Walk for a cure

Today I had the opportunity to participate in the JDRF walk for diabetes for the first time.  It was really fun! There was a great turnout.  I believe that just over $65,000 was raised to help cure diabetes.

                                               It was a beautiful 3 mile walk

                                                      We finished!

It always feels good to be surrounded by people who know what you deal with everyday.  I didn't have to feel weird when I pulled our my test kit to test my blood sugar before lunch.  I also learned about a new insulin pump that is smaller and easier to use called a T:slim.  It is amazing the advances that keep being made.  Someday there will be a cure!

I love lists

I am a list person.  I make a list every night before I go to bed of what I want or need to get done the next day.  I put down things that I need to get done like clean the bathroom, go grocery shopping, and go to the post office.  I also put down things that I want to get done but don't necessarily need to get done like do yoga, read a book, or work on a lesson for Sunday etc.
 I also am very guilty of adding things to my list after I do them just so that I can cross it off and make me feel more productive.  Anybody else do that? Especially on day where I don't feel like I got much done.

I also use lists all the time for trips or camping. So I decided I needed to type up a master list that I could use every time instead of making a new list. Genius! Why did it take me so long! Anyways I thought I would share my lists on this blog to see if they would be helpful to anyone else. So here ya are!

I have a tote that I keep some of our camping stuff in so that it is always ready to go.  I keep a list taped to the top so I can quickly check to make sure it is all there before we leave. This help to prevent us getting to the camp site and realizing that we don't have any matches or a lighter and its time to start dinner!

Here is my tote.

And here is my lists.

A great weekend

This last weekend I was able to watch General Conference where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints get to hear from our Prophet, Apostles and other leaders in our Church.  It also means I get to watch church in my Pj's on the couch! It was amazing as always.  I can't wait until next month when the Conference issue of the Ensign comes out.

I also ran across a new blog about a woman named Al Fox.  She has an amazing story and I have just started watching a few of her videos.

sometimes you just have to laugh

I started making a list the other day of some funny things that have happened to me because of diabetes.  Sometimes you just have to laugh to make you feel better right?  I love this website when I need some good laughs about diabetes.  http://type1diabetesmemes.tumblr.com/

One of their posts I thought was funny.

diabetesmemes

I have had some funny things happen because I wear an insulin pump.  I got my first pump when I was in 9th grade.  One of the boys in my class consistently called it my pacemaker for the rest of the year because he could not remember what it really was (even though I would correct him.... every time). I finally gave up.  Fast forward like 6 years and I was going through security at the airport and the man doing the body scanning said to me "oh is that your pacemaker? OK go on through" I just smiled and nodded.  Sometimes its just not worth correcting.

While in middle school I had my math teacher try to take away my pump during class.  He thought it was a  pager of all things and wanted me to hand it to him because they are not allowed in class.  I told him that I couldn't because it was my insulin pump.  He didn't believe me and insisted that I give it to him. I finally showed him the tubing and told him "see? Its connected. Do you still want to take it away?"  He didn't.

Once in high school while at a football game with some friends I wasn't feeling very well.  A cute new boy came up and was talking to my friend and I.  I guess I wasn't looking too well because my friend turned to me and said "you don't look like you feel good, are you high?"  Cute boy's face was priceless... He said "you really shouldn't do drugs!"  I almost wanted to play along, but I didn't.  I then explained that my friend meant  my blood sugar was high and I didn't do drugs.

I have also had people ask me if I could put Mountain Dew in my pump.  Random right?

I love to laugh, and even though diabetes is a serious disease laughing helps!

what I have been reading

I have been reading the book "Heaven Is Here" by Stephanie Nielson.  She is the author of the blog nie nie dialogues.
I started reading her blog a few months ago and have just started reading her book.  It is an amazing story! Her family has overcome so much and are such an inspiration to me.  So far it is a great read!

                                 I love to read and am always looking for good suggestions!  

Frugal Laundry Soap

I have always been pretty brand loyal when it came to laundry soap.  Tide all the way! Eventually I started realizing how much we were spending every month on laundry soap and knew I had to do something different.  First I started trying to coupon to get detergent and that worked for a little while, but I am not an "Extreme Couponer". When I would find a good deal I would buy one or two and then I would run out before I could find a good deal again.

I heard on a blog (I can't remember which one) about making your own laundry soap. So I began my search for a good recipe.  I came across quite a few, but they were all for liquid soap and I have never been a liquid soap kind of girl.  I always end up making a mess with liquid soap and never get the right amount. Anyways, I finally found a recipe for powdered laundry detergent and I have been using it for almost a year now. I love it!

It really is pretty easy to make  and very inexpensive. I make a couple batches every time so I really don't have to make it that often. Here is where I found the recipe.

Powdered Laundry Detergent - Top load machine - Duggar Recipes - The Duggar Family

I keep the detergent in a mason jar and I keep a tablespoon with it so that I never have to worry about putting too much soap in the load. This soap does not leave a perfumed scent on your clothes, which is alright with me. I would rather smell like my perfume/lotion than laundry detergent, but that is just my opinion!

Thanks for stopping by!

Denial?

I have now have had diabetes for almost 12 years.  Of that 12 years I have been on the pump for almost 10. I think in some ways the pump has made me a little lazy. This is something that I don't like to admit but sometimes I "forget" I am diabetic.  You may think that sounds crazy right?  I don't "forget" for long really, just long enough to "forget" to take insulin for that cheesecake I just ate or "forget" to test before dinner.

Now here is where the denial comes in.  I know that I have diabetes, so I am not really in denial, but sometimes it is just easier to pretend that I am not diabetic.  When I was in school I would try to hide my pump and not tell people that I was diabetic.  In fact my husband didn't find out that I was diabetic until like our 4th date? We were sitting in a movie theater watching Pirates of the Caribbean, when I realized that my blood sugar was dropping fast.  We hadn't gotten any snacks for the movie, so I hurried and tried to search through my purse in the dark theater.  I soon realized that not only did I not have any glucose, juice or fruit snacks, but I also did not have any money with me! Talk about being unprepared! So whispering, I asked him "um can I have some cash, I need candy now!". I didn't even care what he thought, I just knew that I needed sugar and I needed it now! He handed me some cash with a confused look on his face and I ran out into the lobby. When I came back a few minutes later, candy in hand and starting to feel much better, I sat down and pretended like everything was normal.  All he did was turn to me and say "your diabetic?" I said "yep" and he just nodded and said "alright". Luckily it didn't scare him off!

Well the so called denial is stopping now! I am not going to "forget" anymore.  This is one of the main reasons that I decided to start this blog. This is my way of embracing and starting over with my diabetes. Wish me luck and thanks for stopping by!