Auld Lang Syne

Today is 111. We're back from vacation, we finally have our van back, Sofie's at camp for two days, and all"s right with the world.

Now I just need to get some half-inch #8 flathead screws for the kitchen.

$180 Is Not Fine!

This morning's number is 104, and that's good. But in my attempts to photograph the Bethlehem Star, I ran across another number that I didn't like: $180. That's the fine that each of a group of Lehigh University students got for trespassing and going where I went.

With that in mind, I decided not to make one more attempt to get the star while lit, and with the sky light too. I've been lucky so far, and didn't want to push it.

But...I've heard that you're able to see it from the tower in Iacocca Hall at Lehigh, and that's pretty close. Maybe I'll check that out today while Devra's getting ready, or maybe I'll check it out on some other trip.

Who knows, maybe I'll even get official permission to go to the site without worrying about a $180 fine.

Follow The Star

I was 104 this morning, and then rushed out of the house to follow the star. What star? The star of Bethlehem, of course!

You see, we're visiting friends of ours in Bethlehem, PA, and one of their famous landmarks is the star on the north face of South Mountain. It's been said that at night it can be seen from as far as Wind Gap, 20 miles away. Well, for years we've wanted to see this thing up close, rather than at the nice respectful distance of downtown Bethlehem. The problem is that the closer you get to it, the harder it is to see it. It has something to do with the way the trees are cut just below it, so that it doesn't overwhelm the folks who live just downhill from it.

Well today I finally found the hidden path to it, and got a few pictures. Problem was, it was the wrong time of day, and the sun was almost right behind it. So much for that idea. I figured I'd head back up at about dusk. Then the sun would be out of the way, and the star would actually be lit up.

Good idea in theory, but by the time we got to the star, it was dark enough that that's about all that showed up in the pictures. We really should've headed out there about an hour earlier.

So...if I want the perfect picture of it, I either have to head out there in the early early tomorrow morning, before it's shut off, or wait until our next trip down in a few months. Right now I'm thinking it'll happen on our next trip down.

Here are the pictures. One from this morning and one from this evening.

The daytime shot.

The evening shot.

A Little Bit Of Bethlehem

Pretty much ever since we've been coming to Bethlehem, we've visited the Chopstix Express takeout for fried rice and egg rolls. That means we've been doing it for 16 years.

When we arrived last night, Dev asked if we were going to get rice, because it just wouldn't be Bethlehem without it. So back into the car we went to get a quart of the stuff. And even though I had already had a Subway turkey sandwich, I decided to treat myself to 2/3 cup of Bethlehem.

This morning's number: 92.

Let Him Eat Cake!

So yesterday I treated myself to a coffee shake from Friendly's and had another piece of cake from Christmas (but obviously couldn't finish the piece that Sofie didn't want). Dinner, to make up for my indulgences (paging Johann Tetzel), was two Gorton's breaded fish fillets.

Today's number is...88.

'Twas The Day After Christmas

Ho! Ho! Ho! I had pasta and breaded chicken cutlet at my sister-in-law's house yesterday, a few Pillsbury shape cookies at our house in the morning, and a slice of that cake when we got home last night.

My number this morning? 111.

My only problem is that it's getting to be really hard for me to get enough blood to test myself. By the time I manage to get a big enough drop, I've gone through three fingers and the test meter has given me an error message because I took too long. ARRGH!

Merry Christmas!

I've been diabetic for about a month now...or at least I've known that I'm diabetic for that long. I was 97 this morning. I figure that's pretty good. And now that I've got this blog thing running, here's a graph of my morning numbers for the past month or so.

Anything within the yellow band is considered good.

A Meal For Your Money, Not A Snack

So here's the story that was too long for Facebook.

On Monday I had to take Sofie to sing with the MPH Lower School Chorus for a Rotary Meeting at a local restaurant. In the rush to get out of the house and to the venue on time, I didn't have a chance to have my mid-morning snack. In fact, it was pretty much lunchtime by now. I figured I'd just pick up something on the way, but being lunchtime, the drive-thru line at Wendy's was just way too long. Oh well, I'd figure something out.

Once I got Sofie with her group, I went to the person in charge of the meeting, and explained my situation. I said that I was a parent of one of the singers, a new diabetic, and hadn't had my snack yet. Was there a little something I could nibble on until I got home.

Well, this person must've known diabetics, because she rushed me right over to one of the people in charge of the food, and said, "This man's a diabetic, give him anything he wants." And sure enough, I didn't get just a few crackers, they took me over to the buffet table and fed me the same thing the Rotarians were eating.

I guess they didn't want me passing out on their property.

After the Party

Drumroll please...today's number...after having been at a Christmas party last night...is...90.

A Piece of Cake

By the way, did I mention that Cheryl is making my favorite cake for Christmas? I can still have it, but I can only have one piece a day instead of four.

Eat First, Shoot Up Later

‎77 this morning. I think I'll eat before I shoot up.

The Great Thing About Being Diabetic

By the way, one of the great things about being diabetic, if one can say that there is anything good about being diabetic, is how eager people are to feed you in order to avoid having you collapse on their floor from low blood sugar.

The Diabetes Ladies

97 this morning. And I saw the "Diabetes Ladies" at the Crouse outpatient center yesterday, who said that I was doing much better than they expected. I told them that they had no idea of how much of an anal control freak they were dealing with, and that if there was a way to make this work, I was gonna find it.

Oh, and did I mention the multiple handfuls of Lay's Kettle Cooked mesquite barbecue chips I had?

If Billy Joel Were Diabetic

‎88, the perfect number for a pianist. Gee, I wonder what my numbers would be if I was still actively playing guitar, and how would you calculate them?

Sparkling Water

104. Wow, not bad considering Bridget's Christmas party last night, where I discovered that Wegman's black cherry flavored sparkling water doesn't taste like crap. I'll have to see what other flavors they have.

Thanks For The Memories

125 this morning. I guess I shouldn't have eaten that one little piece of almond toffee candy yesterday (in addition to the five or so Spritz cookies). But it'll be a nice memory.

Too Much Eggnog?

125...hmm...maybe I had too much eggnog and too many Christmas cookies yesterday.

The Daily Number

Today's Daily Number is 97. Maybe I should start playing these?

Cookies and Insulin

Ladies and gentlemen, today's glucose number is 108. And again, this was after sampling a number of Christmas cookies last night. Let's hear it for insulin.

Eat First, Shoot Up Later

And this morning's number is...89. I think I'd better go downstairs and eat something before I shoot up.

Medi-Bling

Got my Medic-Alert dogtags today! Also...had my van towed to be fixed. Insurance is giving me a rental car for the duration. And according to the insurance company, the woman I hit is at one of the local hospitals doing fine after leg surgery.

How Low Can You Go?

This morning was 88. And that was after having sampled Sofie's Christmas cookies yesterday...several times. Now I think I'm heading too low, but we'll adjust that when I show the doctor the stats later on today.

Normal Food!

104 this morning. So what did I eat yesterday? Two Gorton's breaded fish fillets and Rice-A-Roni for breakfast; an order of Teryaki Chicken and Shrimp on Fried Rice from the Genji Grill at ShoppingTown for lunch, dinner, and post-dinner; and a cheeseburger from the McDonald's at the East Syracuse Wal-Mart for a mid-afternoon snack.

Oh...and I made a little bottle of egg nog from Wegman's last FOUR days.

All Meat, All The Time

Holy cow, this morning I was at 94. I guess the "all meat, all the time" diet is working. I'll have a Quarter-Pounder with Cheese, but without the bun. And let me have a three-piece order of Chicken Selects.

Oh...and I guess I'll have three fries. No, not three orders of fries. Just three fries.

Cake Day

108 this morning, and yesterday was the Art Department's annual Cake Day.

I had ONE piece instead of three or four.

¡El Numero Es Bueno!

El número de la dia es 107.

A Good Number

Today's number is 113. That's pretty good!

16 Pounds

Did I mention that I've lost 16 lbs? I went from 175 in September to 159 now. Not the best way in the world to lose weight, that's for sure.

Why Bother?

This morning's number was 139. I have got to figure out exactly what to do to keep it down below 115. Hmm...maybe I just shouldn't eat at all. It's no fun anymore anyway.

Meatloaf Again?

I thought about having a piece of meatloaf in the middle of the night, but didn't want to mess up my morning numbers. It paid off: 116

All I Want For Christmas...

When I went shopping yesterday, the Salvation Army Santa at the mall entrance asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I said, "My pancreas."

He didn't quite know how to respond.

Still Better Than 435

For those of you who've been following the numbers, I was 130 this morning. Not as good as 112, but it sure beats 435.

As Normal As I Get

 And the number for this morning is...112. We've finally gotten back into the normal range. I suppose that now I'll have to worry about dropping too low.

My Milkshake

I have a date with a coffee milkshake from Friendly's on Sunday afternoon. It'll be one of the most beautiful things I've seen all week. Diabetes sure makes you appreciate when you get to eat something you like...and so unwilling to waste your available allocation of carbs on food you DON'T like.

A Pretty Girl

I realized why I didn't feel my first insulin shot when Cheryl gave it to me, but sort of feel it when I do it myself. I was distracted by looking at a pretty girl.

Almost Normal

Glucose down to 119 this morning. And that's even before upping the dosage by six units. I'm just a hair above normal again!