Our Christmas.

This video pretty much sums up the awesome time I had with my family this Christmas, I don't feel like writing about all of it, but I think the video speaks for it's self. The stars are my Aunt Shannon and my cousin Cara! Enjoy!
I'm having a tiny get together on New Year's Eve,
so I'll be back with more on that, sometime next week.
Happy Early New Year Everyone!!!

Ps. You can check out my other google videos (click the "Go to google videos on the player above, then click "More from this user" on the new page) to see more of the karaoke fabulousness!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to those of you celebrating today.
I have lots to update you on, but for now I will leave you with a picture of our Christmas tree.
I hope all of you had a happy and peaceful day!

I shouldn't have told them.

Well I won't be taking my driving test tomorrow, because I told the truth about my diabetes. I have never felt discriminated against before diabetes wise. Today that changed. Simply because I was a considerate citizen and alerted them to the fact that I have diabetes, one of the MVA's 17 medical disabilities, I can not walk into the MVA tomorrow to take my test like my friend Danielle can. I was approved, but they didn't send us the approval letter. Without the original copy of the letter, I can't take the test. The thing is we gave ample time, for approval and such. I hate this so much. I was excited and now I'm just upset. Hopefully it will get here sometime next week, but in the meantime the appointment has to be canceled.

The Computer, License, IHOP, and Early Christmas.

I'm doing bullet points. I can't resist.

• So everything with the computer seems to be falling into place. They replaced the hard drive for free because it's still under warranty, and it also got upgraded to a 2.5gb one because it's all they had left in the store. Small surprises are always nice. We received the recovery discs yesterday, so they ran those on the new hard drive last night. My mom is picking the computer up today. While all of this is going on my old hard drive is making it's way to Louisville (I think). Where the big repairs or whatever are done. They will attempt to retrieve my files at a fee of somewhere around 200 dollars. They won't do anything until they call us with a cost estimate, just in case it's way more. In the end it will be worth it because I have at least that much invested in iTunes music, plus my pictures and school work are priceless. I'm just glad my parents are willing to pay for it. In the meantime I will at least be able to use the new and improved computer while I wait on my old files. Cross your fingers that there will be no issues with retrieving my files! The next step is either an external hard drive or some other back up method (suggestions are welcome.)
  
• I have an 8:30 am appointment at the MVA on Friday to take my behind the wheel provisional license test. The only problem is we still haven't heard a thing from the Medical Advisory Board, even though my mom has called almost every day since last Monday. I'll update Friday to let you know how that goes.
• I also have an interesting get together to attend Friday afternoon. The Thanksgiving crew and I are going bowling and to IHOP. This worries me. First of all, I have only been to IHOP twice, and both of these times I was pump less. We are going at 4 in the afternoon, and my basal rates are not set for me eating at that time. I have this weird issue of going high after dinner, but only when dinner is at a normal hour. So I'm concerned that that basal kick up I have around 7pm will send me falling. I guess it's time to figure out a temporary rate. Plus breakfast food is not exactly carb friendly. Sometimes diabetes is so annoying, when all I want to do is have a little teenage fun!
• On Saturday morning my sister and I are heading north for an early Christmas with my mom's side of the family. (My parents are going up Friday after my test, and my sister will be arriving here shortly after they leave.) I'm excited to see if I can pull off another holiday with relatively good numbers. I'm also looking forward to seeing my little cousins who I haven't seen in 2 months.
  

And don't worry I will definitely have license, IHOP, and early Christmas pictures for you!

Justin Long and his Macs are looking so pretty right now.

So. The hard drive is "bad", and they can't get my files off unless we pay almost 300 dollars for them to ship it somewhere, where the files may not even be able to be saved anyway. So since it's still under warranty, the other option is let them ship it to Sony to get a new hard drive installed. All I keep thinking is, it happened once and it can happen again. Plus when I brought the computer into the tech guy. He looked at my mom and said, "well that's why people buy Macs," when she asked if there were a lot of people who come in with hard drive and/or Microsoft problems. Ugh I don't know what we are going to do.

The only thing that brightened my day was a nice bit o' sussy from Bernard. It's not something that I can take a picture of, but it does have to do with the computer issues and my pictures. THANKS A BUNCH!

Technical Difficulties.

Well that is the phrase of the day. Apparently sometime between the hours of 10pm last night and 8am this morning, my laptop did Microsoft updates, even though I definitely never told it to. So I woke up this morning to a strange black and gray screen telling me that there was a problem when the computer restarted after updating. The prompt told me that I needed to use the Recovery disc or follow one of the other 4 restart options. Seeing as Sony does not supply system recovery discs at the time of purchase, the first option was not possible. So I followed the next 4 only to have them all lead me back to the black and gray screen. I called my mom at work and told her the problem. She came home at lunch time, and we took the computer to Best Buy (where we purchased it). Unfortunately the Microsoft software (which turns out to be the problem) is not covered under any of the warranties. So what to do? I had to leave my laptop (also known as the Phoenix, it's red I like color themed names) there to have the hard drive backed up and then come home to call Sony about the recovery disc. But first they make me fill out a list of what I want them to say, and I can't just say "everything". I just told them that I wanted all of my documents, my music, and my pictures and the pictures were the most important thing. They wanted specific file names and places, which of course I had trouble remembering. Oh and all of this was 100 dollars, and if I want them to do the recovery it will be another 130. We promptly left the store, and I cried on the way home. It felt like my house had burned down (extreme I know), but I really feel like they aren't going to save everything. I have a lot of photos that are only on that computer, and they are important me.

(I guess not important enough for me to figure out to back them all up on my own!!!)

I'm so mad at myself for not thinking about something like this before it happened, and not finding a way to back up my files.

So anyway we came home ordered the Recovery disc from some guy at Sony (another 30 bucks), and now we have to wait a week for it to come. I hate how out of control this makes me feel. I also don't want to deal with the fact that I will now have limited access to the internet, as the desktop computer has 3 users now. So I won't be around often to comment or read. And my school work is also going to suffer because it's web-based. The placement of our desktop computer is not necessarily set up as a school work space. I rely on technology so much with diabetes and just in general. It's hard to believe it has failed me this easily. Of course now I'm worried about my pump going crazy.

Anyway here I am typing on our almost 6 year old slow desktop computer, thinking "I should have gotten a Mac."

Until next time.

Whoops.

I feel like I left you guys out in the rain. I said I would be back Friday with an update, and now it's Monday. (Could I have used "I" more times in 2 sentences?!) Any who. The doctor's appointment went fine. I was the first patient of the day, so I was seen within 10 minutes of walking in the door. Dispite the fact that the heat was broken in the office, my CDE seemed happy to see me. My doctor was also extremely impressed with my progress. I only gained 3 pounds which I'm fine with, because my doctor said he has seen patients gain about 10 in the first month. He commented that I was still on a lot of insulin, and he wanted to know if I would think I about Symlin again. I adamantly said, "no, it made me feel way too sick." He didn't fight me on this, which is typical, he likes to give gentle suggestions and let me find my own conclusions. He filled out my MVA medical review papers, and reviewed a few rules he feels are important to insure safe driving with diabetes. I'm hoping that with comments like, "Jillian is extremely responsible," I will get speedy approval. The good Doc even mentioned that there will be a low A1c celebration when I go back in February. So now I will impatiently wait until then, to see what will hopefully be my lowest A1c ever. On our way out, my CDE asked me how Diabetes 365 was going. For the answer pop by the flickr pool and have a look.

Oh yeah, I'm proper people sick and it sucks! See ya later alligators.

Yay for Arthur!

Why wasn't this little girl on Arthur when I was little? No wonder I named the stuffed Lab puppy I received right after diagnosis, Pal after Arthur's dog. I knew good things were coming from the show. I love educational children's programming!

Sorry for the double post I just could not resist.

Quick question.

I'm heading to my Endo on Thursday for my 1 month pump check-up. I have a quick question for anyone who uses Animas supplies (Insets). I'm coming upon my first reorder towards the end of the month, I want to make sure to do it before our insurance switches to CIGNA in January. So say I wanted to change my cannula and tubing length, do I have to get a new prescription when I go the Dr. on Thursday to do this? Or can I just change what I want on the website ordering thing, and the insurance company will be billed without a glitch? I'm sure I can have my mom call to ask, but I figured I would ask here too.
I've been having a boat load of overnight lows so I have been tweaking my basal rates, we'll see what happens. Expect a pump and doctor update Friday.

I'm BACKKKK!

Well while you guys were finishing up NaNo's and NaBlo's, which I congratulate you on! I was off to Central PA for my grandparent's 55th wedding anniversary. For those who asked. Teaberry is a light pink ice cream, that I would describe as a cross between strawberry and spearmint (heavy on the spearmint though). I know it sounds kind of gross, but it is 10 times delicious. You can wikipedia it and you will get a result for the gum, which tastes vaguely like the ice cream. Off to bake splenda cookies or something for tomorrow's "Friends Thanksgiving". I will be sure to take pictures! I leave you with the last remaining meme of NaBloPoMo...

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
I don't think perfect happiness is something that exists for more than just moments. But when those moments happen there is an amazing feeling. Like when my Nana grabs my hand before we leave to go home, and says "I love it when you come, it makes me feel young again", or when I have phone karaoke with my friend Kelly, or when I hear my best friend Reshma's voice on my voicemail after we haven't talked in weeks. Those are moments of perfect happiness.

2. What is your greatest fear?
Loss of someone I love.

3. Which living person do you most admire?
I admire my sister. She has been through almost every "family thing" that I have, she has a chronic illness that killed our aunt, she had rough patches in high school and college, and now she is in law school. I also know that she would do almost anything for me. I can't even explain how amazing I think she is.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Deplore. Wow, nothing. I dislike that I am not always able to be open minded.

5. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Dishonesty. Hands down, I need you to be honest.

6. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
The only virtue I know is patience (that's horrible I know). I don't think it's overrated exactly, but sometimes there are things that can not wait.

7. On what occasion do you lie?
I would not say there is a planned occasion. I am probably one of the most honest, some would say brutally honest people ever. If the time calls I have been known to tell a lie though.

8. What do you dislike most about your appearance?
Teeth, waiting on braces because savings money had to be used for many other things in life.

9. What is your greatest regret?
I have 3, but I will just say one of them. I regret that 2 years ago I was not able to communicate with someone who I cared about a lot, and instead pushed them away. It resulted in the end of our friendship, and I still miss this person.

10. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
I haven't found him/it.

11. Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I could dance. I don't mean like have rhythm. I mean like ballet or ballroom with ease.

12. What is your current state of mind?
Frenzied

13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I'm not going to say diabetes because it doesn't really bother me. I over analyze EVERYTHING, so that is what I want to change.

14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I don't think I have done anything that spectacular. I think just being alive is awesome enough.

15. If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
I don't want to come back.

16. What is your most treasured possession?
My pictures. So I guess that means my computer because that is where they all are. Or my claddagh ring, it was my mom's. I don't think the stone in it is even real, but I love the connection to my mom (she gave it to me and we share the same birthstone) and the general significance it has.

17. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Wanting to die, been there and I don't ever want to go back.

18. Where would you like to live?
A farm with horses and loads of dogs, but close enough to my family that I could see them if I just wanted to drive to them at anytime.

19. What is your most marked characteristic?
Loyalty or dependability.

20. Who are your favorite writers?
I just like to read I don't care who writes it.

21. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Harry Potter, purely because I feel like it.

22. Who are your heroes in real life?
People who work to their success, and I'm not just talking about success as in money.

23. What is it that you most dislike?
People who feel entitled.

24. What is your motto?
I don't think I have one. I should work on that.

25. Favorite Journey?
Haven't been on it yet.

26. What do you value most in your friends?
Honesty. Humor.

27. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Okay & whatever. You would have to hear me say "okay" to know why it's overused.

28. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I have no clue, sorry.

29. What is your greatest extravagance?
Craft things, I have a room of almost anything you can think of and I also have a lot of shoes.

30. If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
I wish that I didn't have the father I have. I don't like the way his life has shaped the other members of the family.

31. What is your favorite occupation?
I've never had a job. In truth I would love to be a professional bum. By this I mean someone who just does whatever, whenever, however, and money is not something that leads them.

32. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Independence.

33. What is the quality you most like in a man?

I can't put my finger on the word for it. But I appreciate when a man/boy whatever, can listen to me and respond intelligently with honestly. I really just like it when men/boys do not think badly of me for being a girl/woman who speaks her mind and can be extremely opinionated.

34. How would you like to die?
Not very old. It's just because I think it would be horrible to not be independent anymore, watch all of your friends die first, and have your family take care of you.

35. If you could chose what to come back as, what would it be?

A dog, but only to a nice family. I think my dogs have the life.

By the way, I went back 5 pages on the Diabetes Daily Headlines to read everyone's posts. I didn't leave any comments, but I will try to slowly make my way around when I get the chance.

Can't Resist a Meme

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My sister got to name me if I was a girl and she picked the main character of her favorite book at the time, "The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs". I was supposed to be named Elliot if I was a boy, it's my dad's middle name.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? The Thursday before Thanksgiving. Argument with my mom.

3. Do you like your handwriting? My cursive, not my print. My print looks like a left handed 5 year old wrote it.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Peppercorn turkey.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No, but I have dogs and they count as my kids. So Massimo, 8 and Finnegan, 1.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably not at first. I am stand offish and tend to like to observe others instead of talking to them. But if I gave "me" enough time I would realize that I am actually a pretty good person to be friends with (in my own opinion).

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? I'm fluent in it, seriously, check out my facebook groups.

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Uhh I like yogurt burst cheerios, but I don't really eat cereal and when I do I don't use milk.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I don't really wear a lot of shoes with laces, but when I do I leave them tied.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically? no. Mentally? Sometimes. Emotionally? It depends.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Mint Chocolate Chip, and when it's available Teaberry (it's a central PA thing).

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Hair, eyes are a close second.

15. RED OR PINK? Pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? So many things. Procrastination is probably one of the biggest things though.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I don't really know any one who has died. So the living person that I miss on a daily basis is my sister.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black sweat pants, invisible shoes no socks. (I'm a diabetic rebel!)

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? A rice cake.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? That whirring sound my computer makes when it's been on for along time.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple Mountain's Majesty

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Anything baking in the oven.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mom.

25. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Uhhh I don't really like sports. I guess college basketball would be the one I will actually watch though.

26. HAIR COLOR? Right now black, it's naturally dark brown though.

27. EYE COLOR? Dark Brown.

28 .Do you wear contacts? Nope, no glasses either.

29.FAVORITE FOOD? Veal parmigiana, but really anything covered in cheese....

30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I like a twist, so happyish that ends up leaving you a little confused...

31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Knocked Up.

32 WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? UNC Grey and Pink hoodie.

33. SUMMER OR WINTER? SUMMER! I love our pool.

34. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.

35. FAVORITE DESSERT? Pumpkin Pie. Seriously I love that stuff, I even had it instead of a birthday cake one year.

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don't have one...touch pad laptop thinger.

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Dancing with the Stars

38. FAVORITE SOUND? Laughter.

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? I have no clue.

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hawaii

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Um... I do a good George Bush impersonation.

Big Happenings

Well last night I signed up for the JDRF Walk in DC on May 4th, 2008. This will be my first diabetes walk ever. Now I guess I have to start collecting money and recruiting members for my team. The only problem is about half of the people I would ask have no idea I have diabetes. Crazy, I know, but it just never comes up and I am not into that whole "Hello my name is Jillian and I have Type 1 Diabetes". I prefer to keep the diabetes details to a minimum when it comes to my peers. I have always been this way and I am not sure why. I am not ashamed to be a diabetic. I just hate having to explain to others. It's just something I find too personal to tell people who I don't exactly know very well. I'll figure it out. Maybe this Saturday when my group of friends has our own "Thanksgiving" dinner, I'll disclose the D. Oh, the team name is "The J. Walkers" and the motto I plan to put on the t-shirt is "To fight Type 1 Diabetes, we’re breaking all the rules!" (Get it? Perfectly cheesy, I know!)

On to the next topic. Today I started amping up my efforts with my school work. I have been struggling with motivation. I don't know if I mentioned this, but I am basically a year behind in school. So the classes I am working on, except for math are sophomore classes. The decision to leave traditional school all has to do with anxiety, depression, family issues, and of course diabetes. But I am behind because while the school system tried to figure out a plan for me, I was left in limbo. I had a few school appointed tutors float in and out, but I was not in a place (mentally) for them to be of help. Plus half of them could not teach the subjects I was taking. So basically I got screwed over by the school system. As a result I had a full school year off, while things got figured out. While my friends are struggling through their junior year, I am at home procrastinating. So I am kicking my butt into high gear to catch up, to hopefully "graduate" with them. Today I got organized and started to think of a schedule, but in between I did stuff like this (drawing on my syllabus)
and listened to the Dixie Chicks.
I need to get focused!!!!

Today is also my 1 Month Pump-a-versary

Thanksgiving...

Today is Thanksgiving. A day that I am sure most diabetics either loathe or just let go and eat, but let's not talk about that. I want to share what I did for my Thanksgiving.

This morning I woke up at 6 AM, earlier than I have woken up in a while. I showered, dressed, and got on with my plans. Double checked my purse for all of my D supplies, printed out the Secret Santa names and wish list, ate breakfast, changed my shoes 3 times, the usual holiday prep. Around 8 AM we hit the road, with my mom asking her signature "Does everyone have the essentials?" before we left the driveway. This is a question always directed at me, and I was ready with my kit in my bag and my pump at my hip. So we were off, and after an hour we were at a rest stop and I got behind the wheel. Before I even turned the key, I check my blood sugar. 95, a little lower than I would like to drive at, I ate 15 carbs and my leg of the journey began. This lasted for about 45 minutes, because even though I ate before driving as I drove through the country roads of Lancaster I felt hot and less focused.
(Amish Horse & Buggy)

I told my mom I needed to pull over as soon as possible, so thankfully within 5 minutes we found a gas station. I checked in at 67, there was a driver switch and Swedish fish for me. After I was back into range I turned on my boy band playlist and the whole family rocked out to my lover's former band.
When we arrived, we were greeted with open arms from cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We watched 2 parades on TV with the horrible lip syncing, and then it was game time.
(Packers v. Lions, my sister is a huge Packers fan.)

At 1PM we sat down to dinner. Stuffing, mash potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetable medley, maple sugar brussel sprouts, rolls and turkey is the only thing with no carbs!

After the tryptophan kicked in I plopped into a chair and cuddled up for a 2 hour nap. When I woke up, the wind was blowing outside and it was time for pie! After eating enough pie to feed a small country, it was almost time to go. My little cousin Cara and I began our Secret Santa rounds. I am training her to take over as manager of the wish list and making the little name tags to put in the basket.


Then we headed home, and arrived in time to have a nice dinner of last night's leftover roast beef.

I just want to say that this year, I am definitely most thankful for all of you and the support that you have given me on my road towards better control. Happy Thanksgiving to all my virtual blessings out there!

Diabetes 365 Update.

Day 27 - User Error

Day 28 - Bubbles, Bubbles...

Day 29 - Light Day


Day 30 - The Baggie


Day 31 - The Best Laid Plans


Day 32 - Public Enemy # 1


Day 33 - The Craft Lair


Day 34 - Happy Birthday


Day 35 - All Clear


Day 36 - MVA MAB


Day 37 -Moments


Day 38 - Basic Black

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Triple Tag You're It.

So I have been tagged 3 times by Cara, Colleen, & Pearlsa. (As far as I know)
I hope that doesn't mean I have to do 21 facts or tag 21 people, seeing as everyone I frequently read has been tagged!

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) Justin Timberlake is the love of my life. Yeah I know you're thinking, "well duh isn't he every 16 year old's dream guy?" No! I was in love with him before he brought SexyBack. I was in love with him when he was wearing white tank tops and had bleach blonde curly hair. I could go on and on...

2) A lot of people think that my sister and I are twins or the same person. Funny thing is, we are 7 years apart in age, I'm taller, and we don't really look that similar (well at least that's what we think).

3) Purple is my favorite color and sometimes I tend to go over board with it. My room has purple walls, a purple rug, purple bedding, and a purple chair. I have also almost always had a purple backpack for school.

4) I have an obsession with Boston accents. Let's just say the movie The Departed was like heaven for me, minus all the cursing and people being murdered.

5) My dream car is a Mini Cooper. It could be the fact that I love the movie The Italian Job, which features one of my favorite boys from Boston, Marky Mark!

6) I love going to the dentist. I think it's fun and entertaining.

7) I have dyed my hair at least 5 times in the last year. I have gone to red, to lighter brown which turned out orange from the red, to redish brown, to dark brown, to black. My natural color is actually dark brown.

Here are my tags. I picked these by looking for people who didn't already have a comment that tagged them. So I hope I haven't double tagged anyone.
Christine-Megan
Tom
Hannah
Allison (Tales of a Twentysomething)
Donna
Jeff
Elise (My sister, I couldn't think of anyone else.)


A Bonus 8th fact) My mom is from Central Pennsylvania, so a lot of the words I say have a skewed Central PA way about them. I also have the ability to adapt to talking like I am from Central PA if I am around my mom's family for too long. Some of my weird words are: mam and melk, or for normal people mom and milk.

Pumping at a Party.

The party Saturday was pretty good. It was for one of my best friends, Kelly's 17th birthday. She will actually be turning 17 tomorrow. Like I said it freaks me out that I have a friend who is 17! For some reason I still feel like I am in 8th grade. Kelly came to pick me up a little before 5 o'clock. Then she drove us back to her house, which is less than a mile away, to let me see the decorations and to alleviate those hour before the party jitters. I should mention that I haven't seen her since I started pumping. She didn't notice for almost half an hour. When she spotted it, she asked "what's the deal with that?". I explained to her that it was an insulin pump, and instead of taking a bunch of shots every day this would replace 2 of those long acting shots as it "pumped" tiny "shots" of insulin every 3 minutes and then every time I wanted to eat I just punch in a few numbers and it gives the right amount for the food. Kelly is not very mechanical and isn't all that knowledgeable my diabetes care, so I tried to make it simple. You may be wondering why I have best friend who doesn't know a lot about my diabetes. It's just because Kelly is not the type of person where diabetes is going to matter to her. She knows enough about it; how to tell if I'm low, check my sugar, she has seen me take shots etc. I think she was just disappointed that she can no longer jokingly pretend that I do drugs. She also commented that I just looked like a lady at the mall "countin' my steps on her lunch hour".
This is dress I wore:

I'm not sure if you can see it, but there was belt around the waist and it is also a wrap dress. So I ran the pump tubing from my site (on my abdomen) through the interior slit, across the front, to the exterior slit. Then I clipped my little buddy Orin on to the belt on the same side of the exterior slit and we were ready to party! (I hope that all makes sense.)With the pump at my side and close to the slit, I was able to not have a lot of tubing exposed. It was also easy to access to bolus for dinner & cake, as well as enter blood sugars, and make corrections. I topped out the night at 187, which I didn't think was that bad considering all the hooplah.

I haven't posted my Diabetes 365 pictures in awhile. I'll be back tomorrow with those. In the meantime why don't you check out the pool, there are now over 800 pictures.

Email the Doctor & A Party!

Hat tip to Bernard. If you would like to email the misinforming Dr. Robert Rizza who I spotlighted in yesterday's post. Please feel free to send your feelings to him at rizzaDOTrobertATmayoDOTedu. Who knows, maybe if we all do this they will edit the horrible video or just take it down. Then there will be one less video to add to the world's confusion when it comes to the word Diabetes. I've decided that this will be my tactic from now on. Spot a diabetes error. Point it out to the blogosphere and I will be writing letters to the offenders. So feel free to join me if you ever have the time. What can it hurt? Nothing. What could it change? Everything.

Tonight, I will be celebrating my best friend's 17th birthday! It makes me feel really old. I know I am only 16 and I am complaining about getting old. Maybe the right word is SCARY. It feels like just yesterday we were carpooling to middle school. Now she can drive, and I am about to get my license. By this time next year we will probably both be thinking about where to go for college. It freaks me out. Oh and this will be the first party that Orin and I will attend wearing a dress. Let's just hope I don't have an experience like Kerri.

I can NOT believe this...

First, this morning I watch a relatively good interview with Dr. Tim Johnson & his wife on Good Morning America, about her Type 1 Diabetes. She was diagnosed when she was in her 30's, a poster adult for LADA. It was pretty much factually accurate, she showed her pump, tested her blood sugar on the air, they talked about a cure, hypoglycemia, etc.
I was thinking alright, go GMA!

Then I went to checked out the website after the show like they direct you to do.
I stumbled upon ABC's On Call + Diabetes.

And this is the part where I hop onto my soapbox.

So I looked around, and found this, which pissed me off. So according to this guy diabetes is caused by diet. Wow, I didn't know that doctor, so you are telling me that when I was 5 I was not following the right diet and I ended up skeleton skinny and this caused my (type 1) diabetes? Please, can you just say Type 2 before diabetes. It's an extra 2 syllables, I'm sure it won't kill you and all your other medical professional friends! I get the fact that Type 2 is the more prevalent disease, but that doesn't mean you can put us all under that same big blue "diabetes" umbrella. Also, some Type 2's are not even overweight!!! I could go on for days...
Now I will step off my soapbox.

From my sister on WDD

This is something my sister emailed me yesterday. She asked if I would post it today. So here it is:

Being the good sister that I am/try to be, I was reading Jillian’s blog today and clicked on a few of the other blogs she has links for. I came across an article mentioning Inspired By Diabetes and I thought to myself, maybe I should write something about how Jillian’s diabetes has affected me. So here goes.

These are things I remember about when Jillian was initially diagnosed with Type 1 (I was turning 12 in 2 weeks):

- How scared I was when the school nurse buzzed my classroom and told me to come to the office for early dismissal

- The look of dread on my parents’ faces when Jillian and I met them in the hall

- Going to the dietician and learning about carbs and practicing putting air into insulin vials and drawing it into syringes

- Getting fat because I tried to be supportive and ate everything Jillian was eating for breakfast: eggs, toast, juice, milk, cereal

- Trying diet soda and hating it

These are things I don’t remember about that time:

- My 12th birthday

- Christmas that year

There are things I’ll never forget:

- Jillian screaming while my parents held her down in order to give her her shots. That look of fear was just too much.

- Feeling horrible when I had to help hold her down

- How proud I was of Jillian when she started to give herself her shots

- How proud I am of Jillian for taking control and deciding to choose an insulin pump

- How special it made me feel to be included in her process of researching and choosing which pump to go with (I guess that’s what big sisters are for though)

Now for something I don’t like talking about very much. I used to be very jealous of Jillian. In my eyes, my parents were so consumed with taking care of her, that they didn’t have time for me. It was a lonely time for me. Probably the first time I ever felt depressed. Many times I wished it was me that was the diabetic not her. I wish I could say it was an altruistic thought—that I wanted to spare her from the pain and protect her. But it wasn’t. I wanted someone to pay attention to me, to go out of his or her way for me, to forget everything else for me.

I could never be a diabetic. I pass out almost every time I have my blood drawn. I hate pricking my finger, the few times I’ve actually done it. It hurts sooooooo much. Also, diet soda is gross. (For those of you who don’t know, while I didn’t get my “wish” for Type I, I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus at age 15, all though it is not the same.). But really, the point I’m trying to make is that diabetes touches more than just the person receiving the diagnosis—it touches siblings, parents, friends, and lovers. On this World Diabetes Day, I’d like to say to my sister and to all diabetics (Type I’s especially) that I’m so proud of you. For dealing with everything you go though in your daily lives with diabetes. You are not alone, you are not the only ones who are aware, and there are others who are just as ready for a cure.

WDD...

I don't exactly know how I feel about all the hoopla today. On one hand I am excited and happy, that the UN is recognizing what today is, and I know that is a huge deal. But then the pessimistic side of me wonders, if the focus on Diabetes in Children and Adolescents is really going to be enough. Is one day focusing on that theme going to be enough, with all the confusion out there about the types of diabetes? I know I'm lucky to be able to have certain access to technology to help me control this disease. But I don't want to control it, I want it to go away. Not just for me, but for the countless kids all over the world who have been diagnosed, those who are yet to be, and those who might never be and will not be treated. I don't want this day to pass by and then have the month end, and where will we be? Still waiting for a cure. I don't really know if this is a "Happy" World Diabetes Day. I would be happier if there were no such thing as diabetes and then we wouldn't need one stinking day of the year to be heard. In my world everyday is a World Diabetes Day, and until there is a cure it will remain that way. The day is young, and I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens...

I don’t know how to explain it.

But I’ll try. Last night I got into verbal argument with both of my parents, separately. (There goes my perfect teenager image.) The first time it was because I overheard my father talking about “the way I talk to adults” and that he isn’t having it anymore. So I flipped out, because this is a line he uses all too frequently. There is an extremely long back story to why I flipped out, involving the fact that my father is bi-polar. As a result he wasn’t involved much in my childhood, although he has always lived in our house. Because of his emotional unavailability and an incident that occurred 2 years ago, our relationship (or lack thereof) is very volatile and there is an admitted lack of respect that goes both ways. So anyway I said a lot of admittedly disrespectful things, but I was angry and I could not help it. So he ended up leaving the house. I then said more admittedly to her. It all ended badly and is yet to be resolved. I don’t even know why I am telling anyone about this. It is just that today I had one of those days where everything felt completely wrong, and I didn’t have any way of fixing things. I could cry about it, but I couldn’t talk to anyone. I told my sister but that was just worse, because she is studying for law school exams and the last thing she needs is for me to burden her with this.

Then to top it off, for some reason because of my Diabetes 365 picture today and the responses I got from it. I got upset. I felt like all of my diabetic life I was short changed. I had diabetes for all 11 years of my life in traditional school. I only had 3 weeks in school without it. But guess what I never had? A 504 plan or anything like it. My parents never even knew about them until my sister got sick when I was 7, and still I never had one. No one ever told us they would be appropriate for a child with diabetes. Not a doctor, not a school nurse, not a guidance counselor. Thankfully I never needed anything special for my diabetes while in school. Yes, the trips to the nurses office where tedious and I thought there had to be a better way. But what did we know? We asked for change and still no one told us what exactly we needed to do. No one ever gave my parents the guide for diabetes and school (does it exist?). This got me thinking. How many kids out there have any type of disability that could require special adjustments or protocol while in school, but their parents are under informed or are told that nothing is available to help? I’m upset about this, and it doesn’t even matter for more me anymore. I no longer attend traditional school. I’m upset that little me went to school every day with diabetes and something could have been different. But I am more upset that there are probably a lot of kids out there like me who are not being helped. I have no idea where I am going with this like I said it’s just one of those days…

Lots o' Links

Tomorrow, November 14th, 2007 is World Diabetes Day.
If you haven't already done it, add a campaign banner to your blog or website.

Also go check out Diabetes Mine for more information about this survey.
So give your opinion and support diabetes technology.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out the TuDiabetes "Word In Your Hand" Video.
You might just see a few familiar hands and faces.


Find more videos like this on Tu Diabetes - A Community for People Touched by Diabetes


And finally, the 3rd Annual Diabetes O.C. Awards are upon us.
Now it is time for the nomination process.
For the link to vote check out Allison's lastest post.
Don't forget to drop her a comment to thank her for all of her hardwork!

Back tomorrow for the big day!

Picture Time! Diabetes 365 Days 23-26

Day 23 - Lows




Day 24 - Making Connections




Day 25 - The Remains




Day 26 - Awareness




I don't have one for today yet...

To see other contributers check out the Diabetes 365 Pool

D-Blog Day!

Happy D-Blog Day!

I am not exactly sure where to go with this post. So I have decided to just say Thank You! To everyone who has supported me through all of my diabetes woes over the past few months. You have seen me through my dedicated work to lower my A1c, my quest to begin pumping, and now my successful transition to pumping. Your support and kind words have meant a lot. I came to this community looking for something, what that something was I am not really sure. Answers, support, understanding maybe? Whatever I was looking for I have definitely found it here. I find comfort in the written words of those who live this life everyday. A life that none of us chose, but we survive and even triumph. So here's to you D-Bloggers!

From their lips to your ears.

Oh Halle! Why???



And now The View is getting in on the action...I won't knock them for at least saying something about Diabetes Awareness Month. But way to add to the confusion Babs and company, it can be corrected? News to me Babs! They didn't even say anything about Type 1 Diabetes.

PS. I broke the YouTube rules so they might get deleted at some point. I would love to see what your reaction is after not only reading Halle's words, but hearing her say them. Plus what do you think about the View? Yay or Nay?

Top Chef.

I remember Kerri posted about voting former Top Chef contestant Sam Talbot as the Glad America's Steamiest Chef. Well guess what!? He won! so that's $30,000 to JDRF, thanks to everyone who voted and the Glad company who donated the money on his behalf! Just a quick bit of information I thought I should share.

Diabetes 365 - Days 19 - 22

I owe you some pictures:

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21
Day 22

Perez has it right!

Okay so we all know that Halle Berry has cured her Type 1 Diabetes. But Perez Hilton has proven her wrong! Leave it to a Celebrity gossip blogger to set the facts straight, well sort of. The funny thing is people are trying to say that the media misinterpreted her words. Not true at all, she said something very similar to this on Bravo's Inside the Actor's Studio.

By the way it's my 1 week Pump-iversary.

Diabetes 365 Days 16 -18

Playing a little catch up!

Day 16 - Everywhere I Go

Day 17 - Fishy Lows
Day 18 - Difficult Food

For the descriptions check out the Diabetes 365 Flickr Group.

Superstition

Happy Halloween! Let’s go on a trip back to yester year, with Stevie Wonder.

As I stepped onto the Metro car, my trip back in time began. From the tattered orange pleather seats to the laminate section dividers, the ride definitely set the tone for the night. Walking into the arena I can’t say that I as giddy as I was in January when I went to see Justin Timberlake. I could definitely sense that there was a party about to begin. Many women were in their best boots and men wearing fedoras or Kangol hats. The sea of faces varied in color, but not as much in age. I could tell that I was probably one of the youngest people there. We walked to the concessions, paid a whopping 4 dollars for a bottle of Dasani. Then went to find our seats, which were 10 rows from the floor! As the rows filled in, and the lights slowly dimmed you could feel the crowd becoming restless. We waited a worthwhile 30 extra minutes for the show to begin. Stevie came onto the stage in a black suit and red sunglasses, with his daughter (Aisha) in a white dress, leading him to the center of the stage. He told a few jokes and then opened with a duet on piano with Aisha. After their performance she joined the other two backup singers and the show really began! He played almost every past hit you can think of. Rocked out on his piano and harmonica. At one point he was down on his knees singing, then he was standing on his piano bench! The band included a lot of improvisation and audience involvement. The male backup singer stole the show, he pulled off some temptations-esque dance moves that did not fail to entertain. The bassist, guitarist, and drummers all performed amazing solos under the bright spot light. The audience was definitely there to party, with every up beat intro everyone rose from their seats to dance and sing along to well known rhythms. The thing I enjoyed most was when they played medleys. Transitioning from one song to the next, when Stevie told the bassist or guitarist to play a certain note or riff. They performed every song that we chose to wear on the shirts I made, even my parents wedding song. He played one final song, took a bow on both sides of the stage, then walked off into the night with his backup singers and the band.

Horrible!

I realize that I am super horrible about returning comments and just leaving them in general. I am also really bad about reading blogs that are not on the Diabetes Daily Headlines. So. Feel free to harass me about comments, I'm serious. I really do need it, as the connection from comments is really a huge part of the O.C. So to anyone who has commented in probably the last 5-10 posts... SORRY!!! I feel really bad that you take your time to read what I have to say and I don't do anything to repay that. Oh and good luck to those of you who are starting one or both of NaBloPoMo & NaNoWriMo on Thursday. I considered NaBloPoMo, but I just don't think I could do either of them. I don't have enough in my life to write about, and I also don't think I am the best at writing about just anything. Well any who I'm getting excited about singing some off key "Superstition" with Stevie tonight. But shh, don't tell my parents. I have been playing the whole unexcited, you guys are old and crazy routine. Oh I will be taking my Diabetes 365 Picture at the concert.

Pump Update. Days 14 & 15.

3 days down and diabetes researchers only know how many more to go. So I left you off at the party, which went surprisingly well. Although the pizza sent me way up, because I experimented with a combination bolus and didn’t get it right. But the 265 I hit after the pizza is the highest I have been, so I won’t complain. Saturday and Sunday I woke up to numbers under 150 for the first time since ever. Today I was 203 at breakfast, but I think that is because I have a sore throat. I have definitely learned that when it comes to sites, “when in doubt rip it out!” The Friday to Sunday evening site hurt a bit every once in awhile, but I decided to keep it in. Not a good choice, it is now a little raised, but I am putting antibiotic ointment and band aids on it. If it persists I guess that will be a trip to the doctor, I hate doctors (but that is a post for another time). I had to take the extra insulin pen out of my kit, because I almost did a correction with it out of habit. Not taking shots is definitely the biggest adjustment, not that I miss them. For me it is so automatic to check my blood sugar, do the math quickly in my head, and dial up the pen. No longer am I a human calculator, I am now a professional button presser. I thought it would be hard to trust the pump with the math, but I have actually stopped doing the count in my head already. I cannot wait to see what my HbA1c is at the one month check up. Oh I forgot to mention, tomorrow I get to go to a Stevie Wonder concert. At the time the tickets were purchased we all (parental units and I) thought that it would be better not to leave me alone. Since I would only be on the pump for 5 days. Little did we know the transition would be relatively uneventful. You see my mom really, really loves Stevie and I didn’t want to be the reason why she didn’t get to see him live in concert. So tomorrow I will be rockin’ out to the Motown sound…

Picture time:

Day 14

As I was watching TV Sunday morning, a sad melody started to play from the speakers. Then a little boy said, "My mom pricked my finger". A little girl then said, "And it really really hurt". The scene changed and a little boy said, "I am 11 years old, and my mom says I have had over 11,000 shots." I heard these words and realized that I am one of these kids. That those words could easily come from my mouth too. No child should have to say those words or think about things like that.

There is no cure for Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.

Yet.

Day 15

This is our huge bowl of Halloween candy. It has been sitting on our dining room table for a week. As a diabetic, it is not that I can not have candy. I believe you can have anything in moderation. But that is where the problem comes, it is so tempting. I haven't had too much, but I can't wait for the kids to show up and take it away. For me it really is a trick or treat. Trick myself into not wanting it or treat myself with only a piece or two.

There is no cure for Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.

Yet.

Day 13 - LBDB

Today's Photo:
Since I am now using an insulin pump, my CDE suggested that I carry extra pump supplies. She said to use the at least one of everything rule. At least one infusion set, 1 insulin cartridge, an extra battery, a few syringes, IV prep wipes, and my current vial of insulin (depending on the weather), and extra test strips. Some people have little black dresses, I now have 3 little black diabetes bags.

There is no cure for Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.

Yet.

So the party was fine, no lows, no over eating. All though I was tempted by the towers of pizza I stuck to 2 slices and 2 pumpkin cookies that I made with Splenda. Everyone had a good time. Only one person asked about my pump, and she thought it was my iPod. I told her we would talk about what it was some other time. I wasn't super comfortable disclosing my diabetes in a group of people where I only know a few very well. As the only people at the party who know I am diabetic are the girl who asked about it, who also happened to be the host, and her mom. I just find it very annoying to have the diabetes spot light shone on me, and I didn't want to hear any of that "my grandma has diabetes crap". I also think if it had not been my first day on the pump I would have been slightly more comfortable giving that standard, I have type 1 diabetes education session. Pump post and double picture day Monday! Have a great weekend.

Busy Day & Awesome Beth!

Well today is going to be very busy from my insulin start, to a Halloween party, to celebrating my dad's birthday. I have already taken today's picture and of course it has to do with the starting my pump, lets just say that I am truly a Type 1 Diabetic and it shows in the ketones. After being told not to take my night time dose of Levemir last night, at 6am this morning my blood glucose was 172 (thanks to a supplemental correction shot at 3am), but I was already spilling trace to small ketones.
Well Beth has done it again. Not only did she start the wonderful Diabetes 365 Project.
She has now created a website for the project!
Happy Friday All!

Halloween Party! and Day 11

Well as you know (well who ever reads this on a regular basis would know) tomorrow is the first day I will have insulin in my pump. At 10 I will hop in the Town & Country with my mom and drive up to Baltimore for the final step! I'm more than ready for this. Let's just say it's a day no one in my family thought we would ever get to. Mostly because I am the most stubborn person ever. Okay but on to the real excitement. Tomorrow evening I will be attending a Halloween party at a friend's house. She lives about half an hour away. My parents plan to even go out to dinner near her house, since it is my dad's birthday, just to give me an extra hour or so with them close by. I don't think I will be spending the night, but I know that a party on my first day of pumping is probably testing the waters a little too much. I'm sure I can keep everything in control, I will check my blood sugars regularly and even get my friends to remind me. My doctor and pump trainer didn't seem to think this was a huge deal. They basically said if you are afraid of doing things while on the pump, it isn't giving you the freedom that you should gain from it. I know there will definitely be enough sugar there to correct any possible lows, and I will be careful to monitor how much I eat. I will bring extra everything, an insulin pen just in case. The works. So I am basically looking for any suggestions. Anything to watch out for, whatever you can come up with.

Diabetes 365

Tomorrow I will be attending a Halloween party at a friend's house. I agreed to help her decorate so I went out and got a few things. But I also always remember that most of my friends do not drink diet soda, so I thought I should bring along my own. I have certain friends that I know will always have diet soda in their fridge, this girl is not one of them. It doesn't bother me to have to make a bottle of diet soda a part of my party supplies. This is just another way as a person with diabetes that I must adapt to the way diabetes makes me different.

There is no cure for Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.

Yet.

A Real Post & A Picture.

So I promised you a real post and here goes.

I have been wearing my Cozmo insulin pump for 3 days now. In that time I have learned a lot of things about myself and my new buddy Orin. While I am only pumping saline as a part of what I guess my endo would call "home training" it still is pretty realistic. I definitely think that being young has it's advantages when it comes to using a pump. For instance if this was my mom pumping she would have to pull her glasses from a top her head squint at the screen, and call me to help her. If it was my dad he wouldn't even try and I would be completely in charge of helping him manage this device. I know these things because my mom can't use the remote to our television, and almost every time my dad tries to print something off of the computer he calls me to help him.
What have I learned? Well for starters, infusion set insertion is not the horror I imagined. I sat in the endo's office clenching my teeth through the training in anticipation of inserting the infusion set. Turns out it's a piece of cake. The office's pump trainer was very impressed that I knew so much about the pump, but I guess that's what happens when you have a lot of time in between receiving it and going to training. It only took about 45 minutes to go over everything. At one point she was asked, "Can I at least peel off the adhesive protector on the set so I can feel like I am doing my job?" What else? Oh my dogs are very intrigued by the sound of a bolus. That click click click, has them both staring at my hip in wonder with their heads cocked to the side. Sleeping hasn't been to hard, I just place the pump next to me and it usually stays put. When I am alone in a quiet room, that hiss every 3 minutes as my basal rate is delivered is like a constant reminder that the pump is there and working away doing something my body should be able to do without any noise at all. I will have to say that being a perfectionist is probably not going to help me in this. I am going to want everything to go right, from intial basal rates, blood glucose numbers to every single site change. I will get over that slowly. I messed up tonight will loading the new cartridge and doing the new infusion set. I was so upset for no particular reason except that I like things to go right, and when they don't it seems like the end of the world (ANXIETY). Thankfully my mom was there and told me just to breathe, and I know over time it will become even more routine. Until then I'm still working out the kinks and finding what works for me. Now I just have to get to Friday, so I can start the real deal!

Check Out or Join Diabetes 365.

Day 9 - Sneaky D.

Diabetes has a certain way of showing up where it is not wanted. As I was putting away laundry today I found a tiny spot of dried blood on the waist band of one of my skirts. I assume it happened when I gave myself an injection under a table in a restaurant. At the time I never noticed any bleeding. I hope I can get the stain out, otherwise it will just be another constant reminder that I am a person with Type 1 Diabetes. In order to take care of myself I have to take injections of insulin. Sometimes this means little spots of blood will show up in unwanted places.

There is no cure for Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.

Yet.

If you can't see the little spot click on the picture or check it out at the Diabetes365 Group on Flickr where I added a little note to point it out (don't forget to see my pictures you have to sign in).