(Whine) I think I hate Humira :-(

So I decided "To hell with it" and I'm gonna cancel my doctor's office visit, next week, to "learn how to inject" Humira.  Puh-LEEZ!!!

I watched the video on the Humira website, and also watched a couple of "independent" YouTube Videos on "How to Inject Humira Painlessly."

I'm calling "Bullsh*t" on those videos!

Now don't get me wrong.  I am *extremely* well-versed in injecting medications, k?  In the "Early Days" of my diabetes diagnoses - with my EXTREME case of insulin-resistance - I was taking upwards of 15-20 injections of "standard" insulin PER DAY (NO EXAGGERATION, k?!!!).  Lantus and Novolog (or maybe Levemir and Humalog, I can't remember), in "pen" form (meaning you had to "Dial-a-Dose").  And the dosage levels were  SO high, my body wasn't able to properly absorb the insulin, right?

So now I take Humulin-R U500 (which I have to draw out of a vial, using a syringe).  It is 5x the strength of "normal" insulin - which means I only have to inject 1-2x/day.  I also take Byetta (which is in "pen" form) also 1-2x/day.  And actually, now, my diabetes is mostly under-control (Yay).

Anyway, I know ALL the tricks for subcutaneous injections (i.e. letting the medication reach room temperature, finding a nice "meaty" [read: "fatty"] spot for injecting, etc.).

So, normally I inject my abdomen with insulin and Byetta (different "sections" of my abdomen.  And there is PLENTY of abdomen to choose from!).  I'm actually not wild about "thigh" injections but, since the Humira package said I shouldn't inject in a spot that already had a rash...  Well, I had to go with my thighs.  And, evidently, there are supposed to be fewer "nerve-endings" in the thigh so it should be LESS painful, right?!

F**king WRONG!!!

So I took the pens out of the fridge and let 'em reach room temp.  Took about an hour...  I followed the video instructions on both the Humira site, as well as the "PAINLESS" YouTube videos.  So, you're not supposed to inject into "muscle," you're supposed to find a "fatty" part to inject, right?  NO SHORTAGE of fatty parts on my thighs - Trust me!!!

Well, that sh*t felt like the Fires of HELL when I injected it.  Hooooly sh*tsnacks!  And I had to take TWO injections for the first dose.  Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow-OWWWWW!!!

"Sum-un-a-BEEEETCH!  SHEEEEET!!!!"

And now I feel a little nauseous.

Man, this SUCKS!!!

I hope I don't get any more bad reactions to this sh*t.  And I'm gonna have a HELLUVA time convincing myself to "keep this up!"  Thankfully, the next dose isn't for another 8 days (and only ONE shot).  Then it's every-two-weeks after that.

IF this sh*t works, it MIGHT be worth it.  If it doesn't - I'm gonna be P*SSED!!!!

Okay.  End Rant............

xoxo

-QT

"It's Always Something" (Bummer post - skip if you don't want to be depressed!!!)

Which is the title of a blog I follow. Lo, bless her heart, is a fascinating octogenarian who blogs far more religiously than I do!

I figured I'd steal her Blog Name for a Post Title...

See, I know I've been lax about blogging lately (Yeah, so what else is new?!), but I've been in a bit of a "funk" of late. And when I'm feelin' funky, I don't feel much like blogging ('cuz this is s'posed to be my Happy Place!) and, in fact, I don't feel like doing much of *anything* (so there's ultimately nothing Happy to blog about in my Happy Place!)

...I always swore I'd never become one of those "Old People" (sorry Lo - definitely not referring to you - on the off chance that you're reading this!) who sits around complaining about her aches and pains and latest doctor visit and blah-blah test results and yada-yada.

See, I've always been blessed with - more-or-less - Excellent Health. I've had the occasional run-in with some kind of Mystery Illness (seriously - when I get sick, I *really* get sick - and it's usually something previously unheard of!). Ever since my diabetes diagnosis, things have pretty-well gone to hell in a handbasket - which really, really sucks!

I definitely don't have a "Garden Variety" case of Diabetes - and it took a Specialist @ Stanford Medical Center to *finally* bring it under control by finding the Exact Right Mix of Pharmaceuticals (including a hyper-concentrated form of insulin that would *kill* a normal diabetic). And it wasn't *just* the doctor who did it. There was a whole lot of OCD/Fanatical-Tracking on my part (including a massive spreadsheet where I tracked *everything*) to finally bring things to a manageable level...

And a HUUUUUUGE part of the credit for "steering me in the right direction" (after countless doctors tried to kill me!) goes to Jenny of Bloodsugar101.com. She's the one who held my hand (figuratively) and dried my tears (again, figuratively!) (She lives on the east coast and I haven't yet met her in person) (but I will - someday!), and ultimately convinced me to "Find a teaching hospital" ("Oh yeah... Stanford! Duh!"). So HUGE thanks to Jenny...

Anyway. My Stanford Endocrinologist was able to get me pointed in the right direction. She was able to *stop* the weight gain (which was happening at an alarming rate - given the craptastic direction I was given by my previous doctors) and when I started Byetta, I was even able to shed some of the gain. 35# worth (just a drop in the bucket, actually - but I'll take it!).

Unfortunately, I still have 100# to go and It. Ain't. Budging! *Nothing* I do (short of full-on starvation) results in any kind of weight loss. And, to top it off, I have ZERO energy.

Now bear in mind that in my younger years (not all THAT long ago - thankyouverymuch!), my family gave me the nickname "Amazon Woman." The reason for that was, if there was ever any Heavy-Lifting needed, they'd call me. Want a chest freezer hauled up a flight of stairs? Call Nancy! "Nah, don't bother emptying it, I've got it. Noooo, I don't need any help - just get out of my way!" Seriously!!!

Well, I've gone from being Amazon Woman to Feeble Waif - and that sucks beyond comprehension. When I first moved in w/DH, I was able to cultivate the entire garden area (1/4 of our lot - which is 1/4 acre) the "old fashioned way" using a hoe and 4-pronged cultivator - and back then, it was solid-packed cement-like clay! Now, I can't even drag a 2 cubic-foot bag of mulch out of the back of the truck and into the yard (using a wheelbarrow!) without resting afterward...

Couple of weeks ago, it was time to deadhead the Birds of Paradise. I have my little squat-stool thingie, so it's not like I'm having to do a lot of deep-knee bends or anything, and I had the Green-Bin close-at-hand. So I deadheaded one plant. Took me about an hour and I - literally - had to lay down for 2 hours afterward! I was freaking exhausted (and, literally, in tears because I should *not* be this exhausted!).

And now I'm starting to "get down on myself" over it. I mean, clearly I'm not getting enough exercise and that must mean I'm LAZY. If I exercised more, I'd have more energy so GET OFF YOUR FAT LAZY @$$ and DO SOMETHING!!!

But I really, truly lacked the energy to DO it!

Add to this, the fact that I had developed a nasty, painful case of psoriasis on the soles of both feet (which made it difficult to walk - let alone wear shoes). That's actually been going on since my mom first went in the hospital (Oct 2009). So I was thinking that, maybe, the constant pain in my feet was dragging me down, but "Get Over It! DO SOMETHING!!!"

Add to that, the fact that DH (Love him dearly - don't get me wrong - and DH, if you're reading this, PLEASE don't get upset!) seems to view the Human Body in the same way as Cars. And Doctors are like Mechanics. Something's not working? Bring it in, they'll fix it! (And, bless his heart, the "maladies" he's experienced really *have* been that simple). Unfortunately, in my case - with two "Chronic, Incurable, but - hopefully - Manageable" Conditions, unfortunately, New Spark Plugs just ain't gonna cut it for me!

Sooooo... Long Story Short... I've gotten the diabetes as "Under Control" as I'm gonna get it. And I've started UVB Treatments on my feet (necessitating drives 3x/wk during Rush Hour to Redwood City), and I'm getting the Psoriasis under control.

I've gotten my DIET under control. Blood Sugars under control. I'm doing EVERYTHING RIGHT so WTF?!! WHY DON'T I FEEL BETTER????

Last time I was in to see my Endocrinologist, I cut loose. I basically paraphrased that last paragraph and stressed that "SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG HERE. Are there any tests we can run? Is my B12 out of whack? Is there something else, metabolic, going on?! This DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!!!"

Well, I do love my Endo because she *does* listen to me and takes me seriously (something my GPs/Internists *never* did). She ordered a whole slew of tests... (rather than prescribe an anti-depressant - which was halfway what I was expecting her to do!!!) (And I would have refused it - btw)

Well, the latest diagnosis is: "Unspecified Anemia."

My reaction is twofold:

1. Relief that there's an explanation for my exhaustion (and maybe I'm *not* LAZY after all)

2. WTF is causing it?!!

I find it positively mind-boggling that I am anemic. You'd *never* guess it (I'm not pale or anything) (and my diet *is* heavy on red meats and green leafy vegetables) (I actually *love* spinach!). Iron is low, other things are low. And her initial thoughts were leaning toward "internal bleeding" someplace. Niiiiiice.

Then there's talk of endoscopies and colonoscopies and other invasive NASTY things that basically scare the living sh*t out of me...

Then there's the (inevitable) querying of Google where the "cure" could be as simple as iron supplementation - or I could have Leukemia or Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and be dead next week!!!

Moral: *Don't* consult Google 'til you know more!!!

Soooo... Doc has ordered another battery of tests to try to narrow down the cause. I'll probably have to find myself a new GP (most likely, at Stanford), and work through this with him/her because this doesn't fall under Endocrine Crap...

It'll probably be at least a week 'til I know more (doc is on vacation this week), but we'll tackle it as it comes, I guess.

DH seems a bit frustrated over all of this (but - again - I'm relieved to know there's an EXPLANATION for my tiredness and that it's NOT because I'm a Lazy Slob!). He's trying to be understanding. And I appreciate that.

We went to a concert last night (M.U.S.E. Anti-nuclear power rally thing). Our seats were smack-dab in the middle of the venue and it started late-afternoon. It was blazing hot at our seats (no shade to speak of), so we spent the first half of the concert out in the lawn area - outside of the concert arena. I wanted to minimize the number of trips to (actually *from*) our seats, since it involved walking uphill and TOTALLY wiped me out!

I'm glad I was able to muster enough energy to make it through the concert though. It was an AWESOME show (Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Doobie Brothers, Crosby Stills & Nash, and others). But I am definitely paying for it today!!!

Annnnd... Added Bonus: My psoriasis is trying to return (it's triggered by "stress!" Gee!). But I am still getting thrice-weekly treatments and hopefully we can beat it back...

Anyhooooooo... Sorry for the Bummer Post. Chances are, I'll end up going back and deleting it (or I may not - I have no clue if anybody even reads this blog!!!). But sometimes typing sh*t out can be kinda cathartic - so maybe this was a good thing to do....

Hopefully I'll have Happier Stuff to report on, later! (Dinghy is sold, Driveway is clear, Tomatoes & Yellow Peaches are ripening and I hope to do some canning/preserving - if I can find the energy!)

Later....................................

Diabetes and Byetta

In case the "Title" didn't clue you in... This is gonna be one of them-there "Diabetes-Related-Posts" so if this subject matter bores you... "Move along... Nothin' to see here!"

So I was diagnosed as Type 2 in December '07. I probably had "Metabolic Syndrome/Pre-Diabetes" long before that. But that's a separate rant that falls under "Why I don't trust Doctors" and best left for another time...

"It is what it is."

I now have a doctor that I *do* trust. She's an Assistant Professor at Stanford's Endocrinology Clinic. She's helped me make HUGE progress in the past 6 months - and I feel WORLDS better than I did!

Anyhoooo... Over the past couple-three years, I've gained an enormous amount of weight - no matter WHAT I did. Exercise more? Eat less? (Cut fat/Cut carbs/Eat Cabbage Soup/Drink Protein Shakes/Eat Nothing/Ad Nauseum).. Uhhh... Nothing worked!

Since my diagnosis, with the veritable cornucopia of pharmaceuticals I've taken, the weight-gain has not only continued, but increased at an alarming rate! I don't want to say exactly how much I've gained, so let's just say that it's A LOT!

Along with that, I am highly-highly insulin resistant. My problem is not that my pancreas can't produce enough insulin (it produces plenty, actually). It's that my body can't/won't utilize the insulin properly. In fact, about the ONLY thing about insulin that does seem to "work" for me, is it's ability to convert food (glucose) to FAT. Ohhhh yeah, it does that VERY well!

Doc switched me over to Humulin R U-500 which is 5x the strength of "normal" insulin. That actually metabolizes very well for me and I've definitely seen a HUGE improvement in my Blood Glucose [BG] numbers. I remain highly carbo-phobic, however. Carbs send my BG#'s thru the roof, but the U-500 insulin (in conjunction with *strict* carb restriction) works extremely well and I am happy to report that - as of February anyway - I am now a Proud Member of the "5% Club!" My last A1c came back at 5.7 (I'd started out at 11)! So "Yayyyy Me!"

The U-500 does work very well. And, in fact, my weight gain has *slowed* significantly. But... I'm still gaining!!! My hope was that if I got my BG#'s in-line, that the weight gain would stop and - maybe, just maybe - get replaced with weight LOSS, right?

Not so, Kemosabe!

Yes, I feel better... Yes, I have a *bit* more energy... Yes, I *have* increased my activity levels (from being a total slug [NOT by choice!] to being able to take the stairs at work and work in the yard)... I even took it a step further and started experimenting with cutting back carbs to ridiculously low levels (aimed for 20g or less, managed to maintain appx 40g/day) and cut back calories (aimed for 1300, managed to maintain appx 1600 cals/day)... I even started dialing back my insulin usage as far as I dared (to the equivalent of appx 300 units/day - which was as low as I could go without experiencing spikes) (and I've NOT been able to maintain that, I had to ramp-back-up to 390u/day). I worked on that DILIGENTLY for one solid month...

The payoff?! Ohhhh, I ONLY gained 7#!!!!

Words cannot describe.................................................

Anyhooooo... During my early-Feb appt with my endocrinologist, I expressed Extreme Dismay over my inability to lose weight - no matter what I did!

See, it seems I'm stuck in a Vicious Circle with my Insulin Resistance and High Insulin Requirements. It seems the more insulin I take, the more weight I'll gain. And the more I weigh, the more insulin I'll need. So add more insulin, gain more weight, and need still MORE insulin!

"Lather. Rinse. Repeat."

So we kicked around a few ideas and finally settled on Byetta (Exenatide). Byetta is an incretin mimetic that was originally derived from some sorta poisonous lizard. I don't claim to know a whole helluva lot about it (despite my Googling the hell out of it!), but the Bottom Line is - it seems to "play well" with T2 diabetics and helps with BG control. And one of it's side-effects is weight loss. That seems to (mostly) come from the fact that it slows digestion so you feel "fuller" for a longer period of time (but the downside to that is you might end up getting nauseous)...

It is not FDA approved for insulin-dependent diabetics, and it's not prescribed as a diet medication - but I've heard-tell of many insulin-dependent diabetics who have had WONDERFUL success on this medication (likewise, there are many who it hasn't worked for).

But since I seem to be a bit of an "Extreme Case," she agreed to let me try it. First, we wanted to draw more lab tests and make sure it wasn't contraindicated in my case. Plus, I wanted to do a bit more Googling...

Well, during my early-March appt, she wrote the prescription for it. She also warned me about side-effects (which are plentiful - and some sound pretty nasty, especially "Acute Pancreatitis!"), and gave me a list of things to "watch-out for." She basically scared the beejezus outta me!

I have found a good Support Board: Diabetes and Byetta

Anyway... I started the Byetta last Friday... One of the (many) things the doctor warned me about were hypos, so I dialed-back my insulin before I started it, and also ramped-up the carbs. I figured it was safer for me to run higher numbers initially and then tweak it from there.

I have posted to the D&B board, but I thought I'd also post my results here - in case there are any Diabetic "lurkers" out there who might find this interesting..

Here are my notes about starting Byetta @ 5mcg:

• I've had no stomach issues - other than a little burpy-gas, and I'm starting to get a bit more "brave" about what (and when) I'll eat after I take the injection.
  


• I can't say that I necessarily feel "full" faster - and certainly not over-stuffed after eating. But as long as I remain vigilant and eat *less* - I'm finding that I don't get ravenously hungry a couple of hours later. So I'm going to call that a "subtle" improvement (Meaning: I have to pay attention to it - NOT that it's an "insignificant" thing!).
  


• I haven't found any foods that "disagree" with me (yet!) - so I'm counting myself very fortunate (If I had to give up BBQ pork ribs... Arr! Don't go there!) (Of course, I haven't tried BBQ pork ribs since I've been on it!) (But when/if I do - it'll only be a couple of small ones!)
  


• I have been able to cut my insulin usage by appx 25% (from 390 units/day to 300!). My avg BG has risen slightly (avg 130 now - it had been in the 115-120 avg range before) - but I'm attributing that to increased carbs. I'm going to start experimenting with dialing the carbs back.
  


• I've had NO hypos. But I have had a few "spikes" over 170 - and one over 200 (again, carbs are to blame - and that was partially "by design" b/c I wanted to ramp-up my BG#'s while starting Byetta).
  


• Even when I do spike, it drops back and stabilizes pretty quickly. This is another positive improvement (previously, if I hit a 200+, I'd be sick, and my BG would be all-over-the-board, for a full 24 hours+ afterward)
  


• Yesterday, I had lunch w/a friend at a Mexican Restaurant. Tortilla Chips are like cocaine in that they're highly addictive... I also had a "real" margarita (with sugar and everything). Yes, I sinned. Yes, I spiked. No, I didn't suffer (Yay!).
  


• Normally, after sinning like that, I could expect to see a 3-4 lb. gain the next day - plus I'd feel like a Zombie. Today I felt surprisingly good, first thing this morning, ANNNNNNND... The scale (a very accurate model, BTW) actually showed a 1 lb drop! Yaaayyyy!!! (No, I don't intend to make a habit of it - but I'm happy to know I can indulge ONCE in awhile!)
  

Soooooo... I'm thinking and hoping that this IS gonna work for me! In fact, I think I'll even upgrade from "Guardedly Optimistic" to "Fully Optimistic!" I expect to stay @ 5mcg for a month (longer, if I feel comfortable with my progress). I'll probably upgrade to 10mcg at some point though.

And I'm still experimenting w/food (especially carbs) and insulin dosages. I'd like to get my avg BG#'s down a bit lower and need to figure out how best to dial-it-in (Obviously Mexican Food ain't the way go!)...

Tahoe Weekend and Miscellaneous Stuff...

I'm a Bad Blogger...

The fact is, I just haven't found much worth blogging about (again, my muses are avoiding me!).

We actually did take a three-day-weekend trek to the snow last week (Friday-Sunday). We've only been talking about it every freakin' year since we've been together (2001!). This year, we finally did it!

That probably should have provided a Ton o' Blog-Fodder, but I wasn't in much of a literary mood.

Ohhh, I s'pose I could b*tch about the cheesy accommodations (It was a "Budget Weekend" after all!). But that's just too negative...

Besides, when you're traveling with dogs (and yes, we were!), you kinda have to take what you can get, right?!

Nevertheless, I will opine that - if YOU happen to find yourself looking for a cheap, pet-friendly motel on Tahoe's North Shore, and you happen to stumble onto the Tahoe Inn... Make sure you read the Traveler's Reviews (at sites like TripAdvisor.com) and set your expectations accordingly!

My expectations were low - and I was not disappointed! Let's just leave it at that!

* * * * *
Okay, maybe not! Let's just take it half-a-step further, shall we?!

Once we returned from our Big Adventure In The Snow, I knew the dogs needed baths (Pretty [melting] Snow + Furry Little Dogs = Mud Galore!). I didn't jump on it right away, unfortunately.

The next day, Princess Annie (The long-haired Doxie) was biting furiously at her butt. I wasn't sure what was going on - but she was clearly in distress, I watched her when she went outside to "take care of business," and I took a look at her - umm - "output" and confirmed that everything was "OK" from that perspective. Yet she continued to chew at her butt, rolling on the floor, and whining most piteously...

Called the vet... Grabbed the first available appointment...

$129.00 later: I learned that Princess Annie is allergic to fleas!

"B-b-but! We don't have fleas!" I said, incredulously (*Certainly* not Princess Annie! She's Royalty, after all!).

"Well, didn't you say you were in Tahoe this weekend?" the vet replied "Where did you stay?"

"Ohhhhh sh*t!" I muttered. "I mean, 'Oh Darn!' We stayed at a cheap motel that allowed dogs!" (Adding new meaning to the term "Fleabag Hotel!")

So it cost me $129.00 to learn that we had fleas - and I *still* had to bathe ALL the dogs myself! And hit 'em all with Frontline!

"$%#&!"

Problem solved now. So it's all good...

Anyway - I really don't want to rag on the Tahoe Inn. "It is what it is." And they DO allow dogs - and they ARE reasonably priced. If they invested any money in the place and updated/upgraded it - they probably wouldn't allow dogs anymore AND their prices would undoubtedly go waaaaay up!

Anyhooooo... It was a good weekend and it was nice to get away!

* * * * *
Back to work on Monday - and my workload is definitely picking up now (which is a good thing - but I was kinda getting used to being lazy!). Days are starting to get longer - which is really nice! And we've had a break in the rain - which is also nice!

Since I've mostly been working-from-home, this gives me an opportunity to putter-around a bit in the yard.

I'm happy to report that most of the fruit trees are in bloom... The early-bearer peach is in full-bloom and leaves are starting to appear. The later-bearer is just starting to bud. My Satsuma plum already bloomed and most of the blossoms are gone now (Gee, I sure hope we had some bee visitations!), and the Santa Rosa Plum is in full-bloom. Not sure about the Apple or Cherry Tree... Haven't seen any blossoms yet - so maybe they'll start budding later (or maybe I missed it!)

...Last year's Daylilies are all planted now (Yay!), and I've got more of 'em on the way (bulbs or bare-root or whatever). Dayliles are clearly un-killable - so they're the PERFECT plant for the far-back fence...

My raised bed is just about ready for new veggie plants. I cultivated the surface of the soil and mixed in the rotted leaves and composted (bagged) steer manure. I also set-up wire fencing to keep my Darling Quadrupeds OUT of the garden this year!

ALL of my tomato seeds have sprouted and I have a gazillion tomato plants that will soon be ready for planting. In the meantime, I hooked up with a gardening pal and pawned off SOME of the seedlings!

I still need to finish constructing my self-watering tomato planters (One is "almost done!"). I think, maybe, I'll work on those tomorrow.

Nighttime temps are still a little too cool to set out seedlings - and the babies are definitely too young to go out (they've just barely started getting their first "true leaves"). They'll need to be hardened off in the next week-or-so. I'll probably move them out to the greenhouse and raise the thermostat - just a hair - so the heater will keep them from freaking out too badly at night! Although it'll still be a big adjustment going from the consistently-warm windowsill to the greenhouse. But less-so than sticking 'em straight in the ground!

My soon-to-be pumpkin-patch isn't *quite* ready yet. We need another couple of rainstorms, I think. And I'll need to drag out the rototiller and break-up the rock-hard clay that resides UNDER the mound of leaves/manure. Plus, the first couple of pumpkin seeds I'd planted never did sprout - so I started some more. Fingers are crossed that I didn't get a bad batch o' seeds! (eBay purchase, so "Caveat Emptor" right?!). So yeah, I started more pumpkin seeds, and some squash, and melons. Those are all in the windowsill and some are just starting to sprout...

Annnnnnnnd... Today's Big Job was turning the compost piles - both of 'em! And yes, that was a Big Job! I didn't do the greatest job of tending to them last year, unfortunately (Gee, I wonder why?! Couldn't be health-related :::sigh:::). So the quantity of usable compost was pretty disappointing. Only the very bottom layer ended up breaking down fully - so I'm definitely gonna have to buy bagged compost this year :-(

I may have to abandon the idea of composting on a large scale. But I am going to go to a Composting Workshop next weekend, and I will be buying a worm-bin so that I can at least use-up kitchen scraps and coffee grounds. Anyone in the San Jose/Santa Clara County Area can go to any of the workshops - for free - and pick-up compost bins - for cheap. Info here.

Another cool composting gizmo is here. I really want one. But I don't think it will work - as well as I'd like - for large-scale composting (of things like grass-clippings, leaves, etc.) as my bins. But my bins don't do a very good job, either, if I'm not willing to turn 'em and tend-to-them - ya know?!

* * * * *
I really hate that I don't have the "energy" to do this stuff! But I'm not gonna start another "Old-Lady-Whine" again :-x

Actually, I've got plenty to be happy about, health-wise. I had labs done in mid-Feb. My last A1C (for any Diabetic Readers out there who might understand and/or care!) came back at 5.7!!!! Yayyyyyy!!!! I *finally* made the "5% Club!" From 11 in Dec '07 to 5.7 in Feb '09 is pretty darned good, I think! Of course, I'm still taking insulin at levels that would kill most people - but I'm still happy with the improvement.

I just wish I had more energy! (and weighed about 100# less - which would undoubtedly help with the energy levels!).

Anyway - apologies for being a Bad Blogger. And apologies for a rambling and not particularly interesting post...

I'll try to do better!!!

* * * * *

FWIW: Here are some pics (and "Commentary!") from the Tahoe-Weekend Adventure!

ROAD-TRIP!!! Hwy 680 is GREEN:

Windmills over Altamont Pass: First Sighting of "Real Snow" on Interstate 80:

Pretty Snow:

Wiener Dogs' first romp in the snow: Our "Lovely Accommodations:" Groovy 1960's Can Light (I'm *positive* that my mom had a pole-light-fixture that matched this!):

Our Room Key (nevermind that we were actually in room 241!):

Princess Annie, enjoying a brew after a long drive:

My attempt at an Artsy-Fartsy shot. Icicles and Christmas Lights outside of a BBQ joint where we had dinner:

Drive around the lake on a perfectly gorgeous day:

Not-so-gorgeous drive home:

Stop 'n Go Traffic (Lotsa "Stop" - Not so much "Go!")

It's snowing!!! (And no, we aren't carrying chains - "Why do you ask?!")
Oh, because the snow might start to "stick" maybe???



Yeah, maybe!

But the trees were pretty!


Took us 2 hours to clear Donner Summit (a distance of 40 miles from Truckee) - and I was deeply regretting our decision to *not* stop at Mickey-D's (Coffee hit the bladder about 30 minutes into the Stop-N-Crawl-N-Stop-N-Crawl Traffic!). But we made it home safely (obviously!).

Militant Low-Carb (and Diabetes) Update

Warning: There's some Diabetic/Health-Related Whining Info here, so if that's not your thing - Move along!

* * * * *
Well........ So far, So good!

I think I'm mostly past the "Carbo Detox" stage and I no longer feel like a Snail on Quaaludes.

In fact, dare-I-say-it? I think I actually have a little more energy now!

I've even been taking the stairs at work - rather than the elevator! (Although it's not like I work on the 50th floor or anything - but still!).

The Biggest, Most-Dramatic Improvements have been:

• No more Bolus [Novolog] Insulin (and, in fact, I'm reducing the Basal in small increments)
  
• Blood Sugar has improved DRAMATICALLY.

Fasting BG, most mornings, has been under 100!!! Let me repeat that: UNDER One-Hundred!!!

(Just a few weeks ago - I was thrilled when FBG was under 140 - seriously! 140 was my threshold! Now I get p*ssed when it's over 110! And that's just in the last week or so!)

I can't find where I was tracking my BG#'s a year ago (I'm sure I was - I just can't find it!), but I was able to go back to Feb 1, 2008 and see that, on that day, my FBG was 211. Two-Hundred-Eleven!!! And it would consistently go UP from there!

I won't recount the veritable cornucopia of pharmaceuticals I've gone through in the past year - what with my doctors "practicing" medicine on me - other than to note that when we FINALLY started insulin, things got even worse! March's FBG Average was a whopping 211! The High was 264! Eeeeek!

I was a Freaking Zombie back then. Seriously! I couldn't even get out of bed in the morning!

So, I'm sure any Diabetic Readers will agree: For me to have finally achieved FBG's in 80-90's is Abso-Freaking-Lutely Fan-F**king-Tastic!

Also, since starting "Militant LC" my BG swings have decreased significantly!

Just for grins, I went back thru my spreadsheets for part-of-December and all-of January to see what the High/Low Ranges were, by day (Yes, I'm a Geek! Remember, I'm a "Systems Analyst" so I do have a little bit of "Anal" in me!). December High-Low swings were pretty dramatic - sometimes as much as 160 points in a day! From a low of 66 to a high of 226 - (Although that *was* on Christmas Day! But that wasn't too far out-of-the-ballpark for me). Actually, the "average daily swings" seemed to hover around 80-100 points a day back in December.

Since starting Low-Carb, the swings have mostly been under 40 (although I've had a couple of "indiscretions" and my numbers reflect that)

I've also had one Hypo since going back to LC. So I'm in the process of dialing back the Basal in "Baby Steps." My Basal is Humulin R U500 which is 5x the strength of regular insulin. In fact, it's supposed to require special (tuberculin) syringes. But those are hard to come by, so my Endo has "converted" the Rx so it can be used with normal syringes. In any event, I take the U500 3x/day. And I'm in the process of reducing the dose by 1 unit (equivalent to 5 units) for each dose. Presently I'm at 22u 3x/day (equivalent to 330u/day). I'm hoping I can eventually cut back to 15u 3x/day. Still much higher than the "average diabetic" - but I'm not your average diabetic, unfortunately!

(Bear in mind that - when I was at my worst - I was taking 25u of the U500 PLUS 60-100u/day+ of Novolog. Yes kids, that's equivalent to almost 500u of insulin PER DAY [and only maintaining "marginally" good Blood Sugars at the time @ appx 140]. My short-term goal of 15u of U500 3x/day would put me at the equivalent of 225u/day. And that's about as low as I think I can go - at least until I start to lose some SIGNIFICANT weight!)

Nevertheless, this is a HUGE improvement. My numbers are better and I feel better!!!

Sounds like a "Win-Win" to me! I just need to stick to it!

* * * * *
Much as I'd like to report a "Win-Win-Win," unfortunately, the weight loss doesn't seem to be happening - yet. Of course, since I'm still weaning myself off of carbs - I've allowed myself a bit more "freedom" in the quantity of food I'm eating - as long as it's "Legal" and Low-Carb. I think once Ketosis fully kicks-in, I should reach a point where I don't have much hunger and the intake will decrease naturally (Although I should note: I'm not "stuffing my face" non-stop! But some of my food choices are pretty damned heavy in fat and calories. Like fried hamburger, eggs, bacon, cheese, etc. Very "filling" but not very kind to the waistline, unfortunately!).

And I haven't been *quite* as Militant as I'd hoped. Maintaining CHO intake under 20g is pretty damned challenging. I've actually stayed more in the 20-30g range (with a couple of blips into the 50-60g range - and yes, I "feel it" when that happens - I feel hungover the next day!)

Plus, I think that ultimately the quantity of insulin I'm taking is going to prevent any dramatic weight loss (at least the Humulin R seems to be less-likely to pack-on the pounds - as compared to the Analogs). I'm *hoping* that, as the Basal decreases, and I stick to LC a bit longer, maybe the weight loss will follow.

Jenny did make a good point on her site about how Metformin may prevent the "dramatic" inital weight loss that most Atkins Dieters experience - so I'm clinging to that little factoid and doing my damndest not to get discouraged. Unfortunately, I can't find exactly *where* she posted it - but it's somewhere on her Blood Sugar 101 Site!

(She's published a book that is a definite Must-Read - even if you're not diabetic. If you're "predisposed" toward Diabetes [as I was - "Thanks, Mom!"] you MUST buy it - or at least read through her site! I *really* wish I had!!!)

At least I haven't GAINED any weight. Not even through the Holidays (and, in my mind, not GAINING weight thru the Holidays is *almost* like Losing weight!)! I'm actually still at my "Pre-Cruise" weight (Cruise was in October - and yes I *did* gain weight that week!) (And promptly lost it once I got home!).

I'm still about 100# heavier than I should be (actually, probably more than that), so I've got a looooooooong haul ahead of me...

FWIW: *Most* of that 100# took up residence AFTER the Diabetes Diagnosis (12/27/07). All those f**kin' drugs were really messing with me - BADLY (The sulfonyureas were simply AWFUL - and the initial experimentation with various analog insulins were equally bad! If not WORSE!) (Analogs=Bad for Weight Loss. That's been MY experience, anyway - YMMV).

And, to top it off, when you're THIS heavy AND you feel like a Snail on 'Ludes... Well, the very idea of "Exercise" pretty-much goes out the window. Merely getting out of bed in the morning was more "exercise" than I could bear, sometimes!

* * * * *
So, that said, I am THRILLED to have my BG#'s "Under Control" (I can legitimately say that now!) (Did I mention that my last A1C in November was 6.2??? Okay, I'm not in the "5% Club" YET - but it's still pretty damned good when you consider that my Starting A1C, last year, was over 11!!!) and I'm DOUBLY-THRILLED that I have some energy.

No, I'm not signing up for the Boston Marathon or anything, but I'm doing the next-best-thing: I'm going to go out to my garden and start tackling my Winter-Maintenance Chores this weekend. I intend to prune and spray the fruit trees and start chopping back much of the now-dead Cannas...

That may not *sound* like much - but it's a start!

Okay, signing off for now.......

Back to Normal...

Well, the Tree is gone. Lights are all taken down. Blow-Up-Santa-On-A-Harley is back in his box... Things are still a bit disheveled and the garage is a disaster area b/c all the Christmas Sh*t needs to go back up in the rafters, but the Normal Routine is starting to return....

And this is the week that The World returns to Work.

My job is such that, normally, the very last couple of weeks of the year are D-E-A-D. All of my New-Year Implementations are *supposed* to be complete and I get a couple weeks of downtime to file away last year's stuff.

This year, unfortunately, I didn't get that "break" (too many clients waited 'til the Last Minute to get their implementations rolling). And now things are back in full-swing again

:::sigh:::

Add to it, the Christmas Cold/Flu on top of the General Holiday Madness... And the fact that DH's company was on shut-down - which meant he was here 24/7 for a week-and-a-half (Love him dearly - don't get me wrong - but there is NO ONE on the PLANET that I want to be with 24/7! Not even MYSELF!!!)...

I was pretty much reaching the end of my rope (Stress-wise!).

Yep - I'm pretty-much ready to go back to my normal routine!

So today was a WAH (Work-At-Home) Day, and Rog went into the office. I suspect many of my clients are slogging through emails and generally getting back-into the daily grind. Although (lucky me!) I did have three conference calls scheduled today. I got through 'em, but all I could think about was how much I enjoyed having the house All To Myself!!!

Even the dogs settled back into their normal routine: sleeping in the guest-room most of the day - as opposed to playing the "Let-Me-In/Let-Me-Out" Game 542,968 times a day!!! (Pandemonium reigns supreme when Papa's Home!).

I did manage to squeeze out a few loads of laundry; Cleaned the kitchen; Started a batch o' Smokey Pork Roast... And - Get This! - I vaccuumed up the Christmas-Tree-Poop and started putting the living room back together!

Yes, vaccuuming - for me - is a Big Freakin' Deal!

June Cleaver, I ain't! (That's the Understatement of the Year!).

Funny Story there: When I first met Roger, he had a maid who would come in once a month to tackle the dusting, vaccuuming, toilet-scrubbing, yada-yada stuff. He *did* do his own laundry back then (although you'd never guess that now - based on the whining I hear when he's about to run out of clean undies: "I'm gonna hafta go COMMANDO!!!"). Well, when I first moved in, I started tackling some of the light-duty household chores. First was laundry (And yes, I regret that decision - to this day!!!). And I'd do a light wipe-down of the kitchen couple-three times a day. And, over time, I became the Dishwasher Fairy who made the dishes magically load themselves into the dishwasher - and also caused them to levitate and make their way back into the cupboards... (To be fair - I *did* pretty-much take over the kitchen when I started bringing in matching dishes and flatware and cutlery that actually *cut,* and cookware that didn't flake-off Teflon into our food...).

Well, a short while after I'd moved in - but before Rog began to fully grasp the concept of learning how to express one's desires in a manner that was inoffensive to the recipient (This is an ongoing lesson, by the way. Rog is a notorious "blurter" and doesn't always - ummm - THINK before he speaks!). He was still in Kindergarten as far as that lesson goes, but I *do* applaud his efforts in this particular instance!

Anyway, after I'd moved in, Rog decided to try to broach the subject of Aida, the maid, and was there any way that I would be his Domestic Goddess/Dream-Come-True, right?! It's kinda hard to relay verbally b/c there were lots of non-verbal messages going on in this exchange. But the conversation went something along the lines of this:

"Well, I have a maid, Aida, who comes in once a month..."

"Really? That's nice." I replied.

"And, well...." [I can just tell that he's DYING for me to jump in and say "Oh no, Dear - *I'll* take care of the house!"] "Well, there's two of us here, now..." [Pregnant pause]

"Uh huh." [I have mastered the Art of "Denseness," where appropriate"]

"Well. With two of us here, things get a little messier now." [Pause, yet again... His mind is ticking away and he's realizing that things aren't going as planned!]

"Uh huh." [Mama didn't raise no fool!]

"Well, I think I'll have Aida start coming in every three weeks instead..." [Good Answer!!!]

So yeah, we still have Aida take care of the scubby-vaccuming-dusting chores. Yeah, I work-at-home most of the time - but the keyword there is "WORK." Yes, I have a fulltime JOB! Yeah, I can squeeze in laundry while I'm on conference calls and whatnot - but I definitely don't have the time for full-on Housekeeping (and, quite frankly, I suck at it anyway!!!) (Just ask my mom!!!). But since Aida's not gonna be here for a couple more weeks, I figured I'd break down and vaccuum the living room :::GASP!:::

So that was MY excitement for the day! Well that and making my pork roast.

* * * * *
Here, I'll even share the recipe (Straight from my Rival Crock-Pot Booklet)!





The recipe is actually for "Hickory Smoked Brisket" - but I use it for Pulled-Pork instead.

3-4 lb Beef Brisket [or Pork Shoulder or Butt Roast]
1/4 cup Liquid Smoke [Hickory or Mesquite - whatever you prefer]
1/2 tsp Celery Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Place meat on a large sheet of aluminum foil. If there's a fatty-side, make sure the fatty side is on top (you want the fat to drip-down and cook *into* the meat to keep it tender).

Sprinkle with seasonings and pour liquid smoke on top. Wrap the foil around the meat, seal it up and put it in the Crock-Pot. Cook on low 8-12 hours, or High 4-6 hours.

I would think that if you were doing brisket (I never have!), you'd stick to the directions and when it was all done, you'd remove the roast. Slice and serve warm with juices over each slice.

So here's where I get all creative:

I used 3 cloves of fresh, minced garlic and 4 Tbs onion flakes (in lieu of the powdered stuff). And tossed in a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary (discard before serving). Also, about halfway thru the cooking, I added chopped fresh onion (about half of a large onion). I also added cooked bacon pieces.

I generally overcook the hell out of it, til the meat falls apart. Today's roast was almost 6 lbs (and had to be squished forcibly, into my 5 quart crock-pot) so I'm cooking on High for 8-10 hours [it ended up taking 9 hours]. Once it reaches the "starting to fall apart" stage, I'll remove the foil and dump the roast in the crock pot. If it's too liquid/fatty, I'll use a turkey baster to suck out the excess (set aside, in a bowl, in case I need to add it back in)

Once it really starts to fall apart, I'll grab a knife and a fork and pull it apart into little chunks. Dig out and discard the bone (if applicable). Then I usually pour-in tons of BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's Hot 'n Spicy mixed, half-n-half, with K.C. Masterpiece Hickory or Mesquite) and let it simmer for another hour. Makes AWESOME pulled-pork sandwiches!!!

This time, since I'm on my Low-Carb Kick, I won't cook it with BBQ sauce (might add a little drizzle on top, later).

Or - one recipe I'm dying to try (haven't, yet!) can be found on Jenny's Blood Sugar 101 page: Indispensable Low Carb Treats.

The roast is actually quite tasty - even without the BBQ sauce!

Oh, and for a variation on that whole recipe: I've done something similar to make Hawaiian Kahlua Pork. In order to nearly-duplicate the Hawaiian (cooked-in-a-pit) flavor, you need to wrap the roast in (Banana, Canna or Ti) leaves *inside* of the foil and sprinkle it generously with Sea-Salt and Liquid Smoke (Remove the leaves when you take the roast out of the foil).



Optional - you can also add 2 cans of spinach during the last 2 hours of cooking (I've not tried the spinach option myself - so can't comment on it!).

I made Crock-Pot Kahlua Pork, as a side dish, for a BBQ this past summer and got RAVE reviews (from Native Island People and everything!!!)

Anyway, it's deeee-lish and actually pretty easy to make if you're into the Crock-Pot Thing...

* * * * *
Regarding Militant Low-Carbing: I did GREAT the first day. But I'd forgotten that Rog set us up with a lunch-date on Saturday. A former colleague of his, Jerry, got hit HARD with the Bubble-Bust and is currently jobless and homeless. So we took him out to lunch. We went out for BBQ Ribs - but I kinda broke the Militant Low-Carb rule (I suspect Armadillo Willie's Sauce is NOT low-carb!).

I jumped back on the wagon yesterday, but I need to get thru the Three Solid Days of Low-Carb to fully de-tox! I feel like a Zombie right now (Ugh!)

On the Plus Side: For the Militant Low-Carb Days, I've needed NO Bolus insulin AT ALL! And my BG#'s have remained pretty-damned flat (70-130, for the most part). Hell, I might even be able to dial-back on the Basal, at this rate!

* * * * *
DH is home now, so no more blogging now. I'll try to update later!

Happy New Year!!!

Okay, I'm a couple of days late - but what the hell...

We celebrated NYE one night early by going to one of Roger's Hippie DeadHead Shows: Bob Weir and Rat Dog; and Phil Lesh and Friends at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in downtown San Francisco.

We hooked up with a couple of Roger's old DeadHead Friends and had a good time. I was still sniffling and coughing up a storm - but did manage to catch a contact high (to be honest, it was kind of unavoidable!!! The pot-smoke haze was incredible!!!)

The show was good. Roger had a blast. I hung-in there... Honestly, The Dead really *isn't* my thing. But since Rog has been so accommodating in converting over to Parrothead Status, I kinda feel obligated to play along, right?!

It was wise to do that the night before New Years, though. The drive up to SanFran is pretty harrowing on a good day! To tackle that on New Years' would be damn-near suicidal (although we've done it in years' past...)

NYE, we stayed home and watched some Gawd-Awful Fox Network Ring-In-The-New-Year in Vegas featuring some American Idol dude, some brief glimpses of Cirque du Soleil, and the highlight of the evening was "Kaptain" Robbie Knievel jumping the volcano at the Mirage.

The host of this debacle was Mark Thompson who attempted to drum-up Anticipation and Enthusiasm by, essentially, YELLING at the camera non-stop. For once, I found myself actually looking forward to the commercials (of which there were many).

About halfway through the program, my Tourette's started to kick in and I found myself yelling back at the TV "Shut the F**k Up!!!"

Honestly, it was sooooo bad - it was actually amusing. And yeah, we *did* have the Power of the Remote and could have easily changed channels. But it was sooo bad, it was kinda like wanting to slow down and look for carnage when passing a traffic accident!

Still, when it was all said and done, I almost regretted springing for a GOOD bottle of champagne. This occasion really did call for something more along the lines of André!

Actually, I didn't regret buying the Good Stuff - because I saved myself from a raging hangover!

So us Old Geezers managed to stay up past midnight. Toasted the New Year. Continued watching FOX until we saw Robbie successfully jump the volcano - then called it a night!

* * * * *

Warning: Health/Diabetes Ramblings Follow - so if this isn't your cup o' tea, "Move along... Nothin' to see here!"

Now we're a couple of days into the New Year. I did reflect, a bit, on 2008 and all the changes I've gone through (including - GASP - "Getting Old!"). Actually, with the Diabetes Diagnosis and all the pure hell I went through, I pretty much "lost" a year of my life - which really sucks! But along with the reflecting, I had to admit that I feel a whole HELLUVA lot better than I did one year ago. Especially when you consider that I spent the night in the ER on December 26-27, 08. And I was a Complete and Total Zombie until Mid-August '08 (Yes, it took THAT long to *start* to get things under control!).

So I'm certainly off to a better start, this year!

I've never been big into New Years' Resolutions. I kinda figure if you want to do something GOOD for yourself, you don't need to link it to a specific date, right? In fact, "forcing" change like that is almost certainly doomed to failure (but that's just the cynic in me!). Nevertheless, I acknowledge that my health has definitely improved over last-year-at-this-time. But I also acknowledge that thru the process of trying to get my diabetes under control, the pharmaceutical "experiments" my doctors were "practicing" on me - really did wreak havoc on my weight. I mean, it's really, really BAD!!!

So, that said, I've decided to attempt Militant Low-Carbing again. And since I'm NOT calling it a New Year's Resolution, I decided to START it today :-)

I did soooooo well on Atkins back in 1998. I won't delude myself into thinking I'll see the same "Dramatic" results I'd experienced the first time (90# lost in 1 yr - and kept it off for 3 yrs). But I really need to do SOMETHING!

I do have my BG#'s mostly under control now. The Humulin R U500 is working like a CHARM. Of course, I'm taking massive doses (75u/day which is equivalent to 375u of "normal" insulin). I had also been taking Novolog (appx 60-100u/day - on TOP of the Humulin) (Yes, sometimes I was taking close to 500 units of insulin a day - No Sh*t!!!). I'd take that to "cover" meals. Carbs, mostly. But I strongly suspect that the Carbs + Novolog were worsening the weight situation. So now I've cut back the carbs significantly and I'm finding I don't need the Novolog (except on rare occasions - like if I choose to eat like a normal person!).

Sooooooo.... Here goes! I'm starting on Atkins Induction Phase - "Old Style" (meaning I prepare ALL my own meals and don't buy any of that faux Low-Carb krep - including Atkins Bars/Shakes/Yada-Yada). Oh, and I'm back to logging all of my meals in my PDA so I can keep close-track of EVERYTHING.

Today, I consumed 20g of carbs (Total) and I'm feeling pretty Slow-Mo. I am determined to stick with it for two weeks and GAWD-I-HOPE-I-SEE-SOME-RESULTS!!!

I'm not sure if I'll weigh myself in the interim - or if I'll wait 'til the end of 2 weeks (I should *probably* choose the latter!).

Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I gotta tellya, though - it was a helluva lot easier to do Atkins when I lived alone! This house has waaaaaaay too many illegal foods in it (but DH is a Carbo-holic, unfortunately!)

I'll keep you posted!

The Nutra-Sweet Conspiracy!!!

Excerpt from an email I'd sent to Jenny of Blood Sugar 101 and the Diabetes Update Blog (since I thought this was more in her "realm" of expertise!):

So I had to visit the Vampire [aka "Lab"] yesterday. I was due for a Fasting Blood Test (HBA1C, CRP, Lipid Panel, Thyroid stuff, yada-yada). I'd "aided" my sleep the night before, somewhat, w/pharmaceuticals acquired in Mexico, so I could sleep-in and NOT deal with ravenous hunger between my normal wake-up time of 4:45-5:00am and the Lab's opening time of 8:00am (said time is also met with a verrrrrrrrrrrry long line of ppl and verrrrrrrrrrry long wait!). I showed up around 8:30am, dealt with the vampires fairly quickly, and went on my way...

As is typical, I was absolutely STARVING when I came out of there, and I didn't want to deal with cooking breakfast - so I took the "Ninety-Nine-Cent Heart-Attack" approach. (Yeah, over HALF of my daily caloric allotment and well-over my daily carb allowance!) I went to the Drive-Thru at BK and got a Croissandwich (ate less than half of the croissant and scraped the remaining croissant off the egg/cheese/sausage/bacon, so I could eat it!), Side of hash browns (only ate about 1/3 of 'em) and MEGA-SUPER-INDUSTRIAL-STRENGTH-sized coffee...

"You want cream and sugar with that?" queries the disembodied voice thru the scratchy speaker-box.

"Yeah, cream and Sweet 'N Low" I replied.

Well, I drove to the window and paid for my order. They gave me the goods.....

I drove home MORE THAN ready to nosh (my stomach was rumbling audibly at this point)!

Well, the "pink packets" they gave me were - NUTRA-SWEET!!!! Supposedly 'Extra-Sweet' Nutra-Sweet (according to the package anyway). But decidedly NOT saccharine! (In fact, the package was QUITE clear about stating that it was Saccharine-Free!)

Welllllll... Personally, I HATE aspartame and avoid it like the plague. I'm not actually "sensitive" to it (don't get headaches or any of the other 'nasty effects' that some folks have experienced), but I. Just. Don't. Like. It!

For most things, I use Splenda. But for coffee and tea (especially iced tea) - I really LIKE saccharine (probably b/c in my "formative years" when I first started drinking coffee and tea, saccharine was the only game in town - and I've just gotten used to it).

When I saw the PINK packets of Nutra-Sweet - I was simply aghast! I felt strangely "violated" - like "They" (the Nutra-Sweet Folks) were trying to pull a fast-one on me! (Well, not just ME - but the public, in general!!!).

I mean, seriously, after all these years we (the "General Public") have developed a certain "understanding" about all those packets in the sugar dispensers, right?

• White is Sugar
• Brown is "Natural" (unbleached) Sugar
  
• Pink is Sweet 'N Low (or a generic alternative - but it's SACCHARINE)
• Blue is Nutra-sweet (or generic aspartame)
• Yellow is Splenda (or Sucralose)
  

I did a preliminary "Googling" of "Nutra-Sweet Pink" and haven't stumbled onto any "rants" just yet (Surprisingly!). But I might be Googling it wrong (Perish the Thought!). I did find that the manufacturer of Nutra-Sweet is starting to "market" three different variants of their product in Pink, Blue and Yellow packets (Pink is "Extra-Sweet" - but Saccharine-free. Not sure what that means; Blue is, evidently, reformulated - again - not sure what that means, and Yellow contains a smidgen of Cane Sugar). http://www.nutrasweetswirl.com/

Interestingly enough, I also found reference to some lawsuit back in the late-80's/early-90's about Nutra-Sweet getting their dainties in a wad when a competitor ("Sweet One") tried to "muscle in" on their exclusive-use of blue packets (brief description here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/f47g3424m3l93m07/). It appears that the court may have ruled against Nutra-Sweet in that case... So it seems like maybe now things are coming full-circle!

I lack the tenacity to pursue it much further. But I'm definitely going to be hyper-vigilant whenever I'm dining out - to make sure I *don't* end up using Nutra-Sweet (I carry "Emergency Packets of Pink Stuff" in my purse!).

Still.... I think it sucks that I have to "watch" for this stuff!

So that's my "rant" for today. Jenny's much better about "researching" stuff thoroughly. Turns out she's not a big fan of ANY kinda packaged artificial sweeteners (too much Maltodextrin, aka "dextrose," aka "glucose," aka "Bad for Diabetics!"), so this doesn't really fall under her realm of "Things Worthy of Pursuit."(Only so many windmills can be tilted, after-all!) (To be fair, she actually tackles Legitimate Issues like Flawed "Scientific Studies" - as opposed to "Meaningless Whining" about Aspartame being packaged in pink paper packets!

(Me? I'm All-About-The-Whining!!!)

Later................................

I'm baaaaack!!!!!

:::sigh::: Back to Work! Back to Reality!!!

Wow - A whole week with no internet! And I survived!!! No DT's or nuthin'!

Turns out the ship did have functional WiFi (this trip!) - but it cost $$, and I was too cheap to pay for it. Besides, I was too damned busy (or exhausted!) most of the time to sit in front of a computer.

Unfortunately, I also fell woefully behind in tracking my BG#'s on my spreadsheets. I've got 'em in the meter, but after a week's worth of testing - and all the other stuff that's fallen behind in the Real World - I figured "Screw it!"

I did manage to maintain my #'s. "Pretty well." "Most of the time." But boy did I manage to EAT as well!!! Bad, Bad Nancy! I don't know the final tally in # lbs gained (my scale says "OUCH" when I step on it!). But I figure if the last 10 lbs went on quickly, they should probably drop off fairly quickly as well (Gawd I hope so!!!). My weaknesses were bread/pastries - I'm normally not much into bread but the stuff they served on the ship was to die for!!! And those horrible fru-fru umbrella drinks. I did bring some Baja Bob's powdered Margarita Mix, and some Sugar-Free Hawaiian Punch Singles, but I got sick of 'em, and those Pina Colada/Daiquiri Things they served were soooooooo tasty! (and undoubtedly 90%+ High Fructose Corn Syrup!). So I did definitely have my share of "blips" into the 200's (but I got 'em back down in a hurry, as well).

Soooo... Now I'm back-on-track. 100% Low-Carb AND Low-Calorie 'til I get back "under control." Although today I managed to have a hypo @ 59 and had to pop a couple-three glucotabs - and, okay, maybe a couple of leftover Halloween Kit Kats! (But I only got as high as 108 - so not too bad!)...........

It helps that Roger's out of town again - and we were pretty much out of groceries. He won't be back 'til late Weds so, in the meantime, there is NOTHING here to tempt me (Except for the aforementioned Halloween Candy - which is going to the office TOMORROW).

As for the cruise - aside from eating like a freaking pig - we had a fantastic time. Sharon, as expected, was all "Go-Go-Go-Go-GO!!!" at the beginning of the trip. So much so, I couldn't keep up!!! So there were a couple of times when we were on-shore - she wanted to wander a bit more than I wanted to (/was capable of!), and I had to excuse myself. Sux that I get exhausted so quickly now (it was oppressively hot and humid - so that didn't help much!).

Cabo was one of those stops. She wanted to hike 400 miles over to the shopping center (after we'd just taken a Water-Taxi Tour that rivaled any bucking horse I'd ever been thrown from!). I won't say that she's into shopping, per se. But I'm definitely not a shopper - AT ALL (and I've been to Mexico so many times, I've pretty much bought all the Touristy Crap I'll ever need) (Oddly, I still don't own one of those big obnoxious sombreros, though!). So Sharon had a little bit of alone-time on-shore while I went back to the ship to take a nap!!!

Mazatlan was a pretty good stop. What was really good, was the fact that Rog and I had done the exact same cruise in April - so I had a chance to do some reconnaissance work and had determined that booking a tour in Mazatlan would not require a lot of walking for mom (Very important consideration - she really has difficulty walking any further than, say, half-a-city-block). They have Trams that pick you up at the ship and drive you to the port-exit. Then the Tour Operator met us right there. We did have to walk a short distance to get to the - not quite sure what you'd call it - kinda like an open-air pickup truck-taxi sorta vehicle! It drove us directly to a large motorized Catamaran for a tour of the waters just outside the harbor (saw some cool rock formations, some dolphins, sea lions, etc.).

Mom gets a little weird about boat-rides however (Strange to think - since she loves cruising so much!). She managed to convince herself she was seasick... Then hypoglycemic - and, of course, she doesn't carry her meter!

"Ma - The cruise ship rocked more than this boat is rocking! It's all in your head!"

"Well, I think my blood sugar's too low then..."

"Give me your finger" - as I whipped out my meter! She was 98.

"See! That's LOW!" she proclaimed.

"No it's not mom, it's perfectly normal!"

I ended up giving her two glucotabs just to calm her down. :::rolling eyes::: (Her BG typically runs in the 110-160 range - but she topped 300 one night after choosing a dessert that I *knew* to steer away from! I told her to go for the Sugar-Free option, but she refused!)

Anyway, the Catamaran dropped us off at "Stone Island" (which is more of a peninsula, than an island). The trip to the restaurant was in a tractor-drawn cart - that mom couldn't really climb into - so they arranged for us to be taken in a private car (which I thought was very nice). The car was scary in it's own way, however (floorboards had long-since rusted out and there was plywood for a floor!!!). Very short walk to the dining area which was an open-air restaurant overlooking the beach... Hot and humid, but with a nice sea-breeze so it was really quite pleasant. Food and beverages were included with the package (food was mediocre and drinks were weak - but the tour was cheap, so what can you expect?!). We had the option of selecting several different activities while we were there (Banana boat ride - but Sharon doesn't swim. Snorkeling was also "out." Horseback riding - but I would NEVER subject a horse to my weight!!! Or a City Tour in the Tractor Cart. We ended up paying an extra $25 apiece and Sharon and I went racing down the beach on ATV's for half an hour. Now THAT was FUN!!!!!!!! There were small dunes on the beach so we got to "jump" the ATVs a little. And the wind in the face was a definite plus! I'd never ridden an ATV before and it was waaaaay different from a motorcycle. Took me awhile to get the hang of steering the thing. And every time I stopped, I wanted to put my foot down on the ground!!! But once I got used to it - it really was a LOT of fun! Mom stayed at the restaurant and just enjoyed the breeze and watching the waves (and waving off pushy vendors!!)...

It was definitely a full day for mom - and I'm glad we managed to get her off the ship.

Puerto, as always, was my favorite stop. I LOVE Puerto Vallarta - but it makes me sad every time I go now, to see how much it's grown. It used to be like a sleepy little fishing village and now it's starting to look like freakin' Waikiki with all the tall buildings, hotels, condos, and overall "commercialism." I've been to Puerto - ohhhh, at least half a dozen times. First time was back in the 90's, I think. I went with Beverly, an internet buddy from my old AOL chat-room days (Bev's the one who ultimately got me the job I'm working at now - and yes, we still keep in touch fairly regularly). And we had a great time!

Rog and I went there the year we met - and had a fantastic time. In fact, we went deep-sea fishing on that trip and Rog was playing Eeyore all day long "We're not gonna catch anything. We're gonna get skunked..." And it seemed to be true because the fishing was pretty lame for most of the day. But the night before, I'd purchased a silver marlin pendant and I declared that it was "The Magic Marlin" and that we most certainly WOULD catch a fish that day! As the day wore on, I started rubbing the Magic Marlin and chanting "Heeeere Fishy-Fishy-Fishyyyy!" (Gotta have a magickal incantation, after all!). Soon Rog joined in and he, too was rubbing the pendant and chanting... Well, at the very end of the day, they were getting ready to haul in all the lines and turn the boat towards shore when the captain, up on the tuna tower, shouted "Feesh ON!!!" We turned and looked, and hell's-bells! We had hooked a sailfish! There was one other couple on the boat and we all took turns fighting the fish (who really didn't put up much of a fight, IMHO). Rog was the one who finally landed him, and the deckhand hauled him up on deck. Boy, THEN he started to fight! We've got this big ol' wet, slippery sailfish flopping madly on-deck (with a very long and deadly-looking spear on his nose!). The deckhand hands me this HUGE bat while he's trying to subdue the fish and prevent him from skewering the tourists! (it's bad for business, dont'cha know?!). I'm all "What the hell am I supposed to do with THIS?!!"" Turns out - he just wanted me to HOLD it until he got hold of the bill, then HE whacked him over the head til he was dead (Okay, that's not a very glamorous story, is it?!!).

Well, long story short, the other couple really didn't want the fish - but Rog had been complaining that he didn't have anything hanging on the walls of the den. Our den is very woodsy and cabin-like - one wall is pine paneling, and the ceiling is vaulted w/more pine and big wooden beams. Pretty much, our den was just screaming for a dead-fish to hang on the wall and, as luck would have it, we just happened to catch a very large (and now very dead) fish. So we had him stuffed and shipped home! We've named him Ramone, after our favorite bartender at the Pelicanos Resort!

Oops - I'm digressing again, aren't I?!

So THIS time, Sharon and I went on a Jungle Tour. Saw the jungle where "Predator" was filmed. They had zip-lines, and a natural waterfall/slide thingie (neither of which I participated in - too tired!). Gawd was it hot and humid there! And NO breeze to speak of! You could wring me out like a sponge after THAT trip! But it was fun. Our tour also took us to a Tequila Factory where we sampled their products. Got a bit of a Sales Pitch about how good their stuff was - how they don't export it - how you can only buy it here but it's THE BEST yada yada. They would have happily sold us a bottle of their mid-grade stuff for - ahem - USD$95.00. "Uh, no. I don't THINK so!"

Sorry, it wasn't THAT good!!!

("$95.00 - are you freakin' kidding me?!! Jeesh!")

That's the downside to cruising: The prices on-shore are tripled when the cruise ships are in town (which is one of the reasons why I like land-based vacations).

Oh, and we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was owned by a Mexican-who-moved-to-Montana, who-learned-to-be-a-chef, then moved-back-to-Mexico. I had Shrimp Costa Azul. Large shrimps, stuffed with cheese, wrapped with bacon and grilled, and served with a light (not-too-sweet) pineapple sauce. Oh my GAWD - it was positively orgasmic!!! I think I'll have to do a little culinary experimentation and see if I can't duplicate that. Lunch wasn't too terribly expensive (by US standards, anyway). I think it was about $20 US. Definitely worth it!

Back to the Ship: While we were on-board, the ship hosted some Halloween Parties. Sharon and I came prepared w/costumes. I was a Witch (Black velvet cape, black velvet hat - PERFECT attire for a hot, humid, tropical vacation!!!). Sharon was a Devil. Funny story there: They have the equivalent of TSA (aka "Take Scissors Away") working at the pier. We had to go through Security. I had a plastic broom w/orange mylar broomy-stuff which, fortunately, I was able to squeeze into my big suitcase. Sharon had a red Triton with soft neoprene-like foam on the pitchfork end. It didn't fit in her suitcase, so she was carrying it on-board. Well, since mom was in a wheelchair, we pretty-much got to breeze through Security, but, as we went through, they took Sharon's pitchfork and offered no explanation. She had to chase-down the gal that took it to find out what was going on (she, naturally, assumed that they were just going to run it through the X-Ray machine separately or something). Well, come to find out, they freakin' CONFISCATED IT as a "weapon!!!" A soft, bendy, foam-rubber pitchfork COULDN'T go on the ship!!!! Too Freakin' Ridiculous!!!

It's not like it was the end of the world though. Sharon clearly looked like a devil - even without her triton. I still looked like a witch (yes, my broom did make it through security!)

Funnier still: While we were walking to the Halloween Party (before I managed to sweat-off all of my green make-up!), we passed a little Asian lady who called out "Noncy?!!" I turned and looked back - didn't recognize her and we kept going. She runs up behind us and grabs my elbow "Noncy?!! It IS you! Noncy!!! You don' lemember me?!! You were my superwiser long time ago!!!" Holy Cow! It took me a minute, but it was a Vietnamese lady named Kim - and yes I *was* her supervisor many, many, MANY years ago! (Probably at least 15 years - this was back at BofA - when I had a staff of about 30 Proof Machine Operators). "You come ower here! Phu Nam, she is here too! I want to see if she lecognize you!"

I'm all - Dang! - What are the odds of THAT happening?!! Actually, it was very cool! We chatted a bit and caught-up. She knew I was married now "Annie told me." (Although, how Annie knew, I have no clue!). I *know* word's gonna get back to all of my old employees. They were a very tightknit group - most of 'em were "Fresh Off the Boat" immigrants - and I was fortunate to have been 'integrated' into their little family (Kind of unusual for a whitey like me!)

...So yes, a Grand Time Was Had By All!

And, surprisingly, the room worked out pretty well for the three of us. Ship's staterooms are not known for being particularly spacious - and I was worried about 3 women and all the clothes and luggage fitting in - but it worked out extremely well. It helped that we are all pretty close friends and extremely considerate of each other. The room had two twin beds (that were close-enough together to count as one queen!), and a fold-out sofabed. Sharon chose the sofabed (which was actually the largest bed in the room). Mom and I were flailing about every night whacking each other in our sleep! (So Sharon made the best choice, I think!). We also had a balcony - which made it feel a lot bigger - and was a Godsend because I like my morning coffee (24-Hour Room Service!) and cigarette to start the day...

Although - by the end of the week - I think I'd had my fill of "Togetherness!"

We pulled in to San Pedro on Sunday morning and I drove us all the way back to the Bay Area (I think it's about 400 miles). We pulled up to my house by about 6:00pm-ish (or thereabouts), and I was a freakin' Zombie! Rog and the dogs were very happy to see me.

Rog flew out this morning - he's in Baltimore right now - and I'm really enjoying my "Alone Time" now. He'll be home on Wednesday night and, by then, I should be back into my normal routine again (Ugh! Work!!!).

Anyhoooo... Just wanted to report back that the vacation was AWESOME!!! I wanna be back on the ship!!! Especially since somebody stole summer while I was gone!!! Our pool is now officially CLOSED and there's WATER falling out of the sky now - Waaaahhhhhh!!!!

"While You Were Out" Part IX - End-Of-Day Musings

Okay, the sun has set and now I have a chance to look at the paint with just interior lights. I painted a patch right next to the kitchen, so it's getting some fluorescent light. I'm sitting here in the kitchen and looking over at it. I can actually see the patch now, the greenish hue is more evident, and I like it (I couldn't see the patch, at all, before!!!). The patch over by the front door is visible as well. It's definitely darker, but not unpleasant since it's a warm tone. The sofa-wall patch is lit by an incandescent lamp, and it, too, looks nice. But it really isn't "dramatically different."

Soooooo... Yep! I've pretty much decided that the wall behind the sofa is going to go "darker" and become an "Accent Wall." The color will be "Beachwalk" and it is *definitely* Golden! Gold, with a hint of green. It's a good 2-3 shades darker than the "Sweet Marzipan" that's going on the other walls. I think it'll be a nice backdrop for the sofa (Give it some "pop" - much as I hate that word!).

And if I replace my black lampshades with something significantly lighter, I think things'll still be plenty "bright."

I mean, honestly, it'd really suck to do all this work and have it not be noticeably different!

Door and trimwork will be "Beach Sand." A much, much lighter - almost white - color with a slight hint of gold.

I can't guarantee I'll get the door and trimwork done before Roger's return. I really do have a difficult time keeping my momentum!

Side-Note: I am a Classic Psycho-Gemini who has, umm, Attention-Span Issues! I usually have at least half-a-dozen projects going at once - and rarely do ANY of them get completed!

My job is actually perfect for me. I'm a Business Systems Analyst and I usually have about 20-30 different Client Projects going at once. I am a Supreme Multi-Tasker and I love juggling multiple projects. Also, nearly all of my engagements are short-term (lasting weeks- to months), so I never get a chance to get "bored!"

So for me to have to concentrate solely on ONE thing for several-days-in-a-row is pretty excruciating for me!

(Conversely, Roger is an Electronics Engineer and excels at FOCUSING on ONE THING, to the exclusion of EVERYTHING ELSE. I think we've got that whole "Opposites Attract" thing kickin' - but the differences between us have proven to be quite challenging, at times!!!)

Tomorrow should be better, actually. I'm working from home, so I'll be able to split my attention between Work-Work and Painting-Work. I just hope none of my clients decides to "have a crisis" tomorrow!!

Oh, and my friend-and-colleague, Joysey-Kathie, suggested that I try to get one of those Edging Pad Tool thingies. There's a write-up on 'em here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/surveys/survey-are-paint-edgers-worth-itboston-053259 Evidently, she was helping a friend of hers with an interior painting job. He used one of these and she claims it did a pretty good job. I figure it's worth the $10 investment to try it out. I really am dreading climbing up on the ladder to do cut-work on the vaulted ceiling. I figure I'll try it with the light paint tomorrow. Even if I do screw up and smudge the ceiling a bit, it shouldn't be too noticeable - since the "lightness" of the paint is pretty close to the beige - and the ceiling is dirty anyway.

Figure we'll let the professionals fix it when I convince Rog to hire 'em!

If the edger thing works okay, then I'll use it over on the Accent Wall as well. If not, then I'll do the climb-a-ladder thing. But it shouldn't be toooooo painful if I'm only doing the one wall.

As far as energy goes: Methinks it's the diabetes. Well, diabetes and chinese food. Not a good combination! Yes, I *can* indulge every once in awhile. But that means ONE MEAL, ONE TIME! Unfortunately, I ended up getting three meals out of yesterday's Chinese Take-Out Debacle. The late-night snack was a bad idea, and I woke up with higher-than-normal (but not off-the-charts) blood sugar. So that gave me a "bad-start" for the day, and it's still difficult for me to recover. Then I ate MORE chinese food for lunch again today. Verrrrry bad.

When I found myself feeling slow-mo this afternoon, it didn't occur to me to check my blood sugar right away. I wrote it off to being tired from all the physical labor. By the time I did check, I was up to 226 (Verrrrry Bad!), so that explains the Zombie-like feeling.

I have since dosed myself with more insulin, but I don't expect to recover fully tonight. :::sigh:::

But I can't beat myself up too badly. I mean, this really is the first BIG project I've tackled since I was Dx'd back in December. And this *is* a pretty big project! I've accomplished a lot, so far - and I WILL accomplish even more! "Chin up" and all that!

So I plan to take it easy tonight, go to bed early, and plan for a Better Tomorrow!

"While You Were Out" Part IV - Day One: Stick a Fork in Me!

Okay... Stick a fork in me because I am DONE for today (unless I get a 'Sudden Burst of Energy' later tonight!)

Swiffering is complete. It took about half-a-dozen swiffer pads, but I think I got rid of the cobwebs and dust-bunnies (for the most part!).

Spackling is also complete.

I've filled all the holes except for the molly-bolts that hold the curtain rod. I found lots of cracks - which is somewhat troubling. Then again, the house *is* 35 yrs old and we do live in earthquake territory - so I guess some settling/cracking is to be expected.

However, I did find a "run" of textured plaster - where the living room opens to the kitchen - that seems to be "sagging" somewhat. I first noticed it winter-before-last when the roof started leaking (we have since replaced the roof, BTW). But I suspect that this was an issue before Rog bought the house (in '98) because I found that "someone" had attempted to repair it with - SCOTCH TAPE of all things!!! (Yes, Scotch Tape!)

The previous homeowner was "Mr. Do-It-Yourself" with.... let's just say... "marginal" handyman skills. We've uncovered all SORTS of surprises over the years. My personal favorite was discovered when Sears came to install a new dishwasher (since the old one sounded like a 747 with it's reverse-thrusters in full-operation!). The installer discovered that the old dishwasher had been wired-up with a standard, household-grade extension-cord SPLICED IN with nothing but electrical tape holding the splice together!!!

Yeah, electricity and water - under the sink! Freakin' Genius!!!

Anyway, I looked at the sagging plaster and contemplated scraping it off - but then I'd have to apply new plaster and attempt to match the texture. That is definitely "Out-Of-Scope" for my skillset, so I've opted to leave it alone - other than removing the Scotch Tape and spackling the developing cracks (which will no-doubt return, and get worse, over time!).

Whenever/If-ever we decide to hire professional painters, we can pay THEM to repair it properly and re-paint it. Paint-wise, it's a pretty small wall to re-do - and I'm sure I'll have enough paint left over...

Some of the other cracks I discovered were on "inner" corners, so I had to apply the spackle with my fingertips. But most of the cracks/holes were standard "putty-knife" fare. So that's all done!

I just have to wait for the spackle to dry, then sand it.

Then scrub the walls, prime the spackle-spots, tape (UUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!), then PAINT!

Yeah - sounds simple, doesn't it?!!

How come they can get all this sh*t done in under 30 minutes on TeeVee, huh?!! THEY make it look SIMPLE!!! Oh yeah... "The simplest, least-expensive way to give your home a face-lift is to PAINT it!"

Bastitches!

(Mind you, I haven't even PURCHASED the paint yet!!!)

:::sigh::: Are we having fun yet???

P.S. On a Diabetes-related note: Yes, I did "pay" for the Chinese Take-Out Lunch, but not too badly. BG rose to just over 150 - 2 hrs after lunch (despite the pre-emptive Novolog "strike"), but no long-term ill-effects. Did I mention that I am THRILLED w/the Stanford Endocrinologist and the new Insulin Regimen???? ;-)

"While You Were Out" Part III - Lunch Break!

Okay, lunch-break time...

Actually, lunch-break is over now. But I want to regroup and enjoy a cigarette and an Adult Beverage before I dive back into it...

Lunch (if you care) was Chinese Take-Out. Not exactly "Diabetic-Friendly" but since I've started the new U500 insulin, it's nice to know I *can* indulge every once in awhile. Prior to lunch, with all the running-around I'd been doing, my BG had dipped into the low 90's so I felt "safe" with getting some chinese food (I did take a pre-emptive dose of Novolog, however). Sooo, mushu pork, almond chicken and tomato-beef chow mein for lunch. Followed by an "Orange Push-Up" - the Adult Beverage Du Jour: Sugar-free orange soda, vodka and a tablespoon of cream over ice (Stir well. Or blend - if you so choose!). I get a little tired of "Orange" after awhile, so I embellished mine with a little dribble of Sugar-free Banana Syrup (from http://www.naturesflavors.com/ - I am not affiliated w/them in any way. I just like their "stuff!"). So I guess you could say I'm enjoying an OrangAna Push-Up - or maybe a BanOrange Push-Up. In either case, it's Good Stuff!

"So how's the painting coming along, Nancy?!!"

:::rolling eyes:::

Okay, so I told myself that I wasn't gonna "stress" over this (although I Abso-LUTELY want to "finish" it before Rog comes home Thursday night). So presently I'm in "Do-what-I-want, When-I-Want-To. In-A-Manner-That-Pleases-Me" Mode!

In other words, I'm taking it sloooooooooow right now! Hell, I can stay up 'til midnight, or later, if I so choose, right?!!

As of this moment: All of the furniture is crammed into the middle of the living room, and is safely ensconced under drop-cloths; Electrical outlet covers/switchplates have been removed; Curtains are down (but the hardware isn't, yet!) - and I'm making note of the fact that our front window actually *is* fairly large and rethinking the heavy velvet [Cheap K-Mart] drapes that I *had* hanging there. Not sure what I want to replace 'em with, but I'd like something a bit lighter-weight and that will open FULLY.

Oh, and I did a preliminary "swiffering" of the dust and cobwebs. Very "preliminary!" I need to hit the walls again with a fresh swiffer pad. And I need to drag out the vaccuum cleaner as well. The dogs were having a Field-Day with the dust-bunnies that lived behind the furniture!!! (but they're lousy cleaners - if you ask me!!!)

Next Step: Scrubbing the walls with this Jasco Liquid TSP "Substitute." Freakin' Home Depot doesn't carry TSP anymore - I guess it's not "green" or something. And please tell me I'm not alone in feeling a little "sick-to-death" of the latest "Go Green" trends??? Don't get me wrong - I'm all "for" saving Mother Earth and all that (Yes, we recycle - and I *even* do my own composting!!!), but I think we're starting to go a little "over-the-top" here, folks...

(Case-in-point: I was watching some show on HGTV several weeks/months back... They were featuring some Mega-Mansion someplace [the details escape me, to be honest]. One thing that stuck out in my mind was how they were really highlighting the homeowner's choice of floor materials. Evidently, they'd re-used stone [or marble, or granite, or whatever] flooring that was dug-up from some super-old Chateau in France or Switzerland [or someplace], and they were carrying-on - on the show - about how "Green" that was: To recycle materials from this old European Home, right? Well, yeah, at face-value, that "sounds good" and all that. But we weren't talking about some 800 square foot home, right? It's a mega-mansion! And it was freakin' STONE! I mean, seriously folks - How much did it COST to dig-up the flooring, prep/recycle it, and TRANSPORT it from Europe to the U.S. of A? I'm not talking just dollars [or Euros] here, I'm talking "Mother Earth's Resources." It's all very-well-and-good to claim that you're "green" and all that - but seriously!!! Jeezus Criminy!!!)

* * * * *
Can you tell I'm not eager to start scrubbing the walls??? I seem to be - umm - stalling, huh?!!

Okay, enough yammering for now. I'm jumping back into it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My First Day Back...

...In the office since the "fit hit the shan" back in December!

Actually, that's not entirely true. I had been making "random appearances" when I felt up to it. Most of the time, I honestly didn't feel safe-enough to drive the 40+ miles to the office - so I stayed home.

And I am extremely grateful that I've got bosses who are "understanding" and allowed me the flexibility to work-at-home on a more-or-less fulltime basis while I got this Diabetes sh*t under control!

Nine Freaking Months!!! Yes, it took NINE MONTHS to get my blood glucose "under control!" (That's practically like childbirth!!!)

Thank GAWD for the Enocrinologist at Stanford!!!

And Thank GAWD for my Pig-Headedness in NOT accepting the half-a$$ed bullsh*t "treatments" that my Clueless doctor(s) were suggesting!!! No, I'm not going to launch into a tirade (tempting though that may be!), but my last visit w/my GP ended with a "My way or the Highway" attitude.

He gave me two options - neither of which were acceptable. Neither of which would have worked...

"Well, those are the only things I can do for you" and he basically REFUSED to write any more prescriptions for me.

"Actually, there IS one more thing you can do for me - You can write me a referral to see someone who knows what the hell they're doing Stanford's Endocrinology Clinic."

He reluctantly wrote the referral.

Annnnnnnywaaaaaayyyy... Thank GAWD!!!

So, I made it into the office today. I was definitely craving Human Interaction - and everyone I work with LOVES ME! And what's not to love?!! I *am* the "Supreme Goddess Extraordinaire" after all (Would that I could have that printed on my business cards)!

Both of the bosses remarked on how much BETTER I looked. "Not that you looked BAD, but..."

Awwww Bless Their Hearts!

Seriously, it was great getting back to see my peeps! Unfortunately, I spent entirely too much time BS-ing with people (I actually WORK a helluva lot harder from home - to tell you the truth!).

So I'm going back to my Tuesday / Thursday "in the office" schedule. I'll probably stick with the 5-6 hours "in the office" and 3-4 hours "login from home" schedule - because the traffic can be pretty stressful (and stress has an adverse effect on BG), but I'll work toward getting back to my former schedule...

Looking back - now that I'm feeling HUMAN again - I can't even imagine how I was getting through "life" before this!!! I really was a fulltime Zombie!

Not a whole heckuva lot going on - other than My Big Exciting Day at the Office (and it really wasn't THAT exciting!). Other than that, nothing particularly noteworthy to blog about :::sigh:::

Come to think of it - Sometimes NO excitement is actually a Good Thing!

Someday, maybe, this blog'll pick-up a bit in the Entertainment Realm. I just haven't stumbled onto any particularly amusing tales of late.

Time will tell.............