Now We Are Two.

I see so many posts out there in various internet forms, and they are frequently the same: parents of children with diabetes wondering if their kids will ever find a special someone to love them, care for them, understand them...

Well, parents, single people, readers--I've done it for two years now.

Happy anniversary, Matt!


Mmmm. That was some damn good cake, too.

Enough Running.

Why are these people running? What are they running from? What makes these folks want to flee from a movie theater that is obviously "healthfully air conditioned" and most likely showing a kickass Bela Lugosi flick?

I'll give you a hint. It's kind of purple-ish, slimy, sticky, and from outer space.

That's right--it's THE BLOB!! And you know what? The running-out-of-the-theater scene from the original Blob, with Steve McQueen, was shot at the Colonial Theatre in my very-soon-to-be new hometown of Phoenixville. The Colonial is walking distance from my new place. They are working on remodeling it, and it's still showing movies, including b-horror classics. Every year since 2000, Phoenixville hosts Blobfest during the summer. In the summer of '09, I can join the crowd in a re-enactment of the running-out-of-the-theater scene, where I too can pretend to run from the Blob!

I feel as though I've been running, and it's been difficult to stop. Things are whizzing by me, and I'm not even noticing, and while that doesn't necessarily matter in a number of mundane daily tasks, it does matter to my diabetes.

Granted, I've had a lot on my mind, and a lot of stuff going on. But I have been neglecting the following, and that is a no-no:

Testing before meals
Bolusing before meals (I've been lazy and doing it after...)
Testing before bed
Bolusing for every meal (Again, the lazy, or maybe the spacey or too hungry to care...)

I feel that I have been running from the most basic of Type 1 diabetes basics, and let's face it, they're not that scary. I don't have a real reason for ignoring this stuff. Maybe my life is too busy. Maybe I need the visual verification of how I'm doing that a CGM or some good meter software can provide me with. Maybe it's a combination of factors.

All I know is that I want to be doing better. I too am on the run from something slimy and sticky. I'm sick of my numbers sounding like something out a cult-classic horror film. Thanks to some help from members of my rockin' care team, I am going to get back into leisurely strolls around my numbers.

Panic-stricken dashes have their place--I just want to remove the unneccessary ones from my personal diabetes plan.

Lemony Yellow! Grapeity Grape!

Okay, so there is no grapeity grape or orangey orange in my new house, but I'll bet you don't have a lemony yellow living room with a fake fireplace:

Beginning this weekend, we'll be hauling stuff off to our new digs in Phoenixville, PA. The town itself is pretty sweet--small town, up-and-coming with boutiquey shops and plenty of places to eat. A library building donated to the town by Andrew Carnegie. A huge movie theater and Target are only a short drive away, and my commute to work should be at least a bit shorter than it is now.

Matt and I went to Phoenixville yesterday to get a feel for a bit more of the town. We stopped on Bridge Street to have brunch at Irish Joe's Cafe, which is a cute little breakfast/luncheonette type place. They're only open until 1pm on Sundays, and we could only order breakfast. Those were some of the most awesome home fries I've had in forever. I got a little choked up over my coffee, because my first thought after looking around and ordering was, "Wow, I need to tell Dad about this place!" My dad loved diners of all kinds. He started watching that show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network, and he was always asking me if I'd been to any of the places he'd seen in the Philadelphia area. I guess every time I visit a new hole in the wall, I'll think of Dad.

I'm doing a lot better than last week. I don't feel so sad all the time. Thank you friends for your well-wishes online and in snail-mail card form. Can't wait to show the world more pics of the interior of my new domicile!

With Rain, Sunshine.

Thank you so much readers and friends. Your kind words are like big ol' virtual hugs, and I feel blessed and touched to have so many people out there (most of whom I've never met!) who care about me.

In the midst of all this sadness and nostalgia, I got some super-happy news today. We've been looking at less-expensive places to rent in the area, and we have been approved for the most kickass place that I can imagine! It's in a different town than Blue Bell, but it's not that far from here, and a closer commute to my job. Looks like we'll be starting the whole moving process again at the end of this month.

You may be asking, "But Hannah, didn't you only move in a year ago? Why are you leaving now?"

The answer is because my new place (which is still in PA, just 15 or 20 minutes from here) has just as much living space plus a basement and potentially a garage, a lemony yellow living room, a MASSIVE walk-in closet, and, oh yeah costs about $500 bucks less a month. Do you know how many test strips that could buy a girl?

Haha, the answer to that is "Still not enough.", but anyway, there are still good things happening out there in this world. I also got a small raise at work--turns out they really, really like me. I haven't even been there six months, but everyone does performance reviews at the same time, so...I get a raise. It was news I got to share with my dad the last time I saw him, and I told him how I was hoping we'd get this house. Dad seemed especially proud that I got the job that I have now.

Tomorrow it's off to Williamsport again, with the memorial service on Thursday and burial Friday. It'll be a rough couple of days, but I'll have family and friends beside me--actually, a couple more friends than I expected. I'm sure you'll be hearing about it later on from me. Take care of yourselves.

Rest in Peace

My dad has battled cancer for months.

When I got news earlier this week that he had fallen at the nursing home where he was staying, I knew I should go home and see him this weekend. They moved him to a nice hospice in Williamsport. He had broken his hip, and the doctors said as sick as he was, the best they could do was keep him comfortable.

Matt, Mom and I went out to see him late yesterday afternoon. I honestly wasn't expecting much, but he was surprisingly coherant. We had a little bit of a conversation before he went off into his state of confusion. Mom helped to feed him some soup, and as he was rambling, he mentioned something to her about being ready to go.

I think she answered something about how he couldn't get up and go anywhere, he was in the hospital.

I tried not to cry because I was pretty sure that wasn't what he meant--I thought he meant he was ready to go.......well, you know.

This afternoon, we had lunch at mom's. Matt and I were going to go visit him before we headed back here to Blue Bell. We had lunch, packed our suitcase, and I went to the bathroom. Then the phone rang.

He was gone.

The nurses said he went very peacefully in his sleep. Said they talked to him this morning and he was incredibly coherant, he knew it was Sunday, and that it was September. He knew he was in the hospital. I guess he even managed to have a little breakfast. Then he started to get uncomfortable, and they found his lungs had fluid on them. They gave him some medicine to keep him comfortable, and eventually he fell asleep. They went to check on him around 2 I guess, and he was gone.

I'm glad you don't have to suffer anymore dad. I'll miss you.

We Can Dance If We Want To

If you give me a beat, I will dance to it. It doesn't matter if it's hip hop, disco, pop or rock--if I like it, I will be shaking my booty. Lord knows there's a lot of bad stuff in my life, but I can always dance to my favorite tunes, and I'm happy.

On Sunday night, I had the opportunity to go check out a rock-n-roll dance night at a small club in Philly with Matt, Nigel and our good friend Mike. When we left, I was exhausted, my ears were ringing, and I was grinning like a maniac. Why exactly?

Because "Take It Off" by The Donnas was playing when I walked in the door. Because I skanked, unashamed, to Rancid's "Time Bomb". Because Mike and I gleefully grabbed hands and ran for the center of the dance floor when "Boys Don't Cry" came on. Matt came out to join us eventually, but he, sadly, does not always recognize a good song by The Cure within the first few notes.

Dancing has always brought me joy, and let's face it, it's a great form of exercise. I just need to find a way to do it more often. There's got to be music I like somewhere on a Friday or Saturday night. Sundays are cool, but then comes the fact that Monday morning I have to drag myself back to work. It was fine this weekend since it was Labor Day and all. I think it would be hard to find a dance club that really suits me though.

I don't want to dance to rap all night, nor do I want to dance to techno. If I were to make a dance mix right now, I'd put the following songs on it:

I Love Rock 'n' Roll by Joan Jett
Knights of Cydonia by Muse
Glass Danse by The Faint
Gone Daddy Gone by Gnarls Barkley
American Wedding by Gogol Bordello
99 Problems by Jay-Z
Tainted Love by Soft Cell
Criminal by Fiona Apple
The Impression That I Get by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Wolf Like Me by TV on the Radio
Brass Monkey by Beastie Boys

Now then...where can I find this in the greater Philadelphia area on a night were I am free to go shake my groove thang?

And more importantly, who is coming to my hypothetical dance party, and what song must we play if you're coming?