The One with the Diabetes Sisters Conference

I went to a conference this weekend with Diabetes Sisters, a non-profit that works with women with diabetes.  I came across it accidentally, and it sounded pretty awesome, so on a whim, I signed up.  I also signed D up for a new program they did called Partner's Perspective, which was for the boyfriends/fiances/husbands of the women with the 'betes.

It was epic in its epicness.  I have not, since my days of diabetes camp, been in the same room with so many people with malfunctioning pancreases (pancreaii?).

Friday night, we got checked in and did "networking activities," which closely resembled "speed dating," and where we discovered that there were people there from 20 states (as far away as California and Washington) and also Canada, and then afterward, a bunch of people went to the hotel bar, where there was space reserved. 

Since I'd never been to a bar with diabetic people, I waited to see if they were going to be Good Diabetics and just order a Diet Coke, or if they'd be bad normal diabetics and get a drink.  Luckily, we were all normal diabetics there, and had a couple drinks.  (D did come to my table with a low-sugar drink for me, which was awesome -- it was a less sugary margarita, and it was awesome.)

Saturday, the conference started bright and early with yoga and zumba which I skipped, because 7 a.m. is too early for yoga and zumba.  Then we had a full day of sessions about diabetes, living with diabetes, pregnancy and diabetes, eating and diabetes. . .all diabetes-related stuff that will obviously be useful for. . .ever.

A group of four of us skipped out on the last sessions of the day and went out to downtown Raleigh's Artsposure!  Neither of the two sessions really applied to me, so I decided to be sociable (surprising, right?) and it was actually a really good time, walking around and checking out the art and weirdness.

(If you wonder, and I know you do, the two sessions I had to choose from were "Is CGM right for me?" and "Is it time to start on insulin?"  I don't really have an interest in CGM until the new version of my pump comes out and I've been on insulin since I was 4, so neither one really applied.  I'm guessing that the insulin one was mainly for the Type 2's that were there, so it definitely didn't really apply.)

Saturday night, we had a dinner and recognition ceremony where we were all given little picture frames with a group picture in it and it was announced how long we'd all been living with the 'betes, and then it was back to the bar.

Sunday morning, we had a 1-mile walk-a-thon around downtown Raleigh, and then breakfast and two more sessions (I went to the exercise one and the one about sex and diabetes.)

It was an awesome time, because I felt like. . .I don't KNOW anyone else with Type 1 diabetes, except the people I went to summer camp with, and we aren't friends anymore.  It's lonely, really lonely to have support from people on the outside (D is literally the greatest husband I could have asked for, in all aspects, but especially when it comes to supporting me and my damn brokwn pancreas.) but if someone doesn't literally know what you're talking about, if they don't do it themselves every day, there's just no way to know.

I made some great acquaintences that I hope to turn into friends, and I'm definitely going to take part next year.

D also told me that he learned a lot from his sessions, and that it was good for him getting the perspective of other husbands who have had to deal with this crap. . .because it's not just the diabetic that has to deal with it.  It's the people around them, too.

So thanks, Diabetes Sisters, for a a full, awesome, learning weekend.

The One With a Picture

It's Saturday. It's Saturday and I'm working and don't have any interesting stories, but I do have a picture I found on my phone.

Here it is. Take that, hipsters!

The One Where I'm Late with Friday

I've had an awesome weekend and due to this, I have not yet posted my newest FFwD. I'll do my best to get to that tomorrow. I'm sure you all understand.

I hope everyone's been having an awesome weekend and has been spending time with people they love like I've been doing!

The One With My Birthday

Saturday was my birthday. It was also the JDRF Walk-a-thon. We got up. . .7-ish and then promptly went back to sleep. Got up again about 8:15. Registration started at 8 and the actual walk didn't start until 10:30, so we weren't late or anything. By the time we got there, the crowd had died down a bit, and registration didn't take long.

Apparently, there were about 7,000 people there. I, personally, didn't reach the goal I'd set for donations, but with that many people, I'd be willing to bet the foundation made quite a bit of money.

We walked 2 miles, with music along the way, and then were provided Jersey Mike's for lunch. The weather? Perfect. All in all, an awesome event. I also saw one of my teachers from high school who had a baby like a month ago. Cutest. Baby. EVER!

We then went home and rested briefly before going to Mom's house to have dinner with the fam. we went downtown to Hi5. Everything on the menu is $5, so it's a good place if you don't have a ton to spend. Mom and Johnny had never been there before, Katie was the one who introduced me to it, and D and I used to go weekly, at least. (Before the, you know, no money thing happened.)

After dinner, it was back to Mom's. She hadn't taken her daily walk yet, so we waited for her (Read: we took naps) until she got back. And then it was time for cake.

Let me tell you about this cake. You know how I make a lot of cakes, right? How baking is kind of my thing? For my birthday, D made me this cake that blew me and everyone else away. Check it out:

Holy crap, you guys. It's a cake! And a stack of books! How effing awesome is that? He made the entire thing from scratch (except, you know, a cake mix.) Made the fondant, built it so it stayed. . .and it was delicious. So awesome, awesome, AWESOME cake.

Then, presents! Money from the parentals, and Katie gave me these:

She made that plate. Or, designed it.

Also, D gave me a kitchen apron that I can't seem to get a good picture of. . .it's black, and has a little V-neck and is pinstriped. I'm sure it will be making an appearance in future posts.

After we left Mom's, we stopped by Dad's to give him a book of cake and to hang out for a while. It was during this time that we watched the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" version of Glee. I've never seen RHPS, but I've had songs from it stuck in my head SINCE Saturday. ("Toucha, Toucha, Toucha, Touch Me," "Dammit, Janet," and the Time Warp song are the ones that have been stuck there.) I've heard from many people that they didn't like the episode because of the "sanitized" changes that were made to lyrics, but having never seen the show, none of it bothered me.

Since then, I've had a Lady Doctor appointment (thanks to an irregular Pap) that has set me back $500 that's going to take me 20 years to pay off. (Thanks, no insurance.) And I still love my job.

Also, I've prepared a whole chicken for the first time. It was horrifying, but if I tell you anymore, it'll ruin this week's French Friday entry.

Oh! And I'm also taking part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the point of which is to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. I'm up to speed so far, but it's only day 3. We'll see.

The One Where There's Another Picture

List

Day 11 -- a photo of you taken recently

Can I cheat a little and use one of both D and me? There's one that was taken at the wedding we went to this weekend that I'd like to use, but I don't know how long it'll take for pictures to get processed and whatever. So here you go.

This was taken really recently. Like, yesterday. So that's pretty much what I look like. My glasses are a little off balance. D is also sporting his haircut, which his mom had given him, like, an hour prior.

So there was a wedding this weekend. My friend Carol got married, and it was. . .hands down, the most awesome wedding I've ever been to. Legitimately, I've been to. . .several weddings in the last 5 years or so, but no other couple looked as happy and as good together as Carol and Matt did.

I started this hours ago and am getting ready to head out. I'll talk about the wedding more later. I promise.

The One With Passive-Aggression and Crazy Brides

I'd like to start out with one of those really, really passive-aggressive things that I hate when people do, because I'm naturally nosy and want to know what they're talking about, but I'm going to do it anyway.

For the person who is taking my (locked) Twitter updates and passing them along to person or persons who are part of the REASON they're locked updates, I've figured out who you are. I'm not going to call you out specifically, but I want you to know that you really need better things to do with your life than try to cause drama. I know you live in a small town, and there's not a lot to do, but I suggest you find a hobby, rather than trying to get into something that, quite frankly, has nothing to do with you. I'd also like to thank you for keeping my updates in check. God forbid I say anything too personal, or say anything about wedding plans, because I know that you're going to run straight to the person or persons in question and talk about it/me/etc. So, have fun continuing to think you're getting one up on me. But let me tell you: I don't put anything out there that I expect to be super-secret or anything like that. It's just a shame that you're trying to put a damper on my fun. That just tells me you need more fun of your own.

That being said? Let's continue.

It's been over a month since last time, and life has continued rolling on. I'm working two jobs now, and as a result, I suspect I'm beginning to feel. . .if not my own age, then someone else's much older than me. I've legitimately become one of those people that looks at the clock at about 9:30 p.m. and wonders if it's too early to go to bed. (Answer: Generally, yes. But sometimes no.)

I'm especially sore from this last weekend, because D and I pretended like we're outdoorsy people and DID things. (Well, OK. I pretended like I'm an outdoorsy person, and D just continued being as such.) We went to try out a place for wedding cakes Saturday (There's something for you, Gatherer of Information. Go run and tell people we looked at cake!), and, in addition, I got some new shoes for work, and. . .wow. It's Tuesday, and for the life of me, I can't remember what I did for the rest of Saturday. That's. . .sad, isn't it?

Sunday, D and I played tennis (in 90 degree heat) and then went to the pool briefly (due to the aforementioned 90 degree heat), although I didn't get all the way in because it was freaking cold. Aren't most pools closed until Memorial Day? That's probably why. The freaking cold.

Then I went to work. Then I took a nap. Then we took a 4,000 (or 4) mile walk. Then I collapsed from exhaustion.

Now, a couple of weeks back, we went to this bridal expo that came through. We went because, even though I don't actually buy into the whole thing of the big, fancy dresses and the overpriced flowers and the food at $20 a person, it seemed like something that would be fun.

Let me tell you something. About 85% of the brides there? C-R-A-Z-Y. Some of them were there in big, scary groups. Some of them were there with miserable-looking fiances. Some of them were there with their moms, yelling things like, "OH MY GOD LOOK AT THIS IS I DON'T GET THIS FLORIST I'M GOING TO LITERALLY DIE AND OH MY GOD LOOK AT THIS DRESS I NEED IT I NEED IT I NEED IT!!!"

Legit. Frightening.

It was fun, though. Samples of things, people giving me things. All the makings of a good day. If I could have all that, without the crazy, crazy brides-to-be, it would have been even better.

The further I get into this whole planning process, the less sense it makes to me. I mean. . .I understand the day being special and all that. . .but why would you want to spend your life savings for one day? Why would you boss people around and bully people and have to have everything JUST SO for one day? A long time ago (maybe a year ago) I told one of my friends' mothers that I'd be OK just going to Vegas and getting married. She didn't believe me. For some reason, she was under the impression that I had to have all the pomp and circumstance surrounding one of these things.

The fact of the matter is, I want to have a party. I want to wear the white dress (mainly because I already have one picked out that I would wear to work if I could, but people might look at me funny). But. . .that's about it. I only marginally care about the rest of the "wedding day." Because I think that what most people (and probably a good percentage of the girls at that bridal show) [the first time, I typed "bridal ho" and the second time, I typed "bridal shoe"] forget is that it's one. Day. You have to spend the rest of your life (in theory) with whomever you marry, and it's not going to matter if your dress is coordinated with the ribbons you tied around the doves' necks, which are coordinated with your bridesmaids' shoes, which match the boxer shorts the groomsmen are wearing.

Plus, I don't care how many times you say "oh, yeah, you can wear this dress again!", bridesmaids' dresses are good for nothing other than being in a wedding, going to a prom, wearing as a Halloween costume, or giving to someone. And they're expensive.

So, I'm probably going to end up a giant hypocrite after all of that, but that's how I feel about it at the moment. And I will never think it's OK to spend as much as some people do on weddings.

I'm going to attempt to put up a poll on my blog. . .I had a conversation with my mother during which I did that thing I do where I don't think about things before I say them. I'd like to know opinions of people on the subject of Facebook Parenting.

Here's the sitch: I have this cousin who's, like, 14, 15. This cousin tends to run their mouth on facebook, using profanity I didn't know existed at 14, 15. Said cousin said something. . .especially ridiculous and parental-insulting and profanity-laden on facebook. Mom sees it, tells cousin's parent. Cousin's parent says, thank you, we did see it.

I (not so brightly) say, "You've become one of those people. Why people were so pissed when parents were allowed to join facebook."

(You can take this moment now to cringe.)

She says (not thrilled-ly) that she would want to know.

So what's your opinion? (Let's see if I can make polls work!)