Zodiac Signs are SO true!

As I flip through the Pinterest app on my iPhone every now and again I see quotes about being born under the zodiac sign of a Scorpio. I can't say that I read my horoscope every day, but whenever I get a free moment to read about traits of a Scorpio, I am thoroughly intrigued. Tonight I came across an article called, "11 Traits of a Scorpio Woman," among many other articles written about the passionate astronomical sign, and couldn't help but laugh and realize at the same time how incredibly true these traits thoroughly described my personality but also even parts of my relationship with diabetes.

Among some of the traits described, these ones really stood out to me ...

1. "Loyalty is in her blood." -- When I truly trust someone I am loyal to a fault. It has been a long hard road for both my family and me to trust each other about blood sugars and diabetes care, but I truly feel like we are there. I've also found an amazing medical staff whom I trust with my life and put my care in their hands. I trust that they will steer me in the right direction, feed me with information that will benefit my diabetes management, and trust me for being on track with my own day to day responsibilities. Without the trust and loyalty I have for these professionals, my diabetes management would not be where it is today.
2. "Independent" -- This has been obvious from day one. I have never felt like I needed someone to watch over me or take care of me, and that no matter what I've always had the strength to pull through, even in the hardest of times. Because of this strength and courage, I've had the ability to take care of myself, when I wouldn't let anyone else in. If you haven't noticed, I absolutely hate being told what to do, but hopefully when I really think things through it turns out to be the right decision.
3. "Determined and Indomitable" -- When I put my mind to something, nothing gets in the way. In everything in life, and even diabetes, when I make goals, I am determined to achieve them. A year ago I was told that to carry a healthy baby, my A1c test would have be below 7.0%. Three months later I had it at 6.3%. It took both minor and major changes to my diabetes care and mental health to get there, but I am happier than ever to have the strength to stay on track.
4. "Marvelous Memory" -- My husband would probably refute this, but with diabetes care this isn't something that can be forgotten. Staying on track with timing of insulin dosages and eating is an absolute must and my conscious brain is always calculating past, present, and future blood sugars, meals, and anything else that could effect blood sugars. I may not be able to remember what I wore to work yesterday or if my husband told me about his Tee Time on Saturday, but I can assure you that my blood sugars for the last 24 hours have been temporarily tattooed into my brain.
5. "Ambitious" -- In this day an age where Type 1 Diabetes care and management is on the cutting edge of technological advances and I am thankful for taking a leap of faith with the available technology for diabetics. Within the year that I started using both the continuous glucose monitor and wireless insulin pump, my A1c level went from over 7% to 6.3%. A typical non-diabetic usually has an A1c of less than 6% and last month I made a goal to get my A1c under that within the next year. This is truly a feat that is rare in the Type 1 diabetic community and ambitious to a "T." But like I said before, I am a goal setter and I like to set that bar high ... 5.9% and below, here I come! 

And here is just one of the many quotes about Scorpios that I read this evening that I couldn't help but share:

A Scorpio woman has her own mysterious personality. She is confident and deep down inside she is quite proud of herself. She hates to think she is borne a woman and so limiting her with a certain social acceptable rules. She is a real woman and despite her innocent and childish looks, she has a spirit of free soul. Many men will make mistake if they think she is a good follower, they are wrong.

A case of the Mondays

Today was one of THOSE mornings, when nothing, absolutely NOTHING could go right. We all have them. And for me, it always happens at the most in-opportune time. First off, it was Monday. Enough said. I was scheduled to travel to Los Angeles to provide trainings for two centers on early childhood curriculum. I of course lingered in bed, as always, because who wants to get out from under perfectly warm blankets? While showering, brushing my teeth, and eating my morning bowl of cheerios and milk my mind was trained on what outfit to wear and making sure I had all of my training materials. I absolutely could not show up 2 hours away, in Los Angeles, missing a single thing.

So I finally get out to my car and wouldn't you know, my new very smart car computer is beeping at me to check the tire pressure. COME ON!! Really?! After one frantic call to my husband, ("Do I really need to take care of this now?") and about 15 minutes of my patience wearing thin (I just couldn't stand the thought of watching this blinking light on my dashboard for the next two hours), I pulled into a gas station to take care of the tire situation. And yes, I pumped air into not one, but TWO tires wearing 3 inch heels and a super-cute black and white dress at 7 o'clock in the morning, all by myself. Go me!

As I made my way back on the freeway, music turned up high, I was finally ready to settle in to what I hoped to be a traffic-free drive to the USC campus in Los Angeles. BEEP ... BEEP .... BEEP. What now? I knew exactly what it was and almost had to laugh, if it wasn't for the panic that runs though my blood when my Dexcom meter is pretty much yelling at me, "Your blood sugar is low." I reach into my purse and sure enough my continuous glucose meter is all but flagging me down and being almost as obnoxious as my tire pressure warning. But unlike the tire alarm, this one isn't something I can ignore, even if I had the patience of a Saint.

Luckily my blood sugar wasn't too low, or anything 3 sugar tablets couldn't quickly fix. I mindfully watched the road and thanked my lucky stars for my Type-A personality that remembered to triple-check my diabetic supplies while making sure I had all of my training materials for the long-day ahead. When it rains, it pours right? As if I didn't have enough to think about this morning, it seems like the blood sugars always have to stop in to remind me, "Hey, we're still here and yes, you still have to be thinking about us!" Thank goodness for my Dexom alerts though, because times like today make it truly hard to stay in-tune with what my body is telling me 100% of the time.

On a good note, my trainings went well and I got a great compliment from my boss's boss. :-) I had just about forgotten all about my hectic morning when I finally had a chance to go to the bathroom at lunch only to look in the mirror and realize the worst of it all ... I had completely forgotten to put make up on this morning. :-/

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE! And thank you to all of our Veterans out there, past and present, who have served our great country.