Afterthoughts.

     A few afterthoughts from my previous blog post:

1. the title most certainky reminded me of my grandfather, who used to lick his finger and make tally marks in the air to cement a point.
2. The Suzanne Summers Diet (I believe...) works with your glycemic index to help lose weight, and might be a good place to start for any diabetic newbies out there who need help figuring out what to eat.

That's about it. OK, I'm really going now. Haley's little raspberries she's blowing tell me she's getting bored.

Me: 1; Diabetes: 0

    As many of you don't know, I was a gestational diabetic while I was pregnant with Haley. For anyone out there who was as well, you know how terrible it is to crave peanut butter ice cream and NOT eat the entire pint (yeah it's bad). Well, I don't know how things work up here in NJ, but in SC where I lived when I was pregnant, if you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you have to go to a few diabetes ed. classes. There, I learned that you have a decent chance of developing type 2 diabetes if you don't lose your baby weight (also depending on your pre-disposition to getting it in the first place), which is an additional reason why I am so bent on losing weight. WELL… looks like I MAY have been a little late.

    I recently took my blood sugar, something I have done intermittently since delivering, and got an abnormally high reading (uh-oh!). Since then, I have been monitoring my blood sugar and it appears to me that I have (hopefully) pre-diabetes (as opposed to full-fledged type 2). Big deal? Well, kind of. Devastated? Eh, sort of. Defeated? Absolutely not! Although I am thoroughly disappointed (helloooo, I LOVE to bake!), I am deciding to take a positive approach.

    Essentially, good eating habits for diabetics means almost no carbs (boooo!). The good side? Well a low carb, high protein diet combined with my new (and effective!) work-out routine means hello wedding weight loss! ALSO, coming to terms with my lifestyle change (not diet) will mean that I will, hopefully, maintain to good weight for the rest of my life. Now, just hope I keep this positive outlook. On the more honest side, it is bad, and I'm hoping that I have only pre-diabetes and that with diet and exercise I can treat it.

    So, how do you know if you are at risk? Well you can click here to look at common risk factors. Also, feel free to browse the website for more information! I am promoting Diabetes awareness, since I am very thankful that I became aware of my possible condition very early. As long as diabetes is caught early and addressed properly from the beginning, the effects will be minimal.

    I will be going to the doctor's tomorrow morning for a general check-up and to have blood tests ordered to confirm my suspicions. Hopefully everything will work out for the best, I think it will. I promise to keep this updated as soon as I find out what's really going on. The hardest part will be keeping to the diet. I am already quickly learning what I should and should not eat based on my readings after meals. Interested? Click here for a chart on glucose levels. (my highest this week: 216, lowest: 98)

    I know that I am not the only person on earth with diabetes.

United States


In 2005, people with diabetes were estimated to account for 7% of the US population, or approximately 20.8 million people.Rates of diabetes are increasing worldwide. At least 171 million people currently have diabetes, and this figure is likely to more than double to 366 million by 2030. The top 10 countries, in numbers of people with diabetes, are currently India, China, the United States, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Brazil, Italy, and Bangladesh. The greatest percentage increase in rates of diabetes will occur in Africa over the next 20 years. However, at least 80% of people in Africa with diabetes are undiagnosed, and many in their 30s to 60s will die from diabetes there. Of these 20.8 million people, 14.6 million have a diagnosis of diabetes, and diabetes is undiagnosed in another 6.2 million. Approximately 5-10% have type 1 diabetes, 90-95% have type 2 diabetes, and 1-5% have other types. Additionally, an estimated 54 million people have pre-diabetes.

Pre-diabetes, as defined by the American Diabetes Association, is that state in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. It is presumed that most persons with elevated glucose levels approaching the level needed for the diagnosis of diabetes will subsequently progress to diabetes.

(source: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/766143-overview)

     So, I have decided to post a few links for recipie websites/ recipies that I am particularly interested in trying. Hope you enjoy! (anyone out there with some others to offer, please pass them along!)

• All Recipes
• Diabetic Recipes
• Angel hair with spicy shrimp!
• Baked Chicken Parm

     Well, until next time everyone! Happy momming!

    

Confession: I'll Take my Juice To Go, Please.

     So we're rounding the corner of eight months into mommydom. As many of you with kids know, this is where this starts to get fun. Well yes, Haley is trying to crawl, and as of the other day, walk too. She tries to talk and make words, she said "Bob Bob" the other day when asked if she wanted to see SpongeBob, as well as tried to say "Yeah" in reply to me saying "oh yeah?" to her. Also, "Baba" is officially her first word. Cute? Of course.

     Let me get into the not-so-cute part of this new régime: the screaming in objection. Part of growing up is knowing what you want; I get that (really, I do.) But, and here's the big one, this screaming when she's not getting what she wants thing, well it just has to go. Now go ahead, veteran moms, laugh it up, but my sanity is on the line here, people!

     The other day, I decided I deserved a shower, I mean, I DID clean all day and yadda, yadda, yadda. So I continue on to put Haley's jumperoo is the doorway to the bathroom with a toy, cookie, and her apple juice a la Sippy cup (same as every other day I take a shower). Well as soon as I get in the shower, the screaming starts. So I poke my head out, and she laughs. OK, another disaster averted. No, no. The screaming continues the second I step back into the shower and am out of sight. Well, by now, I am thoroughly aggravated with the situation and decide that a shower doesn't take that long, and this is just one of those times where she'll just have to cry it out. Again, no.

     While in the shower, my wonderful daughter throws such a fit that she is screaming and crying, slumped over in her jumperoo, and looking rather pathetic. By now, I'm trying to rinse conditioner out of my hair and I hear her throw up. Yes, that's right, she threw such a fit that she made herself sick. I heard this and furiously get out of the shower, conditioner and everything, clean up her face, and offer some juice to my now, semi-calm kid. I offer juice again and again, and after being metaphorically told to shove it, in a fit of rage, I threw the juice cup into the other room, stomp to the kitchen covered in soap and my towel, try to make her a bottle only to see that there are no clean bottles, and no more filtered water. By this point, I call my aunt (conveniently right up the street) crying and yelling some incoherent rant about dirty bottles and filthy water and my soapy, wet, towel laden self in my kitchen. Luckily, she offered some reprieve.

     This, folks, was probably the first time in a long time that I really lost my cool with her, usually I have a lot more patience, I just really needed 10 minutes to take a shower (preferably in peace). Needless to say, moms, throwing juice is never the answer! Actually it adds to the chaos because now you have juice to clean up. THINK BEFORE YOU THROW!

     And that's about all I have to say for now. Happy momming!

The Intimate Side of Smithville, NJ

     Mike and I decided that since he was off and today is a beautiful day, we would pack Haley up and take a nice day trip to Smithville (only about 40 minutes from here). I knew that there were lots of nice shopes there and that the town was beautiful and historic, but I had no idea what sort of treasures were waiting in this quaint little town.

     Towards the end of the shopping area, tucked inside the "resturaunt district", is a shop called The Pink Corset, run by a wonderful woman named Pesia Romeo (you can read more about her and her shop here). Walking up to the store, I could see that this place had every woman in mind. Carrying a wide array of sizes (yes, even the odd ones), I never once felt discouraged while shopping here. Being shall I say, well endowed, I usually have a difficult time finding any sort of undergarment that fits me well and isn't black, tan, or white.

     Here are a few of the services and items offered at The Pink Corset:

• Proper fitting for bras (yes, my new bra fits better than any other!)
• Bridal make-overs (haven't tried it, but I would certainly trust Pesia, she hasn't steered me wrong!)
• Elle MacPherson bras and lingerie (I bought her cupcake bra!)
• Anita bras (very comfy, I own one already.)
• Bridal lingerie (hello honeymoon!)
• Nursing bras (helloooo mommies!!)
• Bras and lingerie in all sizes! (I mean all sizes, I'm a 36DD - 36E and I found more than one fitting, nice looking bra!)

     I highly reccommend this store to anyone, big or tall, large or small. Pesia will fit you properly and get you in the right direction, all while providing great customer service as well as a wonderful selection! Located right near the corner of Old New York Rd and Rte.9, near the Smithville Inn in Galloway Twp, NJ. (for a map, click here!)




This is Pesia Roman, owner: The Pink Corset

This is the shop located in Smithville

Unplugged.

     Ok, Ok, so I haven't posted anything in a while. Well, I have half an excuse. My charger for my laptop died and left me stranded in my house (now, plus 1 dog) computerless. Well, while leaving the bagel place after breakfast the other day, Mike turns to me and says "let's go buy a computer.", and with that we were off to Best Buy. Like, that was all there was to it? Really? Ok, I guess. So, we get this nice desktop at a good price, come home, I set it up, and we were good to go. Well my mother in law (to be) has been visiting for a few days and the computer lives in my guest room now, so you can guess how that went. Other than that, I have been putzing around and not really sitting on here too much, therefore, not writing anything. This, I'm sure, will change of course, once my replacement laptop charger comes in the mail and my computer in the living room (where I park my big behind) is running again. So there.

     So, I have been begging Mike to let me join a gym. His side of the $150.00 fence is that he doesn't really think I'll use it. He's probably right, but I would never tell him that. Well in lieu of the gym membership, he bought me a stair stepper/core worker-outer (I don't really know what it's called), and the thing came with 2 and 3 pound weights. Well, I actually started using it, and this thing's great! Since I started using it, I can really see results. It seems like working out is, well working out, much better for me than dieting. I don't do well with portion control (I love me some food!).

     Also, since it actually went over 50 degrees today, I took my little one for a nice walk... which ended up to be 2.6 miles. Yeah, apparently, I'm a worse judge of distance than I realized. But, I do have to say that I felt great by the time I got home. I am certainly suggsting to anyone who is on a weight loss kick like me to get either a gym membership or some sort of exercise machine like I did. Check out Overstock, that's where we got mine. The thing itself was only $80.00 and their shipping is always $2.95, no matter what you order.

     Anyway, that's really all I have to say right now, I think the couch is calling my name. It about that time where I relax with my 8,000 HBO channels and whatever else I get from Comcast and maybe catch a few zzz's until Mike gets home from work (I always have been a fan of pre-bedtime naps). Until next time!