Category: Blog

This picture was taken about a year after my lap band:

And here is one from last week:

Though it is a bit difficult to tell, I was super bundled up in the first picture.

And I still think I ran better back then.

This trip was probably one of my most successful.  At no point, did I wish I had something that was stuck at home (well, maybe my shower).

I had all the diabetes supplies I needed.  I had the food I needed.  If I ate the wrong food, it was my choice, not because I didn’t have it.  I did have a planned refill trip.

I kept my dogs crated as far from the other dogs as possible.  That was easy, because the show committee had given us a “no bitch in season” crating area and I was the only person who used it most of the week.  Of course, we won’t know if that worked for a few days.  Last year, Dulce didn’t start coughing until we got home.

I had a full set of diabetes equipment in the car.  I had one set of emergency supplies in the bag I had with me. 

This has nothing to do with the trip, but I need to be better at managing the expiration dates of my diabetes equipment.

Off to unpack and organize my house.

My last trip went well, though I kicked myself for having an vial of insulin with no way to get it out.  I was around other diabetics though and if I needed it, I'd have gotten help.  

This trip is going great!  Thanks to a NBC Facebook friend, I tried AirBNB for the first time, and that was wonderful.  Really enjoyed the house.

So far, I've got everything I need and I haven't lost anything yet (though I need to locate my CGMS sensor, I know where I put it).

I keep a cane in the car, which I need to replace — one of my friends body went out (not sure which part), and he was particularly crawling around the show site yesterday.  He told me he needed crutches, I asked if a cane would do and produced one out of my truck.  I have a friend whose superpower is making cupcakes, decorated, better than Sprinkles, which she brings to the trials.  So far, I'm the one who always is where she says she will be and has emergency medical equipment on her.  I'd like to do a bit more.

Staying at La Quinta last night was good, but I should add one more thing.  A wheeled cart or my wagon all of which I left at home in the interest of space.

I also need to play Tetris one more time, and replace one of my small crates with a bigger crate for Summer.  That one inch makes a huge difference in crate space.

I've been able to help my students each day and even had one finish.  Got  all the paperwork processed.  

I'm in Alabama now, and will soon be at my families in Brandon.

Managing diabetes has been hard for me the past few years. Partly because I was going it alone, without the support of the online community. 

I have a great counselor but she doesn't always get it. I have a great endo but it gets too be too much of the traditional patient relationship. I finally got back into control, at 6.4 and Went back to Jenny Craig.  As a result I have lost 20 pounds. 

Its never easy, dealing with diabetes. Going it alone doesn't work for me and I need to learn to reach out more. 

I need the structure of a meal plan.  No, I don't follow it 100% but I needed to learn what to eat and when. And most importantly how much. 

I really need to thank AstraZeneca for diabetes linkup. Helped also to that community is out there. Reach out!

Yes, Dulce has started alerting on other people, and didn't used to. 

When she worked in my classroom she wasn't supposed to interact with the students and the staff was included, mostly to set the example.  

She learned to back away and avoid people.  Since I stopped teaching face to face, I am letting her interact. 

First, Macy did two nice runs, FAST and Standard.  I'm glad she came.  

Second, I handle Dulce's issues very well.  I praised her throughout the course, only when she just did one obstacle.

Whine:  I am so tired and hurt so bad.  And came back to the AirBNB with almost two hours of work.  It sucks that I do agility worse than I did 70 pounds ago.  I still handle very well, evidence: Macy got almost all the obstacles (she missed the very last one, had to pee).

I am not doing as many runs tomorrow and coming back to the AirBNB to change for the meeting and Top 20.

I am absolutely loving this AirBNB.  One room, on a horse farm — stables are outside.  Fenced in yard.  Beagles seem to be loving it too.

Driving 9 hours yesterday was for the birds.  I'm trying to find some place to stay about half way from here to Brandon, Mississippi, thinking Pensacola or Tallahassee.  We should be done around noon, maybe a bit later.

I have everything I need, perhaps overpacked.  We'll see.

Though one though I have had is to stay a while in Brandon, Mississippi.  Ends up on how the dogs work there.  

This place is great, I can send the dogs out to the yard and relax.  Right now, one at a time because they can be a tad noisy together.

I used my sleep music, both her and at my sister's and feel like I got a good nights sleep.

I swear I screw up insulin more often than anything and yes, did it again. 

Good news, I have enough to last the trip. 

Here what I did this time.  I put a vial in my Mac bag and a vial and pen in my PC bag. Then when it was time to go, I pulled out the vial and then left it on my desk.  Argh!

i realized what I did early this evening and whew! Still have the PC vial and pen.  

So here are my insulin screw ups. 

1. Last week carried insulin for two days with nothing in the luggage to get it out of the vial. 
2. Last trip, left Insulin vial on kitchen counter. Felt the need to come home fast. Though also mom was driving Dulce and I nuts over her white furniture 
3. Dropped insulin at TSA checkpoint shattering two vials  
4. left insulin behind and remembered before got to the airport and had to go home to get it. 

So so I am good and even have backup insulin. 

But it shouldn't, it should be part of my proof of concept.

I really like the idea of diabetes alert dogs.  I know that there are a ton of people who don't do a good job at producing one.  They also put small children with really big dogs.  That doesn't seem like it would work well.

So I don't know why it bothers me when Dulce alerts on other people — she did alert on Mike at #DiabetesLinkup.  Part of it has to do with the fact my husband's dog didn't like me, when we got married.  Beagles are really one person dogs.

But she has alert on other people through out the years, and its always been fairly positive. 

She's a good dog, though sometimes I think we're reading each others minds.

I started packing yesterday.  Mostly the dogs and double checking the medical equipment supply in the truck.  Also did a Walgreen's run.

This morning I've been pulling out everything I don't need tonight.  Plan is to leave tomorrow after work, maybe after a cardio workout.    I'll be playing Tetris with the truck today trying to get everything to fit.

I'm hoping to be gone for almost 2 weeks.  I have to be back by November 23 because of medications, etc.

This will be the longest trip I've taken since the National Specialty last year.  I'm staying with family on the way there, and stop and visit with the family on the way back.  I did it the other way around last year and then drove all the way home from St. Louis without stopping.

I do have about two weeks of Jenny Craig "shelf" food in the truck and there is a Jenny Craig in Ocala.