You Tube Tuesday #171

Cinderella. 

That is my life this week. We are having rehearsal every night preparing for our run this weekend. 

Cinderella is unique in that it is the only musical that Rogers and Hammerstein wrote specifically for television. It was then adapted for stage and is now performed all over the world. 

Here is the first opening song "The Prince is Giving a Ball" going into Julie Andrews singing, "In My Own Little Corner." It is a fun, magical, and enchanting show and each day I am more and more excited about it.

Enjoy!

I've Been Cured of Diabetes! - Day 7 of DBW

 

Day 7 - Dream a little dream - life after a cure. To wrap up Diabetes Blog Week, let’s pretend a cure has been found. We are all given a tiny little pill to swallow and *poof* our pancreases are back in working order. No side effects. No more insulin resistance. No more diabetes. Tell us what your life is now like. Or take us through your first day celebrating life without the Big D. Blog about how you imagine you would feel if you no longer were a Person With Diabetes.

Well, I took the little pill a week ago and so far, it has been strange.

For almost 20 years I have been sticking a needle in my body several times a day and squeezing blood out of my fingers and now I don't have too.

It's been great. I have been drinking juice like crazy. I don't think people without diabetes, or who never had it (since I don't anymore), realize how great juice is. Orange and Apple taste so good and I drink and drink it and I love it! I have been sticking to diet sodapop simply for the taste and I should watch the weight since the little pill has not come out for heart related stuff which I would like to avoid.

But here's what's weird. I still have all my supplies. I feel like I cannot get rid of all of the meters I have collected over the years or all the infusion sets and syringes I have. Like a diabetic hoarder or something.

For so many years diabetes tricked me and I still cannot trust that I am actually cured. I remember thinking I had the whole counting carb thing down and would be able to bring my A1C where I wanted it to be and yet it would always be horrible. I remember getting the right dosage and delivery for a certain meal only to have the exact same formula cause a major fail another night.

In a way, I feel like I am missing a window into knowing what my body is doing. I am on autopilot and have no clue where my BG is all day. Not that it matters but I want to know. I need to know. I am gonna go check.

98. And I had pizza for lunch and just finished a juice box (love juice!).

What is wrong with me? I prayed for a cure forever, I just never thought it would be like this. I miss it in a way. In a very twisted way. What did Diabetes do to my head?

And what about all of those people that could not afford the D-FREE Pill (as so many call it)? I wish I could have given them mine since who knows how much damage diabetes has already done and how long I have left? A kid should be cured not me. I could die tomorrow. 

I think if I had really known what a cure was like I would just have lived my life to the fullest with diabetes and not gotten so upset when my control was not top notch. I mean, there is no way, no matter what I do, that I could have the BG's then like I do now. How could I have ever expected to have the A1C I will have now back then?

No, when I had diabetes I should have remembered that the disease was the problem not me. I should never have given it the power I did over my attitude, my outlook in life, or my self esteem.

Being cured has taught me that living with diabetes is awful but that it is my choice to let diabetes have power over who I think I am or not. 

And you know what, I am who I am with or without a stupid disease.

Hindsight is 70-110.

Snapshot Story - Day 6 of DBW

Day 6 - Diabetes snapshots. Inspired by the Diabetes 365 project, let’s snap a few d-related pictures to share today. Post as many or as few as you’d like. Be creative! Feel free to blog your thoughts on or explanations of your pictures. Or leave out the written words and let the pictures speak for themselves.

This is how I felt.

This is who I heard first.

This is who I read first.

This is who read my blog first.

This is who I met first.

This is who I am now!

Let's Get Moving - Day 5 of DBW

Friday 5/14 - Let's get moving. Exercise . . . love it or hate it? Do you have a regular exercise routine? Or do you have trouble finding your exercise motivation? How do you manage your insulin and food to avoid bottoming out during your workout? Today is the day to tell us all about your exercise habits, or lack thereof.

Exercise? Well I don’t have too much to say about it. Every time I try to start exercising I have a terrible low which makes me angry and not want to try the next day. It is bad enough just getting motivated but then to have diabetes show up and cut your workout in half sucks, royally.

So what I want to tell you about is the last day of my vacation, and yes it does actually tie in.

Those of you who read this silly little blog know that I recently went on a trip to Minnesota (the Holy land to Lutherans) to hang out with my buddy Scott. I was dreading the flight home not only because it meant the end of vacation but I cannot afford 1^st class and my ass, is a first class kind of ass. In other words, the seats are snug and I hate feeling like Kevin Smith. Luckily the seat between me and the lady at the window was empty. The only empty seat on the plane! SCORE!

When I got home my buddy Matt picked me up from the airport and we grabbed a bite to eat before he took me home. When I got home I was surprised that my wife was already off of work and the kids were home too waiting to greet me. Man, I missed them.

After some quick greetings my wife asked me to help her move something out to the garage. I didn’t even think about how weird a request it was at the time but when I opened the back sliding door it all made sense.

My garage door was open and inside was “The Slimmons Gym.”

Remember last year when I told myself that I was going to clean out the garage and set up the gym, well like most things I got sidetracked, overwhelmed, and gave up. But over the weekend that I was gone vacationing and relaxing, my wife and kids cleaned, organized, and set up the gym.

The recumbent bike, treadmill, punching bag, and weight bench were all sitting on a great piece of gray carpet with boxes and stuff organized in the shelves all around. And get this, every box was CLEARLY marked and labeled. It was an OCDer’s dream! LOVE IT!

So now the plan is to begin an exercise routine as soon as Cinderella is over. The Musical is next weekend so my life outside of work is pretty much spent working on the show. But after that I will have no excuse.

This is just another example of the awesomeness that is my family. I do not know what I have done to deserve them in fact, I don’t think I do. That is what you call, Blessed.

Camp Carb - Day 4 of DBW

Day 4 - To carb or not to carb. Today let’s blog about what we eat. And perhaps what we don’t eat. Some believe a low carb diet is important in diabetes management, while others believe carbs are fine as long as they are counted and bolused for. Which side of the fence do you fall on? What kind of things do you eat for meals and snacks? What foods do you deem bolus-worthy? What other foodie wisdom would you like to share?

Before I found the OC I knew nothing about carb counting. I was one of those people who was told, don’t eat sugar, no more juice, and stay away from Ketchup because it has sugar in it. That was my food education when I was diagnosed.

I remember in the Diabetes Class I went to they talked about food exchanges but specifically told me that I did not have to worry about that since I was a type 1 and very thin (thank you diabetes).

But guess what? I ate sugar free cookies and sugar free ice cream all the time. I would skip dessert and just have another plate of French fries. All the while not thinking about my blood sugar and of course this was when I was told only to test before Breakfast and Dinner.

I cannot even imagine living like that now. I test about a million (10-12) times a day now and I try to count for every carb I eat. But have my habits changed? Yes, in some ways for the worst.

I now will have ice cream occasionally and just bolus for it. Or a piece of cake because, “my pump can cover that.” But in the end I usually end up fighting a high and then a low, and then a high (you know the drill).

So as much as I would like to cut back, I guess you can say I am a part of Camp Carb.

Wait, there are no carbs in Bacon right? HOORAY!