Goals for July

At the beginning of June, I decided to start setting some goals each month. The idea is to improve the areas of my Diabetes Life where I can be doing a bit better.

My goals last month were to be sure I'm drinking eight glasses of water a day, and to eat our meals at home.  I did pretty well on the first one.  I did okay on the second.

Two weeks ago, things changed.  While doing the yearly "pack away the winter clothes and bring out the summer clothes", Pea and I decided to do a clothing purge as well.  We tossed out anything that we really don't wear.  Then we began trying on what was left.  We were both really upset to find most of it was too tight.  I got on-line and found a "diet site" that looked good.  We each plugged in our height and weight, and it calculated our Body Mass Index.  It was no surprise that we are both in the Overweight category.

Since that day, we've been using SparkPeople to track what we are eating and to be sure we are within the calorie and other nutritional guide-lines.  We've each lost a few pounds.  We each have a bunch more to lose, and should be able to safely shed it all by December.

So, my goals for July focus on the main goal of getting out of that Overweight category.

• Do 30 minutes of cardio every day.
• Do weight training three times a week.
• Continue to track my meals and snacks, staying within the guidelines set for me to lose weight.

By the time August rolls around, hopefully I'll have lost another five or so pounds!

Meme Monday - 6 Things I love

It's time to get back to Meme Mondays, and this week I'll start with this Meme that Evy tagged me with.

Rules of the game:

* List six unimportant things that make you happy;
* Mention and link to the person who tagged you;
* Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along , and comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.  (I never tag anyone, but please feel free to grab this meme if you wish!)

1. A freshly vacuumed floor.  Somehow if my floor is clean, it seems like my whole house is clean.
2. Pizza and Martini Friday.  Every Friday for the past couple of months, Pea and I have been "treating" ourselves to an Archer Farms frozen pizza and Pea makes Cosmos.  It has become a way to kick off the weekend, and I look forward to it every week.
3. Goofing around on Twitter.  I've gotten to know a lot of great people through Twitter, and tweeting with them makes me happy.
4. Watching my "guilty-pleasure" soaps.  Yes, after all these years, I still watch All My Children and General Hospital.
5.   New shoes.  No explanation necessary.
   
6. Comments.  That's right, I'll admit it.  I blog because I like to, comments or not.  But each and every comment I get makes me happy.
   

Believe it or not, it was hard to come up with six UNIMPORTANT things that make me happy.  Because anything that makes some one happy is very important!

Happy Anniversary, Sweetpea!

Ten years ago today, Pea and I went on our first date.

Five years ago today, we were married.

I wonder how I ever got along without him. He's my biggest supporter and my best friend.  We laugh, we dance, we share.  And I can't wait to see what the next five years will bring!

How a Ping-Pong ball feels.

My fabulous morning (please note the sarcasm) was spent ping-ponging between phone calls to Medronic Minimed and my endo's office. But let's start at the beginning.

I opened my last box of infusion sets on May 24th. Like a good little diabetic, I got on-line and ordered my new supplies from Minimed.

Then I waited. And waited. And then I waited some more. The happy little e-mail letting me know my supplies had shipped was not in my in-box. After listening to me bitch worry, Pea called Minimed on Sunday and used the automated system to check my order status. It said my supplies would ship yesterday.

This morning, there still was no happy "your supplies are on their way" e-mail in my in-box. I have only two infusion sets left, so I called Minimed again. The automated system still said my order was processing and would be shipped . . . yesterday. I decided to talk to a live person to confirm that it had been sent.

Good thing I did. My order has not shipped yet. Minimed said they are waiting on a new prescription from my endo's office. They rattled off a list of dates over the past 2 1/2 weeks on which they talked to / faxed / called my endo's office.

Next up, I called my endo. My one and only complaint with his office is that a real person doesn't answer the phone. I worked my way through the automated menu and left a message asking what the status of my refill prescription was and if there was anything they needed from me. A few minutes later, the nurse called back and let me know that Minimed had been faxing the wrong request to them. It had all been straightened out and the refill order was faxed to Minimed yesterday.

Okay. I hung up and immediately called Minimed back. Worked my way though their automated system (again) and reached a real person. Explained the problem (again) and the latest status from my endo's office. The nice lady told me any fax received yesterday is in another department with hundreds of other faxes and could take a day or two to be sorted and processed. *sigh*

Is it just me, or is this whole situation really WRONG? If my prescription had expired and needed to be updated, why didn't Minimed let me know when I placed my order?  I certainly would have called my endo right away to get the paperwork they needed.  In the 2 1/2 weeks I've been waiting, they couldn't give me a status update? And now it will be a couple more days before my fax gets to the right department so my order can be processed and shipped?

I have two sites left. What happens if I have a repeat of Saturday and my site fails and needs to be changed out early? What if I have a repeat of two weeks ago and accidentally yank my site out in the bathroom? Luckily, a wonderful D-Friend has my back and offered to loan me a couple of spares if I need them. But how many diabetics have friends that use the same supplies and can help if an emergency arises?

I'm sorry, but I think this whole situation could have been handled much better. And when it's supplies that your life depends on, it absolutely should be.

An exercise program I can stick to . . .

I had to pick up a few things at Target today.  As I was making my way toward the check-out, I started to get that familiar feeling.  The fog in my head that makes it even harder than usual for my wee little brain to focus.  Ugh, not again.

I held strong while the cashier rang up my bargains. (Starbucks beans on sale and a cute spring jacket on clearance for $17.48!!).  Then I made my way through the rain to my car and did a finger stick.  52.  Grrrr.  I pulled out my Smarties (aka: glucose tablets on a budget) and my iPhone and settled in.  While waiting for my blood sugar to come up, I used Twitter to vent my frustrations.

"Stuck in car at Target b/c BS is now 52. Target always makes me low. Having a crappy D Day."

Soon, two friends tweeted back.

"Target makes me low, too!"
"Maybe Health insurance should cover Target shopping costs... BG management tool!"

Now that sounds like a plan!!  Better blood glucose readings through browsing in Target for 45 minutes a day?  I've finally found a work-out plan I can stick to!