Birthday Baking

My birthday is coming up in a couple weeks, but I just received an early birthday present from my parents. This beauty:

I LOVE it!  I have made biscotti and cupcakes so far.  It'll be especially awesome for all my holiday baking this coming year.  Thank you, thank you, thank you mom and dad!  Next time you come visit, I'll whip you up a delicious treat :)

Deliciousness, I Think

I was in the cooking spirit this morning, so I browsed my recipe book and picked out 2 dishes - Corn Potato Chowder and Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting (both recipes from Shape Magazine).
I went to the grocery store and got to work.  The soup was so easy to make and only took 30 minutes.  I added leftover rotisserie chicken from Costco to give it a little protein.  Without the chicken it's only 178 calories for 2 cups - not bad!

While the soup was simmering, I got to work on the cupcakes.  Each cupcake is only 139 calories.

So this all looks delicious, but I can't enjoy it.  For the past 2+ weeks I've been without taste or smell.  (Yes mom, I *promise* to call the doctor on Monday...)  I had a cold that seemed to turn into allergies, that seemed to turn into who knows what.  I'm still slightly congested and no matter what I do, can't seem to regain my taste or smell.  In the meantime, all this yumminess is left for Brad.

"We're Real Adults Now"

Yesterday Brad and I spent the morning pulling weeds in our yard....ugh!  It took us a few hours to deadhead flowers and pull the weeds that seem to be taking over faster than we can keep up with.  Does anyone have any good tips to keep weeds at bay?  We bought screen to lay down but haven't installed it yet.  What about sprays or pellets?  Oh the joys of home ownership...

After that, we did something a little more fun - we headed to the Sacramento Home and Landscape Expo.  I know this might sound weird, but I loved it!  Now that we're homeowners, I have a real interest in landscaping, gardening; anything house related (minus weeds!)  I told Brad while we were at the expo, "I feel like we're real adults now, going to a home and garden show on a Friday night." :)  

While we were there, I entered to win a garage makeover - how amazing does that look?  It's a $10,000 value, so the only way we're getting that is if we win

Our $5 entry fee into the show, gave us 4 River Cats (a local minor league baseball team) tickets, good for anytime during the season.  I can't wait for the springtime, to be outside enjoying the sunshine.

After the expo, we went and saw True Grit.  I'll be honest.  Brad has been wanting to see this since it first came out and I was dragging my feet.  After saying that he was going to go by himself to see it, I sucked it up and went along.  The movie was EXCELLENT!  Highly recommend seeing.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

A Man and His Dog

I love these 2 boys.

Arizona

We just returned from 5 days in Tucson, Arizona with my parents.  University of Arizona is my dad's old stomping grounds and he hadn't been back since he graduated 30+ years ago.

It was a sad time to go because of the Tragedy in Tucson that happened last week where 6 people were killed outside a grocery store.  To get to our hotel, we had to drive by the hospital where congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is at.  There were parking lots filled with local and national news vans, as well as flowers and candles surrounding the hospital.  Our thoughts and prayers are with those victims.

Aside from what went on the previous week, our vacation went on.  Our first stop after the airport was to visit the Pima Air and Space Museum where we saw 300+ airplanes from different military branches and wars.  This was Brad's favorite place.

My favorite place on the other hand, was the Tucson-Sonora Desert Museum where we saw tons of adorable animals.

prairie dogs! My mom and my favorite!

hi friends!

After the museum, we headed to the U of A campus where we walked around and then saw a 45-minute Pink Floyd laser light show .

The following day we went to Tombstone, Arizona where the infamous Doc Holliday shooting occured at the OK Corral.  We were able to see an acted-out rendition of the showdown.  I love visiting old towns and stepping back into the past.

That night we went to Laffs Comedy Club and saw Don Barnhart - we had a lot of good laughs from him.

The next day we hiked Sabino Canyon - awesome!  

 we missed our modeling call

the little hut where we ate lunch at Mt. Lemmon

The last day, before heading back to the airport, we went and saw The Dilemma with Vince Vaughn and Kevin James - so funny!

We had such a great time experiencing "The Wild, Wild West".  Thank you mom and dad for everything!!!  We love you!

Diabetic Perfection. For Today At Least.

These past 4 days' blood sugars have been really good, but today tops it. Maybe it's because I don't work, so my life revolves around checking my blood sugars and eating every few hours.  I've been sick with a cold for the past 10 days and finally was prescribed amoxicillin for a sinus infection.  Trying to eat without any taste is not fun, but I'm really trying hard to follow the diet.  They really, really push protein the most (at least 30g each time I eat).  Here's what my daily schedule looks like.  Nutrition labels and measuring cups have become my best friends.

Breakfast: (106 blood sugar) 2 starches (30g carbohydrates), protein (at least 30g), fat, vegetables

Mid-morning snack: (78) 1 starch (15g carbohydrates), 1/2 dairy (4 oz. yogurt), protein, fat, vegetables

Lunch: (75) 2 starches, 1 dairy (6 oz. yogurt for example), 1 fruit (small apple, 1/2 banana, etc.), protein, fat, vegetables
(1 hour after - 98)

Mid-afternoon snack: (73) 1 starch, 1/2 dairy, protein, fat, vegetables

Dinner: (104) 2 starches, 1 dairy, 1 fruit, protein, fat, vegetables
(1 hour after - 115)

Bedtime snack: (94) 1 starch, protein, fat, vegetables

So that's what my daily food schedule looks like.  Now if only my blood sugars could be like that every day...

Call Me A Duck

Tomorrow is a huge day for our family!  Oregon takes on Auburn for the BCS National title.  So in honor of my Ducks, here are a few videos that have been circulating the web lately:

Ladies Luncheon

Today my 2 neighbors and I attended a Wives Luncheon for our husbands' work company.  It wasn't put on by the company - just a wife wanting everyone to get together and meet.  It was so great to meet all these women, from all over Northern California, who were in the same boat as us (husbands gone half the week, stressful jobs, etc, etc.)  It's also such a small world too that my 2 neighbors' husbands and Brad all work for the same company.

My two neighbors 

(the one in gray across from me & next to her in black

Diabetes Reality

I'm waiting for my doctor to call me back today about the records I sent in.  I've had a cold these past 4 days with no appetite.  I've been forcing myself to eat and stick with my schedule as best I can.  I know they probably are going to say "She's not sticking to the diet" (like they did last time).  Like my friend said last night, "tell her to suck it."  HA!  I think that sometimes, trust me...but I keep telling myself she's looking out for my best interest.
Anyways, I found this excellent blog post on Texting My Pancreas yesterday and wanted to share her so-true experiences. 


If you're one of the chosen few who carry this burden of diabetes, you know that sometimes those good days and happy numbers are few and sporadically placed - and that means you know what Real Diabetes looks like.

Real Diabetes is the combination of poor choices, untimely boluses, and that mischievous leprechaun in my pancreas that kept me above 200 the majority of Tuesday. 

Real Diabetes is the guilt and self-scolding that follows.

It's discovering a failed insulin pump site shortly after finishing your restaurant meal, which you weren't sure about the carb count to start with.  It's wondering how much of that insulin actually absorbed, how much leaked out, and if you can get home before the ketones start spilling.

It's being stuck in a subway terminal with a blood sugar of 54 mg/dL and discovering you've run out of glucose tabs.

Real Diabetes is interrupted REM sleep; it's carrying a bigger purse than most; it's sometimes looking at food as medicine.

It's weird lumps under your clothing, made of plastic, metal, and science.  It's blood smears on important documents and favorite shirts.  It's hypoglycemia at the most inconvenient moments - while working out, while at work, while trying to sleep, while attempting intimacy.

Real Diabetes is the weight and relief inherent in doctor-spoken phrases like "nothing has changed",  "looks great", and "everything's normal", and the sadness, defeat, and frustration of hearing anything but that.

It's looking at every out-of-range number as one step closer to complications - except no one knows how long and winding their road is, or if there's even really anything at the end of it for certain.

It's wondering how life would be different if you weren't spending that large chunk of income on simply being alive.

Real Diabetes is sometimes feeling lost, frustrated, angry, or complacent.  It's just that - real.  It isn't always full of 104s and skilled insulin dosing. 

The fact that I blog about and advocate for diabetes doesn't make me an expert; nor does how long I've lived with it.  I'm not a shining example of what to do, or how to succeed at managing it.  What I am is a person with diabetes sharing my story, and trying hard, and putting out there as many sides of this as I can - the good, the bad, the annoying, and the difficult.

We do the best we can with it, because that's all anyone can do.  Because it's not about how many times you get knocked down - it's about how many times you get back up to keep fighting.

Hello 2011

We're not much into celebrating the New Year; to me, it's just another day.  We wound up going over to our neighbor's house and stayed until 3am visiting and playing board games.  It was definitely a low-key night, more my style.
2010 was a good year for us.  Yes, I was laid off from my job, but now it's been a blessing because I'm able to really focus on my diabetes and health.  We adopted 2 more pets: Oliver cat and Chewy dog.  AND....we bought our first house!
Happy 2011 everyone!  I hope this year brings you happiness and good health.

Spouse Sleepover

I found the blog, The Dating Divas, last week.  It's a cute blog on different date ideas for you and your husband.  As I was scrolling through, "A Spouse Sleepover" sounded like fun.  Brad had been gone for 5 days with work, so he came home to this on the garage door:

I had a movie picked out (Good Luck Chuck), candy, and popcorn waiting.  Dinner (ham and mashed potatoes) was on the table and our bed rearranged.

The next morning, with all our leftover ham, I made ham and eggs. 

Brad was definitely surprised, and loved it!  Go check out their website - it's very cute!