Progress

What's new with the Palacios pair?  Well in the last couple of weeks I have done quite a bit toward making the house ours!  (with more to come in the near future!)

We got a new dishwasher, stove, and microwave (which we are installing tonight):

 

I put together a couple of dvd shelves from ikea and added them to our existing bookshelves and then rearranged and reorganized them so now they look like this:

And no I'm not showing you the rest of the study yet because as a result of the reorganization project the rest of the room is now a disaster... and I have two other bookshelves that aren't shown because like the OCD librarians daughter I am the books are arranged by type (children's upstairs, all non-fiction textbook type materials are next to the desk, and this is mostly fiction).  Louis is lucky I didn't take the time to alphabetize them like I did in high school...

And I got this table and set it up to be our mail center in the entry way.  There isn't enough color here so I'm going to move that welcome sign to another table (that we don't own yet) and add a colorful vase with some flowers I think.  And maybe add some color to the bottom shelf.  I don't know yet, I'm trying to use what I already have and not buy a ton of stuff unless I have to.

And last, but most importantly, I got my CGM today (not July 13th, thank the Lord)!

You are looking at my stomach, and a whole lot of tape!  She seemed very worried that I would knock it off or something.  The gray part is bigger than a quarter, but smaller than a half dollar, and there is a little tube (called a canula) that is sticking inside me to withdraw a small amount of blood at all times.  I will wear this until Tuesday, at which point they will take it and download all of my BG readings.  I'm not positive but I think the way they use this information is to convince the insurance company that I need it and that they should pay for it. =)  Thanks to Jeanne from Medtronic (the company that produces this little wonder) for loaning me her sample CGM and hurrying this process along!

We're camping this weekend so I'm sure I'll have some entertaining stories for my next blog!  Louis has only been one other time and this place doesn't even have a spigot or electrical hookups at the campsites, so this will be a pretty rough addition to his camping education...

Diabetes Rant

Are you ready?

Now I am an *ahem* passionate (some say opinionated) person, and if I am comfortable with you, I am not shy about sharing. I can be rude, but I try so so hard to keep my emotions in check. Part of my problem is that I consider myself a very intelligent and knowledgeable person. Another part is that I am an "old soul" (as my mother put it), so while others look at me and see an almost-25-year-old, I feel much older and wiser than that (or at least more so than the average 25yo). I do not appreciate being spoken down to- nothing riles me up faster.

Today at the endocrinologist's (diabetes dr) office, I met with the new dietitian to discuss duh, my diet, and we talked about what I can do better. I need to eat 7g protein with every meal, I need to eat more fiber (and then subtract any amount greater than 5g from the total carbohydrates), I need to eat more vegetables (but not like corn or potatoes), I need to eat less processed food, I need to eat less empty carbs (sorry pringles), I need to reach for a kashi bar instead of a chips ahoy when I'm hungry, the list went on and on. Louis does not know what he's in for, because if I'm eating this way, so will he!

At the end I tell her that I'm interested in getting a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor). This is something that will check my blood sugar or blood glucose (BG) 24 hours a day so I will always know what my BG is and which direction it's going. I feel like I'm going to need to write another post to explain all the ins and outs of diabetes, but for now know that my target BG is 90-120. My average is 160, and we're aiming for an average of <150. 3 months ago my average BG was 200. I've done a lot of work, but there are still times when my BG is 300, and times when it's 30 (neither of which are ok). Anyway she says ok, lets sign you up for the pre-test, which basically involves wearing a CGM for a few days to see if you're a good candidate. EXCEPT they only put them on on Wednesdays at 3. AND they take them off Mondays at 3. BUT the next available date is July 13th.

I get a little anxious because that's a month away and at least a whole 'nother month that I am "uncontrolled". And I get a little teary eyed (everything about this disease is emotional for me) and then she tells me, "It's ok, we have plenty of time. We can get it there, you just have to work a little harder." Now I know she meant well and was trying to comfort me, but really?!? I would like to talk to someone who actually has diabetes for a minute and get some actual encouragement and feedback. Oh wait, I have my dad.  Daddy knows better than anyone else what this is like and he has battled (yes battled) diabetes for 52 years.  When I told him my latest BG average (called an A1c), he was so proud and so excited and "a little less worried about [me]".

Moral of the story?  Adios Taco Bueno!  And most of the other unhealthy things I love.  And I'm going to have to spend more time in the kitchen.  And I've got to kick my next A1c in the pants and prove to her that I am working hard.  And I hope they find a cure soon, because though my children are no more likely than a non-diabetic's to get diagnosed, my children will still be carriers, and I would be beside myself if one of them, or one of my grandchildren, was to go through what I go through every minute of my life.

becoming a blogger

I decided many months ago that I wanted to start a blog, but never got started because, let's face it, ANY and all time I had away from school and awake was spent doing absolutely nothing.  During the school year, being a teacher uses up 110% of my time and energy and I have little motivation left for anything else.  I am hoping and praying that this summer and next school-year I can re-focus my energies back into taking better care of myself and my husband (oh and our sweet puppy dog!).

I wanted to blog because...

it's an amazing form of technology, and not only do I love technology...

I love expressing myself this way!  I had a xanga back in the day (remember those?!), which actually still is viewable, to my recent surprise! http://serendipity712.xanga.com/
**sidenote: last entry is dated November 27, 2006 - Louis and I officially started dating on November 30, 2006. hmm...**

in finding my old xanga, I realized that it gives an interesting opportunity to look back and see how much I have changed in the last 5 years, and since I have a poor memory (already!) I must keep record if I ever want to be intro/retrospective! (hence the pensieve!)

this summer I hope to finally get A LOT done in decorating/redoing our house.  We bought it Nov. 2009 and I've worked the whole time and have not been able to devote entire days and weeks to the amount of sanding/painting/refinishing/nailing that needs to be done.  I am hoping that by posting some of my plans and eventual progress on here I can get the accountability and motivation I need!

these last 3 years of marriage to Louis have been, well, the most incredible gift of all time, and a time of enormous changes, struggles, blessings, highs, and lows, and as we continue our journey together, I want to document it all!

Hopefully I can stick with this!  I'll post my "to REdo" list for the house soon, just so you can get all excited about the changes to come!