You Tube Tuesday #126

We had a fun filled weekend which was part of the reason I was not around online very much.

On Saturday we went to a Luau at our friends house to celebrate many June birthdays. It was a great time with great food and great friends. Yeah, it was great.

One really cool thing was this water slide that was at the party. I must get one of these for my backyard.

Enjoy!

Why I Was Out

Last week was crazy. Each day at work was filled with special projects and major issues I had to deal with. Every evening was filled with “drama” at home. Nothing awful but just always something it seemed.

My presence on Twitter, Email, and even AIM was almost non existent. I was able to get a couple of “tweets” in on Saturday but that was about it.

So now, I am behind. I have lots to share and really do not want to mash it all up for one post. So I’ll give you each tasty morsel each day this week. Even the You Tube Tuesday tomorrow will be a little glimpse into my craaaaaazy week!

Hope you aren’t too upset about my absence. Maybe I need to get some people to guest post while I am out. Anyone interested for the next time I disappear for a week?

You Tube Tuesday #125

By now you all know what a strange sense of humor I have. I am not alone. Last night at my son’s birthday dinner my sister asked me if I had seen this particular You Tube clip. I laughed when she described it to me and laughed even harder when I watched it last night.

I hope you dig it.

Enjoy.

15

Today is my son's 15 birthday.

It seems like yesterday when he was born. Those people that said to cherish every moment because they grow up so fast were right. I cannot believe he's so old.

More then anything I am thankful for the person he has become. A good friend, brother, son, and person. I have no doubt that he will be successful at what ever he does in life.

Talented, funny, personable, repectful, well-spoken, compassionate, humble, kind, and loving are all words I can use describe him.

Rare is another one that comes to mind.

We are very blessed.

Most importantly, I want to say...

Happy Birthday Son!

A Week to Remember

So the other day I went to dinner with my sisters to celebrate what would have been our grandma’s 100th birthday. It was fun laughing at some of the crazy stuff grandma did and reminiscing of times that were filled with fun. There is nothing like the love you get from your grandma.

I remember sitting on her lap watching TV or my favorite past time was sitting on the front porch on warm summer nights and counting all the airplanes we could see. As silly as it sounds, that was one of my favorite things to do.

I miss her like crazy.

And that brings me to the bitter sweet holiday called Fathers Day. I know I have written about how my fathers death still, STILL bothers and upsets me. It’s been 17 years and yet I cry. Each year he misses more. I know he is here in my heart, and in spirit, not to mention my twisted sense of humor which I have passed down to my kids. I just want to play basketball with him. Or ride a rollercoaster.

I miss him like crazy.

In the past I have written about the conversation we had the night I was diagnosed. I still hear him on the phone, holding back tears, telling me I am going to be okay and that we are going to figure this all out. I swear I can hear him right now. So weird how things like that stay with you.

My dad used to say things to me that always stuck and that I always made sure I remembered.

“Never be a follower. Always be a leader.”
“One person’s rock can be a boulder to someone else.”
“All I ask is that you make me proud.”

Even as a kid I knew this stuff was important. It has taken me years to fully understand what all these things meant.

My dad never wanted me to not be myself. He wanted me to do what I wanted to do regardless of what others thought. And he wanted me to have passion for whatever I do. To be proud and in turn that would make him proud. To not be afraid to be different or looked at funny or whatever. To be the best I could be.

But also, he wanted me to have compassion. Compassion to understand that what may seem like a silly little problem could be an enormous burden to another. This has particularly useful in raising my kids. When Gillian is upset because someone else got invited to party and she didn’t, I don’t say “who cares. It’s their loss not yours.” I offer love and understanding and let her know that when I was her age that happened to me too. I try to provide empathy instead of sympathy.

So to my Dad who would have been 60 this year, I want to say that I hope that you are looking down on me and my family and are proud. You will happy to know that my son is just as outgoing and personable as you were and my daughter has your very funny, very sick sense of humor. I see you in them all the time.

I miss you immensely and cannot wait to play a game of basketball when I see you again someday.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

Your son,
George

Work the Plan

I spent a long time yesterday thinking about my post and all the comments.

Comments are what blogging is all about in my book but that subject will have to be tackled on another post.

So, this whole weight gain, feel like crap, need to exercise situation that I was upset about yesterday sparked a great idea.

The return of the Slimmons Gym.

At our old house I had the garage set up with a treadmill, exercise bike, free weights, heavy punching bag, and a speed bag. Sure I was not in there as much as should have been but I would use it and I loved it.

So now our garage is just boxes and boxes of stuff. That exercise equipment is buried and even if I could get to it, there is no room.

The plan is as follows. Get the Slimmons Gym up and running by the end of summer.

I know what you are thinking. “End of Summer, don’t you think that is giving yourself too much time?” Truth be told, I am worried I will have it done by then. We have LOTS OF STUFF to go through and decide if it’s trash, a keeper, or a yard sale item. And I tend to make reasonable goals since unattainable ones are pointless IMHO.

Every weekend I will get in that garage and start going through boxes. One by one I will be more organized and will be that much closer to getting the old gym back in gear.

I have to tell you, I am really excited about this. All the comments and encouragement I received really helped to get my brain working to come up with a way to turn things around.

Thanks for the ideas, love, and support. I’ll be a healthy ninja soon enough!

Defeated

I am expanding. Literally. And at an alarming rate.

I cannot believe how much weight I have gained and continue to gain. I feel awful, look awful, and my attitude about it has been awful.

So now what?

Weight Watchers again? Something different? Lap Band?

I am not motivated to do anything. My energy level is so low that I get exhausted just thinking about sitting on the exercise bike.

And I eat. I eat and snack all day long and late into the night.

Remember back when I would post every Saturday how I was doing on Weight Watchers and everyone was cheering me on. I lost 42 pounds! I felt like I was going to finally get down to the weight I wanted to be and then it all fell apart.

I blame the house situation but really, there is no one to blame. I let that be a crutch and an excuse. Shame on me.

So now I am looking for a spark. A kick in the pants. Something to get the old me back.

I need a lift.

You Tube Tuesday #124

I think you all know that I love the infomercials. Love. Them.

The Snuggie, Sham Wow, and even the Miracle Thaw are awesome.

But this.......This is unbelievable.

And it's real.

Enjoy!

Setting the Record Straight

Mr. T and I have a few things in common. We love Gold Chains, we treat our Mothers right, and both of us hate Bullies.

We pity them fools!

In all seriousness I have never been a fan of those who step on or bully other people. It makes me angry and I have zero tolerance for it.

My friends at Diabetes UK created a video called “Setting the record straight” to help combat all those misconceptions about type 1 diabetes that kids get bullied about. Since I was diagnosed at 17 I really didn’t deal much with bully’s but I would imagine some grammar school kids do.

Please check it out and spread the news about it. We need to educate to eliminate the confusion and set the record straight.

Thanks Diabetes UK for putting this together!

The Godspell Recap - With Pics!

Last Thursday was opening night for Godspell. We had four performances and it was a blast.

Here are some pictures from the show.

All and all my diabetes played nice except for Friday night. That was not cool at all. Luckily no lows during the show which was what I was worried about.

If I had to go back and re-rehearse all the songs, and dances, and learn all the lines over again, I would do it. I would do it in a heartbeat.

There is nothing like seeing all those little parts and line and notes come together into a show that moves and touches people. The response from all who saw it was overwhelmingly positive. Each night I was filled with tears of sadness during the show and happy ones afterwards.

My favorite comment was one woman who said, “You brought me back the Lord.”

Wow. How do you top that? I mean, if she was the only person who saw the show then it was a success.

The Way it Goes

Last Wednesday I finally went to the endocrinologist after skipping an appointment in October and never rescheduling.

Some “Born Again Diabetic” I am huh?

October as most of you remember was a bad month for me so caring about my health or anything at that time was a serious chore.

Then the guilt set in.

How could I face my doctor after not making it to an appointment or scheduling a new one? I just hid some more, until now.

As always I got a slight ‘tude from my supervisor who leaves early for nail appointments but has an “issue” with “so many people having to leave all the time.” I took off as soon as I could and made it to the endo just in time to make the appointment.

When I got inside and met with the nurse who mentioned that I had not been there in a while. I agreed. I tweeted about the next part because I was shocked that the nurse at an endo’s office could be so dumb.

Here’s how it went down.

Nurse: You’re a Type 1? (She said this with an extra high note at the end)

Me: Yes

Nurse: Not a Type 2? (I wanted to answer and be sarcastic because seriously, what part of “YES” did you not get??)

Me: No. I’m just fat.

Nurse: Oh okay. Because most people your weight are type 2’s.

Now this pissed me off two fold. One, I know I am not the only full figured type 1 on the planet. And two, there are many Many MANY type 2’s that are much Much MUCH thinner than I am.

And did I mention that the nurse could have been a “before” pic at the Jenny Craig??? (Ok that wasn’t nice but it really bothers me so sorry, dumb nurse)

When my endo came in we talked a lot. We talked about why I did not come in back in October. About losing the house. About how he has lost all his retirement and does not know what he is going to do. We talked about life, and stress, and how it affects not only my BG but my willingness to take care of myself. It felt like I was talking to a friend who understood or at least wanted to.

We talked about Symilin and Apidra. He felt that we should find out where my A1C is, check on the rest of my numbers and then consider trying some new stuff. I felt that was fair. I need to prove to him that I am a good patient first before he should start writing prescriptions for me just because I ask about them.

It is another beginning. Another attempt to walk the narrow path of good management and who knows how long this will last before I burnout again.

I guess it is just the way it goes

You Tube Tuesday #123

I think the reason this clip cracked me up so much is because this was my fathers favorite way to scare the crap out of us as kids. I hope you dig it!

Enjoy.

The Return

Hey there.

I’m George and I am a blogger.

This last week has been a busy one for me with rehearsal every night for Godspell. But I don’t want to talk about that today.

I also had an endo appointment last week. But I don’t want to talk about that today.

No, I want to talk about my CGMS. I have been using it for almost two weeks now and I love it.

Sure it get annoying at night when, for whatever reason, it loses signal. And yes I get annoyed because people say, “So now you don’t have to prick your finger!” The funny part is I SWEAR I am checking more often now. And of course it is not spot on but dang, it is close most of the time and the trends are awesome to see.

Now to those of you on CGMS, you probably will find this post boring. You know all this stuff and still you use the technology. If it were not for all the blogs I read and people I spoke to, I think I may have been disappointed in the CGMS. It is not perfect but it has great value. It makes me feel like I have a new set of eyes and are able to see something that I never thought possible.

So I know I am still in the honeymoon stage with this thing but so far, so good. If you have any questions about my experience please ask away. You all know me well enough to know that I am always willing to tell you what I think.

I promise I’ll get to that other stuff this week.

Until Next Week

Shame on me. I have been unable to put together a decent blog post and frankly, this one is not good either.

This week, with the opening of Godspell, has been busy and really the musical has been my main focus. My poor blog and you all have been neglected and for that, I apologize.

But…

I have several juicy, fantastic, unbelievable, mind boggling posts on their way. Well, maybe not that exciting but as soon as next week rolls around I will have a lot more time on my hands.

I need to get back to finishing another song I have been working on.

Speaking of song, have you had a chance to check this one out? (shameless plug)

Anyhow, thanks for stopping by and I’ll be back in full swing next week.

You Tube Tuesday #122

Music Video’s in the 80’s were strange. Lots of mirrors, bad lighting, breaking of mirrors, Aqua Net, and just plain weirdness. And now, as you may have seen before, is the “literal versions” of videos. I have seen a few of these that crack me up but this one is my favorite. Why you ask? Because I remember the first time I saw this video thinking, “Okay, what the heck is this about???”

I hope you find it as funny as I do.

Enjoy.