Saturday, October 16, 2010
Signing off...
Due to continued computer issues and a couple of other concerns, I am signing off permanently (for a while). I wish you all well. God bless.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
30 Day Blog Journal - Day 13
A Fictional Book
I read a lot of books. I like ones that are stories of people and/or history rather than murder mysteries or love stories. I have not had one that really stood out to me in a long time, so I will go with what I am currently reading...LAMB: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. I only recently started it and do find it pretty funny. I have only gotten to the part where the boys are nine years old, Biff is in love with Mary, and Joshua (Jesus) knows he is special. I was told about it by my great friend, Lori. I will post my opinion of the whole book when I am done.
I read a lot of books. I like ones that are stories of people and/or history rather than murder mysteries or love stories. I have not had one that really stood out to me in a long time, so I will go with what I am currently reading...LAMB: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. I only recently started it and do find it pretty funny. I have only gotten to the part where the boys are nine years old, Biff is in love with Mary, and Joshua (Jesus) knows he is special. I was told about it by my great friend, Lori. I will post my opinion of the whole book when I am done.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
30 Day Blog Journal - Day 12
Something I'm OCD About
Oh, easy-peasy. I'm OCD about pictures hanging straight and doors being closed to where I can hear the click. I have no idea when it all began, but I know that it doesn't matter who's home I am in, what office/restaurant I am in, I cannot function if there is a picture hanging crooked. Also, if there is a door that is not shut all the way, I have to shut it. For instance (and this will be news to her), my mother-in-law has a closet door that is never shut completely when I go in and I always shut it so it clicks (hi, Rita, it's the one in the hallway by the bathroom). I am constantly tested on this because the boys always leave the basement door open, the front door open, the pantry door open...AHHHHH!! You think it would numb me to it, but I think it makes it worse. Oh, well, what's a mom to do?
Oh, easy-peasy. I'm OCD about pictures hanging straight and doors being closed to where I can hear the click. I have no idea when it all began, but I know that it doesn't matter who's home I am in, what office/restaurant I am in, I cannot function if there is a picture hanging crooked. Also, if there is a door that is not shut all the way, I have to shut it. For instance (and this will be news to her), my mother-in-law has a closet door that is never shut completely when I go in and I always shut it so it clicks (hi, Rita, it's the one in the hallway by the bathroom). I am constantly tested on this because the boys always leave the basement door open, the front door open, the pantry door open...AHHHHH!! You think it would numb me to it, but I think it makes it worse. Oh, well, what's a mom to do?
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
30 Day Blog Journal - Day 11
A Recent Photo of Me
September 2010 - I am usually behind the camera, so I don't have too many pictures of myself. This one was taken during a visit to The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. I am six months pregnant and looked HUGE this day. I'm blaming it on the shirt I had on ;). Standing with me is my mother-in-law, Rita.
Monday, September 27, 2010
30 Day Blog Journal - Day 10
A Photo Taken of Me Over Ten Years Ago
Homecoming - Senior Year 1997
For people who know me now, they are surprised to learn that I was a cheerleader for six years, Prom Queen and on the Homecoming Court. I'm so far from a girly-girl. However, it was great fun. This picture is taken while on the way to the celebration and my shoulders are burnt from riding in the parade earlier that day. I am in my brother-in-law's jacked up Ford, getting in and out was interesting! I believe that, besides prom, this was the only other time I had makeup on during my high school years. Such memories!
Homecoming - Senior Year 1997
For people who know me now, they are surprised to learn that I was a cheerleader for six years, Prom Queen and on the Homecoming Court. I'm so far from a girly-girl. However, it was great fun. This picture is taken while on the way to the celebration and my shoulders are burnt from riding in the parade earlier that day. I am in my brother-in-law's jacked up Ford, getting in and out was interesting! I believe that, besides prom, this was the only other time I had makeup on during my high school years. Such memories!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
30 Day Blog Journal - Day 9
A Photo I Took
This should be easy since I take tons of photos. Picking one will be the hard part...
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Sonora Pass, CA - May 25, 2008
We had a great time on this trip. We wanted to take a drive through Yosemite National Park, but we found out that the road was closed due to snow. We couldn't believe that it was the end of May and it was snowing somewhere. We had just arrived in California a month before and the temps there were comparable to Florida, just not as much humidity. We didn't bother to check the weather before we left because, well, it was the end of May for goodness sakes! We were also amazed that we were at 8000 ft elevation. Again, being flatlanders from Florida, we were easy to impress. It's a little different now that we live in Colorado though. California was the beginning of a great adventure for us that hasn't ended yet.
This should be easy since I take tons of photos. Picking one will be the hard part...
.JPG)
Sonora Pass, CA - May 25, 2008
We had a great time on this trip. We wanted to take a drive through Yosemite National Park, but we found out that the road was closed due to snow. We couldn't believe that it was the end of May and it was snowing somewhere. We had just arrived in California a month before and the temps there were comparable to Florida, just not as much humidity. We didn't bother to check the weather before we left because, well, it was the end of May for goodness sakes! We were also amazed that we were at 8000 ft elevation. Again, being flatlanders from Florida, we were easy to impress. It's a little different now that we live in Colorado though. California was the beginning of a great adventure for us that hasn't ended yet.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
30 Day Blog Journal - Day 8
A Photo That Makes Me Sad/Angry
Again, I wasn't sure if this should be a personal photo or not, but I selected one that relates to me.
Diabetes supplies. Both my husband and my youngest son are Type I diabetics. In simple terms, it sucks. I did not have much experience with diabetes before meeting my husband. I had some knowledge due to working at a nephrologist office and knowing a few people with Type II diabetes, but none of that prepared me for how emotional the disease is. I think I adjusted pretty well to dealing with my husband's diabetes. I wanted to learn as much as I could, I was interested in how he took care of himself, and what caused problems with his quality of life. When we met, he worked as a paramedic. We learned quickly that the emergency services lifestyle did not work well with him taking care of himself. After much thought and consideration, he decided that he would like to go to nursing school. In the meantime, we had our second son in January 2003. The University of Florida was conducting a study (PANDA) that tested newborns for the markers for diabetes. Jacob and Justin had been a part of the study. Jacob was said to be No/Low Risk. Justin was marked as High Risk from the beginning. We kept this in mind with what we fed him and limited his amount of juice. We knew we couldn't prevent it, but we hoped to prolong it. Soon after Tom graduated nursing school in 2005, our baby was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. I was crushed and so sad for him. I ached and just wished that I could take it away; I would gladly shoulder this burden that he will now have to bear for the rest of his life. He was 2 years, 4 months, and 20 days old. I will never forget that day. He had been diagnosed with croup a couple days before when we took him to the doctor; the P.A. had prescribed Prednisone. I do not blame her because we had only discussed our family history of diabetes and the results of the PANDA study with our regular doctor. I was unaware that steroids raise your blood glucose, so I didn't think twice about giving him the treatment. So we kept him home from daycare that day. I watched him in the morning, but my mother-in-law was going to keep him in the afternoon so that I could go back to work. He fell asleep on the couch just before I left. After awhile, my mother-in-law called and said that when he woke up, he had soaked through his diaper onto the couch. We talked and decided that she should check his blood sugar. He was 487. A non-diabetic should be between 60-100. I immediately called his doctor and they said to take him to the hospital. I tried to hold it together, after all I dealt with this everyday, but this was my baby we were talking about. By the time we got to the ER and they checked him again he was 578. They rushed him to the back and started him on insulin. When his blood sugar levels were back to normal, we left with instructions to monitor him over night and to see a Pediatric Endocrinologist the following day. We spent six hours at the doctor's office, being loaded up with books and free supplies, meeting with nurses, then the doctor, then the dietitian, then someone to train us on giving injections. We were told to keep a log of what he ate, his activity, and his blood sugars (BS). We were scheduled to come back in one week. We noticed throughout the week that his BS were getting lower day-by-day and that he was not needing the amount of insulin that we originally started with. At his next visit, we were told that he seemed to no longer need the insulin. Everyone was hoping that maybe just the illness and the Prednisone had thrown his system for a loop, and that he was in fact not becoming diabetic. We were ecstatic to say the least. It was my birthday, and I couldn't have asked for a better gift. Again, we were told to monitor his BS and keep a log. For three glorious weeks, our child was free from having to suffer from this disease. But one morning, near the end of June, we woke up and checked him and he was in the 200's. Throughout the day, he never got into normal range. We called the endocrinologist office and were told to start back on his insulin routine. And so it has been for over five years now. He handles it like a champ. He has never known any different and was surprised when he heard me tell someone that he was diagnosed at 2 years old. It is never easy as he is still so sensitive to both insulin and sugar. We do our best, but I feel it is not enough. I had one doctor that would give me the biggest guilt trip every time we went in and I would leave in tears. We are finally seeing a doctor at the Barbara Davis Center in Denver that has diabetes herself and is very understanding. I pray everyday for a cure.
Tom has been diabetic since he was a year and a half old. Being a lifetime diabetic he went through his denial stages in his late teens and early twenties. He just this year received an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor (CGM). What a blessing these have been! His A1C has gone from out of control at 11 to a beautiful 7.4. We are working on getting it even better. We tried a CGM on Justin, but he has very little bodily real estate to put the sensor since we need a bit of fat.
I hope and pray for a cure for this terrible disease everyday. Until then I will just do what I can to get by and help my boys live their lives to the fullest.
(This post turned out much longer than I expected. Thanks for hanging in there.)
Again, I wasn't sure if this should be a personal photo or not, but I selected one that relates to me.
Diabetes supplies. Both my husband and my youngest son are Type I diabetics. In simple terms, it sucks. I did not have much experience with diabetes before meeting my husband. I had some knowledge due to working at a nephrologist office and knowing a few people with Type II diabetes, but none of that prepared me for how emotional the disease is. I think I adjusted pretty well to dealing with my husband's diabetes. I wanted to learn as much as I could, I was interested in how he took care of himself, and what caused problems with his quality of life. When we met, he worked as a paramedic. We learned quickly that the emergency services lifestyle did not work well with him taking care of himself. After much thought and consideration, he decided that he would like to go to nursing school. In the meantime, we had our second son in January 2003. The University of Florida was conducting a study (PANDA) that tested newborns for the markers for diabetes. Jacob and Justin had been a part of the study. Jacob was said to be No/Low Risk. Justin was marked as High Risk from the beginning. We kept this in mind with what we fed him and limited his amount of juice. We knew we couldn't prevent it, but we hoped to prolong it. Soon after Tom graduated nursing school in 2005, our baby was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. I was crushed and so sad for him. I ached and just wished that I could take it away; I would gladly shoulder this burden that he will now have to bear for the rest of his life. He was 2 years, 4 months, and 20 days old. I will never forget that day. He had been diagnosed with croup a couple days before when we took him to the doctor; the P.A. had prescribed Prednisone. I do not blame her because we had only discussed our family history of diabetes and the results of the PANDA study with our regular doctor. I was unaware that steroids raise your blood glucose, so I didn't think twice about giving him the treatment. So we kept him home from daycare that day. I watched him in the morning, but my mother-in-law was going to keep him in the afternoon so that I could go back to work. He fell asleep on the couch just before I left. After awhile, my mother-in-law called and said that when he woke up, he had soaked through his diaper onto the couch. We talked and decided that she should check his blood sugar. He was 487. A non-diabetic should be between 60-100. I immediately called his doctor and they said to take him to the hospital. I tried to hold it together, after all I dealt with this everyday, but this was my baby we were talking about. By the time we got to the ER and they checked him again he was 578. They rushed him to the back and started him on insulin. When his blood sugar levels were back to normal, we left with instructions to monitor him over night and to see a Pediatric Endocrinologist the following day. We spent six hours at the doctor's office, being loaded up with books and free supplies, meeting with nurses, then the doctor, then the dietitian, then someone to train us on giving injections. We were told to keep a log of what he ate, his activity, and his blood sugars (BS). We were scheduled to come back in one week. We noticed throughout the week that his BS were getting lower day-by-day and that he was not needing the amount of insulin that we originally started with. At his next visit, we were told that he seemed to no longer need the insulin. Everyone was hoping that maybe just the illness and the Prednisone had thrown his system for a loop, and that he was in fact not becoming diabetic. We were ecstatic to say the least. It was my birthday, and I couldn't have asked for a better gift. Again, we were told to monitor his BS and keep a log. For three glorious weeks, our child was free from having to suffer from this disease. But one morning, near the end of June, we woke up and checked him and he was in the 200's. Throughout the day, he never got into normal range. We called the endocrinologist office and were told to start back on his insulin routine. And so it has been for over five years now. He handles it like a champ. He has never known any different and was surprised when he heard me tell someone that he was diagnosed at 2 years old. It is never easy as he is still so sensitive to both insulin and sugar. We do our best, but I feel it is not enough. I had one doctor that would give me the biggest guilt trip every time we went in and I would leave in tears. We are finally seeing a doctor at the Barbara Davis Center in Denver that has diabetes herself and is very understanding. I pray everyday for a cure.
Tom has been diabetic since he was a year and a half old. Being a lifetime diabetic he went through his denial stages in his late teens and early twenties. He just this year received an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor (CGM). What a blessing these have been! His A1C has gone from out of control at 11 to a beautiful 7.4. We are working on getting it even better. We tried a CGM on Justin, but he has very little bodily real estate to put the sensor since we need a bit of fat.
I hope and pray for a cure for this terrible disease everyday. Until then I will just do what I can to get by and help my boys live their lives to the fullest.
(This post turned out much longer than I expected. Thanks for hanging in there.)
Thursday, September 23, 2010
30 Day Blog Journal - Day 7
A Photo That Makes Me Happy
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a photo of someone I know, or just any photo, but I chose to pick one that I have.
This is a picture of my grandparents on my mom's side. They died in a car accident a year before I was born. However, I love this picture and it makes me smile when I see it because I can just imagine what kind of people they were. They look so happy and that makes me happy.
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a photo of someone I know, or just any photo, but I chose to pick one that I have.
This is a picture of my grandparents on my mom's side. They died in a car accident a year before I was born. However, I love this picture and it makes me smile when I see it because I can just imagine what kind of people they were. They look so happy and that makes me happy.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
30 Day Blog Journal - Day 6
20 of My Favorite Things (in no particular order)
1 - my hubby
2 - my babies
3 - photography
4 - sewing
5 - magazines
6 - Northwoods Butter Maple Syrup (my parents ship it to me from Florida, because it can not be found in Colorado)
7 - popcorn
8 - long drives
9 - music
10 - chocolate milkshakes
11 - candles
12 - Fall
13 - chips & dip
14 - good fitting jeans
15 - calla lilies
16 - the South
17 - my dog
18 - springs and rivers
19 - Florida Gators
1 - my hubby
2 - my babies
3 - photography
4 - sewing
5 - magazines
6 - Northwoods Butter Maple Syrup (my parents ship it to me from Florida, because it can not be found in Colorado)
7 - popcorn
8 - long drives
9 - music
10 - chocolate milkshakes
11 - candles
12 - Fall
13 - chips & dip
14 - good fitting jeans
15 - calla lilies
16 - the South
17 - my dog
18 - springs and rivers
19 - Florida Gators
20 - MY FAMILY!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
30 Day Blog Journal - Day 5
Favorite Quote
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
-Marianne Williamson
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
-Marianne Williamson
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