Change of Seasons

I was making some pictures of the marvelous white icy trees outside our home window, a present of the Christmasy weather we have been enjoying in the Hague. And then I realized I have some more pictures made earlier this year of the exact same trees. Isn't nature amazing?

it's not funny

... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, beep ... 16.7 ... deep sigh ... "well at least it's stable" I hear my boyfriend saying picking over my shoulder, an attempt for a joke I guess.

Yap, it's stable all right, 15's and 16's for almost a week no matter how much insulin I force down that tiny tube attached to my stomach. It seems to go nowhere. Goodbye my A1c of 7.5 ...

Friday at work passed in a daze with awful feeling of nausea and desperate wish for a bed (any surface, be it my desk or carpeted floor, looked damn tempting). "What the ... ?!" comes to mind more often than I can wish for. I started doubting my meters, all 3 of them, but gave up that thought immediately, as my body gave me that "I'm dying here" feeling very clearly.

Honestly, I'm not even looking for a reason this time, just waiting for it to pass. It's annoying and tiring but ...

Lows and rainbows

" ... and the award for the best low treatment goes to ... Please welcome the brightest, the fastest, the tastiest and simply the best - Skittles!!!" (applause growing into a standing ovation)

I found THE best (for me) treatment for lows! It answers all my criteria to reach the top of the list of remedies for hypoglycemia:

1. It acts fast!

2. That tiny package, which is point #3, contains almost exactly 15 carbohydrates, which is the amount I usually use to treat a low. So I don't have to measure with the shaking hands how much juice goes into a glass or figure out how many carbohydrates are in a cup of coffee with sugar - my usual treatment for the low at work. And what do I do when the fridge or the coffee machine are nowhere near? That brings me to criteria #3.

3. The package is so tiny, it fits perfectly in any pocket (so excellent to have with me during a walk in the park where I always go low) and almost gets lost in my purse, or even two or three for long days.

4. It tastes good and I don't have to force myself to swallow. Ironically the only time when I must eat (or drink) for my life, nothing goes down my throat. It's an opposite effect really, but I'll spare you the colorful details. But these little colorful life savers go down smoothly and don't make me feel afterwards like I've just ate an elephant.

Besides the obvious reasons, I'm always scared and resentful of lows because of the fact that is so damn difficult to make myself eat or drink something and not feel dreadful afterwards. But not anymore!!!! Thanks to the wonderful little rainbow wonders!

I do realize I've dedicated a whole post to a low treatment, not mentioning a free advertisement for the Skittles, but it is an important topic, at least in my diabetic world.

What are your favourite treatments?

So funny!!!

This link below is to the most hilarious video with kittens I've seen in years!!! Watch it, you won't regret it!

Посмотреть ролик <--- the link (in case Russian is confusing :) )

The author of the video is Tatyana, the owner of GREGORI al GATO, where we've got our cutie pie.

Totally random

I have been tagged. I'm guessing randomly as it's a "7 random things about me" meme. Thank you Amber. So here are my seven randoms:

Random #1:
I'm not a random person at all. Nothing that I do is random, although things do happen to me randomly. And 7 is my favourite number.

Random #2:
When I was a kid I wanted to work for Disney as a cartoonist or to be an archeologist. I'm a project buyer now, so go figure.

Random #3:
I microwave ice cream.

Random #4:
Friday 13th is a very lucky day for me.

Random #5:
I still want to work for Disney.

Random #6:
Through my life I lived in 4 different countries and visited over 15 different countries.

Random #7:
I was born on 17th, my first blood glucose test result was 17 and next May it's going to be 17 years of me living with diabetes.

I tag anyone who has 7 random things to share.

Here are the rules:
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 and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

Enjoy!

My cat's crazy love for water

First thing my cat does when I come home is running to the kitchen sink indicating he wants me to open the water. He's nuts about it. He drinks, he plays, he washes his paws, he puts his head under, he splashes and catches, he bites the water or he tries ... and so on and so on until he is totally wet and I have to dry him with a towel.

A walk in the park