Where I've Been

Wow, I can't believe it has been a year since I last wrote here. It's been so long that I actually forgot my Blogger password and had to do the password e-mail dance this morning, begging for entry.

So, where have I been? In a nutshell, I graduated in June and about to embark on my new career. This past year was busy, but worth it for a chance to do something that I think I'm going to love.

Oh, and I got married last month. It was a perfect day from beginning to end. It was raining in the morning as we were getting ready, but I was uncharacteristically calm throughout my hair and make-up session and kept saying, "I know it's going to stop." And sure enough it did stop raining about an hour before the ceremony and stayed clear just long enough for outdoor pictures afterward. I wore my pump under my gown and used my remote control to bolus throughout the day and no one was any the wiser; although I have to say that using the washroom was comical, trying to keep the skirt and train of my dress AND the pump out of the way.

And we had an amazing honeymoon in Mexico, despite it being ridiculously hot and humid at this time of year. We spent most of our time by the pool, which was another interesting pump adventure for me being that it was my first time in a bathing suit since I started using my pump two years ago. Also, I think my insulin went funky in the heat on our third day there. I had perfect bg in the morning, then all of a sudden after lunch it spiked to 26 (468) and I couldn't do anything to bring it back down. When I had an inkling that it might be overheated insulin, I changed my set and reservoir and by late evening it settled back down to where it should be. An annoying disturbance, but our vacation was still fantastic overall!

Now, you may be wondering why am I back here posting all of a sudden after such a prolonged absence. Actually, there were many times throughout the past year that I meant to write something, then a pesky school assignment or lesson planning would get in the way, so it was always put on the back burner. But now that we are back from our honeymoon and settling back into "real life", we are planning for the next step in our future... expanding our little family.

I guess I am here to reach out to those in the Diabetes OC who have experienced pregnancy as a diabetic - and I want to be clear, I want to hear both sides, the good AND not-so-good. I have read all the articles about what to do before getting pregnant; have a good A1C and maintain it, yadda yadda yadda... I suppose I just want to hear more "real" stories about how it really went down for some women, not just doctors spouting what should be done.

I know I haven't been around in a while and most of you have likely forgotten who the heck I am, but I know there are some great people out there with sound words of advice, so this is the first place I'm turning to. What do you have to say, Diabetes OC?

Inflation

I logged into the Medtronic website today to order my monthly supplies.

I clicked through the ordering screens as I normally do without really paying much attention, it's become so routine.

When I finished, the "shopping cart" gave a total of $248.50.

Usually, the total is $238.00.

Huh? Did I select the wrong items?

I glanced above to review my order.

Paradigm 23 x 9mm Quickset 10/Box
Paradigm Reservoir 10/Box

The items are right. Dammit, the prices went up.

I guess even diabetes can't escape from inflation.

p.s. - One good thing is that at least I can order a box of infusion sets next month without a box of reservoirs and not have to pay a delivery charge since infusion sets are now over $200. I'm a couple of boxes ahead in my reservoir supply due to sites falling out and needing to change the set and not necessarily the reservoir of insulin.

I said "yes"...

This summer has turned out to be much more busy than I ever expected. As a result, I've fallen behind in blogging and reading blogs. I'm doing my best to catch up right now (still chuckling at Allison's birthday story).

I submitted my resignation at work last week in preparation for returning to school on August 28th. It's hard to believe that I will be leaving my job of the past 10 years, however I have to say that I will not miss it one bit. The company I work for has gone screwy and several others have also jumped ship, so I'm glad to go. The only thing I will really miss is having 100% medical coverage.

And, you can probably guess the rest from the below picture:

Berry Muffins

Last week, BF's mom gave us a large basket of fresh strawberries that she'd picked at a local farm. We started out eating the berries with light whipped cream for dessert after both lunch and dinner every day, but between the two of us, we were barely making a dent in the basket.

So I started searching for muffin recipes.

I don't bake very often, but I know the basics. The first recipe called for one teaspoon of salt. I thought that it sounded like a heck of a lot of salt, and sure enough it tasted more like a bag of potato chips than a berry-liscious baked good.

After much trial and error, and many of my own tweaks to recipes that I found, I think I've discovered a tasty, low-fat, healthy muffin. Note that these are not overly sweet - they're meant to be more of a breakfast muffin.

Anyway, I thought I would share it here for those who like to bake their own goodies.

I calculate that these are about 23 g of carb each (using strawberries), with 2 g of fibre.

2/3 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. rolled oats (I used the quick-cooking kind)
1/4 c. brown sugar Splenda (or 1/2 cup real brown sugar, which will add 5 g carb per muffin)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1 egg (I used fat-free liquid egg substitute)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups of your favourite berry

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl (except berries). Mix liquid ingredients in another bowl. Add dry to liquid and mix. Fold in berries. Fill muffin tray (makes 12 muffins). Bake for 20-25 minutes at 425 F.

We are now almost out of strawberries. I think I'm going to try blueberries next!

Doctor My Eyes

This morning I had my annual eye exam.

Dr. M is one of my favourite people. We've known each other since I was born (she went to school with my oldest sister). When she became an optometrist, I was excited to be one of her first patients. I always look forward to seeing her, it's more like visiting an old friend.

Until today. Today was all business.

Ok, that's not true. We spent about 60% of the visit chatting about our families in between questions of which line of scrambled letters I could see clearest, and which is better - this lens or that lens?

Then she put in those damn eye drops. You know the ones I'm talking about. Within 15 minutes my pupils were large and I looked like I'd indulged in some illegal substances.

She shone various lights at my eyes and scanned for broken blood vessels.

First the left eye. "Gorgeous, darling".

Then the right eye. "Looking lovely, girl..."

Her voice trailed off and I heard her mutter a soft "hmmm..."

I saw the bright yellow line stop and scan back and forth, over and over in the same spot.

She said there is a light hemmorage in my right eye.
She said to try not to worry, that often they clear up on their own.
She said if it was at the outside of my eye, she wouldn't be as concerned, but it is toward the center of my vision.
She scheduled a follow up next month to recheck.
She said that if it hasn't gone away, I'll need to see a specialist.

I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I don't think I'm scared or worried. I mean, I AM... a little... but I guess I've decided to not let it get to me until next month when I have more information.

I think, more than anything else, I'm a bit peeved since my control has been so much better these past two years. As if my eyes would do this to me now, the nerve!

Anyway, hopefully it will resolve itself. All I can really do is wait and see what happens.