December 11, 2012

getting in the spirit

I have not had much to say lately except I have had a bad attitude this past week (and a half?? Not sure. Check with my hubs :)).

I blame it mostly from being in pain most of the past week. I have an owie from a stupid pod site on my stomach and while it's healing up now and confirmed to be NOT a flesh eating bacterial infection (just kidding, no one mentioned flesh eating bacteria except my husband, which is odd, because usually I'M the one to jump to the most horrific conclusion possible) it's still a little sore and tender sometimes and just generally makes life a pain in the rear.

Like this morning when I tried to put on my knee-high socks because {gasp!} it was actually chilly outside. The tape over the gauze kept ripping off as I bent over so I had to ask the hubs for help.

On the plus side, I can now confidently type the word "gauze" without misspelling it. Most of the time.

We also finally got a new Christmas tree the weekend before last and I got it up and decorated within a two days. That may not sound that great, but once I opened the box, I realized it wasn't one of those handy-dandy ones where the branches fold out and you just have to fluff them.

Nooooo. . . .I had to organize each branch by the color of tape on the metal part, then snap each branch in individually. Nice.

Considering this was my second choice for a tree and a CERTAIN supposedly customer-oriented, low-price leader of an all-in-one, one-stop store REFUSED to sell me the very LAST of the tree I wanted (it was a display model and I wasn't even asking for a discount because the price was so cheap already!!), I was already fairly irritated at it and stores in general. So, $40 more than I wanted to spend, plus gas money for driving to every store in this town AND the next looking for the one tree I wanted plus three attempts to put the lights on myself with a fourth and final attempt by the hubs......put me in a generally bad mood. I had an enjoyable time driving around and drinking an eggnog latte with my husband though, which always helps! He's kind of my favorite :)

Now I cannot keep our 6-month-old kitten out of the tree. The ornaments are HIS glittery dangly toys of goodness! The branches are HIS chew toys! The tree skirt (aka: two yards of fabric I liked) is HIS new favorite naptime spot!

So the end result is no ornaments on the bottom foot of our tree and fake presents scattered on the tree skirt to keep him from sleeping there. Plus a spray bottle kept handy to use when he gets too close. Which he has so ingeniously figured out to do from BEHIND the tv so that we can't shoot a jet of water at him because we have bad aim and would hit the tv.

My Christmas spirit has been seriously lacking but today I am reminded of people less fortunate, people struggling more than we are, people who have lost loved ones recently, and people who do not know. I am pulling myself up by my shoelaces (metaphorically) reminding myself that I'm plenty old enough to forget the trimmings and food and presents and think about little Linus reminding all his buddies what Christmas is really about.

{I prefer the classic KJV for this}

Luke 2

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Amen.
 

November 24, 2012

smells goods

Growing up, during the holidays my mom would put a small pan on the stove, fill it with water, and throw in cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and whatever else she had around. It would simmer on a back burner for hours and kill whatever lingering daily odors were around.

So when the hubs and I had our first Christmas in our house last year, I was excited to do this myself. I used a small red pan that had been passed down to me from my grandmother, sliced an orange, added cinnamon sticks and cloves, and let it simmer for several hours. It fills our small home with its scent of warmth and holiday cheer.

The key to doing this successfully is not being so busy that you forget about leaving the stove on--you have to add more water every hour or so (depending on how large your pan is).

While I cannot remember burning this concoction last year at all, this year I have burned it TWICE now. My happy little red pan has been soaking for two days and is still scorched on the bottom. I think it was the orange slice. . . .And trust me, scorched orange slices do not smell good at. all.

A couple weeks ago I read a short blog post (I'm so sorry I can't remember who it was, but I think it was on Pinterest somewhere!!) about using the mini crockpot that sometimes comes with your larger crockpot.

One of those "Why didn't I think of that??" moments.

I'd also read an article about the many benefits of ginger for both personal use and around the home.

Now, finally, my house smells great and is not at risk for burning down. . .

Here's what I've come up with:


I use a small knife to cut thin slices off the ginger--maybe about 4 or 5--then fill my little crock to about 1 inch from the top and add 2 or 3 cinnamon sticks, 4 or 5 cloves and a thin slice or wedge of orange. Plug it in and let it do its thing!

I've had it plugged in for 2 days and have only put water in it once. Of course, I unplug it at night and cover it to keep any curious kitty noses out of it. A great smelling home that's not filled with chemicals or dangerous open flames!

November 13, 2012

advice for arguing

I need some advice from the diabetes community out there.

My insurance has denied coverage of a Dexcom system for me 2x now. I've submitted all the requested paperwork, had my doctor write a letter of recommendation, and even wore a sensor for a week's trial.

They still hate me.

They don't find it medically necessary because I don't have lows in the middle of the night and I don't have lows where I need assistance (which is, hello, a good thing).

I know the insurance industry is completely backwards when it comes to stuff like this. I bet I could get them to give me any other expensive pill out there. And gladly. But when it comes to an amazing machine like the Dex? Nah....she doesn't need it. She just needs better control.

Well, you know all those patients on cholesterol medication just need better control to stop eating so much junk food.....

I digress.

So I have decided to appeal again and want to write a detailed letter to them stating facts and figures as well as including some information about the less tangible side of diabetes--the emotional aspects of it. But I cannot decide where to begin.

Where would you start and what information would you include??




November 5, 2012

One Year

Happy one year anniversary to my best friend and love of my life.

Credit for this pic goes to my super awesome, beautiful, talented, soon-to-be-too-famous-for-us, cousin!

Same here!

Now lets have cake!

October 16, 2012

The Dorothy Postulation

Over the past 10 days the hubs and I have traveled by. . .

truck. . .

train. . .

tram. . .

bus. . .

boat. . .

ship. . .

plane. . .

ferry. . .

shuttle. . .

our own two feet. . . 

and minivan.

We've soared at 20,000 feet and walked on the bottom of the sea.

We've walked miles and miles within a 1,100 foot radius.

We've seen sights we never really thought we'd see in our lifetime.

We had a vacation and while it was not perfect, we enjoyed relaxing and turning off the cell phones for a while.

Dorothy said it best: There's no place like home.



September 18, 2012

Shelf

Wow, it has been an insane couple of weeks.

I've had a few spare moments to post an update, but I haven't because. . . well, I'm lazy.

Here's what we accomplished last weekend:

First, since the weather was gorgeous and not so stinkin' hot, we headed outside and attacked the insane bush that was trying to take over our front yard. Like, literally.

[I hear Sheldon's voice saying to me, "Literally? Literally?" Yes. Literally.]

Imagine the branches extending to cover the grassless areas on all sides and that's how huge this thing got. Also, you can see my bro & sis-in-law's house through the trees over there. Hiiiiii!

There are still a bunch of roots we need to dig out but this is a HUGE improvement over the way it looked previously. I'm pretty sure it will come back just as big as ever next year.

Then we took our exhausted selves inside and I started cleaning the mantle that I got several weeks back.


You can see the left crevasse is "cleaned" out and the right one is still dirty. This is even with using my cleaning toothbrush to get in the corners.
Someone (a man, I'm sure) had used wood putty to fill in some of the nail holes and cracks. But they got the putty everywhere and never sanded it off. So I had to use quite a bit more elbow grease than I thought to get it off.
Once it was cleaned as well as it ever could be, I let it set and dry off for a few minutes.

Then my hubs got to measuring. And making pencil marks on the wall. And drilling. And drilling and drilling and drilling.


Ta da!
It's up! The color stands out a little more in person. Our walls are Mourning Dove by Olympic.
Here's how I decided to decorate it. For now.
 After all that, we were quite tired and pretty much collapsed for the rest of the day.

I had spray painted our new light for the breakfast area earlier in the day, allowing it to dry while we were puttering outside. We just need to purchase a new rewiring kit and it'll be ready to hang.

This coming weekend I have set aside to paint the chair I got in PA. Hopefully.

We're also counting down the days until vacation. After the past couple of weeks I've had at work, I sincerely need one.

. . . . . . . . . . .

In other news, our little guy is getting so big! He's over 4 months old now and weighs almost 5 pounds! This is significant because occasionally he still forgets himself and attempts to claw his way up my leg when he wants attention.

I'll leave you with this bit of cuteness: this is his post-dinner snuggle habit.


September 5, 2012

My First Bullets

Not bullets that you shoot with, bullets that you use in documents. Why? Because I haven't posted in a couple weeks and my thoughts are so scattered that I'm not sure I can compose material for just one blog.

So here goes.

  • How do I say that I get irritated easily without sounding like a mega-grouch? Maybe I am. But I've been letting little things irritated me when I should just forget about them. Like at work, when my boss can't bother to remember which accounts are mine and asks me every. single. day. They aren't random, small accounts either. Or when other drivers do something that makes absolutely no sense and have no consideration for anyone else around them? That's not actually a "little" thing, that's big--a public safety thing, as far as I'm concerned.
  • I considered taking a pod break on this trip we have coming up. It involves airport security and a cruise--including swimming pools, hot tubs, beaches, and lots of walking. But then I realized how much I love this thing, even if I am running out of real estate to stick it. I have about a 10" x 3" section on my upper stomach where it won't fall off. The backs of my arms work ok, but after the other day, when I went through 3 pods in like, 48 hours, I got frustrated and moved it back to my stomach. It won't build up too much scar tissue if I use the same spots for just a month, right? Right??
  • Clothing has me very frustrated lately. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a lot of my winter clothes are not going to fit me. Ok, MOST aren't going to fit me and the ones that do are probably the ones I don't like. But for one thing, it's too hot to start buying long sleeves and sweaters (I'm sweating just thinking about it) and for another, HELLO prices!! They're so ridiculous anymore!
  • Clothing Part Deux: I just emailed this to one of my customers (we email back and forth about random topics all day--don't worry, we still get our work done, it's called multitasking!). What is it with clothing manufacturers having a hard time understanding how the human body is built? I mean, like real humans--woman with more than a B-chest. We have small (don't get me started on the x-small sizes--that's so stupid and they don't count), medium, large and extra large. Great. Then when we get to the "larger" sizes things start to fall apart. In my experience, a shirt that is a size 2xl will either be: A. the same length as an XL but WIDER or B. the same width as a XL but LONGER. Now I ask you, how does that help us? If you need a visual of how this does not work, please visit peopleofwalmart.com.
  • Clothing Part. . . Three: Ok, I get how manufacturers make clothing the cheapest way possible so that they will fit the "most" people as possible. If you can't fit into it, tough, buy another brand. I was looking at a size chart for something just the other day. . . a dress or a swimsuit cover up, I can't remember. Based on the bust size, I was a medium. HAHAHA! Women who actually WEAR a medium only WISH my bust size was considered a medium. Still laughing over that one. Then on the same chart, for hip size, I was. . . well, let's just say it was several removed from a size medium. But really? Really?? Which size do I go by? The helpfully-provided size chart did not help at all and only caused more confusion.
  • I guess the only solution is to get rich and have all my clothes tailor made. Don't even get me started on the colors and patterns out there. 
  • Changing topics finally, I am SO excited about our trip coming up in 32 days. Yes, I have a countdown app on the homescreen of my phone. I'm excited to have a "real" vacation for the first time in five-ish years. "Real" meaning there is a beach involved. Honeymoon did not count as a typical vacation because a. it was a honeymoon and b. even though we had a great time, there was no beach. There are so many plans I want to make and places I want to go. . . but then I remember that I don't want to be crazy-busy, I want to sit and relax and not think about anything except when to apply more sunscreen.
  •  
    Now this is a nice sized post that's turned into more of a rant. Sorry about that. Sometimes you just have to get things out, you know?

August 21, 2012

Deals & Steals

What a week.
Or, I should say, what a crazy past few weeks since my last post!

There's been a lot going on. . . and a lot of nothing going on, if that makes any sense.

I did want to share about my mantle that I found at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore this weekend. It was only $35.

I will say that we forgot they only take cash or checks and we had to run to the closest ATM. So. Worth. It.


Here it is on Jeremy's workbench. Notice my well-used drop-cloth. It's a plastic tablecloth I found at Target one time on clearance for $1.

I'm planning on mounting it to the wall above our bed and using it for pictures and various knick-knacks. Yes, it will be secure enough so that it will not fall on our heads in the middle of the night and kill us.

Thank you to my boss for pointing that out.

In other project-ville news. . . .

I have nothing.

I've been lazy (pretty much), and haven't done any of the projects I have sitting downstairs.

That could be because of the snake.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yes, there is a snake in my house. I saw it while doing laundry the other weekend. There was only minimal freak-out followed by the thought, "Just grab him by his itty bitty neck and throw him outside! You can't let him bite the cats!"

(He really was tiny. Not worm-tiny, but tiny enough that I was pretty sure he couldn't wrap himself around my neck and strangle me. Okay, okay, he was like, MAYBE a foot long.)

But when I got back around the corner to grab him . . . he was gone.

GONE I TELL YOU!!! LOST FOREVER IN THE DARK RECESSES OF MY BASEMENT!

Needless to say, the hunt was on.

Also needless to say . . . we still haven't found him.

J is convince he's gone back outside through whatever hole or crack in came in through. Of course we're going to inspect the exterior of our house and seal any holes so he can't decide to make another visit.

So the fear of Snakey-Snake has kept me out of the basement unless absolutely necessary.

BUT with my new mantle comes the need for a trip to Lowe's for some seriously long screws & bolts, so we may as well pick up the spray paint that I also need and get two projects done and out of the way.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

On the D-front....I get tired of talking about it. Reading about it. Living with it.

I can't control the last, so I'll control the first two.

My trial week with the Dexcom went pretty well. It's an extremely useful tool and the day after I took it off, I felt a little lost. I also felt I had some spare time on my hands since I wasn't taking the extra steps to input all kinds of data into two separate devices.

J still wants to figure out how to play Tetris on it.

So the appeals process has been started with my insurance company. Hopefully the data I was able to gather during my week of use will enable them to make a decision in my favor. If it's going to happen, I need it to happen before the end of the year since I've already met my deductible.

It kind of struck me, the first day of use. Ok, I'm test-using this machine so that I can prove I have low blood sugars that I can't feel coming. . . yet with this machine, I can see them coming and take the appropriate steps to prevent them, thereby not having them. Which is good. . . . but doesn't prove I need the machine. It tells that I need the machine, but there's no concrete, solid evidence that shows it, you know? Maybe I wasn't going to drop that low before I started coming back up. Maybe I was going to drop lower than I'd ever been. Who knows?

J likes to explain my unexplainable disease with two words: chaos theory.

It's a fitting description.

August 9, 2012

Food





As a diabetic, carbs are the enemy.

Not really. My lazy, no good pancreas is my enemy.

Unfortunately, that's saying part of me is my enemy....and I'm pretty sure that's not possible. Or at the very least, kind of dumb.

So. . . . . . . . . . .

Carbs are the enemy.

I used to be a serious carb addict. All my life, my best friend has been a certain snack cake queen (wow, say that three times fast!). Those ooey, gooey, chocolatey, sugary, three-bite sized treats. Pasta was sooo good too. And donuts! Oh, those sour cream donuts I used to get at the bookstore when I was at GSU. They were only .50 so of course I got two at a time. I walked around a LOT on that campus, so I needed the energy.

I loooooved diet soda too. Diet Cherry Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper were my favorite. Fresca was good when I wanted a kicky little change. But I'd drink regular Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi when we were out at restaurants. I wasn't too picky. Diet drinks are "free" in the diabetes world, so I felt like I wasn't depriving myself of what everyone else had when I could get a fizzy beverage with dinner too.

That all changed in January and February of this year. I started to get serious about what I was putting in my body.

I wish I could say I was becoming more aware of my temple and wanted to honor God by using it in a better fashion. . . .but that's really not true.

I started reading about what refined sugar and artificial sweeteners do to a human body.

Needless to say, I was disgusted.

I immediately quit drinking sodas of any kind. In fact, I think there are still some store brand diet drinks under the counter in my kitchen. I may as well toss them.

(Why not give them to someone, you ask? Why in the world would I do that?? There's no one I dislike that much that I would say, "Oh, here, I was cleaning out my kitchen and came across this poison that I don't put in my body anymore and I'd like for you to have it."

Nuh uh.)

So anyways. Its been water for me since February of this year, with some coffee, Zevia, and a couple glasses of unsweet iced tea here and there. Oh, and almond milk which is surprisingly delectable. The first sip was like, "Hm. . .this is different. Nutty." But now I chug the stuff. At 1 gram of carbs per CUP, it's basically a freebie, diabetes-wise. It's all about texture for me, and I think almond milk has a nice smooth texture that's close to regular milk.

I eliminated artificial sweeteners as much as possible. A couple popped up in unexpected places, but once I was aware of them, they were gone. I also severely limited my refined sugar consumption.

In the past couple of months, I've slid away from my vigilance and my hips are proving it. It started with my birthday and just went downhill from there.

Actually . . . now that I look at it from that angle. . . I think I've been off the wagon longer than I was on it.

Ew.

Dr. Bernstein talks about the law of small numbers. (Disclaimer: I haven't made it all the way through his book. I'm still working on digesting the first few chapters. It's a lot!) The more I use my pod and aim for that elusive 100 blood sugar, the more I can see he's right.

If you're hammering a nail for a picture frame, what sense does it make to stand across the room and run full tilt towards the nail while trying to aim with your hammer? No, you stand next to it and tap slowly, only a few inches from the nailhead. Right? Right.

Fewer carbs, less insulin, less room for error. So that's what I'm going to try and get back to. Along with adding more veggies to our diet.

I'm going to say this . . . .and I know people who know me will gasp in shock. . . . but I bought some red, yellow, orange and green peppers today to TRY. JUST TO TRY!!!

Gosh people, calm down.

I also picked up some fresh green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, blueberries, olives, and avocados. I guess you can say we're going to go partial Paleo. I'm not quite ready to give up all the cheese we eat, but I'm fully ready to give up pasta and grains. I've been buying bread without HFCS, but it's still a lot of carbs for me to be eating in one sitting. The only other thing I can think of (when we don't have leftovers from dinner) to use for lunches is lettuce wraps. Worth a try.

I hope I can find enough variety for our meals to keep me interested for at least a couple weeks so I can truly give this a shot. I've proven to myself that I have the willpower. I came home a few weeks ago and thought, "Wow, an ice cold fizzy drink would taste pretty good right now." I didn't have any around, so it was easy to avoid the temptation then. But the next morning, driving to work, passing QT where the soda fountain called my name. . . ? Not quite as easy, but I still did it.

I'm really not even a fan of the Zevia anymore. It just doesn't taste good to me.

So here goes everything. We'll see what happens.

Well. . . maybe as soon as the cinnamon rolls from Ikea are gone. . .




http://media-cache-ec5.pinterest.com/upload/264445809339620563_57WPFLZm.jpg
From Pinterest, courtesy this gal





July 27, 2012

Wasted

Thursday, about 12:30 a.m. my pdm went off. I knew I was due for a pod change, so I'd taken it into the bedroom with me.

"Change pod now. 8 units remaining." (Or something like that. Hey, I was half asleep!)

I hit the "OK" button and went back to sleep. 8 units would get me a few more hours.

4 a.m. it went off again. This time it was flashing "LOW" at me, without a specific number.

Huge sigh.

Roll off bed. Grab glasses. Shove them on my face. Stumble to living room. No extra lights needed, kitchen light over the sink is enough.

Yank open drawer of the dresser where I keep all my supplies. Grab replacement pod. Three attempts to shove drawer back in, make a mental note to rub a bar of soap on the drawers. Later.

Sit on couch, push buttons, yank old pod off of my right arm. Fill new pod with insulin. Push more buttons. Wait. Rub left arm with alcohol swab. Beep from machine. Smack on new pod. More button pushing.

Wait again.

Click.

Click.

Click. THWACK! Check site. Clear, good. Push button. Stumble back to bed.

Remind my body not to turn over onto my left side. Snuggle up on my right side for the first time in 3 nights.

-------------

Fast forward to about 8 p.m. Thursday night. Our little Yoshi is running around the living room. He has so much energy. Of course, being 9 (10???) weeks old, that's kind of expected. I'm trying to eat something because I'm starving and my sugar was 46. How does THAT even happen??

I felt it a little, but NOT like normal. Juicy juice to the rescue. Commence eating pizza quesadilla.

Yoshi keeps attempting to scale Sophie's cat perch. She's getting fed up with him, so I'm attempting to allow him to run around, while diverting his fast-as-lightning attempts to get to her. This entails me standing guard in front of it, swooping down to catch him and turn him around. He's running so fast and I catch him so fast that his little feet keep running in the air as I turn him.

Unfortunately, one of those times, I hit my left arm--exactly where my pod is stationed--on the corner of one of the perches. Sophie laughs.

Ok, she didn't, but I assume she would've. She's mean like that sometimes.

"CRAP!" At first I think I just hit it straight on, but after turning around to look, I can see that the adhesive has pulled up at the top and I can see down underneath the pod. I can fit my index finger in it and feel the cannula has pulled out.

Loud sigh. Replace. More beeping, pushing buttons, click, click, click, THWACK! Use the needle to suck the insulin out of the old pod, shoot it back into the vial for use another day.

-------------

Another fast forward to about 10 p.m. I'm about to go to bed, standing in the bathroom making faces in the mirror...yes, that's kind of normal for me. All of a sudden.....

"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...."

You get the idea.

"RAWER!!!" (Yes, I say RAWER. I channel baby dinosaurs when I get mad) Now I'm really frustrated. The new pod, number 2 of the day, is malfunctioning.

BACK out to the living room. Nothing on the pdm. How is the pod alarming and there's no helpful information on the pdm?

I make J shine the flashlight on his phone down onto the pod to see if he can see the cannula. "Yeah, I see it. It's in your skin."

Phooey on you, pod! I hit the ok on the machine and it tells me: "Pod deactivated."

WHAT?? Whyyyyyyyy?? Whiney voice. I pull it off and then I can see it's majorly kinked. Like, almost in half.

Third pod. Buttons. Beeping. I think I'll try my stomach again. Left side, lower than normal. Clicks. Done. BED.

Mental note....no rolling over onto my left side tonight.

So, an accomplished day. I wasted 2 pods. Woo-hoo.

What did YOU do on your Thursday??

On a better note, I'm finally going to get to trial the Dex. I go to my CDE on the 7th to have her put it on me (I'd like to attempt that myself, but whatevs), then back to the doc on the 14th to have her go over my results with me. Hopefully (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I'll have some lows that I can catch before them become Lows or even LOWS. But I'm more excited about catching the spikes. I hate spikes.

I have a feeling my week is going to look like this:

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That wouldn't be so bad if it were the stitching I wanted to do on my sewing machine....instead of my sugar levels....

July 18, 2012

Projects

I have sooo many projects in the mix that I'm not sure where to start.

Ok, I've started a few, but I've been lazy. The beginning of the week really wipes me out and I feel like I have no time to do the things I want to do. Having a 9 week old kitten that just wants to play and looks up at me with those adorable little blue-green eyes and mews so sweetly at me also makes me want to sit and do nothing but play with him. Teensy, dagger-like claws and everything.
Hopefully this Saturday I will be energized and motivated and be able to get stuff done.

aka: Little Man, Big Guy or Cutie Bootie


*I cleaned the chair and light fixture that I found in PA. It was gross. I think it'd been kept in a barn or mudroom. I need to sand the chair a little bit, then paint. I also need to pick up a new chain, wiring kit, and paint for the light. Glossy red. It'll be smashing.

before cleaning

Little Miss Inspector

close up of the grime


*I have three small pallets (about 3'x2') that my f-i-l got from work. They're currently another perch for the cat to sit on. They need to be sanded, painted (or stained, I'm not sure yet), nailed/screwed together and then I need to get some casters to add to the bottom. Then I'll have an awesome table for the porch. . . and I'll just need chairs.

*Speaking of cat perches, it seems we might be in the market for a second one. I have a table that J brought home from work. I'm not sure if I want to use it in the living room or transform it into a cat tree for our second baby, Yoshi.  

*I picked up a silver-colored candlestick, a medium sized silver-plated (I think) oval wire bowl, and a small pot at Value Village for under $5. They'll be glued together, painted white, and used for storage on our bathroom counter. We don't have much horizontal counter space, but we can go vertical. So far I've only managed to clean all of these. I need a hot glue gun...

*I also picked up a brass candlestick and small plate that will be glued together and used beside my sink to hold a few odds & ends.

(Can you tell I'm putting Pinterest ideas to work??)

*In the same shopping trip to Value Village, I found chocolate-colored tabbed window panels that are 80" long. After a quick ironing, they look great in our master bedroom and I can finally take down the bright pink sheet we've been using to cover the french doors with for 11 months (wow, it's been almost a year!!!).

*I also scored what I thought was a single rose printed curtain panel by Waverly. I thought it would be pretty fabric for a pillow or two. I need more pops of red in my living room. Turns out it was a valance and just what I needed above my kitchen sink! Happy surprise.

I know I won't like it forever, but it's pretty for now


That was a good Value Village haul. All for about $23.

*I'm still working on ideas for a headboard for our room. I found a picture on Pinterest the other day of one that was made with pallet wood of random sizes, topped with essentially a 2x4 turned flat to be like a small shelf. I really like that idea. And the pallet wood would be free (wood would--ha!). With the chocolate brown window panels that perfectly match some art that I'd made from OTHER curtain panels that I'd bought from Value Village, I think I want to pull out the rest of the colors in that floral pattern to make a bedroom that's not too matchy-matchy, not too modern, not too vintage, but a nice mix. I need to add in some golden yellow somewhere.

Original creation & picture by Lovely Crafty Home


*I also seriously want to paint my craft room. I think I've decided on a color...maybe. Or not. But I know once I head to the store to actually BUY the paint, I'll be able to decide. The guest room needs paint too, but until it's done being used as a kitten isolation chamber, I can't even plan.

*I've been keeping an eye on this GREAT mirror at my favorite antique store. Yesterday I noticed that it was finally marked down to $30. I pondered for quite a while. It's probably 4 feet long and a good 4 feet high, with a really thick wood frame. The mirror is held in with screws on the back and I think I could take it out. But it wouldn't have been quite wide enough for a headboard (it would have worked, but it would have bugged me since it would have been 6" short on each side) and I couldn't think of what else I'd want to use it for. I couldn't justify it, so it stayed in it's little corner and I went back to work.

*J has a cute little wooden nightstand that I noticed needs paint. It'll be going in the guest room, so I need to wait until I decide what to paint in there before I can get it painted. But I really really want to start on it.

And all this stuff is just the "make up" of our little home. None of it even touches the major stuff that needs done (new deck off the master, master bathroom overhaul, guest bathroom mostly-overhauled, new flooring throughout the house, kitchen cabinets refinished, kitchen counters replaced, front yard landscaped--and that's just off the top of my head). Home ownership. . . yay.

But I wouldn't trade our little house for anything!

First step is prioritizing my projects by time and money needed to complete. A glue gun is cheap. I'll start there.


July 12, 2012

"That's some patch!"

Traveling to Pennsylvania the other day, we stopped for lunch at a fast-food restaurant connected to a gas station. While I was standing at the end of the line, a man and what seemed to be his grandkids came up behind me.
I could see him out of the corner of my eye and I could tell what was coming. The conversation went something like this.

He craned his neck towards me and his eyes bugged out as he ogled my pod, currently located on my right arm.

"I've seen patches before, but that's some patch!"

So I nicely explained (yes, I was nicer than I wanted to be) that it was my insulin pump.

"Is that right?!?" He was astounded.

I knew what was coming next.

"You know, my wife and I both have diabeatus. Type 2. She's worried about this one getting it," and he indicated his grandson next to him who looked to be about 12.

I tried to nod politely as the line moved forward.

"I have the peripheral neuropathy in my legs. They just ache all the time, especially when I sit a long time. I just can't go [places] as much as I used to."

He kept talking and I made the appropriate noises as I studied the menu, trying to figure out what I wanted before it was my turn in line. (Don't you dislike those people who stand in front of a menu for 5 minutes, but can't seem to start their decision making process until they're at the register??)

"Well good luck with your pump. I hope it keeps working for you."

I said, "Thank you," and to the grandson, "You be careful too, keep your carbohydrate intake down and stay active."

I'm not very good at talking to strangers, especially when I'm boarderline low and food is within reach. But I hope that kid remembers and takes care of himself.

July 10, 2012

New Developments

It's been a busy week since my last post. We enjoyed a somewhat relaxing 4th of July and ate dinner at my parent's house. The next day a few of us left on a girl's trip to PA. We stayed with my aunt and cousin and had a great time. We could only stay two days, then had to head back.

Farmland in Amish Country

My cousins' pup Charlie who's never known a stranger. Sweetie pie!

Taken from the car, I ended up with powerline poles in every shot.

Gettysburg as we passed through

Pre-dawn over the Susquehanna as we were leaving on Sunday
While we were there, I wanted to stop into the Habitat ReStore. We have one here in our town, but I haven't been able to find anything good there. And not good as in "perfect condition, needs no work," but good as in, "surely I can do something with this." So I was ecstatic when we walked in and I realized it was the size of a warehouse. I probably could have spent the rest of the day in there poking around, but there was no a/c and even though they had a good many fans blowing, it was still pretty stuffy. BUT I found this great light that I'm going to paint red and hang in my kitchen. I think it needs rewiring, but "my electrician the brother" (as my husband said one night) can handle that if I decide I can't. Then my mom found a great little wooden chair that just had to come home with me. It's kind of sad looking because it needs SERIOUS cleaning, but once I do that and give it a nice paint job with some distressing, it's going to look great in our bedroom.
Here's a fairly dark pic of both that I took this morning as I ran out the door. They're being stored in the garage until I can get around to cleaning them.

At $8 each, they were a steal

And FINALLY for the most recent and cutest item of business....meet our new furbaby Yoshi.


We rubbed that purple towel on his momma before we left, so he was pretty calm during the car ride.

His big sister isn't quite sure what to make of him yet, but her curiosity will win out and I have a feeling they'll get along just fine.

While his siblings were busy trying to claw their way up my jeans (and succeeding!), he snuggled right up in my hand and started to lick me, then fell asleep.

So far he likes to be around us and likes to hear us talk to him. I think his eyes are still changing - they're a pretty blue/green mix right now. His momma had green eyes, so we'll see how his end up. Today is his first day all by himself, and I'm going to pop home over my lunch break and check on him.

I think it might be hard to give both cats equal attention for a while. Yoshi is just so cute and playful and Sophie will allow you to play with her on HER terms, which is typical. Someone  needs to stop trying to win her love with tuna fish and lunch meat though. . . ahemahemhusbandahemahem. She's gaining a few pounds.

On the diabetes front, the trip to PA was my first trip with my OmniPod system. I was anticipating some issues, but really didn't have any.

The only minor issue I had was that, when I went to the pharmacy three days before we left to stock up on Apidra, I was told my insurance wouldn't allow me to have any more until Sunday--the day we were returning from the trip (also the day the pharmacy is closed...but whatever). I called my doctor's office and left a message, but wasn't able to get in touch with them until we were already on the road. I had borrowed a Humulog pen from my brother and took some Lantus that I had. I really only ended up being one day short. It was kind of nice being able to take a pod break, if only for a day. I took the same amount of Lantus that I had been taking before I started on OmniPod and was anticipating some lows, but had none. I didn't want to take Lantus too long before my pod expired, so I took it about 8:30 a.m. I allowed myself to run a little high while traveling and wasn't sure exactly how long all of the Lantus would take to work it's way out of my system. By the time I got to the pharmacy yesterday morning and got a new pod on I had decided to reduce my basel rates by 30% for the next 8 hours. Total SWAG, but it seemed to work. My numbers have been pretty steady since and I suspect there's still some Lantus working in the background.

I'm not one for all kinds of funky calculations and tweaking of my rates....it seems like a good idea, but I just cannot put that much brain power into it. My diabetes has to fit my schedule sometimes, not the other way around. That's why I love how the OmniPod system does all the bolus calculations for me and keeps track of how much is already in my system, etc.

The worst part of traveling is coming home and having to unpack!

June 28, 2012

Healthy lunch? What healthy lunch??

So I decided to be good and order a meal with fewer carbs today. A vendor is coming in for a short training and is buying us lunch.

I ordered a burger that comes with fries.

Trying to get a jump on the carb thing, I go online to the restaurant's menu and nutrition information to look up the amount of carbs in that meal.

75.

Not a typo.SEVENTY-FIVE.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

After my initial panic, I reason, "The burger can't have that many carbs...it's all from the bun and the fries."

So now I'm planning to eat only TWO fries and half the bun. The fries will be cold by the time they get here and I don't like them that much anyways.

How in the world do I count for that when I was only given the total amount??

I'm guessing the bun is between 40 and 50 grams of carbs alone. . . but then the burger is some serious protein. . . .

Time to SWAG.

June 27, 2012

1,000 Words

This one went in at 2 a.m. this morning. Made it to about 10:30. Phooey on it!

Marketing

I was watching the news this morning and thinking about how dumb commercials really are. Do people really fall for this stuff?

Do I fall for this stuff and not realize it?

I consider myself rather product-savvy. I have a degree in Business Administration which required me to take a couple marketing classes. I know how it works.

Create a problem for the consumer, present your "solution" and make a huge profit.

I like the mouthwash commercial that says it "cleans virtually your whole mouth, while toothpaste alone cleans only 75 %".*

Really? You can't just swish your toothbrush over your gums, tongue and cheek and clean what's virtually left to clean? Why does your mouth have to be sterilized with alcohol anyways??

Or the new handy plastic food storage baggies that allow you to grab your raw meat with the baggie turned inside out over your hand, wrap the baggie around the meat, and freeze it individually in the larger brand name baggie. Allowing you to buy in bulk, store in smaller portions and "save" money.
(I believe this is also the commercial where a wrecking ball company shows up on the woman's doorstep to apparently help her separate her frozen chicken that she didn't freeze with said name brand baggies. Overdramatic much??)

Ok, hello, I grew up watching my mom do that with sandwich baggies for years. Do I really need to buy your name brand? I could also use plastic wrap. From the dollar store. And save money.

I think products that are green or more environmentally-friendly have an edge over ones that aren't these days. But I've not always found the same performance in those.

I'm more of a price shopper, rather than brand shopper. But that does vary with each product I buy for our home. When J and I got married, we made a deal that if he never ran out of t.p., I would never run out of paper towels. I'm brand-loyal for those two products, even though I dislike anything else that brand makes.

I'll try a store brand at least once. I know we can't buy one certain store's milk, coffee creamer or coffee.

I mighthaveusedtomaybe fallen for the makeup commercials for foundation that makes your skin smoother, more even, and fewer blemishes; the mascara commercials that promise triple length and thickness (hello, those models are SO wearing fake lashes, if they aren't CGI); and maybe some lotion or other beauty products that make a gal smell good and look better.

But I can't tell you how many half empty foundations are in my bathroom. None worked. How many mascaras did I try before I finally settled on an oldie-but-goodie? At least 6 or 7. Multiple times. And don't get me started on lotion. Lotion I don't even want to use anymore because of the chemicals and stuff in it.

(Just can't bring myself to throw it out yet....there's probably expiration dates for that stuff, but I think more importantly, there's the law of diminishing returns {or whatever--I said I had a business degree, I didn't say I like economics}--how long should I wait before I can safely say I will no longer want to use that lotion and toss it?)

So I definitely believe I'm getting smarter about that stuff. Do you guys have any commercial examples you can think of that just made you think, "Really?"

*emphasis mine; and the quote may not be exact either--my fault

June 22, 2012

Keeping Calm

I have this poster on my wall at work. I got it right after we moved in to our new office in August 2010.




You've probably seen them around. Like, everywhere. They were hard to find when I first wanted one...of course (I'm hipster that way. Just kidding. Not really. But yeah, kinda.). But now you can even make your own online.

So when I read this blog post today from Rachel, I could immediately relate, diabetes-wise.

I can also relate in other areas of life. There is a reason I have this poster on my wall in my office. Sometimes work is just crazy and I forget that I can only do so much with what I'm given. I have to remind myself to do things to the best of my ability and let the chips fall where they may. Usually they "fall" in an acceptable, if not excellent way. Sometimes not. But that's life, and you gotta keep going. I have great bosses. They know I am still learning. They know that things change, the tools we're given change, and they work with us and help us learn the new changes so we can better manage our time.

That's what's been going on the past couple weeks. Sales meeting earlier this month, training last Thursday, more (different) training this past Monday and Tuesday, other people's training Wednesday and Thursday (that I didn't need to attend, but still affected me because I had to run around like a crazy person cleaning up Dunkin' Donuts' crumbs and spilled coffee from breakfast and getting the breakroom ready for the lunch delivery...then cleaning up after that and getting the extra food put away so that the pest control guy could come in and spray his magic bug-eradicating formula....because, seriously, what MALE in our office would have done that??) and now, hopefully, today will be calmer.

Only a week and a half until me and some gals take a road trip to PA. I'm excited to see my fam there, not so excited that one of my good friends who lives in that area won't be around, and excited to hit up the downtown area and find some cool stuff.

Also exciting is that the hubby has off on the 4th of July. For like, the first time ever that I can remember.

Randomly having a day off together in the middle of the week? Yes please.

June 19, 2012

Those Dummies

You ever feel like you put a lot of time, energy, and reasoning into the things you do, only to have some dummy somewhere not pay any attention to it and make you repeat yourself?

Again and again?

You ever just ignore that dummy?

June 15, 2012

Homemade Toothpaste Update & More

I wanted to post an update about how my homemade toothpaste is going.
I used most of the first batch I made, got tired of trying to squeeze the uncooperative "paste" out of a plastic baggie, and so found a good reason to toss the little remaining when I googled and found this method.

1 cup baking soda
five good shakes of rock salt (sorry, not very precise)
20 drops of essential oil (I used spearmint and accidentally got about 20.5 drops, but whatever)

I mixed all this in a ziploc baggie really well and just set it on my counter. When I go to brush my teeth, I just wet the toothbrush, stick it in the powder, and brushbrushbrush. It feels a little funny in your mouth at first until you get it all worked in, but my teeth feel clean all day. I rinse with a little Tom's fluoride-free and alcohol-free mouthwash. Super clean and minty fresh.

That same night, I decided to attempt a homemade, natural deodorant since the natural ones I was using just haven't been cutting it. I found a couple recipes by Crunchy Betty and decided to use this one, mostly because I didn't have any beeswax to try this one. (Mental note: buy beeswax!)

It all came together pretty nicely. I washed out my old deodorant container to use for the homemade stuff. I had extra liquid, so it got poured in a baggie.
Bad idea. After I let it set up in the fridge overnight (it's 77 in our house, so the coconut oil wouldn't have solidified if I had left it out) I discovered my error. The old deo container I have won't actually push the stuff up as you twist the bottom. Rats. So I broke off a chunk and now I stand at the fridge in the morning rubbing on my deodorant.

What a weirdo.

But hey! It's working pretty well! I'm only on day 2. I haven't been working outside in the disgusting heat or anything--with the other natural "deodorants" I would be sweating and stinking just from sitting in my office all day.
So far, so good.

I found a couple treasures at a local Goodwill-type store today. I'm excited to get them cleaned up and painted so I can blog about them.

I sat and figured out my sewing machine last night. The bobbin case was giving me fits. I got some thread on it just fine, but I could. not. get it back in the machine. Finally I text my mom and asked when she could come over and help me. Don't you know---THEN it decided to cooperate!

The evil bobbin case...

I'll finish with some cuteness to start off your weekend.


Now I'm wondering...what color do I want to paint this room??

June 13, 2012

Sewing Machine

I hit up the other antique store in town yesterday during lunch. When I say "antique" store, I mean antique/junk/Avon. Somehow they all work together to create a great place to spend a lunch hour!

The best deals come when you aren't looking for them. Or....have no money to spend, even on a great deal. In this case, I had the money.

$25 for this baby!



(Please excuse the blurriness. For whatever reason, my work computer does not like to save pics as jpeg and I'm not bored enough to want to sit and figure it out.)

It came with its user manual, a storage box containing extra feet, and some other doohickey thing that I haven't figured out the use for. Maybe some kind of guide to help you measure and sew a straight line?

I may even paint the table and legs. The front opens up like a door and has a little storage box on the inside.

I'm not sure what year it is. There's a serial number on it that I might try to google tonight. Then I'll sit down and read how it all works....

June 11, 2012

As Promised

I finished hanging the hooks in my closet this evening. Yesterday afternoon was spent painting and I must be a little out of practice because I wore myself out. The wall is only 3 feet wide by 8 feet tall, so it's really tiny compared to say, our entire master bedroom.

Again, here's the ugly board that was there before. The paint on the wall was flat, one of my biggest pet peeves.


I was rather proud that I managed to tape off the ceiling, corner, and baseboard in a fairly straight manner.
I then realized that I did not have:
  1. a small paintbrush to use for the corners and edges and 
  2. a stir stick for the paint
Necessity (laziness?) being the mother of invention, I dug out my Dollar Store plastic ruler (bonus: the latex paint peeled right off when it dried) and since I'd taped the three sides really well, I used my foam roller and just smooshed the paint up into the edge.

Professional technique?

Probably not.

Did it get the job done?

You betcha.

"Quill," used in our master bedroom as well

Thanks to my sis-in-law for her donation of an old sheet that we use as a drop cloth.
I did two coats and gave the first one about 45 minutes to dry. The second coat, I tried to put on a little thicker. Tonight after dinner, I hammered a few nails in the wall and......

Ta da!

I've got plans for various and sundry items to hang here. Jeremy's belts and ties are the one thing I wanted to display and store a little better.

After I finished, I still had the "itch" so I had to get outside and trim the stupidbig bush in our front yard that's growing insanely fast. Since we had a full day of rain, it was easy to pull up some of the runners it had sent out. The soil there was very loose, made up of a lot of composted leaves and mulch.

I just hacked and hacked with the new clippers that my parents gave J for his birthday last week. It was pretty therapeutic. Too bad my old painting injury was acting up and I had to quit.... ;)

I managed a respectable two wheelbarrow loads of trimmings. Which represents about 1/8th of the work needed to get that bush looking decent.

Then as I dumped the second load in the brush pile out back, I disturbed a doe as she was out for her supper.

I wanted to attempt a small boxed garden next year for some fresh veggies, but I have a feeling she and her buddies might eat it all...

June 9, 2012

Mission: Saturday Mini-Project

The other day on my lunch hour, I popped over to one of my favorite little antique stores. There's really only two good antique stores in our town and each has different types of antiques. I had some inspiration from Pinterest and I'd even gone so far as to make a list on my phone of things I wanted to keep an eye out for.

So with too many ideas clonking around in my brain, I wasn't really expecting to find anything (cause that's how it goes--if you didn't have any ideas, you'd be able to find TONS of stuff and not be able to justify your purchases because, what would you DO with that??).

Slight correction: I wasn't really expecting to find anything budget-friendly that I could take with me and not have to get the husband to come back for with his truck.

Imagine my surprise when I found these beauties tucked in a random corner of a booth!

Please excuse Madam during her nap.

The large one has a nice green patina. The bottom left corner had some dried spackle but a few swipes with a wire brush removed most of it.
The more ornate one had a print of Victorian ladies taped into it. With masking tape. Buh-bye Victorian ladies.
For the oval one, I wanted to hang it by the wire, but I didn't want some ugly nail showing.

Here's the wall I wanted to hang them on. To the left, out of the picture, is our front door. The door to the basement is directly opposite this wall.



A tiny bit of jury-rigging on the ornate frame - it kept falling off the nail, so my hubby drilled some holes for the eyelet screws that we then threaded wire through - and a stop at Hobby Lobby for my awesome little knob and here's the end result!

Looks great!



J was pretty confused at the decorative concept of hanging empty vintage frames on a wall ("You're not putting anything in them??") but I think he gets it now. Also....we agreed the upstairs is mine to decorate and he gets the shop, man cave, and garage. So there's that.


Slight art deco influence, I think.

I'm still trying to decide if I want to put a word of welcome in the larger frame. Maybe a vinyl wall sticker of a pineapple. Anybody have any ideas?

So that was my fun Saturday mini-project.

My original Saturday plan was to refinish my mirror....but I tore up the house looking for the paint and silver leafing kit I'd bought a couple years ago to use and I couldn't find it! I know it's here somewhere....

I have no idea how old this mirror is. Mom said it's an antique. In my earliest recollection, it was baby blue. Bless her for allowing me to paint it this color in my yellow phase. But it needs serious updating. It needs to go in my bedroom above my dresser. Needs.

Nosy-pants HAS to see what Mom is doing! I think she's actually posing.

And I'm hoping to finish another project tomorrow.

I decided to paint this wall in our closet, behind the door. The previous owner left an ugly corkboard there--who puts a corkboard in their closet?? (Ok, maybe a BIG walk-in closet may have need for one...not ours. I had to hold the clothes back with my elbows in order to get the majority of the board in the picture!)
And I have several hooks I want to use to hang J's belts, maybe his ties, and a few necklaces that I wear frequently. There's no room for shelving.

Here's the before:

Blah.
Stay tuned for the after, hopefully Monday!

(Only three and a half weeks until we travel north to see family in Lancaster, PA! There's some GOOD antiquing in that area! I can't wait to see what I can find!)