own control enough to have my own.

So thanks, Moms. I don't think anyone could do it without you.

(And to my own mom, even though I don't think she'll read this, sorry about all the worry I've ever caused you by eating too much dessert or not writing down enough of my blood sugars. You're always that voice in the back of my head...)

Monday, May 7, 2007

I'm a Poet, and I Know It.


Ah, another Monday. I do a little breaktime poking around on the inter-webs and what do I find?




I'll be brewing up ideas about this all day. I take my poetry pretty seriously, though I'm also incredibly silly. That's me up there, performing some work of my own at one of the local poetry slams. I won first place that night!
I know just about everybody with a blog is plugging the contest, but I think it makes me especially excited because I think writing poetry can enrich everyone's lives, even if it's some comical rhymes about your insulin pump.
I plan on entering multiple times. How about you? :)
Not much else to say at the moment. Just wanted to put up my first post of May!