Katiebird's Garden & Wildcraft

Humming the song by Lifehouse... Heat and humidity are killer on my bloodsugars.  Generally I am low 2x times or more a day when I'm in the heat, sometimes have super low BG numbers, like, ahem, a 35 or low enough where 35 carbs don't do much more than bring it up to 66.  Then the liver kicks in, decides to shoot out some glucose and then I go high, then I bolus to correct that high, then I go low 'cause it's hot or I'm not eating much--'cause it's hot and apparently didn't need so much of a bump.  I'll try better today and tonight. Makes you dizzy just thinking about it.

I've been meaning to write triumphantly about Inset sites I've been randomly trying.  Yesterday, I used the front of my thigh, which I have done two times in the past and am quite liking it still.  I actually never used my legs when doing injections before.  They just seemed to hurt too much.  No pain here, besides the tugging from almost getting pulled out by my pants (the jeans did succeed once) or undies, but nothing a Hello Kitty bandaide can't help out and support!   Don't be scared by the white, MN skin; it hasn't seen sunshine yet this year ;)  ---Aside: my dad has given my sisters and I boxes of Hello Kitty Bandaids for years in our Christmas bags.  We generally only use them when they are visible to others, since they're cute.  Anyone seen or heard of extremely weird pump sites being used or rigging of the Inset/site to keep it attached in rough terrain? 

After an extremely busy week and weekend of my step-sister's wedding, I was finally able to start stripping my cabinet last night.  Trust me, it took Jeff and I a lot of elbow grease and strength to get the hardware and doors off of this piece.  I started with the cabinet door just to try and get the garish, red paint off of it and was absolutely amazed to see the shadows of an etched design on the glass that was underneath!  I've shown a picture from my cell phone of the first view of the design.  I was seriously giddy...Jeff and the neighbor guy were watching and may have thought I a bit nutty to get so excited over an old cabinet! This was only the back side of the glass, as the front was still covered in a layer of paint.  I can't believe someone painted over this!  Once it was cleaned up a bit more on both sides, I could see that the etching was still in amazing shape, no scratches that jump out so far.   I need to get my digital camera batteried up so can take some d

Nothing to do with diabetes here, I just wanted to show the awesome cabinet I found on Craig's List and hope to be picking up tonight!  It'll be my summer project, and Jeff has already said 'you'll never finish it' oh but I will.  We desperately need the storage in our kitchen and there's a big, empty wall that needs something on it too.  Here it is, not lookin' too hot.  The red paint is actually glass in the cabinets.  I'm very excited.  It needs a good re-furbishing...not sure what finish I want it in, any ideas?

I have just read a bunch of articles and blogs about the Alabama tornados and the hardship left behind, especially for those with diabetes.  No refrigerators or decent food and supplies were sucked up by the tornado and disappeared!  So, people need D-Stuff.  Insulin, meters, strips, needles, etc.  A great article/blog was posted by Victoria Cumbow, a journalist for  The Huntsville Times  and she has organized the drive through the Alabama JDRF.  Please read the story here .  I'll be sending a bunch of pen needles and some Lantus pens, as I really don't need them and others do! Please send your donations to: Huntsville JDRF 2225 Drake Ave. Office 17, Suite K Huntsville, Alabama 35805 ***Mark the box as "D-Supplies for Tornado Relief."  Attn: Victoria Cumbow and Karen Morris.

Time for an update!  It's been a while...finally we're in our new place-I'm planted again.  It has taken a ton of work and pain to get it cleaned up.  I have issues with the landlord :( Now that we're settled, my cat is happy in this house and my fiance J is off and running in his new job, the stress level has gone down tremendously.  Which means the BGs are good and steady too!  My last Endo appt. was awesome, as my A1c was down a tenth of a point to 7.2 and cholesterol was back down to normal also.  I'm hoping that by tightening my goal BG numbers it'll go even lower. I am very excited to have a gigantic, healthy garden that's full of worms at our new house (trust me, it took a ton of work to dig out all the weeds and grass that had been left to flourish for the past couple years)  It being a new moon this week, calls for the planting of cabbage, lettuce and spinach!  I came upon this bit of gardening knowledge about the lunar cycles and you can read

Being diabetic and having a low blood sugar isn't always a bad thing... Like today when I went for my daily soda there was a little custard-filled, chocolate-glazed, doughnut calling my name.  I bought it with the thought, "I feel like I may be low and I sorta hope I am!"  I was.  BG of 49.  Ha.  Good timing.   It was delicious.  The pudding is my favorite part.    I wonder sometimes if our psyches get the better of us type-1s because having a low = a treat sometimes.  Growing up without being able to eat whenever/whatever treats we wanted, maybe now, subconsciously, our bodies give a little "woo hoo, I'm low, eat something yummy!  Screw those icky glucose tabs!" 

Sharing this hilarious, but educational list of words PWDs use regularly. Courtesy of Six Until Me. Six Until Me.: Diabetes Terms of Endearment: Third Edition.

High numbers, good eating, good bedtime numbers and horrible mornings!  Ugh.  Cause: bad infusion sites.  I've had two in the past week and a half...it makes me so frustrated when I go to sleep at 108 bg and wake up to a 378!  There wasn't a low involved, either, as I was up during the night and was fine.  On Sunday, I woke up again high and it wouldn't go down!  I waited almost 3 hours and nothing, so I gave myself a shot, which finally worked and I could finally eat!  Changed that sucker after extreme sidewalk shoveling was completed which should have caused a low, but didn't.  Stupid pumper.  I'm guessing my upper sides of my stomach area are not the best.  I'm going to try putting a site in my arm one of these days...just have to plan the clothing, sleep wear, etc.  --I also learned that sweet potatoes are not my blood sugar's friend.  So long yummy things, you're reserved to days of insulin gorging. 

    If you want some blog and web-candy, check out some of my favorite sites.  Some are wedding idea sites, and some are just plain pretty.  Style Me Pretty is a definite necessary website to check out for anyone planning a wedding or something fancy.  Tons of ideas, pretty pictures and also local vendors can be found on this beauty of a site!. Eat Drink Pretty Fresh from St. Paul! Another blogilicious page that has all kinds of creative, delicious and beautiful ideas. Little Birdie Secrets is a new one for me, but it has all kinds of crafty ideas for any occasion.  What I'm admiring are the organza flower tutorials .

With the purchase of my new Animas Ping pump, it had the ezManager Max software available for me.  This is a software program that uploads data from my meter and pump and spits out graphs and such.  What I discovered when monkeying around, is that I can change the tune that my pump plays when it alarms.  Right now it's a classic piano song that can be a little annoying... What I discovered, is...YOU CAN COMPOSE YOUR OWN MUSIC AND IT WILL PLAY IT!  Absolutely amazing.  You literally type in the notes on the music lines and it will play it...an insulin pump that is like a player piano...cool.  Very cool.  I suggest that anyone who has this software try it!

      So I am not a battery person, I shall rephrase, my fiance and I are not battery people.  We don't have a "supply."  We have poached any and all batteries in the house for the TV remotes and the wireless mouse and swap with the digital camera when needed.  We're out.       Come last night when we're in the middle of trying to cut our cats claws (more on that bugger some other time,) and I start beeping loud.  My pump does I mean.  Scares the cat, so he gets another Pounce treat...I check what the hell is the matter with the pump and it says low battery.  Crap.  I have yet to purchase the expensive, special lithium batteries for this sucker.  So, I forget for the moment and continue torturing my kitty.  He was fine after many Pounces...      Thirty mins later, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!  Remember that I need to go to Target...check the pump and bam! "Battery dead, I refuse to give you anymore insulin 'cause you didn't pay attention to me!"  (or som

Ever had a skunky beer?  Disgusting right and just doesn't do the job...  Same goes with insulin.  I used an older vial I had lying around and all day after I had a new site in and a full cartridge of the skunklin, I was not in range and the dosing wasn't working as usual.  So, I sucked it up and pulled it out and put in a new one of fresh meds and today I'm golden so far.  What a waste of a red dot on my belly. 

Well it's been a while...but I finally received my Animas Ping Pump 4 days ago and I love it!  I will list my loves right now: 1.  My bg stays around the same number for 2-3 hours, amazing! 2.  I like my pink insets and pink skin decor. 3.  It seems that I respond better to the doses than when using MDIs. 4.  I have had a bad cold and haven't experienced the consistant highs that usually go along with that.  I've only had to up my doses a couple times due to stubborn numbers.  5.  I DO NOT MISS SHOTS! My fiance finds it sorta funny how I love my new toy.  I haven't seen my bill for it yet, but we'll deal with that when it comes, as for sure I'm not going back to shots any time soon.  Background:  I go to the International Diabetes Center at Park Nicollet Clinic in MN.  I appreciate the fun, well-informed ladies that work there and the great thing is that many of them are diabetics, so they can share real-life information with you.  I also had a great r