hold on tight

this might be the most adorable thing ever.

Everybody's doing it.

And since I have nothing of great importance to write about lately (I've been in a funky, blue state) here we go with the iPod random shuffle list thing. I did 30 just to be different, and with music, more is better. :)

1. Nights in White Satin- Moody Blues (haunting and pretty at the same time)
2. I believe in Love- Dixie Chicks ( I do!)
3. Some Days are Better Than Others -U2 (some days you can't stand the sight of a puppy)
4. Break on Through- The Doors
5. Cry Me a River- Justin Timberlake (he's my guilty pleasure!)
6. Please forgive Me- David Gray
7. Drive in Drive out- Dave Matthews Band (one of my favorite live bands ever)
8. Runaway- Bon Jovi (now, where did I put my Aqua Net?)
9. White Trash Wedding, Dixie Chicks (this is a great song to request at weddings)
10. Bathwater - No Doubt
11. Got To Give It Up- Marvin Gaye (so grooovy)
12. Freedom '90- George Michael (remember the video with all the models and no George Michael? That was a big deal back in the day)
13. Hallelujah- Rufus Wainwright (this version is my favorite. I have such a soft spot for Rufus.)
14. Red Rain- Peter Gabriel
15. Other Side of the World- K.T. Tunstall
16. Dancing Days- Stone Temple Pilots (from the Led Zepplin tribute album.)
17. Finale (from Harry Potter POA soundtrack) John Williams
18. I Am the Walrus- the Beatles (sitting in an English Garden waiting for the sun...)
19. Let's go Crazy- Prince (this song makes me dance around my kitchen like a nut)
20. Walk on the Ocean- Toad the Wet Sprocket.
21. Vertigo- U2
22. Ice Cream- Sarah Mclachlan
23. Music - Madonna
24. Turn it on Again- Genesis
25. Gossip Folks- Missy Elliot (I don't like alot of the newer rap, but Missy is one exception)
26. I'm Shipping Up To Boston- Dropkick Murphys
27. What's Up- 4 Non Blondes
28. Everlong- Foo Fighters (my favorite FF song. I love the video with Dave Grohl's big hand.)
29. Dancin in the Light- Entrain (fun East-Coast band!)
30. I want It All- Queen (I cannot stress this enough- Freddie's voice is amazing. There is no match for it.)

That's it! I don't know what it says about me, other than the fact my musical taste is completely all over the place.

A holiday. A blackout. Another Holiday. One more holiday.

My last post came just before Thanksgiving. A busy time of year for me and my family. I thought finding time or energy to blog would be rough, but I never intended to be absent for this long. Blogging blahs aside, I'm ready to put fingers to keyboard once again with a brief recap of major events since November 20.

Thanksgiving:
2 vegans and 8 meat-eaters here in my tiny dining room.
2 dogs and 2 cats running amok, too.
Yummy sake brought by brother in law (kanpai!).
Noah's blood sugars at near-perfection all day, despite all the delicious and savory food and sweets.
Guitar Hero until the wee hours...YOU ROCK!!

December 12-18, 2008:

Ice Storm overnight.
Woke up at 2:30 a.m. to the sound of the transformer on the pole across the street exploding.
No power anywhere in practically the whole state of New Hampshire.
My neighbor and I loaded our boys in the car and drove about 20 miles round trip for coffee.
The amount of downed trees and limbs and damage was just unreal.
Pretended to be "pioneer women", cooking on the grill, lighting a fire in the fireplace to stay warm, etc. It was fun...the first day.
By the next day with no power, a cold snap had settled in, and it was unbearable to spend any time in my home.
Luckily my aunt and uncle a few streets over have a generator, and my mother came to help me wrangle all the diabetes supplies, clothes and essentials I needed for us to spend the night over there.
That one night turned into 2.
Did I mention my husband is a Verizon guy? I didn't see him for days, on account of all the repairs they needed him for. Plus, he spent the nights in our house (yes, he's crazy!) because he had heard reports of people looting copper plumbing pipes out of homes that were vacant due to the outages.
On the 5th day without power, my mom who lives across town, got hers back!! We then moved in with her for 2 nights.
I returned to my home every day, so I could make sure our pipes hadn't frozen, or that no one broke in to steal the stockpile of Christmas goodies I had bought up until that point. On one visit, my house was 37 degrees inside.
On the 7th day, I called my neighbor to see how she and her family were hanging in there, and while we were on the phone, the lights came back on, and I hightailed it back home as fast as I could.

Christmas:
Christmas Eve was wonderful. The annual party at my cousin's home was filled with all our tales of survival during the outage, and how grateful we all were to have our power back.
Jinxed.
At about 3 a.m. on Christmas morning the power went out. again.
We made the best of it, and even without the lights of the tree, we did have a cozy fire in the fireplace to enjoy.
My father in law showed up with a portable generator~ Christmas Miracle~!!!
Noah wins the award for the most patient child in the Universe...he got a Wii, and had to wait until the power came back on at 4 p.m. to try it out.

New Year's Eve:
Snow all day.
We hosted my 2 brothers in law, their girlfriends, and a few good friends.
Got Chinese and Japanese food from the place that gives you free sake bombs while you wait.
We donned funny hats and played many raucous rounds of Pictionary Man, with lots of whoopin and hollering.
The girls won! (Marie Antoinette, suckah!)
Noah was allowed to stay up to ring in the New Year with the adults.
The rest of us stayed up way too late, drank and ate waaaay too much, and had a blast saying goodbye to 2008.

So, that's where the past couple months have gone. Thanks to Rebbecca for posting the comment that made me realize how long it's been!

I better not forget...

Imagine what could happen!



Thanks to my mom for sending me this. Don't be like me. Get out there and vote!

Make your own!

(click picture to make it bigger)
Wordle. Go there and be creative.

July in a flash.

3 weekends ago...

The countdown to the preparations for Noah's 10th birthday was on. On that Saturday my mom volunteered to have him for a sleep over so Jon and I could shop for gifts, and have a long overdue date night. His BG had been running on the high side, and correction bolus after correction bolus came and went with not even a downward nudge. By 11 p.m., it was clear that his site was no good. My mom brought him home, and they made a plan for a re-do sleepover the next weekend. It was the first time I've seen Noah cry over his diabetes since his diagnosis, and it was a killer.

2 weekends ago...

We hit the ground running after Noah's endo appointment, and small get together at my grandfather's place to celebrate Noah's birthday on Friday, and picked up speed on Saturday for the 1st Annual New England Diabetes Meetup. Put together beautifully by Bernard , it was a wonderful experience. Jon and I learned alot, and met some incredibly smart, witty, and kind people. We got great advice about everything from diabetes camps to new technology. I can't wait to do it again! It just reinforced for us how amazing and caring this diabetes community is, and having that kind of support available is priceless.

Feeling the good D karma, Noah went off that night to my mom's for "sleepover, take 2". Huge success.

Sunday dawned bright and warm- perfect for the big birthday party. We got down to some fun with friends and family here. I made a ton of food- Jon was the master of the grill (and the master of flinging water balloons) and at the end of the day, our exhausted and excited boy said it was his "best birthday ever"!

1 weekend ago...

It's funny how the most recent of the past 3 weekends is the one that I can barely remember. It was pretty hot and humid, so I plodded through the weekend in a kind of stupor. Noah went blueberry and raspberry picking with my mom on Saturday, and brought back a TON of goodies. That boy can pick some darn good berries, and we've been feasting on these sweet jewels of yummy goodness since.

Sunday, we were off again! My mom, Jon, Noah and I hopped on the train for a trip to the Boston Garden to see Walking With Dinosaurs. We had a great time at this very interesting, educational, sometimes funny and a little scary look at the history and legacy of dinosaurs. We had some time to kill before our departing train, and took a little walking tour of Boston. We were conveniently located right near the New England Aquarium, and who can resist the faces of those cute little harbor seals? Off the four of us went. Being down by the water and breeze made the heat bearable.

Things kind of crumbled after that. To make a long story short, by the time we made it to Quincy Market, we were all hungry, thirsty, tired, had to pee, the temp was 90 with 100% humidity, and there was a thunder storm- forcing us and about 30 other sweaty tourists to cram into a glass vestibule outside the "Cheers" bar and wait it out. That train ride could not come soon enough!

The plan this weekend is to do absolutely nothing.

Beachy Keen

I would have posted this sooner, but i have been too burnt/recovering/busy/tired up until now-it's like the first time I've sat down in a week!


On Memorial Day, my mom, Jon, Noah and I went to the beach for the very first time this season (as evidenced by Noah's kind of pasty complexion). It was the most amazingly perfect weather that day. Warm, but not too warm. Windy, blue, bright, salty and sandy.




As an added bonus, the Cozmo held strong through all the digging, boogie boarding, and salty water flung it's way, and we had no problems getting back into our old D-beach routine.

My Mother's Day Surprise

Me & my girlie cruiser.

Noah told me he and my husband miss me when they go on their bike rides, and now I won't be left out!


I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday!

We spent the day on a movie set.

It's not as exciting or glamorous as the title suggests. This vacation week, we've planned little day trips, and yesterday Noah chose to visit his perfect paradise - the Lego Store at the Burlington Mall (in MA).

We entered the mall through Macy's and it felt like a Twilight Zone episode as the realization crept up on us slowly, that everything surrounding us was dripping with Christmas Decorations. What the...!?!?!


Then we saw the sign:

It was really cool to see a little bit of Hollywood magic, even though we didn't see much action or any celebrities.

Oh, and on a health care/ diabetes note:
Look what they had on the wall in the restroom. I had never seen one outside of the doctors office, and thought it was really cool that it was available to people.
Maybe it's because I have a public bathroom phobia and try not to visit them unless it's a dire emergency, but this is new to me! (And maybe a little too exciting- I mean, I took a picture of the thing! )

I love...

I got this over at Jillians. :) The rules: Make a list of your loves. The only catch? 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.” It’ll be tough, I know. But this particular 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.





I love everything about the beach.


I love lying on the floor under the Christmas tree.


I love a good cup of coffee (hot and iced).

I love consistently normal blood sugars.

I love Converse All Star sneakers.



I love maki sushi.


I love old buildings and architecture.


I love a warm cat to cuddle with.


I love learning to knit and crochet.


I love helicopter pods that fall from trees.


I love a good joke.


I love painting my toenails.


I love random acts of kindness.


I love wasabi peas.


I love singing and dancing.


I love rain on the roof at night.


I love driving with the windows down and the radio up.


I love ugg slippers.


I love flossing.


I love clean crisp sheets and down comforters.


I love baking.


I love Stephen King books.


I love Hello Kitty.


I love vintage Pyrex vessels.


I love Ireland.


I love food cooked on the grill.


I love to organize.

I love a good cry.

I love the song "Here Comes the Sun"

TuDiabetes crew in Boston!!

Yesterday, my husband Jon, myself and Noah, had a chance to meet up with Manny and his wife, Andreina (the founders of TuDiabetes and the Diabetes Hands Foundation) And Bernard, a fellow Type 1 blogger.

We met Manny and Andreina at their hotel, and after introductions, it was a non-stop flurry of excited conversation about anything and everything. It felt like talking with old friends that we'd known for years.

We decided to go see the Public Gardens (Swan Boats!) and on our way, we saw this:

Zero carb cupcakes?? They will either be a miracle or taste nasty. Off we went across the street to check it out.

I paused to take that picture while everyone else headed into the shop. In a split second, they came filing back out, laughing. " T-SHIRTS"!, they said. Well, that's one way to offer a zero carb, zero fat cupcake- omit cupcake and replace with t-shirt.

When we got to the gardens, and it was beautiful- everything was starting to bloom, and we took a ride on the Swan Boats, where Noah recorded his very first video interview with Manny. Noah thought it was super cool to be interviewed, and was happy to be on camera.

Bernard found his was to us in the park, and it was so cool to see the bond that he and Manny have. I introduced him to Noah as "the gadget man" - he showed Noah his CGMs (yes, 2 of them!) and how they worked. He really knows his stuff, and we plan to see him again at one of the pumpers meetings in MA sometime soon.

We all continued to walk and fall back into that easy conversation, and it hit me that here we were- this group of people plucked from different places geographically, but with a common bond that makes us instantly understand each other through Type 1. A mixed blessing, but a blessing nonetheless.

We stopped for a quick coffee and had to say goodbye to Manny and Andreina - I think we made them late for a meeting. (sorry guys!) We got a chance to chat a bit longer with Bernard about family, life and diabetes.

I am proud and happy to have met the most warm, friendly, smart, and caring people yesterday-we made some incredible new friendships, and Noah was given a chance to learn from people who don't just live with diabetes, but thrive with it.

Feelin' Good

MB on the big screen

Tuesday night, my mom and I went to that Michael Buble concert I mentioned before. We had a blast. He puts on an awesome show, and is so funny, charming, and totally dreamy.

Too bad the guy next to us didn't think so.

We had seats on the floor with a nice view of the stage. Because we were early getting settled in our seats, we struck up a conversation with a very nice woman sitting next to my mom. We shared stories about different trip we've all taken, and concerts we've been to. The woman's husband joined her while we were talking, and the opening act came out. He ended up switching seats with his wife and was next to my mom at that point.
The opener was a group of guys called "Naturally 7". They were really amazing and talented singers, in addition to that though, they "played" all the instruments with their voices. One guy did the drum sounds, another guy did bass, etc. it was incredible!! They got a deserved and crazy loud standing ovation. (check out the video below)

Once their set was over, there was a short pause, and the lights came up. That's when he started- they guy next to my mom. He was in a near-rage: "what was that crap?... Oh, boy...was that crap!... I will NEVER see a Michael Buble concert again if this is the kind of nonsense he's going to open with...I couldn't even understand a word".

My mom and I just looked at each other, astonished. Picture this guy- head on a swivel, shouting his displeasure to anyone within earshot, and NOBODY agreeing with him. ha!! He went on like that for what seemed like an eternity, finally dropping down to a grumble.

Michael Buble took the stage, and Mister Nastypants actually cracked a half-smile: "THAT'S more like it".

Michael sang a couple of songs, then addressed the crowd in his charming way:
"How's everyone doing tonight? How'd you all like Naturally 7? Weren't they great?"

We all cheered our approval, and then in that instant during a quiet lull, our guy yelled in a booming voice that no doubt carried over the heads of the crowd, right up to the stage:
"THEY SUCKED!"

We and everyone around us were completely horrified, and I felt so badly for his wife- the nice and pleasant woman we enjoyed talking to earlier was obviously embarrassed. She had been so excited to see this show, and her husband was putting a black mark on that for her. Poor lady. They ended up leaving halfway through the show.

We didn't let Mister Nastypants ruin it for us, and had an awesome time! We even ran down the center aisle for the encore, and got super close. I got a nice bit of video but it's stuck on my phone!

Mom & Me waiting for MB

Here's the viedo of the opening act, Naturally 7. That heckler guy was off his rocker.
So incredibly cool! Naturally 7:

I have a date.

My mom got us tickets!!! He's so dreamy...
I know, I sound like I'm 12.

Diabetes in the jungle.

Yesterday was the first day of spring (ha!) vacation, and Noah picked what he wanted to do- visit the Lego store.

Legos are his ultimate favorite toy ever. His imagination just goes crazy with them, and he can put together the coolest things. Plus, it's way better than sitting around playing video games all day, so off we went down to Massachusetts to a mall way nicer than our regular mall, 45 minutes away.

You can see how cool the Lego place is...



I planned on taking him to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch as a surprise. They sat us down, and we passed the time looking at the fish in the huge fish tank right by our seat, and discussing the environment. A half hour went by, and still no server. I didn't realize it right away, because we were having such a nice time just hanging out together. I let someone know, and the manager came over and couldn't have been nicer- apparently we were sat at a table that they don't normally use. Normally, I would have been pretty angry and probably would have walked out, but this mishap afforded Noah and me a time to hang out, have a nice conversation and really connect as mother and son.


Our server (who was so super nice) noticed Noah entering a bolus into his pump. She said "oh, you have a pump! my sister has a pump, too - cool".


Noah beamed and got all excited to show off his pump, and so we struck up a conversation about pumping and diabetes, and you could tell Noah was just so happy to make that connection. It was especially cool to have a waitress plunk down a big dessert (free of charge because of the mix up) and say "dude, you're going to have to do a BIG bolus for this one".

Fresh Powder

I made my way in the bitter cold up to the lodge at the ski area, saying a little silent prayer, "please, in the name of all that is holy, let him have a good time with no lows".

It was Noah's first day of ski club. We planned ahead for every possible mishap and blood glucose scenario. Since the kids get on a bus and go right to the mountain after school, I sent him with a grocery store worth of snacks in his bag.

I hoped that he would remember to take his glucose tabs if he felt low on the mountain, instead of making the long trek to the lodge and his test kit.

Did I triple check his pump to make sure he had enough insulin in there, and battery life was ok?

I made my way through the gazillions of kids and adults, convinced something had gone wrong, and that I would find my son sweaty, pale and panicked from a low.

I heard him before I saw him...laughing that incredibly infectious laugh that I love so much. Standing with a friend and his teacher, skis in hand. Already looking like a pro. His smile was a mile wide, and just seeing that sent my anxiety packing...for that moment all thoughts of diabetes, boluses, basal rates, and carb counts were set aside. For that moment, I saw a happy kid on the brink of a new and exciting adventure, and that made the start of my New Year very bright, indeed.

I forgot the Friday Funnies!

With all the snow talk yeaterday, I forgot my favorite day of the week!!

Without further ado...



The reason the 80's were such a "totally awesome" time...

Meme snagged from...

...Penny!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Kinda. My mom saw a movie when she was pregnant, in which one of the main characters was named Lia. She liked it so much she chose it for me (if I was a boy, I would have been Ryan). When I was finally born, she couldn't remember how it was spelled, so it ended up being Lea.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Sunday night, watching that darn Extreme Home Makeover. It gets me every time.

3. Do you like your handwriting? I do. It's very swoopy and girly.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Sara Lee smoked turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Noah, age 9

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?I think so. I'm a likable person, just a bit shy at first. I'd take me out for a couple of drinks to loosen me up.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? ya think?

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Not for all the money in the world. I hate heights.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Honey Bunches of Oats (cinnamon)

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no, I do that thing where you use your other foot to pry off the shoe. The second shoe is always the toughest.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I am a big wimp.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Ben and Jerry's Brownie Batter

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? their smile.

15. RED OR PINK? I'm a sucker for anything pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I am the worst procrastinator. The upside to that, is that I do my best work under pressure.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Nana Peg. There's so much she's missing that I know would make her happy.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? denim and no shoes...grey socks though.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? coffee, a banana, and toast.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Mario Batali and Martha Stewart cooking on TV.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? periwinkle

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? any kind of fruit smell, especially ripe peaches and fresh apples.
I also love the smell of Baby Magic baby wash.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Jon. He gives me a wake up call every morning from work to say hi.

25. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? New England Patriots football.

26. HAIR COLOR? brown, with a few pesky grays thrown in. Not enough to go nuts over, yet.

27. EYE COLOR? bluish-grey

28 .Do you wear contacts? Yes, I got them when I was 14. I even had those colored ones in High School.

29.FAVORITE FOOD? pasta of any kind.

30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I sound like the biggest baby, but scary movies give me nightmares. I will watch them, but my hands are up over my eyes the entire time. Happy endings are overrated, but nice.
I like an unexpected ending- like in "The Departed".

31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Hoot.

32 WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? black t from Old Navy.

33. SUMMER OR WINTER? I love winter. For me, it's the time of year I have the most energy. In the summer, the heat gets to me, and I turn into a slug.

34. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs AND kisses!

35. FAVORITE DESSERT? Kahlua Trifle.

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I use the couch cushion- optical mouse.

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Heroes. I got the DVD set of the first season for my birthday, and I've been hooked ever since.

38. FAVORITE SOUND? Noah saying "mom".

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles are way before my time, but their music has always been a constant in my life.
I only like one song from the Stones; Sympathy for the Devil.

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Ireland. I loved it, and would pull up stakes and move there permanently in a heartbeat.

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I'm a very good singer. (just shy to do it in front of people)

Flawless

First, to get it out of my system:
New England Patriots 11-0!!!!!

Thanksgiving blood sugars for Noah were unbelievable. I mean, spot on perfection even with all the rich food, and pie and constant grazing throughout the day. There was almost no effort involved (a couple things we even guesstimated on the carbs) and never did they go above 150. I couldn't believe it!!!

I wish every day with diabetes for Noah could be as effortless as that day- last night a 327 came along and bit us all in the ass. We were all taken by surprise by that one. I sometimes wonder if his BG meter just spits out random high numbers, so I will have him re-test and use more strips and have to buy more, making the strip companies that much richer...

Conspiracy theories aside, save for that weird high, it was a great long weekend full of family and friends. As we recapped the events,my husband and I were saying how carefree the d- management was this year, and it dawned on us that it's Noah's first Thanksgiving on the pump. It seems like he's been on it forever, but it's been just under a year.

It's a bit of a sad feeling of acceptance. That thing that was so foreign and scary to us not so long ago has become a (sometimes)seamless and integral part of daily life for all of us. Is has become so routine.
Just like they told us at the hospital - like brushing your teeth, it will become automatic, and they were so right.

This is our life, far from flawless, but I believe it's the way we are meant to live it.

Shannon and Erin both tagged me with this, and I've never done this before so here goes!:

1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post

My 7 random facts:

1. I can do the moonwalk, cabbage patch and the running man.

2. When I was little, my answer to the grown- ups question, "what do you want to be when you grow up"? ...a stripper.

3. When I eat a sandwich, I have to eat the crust off first, and make it perfectly round and then eat the middle.

4. In 5th grade, I sang "Let's Hear It For The Boy" (from Footloose) in my class talent show, and my skirt fell off in the middle of it.

5. I have cried at every concert I've been to.

6.I can make the noise of a dripping faucet with my hand and my mouth.

7. I am addicted to this video game called Katamari Damacy. It's the most pointless fun thing ever.

I tag: Julia, Manny, Penny, George, Nikki, and Bernard