Such a fun array of colors in this kit! I used a few dies from Papertrey Ink and Lawn Fawn and Rich Razzleberry ink from SU but aside from that these are all from the main kit.
Happy weekend!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Studio Calico June Cards Finale
So, I've unfortunately been staying up later than usual this week but fortunately it's given me some extra time to finish up my June SC kit. I honestly think this may be the best one yet...I know, I say that almost monthly. :) Here's what I've been creating in the wee hours of the night (not really, as I've been to bed by eleven but in my world, those are wee hours...)
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Too Fast, Too Slow,...Sometimes Just Too Much!
It's been a rough couple of days. Typically I am upbeat, feeling good, and optimistic but the past two days have been treacherous when it comes to my diabetes management. I could learn to be cool with this if there was a valid reason for wicked numbers but the overwhelming fact is, sometimes things just don't jive no matter how hard I try and that truth just sucks!
Yesterday I was dropping before lunch and I had the not-so-blood-sugar-friendly pizza (I catered this in for a work lunch and normally choose healthier but learned yesterday morning our budget was tight and had to make a quick change to feed 25 people so no judging here, please!) so I nibbled a half a piece before bolusing for my lunch for fear of dropping too much. I had one piece of pizza and 3 breadsticks total and did the recommended extended bolus. An hour later the sirens were going off inside my car as I drove the two hour trek home. My car was on cruise control but my blood sugars were speeding upward with double arrows...ugh! Rising too fast and not being able to do anything about my poor choice for delayed bolus frustrated me! Once I got home and the arrows had disappeared I bolused to correct my already corrected high and an hour later had double arrows down. Yuck!
I stayed up an hour later than normal to monitor everything and make sure I had not overeaten to correct the low and also didn't have too much lingering insulin to cause another one. Rest...finally! It is incredible how exhausting this cycle can be on my body, my mind. And I sense it getting more so as my age increases.
I woke with hope this morning of normalcy. A normal blood sugar so I was my normal self, normal mom, normal wife. 114mg/dl was a beautiful sight for these eyes! Off to a good start but the usual small bolus I take for the spike my caffeinated coffee causes unfortunately caused double arrows down on my DexCom and in the fuzziness of the moment, after treating with my Stingers, I wanted to get a quick photo of that sight I was seeing, those ugly double arrows lit up like crazy but of
course, I was too slow to get the picture...too fast, too slow...ugh! It's just too much sometimes but I
know today WILL be better than yesterday as I will be eating anything other than pizza for lunch! :)
Yesterday I was dropping before lunch and I had the not-so-blood-sugar-friendly pizza (I catered this in for a work lunch and normally choose healthier but learned yesterday morning our budget was tight and had to make a quick change to feed 25 people so no judging here, please!) so I nibbled a half a piece before bolusing for my lunch for fear of dropping too much. I had one piece of pizza and 3 breadsticks total and did the recommended extended bolus. An hour later the sirens were going off inside my car as I drove the two hour trek home. My car was on cruise control but my blood sugars were speeding upward with double arrows...ugh! Rising too fast and not being able to do anything about my poor choice for delayed bolus frustrated me! Once I got home and the arrows had disappeared I bolused to correct my already corrected high and an hour later had double arrows down. Yuck!
I stayed up an hour later than normal to monitor everything and make sure I had not overeaten to correct the low and also didn't have too much lingering insulin to cause another one. Rest...finally! It is incredible how exhausting this cycle can be on my body, my mind. And I sense it getting more so as my age increases.
I woke with hope this morning of normalcy. A normal blood sugar so I was my normal self, normal mom, normal wife. 114mg/dl was a beautiful sight for these eyes! Off to a good start but the usual small bolus I take for the spike my caffeinated coffee causes unfortunately caused double arrows down on my DexCom and in the fuzziness of the moment, after treating with my Stingers, I wanted to get a quick photo of that sight I was seeing, those ugly double arrows lit up like crazy but of
course, I was too slow to get the picture...too fast, too slow...ugh! It's just too much sometimes but I
know today WILL be better than yesterday as I will be eating anything other than pizza for lunch! :)
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Studio Calico June Hello Hello Card Kit
Back from the mountains and I cannot tell a lie, I was excited to have my Studio Calico kit waiting for me! Had some time today to play with the card kit and the colors scream summer! I do not believe in coincidence and you do know today just happens to be the first official day of summer...
The longest day of the year allowed me to whip this batch of cards up to share with you.
The longest day of the year allowed me to whip this batch of cards up to share with you.
I hope your are enjoying your weekend! If you want to check out more ideas from Studio Calico or learn about their kits just go to studiocalico.com
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Hangin' in the Valley w a Beautiful Mountain View
We are headed east to home and I just wanted to give a quick update on my experience with elevation and blood sugars now that I have stable internet service!
Obviously it is more challenging to breathe and be active in higher altitudes until you are acclimated and it seems, this holds true to maintaining an average blood sugar as well. I can honestly say, even with the vacation routine, which is anything but routine, eating at random times and not always the healthiest options, my blood sugar never rose above 185 on this trip! We are on day 6 and stayed at an elevation of 8600 feet for the majority of our stay. As we ventured to Jackson, WY, on day 3, I couldn't help but take in the beautiful view of the Teton Mountains and the Snake River along the valley and notice its similarity to the view of a difficult day with diabetes on my DexCom. :) Only a person with diabetes or someone close to that PWD could appreciate the irony of that humor. Just as only my kids or another family member of a PWD knows what I'm looking for when I declare, "Has anyone seen my pricker?!?!?!"
But on this journey into the Tetons and Yellowstone, my hopes happened and diabetes remained a sidekick packed in the luggage that I only had to monitor periodically throughout our days. We walked along western shops in Jackson where my girls had their old time photos taken, we ate delicious local meals, hiked to see waterfalls, stood several yards from herds of bison and watched as Old Faithful erupted every 94 minutes or so, just as it has done since I was there in 1979 and so many years before. As I was taking all of this wonder and family fun in, I just had to keep an eye on the blood sugar but it NEVER got to take the driver's seat, not even co-pilot. It just stayed tucked away under the luggage and snack bags in the back! Aside from the one night we ate dinner early, went to bed late, and after a full day of fresh mountain air and hiking, when I was 58mg/dl at 3AM and I had to fumble around in the dark, attempting to quietly open a noisy bag of fruit snacks (mental note for next time I'm traveling with others to keep my noisy snacks in the bathroom where I can find and eat them in the privacy of my own lit room while allowing others to sleep peacefully in the dark!), aside from that one incident, I would consider this trip a success in the diabetes department!
I rather enjoyed this adventure of my blood sugars hangin' in the valley, not diving below the river like a moose (another fun fact we learned from our tour guide on our raft along the Snake River, had no idea moose were deep divers!:) and just enjoying the incredible mountain views without actually climbing up them!
Obviously it is more challenging to breathe and be active in higher altitudes until you are acclimated and it seems, this holds true to maintaining an average blood sugar as well. I can honestly say, even with the vacation routine, which is anything but routine, eating at random times and not always the healthiest options, my blood sugar never rose above 185 on this trip! We are on day 6 and stayed at an elevation of 8600 feet for the majority of our stay. As we ventured to Jackson, WY, on day 3, I couldn't help but take in the beautiful view of the Teton Mountains and the Snake River along the valley and notice its similarity to the view of a difficult day with diabetes on my DexCom. :) Only a person with diabetes or someone close to that PWD could appreciate the irony of that humor. Just as only my kids or another family member of a PWD knows what I'm looking for when I declare, "Has anyone seen my pricker?!?!?!"
But on this journey into the Tetons and Yellowstone, my hopes happened and diabetes remained a sidekick packed in the luggage that I only had to monitor periodically throughout our days. We walked along western shops in Jackson where my girls had their old time photos taken, we ate delicious local meals, hiked to see waterfalls, stood several yards from herds of bison and watched as Old Faithful erupted every 94 minutes or so, just as it has done since I was there in 1979 and so many years before. As I was taking all of this wonder and family fun in, I just had to keep an eye on the blood sugar but it NEVER got to take the driver's seat, not even co-pilot. It just stayed tucked away under the luggage and snack bags in the back! Aside from the one night we ate dinner early, went to bed late, and after a full day of fresh mountain air and hiking, when I was 58mg/dl at 3AM and I had to fumble around in the dark, attempting to quietly open a noisy bag of fruit snacks (mental note for next time I'm traveling with others to keep my noisy snacks in the bathroom where I can find and eat them in the privacy of my own lit room while allowing others to sleep peacefully in the dark!), aside from that one incident, I would consider this trip a success in the diabetes department!
I rather enjoyed this adventure of my blood sugars hangin' in the valley, not diving below the river like a moose (another fun fact we learned from our tour guide on our raft along the Snake River, had no idea moose were deep divers!:) and just enjoying the incredible mountain views without actually climbing up them!
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Traveling Treasure Hunt
Finally, our long awaited Yellowstone adventure has begun! I am so excited to share this experience with my family the same way that my parents shared it with me. I was three years old and remember through pictures the beauty of the landscape and the family fun...
Yes, that is me as a true blond with my brothers posing and I hope to capture some of these pictures that my parents shared with me yesterday from an album I made for them ages ago.
But let's not forget the trek of 726 miles...that's a long journey for a ten and eight year old to endure. My friend, Sharon, told me how she packed little treats for her boys to open along the way when they took the trip years ago and I thought, what a fun idea! I got to work last month finding little trinkets like travel games and light up bracelets to package up in bags that the girls could open along the way. Graci learned the states and capitals last year and Addi had learned directions so I thought it would be fun to turn it into a treasure hunt with a map so the girls could follow along and every hour or two have treasures to open along the way.
X marks the spot with washi tape and I used various stamps to mark each spot they get to open a package. I wrapped each treasure in various chevron bags with tags or grocery bag brown paper and prettied them up with leftover letters and numbers, A or G and 1,2,3 so they are strategically organized for Graci and Addison to go along with their maps.
The paper crafter in me wanted to do more with embellishments and making everything cute but the procrastinator in me won over as I was getting this project completed while knee deep in laundry Thursday after the girls were asleep!
I loved the idea of them each being able to journal this trip in their own words while it was happening instead of doing it through pictures and memories years later like I did so one of the bigger treasures to open is their own mini project life like binder with fun pens so they can jot things down as we go. They are both really into pictures and photo taking (no idea where they get that from? :) so I couldn't resist when I was cruising through Amazon a few months back and discovered Polaroid cameras in vintage colors! I got them for a good price and some instax films in a package deal and took the plunge. They are going to FLIP out when they open A5 and G5 in Gillette and I cannot wait! Eric has been teasing me that I am more excited about the treasure hunt than the trip and he is pretty close to correct! I put washi tape in another treat bag and stickers so they can add their pictures instantly to their books as we go!
In total they each have 8 treasures to open, some cheap little items and a few larger treasures but regardless, it is priceless when you are on a long road trip and everyone is happy! I am just a tad jealous of the Fujifilm Polaroid like cameras that they get and they will need to share with me...otherwise, I have my eye on the vintage pink one! Happy trails!!!
Friday, June 13, 2014
Spontaneous Planning or Planning Spontaneity?
Either way, I can't deny that hypoglycemia has a tendency of sneaking up on me. It's been a crazy week, lots of random loose ends I'm trying to tie up with work before we leave tomorrow for our long anticipated road trip to Yellowstone. We have a few definite places we plan to stop and of course, the lodge is booked for a place to safely rest our heads at night, but otherwise we are just rolling with it.
Rolling with it, unfortunately doesn't really happen with diabetes. Even though I waited until last night to start packing the kids and our laundry, trying to play it cool like a true spontaneous person would, I have to be honest here because that's what this is for...I've had bags upon bags of snacks packed and ready for fear that we will be deep into the mountains and have no options for lunch for miles. I've also thought through a zillion times now how many extra pods for my pump or vials of insulin or extra back up pens just in case my pump fails and, oh, the pen needles to put on the pen, just in case. It is just overwhelming how much I think about and reconsider thinking about this crap. It's a miracle I love to travel anywhere, let alone ever leave my house if I think about it too hard.
And I have been feeling spontaneous and cool about the whole adventure and because of that my blood sugars have really been rocking all week, nice flat-like lines on the DexCom and feeling great! Until yesterday. The reality of preparing for a week away has been hiding perfectly in my mind and somehow started creeping out yesterday and last night as the laundry started piling up, so did my anxiety of the whole impact on my blood sugars and my need to keep them controlled. And so the journey down the rabbit hole begins...
Rolling with it, unfortunately doesn't really happen with diabetes. Even though I waited until last night to start packing the kids and our laundry, trying to play it cool like a true spontaneous person would, I have to be honest here because that's what this is for...I've had bags upon bags of snacks packed and ready for fear that we will be deep into the mountains and have no options for lunch for miles. I've also thought through a zillion times now how many extra pods for my pump or vials of insulin or extra back up pens just in case my pump fails and, oh, the pen needles to put on the pen, just in case. It is just overwhelming how much I think about and reconsider thinking about this crap. It's a miracle I love to travel anywhere, let alone ever leave my house if I think about it too hard.
And I have been feeling spontaneous and cool about the whole adventure and because of that my blood sugars have really been rocking all week, nice flat-like lines on the DexCom and feeling great! Until yesterday. The reality of preparing for a week away has been hiding perfectly in my mind and somehow started creeping out yesterday and last night as the laundry started piling up, so did my anxiety of the whole impact on my blood sugars and my need to keep them controlled. And so the journey down the rabbit hole begins...
I went to bed last night with a 124 mg/dl on my OmniPod meter and no insulin on board AND I lowered my night time basal rates because I've been more active lately and noticing I'm barely above 90 mg/dl during the last several nights. At 2AM I was below 55 mg/dl per the DexCom and checked it with my meter to find a confirmed 46 mg/dl. I treated it with 20 grams of Stingers and couldn't get it above 50 mg/dl for over an hour. I nibbled slowly on a Stinger at a time half asleep through 3:30AM. Finally I saw an angled arrow up and saw this. I figured I'd be insanely high when I woke up this morning and was half happy/half disappointed to see a 116 mg/dl on my DexCom at 7AM.
I'm hoping once I have the car packed with all snacks and diabetic supplies that can possibly fit, along with enough clothing to cover 4 people through summer or chilly weather, and of course, my two sweet daughters and 1 fabulous husband seriously deserving of a get away from work, the more chill Stacy will be in the passenger seat with the idea of diabetes a mere sidekick in one of the many snack packs in the back! There I go again, planning for spontaneity! :)
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Balloons, Balloons, & More Balloons
Another beautiful summer weekend here! We are back from Florida and just chilled all weekend, which could only get better if my neighbor offered to let me try out her new My Favorite Things balloon and die set! Here is the result...
These were inspired by Nichol Magouirk. It is always nice to have baby cards on hand and these were quick to whip up. Loving my new Wink of Stella pen to add a touch of shimmer!
These two were so fun to create using the new items from Pink Paislee, Pen Pals line. I am in love with this set that offers a fun mix of navy with pinks and reds, classic and so versatile!
And finally I made a few if these kraft cards to add to my masculine pile as I always seem to be short on those. I used a ton of Papertrey Ink stamps from sets to piece together my own birthday greeting background. I've seen this on lots of blogs and it was a fun technique to try!
Happy weekend!
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
En Route Success!!!
Today happened with a bit of spontaneity, which my diabetes seems to prefer. Makes me wonder if instead of planning our next vacation I need to suggest Eric just surprise me with an adventure on our way to the airport. This sounds okay aside from the fact that Eric's idea of a vacation and mine are a bit different; he would plan a Canadian fishing trip while I am more of a beach fan somewhere exotic. Something to work on, I guess. But this whole spontaneous travel idea gives me and my diabetes such hope!
My DexCom decided to take a break while I enjoyed an in flight nap, which is just fine by me as long as my blood sugar is maintaining at a good level.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
More SC Camelot
Ok, another weekend almost gone by but with all the thunderstorms today I spent some time using up the remainder of my Camelot kit and ended up making 17 cards with the kit! Huge value!!!
Here are a few of my favorites...
Here are a few of my favorites...
Ok, that is it for today. We will be traveling midweek to Florida but I will try to schedule something to post in my absence. Hope your week is a great one!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)