Monday, March 24, 2008

What goes up, must come down...

Those words have a few meanings for me today. On Thursday night (3/20) I had a dream that wherever I had to go, I had to take an elevator. Up. Down. Up. Down. Now I am not particularly fond of elevators, so this dream stuck with me.

Fast forward to Friday. After seeing the doctor at the Naval Subase Hospital, Kathleen was referred to Yale-New Haven Hospital with a diagnosis of Type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes. She had been having symptoms for a while now - excessive thirst, frequent urination, weight loss, dry skin, extreme hunger) and I finally would not take no for an answer when I asked to have her blood tested. On Friday her fasting glucose level was 295 before we went to Yale. Over the weekend she spiked at 360 once and had a low of just 212 (normal range is 70 - 120).

We stayed at Yale until Sunday afternoon. During those two days the nurses monitored Kathleen's blood glucose levels, changed her insulin doses accordingly, and threw a bunch of information at us (over and over again!) It was scary and overwhelming at times, but Yale was the best place for us to be. Kathleen was great about all this. She checked her own blood sugar and the nurses or I gave her the insulin shots. I started figuring out how to count carbs and order her food according to the plan. Goodbye take-out, hello cooking at least until I get the hang of that!

So, back to the dream (the elevator, remember?). Kathleen's room was on the 7th floor so of course, I spent a lot of time in the elevator...up. down. up. down. Her blood sugar levels all weekend...up. down. up. down. Crazy, isn't it? Adds a whole new meaning to the phrase: what goes up, must come down. From our lips to God's ears...

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Another talent I possess :)

I saw a picture of a cake online and decided to make a similar one for Shelby's 10th birthday last month. It was a lot of work - more than I thought - but mainly just physical work tinting and rolling that lovely fondant out. I like the look of fondant, and will definitely use it again, but it doesn't taste that great! :P I can point out a few 'errors' and that's just my nature to do so...but I'll resist here and just let you revel in it's beauty... Call for orders. :)

Thursday, March 13, 2008

ScrapShare by the Sea 2008

This past weekend I spent three days in Portsmouth, NH with my internet friends scrapbooking and having a wonderful time. I got to see a few women I had already met at a previous retreat, and meet a few I had only met online. It was great to get away and get some pages done, as well (51 pages woohoo!).

As much as I am proud to have done so many pages, it was also great to see a few friends again and meet a few in real life. My table buddies Karen (Sterling Scrapper) and Pamela (Pamela in MA) had a great dinner at Warren's and had fun all weekend (although they may never drive with me again!). My 'wicked' roomies Lynn (Scrapping in Windsor) and Tanya were at the other end of our crazy table as well as Lisa (LisaRoo) and Liz (Liz in VT). Meeting Theresa (Miss CMC) was a highlight of my weekend. Her Hurricane Katrina album documented her family's experiences throughout the storm and after. It brought tears to my eyes and I am humbled by her courage and resilience.

I enjoyed the entire weekend and am thankful for my 'internet axe-murderer' friends!