Thursday, November 29, 2012

Tradition and Diabetes

I don't know about all you other diabetics out there on the inter-web world but this diabetic has a weird love/hate relationship with the giving of thanks holiday.  Our family doesn't have any traditions or must do's, so each year we just wind up were we wind up and do what everyone else is doing.  This year my brother, his wife and son drove my mother down to Bastrop, Texas and I met them down there so we could share the giving of thanks holiday with my grandmother (dads side of the family).  My grandmother recently turned 96 and just a couple of days before her birthday she fell and broke her wrist and hip so she is tied up in one of those assisted living places for three months while she heals up.  My grandmother is one amazing woman for never driving a day in her life and has been living alone for something like 20 years since my grandfather passed away.  With granny in the medical retirement place and not able to leave we had to decide on what our giving of thanks meal would be.  The tradition is of course turkey but my brother dislikes turkey unless it is like the sliced stuff you get at Subway on your hoagie and I could care less what we eat just as long as it is good.  Since we were all staying at my grandmothers house and did not want to take all the time cooking this elaborate meal but instead wanted to spend as much time as possible with grandma and also my uncle was having a traditional giving of thanks meal on Saturday.  So we did what all good people do when every business is closed for a holiday and that is scour the landscape for one place that was brave enough to be open, and that was "Texas Grill."  So we had fried catfish, chicken fried steak, and chicken friend chicken for our meal and it was great.  The people at the restaurant were extremely nice and were not put off at all because they had to work the holiday, they even asked us how we knew they were open and we told them that they were the only business with cars out front (a couple of fast food places were open but we wanted to at least have our feast brought out to us).  So in the end the giving of thanks is what you make of it and if you make it good than no matter where, or what it is, or who it is with it will be tradition.

Final thought for the day, today (November 29th) is Chuck Mangione's birthday and I have a co-worker that did not know the greatness of "Feels so Good" so I thought to post one of those tubes of you videos of him playing that great song on here, just in case one of you might not know his greatness.  I used to have this song on one of my running play lists and would listen to it over and over.  Not sure how good it made me run but it just sounds good.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Curazene

One of the parents in our scout troop has this message on his cell phone when you call him.  The message talks about staph infections and bad things that can happen to you if wounds are left untreated, some really scary stuff so I asked him what this info-mobile phone-advertisement was all about.  He let me know about the company he works for that has this product Curaxene and how it treats bacterias and open wounds.  He then let me know that it works on mosquito bites as well and that when he got the chance he would give me a sample to try.  Now I figured this would be interesting to try but was not for certain he would remember and give me some samples to try.  Well about a month ago his son came to me with a few of these little bottles that looked like eye drop thingies and told me they were from his dad for me to try out the next time I had a cut, wound, or bug bite.

Now, I am not one to wear mosquito repellent very often.  My use of mosquito repellent is basically restricted to camping and I never wear it while mowing the lawn or doing simple things around the house like when we are supposed to be wearing bug spray.  The Dallas area has had a few cases of this West Nile disease and for some reason we had a few late breakouts of large amounts of mosquito's this fall.  The other day I was out at the land with the chainsaw doing my thing to keep mother nature from overtaking everything and at the end of the day once I was back in the cabin I realized I had been bit quite a few times and these bites were very much itchy.  With this late realization that I should have put the bug spray on I remembered the free samples of Curazene and put just a little drop on all the bites and let me tell you this diabetic friends of the inter-web, this stuff was amazing.  I don't know what it is made of, something like unicorn tears and ground up rainbows but the instant I put it on each bite the itch and sting went away.  I was a little nervous to post about this amazing product, not sure if this stuff is on the market or anything so I did a little research and easily found their website with the actual information about the product and all the other things I could have been using it for and also noticed they have an offer for free samples.  This made me instantly want to post my findings to you all great inter-web diabetics so you too can now not suffer from west Nile mosquito bites.  I give this product 5 syringes out of 5 syringes because it is an absolute miracle drug and I have barely scratched the surface for all it is for (get it, scratch the surface).  This stuff is even for zits and pimples, kind of like the arm and hammer baking soda for your body.  Go to the website and get your free sample today.  The website is: http://www.curazene.com/products.htm 
and the free sample page is: http://www.curazene.com/sample.htm

Disclaimer: I get nothing for this but the satisfaction that you will not suffer from mosquito bites or zit pains.  No money came my way nor did they even ask me to write about this I just like to help you out and this product was so good you have to get the free sample and let me know all about it.

Monday, November 26, 2012

"WWTDCD"

 I have had the question come up a few times about "What would the Diabetic Camper do in a super storm like sandy?"  This is the age old question of, can you be prepared for anything.  We all have seen the ads for the Discovery show "Doomsday Preppers" and lots of people are left over conspiracy theorists with bunkers, and some even have stock left over from Y2K.  There are even companies that will sell you a backpack with everything they think you need to survive a 72hour emergency.  Then those of us with diseases like diabetes and the such have to be prepared for any emergency every time we leave the house.
My answer to the question of "WWTDCD" (what would the diabetic camper do) is a simple one in any situation like Sandy.  First, I would get all the information about the storm as soon as possible then when the government says it is going to be bad, or I felt it was going to be a bad storm,  I would load up my car and head out of town.  I know you are all disappointed that I wouldn't stay and ride it out or have some sort of diabetes mega plan, but the fact is why stand in the way of anything bad that is headed right toward you?  Personally once they told me to leave I would pack the car and head to a nice and warm resort town that is not in the way and have a vacation.  I would watch the news to see the damage, go have some fun, and not freakin worry about it.  Someone once told me that we should never stress out about the things we cannot change and a storm hitting my house is nothing I can change so having fun is my change.  Then once the storm passed over and my anxious neighbors headed back to see the damage I would call them and ask how they are and what my property looked like.  If the news was bad it would seem a great time to extend the vacation I was on, if the news was good and the electricity was back on, I would end the vacation and head back home.

When I was in grade school, we had this teacher that taught us about the science of nature and that how nature was always 10 times stronger than any human ever could be or anything we could create.  We watched videos on how they would put the seed of a vine in concrete and with one of those slow motion videos they showed how the seed would sprout and destroy the concrete.  It seems these days we teach the opposite that humans are 10 times stronger than nature which is completely wrong and warps our sense of nature and we think that hiding under our covers in our warm houses will save us.  The thing is that we all forget is nature will do anything to survive and if we are in her way or try to stop her, we will lose.  I am not saying that nature is bad nor am I saying to not care about mother nature, I am saying she doesn't have feelings or care about your property.  She takes the path of least resistance and does her will.  Now take that theory where ever you go and you will wind up with me in a nice warm resort town having fun while your used test strips and dirty underwear are on the 5 o clock news.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

City wildlife

 My friend Don has this game he plays while we run.  He tallies points for animals he sees during the run.  We mainly see squirrels so for he and I it is 50 points per squirrel, but there is no real point to the game.  I tell Don that the point of the game is to be able to know if we saw more or less wildlife on our runs so a day we get 500 points, then another day we get 300 points we know there was less wildlife the later date.  Still no point to the game and I guess running makes you crazy and come up with squirrel games like this.
The last run we were on coming down the home stretch I yelled at Don to stop, and he came to me wonder what was wrong.  Maybe low bg's, tore my medulla oblengada, or just needed a walk brake but he came back to me real quick to see what was up.  I then pointed out the baby nutria in the creek and wanted him to see them.  We both took out our phones and snapped up some pictures and I asked him how many points nutria should be.  Don said 40 points so for that day it was a 580 score.  Not too bad.

I always tell people that getting outdoors doesn't have to be a 1,000 mile drive to nowhere with a 50 mile hike and a week off of work to be an adventure.  You can have an outdoor wildlife adventure in any city at any time, you just have to be there to see it.  With diabetes the best way to prepare for anything is to do sample tests like getting your gear together and going out on a city trail with buddies and testing your meter, snacks, diabetes bag, or whatever to see how it holds up.  Then when you get back home make the adjustments and try it again.  So the next time you are flying, driving across the country or playing the squirrel game with your running buddy you can feel comfortable that you and your gear will make it through to see the baby nutria at the end of the creek.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Not the best caramel, but still good

 I told you all about finding this diabetes low blood sugar gel's at Walmart a while back and last weekend after the ADA 5k they had about a gazillion of these things they were giving away for free.  So you know what I did, I loaded up my bag with a good amount of these suckers and had them on stand by for any low BG.
 There were no low BG's for me to test this new flavor over the past week so I took some for our www.insulindependence.org dawn phenom event.  Where we currently are running a solid 8 miles and I like to have something to keep the bg's in a good place during the run.  Last time I had the mandarin orange flavor which was to die for but at the ADA 5k all they were giving out were caramel flavor.  The funny thing with anything caramel flavored is it can be too sweet or to chemically tasting.  This was a little bit on the chemical after taste.  Not that the flavor was horrible but I would rather have something more natural tasting if I were to be picky with my low bg supplements.  Since these were used as a running additive I would say they are probably a 3 out of 5 syringes on my patented diabetes camper scale.  The consistency is great for running, unlike the brand "GU" which is way to thick and alot of other gels have odd flavors and still are a bit thicker than this stuff is.  I still liked having these along rather than a normal person's gel but still like the mandarin orange flavor the best.
The free packets came with this "raise low blood sugar fast" booklet which I totally was expecting a coupon in the back.  Once I looked through the book I found no coupon for me to save some money on my next batch of mandarin oranges.  I was talking to my friend Jeff, who is a type 1 cyclist and he was telling me how he only likes the "quick sticks" for working out and low bg's.  I pondered this and found out that I personally like different treatments for different sports and types of lows.  The level life gels are great for running which the quick sticks would be difficult if you had little to no water on the run, but they are great for riding.  Now backpacking I usually do alot of chewy things to keep my mouth moist and ears a popping so gummy worms and starburst are great for the trail and I like to stick a glucose tablet in my cheek (like a diabetic dip) to slowly absorb the sweetness along the trail.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Why do small things make me sad?

 Last week I was packing up all my gear to head off for work and the last thing I did was close the zipper on my diabetes test kit bag.  Then it happened, my hand pulled away with the zipper pull still in it and I was devastated.  This just ruined my day, and I know you are all out there reading this saying: "He is the biggest wuss, and dork" because the zipper pull on my bag broke.  I would completely agree with you and others have told me that I get attached to inanimate objects.  Just something inside me (maybe the little diabetic baby in me) gets sad when my gear wears out.
 I have had this bag for something like three years and it is the right size, shape, and has been through alot with me and probably what gets me down is the fact I have to go out and find a new bag to replace this one.  This bag came to me courteous of my endocrinologist who helps me not just with my diabetes but my weird way of living life.  She knows that when it is time to give me a new meter she gives me two because I always brake one or something happens to one.  She knows that the bag the meters come with will be tossed in the trash so she keeps a stock of random bags from vendors to help me out.  This was an Eli Lilly bag made to carry like needles and insulin bottles but has been great as my meter bag.  The bag still works just I need to start looking for another one.
I stole this picture off another blog I love to read: http://dixiecritter.blogspot.com/ so stop by his blog and tell him the diabetic camper sent you.  This is just the funniest welcome home picture I have ever seen.  Not sure if this is staged or real but either way I give it two facebook thumbs up, a hash tag, and one of those disturbing sideways smiley faces.  I think all soldiers should have to report to "Booty" at some time in their lives.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Happy international/world diabetes day!

 I hope everyone is having a great world diabetes type 1 (the bad kind) international day!  My co-worker is a type 1 as well so when I wished him a happy international diabetes day he asked me if diabetes was international (he was just kidding).  That is when we came up with the witty joke of something like, "I have type 1 diabetes and in Europe it is type .91440m" kind of funny yards to meters diabetes joke right?  So with that I thought about just blowing your mind with my random pictures.  Above is a picture of the sticker that was on the billy goat mower I rented a few weeks ago.  They should make like a dodge truck called "The Billy Goat" and have this as their logo.
 How many of us take pictures of our 100 bg's ?  Yes, all of us do and so here is my latest 100!  The stupid things that make us so happy because normal people yell at us for eating sugar.  The simple things are what keeps us sane.
 Here is a picture of my sons latest FFA project "Little Miss Wright" named for the world famous Wright Brand Bacon she will become.  Which is the best bacon on planet earth.  This little pig lives at the Ag barn behind his high school and will probably be the death of me.  He has to feed her twice a day, every day, until she is bacon.  Once in the morning and once a 7pm.  The last time I took him there I stepped in pig doo and let me tell you this.  Once you step in pig doo you can just throw those shoes away because they smell like hell forever.  It is fun to go to the barn and hang out with the pigs, goats, cows, and sheep (I am not supposed to touch them but don't tell anyone) and have fun with all the livestock.
Last here is my dogs minus MoMo, and what they used to do is put their buts on MoMo but since she is in doggie heaven now they finally found a way to use each other as pillows and the such.

Now go out and get your diabetes in order and remember one thing, "all you have to do is not eat sugar and everything is OK."  I am just kidding.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

I figured out why I like these so much...

 I bought some of these Browning wool blend socks like a year ago or something and last week while at Tractor Supply I ran into them again with a great discounted price.  Last time I had my son with me and asked him if he wanted some wool socks and he turned his nose up at them, but ever since then he has been eyeing my beautiful Browning wool blend socks wishing he had said yes and had some for himself.  The reason he did not want any was he thought that when socks said "large" on them that meant like for old people or big footed weirdos.  He later found out that when socks said a size like "large" they meant a range from say 10 to 12, which is what these fell in and was his size.  This time when I asked him if he wanted some Browning wool blend socks he said yes.
 I like browsing the isles at Tractor supply to see what they have that goes on sale.  Their seasonal stuff is usually marked down pretty fast when times change and other things need the space.  These socks started out at like 6.99 a pair, then marked down to 4.99 a pair, and then 2.99 a pair when I got them.  Now my son was telling me how he likes wool socks but he hates how they make his feet sweat.  I let him know that I wore these wool socks all summer and never had an issue with sweat and I am a hard core sweater.  A funny side note to this whole thing that really isn't that funny is that I have contacted every wool sock company, from the smallest to the largest and none of them recommend diabetics to wear their socks.  That was your random interesting, sad, diabetes fact of the day.
I started thinking more about why these wool socks were different than all my other wool socks in the way they did not make my feet sweat in the summer.  I have some socks that are straight up old school wool (the kind that don't stretch) and I have lots of different types of  merino wool socks which you don't have to wear a sock liner with (I still like to wear a sock liner when backpacking no matter the sock).  So I looked on the label and noticed these socks were 65% acrylic, 20% merino wool, 13% nylon, and 2% spandex.  This is a great mix of sporty materials with the right amount of wool mixed in.  The acrylic is good at moisture wicking, the wool is good, the nylon helps the sock stay flat to your skin, and the spandex holds form so they don't get all stretched out.  Now that I am aware of this mixture I am going to start checking all the wool socks at the store and see what each is made of so I know more info, and knowing is half the battle.  Affording is the other half.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Step out to Stop Diabetes

Saturday was the Dallas ADA step out to stop diabetes 5k run/walk.  I had my booth space all set up and was working it before the run started for www.insulindependence.org to get people interested in exercising with their diabetes.  Then I ran the race which was lots of fun.
My friend Don won his age group and was quick as lighting.  He did this even after giving the opening motivation speech to everyone.  He is a diabetes trooper, I bet he even went out on Sunday and ran another 25 miles or so.  He is gearing up for his first marathon in December.
You are asking me about how I did?  Well, lets just say technically I won my age group.  From the picture above you can see that somehow I fat fingered my keyboard when registering and fell into the age group of "0 and under."  Everyone always said I was a kid at heart, just maybe a little older on the outside.
I have never seen a funnier team name ever in my life than "Duck Fiabetes."  That is so smart, funny, and freakin awesome.  Hopefully I can steal that name and put it to my own use.  Maybe a t-shirt with a duck on it or something, who knows but I keep laughing every time I see this picture.

We had so much fun hanging out at the Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington before the race and after the race.  I love going to the vendor area and collecting business cards and trying to do some more networking and sampling the free goods.  One table had this cheese that was like lactose free and 75% reduced carbs and calories with a great taste as well.  Don and I hung out at that table for a while getting our fair share of samples.  My favorite was the Jalapeno cheese.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Who's a Dork?

 So since my nose surgery I have been more "up" to working out and running.  Then since the time change (don't we have this time change thing backwards?) running at night is so not fun.  I have been going to my local community gym.  Nothing is wrong with going to the gym just that I am a complete dork and from the picture above you can see I wear my CGM, insulin pump, and my cell phone on my waist band.  Then what I forgot to have on in this picture is my bluetooth headphones to put the cherry on the dork.
I am not sure what the rest of you do but for me I first like to see how my numbers move around with what activity I am doing so my CGM is a cool kind of must have thing, then at the gym I take my pump off to run but if I am pumping iron or just doing the endless stair stepper there is not enough intense pace to keep my numbers down, and my cell phone has my zune music player in it, or I guess it is now called the xbox music player so I can jam out to the latest Lynard Skynard tunes or something.  There are lots of stares from people and I am comfortable with it maybe because they assume (they are making an ass out of u and me) I must be a doctor or something with two beepers and a cell phone so that is kind of cool.  In the end it just goes to show that how much we advance our diabetes care with technology it just creates another issue with things like a workout waist band full of gizmo's and gadgets.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Why do I keep missing opportunities?

Last week sometime was Halloween and at work we love to get into the spirit of any holiday (OK, we do have about a 50% nonparticipation but the rest of us have fun) and I was really wanting to be the band from the Red Stripe beer commercials but, no one wanted to do it with me, I didn't want to hunt down the costume and so I gave up.  The night before Halloween I was in debate as to what to be.  Should I be Santa clause, I have a Santa outfit in the closet, should I be a cowboy, I have a cowboy costume in the closet, or should I be generic military dude and call myself Forest Gump and just say his famous quote all day: "She tasted like cigarettes."  You can tell from the picture above I went with the final option and then last night I realized what I should have done was even more simple but much more witty.
I should have just worn my boy scout uniform and said I was Scoutmaster Ward from the Khaki scouts on the movie "Moonrise Kingdom."  That would have been witty, easy, and I could have just said " He flew the coupe" all the time and been in character.  Oh well, another year and I missed another opportunity.  There is always next year and I can have my Scoutmaster Ward uniform in order.

Monday, November 5, 2012

earthen burm

 So working land is fun, and owning land is even more fun.  Maybe because my land is not in a city so I only have county rules to work with.  Two weekends ago I told you about how the rented out billy goat did not work so my buddy Paul came up with something else for us to work on.  You can see in the picture above how my land has a slight downward grade.  There is a giant hill on the front of the property and the back opens up to fields with loplolly pines behind that and then onto some good old elm trees.  You see how I grow like no grass from the cabin on down and what I need to do is create things to lessen the fall so the top soil will stop washing away.  Next to the tree you can barely see is a tree we cut down and started to create a natural burm to collect the top soil and level out the hill (or mountain as I like to call it).
Here is a better view of the tree we are using to create an earthen burm to create a natural stop to the loss of top soil and maybe in a few years I can grow grass in front of the cabin.