POETRY TUESDAY - #DBLOG WEEK DAY 2

Today's prompt: This year, Diabetes Blog Week and TuDiabetes are teaming up to bring out the poet in you! Write a poem, rhyme, ballad, haiku, or any other form of poetry about diabetes. After you’ve posted it on your blog, share it on the No Sugar Added® Poetry page on TuDiabetes, and read what others have shared there as well!

After a long night of dealing with a flooding basement, I'm having a hard time coming up with a creative and original poem about Diabetes.

Fortunately, I have my 15 year old self to borrow from. Here is a poem I wrote for a high school freshman english class assignment that ended up getting published in the Northwest Herald:

In June 1996, life with Diabetes was a little different. I didn't have a pump, had no clue what a Continuous Glucose Monitor was, and the Paleo diet was nowhere on my radar. One thing that is still the same is my desire to go about my life, not letting Diabetes interfere. Diabetes is not normal compared to most people's every day life. Diabetes does change things, but it just becomes a new normal.

CHANGE THE WORLD - #DBLOGWEEK DAY 1

Today's prompt: Let’s kick off Diabetes Blog Week by talking about the diabetes causes and issues that really get us fired up. Are you passionate about 504 plans and school safety? Do diabetes misconceptions irk you? Do you fight for CGM coverage for Medicare patients, SDP funding, or test strip accuracy? Do you work hard at creating diabetes connections and bringing support? Whether or not you “formally” advocate for any cause, share the issues that are important to you.

There are plenty of Diabetes related issues that get me FIRED UP: Test strip accuracy , insurance coverage (& how expensive Diabetes can be even with good insurance), Diabetes stigmas & misconceptions about Diabetes from the media:

{source}

(people saying things to me like: "But you're so young",  "Oh, you must have the bad Diabetes", "You don't look like you have Diabetes", "So you will probably just adopt", "My neighbors' mom's aunt's dog's friend's cousin had Diabetes and they had... their leg amputated, went blind, died, etc...", "Did you used to be really fat?". 

{source}

I could go on and on and get mad about how unfair Diabetes can be and some of the weird baggage and strange scenarios it brings...but one thing that has been important to me is the community Diabetes has also brought!!!

What has changed my Diabetes World has been the people I have met that without Diabetes I otherwise wouldn't have.

The Diabetes Online Community has opened up a huge world of support for me and introduced me to people who "get it" because they are living it.

If it were up to me, I'd change the world by making it mandatory for someone newly diagnosed to meet (in person, face-to-face) with someone who is on this same journey with Diabetes.

It's been great to share tips for better blood sugar control, swap war stories of highs and lows (literally), and currently...it gives me hope for the future, as I have FOUR FRIENDS I can call and meet up in person with who have been through pregnancies with pre-existing type 1 Diabetes.

People with Diabetes have changed my world!!!

TAKE 2 JIMS WITH SOME SPICE AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING

If you follow me on Pinterest, your home page may have been overtaken a few months ago with pins that would only make sense to you if you were in any way connected to Diabetes.

{source}

The quote above is true...I can't survive without insulin!
But, lately I'm realizing how much laughter really is like medicine.

 

Proverbs 17:22

English Standard Version (ESV)

²² A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

We dvr The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon every night and then watch it the next evening. (I wake up at 5:30am and am not so young anymore, so I can barely stay awake past 10:00pm these days!).

If you need a good laugh, check out the Best of Jimmy Fallon!

That show makes me laugh so hard. I'm not talking about a little giggle. It's the obnoxious laugh I do (that my sister loves to imitate) when something is so funny I can't hold it in (you'd know it if you heard it).

I'm not thinking about Diabetes in between the moments of laughter. 

Have you ever listened to Jim Gaffigan?! He's another comedian who should be part of everyone's treatment plan for healthy living & laughter.

And please do yourself a favor and follow Anthony (Spice) Adams on instagram! {@spiceadams} The instagram video of him ordering starbucks coffee for his wife is one of my favorites (from April 28th)!!!

  Make sure to have your prescribed dose of laughter today!

If you don't find the following funny, it's OK (but I can explain it if you'd like me to).
Just some Diabetic humor at it's finest...

 {Original sources can be found on my "Diabetes Stuff" Pinterest board}

IT ISN'T ALWAYS GRACEFUL, BUT IT'S MY JOURNEY

I wouldn't say I was dealing with DIABETES BURNOUT (see HERE).

It was just that my Uncle who has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for 50 years was scheduled for a quadruple bi-pass the next day...and a friend from high school's daughter was just diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes...and from out of no where, my blood sugar was in the upper 300's and no amount of insulin would bring it down.

All of a sudden there was too much Diabetes around me...and Diabetes was making me MAD!

I was MAD for my Uncle's sake.

I was MAD for this 6 year old girl's interrupted childhood.

I was MAD at Diabetes.

I try to not let Diabetes dictate me emotions. I like to think that I'm in control of everything around me and that I can calmly and rationally react and decide my feelings before I actually feel and express them. I often downplay Diabetes for the world watching, acting like Diabetes is no big deal.

But every now and then I feel a bit defeated. For a few moments I say, "OK, Diabetes, you win!"
And then I cry...a lot.

Diabetes is planning 24/7, fists clenched and held up high, ready to punch and jab and anticipate the ugly blood sugar's next moves and twists and turns. It doesn't ALWAYS FEEL like I'm fighting and holding my breathe...but on occasions ...it all piles up.

After I cry for a little bit and have myself a good pity-party, I brush myself off and remember that tomorrow is always a brand new day... a fresh start...a new opportunity for great blood sugar control.

Life with Diabetes is definitely a marathon, a journey that is best taken moment by moment.

My boss emailed our team this quote a while back. I don't know who the original author is, but I have it posted at my desk and read it often, helping me put life with Diabetes in perspective:

no matter how rough the road, may it be a graceful journey.
may acceptance bring peace to circumstances beyond our control.
may we find more strength than we realized.
may the simple things inspire the most joy.
may love be all that matters.
may gratitude empower our spirits and may faith help us overcome.

{source}

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/6263003/?claim=rjk6cdhxzcs">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

BIRTHDAY FREEBIES

Some people look at birthdays as a depressing event.
Another year over. Another year older.
Others (like myself) look at birthdays as a chance to get lots of free things!

I'm not talking about gifts from friends and family...although that is nice.
I'm talking about complete strangers giving you gifts just because it is your birthday!

Here is what I was given for free last month on my 31st birthday...


{the coupons began rolling in, by mail and email, leading up to my bday}

Like a nerd, I printed and cut coupons and put them in a red envelope. On the front of the envelope, I wrote the store and the expiration date, so I could see if time was running out on any deals.



{because I'm signed up to receive email updates from them, Noodles gave me dinner for free}

I got the Wisconsin Mac and Cheese (and gave it to Derek).



{because I'm signed up to receive emails updates from them, Corner Bakery gave me a free dessert}

I got the Birthday Bundt Cake (and gave it Derek).

{When you register a gift card online, Starbucks gives you a free drink on your birthday...any size!}

On a Saturday morning of running errands, I got myself a Venti, Decaf, Sugar-Free Caramel, Soy Latte. Slightly less complicated than this drink! Maybe I'll try THIS on my next birthday!



{Panera has a great rewards program. They give you free food when you eat there...and on your bday}

I got the Chocolate Chip Muffie to enjoy with my free Starbucks drink.

This time I got it for myself...and not Derek!





{If you sign up for email updates from Caribou, you get a free drink (any size) on your bday}

I left work a few hours early on my bday and enjoyed a decaf, iced, sugar-free caramel soy latte!



{If you sign up for email updates from the Container Store, you get a free gift on your bday}

You can never have enough reusable bags- right?!



No coupon needed for this one... get your eyebrows waxed for free at the Brow Bar at any Ulta Salon!!!


{If you sign up for email updates from World Market, they give you $10 to spend on your bday}

 I only had to pay $2 for this scarf with my $10 bday coupon!

There are a few coupons I didn't get around to using... $10 at Uncle Dan's, $10 off your $30 bill at Maggiano's, a coupon from Chili's, buy one-get one free at Cold Stone... (all because I'm signed up for email updates).
I'm sure there are other great birthday deals out there...don't be afraid to get excited about free things!

DATE NIGHT...GRANDPARENT STYLE

Burgers and fries at the Soda Shop followed by church in the evening. Sounds like what my grandparents did on dates.


{source}


Spicy Chicken sandwiches and lemonade followed by Founder's Week.

Sounds like what Derek & I did on our date last night.

We went specifically to hear Francis Chan.
He is the founding pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California, the best selling author of several books, and currently starting a church planting movement in the inner city of San Francisco.

Derek heard him speak a few years ago at Challenge Youth Conference, we began listening to his podcast shortly after, read some of his books, and even went to hear him preach at Cornerstone when we were out in California a few years ago (before seeing a Bears/Chargers game, of course).

This guy is the real deal.
He truly practices what he preaches and whenever I hear him speak, I walk away challenged in my faith.

Last night he asked:
~Do you just read the Bible and not do what it says?
~Do you make excuses for why you are not following the Lord with everything you have?
~The older you get, do you find yourself more excited about living for the Lord, letting go of things in this world, and really desiring to please God...as you live adventurously for Him?

Again, I walked away encouraged, convicted, and challenged.

Follow up on past speakers & messages from this year's Founder's Week.
Watch live online, listen on 90.1FM, or catch up via Moody Bible Institute's You Tube Channel.