Sickly

Starting a day or so ago I haven't been feeling 100%. Got a cold. I haven't been sick for maybe two years... yeah... amazing... I know. I take my vitamins daily and eat well and exercise about 6 days a week but sometimes it's just unavoidable. I'm linking it to taking the Metro. It has to be the most germ-infested place in the world. All those people crammed into a tiny space, coughing, sneezing, wheezing and the like then grabbing onto the bars and hand rails so they don't fall over when it suddenly jerks around. Gross!! Think of all that bacteria just festering on those poles... ::shiver:: Do they even disinfect them at night?

Hmm I wonder what Dr. Oz would say about this... Did anyone else see the show he did on Oprah with the lady who never threw anything away and had the same pillow for about 40 years?! naaaaasty. Needless to say there were more bacteria in her kitchen sink than in her toilet. That's somewhere I won't be visiting anytime soon.
Anyway. Back to my point. What was my point? Oh yeah, so my numbers have been amazing! Better than amazing... hmm what's better than amazing?? Well that's what they've been. From what I remember though getting sick has made my numbers go all over the map but luckily this time [minus one rebellious checking] I have been perfectly "in range". Ah-mazing. This just goes to show how ridiculously unpredicatable diabetes can be.
I just hope this cold goes away stat! [and my numbers stay the same!] My cruise is in 7 days!! :D
And yes, I am going to the gym even though I'm sick... no rest for the wicked.

Peace. Love. Insulin.

PS. Anyone have diabetes/cruise stories to share??

Thanks and Giving

Muchas gracias. Merci beaucoup. Danke. Grazie. Muito obrigado.
There are endless ways to say thanks, thank you. But today is the day we're supposed to mean it. Today is the day we gather with friends and family and celebrate how grateful we are to have each other in our lives. It is a word that gets tossed around so freely that at times it seems to have lost its meaning. What does it mean to be thankful... to be full of thanks, to be happy someone did something for you? According to Mr. Webster it means to be grateful, to express gratitude, to have kindly or grateful thoughts. Think about it. How many times during the day do you say it and mean it? Well, today I'm saying it as often as possible and to everyone I love. Thank you. I mean it with all my heart. I'm thankful for everything I have in my life. I'm thankful for my family and friends, my intellect, my body, my ability to love, laugh and grow, I'm even thankful for being pancreatically challenged. It has taught me many lessons... how to accept change, how to be strong, how to lose gracefully and keep on trying... and trying.
My family and friends have also been great in supporting me and keeping me going, especially when I feel it's getting harder and harder. For that I am thankful. Without them I would not be standing, I would have fallen years ago. What are you thankful for? To whom do you give thanks? How do you show thanks?
Enough thanks, now to giving.
I have talked about AYUDA probably more than anything in this blog of mine because as I say every time, they have changed my life. Yet another thing to add to the list o' thanks. I am thankful for their kindness, passion, courage and love. I am thankful for the children, camp and seemingly endless nights of blood sugar checks. I am thankful AYUDA exists. [Ok, now I'm done with thanks, for now...]
To keep AYUDA going and bringing these experiences to others, I am asking for you to keep AYUDA in your thoughts this holiday season and throughout the rest of the year. Donating to AYUDA in someone's name is a great gift to give. What could be better than giving health and happiness to a child? No amount is too small... or too large and you're helping change someone's life. Be thankful for all that you have and pass on your gifts to someone truly in need. AYUDA is starting a new program in Bolivia in January and to continuing creating new programs and camps we need support. So please, do what you can, even telling a friend about AYUDA is helpful.
Thank you from the bottom of my pancreas.
Much love.

Ways to donate:
Online:
www.ayudainc.net
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/5912?h=plw&recruiter_id=2047798
or click the Global Giving widget on the left side of this blog.

Mail:
AYUDA, Inc.
P.O. Box 12206
Arlington,VA 22219

Feel free to mention how you learned about AYUDA...

Thank you! Have I said that enough yet? One more time... Muchas gracias, con todo mi corazon. Juntos somos mas fuertes!!

Stress

So if you know me even the slightest you know I don't stress easily. I'm a very laid back, easy going kinda gal, I just take what life gives me and I deal with it. I think diabetes has had a lot to do with this attitude of mine [as well as growing up in Louisiana]. But there are a few things that are able to make me want to pull my hair out or sleep for two days straight, out of sheer avoidance. One of those things is coming up on the 16th of this month... the GRE. I know, I know. I should have taken it right after college then I wouldn't have to be dealing with it now but I also tend to procrastinate things like this because of the stress factor. I keep telling myself that I'm going to study but I keep looking over at that packet and returning to whatever it was that I was doing before. Like now for instance... instead of reading that stupid packet I'm blogging...
This test holds my future hostage. For four hours I will be in a room sitting in front of a computer answering questions I probably haven't even thought of since freshman year or before. That makes me anxious. Answering questions that hold the key to the rest of my life stresses me out. Without it though, I am unable to get into the graduate program I want so I can stop doing temp work and actually have a career and accomplish my goals and dreams. When all is said and done and I've graduated [hopefully within the next 2.5 years] I will hold [again, hopefully] a Masters in Public Health and going to work in the diabetes realm. I want to also become a Certified Diabetes Educator so I can continue educating myself and others with diabetes, specifically in under served populations in the states and abroad. I'd also like to continue volunteering with AYUDA and going back to camp with a larger role, even though I absolutely love being a counselor, I can't do it forever. But I can always be involved some how.
If only it weren't so scary and stressful... maybe I'm just making it a bigger deal than it should be... maybe not....
Peace, love and insulin.