Donnabetes

Peaceful

2008-05-12T21:42:00.001-04:00

Mother's Day was a quiet, peaceful day for me. I like those kind of days. Even though the weather outside was nasty - rainy, windy and cool. But I did get to spend time with both of my kids - at the same time - with NO FIGHTING.

It started out that I slept in later than usual. So by the time I got myself ready to even have breakfast, it was already almost 11:00. So I just skipped breakfast - I know; that's a big NO-NO. But I don't do that very often & it was almost lunchtime so I gave myself a break.

My husband had planned on cooking something on the grill - but the rain had other plans. But everything worked out anyway. My son called & asked what we were doing for lunch. We decided to go to Denny's. So as soon as our daughter got to our house after church, we hopped in the car & headed to Denny's. (Her husband was spending the day with his mom so he didn't get to join us - which was too bad.) Our son ran some errands & met us there. He had already put our name on the list. So we got our table pretty quickly after we got there. The place (like every other restaurant in town) was packed.

But our waitress was nice. Her name was Donna, too, which we thought was funny.

We all ordered breakfast stuff & it was so yummy! I had eggs (over easy), pancakes, bacon and grits - I love grits! Then we sat and visited for a while. It's so funny - just a few years ago, my kids could hardly be in the same room with each other without getting into an argument. They can have a civil & even a nice conversation with each other now. I never thought this would happen. They don't actually agree on everything - even now. But they do handle it better & that's nice. There's no yelling or screaming like during those awful teenage years. Uggghh!

So a peaceful, content mother's day is what I wanted and that's what I got. I hope everyone had a happy, peaceful mother's day, too.

Before I Was A Mom

2008-05-09T15:26:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine sent this to me this week & I thought it was a good one to share with you for this Mother's Day weekend. I don't know where it originated or who wrote it so I can't give credit where credit is due. But I especially thought of you Diabetes OC moms during parts of this poem. Get your tissues out; I had to...

Before I was a Mom

I never tripped over toys or remembered words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Thanks to all you moms who do so much! Happy Mother's Day & God bless you!

Space Invader

2008-05-08T17:20:00.008-04:00

At work yesterday, I had something happen that seemed very traumatic for me. It would have been no big deal to most people, I know. But I almost jumped out of my skin!

My two best friends & I were eating our lunch in a common area of our work department & chatting & having a nice lunch. We had all been so busy lately and hadn’t really stopped to take time to visit with each other for a while. And we were having a nice time.

So while we are sitting there laughing & enjoying ourselves, another member of our team (actually she's one in management) started yelling at us out of her office across the way that she was on a conference call & we needed to be quiet. Okay; we quieted down even though it would have been easier for that person to just use her phone headsets for her conference call rather than have everyone on speaker phone. I don't like to hear other people's conference calls; I find it rude to put someone on speaker phone at our desks. We have conference rooms for such occasions. Our cubicles just are very sound-proof. Just a pet peeve of mine. But I digress.

A little while later, she came over to our table & was laughing and saying how sorry she was for asking us to be quiet but she didn’t know what else to do. She said she would have much rather have been having lunch with us since it sounded like we were having so much fun. That’s when IT happened.

I was the closest one to her & she came up behind me & grabbed my shoulders from behind & kind of shook me in a sort of fake hug & was laughing like we were all enjoying this pretend camaraderie she was showing. So what happened when she did this to me? Immediately, my shoulders hunched up around my ears & my bad shoulder hurt the rest of the day.

My physical therapist said I need to work on relaxing my shoulders & not scrunch them up so much. I had been doing better with this. But when this happened, I couldn’t help it. I had a difficult time the rest of the evening keeping my shoulders down. I felt myself doing this even when my husband & I went out to dinner at Logan’s last night. I had to mentally make my shoulders relax.

I had just graduated from physical therapy treatment last week. But now I feel like I’ve taken a giant step backwards. I hate that. I’m going to have to retrain my brain again. And my brain doesn't like it.

This manager probably didn’t mean anything by doing this to me. Most people don’t mind if you touch them like that. But to me, this was a major ordeal! I guess she missed the memo that I am not to be touched or hugged. (There's really no memo about this; but I'm beginning to think there should be. LOL!) Everyone else in the area knows that I don’t like to be touched & they’re all okay with it. (I like my space.) But this person does a lot of yelling & throwing of things in her office & doesn’t pay much attention to anyone but herself. Sad – really.

To top it all off, we found out today that this person has some kind of staph infection! Yikes! Why did she have to touch me? Not only did this incident freak me out & now I have to re-train my shoulder muscles to relax, I also have to worry about the possibility getting some kind of infection from this person, too. What a day!

One of the other managers is going to talk to her about this incident & about her other temper tantrums. Hopefully, this just won’t happen again.

In the meantime, it’s back to extra shoulder exercises & retraining my brain to relax those shoulder muscles again for a while. Get ready, brain!

Three, Two, One, Zero!

2008-05-07T17:31:00.001-04:00

I don't know why I thought this was cool. But, hey, whatever it takes, right?

I knew I was getting down to the wire on my insulin supply in my pump yesterday. Plus it was the day I needed to change my site. So I wanted to coincide those two things as much as possible. That way I wouldn't waste very much insulin. I hate wasting insulin!

So I got through the whole day & still had insulin left when I got home & finally had dinner. I had about 21 carbs. My BG was up a bit because I had an unexpected low earlier which I was still rebounding from - I hate that, too. Anyway, I checked my pump to see how much insulin was left & it said 3.2 units. So I entered my BG & carb information in & voila! I needed 3.1 units. Cool!

So by the time I got done eating, my insulin cartridge was down to 0.00 - just in time for my site change. I know there was some still left in the tubing, but I actually got the pump to say 0.00 units at exactly the right time. It's silly, I know. But like I've said before - I love it when a plan comes together. (courtesy of The A-Team).

Checkered Flag

2008-05-06T17:48:00.005-04:00

I'll just say it. I LOVE NASCAR! I love the competition, the personalities, the excitement, the speed - all of it. I look forward to every weekend so I can watch another race & I'm disappointed on weekends when they don't have one. Then when the season ends, I am devastated.

The thing that gets me through NASCAR's off-season is watching football. I love it, too. But NASCAR is my favorite.

All the races & tracks are different. Some races are during the day; some are at night. Some tracks are a little boring; then others are always exciting - like Bristol, Talledega, Daytona, Richmond. Those are always good.

I have my favorite drivers, too. My #1 driver is the #24 - Jeff Gordon. He grew up in a small town not too far from here. I've always liked him and I realize some people don't like him so I'll stop talking about him now.

There are several other drivers that I like -
Jeff Burton (and his older brother, Ward - but he's not racing anymore),
Tony Stewart - also from Indiana,
Bobby Labonte (and his older brother, Terry - but he retired),
Michael Waltrip - what a character!
Dale Earnhardt Jr - why not?
Carl Edwards - love the back flip when he wins.

While all of this NASCAR stuff is enjoyable & exciting for me, I got a different kind of surprise during the telecast of the Richmond race last Saturday night. I saw a commercial I never thought I would see the likes of during a NASCAR race. It was a commercial for One Touch and the Hand project from TuDiabetes. I was actually on the computer at the time & didn't see the entire thing. So I didn't realize what it was until I caught a glimpse of the hand at the end of the commercial. I almost cried. Wow!

Diabetes & NASCAR - a combination I never thought I would see. Diabetes - something I don't like, but have to deal with 24-7 and NASCAR - my favorite sport to watch. What a surprise! We're just popping up everywhere now! How cool is that?!

Then I started thinking about all the different flags they wave during a NASCAR race & how they are similar to our lives.
We get the green flag when we're diagnosed with diabetes - new green flags are waved everyday when new people are diagnosed.
Then come all the caution (yellow) flags. We get those all the time throughout our lives with diabetes. Highs, lows, unexplainable A1Cs, miscounting carbs, stress, etc.
Hopefully, we never see the red flag when the race is stopped because something really bad has happened. I don't like those. Complications - lets just leave it at that.
But then - if only there would be a checkered flag to signify the end of diabetes & we all win. That's a flag I would like to see.

Here's to that checkered flag!

Turn, Turn, Turn

2008-05-05T17:44:00.002-04:00

There was so much happening in my life last week that I'm still thinking about it. I'm not sure how I feel about it either. Let me explain.

My boss retired. For some people, this might be considered a happy day if they didn't like their boss. My situation is exactly the opposite of that. I LOVED my boss. She was like the mother I never had & told her that when I hugged her goodbye last Thursday & I left in tears. She has been there for me & all of my co-workers through so many situations. We had been together for 10 years. Those 10 years flew by so quickly. I guess the saying is true, "time flies when you're having fun."

I am so happy for my boss because she deserves to be able to enjoy her retirement. But I'm still going to miss her.

We had a difficult time figuring out what to get her as a retirement gift. And we knew it should be something memorable. We finally decided on a photo collage frame with a picture of each of us in each spot. Some of us used family pictures and some used individual photos. Then we put a picture of our boss right in the middle spot.

Then we had a dilemma. There was one extra spot on the frame. My co-workers put me in charge of finding some kind of inspirational saying to type up in a pretty font to put in this spot. Yikes! I couldn't think of anything. I wanted it to be meaningful, personal, perhaps something from the Bible. Then it came to me - the song, Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds. So I started typing it up. Then I decided that my boss would really appreciate seeing the Biblical version found in Ecclesiastes 3 (KJV). So here is what I used:

To every thing there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time of war, and a time of peace.

Thanks, (insert our boss's name) for being with us through it all.

We couldn't think of anything more fitting for this situation. As soon as she saw all the photos, she was so happy. She has a long hallway in her house where she has several family photos hanging. She said she has a spot for this frame with all our pictures in it because she considers us as family, too.

She started to read the scripture in that extra spot on the frame out loud. Then she started crying & couldn't get past the first line. So my best friend read the rest of it for her. Then we all cried. So many things have happened in our work family & this scripture pretty much covered it all. The part that remained constant for us was our boss, our friend, our motherly influence, our rock - she was always there for us - no matter what was happening.

We don't know who will take her place. But whomever it is has some pretty big shoes to fill. I personally don't think she can be replaced. Someone else may take her job, but I don't think they will be able to be the inspiration to us that she has been. We've been spoiled, but we have appreciated her, too. We know what we've had it pretty good these last 10 years.

But that chapter has now closed. It's time to turn, turn, turn the page (great song by Bob Seger) & get on with the next chapter in our lives.

Uneventful

2008-05-02T20:34:00.000-04:00

The other day, I wrote about how this week has been a little hectic. When I wrote that, I had already forgotten that I had gone to my quarterly endo appointment this week, too. My memory seems to be pooping out on me a lot lately. I hate that.

Anyway, I had my appointment & it was - drumroll please........

uneventful!

I love those kinds of appointments. But visits to my endo have always been uneventful. He is so calm & helpful. He didn't freak out that my A1C went from 6.3 to 6.9 this time. He just changed my basals around a little & now I only have 3 basals each day instead of six. So far - so good. My numbers have been pretty good since then.

I had tweaked them a little myself since my last appointment & I think I was just trying too hard. My body didn't need that many basal changes each day. The more I tweaked, the more difficult it became. I needed help & I got it.

After we were done talking about my diabetes, etc., he asked me how my kids were doing. I love that. He was my kids' pediatrician since they were born. Both kids were born early. My daughter = 3 weeks early; my son = 4 weeks early. He took great care of them and he still remembers them even though they're all grown up. Seems like only yesterday that I hauled my big pregnant self into his tiny office at the hospital. My diabetes was not cooperating with my pregnancy, but he got me through it. He has been taking care of my diabetes since then.

Unlike visits to some of my other doctors, my endo visit is always calming & reassuring. I wish everyone could have that. It's one less thing to worry about. And those of us with diabetes have enough on our plates already, don't we? Having an understanding, knowledgeable, helpful, reassuring endo makes it all a little easier. I am thankful for that.

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

I've Graduated!

2008-05-01T17:59:00.005-04:00

Today was Graduation Day for me! I've graduated from Physical Therapy! Yay!
It's actually a week early. But my physical therapist said I was doing well enough to stop going if I wanted. Next week is "report week" at work so I chose to go ahead & stop going to physical therapy a week early.

My shoulder feels so much better than it did a few weeks ago. I just have to keep stretching & doing the exercises they gave me. The difference is amazing! I was really surprised.

I also made changes to my desk at work. I didn't realize how ergonomically incorrect my desk was. It's no wonder my shoulder was mad at me! But it's much happier now. And that's good.

Even though I didn't receive a diploma or have a cap & gown for my graduation, I did get a free T-shirt. Woohoo!
Well, I guess it's not really free when you consider how much money my insurance company & I paid for the therapy. But that's okay. Having a happy shoulder is worth it.

Comfort

2008-04-29T22:38:00.010-04:00

Hi everyone! Those four days of no work turned into seven days of no blogging. I don't know what happened. Hopefully, I'll get back into it. But I doubt that it will be everyday anymore. My business is really taking off. And I'm sewing my little fingers off! But that's good. I love it! But it does take time away from other things like - blogging, cleaning the house, cooking, laundry, dishes, etc, etc, etc.

I just need to prioritize my time a little better because I really miss reading my daily blogs. But I'll figure out something soon.

So far, this week has been somewhat hectic. After taking off those two days last week, my job has fallen way behind. Even though I had someone help with my work while I was off, I still have to answer questions she has & that's been taking up a lot of my own work time. Don't get me wrong - I really appreciate her help. I'm just not used to being off work very much. Maybe I need take off work more frequently so I can get into a rhythm. I have plenty of days to use. So I may give that a try. We'll see.

Unfortunately, it has also been a week of tragedy as there have been two deaths in my work family this week. One was my boss's step-mother. She was 82 & lived a good long life. I believe she had diabetes, too, but my boss didn't specify the type. I don't know if she knows.

The other one was that a friend's stepson took his own life. He was nineteen. Such a tragedy. This has been tough on my friend, of course. So I've tried to be there for her whenever she needs to talk.

But this week has made me think about death & how it affects us all. In the case of my boss's mother, her death was somewhat expected as she had been sick for a long time. But in the case of my friend's stepson, it was definitely not expected & there seems to be no explanation for it. But my friend & I discussed this & it brought to mind how alone he must have felt in those last few moments he was here on earth. I told her to remember what the Bible says in II Corinthians - to paraphrase: ...to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And what greater place could a person be? I believe the moment he was gone from this earth, he was being comforted in the arms of the Lord & at peace. I refuse to believe otherwise.

Both funerals will be on Friday. So I had to make a choice between the two. My boss is very understanding & doesn't expect us all to go the service for her stepmom. And my friend wants me to be there at the service for her stepson. So one of my other friends & I will be there for her.

My friend & her family will be okay. They have their faith to help sustain them & the love of family & friends. Please keep them in your prayers as things may be tough for them in the days to come. But I know that God has a purpose for all things & even when things happen that we can't explain, He has a plan.

Sorry - didn't mean to preach today. These things were just weighing heavy on my mind & I needed to say them. And death is certainly a part of life, isn't it?

Four Days of No Work

2008-04-23T18:35:00.005-04:00

I finally did it. I'm taking off work two days in a row! Woohoo! I don't usually do this, but I think it's time for a mini vacation. Thursday & Friday - I'm outta there!

They found someone to help backup my work when I take a vacation & she is so nice. She knows I have a difficult time letting someone else do MY work. I take it very personally. But she has shown me that she can handle it for a few days & I now have the option of taking more time off. I have so much time stored up that I'm not sure how much I have. I think it's up to 40 days now. So I'm going to cut into that 40 days & use a couple.

I don't even have plans - except to sew - A LOT. But that's okay. Sewing is very relaxing & I can watch my Friends DVDs & laugh really loud & not be stressed out. It will be fun.

I think I'll go to a fabric store I haven't been to in a while, too. They usually have some cute stuff & I'm all into that.

Oh, and I can play with the dogs outside. They love for someone to throw their ball and then Brutus brings it back. Brutus is our biggest male dog so I think it's some kind of respect thing. They know he's top dog so they let him bring it back - no questions asked. It's funny to watch. I throw the ball; they all run toward it; then everyone except Brutus stops; and Brutus brings it back to me. Actually, we have a ball for each of them. But even if I throw all of them, they run toward the one he's getting, but they never try to get it. There's no barking, growling or bickering involved. They just love running together. Hey, whatever makes them happy. I can go with it.

Other than that, I'm free. Well, except for the diabetes stuff. But that's the way it goes.

Steve Azar has a song called, I Don't Have To Be Me (Til Monday). I think I'll sing that in my head for the next four days. It doesn't match my situation exactly, but it's similar enough & it's a fun song.

I don't have to be me 'til Monday
Friday, Saturday, Sunday
I ain't gonna face reality.
Three days without punching a time clock
Three nights goin' non-stop
No work and all play.
I don't have to be me 'til Monday

I wish I didn't have to face the reality of my diabetes for a few days. But that's okay. Four days of not having to go to work is good enough for me. I'll take it.

What a Difference!

2008-04-22T13:01:00.004-04:00

When I was a kid, very few people really knew about diabetes - especially that I had it. It was to be kept as much of a secret as possible – like it was something to be shamed. (This was not my idea, but I had to go along with it because, hey - I was a kid.) But I digress.

Now days, I find news accounts of fundraisers & schools getting involved in raising money to fund a cure for diabetes. Wow! Kids are actually being taught about diabetes. What a difference 30 or so years makes! Diabetes is not something to be shamed - I know that. And, of course, it never should have been. No more shame here!

I love to read about kids who are learning about diabetes & becoming involved in activities that are helping to find a cure. Isn’t that great?

Here’s a news story about some kids in Illinois who are walking for a cure. This just makes me smile. Thanks, kids!

I Love...

2008-04-21T19:47:00.003-04:00

I love little baby ducks, old pickup trucks,
Slow movin' trains - and rain.....

Oh, wait a minute -- that's what Tom T Hall loves. You probably have to be at least my age to remember that one. If you want, you can click this link to get the rest of the lyrics. It's a really cute song. But I digress.

I noticed other bloggers doing this so I thought I would give it a try. It's challenging at first. Then the love just starts flowing. But as I started writing mine, I realized that many of you are so poetic in the way you write your loves. It's simply beautiful.

But I guess that's not me. It would be nice to be able to do that so easily, but I'm not very poetic. That's okay. I gotta be the best me I can be. So mine isn't very poetic, it's just me.

If anyone else wants to try this, here are the rules: You can’t include a single person you know on your list. No “I love the way my husband laughs” or “I love hearing my little girl call for me.” This little exercise is about stripping away everyone who defines you and figuring out what you (not his partner; not their mother/daughter/sister/friend) love.

This is me:

I love Diet Coke - especially Hardees' Diet Coke! I had to get that one out of the way. Done.

I love the color purple. The color – not the movie – even though the movie is good, too.

I love watching Colts football!

I love Taco Bell's Cheezy Beefy Melts. Or is it Beefy Cheezy Melts. I don't remember. But I do know I love them. Yummy!

I love seeing wild turkeys running next to the woods across from our house. I love seeing deer eating along the edge of that woods while traffic goes by. I love how they do this so gently & without fear. I love walking in a wooded area & spotting the deer tracks in the soft mud & realize I’m walking right where one of these beautiful creatures has walked only a short time ago.

I love reading blogs. It creates such a bond that I can't even explain. But it's a good feeling & I love it.

I love Yankee Buttercream candles. They smell soooooo good! And they can wipe out almost any smell created by a dog. Almost.

I love walking in the field behind our house & collecting the arrant golf balls that come from the golf course next to us.

I love driving in my car by myself & listening to my favorite CDs. I love singing along with them - even though I'm not a good singer. I love country music. I love classic rock music. I love southern-rock music. I love 1990's & early 2000's contemporary Christian music. I just love good music!

I love the smell of lilac bushes when they are first blooming every spring. They have such a fresh smell.

I love watching NASCAR races & especially seeing the #24 win.

I love having my insulin pump & being in the best diabetes control of my life.

I love living in the country – away from it all. I love the quiet life. I love the old farmhouse we live in that creaks & rattles. I love that all of our door casings are crooked. I love that it had wooden shingles under the layers of present-day shingles. I love that it has hewn logs as the framework. I love that it has withstood the tests of time.

I love the TV show, Friends. I love remembering each episode & quoting the lines along with the actors.

I love big, full shade trees in the summer. I love sitting in lawn swing in our back yard under one of those trees & enjoying a peaceful breeze. I love how the leaves sound when that breeze is blowing through them.

I love Rotweillers, Cockers Spaniels, Blue Heelers & especially Shih Tzus. Did I get them all? I think so.

I love that I can talk to God anytime I want & all He listens - even when I'm only saying the words in my head.

I love funny movies. I love watching them over and over. I love to laugh until I cry.

I love riding the Harley & feeling the warm summer wind in my face. I love the feeling of camaraderie I feel as we pass other bikers & we give each other that wave. I love that feeling of friendliness even though we’ll probably never see that person again or ever know their name. I love that they are enjoying the open road as we are. It makes me feel so free.

I love panda bears. (You knew I had to get around to that one eventually, huh?)

I love seeing a beautiful sunset. I love all the shades of red, purple, blue, pink and many other indescribable colors it contains. I love that I can see this view outside my front window on any given evening across the fields & woods.

I love comparing life with TV shows, movies & music. I love how it seems there is a TV show, movie or song for almost any situation.

I love it when a plan comes together. (You probably have to be close to my age to get that one, too.)

Did I mention I love Hardees’ Diet Coke?

That's me.

No Movie Stars This Time

2008-04-18T18:56:00.001-04:00

Finally, an article about a regular kid with diabetes.

It always kind of disgusts me when celebrities get on their bandwagon about diabetes & misinform the public about their conditions. Unfortunately, some people take a lot of stock in what celebrities have to say & they listen to them – even when they’re wrong.

But this article made me feel good. It’s about a regular kid who is dealing with type 1 diabetes – just like a lot of us do everyday. His mother makes accurate statements in the article – which is so refreshing. These people have such a positive attitude & don’t let diabetes stop their son from being a regular kid – just like you moms in the Diabetes OC. I love that!

Here’s the link. I hope you enjoy reading this accurate, positive story as much as I did.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Bad Site

2008-04-17T20:43:00.002-04:00

Thank God I'm not talking about bad eyesight - as in a 'diabetes complication'. I don't need that. But I didn't need a bad infusion site either. I used a spot in the same general area as usual. I rotate throughout four areas of my stomach. This one was on the lower right side.

It kind of smarted when I first inserted it. That happens sometimes. So it's usually no big deal. But I should have just taken it out after the first day of unexpected 200s most of the day. I haven't done that in a long time. I mean, I have results in the 200s some of the time - but not consistently throughout the whole day - actually a little over 2 days.

You know, a few years ago, I wouldn't have been upset about being in the 200s. Whatever. That was pretty routine when I was taking shots. But now that I'm on the pump & doing so much better, 200 makes me feel blah! I hate it!

Even though my BGs have been running in the 200s and I feel yucky, I still didn't want to change out that site. Why? I didn't want to waste it. I'm frugal; no really I'm just cheap (as in money). I also knew that the reservoir would be getting close to empty soon & I thought it would just be okay for a little while longer. Wrong!

My endo had told me before that if I have a time when my results are out of whack & I can't figure out why - like I'm sick, not figuring my carbs correctly, etc., then it's probably a bad site. Why didn't I listen? I know he knows what he's talking about. But I ignored his advice. My bad. Shame on me. But I digress....

I finally broke down & changed the site to the lower left side. Hopefully, this one will cooperate. And if the BGs stay in the 200s again, I'm changing that site as fast as I can - really.

Donna Needs What?

2008-04-16T18:10:00.002-04:00

I know I'm a little slow on the draw here. But I did finally get around to doing this. It was fun. I encourage anyone to do this when you just want to do a fun post. No big deal. Just plain old fun.

I'm sure you all know how to do this now so I won't get into that. I'll just cut to the chase. Here we go!

Donna needs two hands to keep things steady - Okay, sounds like a good idea. Although my hands are much steadier on an individual basis since I had my carpal tunnel surgery.

Donna needs a good crowding - This is definitely something that Donna does not need. Donna has a social anxiety disorder. She does not need crowding. I stay in my space & I appreciate when others stay in there's.

Donna Needs Bloggers' Help - No doubt! I need all kinds of help.

Donna needs a good reason to work on her reading - That's for sure. I just don't enjoy reading books like I used to when I was a kid. What happened?

Donna needs 12 1/8 of ribbon to make 5 bows - Well, 2 years ago, this was close to a true statement. That was about the time of my daughter's wedding. We made all the flowers, bows, decorations, centerpieces, programs, etc. But I believe we made a few more than 5 bows. But every little bit helped.

Donna Needs a BFF - I'm guessing this means Best Friend Forever. Got one, but thanks.

Donna needs to go - Well, that isn't very nice.

Donna needs a teabreak - Ick, tea!!! I hate the stuff. It should be " Donna needs a Diet Coke break."

Donna needs a pot - Notice that it says "A pot" , not "pot". I'm glad we clarified this.

Donna needs help - A truer statement has never been said. LOL!

Donna needs a donut - Uh, I don't think so. Not because I have diabetes - my pump would take care of that; but because of the 10 pounds I would gain by eating it. A statement more like Donna WANTS a donut. There - now that's true.

Donna needs to find a boyfriend - I don't think that's a good idea. I'm 45 years old. If anything, I need a MANfriend. (Just kidding, honey.)

Donna needs opinions - Nah, I have plenty of my own.

Donna needs your votes - Nope, amazingly enough, I am NOT running for public office. Although my husband has a Tshirt that says, "Terry for President". He's trying to convince everybody to write his name in on the presidential ballot. Whew! That's a little scary. You'd have to know my husband. 'nuf said.

DONNA needs a Cypres - Not sure about this one. Is a Cypres some kind of tree? Or is that one spelled Cypress? This is confusing.

Donna needs a Home - Got one that will be paid off in 5 years. But would take a new one if someone gave it too me. The dogs have pretty much destroyed this one. But I love 'em anyway.

Donna needs to shave Earl more often - Not sure who Earl is unless it's the guy from My Name is Earl. Somebody needs to shave him - but it's not gonna be me.

Donna Needs Ralph - Ralph? Maybe they meant Rolph from The Muppets. He was cool. Man, could he play that piano! Okay, I'll take him.

Donna needs to ensure that capable staff are selected and quickly oriented - It would be nice if we had more capable staff that were quickly oriented. But that's not the job for Donna.

Donna needs to talk to her GP, if not a neurologist - How did they know that? Haven't seen my neurologist since last July when she started trying to get my insurance company to pay for the VNS procedure. They denied it. Probably won't see the neurologist again. But I will talk to my GP. He's okay.

Donna needs companionship of other female Asian elephants in a healthy environment at a sanctuary - I don't even know how to reply to this one. Pass.

Donna Needs "Residential View Along the Parkway - That is the last thing I need. Put me in the middle of nowhere. That's where I belong. I say NO to the parkway.

Hope you liked this. It was fun.

Type 1 Awareness Day Awareness

2008-04-15T19:20:00.003-04:00

I have to admit that I really didn't raise my voice much yesterday. I posted about my day on my blog & I passed out those wonderful pamphlets that Beth did. (Thank you, Beth!) A person in my department that said he really appreciated the pamphlet. He said he has several people in his family that have type 2 & didn't know very much about type 1 until he read Beth's booklet. That's what Type 1 Awareness Day was all about - to make people aware, to educate them, to help them understand.

Thanks to all of you who did so much more than than I did & actually raised your voice (or paw - in Dixie's situation).

Bernard wrote an email to his local police department about how low blood sugar can sometimes be mistaken as being drunk or impaired. Thank you, Bernard. Great idea.

Kerri organized & kept track of our posts. What a huge undertaking! Thanks so much for doing this, Kerri! Great job!

Landileigh educated us about the "Other" types of diabetes. It was very interesting as I wasn't very familiar with her type until yesterday. Thanks for making us aware, Landileigh.

Molly talked to her friends about the differences between type 1 & type 2. And Dixie raised her paw! I love it!

Sara gave some misinformed employees at a CVS what for! They were mis-stating things & Sara raised her voice. And she raised more than her voice. She also raised money & walked for a cure. Thanks for doing all of this, Sara.

And I loved reading the different type of posts from so many people yesterday. (I have to admit, I haven't gotten through all of them yet. But I'm working on it.) We all said the same thing in our own way. It was chilling! I enjoyed every minute of it. Once again, it made me feel a part of something big, something special that we share.

Thank you all for doing your part. Only good can come from this.

A Day in the Life of Donnabetes

2008-04-14T18:18:00.004-04:00

HAPPY TYPE 1 DIABETES AWARENESS DAY 2008

Today I am raising my voice, or compute keyboard about my Type 1 Diabetes. I was diagnosed on June 1, 1970 when I was 7 years old. I don't remember a lot before Type 1 Diabetes took over my life. So I call my life "Donnabetes" because I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for my diabetes.

Things have changed a lot in my diabetes care in the last (almost) 38 years. No more testing my urine in a test tube with the little fizzy tablets & hoping it didn't turn orange. That was bad. Unfortunately, that happened a lot when I was a kid. I only had my blood sugar tested at the doctor's office on Saturday mornings. That meant not having anything to eat after midnight the night before. Then riding in the car to the doctor's office where they took blood out of my skinny little arm. I never was told what the results were. But not a lot of changes in insulin dosage were done for me back then. I think that's because they just didn't know a lot about how to do that sort of thing. Below is a picture of me just after I was diagnosed & another picture of how I look today. Back when I was diagnosed, no one thought I would live to be the ripe old age of 45! But here I am.

Oh - and the most important thing (they told me back then) was NO SUGAR! Can you believe it? I was not allowed to have sugar - at all. Seems so strange now that we know that isn't a true statement. Of course, I have to make adjustments to my insulin boluses for everything I eat - not just sugar.

So today, I thought I would write about a typical day in my life. I've used last Friday as the example.

A lot of the things I do every day are just like what everyone else does. I just have to add in a few diabetes-related Thorns In My Side to take care of this disease. It never leaves; it's always there; It won't go away. I'm stuck with it. I've been dealing with it for almost 38 years now. So I don't know what I would do without it. But I would like to give it a try. Anyway, here is a breakdown of a day in my life. The diabetes stuff is indicated in red.

Alarm goes off at 4:30 am. Clock is across the room so I have to get up to go hit the snooze. I have it set for 20 minutes. Yay! 20 more minutes of uncomfortable snoozing. It’s uncomfortable because I have a nasty case of bursitis/tendonitis right now & I’m going through physical therapy. But at least I can try to rest for 20 more minutes.

About the time I’m starting to get back to sleep, the alarm sounds again. Once again, I get up, walk across the room & hit the snooze again. I do this until 5:50 am. I HAVE to get up now or I’ll never get ready for work in time.

Oh, I forgot to mention that each time I get up to walk across the room to hit that snooze button, I have to untangle myself from the covers & find my pump – which is in there somewhere. I have to carry it with me – can’t just let it hang there – or the adhesive will pull loose from my stomach & I’ll have to immediately go through the insertion process again. That’s for later in the day. So I have to be careful.

5:50 am - I finally get up, head to the bathroom – my haven for the next hour and ten minutes (or so). I take care of the normal people stuff first. Then I check my blood sugar by pricking my finger & squeezing that finger until enough blood comes out for the test. My blood usually doesn’t want to leave my body so soon after I get out of bed for some reason. So I have to poke my finger again to get enough blood. If I’m lucky, I only have to do this twice to get enough. Then I wait for the countdown to see the result. Today, it’s 112. Good. Since I’m getting ready to unhook myself from pump & BG is 112, I decide not to give a manual bolus. Usually, if it's over 150 at this time, I would give myself a manual bolus of .7 to cover myself until I hook myself back up.

Weigh self = Gained .8 pounds since yesterday. Yuck!
Get ready for work = shower, makeup, hair, dress, brush teeth, etc.
Take Advil for sinus headache & shoulder pain.

6:25 am – decide on pump pack. Wearing black shirt & blue jeans. It’s down to 2 packs – either black with gold musical notes or black with leopard print. Decide on leopard print – seems more casual.

6:35 am – Decide on shoes. Wanted to wear new tennis shoes (Sketchers – love ‘em!). But it’s been raining & everything will be muddy. Don’t want to ruin them already. Could wear black Clark’s mules – but wore them yesterday. Can’t wear same pair of shoes two days in a row. Have to alternate to keep from getting blisters on feet. So I decide on the black casual shoes I haven't worn for a few days.

6:55 am – Start car, put on jewelry (don’t forget diabetes alert bracelet!), check briefcase on wheels to make sure I have breakfast bar, lunch, pump supplies, log book, extra insulin & batteries, work I did yesterday at home, etc.)

Check BG = 180. Guess I should have given that manual bolus, huh?. But 180 is okay for driving.
7:05 am – leave house. Go to post office, Hardees for Diet Coke. Enter 180 BG into pump along with 26 carbs for breakfast bar (dual bolus). Continue drive to work.

7:45 am – Arrive at parking garage. Made pretty good time today.

8 am – unload bag. Take 14 pills. What? There should be 15. Looks like I forgot to put in my Potassium supplement today. Oh well. At least it wasn’t my blood pressure medicine. That would be worse.

Work, work, work!

Take break to log BGs, carbs, boluses, weight, etc from yesterday onto Excel spreadsheet.

Work, work, work!

9:15 am – Check BG since it’s been two hours since breakfast = 218! What?! I don’t understand. But that’s part of it – not understanding sometimes. Bolus 1.5 units. Need 1.9 units. .4 units on board. Use normal bolus this time.

Work, work, work!

9:30 am – Hungry. Can’t eat anything. BG too high. Gotta wait until lunch.

Work, work, work!

11 am – Checked BG = 139 – better.

11:05 am – Ate lunch = Hormel Salisbury steak w potatoes & gravy = 30 carbs. Bolused for BG 139, 30 carbs = 3.1 units (food = 3.0 units, correction = .3 units, active insulin = .2 units). Used dual wave bolus.

11:15 am – Take 5 pills.

Work, work, work!

1 pm – check BG = 119. Yay! I can have a snack. I choose Quaker Mini Delights – only 90 calories & 14 grams of carbs. I enter info into pump: BG 119, 14 grams of carbs = 1.4 bolus. I use the normal bolus for this.

Work, work, work!

3:30 pm – Check BG. Getting ready to go home. Okay to leave now since we have a big audit coming in next week – need to rest up this weekend for that. BG = 124 – perfect for driving. 4 pm – pack up everything into briefcase and leave work. Yay!

4:30 pm – Do Walmart shopping.

5 pm – Have classic/usual Walmart low. Well, not too low this time, but 73. Ate 3 packages of Smarties.

Stopped at Hardees for Diet Coke. Stopped by Post Office again to drop off something I forgot this morning. Get home. Our daughter & son-in-law were doing their laundry at our house so we visit for a while.

Then my husband and I brought in all the Walmart wares. While putting stuff away, the UPS guy shows up. He brings my 3-month supply of pump supplies. NOTE TO SELF: Change site later tonight. The UPS guy also brought the new Medtronic CareLink USB that Sara mentioned in her blog. It only took 3 days to get here & it was FREE! I don’t even know what it does, but I’m excited about it. New, cool diabetes stuff! I know; I know – I’m easily amused.

6:30 pm - Fed & watered dogs & cats. Tried to decide what to eat for supper. Decide on peanut butter on wheat toast - my favorite.

6:45 pm – BG = 200. What! How did that happen? Those smarties are potent. I think I’m going to have to start limiting myself to one package from now on. Keyed 200 BG + 50 grams of carbs = 6.6 insulin units. (5 units for the food and 1.6 for the BG correction.)

Sat down to work on blog post for Monday, check email, print copies of Beth's type 1 informational booklet. (Thanks, Beth!)

8:15 pm - BG = 136 (0.0 bolus, .3 correction, 1.5 active insulin.)

Went upstairs to sewing room to work on pump pack orders.

Came back downstairs about 9:30. Enough sewing for one evening. Got back on computer to read some more blogs. Watched King Kong (2005 version - that's a long freaking movie!) with hubby & dogs.

It's too late to change this site. I'm going to wait until tomorrow. It's not bothering me or anything. I think it can last through the night without any trouble.

11:15 pm - BG = 143. (Bolus .4 for correction). Took 3 pills & 2 Advil for shoulder.

Oops, I forgot to do my exercises for my physical therapy & to ice my shoulder with those frozen peas. Oh well, it's too late for that, too.

Put Sophie in her room for the night. Thanked God for my Diabetes OC friends, my family (including my puppies), my other friends, Immy (my pump) and all my other blessings that are too numerous to mention. I asked God to watch over all of you & keep you safe. I always ask for a special watch over my kids (especially my son who is 21 years old & I have no clue where he is right now. That's okay; he lives at his own house now, but he still needs extra watching-over that only God can do.)

And that's a day in the life of Donnabetes. Wow! I didn't realize how much of my day is devoted to diabetes until I wrote it all out. And this was a pretty easy-going day. I think I've become used to all of it. I guess that's a good thing. Nothing real dramatic happened today, but we'll see what tomorrow brings. With type 1 diabetes, you just never know. But like the Boy Scout motto says, always be prepared. :)

This Post Brought to You by Keloids

2008-04-11T18:52:00.002-04:00

Actually, it's just Keloid, not Keloids. (I can't help it. I giggle everytime I hear the word Keloids. It reminds me of cereal. But believe me, it's nothing like cereal.) I have a Keloid scar where I had by trigger thumb surgery a few months ago. It healed up so fast & I was able to use it so quickly that I didn't even notice that there was a huge scar forming there. And now it's a little sore.

I showed it to my doctor the other day when I was there for the bursitis in my shoulder. He thought it was a Keloid scar. He said if it gets any worse, he may have to give me a shot of something - I can't remember what it was - in the scar to help it go away.

A friend of mine said that Keloids ran in her family. So she was reluctant to have any surgical procedures or even to get her ears pierced for fear of getting a Keloid. Luckily, she's a pretty healthy person and hasn't had to deal with the surgery stuff very much. I guess Keloids aren't very good genetic things to have.

Has anyone else had this problem? I've had several surgeries throughout my life & they usually result in thick scars (with the exception of the carpal tunnel surgeries - you can hardly see those.) But none of my other scars have ever gotten this big & sore. It could be because it's in the crease where my thumb connects to my hand & that area moves a lot. After all, I type on a computer for a living.

I bought some over-the-counter cream of some kind the other day that is supposed to reduce scars. I thought I would give that a try. I hope it works. I would hate to have to get a shot of something - again I don't remember what - in that scar. Here's what it looks like.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them - home remedies, over-the-counter products, potions, etc. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Topic - Angels

2008-04-10T10:08:00.005-04:00

A week or two ago, I was having a rough time. We all have times like this. Our blogs are ways for us to unload those stresses, hurts, aggravations, fears, sadness, etc. So that's what I did.

When I have a time like this, I know I can always count on a fellow D-blogger to write me a note, say something encouraging on my blog, or sometimes someone will send me an unexpected sussy.

My friend Cara At Every Day, Hour, Every Minute sent me such a sweet sussy a few days ago. It was exactly what I needed & I didn't even realize it until I opened the package. It was an Angel Stone - the Angel of Courage. Here's what it looks like. (I had a difficult time getting a photo that did it justice. But believe me, it's beautiful!)

The stone is so smooth & comforting. Just what I needed. Anyone who has ever dealt with anxiety issues knows that courage is hard to come by sometimes. So now when I feel that anxiety coming on, I've got this lovely Angel Stone to remind me that God is with me & I CAN BE courageous - even if it's just a small thing - like getting up the nerve to walk into Walmart on a busy afternoon.

Thank you all for the encouraging words you send my way. They are priceless treasures to me. And to Cara - thank you for knowing just what to send me at a time when I really needed it. You are an angel.

I count you all as blessings. Thank you so much for being there. As the music group, Alabama, says, "I believe there are angels among us." And that's how I consider you all.

Cara & I like to use music in comparison to things happening in life. I think that's why I like country music so much. Much of it is so true to life. So I'm going to share another music video with you today. It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. I hope you can think of someone who has been an angel to you as you listen to the song. I can think of many in my life and that is truly a blessing.

Frozen Peas - on My Shoulder - Make Me Happy...

2008-04-09T17:10:00.002-04:00

Remember the song by John Denver, Sunshine on my Shoulder? That's the first thing I thought of as I sat down to type tonight.

But do you know how hard it is to type with a bag of frozen peas on your shoulder. I hope you don't because it's not easy. But I'm sure it looks funny. :)

I went for my second round of physical therapy for my bursitis today & they told me to use an ice pack on my should for 20 minutes twice a day. Well, we don't have ice cubes at our house. So I had to improvise with a bag of frozen peas. They physical therapist said that would work as good as an ice pack.

I was really impressed with this physical therapy office. The last one I went to last November was too open for my tastes. The one I went to today was a lot better. The therapist asked me all the questions, did my evaluation & showed me the exercises all in the privacy of an exam room. I hate feeling like I'm on display anywhere. So the exam room made me much more comfortable.
She said I didn't appear to have any rotator cuff injuries. So that's good. But all the muscles in my shoulder, upper chest, and neck are extremely tense & tight. Really? She asked if I was a tense person or if I am usually stressed. I almost laughed out loud. That's me. Tense & stressed. She said this has caused my muscles to tighten up & that's what's causing the pain. So now I have to retrain those muscles to relax. This could take a while.

But I have a page-full of exercises to do that will help me eventually be able to reach behind my back to tuck in my shirt or put my insulin pump in the back pocket of my jeans. I had just gotten used to not doing those things. It will be nice to do them again - someday. Wish me luck.

In the meantime, I'll just try to enjoy the sunshine, 'er frozen peas on my shoulder.... make me happy. I miss John Denver.

God Knows Best

2008-04-08T18:13:00.005-04:00

I found this lovely poem a while back & was waiting for an appropriate day to share it. I felt like today was the day. There have been a lot of people out there in D-land that have been going through some rough times lately & to those people - my prayers are with you. And I hope this poem helps you get through whatever you're going through right now. Blessings to you all.

Our Father knows what's best for us,
So why should we complain ...
We always want the sunshine,
But He knows there must be rain.

We love the sound of laughter
And the merriment of cheer;
But our hearts would lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear.

Our Father tests us often
With suffering and with sorrow;
He tests us, not to punish us,
But to help us meet "tomorrow."

For growing trees are strengthened
When they withstand the storm;
And the sharp cut of the chisel
Gives the marble grace and form.

God never hurts us needlessly,
And He never wastes our pain;
For every loss He sends to us
Is followed by rich gain.

And when we count the blessings
That God has so freely sent;
We will find no cause for murmuring
And no time to lament.

For Our Father loves His children,
And to Him all things are plain;
So He never sends us "pleasure"
When the "soul's deep need is pain."

So whenever we are troubled,
And when everything goes wrong,
It is just God working in us
To make "our spirits strong."
-- Helen Steiner Rice

Maybe Crash Wasn't Due to Diabetes

2008-04-07T18:17:00.001-04:00

Kathy over at Trying To Be Human wrote about this last Thursday & I saw a follow-up on the story today. So I thought I would share. The story is about a man with diabetes who crashed his semi and everyone was blaming it on his diabetes. When stories like this surface, it seems we all get lumped into some kind of bad driver group – which is so unfair. It's also unfair that the media seems to have jumped to this conclusion with this particular driver, too. Just because he had diabetes doesn't mean he was a bad driver.

But per the preliminary reports, the coroner doesn’t believe the crash was due to the driver’s diabetes. It’s such a sad story since the man died. But perhaps people will see that it wasn’t because of his diabetes & keep the rest of us out of the hot box for a while.

Please keep the family & friends of this man in your prayers. What a sad situation - no matter what the reason for the crash.

Here’s the update.

Diabetes in Denim

2008-04-04T17:10:00.006-04:00

It seems that some of my posts this week have been less than - well, happy. Sorry about that. So I thought I would end the week on a positive note. This is a feel-good Friday story.

I found this article today about a school that let its kids wear denim to school if they made a donation for diabetes. I thought this was really cool. I’ve heard of similar fund-raisers for other medical conditions, but this is the first one I’ve read about for diabetes. Teaching them about diabetes at a young age is a good idea.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Some People....

2008-04-03T17:43:00.006-04:00

You know, I appreciate the fact that we are all a little different. We have different likes, dislikes, genders, races, religious affiliations, diabetes types, mental & physical conditions, etc.

But something I don’t appreciate is people who are just plain MEAN. Some people are just this way. I don’t know if they can’t help it or they just enjoy being that way. But what a miserable way to live, huh? To want to inflict pain, suffering, and anxiety to other people is just not something I appreciate.

I have such a situation right now. I have written about it before. I have some folks – whom I have never even met – that want to cause me a great deal of discomfort & take away something from me that gives me great joy & happiness. They think they are the only ones on the face of the earth that should be able to produce the items (let's call them Insulin Infusing Machine Carriers - IIMCs, for short) that I make. I’m not sure why they think this. I think a little healthy competition in the marketplace is a good thing. And I love making these things. I don't want to make a lot of money; I just want to make a good product that people (especially kids) like & brings them happiness.

I think it's like any other type of competition in the marketplace. Below are some examples of healthy competition:

Some weeks, WalMart has cheaper milk than Meijer. Other weeks, it’s the other way around. This gives people a choice & that’s good. How boring it would be if everything was the same.

Another example is that Wonder makes bread. What if they were the only ones allowed to make bread? They could charge us whatever they wanted because there would be no competition for bread.

The same goes for jeans. What if there was only one brand on jeans – say, Wrangler? A lot of people would be upset because they wouldn’t be able to buy Lee, Levi, Rustler, Sonoma, etc. brands of jeans. They would also be upset because there would be no reason for Wrangler to charge a reasonable price for their jeans. They could charge as much as they wanted because they had the corner on the market. Note: I have nothing against Wonder or Wranger – just examples.

We need competition is the marketplace. We need to be able to make choices for ourselves & our families. But what if the choices were suddenly taken away from us? We would be stuck, wouldn’t we? We would be forced to buy from the one company that produced the product we needed. This is simply just not right.

Sorry, I’m not going to mention the name of the company that is causing me this anguish. I don’t want to have to deal with the repercussions of that. But some of you know who I’m talking about. You’ve had dealings with this company also. I’m not saying they don’t have great products – they do. I just don’t know why they feel so threatened by a woman working out of her home, making a little extra money (and I mean – very little) & finally having a hobby. Am I that threatening that I am taking away their business? I don’t think I could possibly put a slight dent in their profits. They’re big.

Is it because they enjoy being bullies? On their website, they act like they are such sweet people & want to help everyone. If that’s the case (pun, intended), then why are they harassing me? It’s just not nice. Perhaps they have been treated badly & now feel the need to do it to someone else. I don’t understand this way of thinking & it breaks my heart that there are people out there that disguise themselves as caring, yet really are not.

I pray that they see the light & stop inflicting this pain on other people. Am I expecting too much? Can’t we all just get along?

Lows & Highs

2008-04-02T17:43:00.001-04:00

I've read some blogs where people are dreaming that they are low or high & wake up to test & it's true. That happened to me last night (actually early this morning).

I have a lot of dreams where I dream that I'm waking up in my bed like usual. Those are really weird - because that's what is supposed to happen. So it's hard to tell if it's a dream or reality.

Well, in my dream, I woke up and felt like I was low. I tested & it said 22 - which really freaked me out! Then I really woke up; I really tested. And it was 53. Not as low as 22, but pretty low anyway.

I've had it work the other way too - when it's high.

I'm glad God makes me have these dreams so I'll wake up and test. But it's still really weird when you dream that you're waking up in your bed like normal, but you're really still sleeping....

Does anyone else do this? Or is it just another one of the weird ('er "special") things I do?