Monday, January 29, 2007

Snow Break!


Six sets of shoes and scarves and whatnot on the back porch, six mugs of hot chocolate gone, six pairs of socks tumbling in the dryer...and one Disney movie. Six bowls of spaghetti and six glasses of sugar free cherry Kool Aid. Another movie goes in. Six kids playing football with a knitted hat and one adult huddled in the corner typing furiously and trying to pretend it's not noisy. Six friends spending the day together. Snow breaks are fun!

Friday, January 26, 2007

Just Hanging Out


I've been remiss on updating my progress in "get healthy" land. I've actually been doing really well!. I do two miles a day on my Gazelle, split into two sessions, and I do my ab exercises (takes 5 minutes) even though I hate them.

I haven't checked my weight because I don't care to know what it is. I'll find out at my next Dr's appt. anyway. I HAVE noticed a marked difference in my clothing, and that means more than any scale. I feel good, so that is also a more important marker than any scale readout.

I feel fierce!

While my sugars still aren't where I want them to be, they are more even across the board, and that is better than up/down up/down up/down. Yo-yo'ing is a no no in diabetes town.

The real test will be my next A1C. We'll see!

I'll write a real blog entry later today. For now, since I do this for me and not for anyone else, I felt good enough with myself and needed to write it down! Yay ME!!!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

ReAffirmation

Liz and I went to The Cup last night to see a band called For Christ, and I was blown away. This band came up from Atlanta to sing and minister to us, even though their base player couldn't make it. His wife had just (that weekend) had a miscarriage, after trying for so many years, to have a child. Even though he couldn't make it, he sent a note, saying how important it was that the group go on. That The Message they share was bigger than anything going on in their lives, and how nothing, even adversity or heartbreak, could or should stop it.

It made me think long and hard about how my own life seems to be taking shape, and how my faith, once so strong and true, seems to have wavered. Could I do this? Could I care more about others than myself, and speak the Word, no matter what was going on in my life? Can I truly call myself a Christian, if all I do is talk the talk, but be unwilling to walk the walk? I don't know. I honestly don't know. I do know that, as we stood in a circle, 50 something strong, my prayers were honest. Dear Lord, I need your help. I cannot do it alone, and I shouldn't do it alone. I know I feel a connection to You, but am I willing to show that in all aspects of my life? It isn't just about belief. It isn't just about being saved. It isn't even about religion. It is about making my faith in You so strong as to get this feeling that I have no choice but to shout it from the mountaintops. I have the answer! I know the way!

Can I do it? I tell others about turning over everything to Him. Everything. That whatever happens, good or bad, there is a reason, and we are not to question, even when the request shakes our very core. Pastor Walker once said something to the effect of: Do everything as if God were sitting beside you. You, who come here on Sunday and raise your hands to Him, and then go on with your lives as if he only commands one day from you. Would you do the things and say the things you do if God were one of your friends and there? Well, God IS one of your friends. God IS there. Just because no one else sees, does it make it okay when we don't always act as we should? If we had a new love in our life, the joy we get from wanting to be around them touches every little thing we do. Well, that is how it is supposed to be with Him. Dress and act and do as if our love for Him was new and joyous and the most important thing in our lives. A relationship with You is what I want, not just a casual conversation. I'm trying, but that nagging little voice in the back of my head says my trying isn't enough.

What is enough? Nothing is enough. Nothing ever can be enough. Dear Lord, I ask you to please help me through this. To please help me find the joy that I had. I know everything cannot be wonderful, and I'm not expecting that, but everything SHOULD be You. Help me make every breathing moment I have about You. Help me to not worry about what others around me think, especially when I am worshiping You. Help me to see through the ones who are the Sunday Christians. Help me to not be one. Help me find You again. I know You're there, waiting patiently on the sidelines. I know You as one I turn to, but I want to know You as a I would know a best friend, a new lover, a confident. I want everything to be about You, as it should. God, help me please. I feel as if I've drifted again, and I think constantly about how I miss You. Help me to cast out all doubt about what or why I am... I am because of You.

Help me.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Color Coordinated

I caught a pic the other day of Liz and my niece, who had come over during a school-out snow day. Liz was (and is) still down on the couch, healing from a back injury. I thought it was kind of cute how they both matched, in a mixed up sort of way. When you factor in the fruit juice bars and the pillows Liz is on, it looks like someone just threw down a bunch of Sorbet containers in my living room!

Friday, January 12, 2007

AAARRRGGGHHH!

Okay, I'm going nuts. Liz, my youngest is currently down (down, as in bed) with a fractured tail bone (ouch!) so that leaves her plenty of time to drive me crazy. Crazy with questions. "Because I said so" seems so old school, even though I am a firm believer in dictatorship where it applies to issues in my house.

The current bruhaha? Makeup. She wants to wear it. I want to keep her face freshly scrubbed. She doesn't have any (makeup), with the exception of lip gloss things (lots of those) but she wants some. Not happening. Nope. If I have to hear one more time how I let Sam wear makeup at her age (as if!) I'll scream. That seems to be the issue lately. I let Sam do things before she, Liz, can. They don't cover this stuff in the handbook.

Sam and Liz are 10.5 years apart. Big gap. Because of this gap, Liz was kind of brought up around older kids. Good kids with good morals, but older kids nonetheless. She was exposed to teen stuff early. Don't get me wrong... I didn't let HER go to the mall at 6 just because her 16 yro sister got to go, but you get my point. Sibling rivalry. I thought it would stop once Sam moved out to live on her own. I should have known better. I have three sisters.

Liz is 12 now. Twelve is too young to do a lot of things. Twelve is too young to go to the mall without Mom. Twelve is too young to go to the movies without an adult. Twelve is too young to wear makeup. Twelve is too young to die, which will happen if she keeps this pushing up.

I have given this considerable thought. Like I said, I could go the route "because I said so," but I think this issue of entitlement just because her older sister got to do things needs addressed on a more indepth level.

So... I am preparing myself. I am going to have *the talk today. Parents do not have to treat each child equally, or what the kids would call fairly. Children are not the same, so why should the same treatment apply to all? Each child is an individual, and each problem or issue should be addressed individually. What might have been fine for Sam at the ripe old age of 13 or 14 is not necessarily bad for Liz at the age of 12, and the reverse is true as well. What Sam got to do at 12 might not be in the best interest of Liz at her current age of 12. When deciding what applies to each incident, we as parents have to take into consideration the maturity level of the child we are dealing with, right? How the child handles certain things, and how the child might react, or feel, should count. I love my children very much, but if I'm honest with myself, I'll admit that things are tougher this second time around. However, today's popular parenting styles make me feel like I owe Liz some type of explanation, since she has asked me so seriously... why why why???

I look down this rough draft of my blog (where I think best) and see my entry about how to approach the "how come I can't...she did!" syndrome, and I realize that I have written as if addressing my old faculty buddies. Great. Talk right over her head Carye. Way to handle the issue. So....what to do?

"BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!" is looking pretty good.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Snow Day

We got an unexpected visitor today. Two inches of snow. Beautiful. Two inches doesn't seem like a lot, but that practically shuts down the entire city, as these mountain roads are deadly when there is any snow or ice to contend with. Schools closed down early, and will probably either start late or be closed tomorrow. Stores are filled with people who think this is the next three week blizzard, and that they will never see a loaf of bread again. So silly.

We are warm and cozy in our little home, watching the flakes fly by from the window. Soon they will be nothing but a pool of memories and the skies will turn blue, the air will breathe a hint of warmth, and things will be back to normal here. Until then, a little bit of winter magic seems awfully nice.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Bouncing


Every once in a while you need to not take life so seriously, and just get out there and bounce!

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Dying to Live



With each new year, we all seem to set ourselves up for failure by making resolutions we have every intention of keeping, but can't. I'm no different, and do the same thing.

You know the drill:

1) Lose the weight
2) Get in better shape
3) Stop smoking
4) Realize chocolate and coffee are not alone as a food group

Again, I am no different, but the circumstances are. Living with diabetes, and the complications it can sometimes bring (and has brought), is no piece of cake, but it's easier if you work at it. I haven't been working at it quite as hard as I should. Heck, I put *working hard* away months ago. Well, I made some resolutions of my very own this year.

1) I resolve to exercise 30-45 minutes 3-5 times a week (trying for 4-6). I have to. Not for weight (which is a great result of exercise, and Lord knows I need to), but for health reasons. Exercise brings down sugar levels, regulates insulin, and helps increase circulation.

My exercise will take the form of:

a) Blast Off! tape 3-4 times a week (low impact/moderate cardio) 30 mins
b) Gazelle (no impact on feet - yay!!! and good for my DPN!) 5 times a week 15 mns each

2) I resolve to eat breakfast, even though it kills me. I resolve to make that breakfast healthier by:

a) Eating Special K (low GI) w/berries, or
b) Eating Steel-cut Oatmeal w/berries, or
c) Eating 2-3 oz lean protein w/greens (on days no morning workout)
d) Eating SB home made morning muffins (more of a mini quiche-yum!)

3) I resolve to use my darn crockpot more so I don't have an excuse for "what's for dinner." I used to do weekend cooking sessions, and always had the makings of a quick, healthy dinner just a freezer away. I don't do this anymore, and I've no excuse other than laziness. I resolve to steer clear of most processed foods, even if they are cheaper. Cheaper isn't always better.

4) I resolve to be careful of my portions. Nothing is taboo in moderation, but serves 4 really means serves 4, not serves 2 with a spoonful left over.

5) I resolve to put me first. I cannot be of any good to anyone if I am not good to myself first.

6) I resolve to check my sugars every morning first thing and set my alarm to do so, since I seem to forget (or I subconsciously use that as an excuse). It should be done 2-4 times a day for me, but I can't seem to manage even one lately. I think it's because I hate what I see when I do, and I am totally to blame, since I've managed sugars quite well in the past.

7) I resolve to drink more water. Drink water until I float out the door. I love water. I just hate OUR water, unless it is ice cold and has a slice of lemon or lemon flavoring. I will keep a big pitcher of water in the fridge at all times, and I will keep sugar free lemonade (just a pinch is perfect) handy. I will cut back on coffee even though it hurts (and yes, it does...I loves me my coffee).

Due to DPN, I have no feeling in my feet (except the pain DPN brings on). I am fast losing the ability to use my hands, and my kidneys are not real happy with me either. I still consider myself blessed, as my medications keep everything to a moderate roar, and most times I have a decent day. What's that story about complaining about no shoes until I met a man who had no feet? Well, that's me. I still have my feet, so what's to complain about? Not much, really, yet I manage to do so quite verbally as of late. Well, that's going to change too.

I can live with diabetes, and the complications it has brought to my life, but I'll be damned if I'm going to die by it.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Saying Goodbye to the Old....

...and saying hello to the new. My baby. My last born. My child of light and love and laughter...is growing up. She met a boy. It all started at The Encouraging Cup (of my Fathers House), a Christian coffee house that showcases Christian bands. My sister invited us to a dinner to celebrate the upcoming New Year, and I know a few people at the Cup, so I said yes.

We arrive and more introductions are made, dinner is set up, and then in walks a friend of my Sister, dragging her younger 14 year old brother. Oh boy. The kid looks like a young Ashton Kutcher, shaggy brown hair, dreamy brown eyes and all. Suddenly, the rest of the world didn't exist...and the only thing in the room was my child and Mr. Dreamy. They talked for six hours. SIX hours! He asked if he could ask her out. Asked ME directly. Oh boy. My answer? We will see...with a chaperone, it's possible. Phone numbers were exchanged (with permissions) and my wide-eyed child and Mr. Dreamy parted company.
After a late rising the next day, my child turns on her phone. It rings no more than 30 seconds later. Mr. Dreamy couldn't wait to talk, and had called "like a million times trying to reach you!"

...and it begins. The changing of the guard, from pig-tailed little girl to giggly, gangly-legged young woman. I've walked this path before, with the first one, but somehow it all seems strange and new this time. Perhaps because my heart knows this is the final journey and there's no turning back. Hold on to the remnants of childhood as long as you can, and drag them kicking and screaming back to the playgrounds. Strap them onto the teeter totter and make them remember that childhood only comes once. When it's gone...it's gone.

I watch my young one, and I'm proud..and a little scared.