origami & running around like a chicken with my head cut off
ack…Today began a little on the late side. In addition to hitting the snooze,I apparently turned the alarm off. Rats! do I hate beginning a week behind. I actually got out of bed when I had planned on leaving for school but nonetheless arrived at my normal time which was not the early time I needed in order to be ready for today.
It was go – go – go with several bumps along the way. I’ll hand it to the kids, they were pretty mild compared to last week and seeing as this is our last full week. I was rushing around as my first class was leaving when wham-o I squirted white paint down the front of my two layered shirts. Think ketchup pump at McDonald’s gone wrong except mine was white paint. Bummer, dude. I had to rush off down the hall to retrieve a “staff” shirt and did a quick switch in the teacher’s lounge only to waltz in with my kindergarten class. I do believe I only made two kids cry during that class since they couldn’t get the pipe cleaners threaded through the holes for their art book. Third grade came in wild-like and continued to struggle. I may have lost my cool when they all started repeating my name over and over yelling my name because they couldn’t figure out how to finish folding their origami puppy because they hadn’t followed the directions correctly. I couldn’t take it anymore and told them to throw the paper in the trash on the way out the door. Mission failed. However, as luck would have it two of the less favorite fifth grade boys were absent today so it made our origami much more enjoyable.
I caught my breath for a second while regrouping for the afternoon. Things went mostly smooth except for the multiple crying first grade students. What is it with the crying? I can’t handle it. I know you cut out your pear shape for your fruit face and then cut it into four pieces and when you went to put it back together, you could only find three pieces. It’s not a big deal…make another one…MOVE ON! But no, the crying occurred.
When they left, I did a quick round up of what not to do for tomorrow so I can hopefully avoid the crying like today and jetted out to my endocrinology appointment. Overall, it was a positive experience although I got a low blood sugar as I was heading out and in my stuper, decided it would be a good idea to consume the brownie I saved from lunch. It was a good idea to eat it but it was a bad idea to not check my blood sugar again to correct the overdose of carbs and the result was a major high blood sugar. Bummer, dude. That dang blood sugar pendulum is so not my diabetic friend.
So all this yammering just to brief you on my day and keep my promise of blogging out the rest of my school year. I suppose right now is as good a time as any to share about my recent love affair with origami. I always thought it was nice but never really knew what to do with it until I checked out a geeky video from the library. Throughout this school year, I create a different theme for my Friday classes and I have spent the last month working through some origami activities with the kids. We started out easy with a boat and then moved onto a duck and then an owl bookmark. My favorite is the puppy. If you are looking for a fun activity to pass the time with kids, I suggest checking out activity tv. They have step-by-step directions but mostly importantly – they have video. Seeing the folding is really great because you can pause and go back if you need to.
I also came across this cool site that has quite the variety of folded animals.
I might need to try this one.
And you know I like this one, too.
Origami is a great lesson on following directions and, more than that, the kids really get into it because there is generally an aha! moment where the flat piece of paper magically turns into something cool. Go ahead and give it a try.
INVISIBLE (GO/venture2: day2)
See Kal’s drawing HERE. See Elise’s handprint HERE.
I’m a day late getting this one up but I figure if you all knew about the monstrosity we’ll call yesterday then you would understand. I started out thinking about the INVISIBLE prompt as a way to view perception – you know, more than meets the eye kind of thing. I played around with a keyhole visual but could never really get anywhere. I was all set to try something with negative space and the things that seem invisible if we are just looking at the subject. Both of those were fine ideas but they weren’t very personal. I decided to create the word invisible out of my diabetes test strips for checking my blood sugar. Living with Type 1 diabetes definitely has its ups and downs (literally!) Read on to hear more about this story.
Allow me to explain. Let’s just say that I braced for a busy day yesterday and that was an understatement and then when my school day was officially over, I couldn’t leave because I believed I would a.) pass out on the drive or b.) lose my lunch on the way to the car. Both of those options coupled with a low blood sugar led to me laying on the classroom floor next to the trashcan, eating graham crackers, talking on the phone with Dan. I know, you wish you were me, am I right? So yea…the blood sugar was low and despite forcing myself to swallow the grahams eventhough I really just wanted to hurl I kept eating and kept checking my blood sugar. I cannot begin to explain the frustration I felt after every 15 minutes checking my blood sugar and seeing the reading go lower and lower. 67. 58. 58. 56. 48. 48. 46. This went on for an hour and a half. And then I lost my lunch in the trashcan, several times. It was not awesome.
What was awesome then though was the fact that my blood sugar went up to 80 meaning I could drive myself home and also my stomach felt less like it was trying to punch me in the face.
I got home two hours after the ordeal began and felt confident things were on the up and up.
Not so, my friends.
I got feverish and visited the dreaded porcelain god two more times before just calling it a night. One more trip to the bathroom before my fitful sleep led me to a substitute at school today and an all day date with my bed. I am feeling less achy and less puny but my spirits are still a little low. While fixing myself a piece of toast, I realized that diabetes is my invisible right now. I like to think that I keep it hidden, aside from the tubing sticking out from my pump in my pocket. I don’t try to hide it…I just don’t want it to be a big deal – define who I am. And, afternoons like yesterday continue to prove that “just because it isn’t visible doesn’t mean it isn’t there.”
So there you have it.
I am doubtful that I will get around to today’s prompt of COINCIDENCE on time, especially since I am already buzzing about tomorrow’s word of the day PERMANENT. Lots to think about. In the meantime, check out the other great creations at the Flickr group right HERE.
steamboat photos and more
I dream of snow.
With the forecast for a light snow tonight, let’s revisit these Steamboat pics from this time last year.
so foggy, frozen, and surreal
and oh, the aspens.
————————
Today was 110% better than yesterday. I knew it had to be. And tomorrow…tomorrow is Thursday which equals no kindergarten kiddos. Not that I dislike them but I do LIKE the extra hour of time to breathe.
aack and now I think my blood sugar is low because I have tried to typ e this sentence twelve times. I should hav ejut left all my typos like this … really I’m fine. nothing a granola bar canp’t fix. really. mmm. ganola bar and that 70′s show. good times. I gbetter go now. low blogging is wierd.
Good Gifts
So many gift giving ideas floating around in the world wide web right now.
Here are a few that have caught my eye. Click on the image to go straight to the source.
"be still" necklace by Lisa Leonard
1. I always admire Lisa Leonard’s jewelry creations but this one caught my eye a while back. A little bluebird perhaps and maybe a little dandelion. Such a sweet union! And, to top things off, Lisa just announced today that she has partnered with Redbook and a portion of the proceeds of this darling necklace will go to diabetes research. I love it.
handmade paper bird ornament from The Petite Press
2. In keeping with the bird theme, I discovered this handmade paper bird ornament/Christmas card. It has the greatest details in the beaded eye and soft letterpress wing design. I bought one for us a 2009 ornament and I fell in love with several little paper goodies found at The Petite Press including her newest matchbook letterpress calendar creations. If you leave a comment on her blog, you will be entered to win one of these.
matchbook letterpress calendar from The Petite Press
I guess I’m into letterpress right now because in my quest to find the ideal 2010 calendar, I found this amazing creation.
Apple a Day poster by VikDesign
4. Did you catch that? It’s an apple a day letterpress poster created for you to put your fruit stickers on. OHMYGOSH, OHMYGOSH, OHMYGOSH. This is so silly and so cool and so perfect. I want it verrrrry bad because I do not have a strange obsession with fruit stickers (see this post). Nope, not at all.
Okay, enough about paper…let’s take a look at something for the camera.
seat belt camera strap from Photojojo
5. I already have a perfectly capable camera strap but this seat belt strap from Photojojo is just so fun. They have all sorts of colors and I can’t decide which one I like best - the typical, actual strap colors or the outrageously fun teal one.
Lot’s more ideas out there but I better take care and head to bed. I love wearing jeans to work – Here’s to FRIDAY!
taking things in stride
(My most favorite NY picture from my girls trip, Spring 2007)
Phew. I’m feeling wiped out after my third round of snacks this evening. My blood sugars have been in the tank most of today except for the afternoon of 200′s. Bleh. Although it is so annoying, I know it is just a phase. Turns out, my diabetes has been so much more manageable these last few months. I can think back to this time last year and whoa buddy I was so frustrated. So a blip low or high doesn’t get me down too much these days. I owe that success to the bright doctor that told me to change my pump injection site to the backside. Big, big difference.
I didn’t really sit down here to tell you the ins and outs of my medical condition but I did want to say that today was another nice, manageable day. That is a big statement to make considering I will be starting the actual first day of school one week from today. And I am not the kind of person to take on big change in stride. Don’t get me wrong, I love to mix things up but major life shifts don’t generally come and go without a major meltdown or at least a lot of anxiety. (aka, the WEEDS!!!) All that to say, I owe this so far success to the “do a little a lot of the time” mentality rather than do a lot in a little time. I tend to be a procrastinator. No, you know don’t say?????? It’s true, but I have tried very, very, very, very hard for the sake of my marriage and my sanity to take this one slower and steadier. I worked some today, took a break and worked on that pesky supply list, and then I headed to my afternoon meetings. I would like to put a major shout out to my new district for doing things right today. We had a forum and instead of sticking the art folks with their grade level peeps or the gym/music folks, we got to have our own group. Another Jen, me, and a current district art teacher. Yes, we had our very own group. And that might not make any sense to any of you but trust me, I felt so appreciated knowing that they went to the trouble to make us our own group. That tells me that they value art. Did you catch that? They value art, therefore, they value ME!
Ok, I will get down off my soapbox now.
I really did sit down to write to you about my afternoon tour. We could sign up for an optional bus tour of the district including but not limited to an explanation of each school and the ins and outs of local businesses, landowners, and anywhere else our students might hang. It was delightful, especially as we watched a wicked storm roll in from the west. As I rode and listened to our guide, I could not help but remember my top of the Grey line bus tour I took with my mom and dad in New York roughly nine years ago. Or was that Chicago? Either way, Mom, you would have loved this tour, too.
(my second most favorite NY pic from Spring, 2007!)
Tomorrow: A few more meetings – with a Hawiian theme. More classroom work. A county fair. Cool.
Hold on, it’s a doozy.
Ok, first things first…where on earth have I been? I miss blogging! After getting back into blogging last August, I told myself to keep it simple, stupid! (K.I.S.S.) but now I’ve gotten myself behind on my blogging ideas and I have had a hard time picking up where I left off. I keep thinking, I can’t blog about what happened today because I haven’t talked about x, y, or z yet. Silly, me. I am a classic over-complicater!
So, back to the basics!
My right-now favorites!
1. My DAD! I’m so glad I got to spend last weekend in KC with him in honor of Father’s Day. My dad is the coolest.
2. This crazy awesome deodorant Kelly told me about.
I have talked about my deodorant quests before but this one takes the cake because it’s cheap, easy, natural, smells nice, and IT WORKS! I had doubts but after some humid days in KC and some serious exercise in Colorado, this stuff really works! I do have to keep in the fridge but it’s worth it. Check out Kelly’s tutorial HERE.
3. Dan and I were thrilled when we found our favorite energy chews by Honey Stinger on sale at REI today. Only 79 cents as compared to $1.99, wow!
Seriously – you need these. We love them when we ski and I love them for an occasional low blood sugar. They taste just like those super great fruit chews you used to take in your lunch in high school, plus they are made in Steamboat Springs and they are organic! Yum. Click on the pic above to get to the site.
4. Ok, so I didn’t mean for my favorites to turn into a sales pitch on products but I just have to add one more – these melamine paper dinnerware plates. They are plastic outdoor plates but they look just like the cheapo paper plates. Talk about being green…err…cough, cough (they do come in all colors but I like the white the best). I found mine at Target and I’m sorry I don’t have a pic but please click here and you will see what I’m talking about. These go along well with my other trick-the-eye interests because I am such a sucker for a clever design. They really are cooler in person, I promise.
5, Funnel cakes – especially after a long (LOW BLOOD SUGAR) hike. Dan and I enjoyed the BBQ fest in Frisco on Friday for our anniversary. I enjoyed my funnel cake with extra insulin.
**notice the trail of powdered sugar all around me! I have a thing for funnel cakes
6. Ok, this is a taking a little too long because I just can’t keep it simple… simplify, Jennifer!
Someone recommended Ihategreenbeans.com which is a site that recaps the recent Bachelorette episodes. Yea, I like the Bachelorette – EAT IT! Seriously though, if you are a fan, too, check out the humor and commentary. I like.
7. I also enjoy the storytelling and recipe sharing over at joythebaker.com. Her photography is not too shabby, either. If I had more time, baking would be at the top of my list.
8. I really love these water ski pics from last week.
Josh’s funny faces when it cuts it across the glassy water.
Janel’s new found love of wake boarding. And since all the cool kids are wake boarding now days, Dan and I had to give it a try. Definitely similar to snowboarding in my mind but I thought it was tons of fun to try something new.
9. And while I’m talking about water, I can’t forget these hilarious pics of Quattro and Copper taking a dip near a lake by my parent’s house. Quattro tries to run in the water which doesn’t work so well but Copper is a regular seal and uses her tail like a rudder!
And then there was a dock – so funny.
Flying Quattro and Super Copper Dog
10. I have to include 10 things because 9 is an odd number and I prefer even numbers, especially if they are easy to add like 10!
I figure I should mention my exciting news about my summer job front and, while it might not be considered a “favorite” since I haven’t actually started it yet, I have a good feeling. On Wednesday I really thought I’d be joining Lisa and the paint crew again for the summer since no other leads had panned out. I always have to eat my words when it comes to job planning. Long story short, after my interview last Thursday, I will be working for a therapeutic recreation summer camp. This is the summer job I had crossed my fingers for back in March and three weeks ago it just suddenly didn’t work out. I am happy to say that things will be rocking and rolling again for me and my sweet girl “J” since this is the very camp that she goes to for the summer! Score! Her being there had absolutely no weight in me wanting to be there too…nope, none…not at all.
So, with that, I’ll be jumping into wild wild, did I mention WILD(?) days starting tomorrow. Oh the stories to come. We take “field trips” everyday. WILD!
I think that pretty much wraps up my favorites for right now. I know having my summer job will help keep me more consistent with my blog world. Structure is a good thing for me because I tend to flounder without a regular schedule. I have more to share but I need to rest up for my orientation tomorrow. Have a fantastic Monday and thanks for sticking with my 10 favorites – You guys are the best!
Daily Grind
view from the bathroom door
Here are a few noteworthy blogs I have found recently. Each of them speak to things that apply to me daily.
*Six Until Me is a blog about author Kerri and her life involving Type 1 diabetes. If you have ever wondered what living as a diabetic feels like – tune in to her recent vlog, Sum Low Vlogging, about having a low blood sugar. Scary acurate (like right now I am mad because I just brushed my teeth and then checked my blood sugar. It’s low which means I will need to eat before I go to bed…I JUST BRUSHED MY TEETH!).
*The Marraige Mix is a NEW blog written by a fellow Truman State friend, Cara. She has another fun blog but the marraige one provides great insight for young and old couples alike.
*I also enjoy getting to know Jody (from Missouri!) through her blog, jodified. She shares stories of being a mom and running a photography business (and blog!) My friend Erin shares a similar life on her blog this and that. While I do not live the life of a mom, I do enjoy hearing about their small business in photography and I can still relate to the crazy ways of their artistic brains.
clean laundry palette
out the window tonight
Thought For The Day: Diabetes is Hard
test strip message*
Yesterday I had a super low blood sugar and today I had a super high blood sugar. I am better now. Final thought – see photo above!
*a little something I made earlier from my old test strips for my glucometer. such is the life…sigh
70 x 7
I am what you might call a good diabetic. I test a lot. I take my insulin. I change my pump site often. I carb count. I keep up with my doctor appointments. I do the right things but sometimes it is not enough.
Diabetes is selfish.
It is needy and can ruin your day.
And then I have to spend the rest of the night recovering and trying to figure out what went wrong. This month has been a particularly difficult for me to live with diabetes. Ever since my 517, things have been all over the place. A lot of problems but not a lot of solutions.
I can’t help that my cannula was bent on three occasions this month. The last time that happened before now was an isolated incident in February and even then it was strange.
I am an excessive tester. I check before bed and one time my glucometer said 94 and then I woke up to 460! There is no reason for that.
On one occasion, I actually forgot to put my pump back on after a shower. I slept all night and instantly knew that life was not good when I woke up. Another 400.
And for today…I enjoyed some terrific pizza today with Lisa and Andi. I know, I know…pizza does weird things for diabetics. But I was careful. I took extra insulin and I checked my blood sugar later to follow up. It was around 150, not bad. But when I got home this evening I just kept telling Dan how bad I felt. My head hurt. I thought I might have gotten too much sun because we worked outside today. I was thirsty so I figured I didn’t drink enough water. I was sore but we painted on the driveway all day. All of my symptoms were justified until I took my blood sugar. It was 561. Suddenly, the pain in my lower back and shoulders, the throbbing in my head, the dry mouth, and the trips to the bathroom all made sense.
My body was mad at me and I was mad a diabetes.
I cried.
Dan was good to me and after a lot of correction insulin, a lot of water and a lot of ibuprofen, I managed to keep my eyes open for The Office but then I was done. I just woke up and life seems a little better but I am still mad at diabetes. I know I will feel a little less angry tomorrow but sometimes I just sigh while thinking about trying harder. I do. I am. And if I really stopped trying so hard things would be a lot worse.
So I have to keep trying. Eventhough I know that with any disease, and especially diabetes, it stays. It does not go away and it is selfish. But I have to forgive it again.
Something for me to think about tonight:
“Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times (or seventy times seven).’” (Matthew 18:21-22)
Worker Man
Dan has been working extra hard lately. He doesn’t stress very easily so for him to say that he is stressed out must mean things are pretty chaotic. He has been a busy bee for Habitat for Humanity. We attended the ground breaking and “house dedication” for two different houses today.
breaking ground
It is hard to believe that dirt will become this in a few short months!
house dedication
In a few weeks Dan will be smack dab in the middle of a “Builder’s Blitz”. Think Extreme Home Makever for Habitat. That also translates into the fact that Dan has about 6 months worth of work to do prior to the 2 week build. Yikes! I can’t even comprehend how he doesn’t lose his mind daily.
Needless to say, he remains calm and carries on despite the demands. He even finds time to work on our deck. Yes, he is the crazy neighbor using the chain saw at 9pm on a Sunday night. Sorry, neighbors!
deck progress
look, a deck!
In addition, I haven’t been the nicest gal lately. My diabetes has been very difficul with lots of highs and lows. It all started back with my 517 and things are just wacky right now. Nothing too serious but I’ll just be glad when things balance out. I know Dan will be glad too because I can be a bit of a bear when those things happen.
And as if all of that wasn’t enough, he even helped me put away the mountain of laundry on the bed. I made a pile of all the clean clothes and then did 4 more loads of laundry. I put it all on the bed for us to put away so we couldn’t put it off another day. It was so rediculous the amount of clothes we had piled up and I almost took a picture of it but I was too embarassed for anyone else to see. It’s gone now!
So, all this to say… “Good job, honey. Hang in there. Ski season is on the way!”
pre-stress
post stress
Five Hundred and Seventeen
517 days of vacation would be excellent
517 pumpkin scones from Starbucks would be great
517 puppies might be fun
$517 would be fabulous
517 more KU basketball wins would be nice
517 free songs from iTunes would be super neat
517 new crayons would be awesome
517 giftcards to IKEA would be sweet (it’s coming to Denver, did you know?)
517 pedicures would make my day(s)!
my glucometer
But, 517 as a blood sugar is not ever, no, never a good thing. Sigh…
Let’s just chalk this day up as a “bad diabetes day.” It’s strange to think about how an insulin pump part that works great for five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes minus ONE can make such a difference in my day. It’s true, a bent .25 inch cannula can be the difference in a normal in the 100′s or a 517 kind of day. I’m happy to say that I’m back to the 100′s now.
Despite feeling pretty awful today, good things did happen. I’ll tell you about my unexpected trip coming up sometime soon!
