Too busy to write proper blog post…must get through semester…train for new job…plan vacation while maintaining sanity!

My New Diet...

Is fear of choking a certifiable paranoia? Several months ago I did one of those numbers where you get a little water down the wrong pipe and then you cough it back out. I was home alone and for some reason it made me realize that, while water was manageable, it would be really horrible if I choked on a big chunk of food while I was alone.

Ever since then I’ve been terrified of eating at home alone. This doesn’t pose much of a problem except for times like this week, when Craig is out of town. I mean, I’ve got my cat, but unless I can teach her to dial 911 and say “the lady who cleans out my litter box and feeds me every once in a while is on the floor and she’s turning purple” then there’s not much she can do to help.

So, basically I’m planning on consuming a diet of liquids and pudding from now until Sunday morning. Maybe I can hire one of those Hospice nurses to come sit with me while I eat. I hear they only cost $17/hr. I suppose at that rate I could just go to Applebee’s…ironically enough—I always have French Onion soup there, so I guess I should just stick with my liquid diet at home instead.

My Diabetic Life

In just a few weeks I will celebrate (not sure whether celebrate is the best word) the 15th anniversary of my diagnosis with Type 1 Diabetes. My enthusiasm for taking care of the disease constantly waxes and wanes as it is a disease which requires constant attention and humans get annoyed by anything which requires constant attention. I’ve been reading a lot of other Diabetic’s blogs lately and it is fun to reflect on my own experiences as I read about theirs.

As a result, I’ve moved into one of my “waxing” stages of Diabetes care and I registered for the Diabetic Runner challenge, which is designed to help promote World Diabetes Day (November 14th). This means that I’ve set a goal to run 500 miles before the end of the year…yes, I know the year is more than 25% over. I have a knack for joining things mid-way through. I mean, you have to let someone else test the water first, right?

I know I’ll bore the readers of this blog if I ramble on too much about blood sugars and infusion sites and lancets and insulin reactions, so I’ll keep this one short, but I did want to take a few lines to pay tribute to this often toned down, and sometimes ignored aspect of my life which, in the words of a fellow diabetic—doesn’t define me but helps explain me.

When Reality Escapes Me

I’ve carried a purse for probably 10 years and have always maintained that the ONLY reason I do so is that I’m Diabetic, so I have to carry all of my supplies around. My purse started smelling bad about a month ago. Nothing really disgusting, it is just that if you only have one purse and carry it everywhere and put it down on floors in airports, and churches and in parking lots and restaurants, it starts to stink after a while. Craig suggested washing it in the dishwasher, which proved to be nothing less than genius (reason number 694,493 that I'm married to Craig). I have, historically, destroyed my purses by putting them in the clothes washer which invariably ruins the purse and then I have to buy a new one (which is a really good tactic if you don’t like your purse and WANT to get a new one. I do like my purse and don’t want a new one.)

I unloaded my purse and the pile looked like this (I DID just get home from a trip, which means that lots of random things found their way into my normally organized purse...lol):

Okay, for those of you who enjoy “Where’s Waldo” or “I Spy”, here’s a perfect opportunity for you to find the things that actually relate to my “I have Diabetes” excuse for carrying a purse.

For those of you who don’t like “Where’s Waldo” or “I Spy” (well, first of all, I don’t know who you are and you probably don’t enjoy my blog anyway), here are the photos of the things I actually kept in my purse after sorting through everything.

This is what I carry for my Diabetic needs (see Dr. Christensen, I do have that bill for my labs...just haven't got around to paying it yet):

Here’s everything else that is in my purse.


Huh, I guess at this point, I have to abandon my “I only carry a purse because I’m Diabetic” rationale and just accept that I carry a purse because I’m an adult woman and I can’t run home at various points in the day if I need stamps or a bobby pin, and I forget everything if I don’t have a planner, and I wouldn’t make it through the day if I wasn’t carrying a pen in my purse.