My 2015 JDRF walk

The annual JDRF walk for my area was this last Saturday.  It was an absolutely perfect day for a walk.  There were a few puffy clouds, the temperature was about 72 degrees, and I had some of my best Type 3's with me.  (My daughter was not able to join us this year as she is away at college.)  Last year my walk team consisted of me and my best friend, so I was excited to have this year's team bigger.



My husband, my niece, Me, my Best Friend, and her daughter

My fund raising efforts increased this year compared to last, and I actually doubled what I was able to raise.  I consider that good progress.  Maybe next year I can double this year's amount.  Goal is now set.

Last year I didn't have any team t-shirt.  I hadn't thought that far into it.  However, while you're walking you see all sorts of cool shirts and start thinking.. and talking.  My best friend and I decided this year we HAD to have shirts.  So for the next however many months we tasked ourselves with figuring out exactly what we wanted. 

After a bit of research and creativity we finally had it figure out.  It was about a month before the walk.  We were a bit pressed for time, but off to the printers it went. 

The final result was so much more than I expected.  I couldn't have been more pleased or excited with how they turned out.


Perfect, don't you think?



In typical best friend fashion, she went above and beyond.  I logged in to my Facebook Saturday morning and was greeted with a surprise.  The day she drove up for the walk (she lives about 3 hours away), she took the shirts to work and put together a virtual walk team for me.

 

 

She even made sure friends and family were part of the team. 

    

 

   

 

 

Is that not the best virtual team you've seen?  I think it is! 

 

The next surprise I had was when a couple people contact me about possibly buying one of the shirts.  So we did some calculations, $25 and we can have one made and shipped to you.  If you're interested, just leave a comment (or email me at jenn@skyviewmail.com) and I'll get with you for the specifics.

 

This year's walk was amazing.. and next year's will be even better!!



Life ran away with me

It seems like ever since the beginning of the year I have been running here and there with some sort deadline looming, project due, activity scheduled, company visiting, doctor's appointment, physical therapy, or an unexpected emotional event.  I feel I have been pulled every which way then left to rebound by myself.  I have under-slept, over-worked, under-fed, and over-fed myself. 

I am tired.

Here are the broad strokes:

• January:  Recovering from the holidays is always tiring.  I also gave a talk at church that first week and had two weekends of company.  Not that big of a deal really, but I'm not a huge fan of public speaking.
• February: The last day of February, as my daughter was packing up to head back to school after spring break, we discovered that our oldest cat, Flurrie, had not improved from the previous day.  The vet determined that there was nothing that could be done.  So with all of us there we made the toughest decision a pet owner has to make and had her put to sleep.  She was nearly 17 1/2 years old (86 in cat years).
• March:  Another talk at church.  Lots of energy spent getting my CGM transmitter replaced. (see here and here ). 
• April:  This month started out very relaxing.  A great trip to Flagstaff to meet up with some ladies I've "met" on Twitter.  Laddie of Test Guess and Go blogged about it here.  It was just what I needed to prepare for the following two weekends.  One was the JDRF walk for our area and the other was my church's annual Easter Outreach.  I sat on the organizing committee for the walk and was the primary contact for the Easter Outreach.

Here's to a month (or more) of no deadlines, projects, talks, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no more unexpected emotionally sad events.

2012 In Review

“This post is my December entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival. If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2012/december-dsma-blog-carnival-2/"


So this if my first DSMA Blog Carnival entry.. ever. The topic is to reflect on diabetes in 2012. 

Holy cow!! It has been quite a year for me.

The first couple months of the year were your normal everyday months.  Work, laundry, family, pets, chores, work, laundry, family, pets, chores, etc.  Nothing really stands out diabetically speaking until March. 

In March I had my first, and hopefully only, surgery since getting "Freeda" my insulin pump.  My doctor was very accommodating.  When I talked to him about staying connected, or at least reconnecting right after surgery his response was, "You can take care of your diabetes better than we can so we will give you back control as soon as possible."  Have I said that I really REALLY like the doctors I have now?  No?  Well, I do.

In April I got "George" my CGM. Who knew that having that much information could be addictive? My readings have always been WAY OFF if I start the new sensor right after inserting, so I usually swap out the sensor before I go to bed, and then start it in the morning. That does mean I have a whole night of no safety net alarms. I did it all the time, so why should I worry? But I do. Those nights I don't sleep real soundly. Thankfully I can get about 14 days out of each sensor.

Also in April, I unknowingly at first, participated in my first ever JDRF walk.  I was the adult in charge (no laughing) of the JROTC group that was helping with the games and clean up.  My doctor was there and said that next year I should be on the walk committee.  So far, the committee meetings have been great.  I think we're doing a tour of the local pizza parlors though.

In May, at my regular doctor's visit my doctor asked if I tweeted.  I didn't at the time, but looked into it.  I've been tweeting ever since.  I found the DOC (Diabetes Online Community) and participate in DSMA Wednesday evenings, just about every week (life permitting that is).  I have met some awesome people around the world that someday I hope to actually meet in real life!  It will happen.. life permitting that is. 

In October I started this blog.  There were so many ideas running around in my head of things I wanted to share.  Things that took more than 140 characters to explain.  Can anyone really tell their diagnosis story in two sentences?  I couldn't.  The hardest part in getting started, however, was figuring out a name.  Looking around my desk at work, my house, and my hectic life it came to me..  My life was a zoo,  a Sweet Zoo.

In November I participated in the National Health Blog Post Month.  The joy of having topics given to me to write about was great.  Little nudges of ideas that got my brain working in a certain direction.  Some days I was stumped.  I now have a greater appreciation for those that always do a blog post everyday. 

So here we are in December.  My first DSMA Blog Carnival post. 

What will 2013 bring?  I have no idea.. but I'm sure that there will be lots of things worth writing about so stay tuned.

Future accomplishments - Post 29

Today's topic suggestion is about a hoped for accomplishment in 2013.  I tried, but had a hard time picking just one thing.  So here is my to do list.

I have a long list of things I would like to accomplish in 2013:

• Finish the grizzly bear cross stitch I started 2 years ago.
• Remove living room carpet and install laminate.
• Tile the kitchen and laundry room and front bathroom.
• Actually make the quilt I bought the pieces for 4 years ago.
• Get the garden designed and planted.
• Read the stack of books I have at my bedside and in the hallway.
• Get all my pictures sorted and in albums.

There are some that I have to accomplish in 2013 whether I like it or not:

• Graduate my daughter from High School, with limited number of tears.
• Send my daughter off to college, with limited number of tears.

There are some that are health related too:

• Achieve an A1C of less than 7.0
• Lose about 20-25 pounds.

There are even some that are advocacy related:

• Successfully participate in my local JDRF walk.
• Assist my daughter in starting a local sharps container exchange program.
• Get everyone in my office to wear blue on Fridays, or at least on WDD.
• Blog at LEAST once a week. 

You don't think it's too much, do you? I don't'.  I CAN DO THIS!!  Who am I kidding.... I can't do all these things.  We all know I'm going to be crying like a baby at graduation and then again in August.  Maybe I need to add one more thing to that list:

• Stock up on tissues