Happy New Year- 2014 Goals

Better late than never! As I look back over 2013, I have accomplished and experienced so much! Looking forward to everything 2014 will bring. There are many challenges ahead that I've been able to mentally prepare myself for such as the baby and my husband taking on a new career (yes all at once, bring it on 2014!). There will also be many surprises as life always brings, bracing myself for a big year of change!

My goals this year primarily revolve around healthy habits (isn't that always the theme though!):

• I've enjoyed having practically non-diabetic blood sugars during pregnancy. I don't expect to keep them quite as rigid, but certainly close to it! 
• I've decided to make clean eating a priority. I've been doing a lot of online reading on eating clean and talking to my husband about meal plans. We created a grocery list and meal idea list to keep on our fridge. This will hopefully make grocery trips easier as well as being able to quickly think of healthy meals for dinner.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I look forward to getting back to a great fitness routine. I expect it to be a challenge with the new baby.  Since being in shape for me is 80% nutrition and only 20% exercise, when it comes to prioritizing if I only have time to prepare clean meals I will be doing that over working out. This will be hard for me because I can be a little addicted to my workouts.
• Speaking of that new baby. Sleep is my other priority. Getting as much of it as possible, even when it's impossible!
• More stretching and yoga to sleep better and feel better.
• Drink a gallon of water a day.
• Play. I told my husband that we have to make sure we continue to be active with our baby. Keep climbing, surfing, hiking, traveling and adventuring!
• I made a calendar and goal list to help me keep track of clean eating, workouts, and when I've had a "cheat meal".
  

The big picture goal is to take great care of myself so I can be the best mother and wife to my boys!! I'm nervous excited for the changes coming in 2014!! Trying to enjoy the calm before the beautiful chaos.

Sweet Stuff

We've had a plethora of things to be thankful for lately as we prepare for a newborn!

1. Beautiful Christmas celebrations with friends and family. 

2. It was the sick taking care of the sick in our home for a little while. My husband had a cold for a week after Christmas. Then one day I was having headaches and dizzy spells. I was suppose to make him soup that day but was in bed myself, so he made it! Here he is checking my blood pressure. Checking at home as helped ease off worries of if I'm developing pre-eclampsia. My blood pressure was fine and I eventually slept off my symptoms.

3. We were both feeling better just in time to go to the beach! A nice little romantic night away in Carmel, CA. The "zen" hotel had bamboo fountains in the rooms, outdoor fire pits, and chocolate strawberries by the bed. It was a lovely mini-vacation for my husband and I to connect before baby arrives! The Carmel beach was the warmest it's ever been when we've visited and walking along it made winter feel very distant!

 

4. Baby Showers with my preschool co-workers and one with my family. My co-workers are phenomenal and had the cutest Dr. Suess baby shower for me. My family and close friends threw me a nautical themed shower. Max and I are completely spoiled. We are beyond bless by the family and friends we have in our life.

Nursery Decor

Our nursery is ready and awaiting baby! I'll be the first to admit decorating does not come naturally to me. I had to rely on friends and Pinterest to keep me from totally ruining this room. It developed into a traveler/nautical theme.  I started with a color scheme more than anything and a budget. I kept it simple and hope to add pieces over time, including a rug eventually! I wish it had a decorators touch, but given my skill level it's good enough! (The paint on the wall is Benjamin Moore Bleeker Biege.)

• Graco Stanton Crib: $150.00 (ours happened to include a free mattress)
• Crib Sheet: The red one is a hand-me-down. I also have a blue one and a white one with blue ships ($14 Buy Buy Baby). My husband doesn't love the bold pop of red, it surprises me that I do!
• National Geographic Map: $25.00. A map was the first thing we agreed we wanted in the room. My husband was debating map type (political, geographical, etc.), while I just cared about it having mostly neutral color tones. We saw this one in my dietician's office and both left the appointment only wanting to talk about "that map". We'd also both memorized the label on it and I found it on National Geographic's website later. You have to sign up as a member to browse and purchase, which is free.

• Lazy Boy Recliner: Free. My dad's hand-me-down. We've had it for almost 5 years now and every time we move my husband wants to get rid of it! I think it's super comfy and have refused to let him! It reclines and rocks. Made it a little prettier with a $14.00 throw pillow from Marshall's. (Now that it'll be a rocking chair my husband loves it as much as I do, just didn't love how much space it took up in our living room)
• Side Table/Nursing supplies station: $60.00 TJ Maxx Home Goods. I wanted a table I could store nursing supplies like burp clothes, creams, nursing covers, and low blood sugar snacks. I've been told lows are common after nursing and I don't want to have to get up to get something! I had all the drawers filled with baby stuff and a spot for "my" things. While giving my husband a tour of how I'd organized the room he looked at the side table and said, "What about me?". I felt awful and immediately cleaned out the bottom drawer for "dad" supplies. I don't know what that'll be, but he's right, whether he will be feeding our little one in that spot or just rocking baby and bonding he needs a place to keep his things too!!
• Tug Boat Piggy Bank: $17.00 Petroglyph Ceramic Studio. I painted this while on a fun outing with my cousins and sister-in-law!

• Nautical Themed Quotes: $24 and $10.00 on Amazon.com. I also got the frames on Amazon for $20.00 each. 
• Lamps: $40.00 each from Lowe's.  
• Dresser: $130.00 Amazon
• Closet Organizer and Shelves: Bought these at Orchard Hardware Supply with a 20% off coupon and I think the total was around $100.00.
• Map name letters: Each letter was $2.50 at Michael's, I used mod podge, and printed maps off the internet. I followed the model provided here: http://jaxdoesdesign.blogspot.com/2013/06/diy-maritime-map-letters.html

• Changing table and changing pad: Handed down to me from a co-worker. We already had the baskets and received the changing pad cover off our registry. It is blue with anchors and probably way too nice for diaper changing! Love that it fits nicely in our spare bath! Between the fan, diaper genie, and a Scentsy we hope to minimize any unwanted odors.
• Rock n' play bassinet was also a hand me down!
• Globe: $15 TJ Maxx Home Goods
  

Entire nursery furniture and decor budget around $700.00!

Sweet Stuff

A fellow teacher and I took two students to California's Great America this week. We had as much fun as the kids! We were so proud of their behavior and our own ability to keep up. We had a healthy lunch at the car and got plenty of walking done. Had we known that it included a miniature waterpark we would have also done plenty of swimming! Now we just need to go back!!

A Monarch butterfly let me get very close to her!

Hansen's Junior Water Organic- I've been running my blood sugar tighter lately and this stuff is perfect for the lows! 8 grams of quick carbs! My other go-to low blood sugar snacks include natural fruit strips!

Sweet Stuff: May 31st

Last week I was fortunate to make it to a family party on the beach. Bonfires, pizza, and a beautiful sunset! It also happened to be mid-week, which always feels like a grand escape!

Found out that frozen yogurt cups fit perfectly in my cup holders. Dangerous knowledge. 

My 5am workouts have continued! Most days at least. My friend has been inspiring me to get up and go. Apparently it's making us think alike because twice now we've been dressed practically the same. Twins at the gym and completely unplanned of course!! 

We make quite a pair in the morning locker room!

To all my friends near and far (and my closest friend, my husband!): "You can always tell when two people are good friends because they're always having way more fun than it makes sense for them to be having"...this goes for family too! Happy Friday!

Sweet Stuff

I've been sick this week with a nasty head cold and sinus infection. Took Monday off of work to hang out in bed with lots of DayQuil! On the positive side:

1. I ordered a new pump clip! My last one is 5 years old now. After my insulin pump broke and I needed a replacement, I've been paranoid of other things breaking! I use my clip almost everyday and lately it has been feeling a little flimsy.  Now I have a new pretty clear one!

2. I've woke up at 5am for the last 4 days to go to the gym. Working out with a friend and texting each other in the mornings has been seriously the best! I have always had better blood sugars all day if I start my day with exercise. Exercising in the evenings is usually easier, but I have a harder time sleeping and am more prone to overnight lows. 
 
My friend recently heard that working in the mornings means you burn more calories overall! Makes sense to me, my blood sugars are better when my metabolism is higher! Win-win all around. However, as you can see I'm not super excited to be up at 5am. 


3. It has been 4 years since we rescued our baby Luka!! Always a puppy.


 

4. The administrators at my school have been bringing us breakfast for the last two weeks because of the state testing going on. Waffles, egg dishes, tortilla casserole, sausages, yogurt, boiled eggs, fruit, and coffee. Seriously feeling spoiled and going to miss it!


 



5. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! I am blessed to be surrounded by amazing moms, grandmas, mother-in-love, foster moms, stepmoms, and even aunties!!!

And MY MOM!!! Happy Mother's Day!! Found this cute picture my mom took of us in a photo booth when I was scanning pictures this summer. I just love it!! Love her!

Sweet Stuff: Eugene Half Marathon

I flew to Portland this past weekend and drove to Eugene in order to visit some college friends! Ran my first half marathon (13.1 miles!) last weekend! For the record, this was not my idea. This was my college roommate's idea and the "purpose" of our trip. Which was really to just see friends and eat at our favorite restaurants. It was successful in that we more than made up for the calories burned during the half marathon. 

Some highlights:
1. Traveling. This was my most productive airport experience ever. I discovered that the San Jose Airport has a meditation room, yet I skipped it and splurged for a massage chair and margarita instead. 
2. My bag of cucumbers at the dinner table. I had no time to spend in Portland so my mom and brother met me at the airport for dinner. I didn't want to carb load on chips with my dip so I ordered a side of jicama and pulled out the cucumber snack I had packed instead. (This was after eating chocolate on the airplane of course). I spend my carbs like I spend my money, get the most out of it! So.... chocolate>chips!
3. Arrived in Eugene and greeted by the adorable "Wadsworth"!! The pet of the amazing friends who hosted us in Eugene!    

 

4. We went to Florence for the day, a coastal town. It was amazing weather for Oregon spring. The beach was actually warm!!

5. We enjoyed a small jaunt down to the coast called "Hobbit's Trail" and played some frisbee on the beach. I cannot throw a frisbee, but it was still awesome.

6. Dutch Bros Chai Latte! It says "I missed you". I missed you too, Soy Chai latte!

7. With friends along the river.

8. My training for the half marathon was exhausting and I was discouraged, but turns out I must have done it right because I beat my goal time. I still came in last of my group of friends though. However, they've all run half marathons before so I had that excuse to make me feel better.

9. My friend Erin was doing the race as well and joined me. Since she has done this BUNCHES she basically paced me the whole way, I would not have finished nearly as quickly on my own!

 

10. The hosts of the weekend ready for the race!! 7am and bright-eyed!

11. Puddles was there for photo-ops! I flew to Portland, drove to Eugene, and ran 13 miles....picture with the Oregon Duck? Um YEA!!

The whole trip was a fabulous escape, so thankful for such great friends and company!

Diabetes note: I was very careful with my blood sugars during training and the race. I run with a Camelback backpack which holds: water, blood sugar meter, back-up sugar, emergency glucagon shot, Dexcom CGM clipped on where I can constantly look at it, and I keep my insulin pump on. I reduce the rate of my pump usually before exercise, sometimes more during, and remove it if I know I can after much trial and error. I check my patterns using the Dexcom and check my blood sugar at least once during a long workout or if I feel low. During the race I ate a fruit strip, piece of banana, and drank one of the cups of gatorade they hand you to keep blood sugars stable. 

Sweet Stuff

Some of my favorite things from this week:

 

A good friend went to Hawaii last month and neglected to take me with her, but she brought back the BEST margarita salt a girl could dream about! The salt makes the margarita! I make "skinny" margaritas also known as "real margaritas". NO sweet and sour mix/sugar/junk. Just FRESH lime juice, tequila, and Cointreau blended or on the rocks. Deadly. Delicious. Low sugar.

 

Oh you know, just putting away laundry and finding a full insulin reservoir in my sock drawer. This happens to everyone right? 

 

My Dexcom being awesome and alerting me to a low. I have always thought I've been very good at feeling lows early and feeling myself drop. So far this week though Dexcom 3 Sarah 0, as in the Dexcom has caught 3 lows this week before me. Today it's been a little off, but most days obviously very accurate. Scary accurate. 

Thank goodness for OtterBox, because I'm a clumsy speech language pathologist. I drop the iPad more than the kids! That says a lot considering most of my caseload is 5 years old or younger. Also, notice my spooky dark office. Power outage for over an hour at work! Johnny also stopped by my office that morning as a nice surprise (when we had power). He was in his Paramedic uniform so I had my students talk about different occupations and ask him questions. When he stood up to leave a few of them freaked out with how tall he was, 6'2" by the way.

Students: "How can you be that tall? How old are you?"
Johnny: "How old do you think I am?"
Students: "41.....no wait 44!"
Johnny: "I'm 27"
Students: "You CAN'T be that tall at 27!, You gotta be at least 41!!"

This was hysterical, it made the day for both of us!!

 

My favorite things. Oh and a new car, no more stranded smoking engine for me! I'll miss my '96 Camry, but we are a clunker free home now and adjusting just fine.

Sweet Stuff

Highlights over this week. 

Getting nails done with the family. Bright spring colors!

    

New shoes from Target! I love the white lace look, but cleaning them is going to be an adventure!! I saw a lace version of Tom's last year and loved them. These were cheaper and actually I think they are even more comfortable. I might buy another pair in a different style they are so comfy! I was so excited about these I went to 3 different Targets before I found my size, and the last pair left. Love it when that happens!

 

My longest run ever. I definitely walked the last part. Eugene Half Marathon here I come!!

 

The Chihuly sculpture at my medical office. I lingered for awhile, love it when health places have nice decor like this! Love Chihuly! 

 

Low Carb Miso Ramen I made for dinner this week. Miso broth, low carb Shirataki noodles, carrots, kale, cucumber, onion, garlic, and topped off with a hard boiled egg! Yum!

Sweet Stuff: Cars and Zombie Apocalypse

This week had as much bitter as it did sweet. Starting out with our local getaway canceled because of car issues. Our Camry went up in smoke while we stopped in San Francisco for some yummy brunch at Zazie's with some friends. Engine up in smoke as soon as we parked. Thankfully it turned out to just be steam! Kinda scary.

We were fortunate to be surrounded by lots of helpful and wonderful people in Cole Valley. We made it back home safely and full of gratitude.

Car shopping then became the agenda as well as discussing our next little getaway since we will be needing it even more now than before. Although it put a damper on my spring break, much less stress than if it had happened during the work week!!! It also meant we got to spend a lot of time with family locally this week. We had dropped our dog off with them and she was having the time of her life. We hung out there a few times this week and also had the time of our life with family. It was worth coming home and remembering to make the little things priority too. 

After pouring over computers and spreadsheets neurotically, I dragged my husband out for some hiking/trail running. We talked cars a bit, but we were also able to take in the fresh air and relaxing surroundings! At one point after some great conversation we were both silently walking side by side. 

Reading my husband's mind I said, "We are both quiet because we are both thinking about cars right now" He responded, "Yes, and the difference between what we are thinking right now is that you are debating which cars will better fit dogs, groceries, and future children....whereas I'm more concerned about which car will be able to go further on one tank of gas when the zombie apocalypse occurs and there is no gasoline left." Hysterically true. Love him so much!  

That weird thing I'm holding onto I fondly refer to as a "bumbag" aka a fanny pack for my type 1 diabetes plethora of goods. I'm trialling this bag and probably going to stick with a backpack Camelback.

Sweet Stuff

It's Friday and no better time like reflecting on the highlights from the week and embracing another well deserved weekend!

1. I had an amazing Easter with my husband's family (sans my working husband). Full of good Filipino food (hello lumpia!) and the best family! I had so much fun I completely forgot to take any photos so hopefully Aunt Ev doesn't mind that I stole one of hers. 

2. Easter also came with it's type 1 diabetes mayhem. My 5 year old insulin pump broke. It got a little wet during a morning run because my Camelback leaked on it. Thankfully it was working up until dessert. Then I became quite the entertainment for a few minutes with my alarming insulin pump. My pump company has the most awesome customer service. One great phone call and two days later, replacement pump in my hands! Thank you Kenya from Medtronic! Also, I didn't mind a few days doing the insulin shot thing. It was a nice reminder that switching back and forth is not so hard. 

3. The pump broke just in time for my new Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to get here. I was able to learn how to start using with only the tutorial videos and my paramedic husband supervising. I watched TONS of youtube videos including this cutie: Superhero CGM. In case you don't know, this amazing piece of technology measures my blood sugars from the tissue under my skin and sends the information to a receiver I carry with me. The receiver graphs the blood glucose trends. I can see if my blood sugar is rising, falling, or stable. I can track changes and make well informed adjustments.  

In the picture below, it shows a low blood sugar in the red zone in the middle of the night. The receiver's alarm woke me up and I treated the low with carbs. However, you can also see that I actually over-treated the low and immediately had a high blood sugar right after. I would not have woken up so soon for the low or had known that I'd over-treated it because my blood sugar was back to normal in the morning! Just awesome. Maybe a whole post on this life changer in the future, but if you're curious now learn what CGM is here or visit Dexcom's website.

4. Found the best almond butter brand at Whole Foods this week. I don't care for almond butter by itself because it is usually chunky and tastes bland to me. I usually just use almond butter in baking recipes and put it in smoothies. However, this stuff I could eat by the spoonful. Hoping this "Barney Butter" will help wean me off of my peanut butter addiction. Unfortunately it costs almost twice as much as regular almond or peanut butter. I find this brand to be much more satisfying and therefore I haven't been tempted to eat the entire jar or even half as much of it as I normally would. Hoping it slows down my consumption enough to be worth the cost!  

5. Last and best of all, not only is it Friday, it's SPRING BREAK!! Looking forward to relaxing and soaking in some good weather. Waiting patiently this favorite California flower to start blooming, Lily of the Nile. They look like giant dandelions/pom poms. 

Blogging Round 3!

Giving the blog another chance! Looking forward to sharing thoughts on speech pathology, type 1 diabetes, healthy recipes, and all other adventures!!

Thanks to many friends for inspiring me to get back to writing. Especially a special quick visit from Erin!!

We had a wonderful Tuesday night together this last week when she needed to be in the area for work. The adventure started with picking her up and making great time into San Francisco! 

A walk along the Marina, through the Palace of Fine Arts, and off to dinner at DeLaRosa! Complete with Gelato for dessert, well earned with all our walking!