off to the opthamologist

hi there.  it's been over a week since i've been on here.  seems longer. 
i have been busy this past week. 

since my granddaughter's birthday i have worked, and painted, and worked some more. 

this morning i had my 6mth visit with my opthamologist.  at my last visit, he gave me a new prescription because i needed (read wanted) new glasses.  my actual prescription for distance hadn't changed, but the bifocal portion needed to be a little stronger. 

i finally took in the prescription and picked out new frames.  i really like the glasses, but the difference in lenses (from glass to plastic) seemed to bother me.

so today i asked him to check the lenses because i didn't think i was seeing as clearly as i should be.  they were right.  it's just because the size of the lenses is smaller than my last pair so with the bifocal you need to adjust where you are looking out of them.

he checked my vision for distance again.  mentioned that i have dry eyes.  i told him that i notice dry itchy, gravelly eyes when my BG is high.  it's the first way i notice it.  he checked the pressure and all is well.  then came the drops.  we all know about the drops right?  the ones that dilate your pupils?  the ones that make you look stoned.  ya, i love them.  he put them in at 9:00am.

out in the waiting room once again. to sit for 20 minutes.  waiting for the dilation to happen.  i can feel it happening.  things start getting blurry.  it feels as if there is a film over my eyes.  if i could only just peel it off, then i would be able to see again.

back in i go to see how things look in there.  blinding light being shone in my eyes.  trying to stare at his ear, or somewhere other than the light and not to blink.  oh my! 

finally he declares everything is good.  no new leaks.  everything is as good as last time.  come back in 6 months. 

and as for the dryness,  he gave me some sample sizes of "lubricating drops" to try before i buy. 

now it's 3:15PM and if my pupils would just go back to normal size, all would be well in my world!

the day i lost my heart(again!)

today is my granddaughter's 2nd birthday.  it's hard to believe that 2 years have gone by so fast.  it seems like just yesterday that my phone rang while in Shopper's Drug Mart.  there i am picking up my D-supplies, and next thing you know i am on my way to the hospital to witness the birth of my second grand child.

you would think that all thoughts of D would take a back seat.  but alas, that is not the case.  before making my way to the hospital, i take a detour, and arrive home to pick up my "stuff".  not sure how long i will be at the hospital, i have taken the liberty of packing a D-bag. 

included in said bag, 2 insulin pens, pen tips, test strips, meter, oranges, juice boxes, crackers, cheese, toothbrush and toothpaste.  money for Tim Hortons(they have one in the hospital so it seems necessary!), and some hand cream. 

i'll skip the details of the next 6 or so hours and go right to the finale.

February 19, 2010  Aubrey was born.  the cutest little thing.  she looked just like her beautiful momma, except for the red hair (which she got from her daddy).

although i see her and her brother(a story for another day) every day, when i hear her little voice saying "hi nan", i get all soft and melty inside.

she's just my little Aubeebob.

i'm two!!

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

may i present Week #2 and Week#3 from my art class.  i must admit i really look forward to Wednesday's!!  i am having so much fun.  the woman that teaches the class is wonderful.  she does not judge and makes each of us feel good about our paintings.  her encouragement is awesome, and even when she is correcting something, you still feel like you've accomplished some wonderful piece of art!

Week #2

Week #3



temp basal FTW!!

i love potato chips.  my favourite used to be ketchup.  then i moved on to sour cream and onion. 
when doritos first came out, (many, many years ago) they became my new friend.  i still love plain chips.  just regular old plain chips.  dipped in french onion dip, they have a special place in my heart.  (they may or may not have had a hand in the heart related health issues i have gone through last year).

lately, i have migrated to a salt-reduced diet (heart healthy!!), and so have been trying out different types of salt free or sodium reduced chips.  Ruffles lightly salted are pretty good.  Kettle Brand low sodium are good too.  they only have 5mg of sodium per 28gr of chips.  i figure if i eat low sodium i am doing my heart a service, and still enjoying possibly my favourite snack food.

however, as much as i love my chippies, i hate them too.  well not them exactly.  just what they do to my blood sugars!  OMG.  until i really started taking care of my Diabetes, i would just sit and eat a whole dam bag of chips.  i wouldn't even give it a thought, or if i did, it was fleeting! i didn't test.  i didn't bolus.  i just munched away, not giving a rats ***. 

since i have been on the pump (coming on 9mths!), i have been diligent about measuring my carbs and bolusing for all of them.  and so when i want a snack in the evening, i will some nights reach for my new low sodium chips, measure them out carefully (using my scale), and bolus accordingly.  and still my BG's are through the roof!

which makes me mad at potato chips.  i then swear off them.  i promise myself i will eat celery and carrot sticks instead.  or melba toast with peanut butter spread on it. 

last week i fell of the celery wagon.  i broke.  i brought home chips.  hey, don't judge, they were on sale 2/$5!! 

and i measured, and bolused.  and enjoyed them.  and then i did something i have never done. 

i set a temp basal for +30% for 3hrs and went to bed. 

i slept through the alarm i set to go off after 3hrs.  i didn't get up til 7am.  i turned on the Tassimo, and made my coffee.  then i got out my stuff and tested. 
......................6.5!!!  OMG! i couldn't believe it!

later that night, i decided to test out my theory of the previous night. i broke out the chippy's.  again, i measured, bolused, ate, set a temp basal of +30% for 3hrs and went to bed.

next morning  6.8! 

i think i love my temp basal!  i may have to try this out with a few of my other favourite foods, like chinese and pizza. 

FTW Temp Basal!!!   YAAAY!!

(sort of) Wordless Wednesday

i sometimes use my old cell phone as my alarm clock. 

some mornings its hard to tell which one is going off.