7.29.2009

One Year & A1C

Today I start on a sad note. One year ago today was the murder/suicide in our apartment parking lot. I will never forget that day or the lives lost that day. I wanted to go put flowers on the spot today, but couldn't work up the courage to face it all again. I can only pray that the families of those lost are finding peace. Perhaps next year I will be able to face that place again and honor the woman who died in such a tragic and unnecessary way.

It's also been exactly 4 months since I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It was also 109 degrees today (sans AC and with a fever due to an infection). It hasn't been the best day, but there have been worse days.

On a happier note, my A1C is 7% with is very close to normal! (For those of you who don't know, an A1C is a blood test that can show the average blood glucose levels for the past 3 months.) Normal is between 5-6%, when diagnosed my A1C was over 14%.

For my thankfuls:

1. Meeting a new friend. Today I met a new friend for lunch. She also has Type 1 and had such positive things to say and even brought me glucose tablets to help with those pesky lows. It was nice to meet someone else in a similar situation and to be able to complain about lows and highs and have someone with personal experience be able to understand. Plus, we ate at Purple, my favorite resturant.

2. Sitting in the library's AC. Ryan and I went to the city early today and worked in the downtown library. We used their AC and free wi-fi. It was nice to escape the heat for a while, I even had to wear a sweater for a while. With temperatures like these, we may move into the library. (Doesn't that sound just awesome. I would love it!)

3. A simple note. My Diabetes Repair Doctor sent me a note on my lab reports about my A1C and how great I'm doing. Such a simple gesture that really meant a lot to me. He recogonizes that it's hard work and it was nice to get feedback on how I'm doing. Who doesn't like a little positive reinforcement once in a while?

4. Sisters. Growing up I thought I wanted sisters, now that I'm older I'm glad I didn't grow up with sisters, but am very glad I married into 3 sisters. We spent Saturday and Sunday laughing, swimming, dying hair, and shopping. It was such a pleasure to spend time with my sisters. (Don't let Alyssa "trust" you.... trust me .... hahaha.)

5. I'm a day closer to visiting my family!

xo, Meg

7.24.2009

Birthday Thankfuls

Hi there! It's been over a week since my birthday, but I thought I'd share my birthday thankfuls with you...

1. I got to see Jessie (famously, JessAnn Smith of NYC) in the morning/afternoon. We grabbed picnic food from Whole Foods, chatted, picnicked at the Arboretum (my favorite place these days), found a neat tree, relived our youth by rolling around on the ground and getting bark in our skivies, walked around, and sadly said goodbye as she was heading back to NYC. It was terrific start to my birthday. (Pictures below.)

2. Ryan got me a card that has a drawing of a "Urology Department" reception desk and the caption is "Urology Department, can you please hold?" I almost died of laughter, what an appropriate card this year. But we agreed that in my case it's more like "Can you please stop holding?" I love having a darkly humorous husband.

3. Lauren, Emi, Kirsten, Kent, Greta, Ryan, and I gathered in Marymoor park in a big open field, laid out some blankets, flowers, sandwiched, snacks, wiffle (aka wiggle) balls, a bat, and a big purple ball. Fun was had by all! (Pictures below.)

4. Gifts! Lauren made me the sweetest/funniest Diabetes Repair Kits for when I go low... they include 15 skittles (the perfect amount) and each one has a different funny thing (quote/picture/etc.) She also got me 2 pairs of awesome yoga/running shorts that take my scar and diabetes into account. Kirsten got me a very cool print that says "Let them eat (picture of cake)" I'm excited to hang it in my new house soon. My cousin Maria sent me pictures of her and her husband and daughters along with my Aunt Lois and Uncle Phil and of course Andrew, Jessica and Baby George - I think this was my favorite present of all. (Pictures below.)

5. Ryan took me to Whole Foods and surprised me by letting me get one of every small dessert they had. If you know me, you know I love desserts, I love small things, and I love Whole Foods - it was awesome. For the first time in my life I got to say, "I'll have one of everything, please." (Pictures below).

Thanks to everyone who made it special for me. And thanks mom and dad for raising me (without you, there would be no birthday)!




















































Hope you enjoyed those photos! Stay tuned for a house update from the very famous Ryan.
xo, Meg
PS- If you think about it and can throw up a few prayers or thoughts for me I would greatly appreciate it. I have been having some sort of allergic reaction since I was in the hospital that they haven't been able to link to anything and that drives me mad (itchy palms and soles). As I write I am sitting here with my feet in a tub of water and Benadryl coursing through my veins. Itchy palms and soles of your feet are something I wouldn't wish on anyone (well, maybe Robert Mugabe, but that's a different story.) I may be seeing an allergist, but hope this ends before it comes to that - my birthday goal was no hospitalizations or diagnoses this year, and I'd like to make that happen if possible.
PPS- I will be spending the weekend with 3 of my sisters (in-law) and am VERY thankful for that!!

7.13.2009

Weet.

Today's thankfuls:
1. Another great trip to the off-leash dog park at Marymoor and here are some pictures to prove it:
"Look mom, no leash!Telfair marked every blade of grass he passed.
Appy dappy nice and happy!
Happy, free pups. Note the leashes around my neck, not theirs.

2. My dad is reading Harry Potter too! How cool! Usually I'm all about fiction and such and my dad is about history books and such, but we both love these books. Right dad?

3. We are going to Pennsylvania. We thought it was out of the question for a while because all the tickets we found were outrageously expensive (like sell your pancreas expensive, when your pancreas actually works). So today we looked for September and we found cheap tickets! So we get to spend 10 days with my parents and seeing Alyssa in Cedarville.
4. The smell of freshly baked garlic-rosemary bread. I'm getting back to the things I love to do, and baking bread is one of them. (It's taken me so long to finish this post that I am know thankful for the taste of said bread.)

5. I'm thankful that my dogs are hilarious and make me laugh so hard. For instance, Apollonia army crawls out of bed and across the floor every morning. Also, Telfair takes a piece of food in his mouth and throws it for himself and then attacks it as if it were prey. I love that they are afraid of little tiny Poodles but bravely approach German Shepards.

xo, Meg

7.11.2009

Photos for you.

Ryan enjoying our carmel-pecan apple.

Celebrating our win!

Such a beautiful day.


Can you see where the Sounders colors came from?



Hello.


We were so close to the field.


The pier where we enjoyed lunch.


A frog. Cherry chip cupcakes with strawberries and Rainier cherries, yum.


The following are pictures from a day at the Arboretum, an awesome park close by:





xo, Meg

Seattle Day

Today was spent in beautiful, warm downtown Seattle.

Here is what I am thankful for today:

1. Turkey and cheese sandwiches on the pier in downtown. Watching ferries and people, what a way to start the day.

2. A Sounders game. Thanks to Phil, we were able to go to the Sounders game against Houston (the #1 ranked MLS team right now). And we won! 2-1. It was awesome. I'm in love with going to soccer games. I see season tickets in our future.

3. A carmel and pecan covered apple. Ryan and I shared this delightful treat as we watched the city go crazy with Sounders fever after a rousing game and win.

4. A great, fun, sunny day with Ry after what has been a rough week for me. It was so refreshing.

5. Off leash! I finally got the guts to actually take the dogs off their leashes at the off-leash park. They have always been the dogs on leashes while the other dogs traipse about freely. So I got gutsy and let 'em go. Apollonia was awesome and Telfair just sat in the dirt when I took the leash off, so we settled for having the leash on, but walking without me holding it. What a funny dog. They immediately collapsed upon arriving home. I see many more of these off leash adventures in our future.

xo, Meg

PS- What are you thankful for? I'd love to hear about it.
PPS- Watch for pictures from the day.

7.08.2009

Let's get (re)started...

Here's a little of what's been happening in our world:

Our paper chain is quickly shrinking and they begin building our house next week. They have been out there on Lot 43 surveying and getting ready to lay the foundation. We are getting excited to be in our house, but I am beginning to dread the packing process. Thankfully after watching my mom do it about a million times I am somewhat of a pro at packing and unpacking pretty quickly. Thanks Navy for preparing me for life.

We have been walking about 1-1.5 hours a day and lifting (tiny, 3-lb. weights) to keep as much of my muscle as I can and to get ready to start running again. Dr. Urology said we can talk about the possibility of running at my next appointment (July 17th)- fingers crossed. She did, however, laugh at me when I asked when I can bike again. Seeing as she never actually answered the question, I think it's going to be a while.

The bruises that covered my body are quickly fading, the soreness is mellowing, I can put on my own shoes, I require less than 18 hours of sleep a day - things are on their way up.

This summer is quickly filling up for us with impending visits from family and friends, the wedding of dear friends Casey and Caitlin, birthdays, a possible trip to PA, concerts, camping trips, and a soccer game this Saturday! That's right, a Seattle Sounders game. Our friend Phil generously gave us his tickets for the game this Saturday and seeing as it's a sport both Ryan and I agree on and enjoy, we are very excited to go watch some futbol.

Well, that about sums up what's going on in our lives. What's going on in yours?

Here are my 5 thankfuls, in no particular order:

1. The Harry Potter books and movies. After years of making up excuses and avoiding these books I have broken down and am now addicted to these wizards. I am almost done with book 4 and take it with me every where (it's hard to read when you're doing dishes). Thanks to Kirsten for her persistence. I will not, however, read the Emily or Twilight books. Sorry. English majors can love magic too.

2. I've said it before and I will say it again, I have THE best husband. No joke. Sometimes I wonder how I can be so lucky. Anybody that can make you laugh while you are in the midst of hysterics or in a dark mood is a keeper. I hope I grow old with laugh lines, as a testament to how funny Ryan really is.

3. Washington in the summer is the most beautiful place on earth. Period. End of story. Don't even argue - you'll lose.

4. Homemade applesauce. I finally attempted something I have always thought about, and it worked. And it was easy and delicious. Good thing Washington has a constant supply of good priced apples. You may be ending up with a batch real soon.

5. I'm here. Breathing and eating and all that. You never know when you are heading into an 8 hour surgery how things are going to turn out. But, I'm here, typing this - so everything is all good in the 'hood.

xo, Meg

Hopefully the next post will include pictures. I bought batteries, now for putting them in the camera...

(Here is where that little hourglass that flips while you upload something goes.)




I know, it's been forever since I've written. There is no excuse (except a really lame one that involves recovery from surgery and something about Harry Potter). But you can wait a little longer, right? Good, because I'm tired. Hopefully, by tomorrow afternoon (my time) there will be a gem of a post here. I am still really thankful, but also tired most of the time and reading a certain series or doing stats homework the rest of the time. But tomorrow my friends. Tomorrow I will try to get moving on here again.
Much love to you all.
xo, Meg