What? She's Blogging? The World Must Be Coming to an End!

Hello world...

I am starting this blog post with a picture to remind any of you faithful followers that this is what I now look like....after what seems like YEARS since I blogged.  Time has been good to me and I look the same as the last time you anxiously read my newest blog post, right? (The correct answer here is to nod in agreement and say "Why of course!")

So you may have wondered what's going on with me and why I've not blogged much.  And if you haven't wondered that, you just haven't followed my blog much so after you read this you should get comfy and do some reading of my older posts.  Then follow me.  I'm not sure what that is on Blogspot, but I like the idea of having followers.  (Please note that I realize that my previous statement makes me look really dumb in the technology area.  I DO KNOW what followers are.  I am a proud member of the facebook, twitter, and pinterest cults and plenty of people follow me there.)  I wish I had more "followers" of my blog and if you know how I can do that without being too "techy-like" (yes, I just made that word up) I'd be appreciative.


So, here goes nothing.  Or something.  It could be long.  It will contain tidbits of what's swimming around my head.

1) Reasons/excuses I give for not blogging: You must have an Internet connection, computer, and time to blog.  I have none of these at home at the same time.  I do have these at work but those kids keep me from blogging because I WORK FOR A LIVING people.  But seriously, I don't blog at school because I barely have enough time to take care of basic needs like eating and using the bathroom there so I'm all about prioritizing what needs to get done there.  If I have to pick between blogging and going to the bathroom, I'm going with the bathroom. Sorry about that.

2) My summer thus far: I started my summer battling some pretty bad staph infections (thank you stupid diabetes for the weak immune system) and I've been somewhat crabby due to pain from doctors cutting me open.  Things are appearing to improve on that front so I'm happy about that.  Pinterest has taken over my life and my list of things to do this summer is a gazillion miles long.   I'm on project number 6.  I like being crafty.  Join pinterest and check out some of my cool pins.  Follow me and you get even more brownie points.  And who doesn't like brownies, right? (thanks again stupid diabetes for not letting me enjoy real brownies anymore.)

3) Movies: I think I've seen most of the movies that have come out this summer.  I enjoy the movies.  Best job I ever had was working at the Cobb/Regal Cinemas in Key West.  I must state here that I do have some standards, though.  I think that movie producers are ripping us off by making all these movies in 3D.  Is is necessary to see Madagascar in 3D?  I think not people.  (Will it keep me from going to a mediocre movie because it's 3D? Probably not.  Way to go producers...you win.)

4) Blogging:  I REALLY miss blogging. Blogger.com is a great site but it's been awhile since I blogged and they've changed their format and all since then.  I don't like change.  It was perfectly fine the way it was.  And I had more readers then.  Maybe that's why no one reads my blog much anymore....Blogger went and changed...it has nothing to do with the fact that I haven't blogged. 

5) Dot dot dot and parentheses:  I find that I use these two things quite a bit when writing, emailing, texting, tweeting, facebooking.....Does it bother people?  I sort of like it.  I just wonder what everyone else thinks.

6) Purple highlights: This week I went and got my hair done with purple highlights.  Yes, I am serious.  Why?  I think the better question is "Why WOULDN'T I? And why haven't I done this sooner?"  I like it.  David doesn't.  He loves me anyway.  We agree to disagree. 

7) Obvious Observations:  Today while eating lunch with a friend I noticed the number of people that had on maroon or Mississippi State related clothing.  It was quite a bit, but then I stated the obvious....we live in the hometown of Mississippi State, so that makes sense.  I just thought that it was interesting that in a deli at lunchtime, there were about 20 people all wearing MSU stuff.  And yes, I checked to see if any group came together like maybe the MSU bowling team showed up.  They didn't.  We may have a bowling team....I don't know.  I'm not really into sports.  Unless you count Pinterest because if you do then I totally am into sports.

8) Ice ice baby: As I've written about before on my blog, I am an ice connoisseur.  If you are in my area please visit these locations to enjoy the ice.  You can get a drink if you want but it's the ice that makes the experience....In no particular order of awesomeness: Sonic, Oby's, Zaxby's, and Snow-Biz for the obvious reason that they sell snow cones.

9) Hip Cancer: Is anyone looking into whether or not carrying your cell phone in your front pocket affects your hips?  I find that I can't deal with wearing clothes without pockets because I carry my cell phone everywhere.  It doesn't feel right unless it's with me.  Anyone else out there like that?  Cuz I'd hate to think I'm going to be the only one getting chemo in the future from their cell phone.

10) AT&T bad/Verizon good:   David and I divorced AT&T back last August and upgraded to smart phones with Verizon.  He has an Android and I have an iphone.  I don't think can ever go back.  However, the down side is that I no longer have dial-up (did you think anyone would ever say that NOT having dial up would be a bad side) or a land line.  This is why I can't blog as much.  I love to blog but I love my phone more.  I'm sorry people, you're just going to have to deal with it.  If you miss me that much, you should look me up on Twitter or Facebook and follow me. I can do these on my phone and they are sort of like mini-blogs. It's a win/win situation. I get my phone and you get a mini-blog...and let's face it...a little of me is better than no me, right?

So that's it for now.  I'm currently sitting in Hardee's nursing a watered down Diet Coke and using their Wifi to bring you this blog post.  Maybe I can come here again soon so I can write more.  You'll read it won't you?  The correct response here would be to nod your head in agreement and say "Well of course I will!"


Toodles my friends!!!!!

I'm Feeling Old and This is the Proof....

Hello faithful followers....


I hope this finds you all well....Me? Not so much...... Here's how I know-


I just bought a Medical Alert bracelet.


Yes, you read that correctly. If you haven't followed me on Facebook or in any recent blog postings (and if this is you, why wouldn't you want to???) I was diagnosed with Diabetes this past Thanksgiving. Honestly, I think I knew for awhile that it was a possibility, but I didn't really let myself believe that it could really happen.


You see, my parents are both diabetics. My paternal grandmother was a diabetic...all of them type 2 and all of them (seemingly to me) older when they received their diagnosis. My grandmother died when I was 13 from complications of a stroke. As far as I know, she never took insulin. I laugh because I can remember her telling me that she'd drink the sweet tea from the TOP of the container since it had "less sugar." I'm thinking she probably ate what she wanted, when she wanted.


My parents both take insulin and have for years. My mother is quite the cook and can make anything sweet taste good and be sugar free. I just never thought I'd be diabetic and would have to eat sugar free.


Earlier in the fall, I noticed that I had to urinate a lot more than normal. On a side note, I take a diuretic pill for other things (high blood pressure and Meniere's disease) so in the back of my mind, I attributed it to that. So I did a little experiment and stopped taking it. My frequent urination urges decreased a little, but not enough to have the answer as to why I was having to go so often. Also, I've been a light drinker...meaning that I don't require much to drink during the day. During this period, I found that I could drink close to two liters of water in one sitting without a second thought. Then, I noticed the weight loss. It seemed that in a matter of a few weeks, I dropped close to 25 pounds.


So I did what anyone would do in that situation: I made a doctor's appointment to find out what was going on. Of course they wanted me to fast to get some blood work, so I did. I wasn't happy about that at all. They took my blood glucose sugar reading and it turned out to be 285. If you don't know what that means, well, a normal blood reading after fasting is under 100. Given my other symptoms and that blood sugar reading, my doctor told me that what I feared was true: I was indeed a diabetic.


My doctor wanted to start me off on insulin, but I asked him to wait until our appointment to go over the blood tests later that week. At that appointment, my doctor told me that my A1C number was a 13. For those of you that don't know what that is, it's a 3 month reading of your average blood glucose levels that is converted to a number scale. Most normal people's A1C is a 6 or under. Someone at a 7 or 8 is considered borderline diabetic. A high score for a diabetic is a 12. Did I mention that I WAS A 13???? That would explain why I started taking insulin that day.


So what does that mean? It means that I have had a drastic life change in regards to diet and exercise. I eat very few carbs....I know...sad, right? No bread, no rice, no pasta, no potatoes, no corn, no peas, no fruit, no sugar......so sad. I exercise more than I did before, and hope to make it a regular part of my daily life.


The only good news in all of this, is that I've maintained my weight loss. Also, for awhile, my vision was very blurry, but now that I'm getting the blood sugar levels under control, my eyesight has returned to normal. I'm hoping that I'll be able to become more healthy and lose a few more pounds.


The bad part of weight loss is that your wrinkles become more prominent. But that comes with old age, right? All I need now is to contract gout or arthritis....and now that I have a medical alert bracelet, I can add those ailments. I left plenty of room, just in case.


Until next time, friends.....


Toodles!

The Niftiness of a Caboodle

I am moving forward through this post assuming you know what Caboodles are. It's only the most amazing makeup container EVER. If you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, take a second and do a Google search and learn some stuff. Then come back and finish reading this.


I have to stop for a second and give my usual apologies and excuses for not blogging. For starters, I live in the STICKS. There is no high speed Internet here of any kind. I know because I've checked. You can not get Internet through cable or phone lines. For the longest time we had dial-up and it was TORTURE. We got rid of our land lines a year ago and went completely cellular. Our connection to the Internet at that point was through "tethering" using a cell phone. It was minimally faster. Then, back in August of 2011, David and I upgraded our old flip phones for smart phones. We like these so much better, but we're still relegated to tethering. And only with David's phone. So this means that if David isn't home or is using his phone, I can't get online to blog. Not convenient. So, that's part of the issue. I am, as always, incredibly busy. But I think everyone is busy, so that's not a valid excuse. You just don't meet people who talk about how much free time they have. At least I never have. And in case you've thought, "What about Hugh's Net? Can't you get Internet through them?" My parents (who live about 1/2 mile down my road) have Hugh's Net and if anything, their Internet service is slower and worse than ours.


But I digress....back to our topic..........


I love blogging and don't do it nearly as much as I'd like. At one point, I was debating about whether I should keep a written list of interesting blog topics. I never did get around to it. Over the last month or two, one topic has been reoccurring and since I had a dream about blogging on this topic last night, I'm taking it as an omen that I should proceed.



Many, many years ago, my mom bought me a green Caboodles makeup case for Christmas. At least I think it was for Christmas. My parents let me start wearing makeup around 8th or 9th grade so it was probably about that time. What is amazing to me is that after all these years (close to maybe 30 years or so) I still use the same case. It hasn't broken or let me down in any way. There aren't many items that you use on a daily basis that you can say that about. Over the years, my makeup collection has increased and I've tried to use my Caboodles case as best I can. I've filled it and the extra stuff I've acquired to put on my face ended up in assorted baskets and stuff. Not as organized as I should be and given the time of day that I put my makeup on, I need all the help I can get.


Somewhere about 10 years ago, I started using glitter as an accessory to my makeup on Fridays. If you are my Facebook friend, you'll know from my Friday Get Ups album that I go all out on Fridays. I consider it part of my public service. As I've gotten older (and of course more wrinkly), I've decided to use glitter on a more regular basis. I'm talking glitter eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, blush, lip gloss....the whole 9 yards. I think that somewhere I thought that the glitter would reflect light OFF of my wrinkles. Maybe it does, maybe not....but it makes me happy so I'm going with it.


My glitter collection has grown and a few weeks ago, I found another Caboodles case that was purple! I transferred all of my everyday makeup to the new purple case and put all my glitter in the green one. I'm very happy with both. I'm also more organized in the mornings now, so that's a plus too.


Just so you know.........I took a long time trying to load pictures of my two Caboodle cases. My connection is so slow it wouldn't load. Oh well.....maybe next time!


Until next time.....toodles!