Medtronic 530G with Enlite has been APPROVED! :)

   Hey guys! I haven't posted anything here in a long time but due to some new stuff I hope to start posting regularly. I just found out today that I was approved for the Medtronic 530G with Enlite system and I'm really excited (and nervous)! I have been a Medtronic Paradigm pumper for 4.5 years and have been very happy with my experience. This will, however, be my first experience with a CGM, aka, Continuous Glucose Monitor, and I'm excited about the possibilities of how it could help me. I'll readily admit that I am also rather nervous about the unknown of this new system!

    While making the decision to try this system, I was somewhat surprised by the lack of user stories I could find out there. I believe this is largely due to the fact that this is a pretty new pump/cgm, so I decided I want to share my experience as I start it. I hope to post about weekly (maybe more) about how its going so that I can hopefully share insightful information to those interested.

   Final thoughts, my pump should be shipping anytime now and I should be hearing from my local trainer in 5 to 10 days. March the 6th is my 6 year diabetes anniversary so this couldn't come at a more perfect time :)

Until later,

Leanna

Dealing with loss and my new a1c.

   Hi again! Lots has been going on in my life recently ans since I haven't posted anything for awhile I thought I'd do a big post to bring everyone up to date.

   First of all, I think if you had asked me a year ago how hard it would be to make it through 3 family deaths in 7 months time I would have said I don't even want to think about it. October 2012 to May 2013 has forced my family to do more then think about. In October my aunt (uncles wife) lost a 6 year battle to cancer. While I wasn't really that close to her the funeral and the time around the funeral was very hard because her family has daughters nearly exactly the same ages as my sisters and I and it was REALLY hard to watch them have to say good bye to their mom.
   Then, come December, we had to face something that we had been preparing somewhat for since earlier in the year and that is say hello and goodbye to my beautiful nephew Bryson Paul. Even though we knew for quite awhile, there is really no way to prepare for something like this. Bryson died due to Potter's Syndrome which is a condition where the mother lack amniotic fluids during pregnancy and the baby never develops lungs or kidneys. Bryson lived for about 40 mins before God gave him his angels wings. I think I cried more through that whole process then I ever thought possible and just writing this as my eyes full of tears again. The 7th of this month would have been his 6 month birthday. I spent the evening of the 7th babysitting for a friend who has a little boy who is 7 months old and that made me miss him VERY much. Right now he would be sitting up, laughing with us, smiling, being able to play with his 2 big brothers and SO much more. Make no mistake, I fully believe that God makes no mistakes and that Bryson is in a much better place but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
   The 3rd death in the family was more recent and was my Grandpa who just passed away on May 17th. He had spent years now in poor health and his body was worn out. My Grandma has been amazingly strong but after being married to someone for 54 years, there is no way that it is not extremely hard and painful for her. My mom was able to travel out and spend sometime there over the time of his death and most of the family was able to go and be together over the funeral. He is now is a MUCH better place and no longer has to struggle to do the things in daily life that were so hard for him.
   Having gone through this much loss recently I have to say this about it: you are only given the strength to make it through things like that once you need it. The important things to remember and hold tight to are God and your family. God will never leave you or forsake you during those times so draw close to him for strength and comfort.

   Moving on to my current health, my recent a1c and my eyes re-check brought GREAT news. My eyes look awesome with NO sign of problems from diabetes :) that makes me really, really happy cause I know that eyes can easily be affected by diabetes and my eyesight is really important to me. My newest a1c made me terribly happy too. It is now down to being a 6.8!! This is a big deal to me because it is the first time in my 5+ years of being diabetic that my a1c has been under 7. Last May I had my second straight 8.3 and then by October I had gotten it down to a 7.4 and by January is was a 7.1. I working at wrapping my mind around the fact that I have now gotten to where I wanna be and am facing a new challenge. Instead of getting my control to where I want it to be I now I have to keep it where it is and I think that may prove to be harder! I am seeing my endo on the 26th and I want to talk to her about possibly starting a CGM. I have in the last months had some overnight lows that plain old scare me and I think I would really benefit from using a CGM.

   Well I hope you guys have an awesome day! We, here on the east coast, are bracing for storms today.

Love and hugs, Leanna

 

Hair Donation!!!

   So it's official. For my 21st birthday I did something I've never done before. I cut my hair to donate them! For me this is a pretty big deal cause I have always had long hair. I've had lots of hair trimmings but have never actually cut them like this. My sister and I did it together and we are sending them to Pantene for their program where they make wigs and give them to cancer patients for free. The stylist I had took mine pretty short partly cause of the way she did them and partly cause since I had some layers she had to take more off too have the usable donation long enough. Its very different! Anyway, here are some pictures!!

So there are the pictures :) I think donating them is a great thing to do, now lets see if they grow back!!

Tip to save a pump site

   Wow its been over a month since I posted! School is keeping me busy, but I'm doing great! :) I'm doing even better cause there are only a few weeks of school left!
 
   This post is to share a tip I used today to save my pump site. I just put a new one in last night so as all you fellow diabetics understand, I wanted to save it after it came off halfway this morning! This site is on the side of my upper leg. I was at work this morning and I bumped my leg on the corner of a couch. I could have bumped ANYWHERE on my leg but did I just bump a random spot? Nope! I hit it smack on my site! I checked it right away to see that the bigger sticky area (I use Silhouettes) was not on anymore and it had even un-clipped. The cannula was obviously still fine and since it was less then a day old I wasn't fond of the idea of pulling it and using the extra from my bag. The sticky area was still sticky and seemed willing to stick somewhat but I'm not sure it would have stayed on its own. I got a band-aid out of the lady I was working for's bathroom and put it over top and that made it nice and tight! I take medical tape along if I'm going to the beach but I don't carry it with me regularly. Tonight, the band-aid is still sticking great even after my hot shower and the really cool thing is that because of the non-sticky part, I can unclip the tubing and reconnect easily :) Since band-aids are easy to stick in my case with everything else I already carry, I'm now gonna start keeping one in my D bag for this purpose! I thought I'd share in case it would help anyone else :)

Here's a picture. Its just from my phone so its not good but gives you the idea!

My Headboard

   Most people will have normal things on their bed's headboard. They'll have tissues, books, lotion and a clock. If your crazy like me, you might even have 3 lotion bottles on yours! While I have all these things, I have much more and if your a diabetic, you probably do too.
   My headboard always has things on it to treat a low blood sugar. I used to have them there and they would just be there "in case". I had never gone lower then 50's and usually 60's in bed and then sometimes I would choose to just get up and treat it. Recently though, I've dropped to 30 and 31 and 2:30 am so I am now a firm believer in keeping these things on my headboard. Both of the nights that I went so low I had a juice box and a granola bar on my headboard and I used them both. Right now I'm out of juice boxes so I have a Quick stick, a glucose drink and a granola bar there. Here's a pic of what my headboard looks like at night:

 
   So there you see it all! from left to right: My diabetes bag is on top of my tissues box, my phone is there, and an empty candle where I've been throwing all my used test strip and lancets in in an attempt to keep them from missing the trash can and covering my floor :) In the next section is all the important stuff! My alarm clock (which I don't used for my alarm, only for the time), my testing supplies, all my low supplies and my 3 fabulous bottles of lotion! if its actually night time my glasses would be there too. In the last section are my books.
   Maybe the amount of low things I keep right there is overkill but I hate night time lows and want to be ready for them. I also want to know what all you guys keep right by your bed? are you as overly prepared as I am or are you more relaxed about it?

Love and hugs, Leanna

Struggling with food journaling

   Hey people! so this post comes at you this morning cause I thought maybe writing about something that I'm struggling with would help.
 
   So today is day 5 of keeping a food journal. My goal is to see it not only affect my blood sugars in a great way but also to help me lose weight. By writing everything down I am also only eating at meals, except for low bg's and my meals will be eating a few, specific foods rather then eating whatever I feel like. I think this will help me lose weight for two reasons. Because of writing everything down I'm eating less and since doing this give me great blood sugars, along with eating less, I'm using less insulin. So far I've been doing pretty good. Blood sugars are a lot better when you know exactly how much food is going into you rather then allowing yourself that half of a cookie or handful of chips.

   This morning is the first that I'm really struggling to stick with it. I woke up with a bg (blood glucose) of 125 so I'm at the perfect spot to bolus for breakfast and be ready for more great numbers. But this morning the cookies my sister baked the other day are soooo temping. The bag of chips on the table are begging me to eat just a few. I've made it almost 2 hours into my awake time this morning having eaten nothing but my breakfast and I'm determined to be stronger then by urges to eat the food that is teasing me!!

Wordless Wednesday

This speaks for itself. My meter at 2:30 am.

Bad day....

   This is probably not a good time to write since I'm feeling pretty emotional and I almost didn't but then reminded myself that since life with diabetes isn't all rosy and happy, I don't want my blog to make it look like it is so here goes.
   So yesterday I woke up with a bg of 149. Not what I like but I figured it could be much worse. Lunchtime was 143 so I thought I was doing okay. Dinnertime came and I had a huge 326. I knew I'd been picking at stuff while my mom was baking and shouldn't have so I thought that was all it was but was still upset because I haven't tested 300+ it probably a month. I prebolused and considering we had pizza for dinner when I had a 170 awhile before bed I was happy. By an hour and a half later when I was ready for bed it had gone up to 257. Mind you that was with NO carbs and having drank like 20 oz of water. I thought maybe it was a very delayed high from the pizza. I corrected and went to bed. This mornings fasting was 175 :( Tried to be pretty careful with my breakfast bolus and 2.5 hours later with NO snacking I was 279. My frustration was going up big time. I gave more correction then my pump was going to. Did that work? Nope! 1.5 hours later with no real amount of food, I was only down to 258. Our Sunday lunch was brown rice, chicken (no breading), green beans and an Oreo cheese cake. I ate plenty of chicken and beans, just a little bit rice and then I did something that took a lot of willpower. I got up and left the table when my family was gonna have the cheesecake. I am proud I had the strength to do it even though I'm not gonna lie that it hit me pretty hard emotionally. Why should diabetes dictate what I eat to the point it drives me to tears? I know its just silly cheesecake but to me its not about the actual food that I couldn't eat but the fact that the last day has been soooo frustrating :( I feel drained and just want my blood sugars to act the way they should! :(
   So to wrap up the last bit of what there is to say, I'm gonna say that while I have lots of homework to do and its already 2:30 in the afternoon, I'm giving in to a little nap before I tackle it to see if I feel more like doing it then.
   So now that I'm done venting all my frustration about cheesecake and crying on all your shoulders, which I felt was needed since you guys get it like my family, well meaning as they are, don't, I'll sum it up by saying this is what a hard day of diabetes looks like. Its frustrating and most importantly, its okay to be frustrated. I don't often come to the point of tears over stuff like this but today it is really bothering me. Maybe after my nap my bgs will be better.

Hope everyone's Sunday is going better then mine.

Leanna

Living&Loving is now on Facebook! :)

Hey guys! I have met some great diabetics in facebook groups but I keep my personal fb private for my personal friends and family so I started a fb page to connect all my social networking sites! :) please like my page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/LivingLoving/216006278543096

Love and hugs! Leanna

Two things a diabetic should never let someone tell them...

   Just sharing a thought that has been on my mind lately. There are two main things a diabetic should never listen to if someone tells them.
    1.) Never let someone tell you its gonna be easy. Diabetes will bring you to tears out of frustration from not knowing what you did wrong that's giving you bad numbers. Its gonna do things that it shouldn't even if you didn't do anything wrong. It is a 24/7 part of your life that does not always make sense but.....
    2.) Never let someone tell you you can't do everything you want to in life. You can have good control of your diabetes AND live a VERY normal life. The keys thing is that it is a PART of your life, not your life. If someone questions you doing something and managing your diabetes at the same time, set out to prove you can do it!

Hope everyone is having a great Sunday and remember, you CAN DO IT!!

Love and hugs, Leanna

Insulin Pump Cozzy

   Hey everyone! This post is to show you the pump cozzy/case my sister crochet for me. I told her I want her to design me a case since I haven't really found one I really like. Some people who have been affected by diabetes have designed some really cool ones BUT I'm a college student who works part time and sadly many of the cool cases out there are out of my price range. I had in mind that she could sew me one but that's not what the first one turned out to be :) She sat down and was messing around with knitting and crocheting and came up with what we're calling a pump cozzy. Someone asked for the pattern and sadly there is none, however she is interested in selling them if people are interested! She would be selling them through Ebay but please let me know if your interested so she'll know if its worth making some and getting them posted! :) They will be very inexpensive.
   I really like mine so far and hope someone else is interested :)

Eye appointment and Shout out to Medtronic :)

   So today I had my yearly eye exam. While I know people with diabetes have to get them check yearly even if they don't have glasses, that's not the case with me. I've been very nearsighted for a long time and had glasses since I was 10 years old (over half my life now). My near nearsightedness has not gotten worse as fast over the last few years which is awesome. I was told when you hit your 20's it slows down, at least for awhile. Shortly after my diagnosis my eye doctor said that my blood vessels were a little ripply but wasn't surprised. The next visit I had, with a different doctor, I was told they were fine. Last year I had the doctor who had said they looked ripply again and she said they look great. No sign of diabetes! I have been doing so much better lately that I was excited that to know I should defiantly get a good report today. She was very pleased with my improved a1c's. After she dilated them and saw looking at them she looked in my left one for long enough it made me a little nervous. After finishing she said that my left I eye has a few ripply vessels and said that it no doubt is coming from the change in bg control. She said she knows it frustrating since I'm doing so much better but it can affect them the same way as running high would until they get used to it. She wants to see me back in the months to check it again. I'm glad to know she is being very careful and checking again even though its not unusual, cause my eye health is VERY important to me. Have any of you guys had the "problem" of your eyes having to get used to better control? if so, did it go back to normal quickly once it got used to the change?

   Also I want to say a big THANK YOU to Medtronic! My pump has had a few cracks for awhile that started out very small and just got worse over time due to the normal wear and tear of using even though I am VERY careful with my it. I mean, its a body part even if its on the outside unlike a normal pancreas! I really didn't know anything about how warranties at Medtronic because I have had no trouble with the pump I've had for 3.5 years (except concern about the cracks). I decided to see whats up and after tweeting my concerns to the general public, Medtronic themselves replied! That was last night and this morning they called due to the tweet :) my sister took the message and I called when I got home. They said they want to replace it because due to the cracks it could get moist inside and fail. As to my questions about what happens when my warranty is running out in like 6 months, the rep explained that I will get called to be given the chance to upgrade and when I upgrade my pump will have a new 4 year warranty. I was thrilled to be assured they have such great warranties! I expected it to be great but just never knew exactly what it was. My replacement for my current 722 will be here by tomorrow night :) Thanks again, Medtronic!

Love and hugs, Leanna

My road to better blood sugar control.

   Happy Friday friends! I'm not sure if I find this to be a very happy Friday or not. You ask why? It is officially my last friday and last weekend before school starts on Wednesday next week :( I know I have some people who will see this and say I should be glad I had such a long break and don't worry I am very glad I had such a long one. Here's to kicking off a great semester!

   I had an appointment with my Endo on Wednesday. I have really been working hard at getting my a1c where it needs to be. In the last years I've had multiple 8.3's and I think the lowest I'd had was a 7.8 or 7.9 and that wasn't any of the most recent ones. I saw my former doctor for the last time in May of last year and had an 8.3. Let me mention he is my former doctor only because of insurance issues and he moved. I really liked him and would not have switched if I would not have had to. Over the summer I didn't really have a doctor but was working at stepping up to the plate and controlling my bg's like I have not done well enough in the past. In October 2012 I had my first appointment with an endocrinologist. My first doctor as a family medicine doctor who I was with at the time of being diagnosed and who treated diabetes so I stayed there until I was able to start my pump. I then switched to the one I was with until May. He was also in family medicine but was licensed to do patients with pumps. He was a great doctor and a very nice man. The only problem with him was the fact that he wasn't hard enough on me but my lack of great control was my problem, not his. I saw my endo in October when the last blood work I'd had was my 8.3 in May. She made in very clear that she wanted a 7.0 and since I am young it is important to get in in control and keep in there to keep from having other problems. Even though I'm never going to blame a doctor who wasn't super hard on me for my lack of great control, it did give me the extra push I needed to have her be harder on me. I did tell her that over the the summer I had been doing better then the 8.3 and she could see by my pump downloads that was the truth. The blood work I had done after that appointment came back as a 7.4 :) I was super happy cause it proved that over the summer, doctor or not, I had improved!

   Wednesday of this week was my 3 month follow up. I had been doing great for the most part but was, as my twitter friends know, a little nervous for my appointment. I had had my blood work done a week earlier so it would be back and we could go over the results at my appointment. My endo's office is amazing when it comes to wait time! I arrived early due to having been at another appointment before that and I was back in my room by my appointment time :) After going through the normal nurse stuff and having her take my pump to download the records and then bring it back, my nervous wait for the doctor started! A few mins later she knocked, then as she opened the door and started to come in, the first thing she said was "You are doing great!". My reaction was "I am?" To which she responded "How do you think you are doing?". I told her I'd been doing great until I was fighting being sick. She saw what I meant on my pumps charts and then said "Well you A1c is a 7.1 so that is great. Now all you have to do is smooth out the rough parts and you'll be under a 7 which is what we want". Those were some of the most rewarding words I've heard!

  Needless to say I am very happy with my D control right now :) Yes, I am aware like my wonderful #doc friends have been reminding me, that I am so much more then a number (shout out to Jamie of @InkStain_D for the pep talk tuesday), but it is great to know that I am doing what I need to to have the best health possible now and in the future. Also I want to finish with a HUGE THANK YOU to the #doc for being such a wonderful support system. I have known you guys for a little over a year and it has been the best diabetes year of my life. I really don't think I would be doing anywhere near as well as I am now without you guys so I want to give you guys a great deal of the credit. Thank you for all being sooo amazing!!!! Love you guys more then you know!! :)

Until next time, love and hugs, Leanna

My new Diabetes supply case.

    Hey everyone! This post is to review the small Vera Bradley Cosmetic bag I got today. I got a great deal on it on Ebay. I only gave $12.59 for it and they retail at $22.00 so I was thrilled with the deal I got! It is brand new for that price, not used. Most people who read this review will have come here knowing I'm diabetic as they know me on Twitter but for those of you who randomly find this be advised that I'll be reviewing it as in how it will work for carrying all the things we diabetics carry all the time, not how it works for makeup and etc.

   I am not a person who uses the black cases that blood testers come in for two reasons. 1: They don't hold everything we need and 2 they are really ugly and plain. I'm a girly girl who likes pretty things and my most common type of case is small makeup/cosmetic cases. If you look at another recent post on here you'll see that a few months ago I bought a polka dot case to add to my collection and I have used it a lot. Its big enough for my testing supplies and a quick sugar source. I do, however, like the idea of having a case that is big enough to hold all the supplies I need to carry in one place so it can be moved from bag to bag and keep it easier to keep track of everything. I think it is a very good idea to carry an extra pump site and reservoir (for pump users) but I have not regularly done it in the past.
   I have already different times eyed the Vera Bradley cosmetic bags. Not only are they cute but they have a plastic lining which for some like me who tosses used test strips in is a pretty cool feature. My cosmetic cases usually get dotted with blood on the inside! Another cool feature is the loop they have on the end of the case to carry it by. I often go to my brother's (who's my next door neighbor) basement to workout and usually just take a small case with my supplies instead of a big bag and this case will be easy to grab and go with.
   I opened the package when it came today and it didn't look as big as I'd pictured it. I was afraid for a bit that next it wouldn't hold as much as I'd hoped it would. Turns out I was wrong cause it will! Thought it would be good to give a list of what its holding and some pictures as the main part of my review so you other girly diabetics can know if this type of bag would work for you! Here is the list of things I have in it and they fit nicely.
 
My Glucagon Emergency shot
A 4 pack of peanut butter crackers
A pump Reservoir
A pump site
Some lancets
A pump battery
A few alcohol wipes
2 Glucose quick sticks
My tester (accucheck aviva)
A can of test strips
My lancet (accucheck softclix)

So yeah, for a little bag that measures 7x4 inches thats a nice amount of stuff and really everything a diabetic needs to have along regularly or at least everything I feel I need with me. Below are some pictures I took of it. I'm excited to use it and hope some fellow diabetics find this helpful!

The handy loop on the end. 

Everything I carry and everything that fits in the bag.

All my supplies :)

Let me know what bag you use to carry your supplies :)

Leanna

             

         

Recitals, finals and life.

   Wow is it seriously the 4th of DECEMBER?! Where is November go and where is December going?! For me its going into long hours of studying and stressing! On the bright side, in a week and a half the semester of school is over and I get to have more then a month of a break :)

   In addition to lots of school I also have had a lot of piano stuff going on. Since my teacher switch this summer I am very much enjoying working with my current teacher. She has helped me technically a lot and has helped me make WAY more progress then I expected to have made by now. I think she will be able to really take my playing to the level I want to be at but now the question is this. Can I measure up to the standards she sets? I hope so! My previous teacher did not have her students do any kind of memorization so starting that with my current teacher was a very new experience. I learned 2 pieces in about 7 weeks and had them ready for my first memorization recital in November which went great. Now I am 12 day from my Christmas recital which I am very excited for. This one is not being played from memory. I love Christmas and what better way to kick of the break from school then with a Christmas recital?

   I can't believe the semester is almost over! but mind you its a welcome thought to me :) This semester has been very stressful and I'm excited for it to be over so I can start fresh in the spring semester. 1 more quiz, 3 more exams, and one more chapter and discussion post and the semester is over! I already know that my Sociology grade will be like a 99.67%. My geography class will sadly be a B and I'm really hoping to finish math with an A but intermediate Algebra isn't really my thing!

   Please continue to pray for my sisters baby. Things are still the same the time for his birth and without a miracle his death seems to be coming close. God still works miracles and can for this little angel! It is heartbreaking to think I will have a nephew I will never get to know. He is sooo loved already and will always be. 

   Healthwise I'm doing great. New Endo, much improved a1c and an even better one on the way! I want to write a more in depth post about all that during break and will also have had another appointment by then so am gonna hold off for now.

   Well its 11:30pm and I still need to practice piano a bit and have to get to bed so I'm gonna say goodnight. I wanted to right a little up date and am glad I did :)

Love and Hugs, Leanna

God's comfort for me

   Hey all. Just taking a few minutes from my math homework to share something that gave me great encouragement last night. Before going to sleep I picked up a small book I keep on my headboard called Bedside Blessings by Charles Swindoll. It has a small section to read each day of the year and while I frequently read from it, I had not for quite awhile until I did last night. The part for last night was this:

   October 7: Has a friend betrayed you?...Has a disaster dropped on your life that's almost too great to bear? If so,don't fight back. Unjust suffering can be a dizzying experience. To keep your balance in those times when things are swirling around you, it's important to find a fixed reference point and focus on it. Return to the protection and guardianship of the Good Shepherd who endured the cross and laid down His life...for you.
          I am the good shepherd;
       the good shepherd lays down
            His life for the sheep.
             John 10:11

 I thought maybe someone out there who sees this might need it. It brought me to tears and brought such a calm over my soul. After something I went through awhile ago and something my family is going through now and in the next few months, I had no doubt why God led me to picking up that book last night.

  Well back to math and everyone have a GREAT day!! :)

Love and Hugs, Leanna

Diabetes at school and etc.

   With summer almost over my mind has been on blood sugar control while living a busy school schedule and on dealing with it while in class. Anyway most of this blog is gonna be pictures!

I got this really cute makeup case at Kmart. I love using makeup bags for my D supplies cause other cases are boring!

Might be small but holds alot! See the next pic...

I'm a big purse kind of girl. So I usually have no trouble having room to carry all my stuff. But when it comes to going to school I don't want to carry a purse and a book bag. I found this cute little Rosetti purse on clearance at Kohl's and last semester used it ALOT. Its perfect for putting all my diabetic stuff and my wallet etc in and I can just toss it in my bookbag. 

And yes, everything does fit in.......

and yes the zipper does close!!

Where theres a will, there's a way! :)

  Anyway thats just my ramblings about home to carry all my stuff. Hope you like it and maybe I'll give you an idea :)

Leanna

Accepting changes

   Hey to all my friends! Its been way to long since I had a post but I either haven't had the time, just haven't gotten to it or didn't wanna bore you if I did have anything much to say. Right now I'm fully loving my break from school over the summer and its going way to fast. I'm also excited about the Olympics that are about to start and have been following all the competitions that have been leading up to the them. I'm a big gymnastics fan and thats for the most part the only summer sport I follow.
   Tonight's blog is focused on changes and how I believe it is important to accept them as they come. I'm thinking about this a lot because tomorrow is the beginning of a new chapter for me in a part of my lift that is very important to me. Recently things ended with my piano teacher of 4 years and while I'm not going to give any details I will say that things did not end the way I wish they would have and it has been rather hard on me due to the fact that she was not only the only teacher I'd ever had but was also a close friend. I will also need to be starting with a new doctor soon due to insurance issues and being a type 1 diabetic its a lot bigger of a deal to switch doctors then it is for many people. I plan to write a detailed blog on all that once everything is set in stone but tonight's post is focusing on the things that are changing right now and just accepting change in general.
   I believe I am a person who adjusts to changes pretty easily and I am REALLY want to continue to be that way. I watch people who resist change and see all the pain and stress that puts them through and I don't want to do that to myself more then I have to. Also I know that the older one gets the harder it is to adapt to change so when is the best time to welcome change? When your young! My Grandma has always hated change and now as she is nearly 80 years old it has made things harder for her and those around her. She struggles to accept things ranging from my Grandfathers declining health and things like having small trees in their lawn cut down because they are dead. I believe that accepting small changes that happen regularly and just moving on by making the most of the situation will make it soooo much easier to accept bigger things ranging from ended relationships to moving from one season in your life to the next.
   Another thing that I have learned from going though this experience is that going through something hard really helps you to notice who really cares about you and makes you love them even more (if possible). For me those people are my family. They have given my support and shown their love to me and it has meant more to me then I believe they will ever know.
   Also while going through changes in my life I find it very helpful to use the "glass half full" strategy and to play the Glad Game. Even though it is really hard to see what good is going to come out of a situation when you are going though a painful time, and believe my I know it is, there is often some good to be found. One thing I have to be glad about it the fact that I instantly was able to find an excellent new teacher who I believe will really be able to help me musically. I will admit that I am still struggling to find a lot of good that is coming out of this situation but I am starting to feel that the change was a good thing and there are multiple ways in which I will benefit from it.
   Also I need to strongly bring out the thing that probably plays the largest factor in my ability to accept change and that is the strength I have given to me by God alone. I am a firm believer that God will not give us anything that we cannot handle. We in our own strength are unable to happen things that come are way but it is in those times that God wants us to come to him and trust him with our troubles and trials. One of my favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 40:31 which says "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Another on of my favorites is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
   So tomorrow as I begin my journey with my new teacher I will be trying to look for all the good that can come out of it rather that harping on what I lost. You can think of me as I move ahead tomorrow and in the following weeks :)  And my friends, in closing I just want to say to make things easier on you and those around you, accept the changes that come your way. Hold tight to your family and your true friends and draw close to God though the good and bad times as He will NEVER leave you or forsake you.

Love and Hugs, Leanna    

Life on break from school!

   Happy 2012! Wait, did I really just say that?! How is it already 2012? As time passes I become more and more sure that the older you are and the busier you are, the faster time goes. I have no reason to wish time was going slower as a have a very blessed life but it feels weird to be getting this old and its totally scary how fast the kids in my life are growing up.
   I'm totally loving my time off school! The fall semester was over on Dec. 19th and the spring semester starts Jan. 17th. That date is coming up WAY to fast but I'm just loving the time I have off! I plan to have lunch with a few friends over the next week and a half and maybe do a little shopping ;) I went on a trip to Wisconsin to see my Grandparents. My family left home the day after Christmas and came home on Tuesday. I was able to have a great time with my cousins and just had time to chill and shop (did I say shop again?!). Even though I had fun I was ready to come home and enjoy finishing my break at home. Probably the thing I am doing the most since I'm home is reading. I love good fiction romance books with one of my favorite writers being Karen Kingsbury. Karen is a very inspiring writer. Currently one the the sets I'm reading is the Bailey Flanigan series and I am LOVING them! I finished the 3rd one now I have to wait till the end of march to get the last one!
   Enough of the rambling about my break. As far as going back to school next week, I honestly have mixed feelings. If it wasn't that I struggle with math I would really enjoy it. I like the feeling of working hard and having it pay off. I will be doing two online classes as well as math in class which has me in class twice a week. On top of that I work two part time jobs, am a piano student and have type 1 diabetes as a constant companion.
   On the topic of diabetes, I could be doing much better then I am recently. I had been doing well then on the holidays and with a road trip/visit to my grandparents my blood sugars got rather nasty. I had the think of that in tonights dsma session when one of the questions was do you have worse eating habits in the winter time? My answer? The worst time is over the holidays but my eating habits arent as good most of the time as they should be. They have been better since I'm home but still not where I want them or where they need to be. I am trying hard to get back into the groove of working out and hoping that that will help. I think part of it might be that now I'm fighting a cold which is making my numbers even more stubborn. All that I have been doing for my cold is trying to take vitamins (which I'm not doing as much as I should) and decided instead of taking cold meds to give Simply Saline a try. So far I am very impressed! I was hoping it would be worth it as it is nearly 8 bucks a bottle and it seems to be. I wont lie and tell you that its fun to use cause it really isn't! It give you a temporary feeling that your drowning but it really does help with the congestion in the end. Anyone else struggling with sickness that is affecting your diabetes? I know compared to many of you out there I am pretty new to diabetes which is why I love getting to interact with you guys. Also I don't have any fellow Type 1 friends except for online so it really does mean alot to me to call you guys my friends.
   When it comes to working out my biggest problem is motivation! I am extremely lucky that my brother, who is my neighbor, has a small gym set up in his basement which I am welcome to use anytime. I am in the proccess of getting back into working out and its not very easy! If anyone has a tips I am more then open to them!
   Since it seems I'm covering most areas that are a big part of my life I'll bring in piano too. Piano is very special to me. Sitting to the piano and practicing for awhile is a great way for me to relax and unwind. Sometimes its hard for me to believe that in march it will only be 4 years since I started! It feels like it has been a part of my life much longer then that and then again sometimes it seems like my first lesson was just yesterday! I am lucky to still be with the same teacher I started with and feel like we work together well. She is understanding and not demanding when it comes to sometimes not getting as much practice as I should because of school and there are many times when I get frustrated with myself for not making more progress or struggling with something certain that she'll be encouraging. I am currently working as a student teacher at her music studio and teaching the kids I teach is very rewarding to me :) Any frustration I might feel at times seemed very distant when earlier after a 5 year old I teach had her lesson she came and hugged me and said "I love you" :) It nearly brought tears to my eyes and helped me resolve one thing. Being a teacher really is worth it.
   So now I want to ask how you all are doing? All of my online friends mean ALOT to me and I love hearing from you! Please tweet me, comment and email me!
   As we go on in this new year lets all try to make it the best year we've ever had! I feel so very blessed and don't want to make the mistake of taking it forgranted. I want to draw closer to God personally so I can truely shine for him to all the people I interact with. Also I want to take the time to appreicaite my family and their support.

Well I hope you enjoyed my update and I wasnt too boring!  Love and Hugs, Leanna
  
  

Semester is DONE!

   Well let me start by saying I'm sorry its been soo long! School and work has kept me VERY busy so the only contact I'm had time for is Twitter which also brings me to saying THANK YOU for all your support! I am absolutly loving getting to meet you all and getting to know you!
   As of today the fall semester is OVER! This marks the end of my first semester of college. It has been good overall. I was able to finish Communications with a high A and General Psychology with a high B. The only thing I'm still waiting on is what I struggle with. Math. I had my final this morning. It is a pass or fail class so rather then just getting a worse average you have to finish with an 80% or its a fail. I went into my final which is worth 120 points needing 71.5 points to make it to the requirement and right now its an understandment to say I'm nervous. I feel like I did good on a bunch of stuff but also know I didnt on some so now I'm just very afraid I didnt get enough. I'll know no later then thursday or it could still be tonight.
   On a lighter note last night was the music school were I teach and am taught's recital. It was very nice and I am pleased with how I did.
   After my test today I went and finished my Christmas shopping! The stores and roads resembled a zoo! I guess thats what I get for waiting but I didn't have too much choice. I think I'm all done now unless I still pick something up in town. Anyone a fan of Bath & Body Works? I don't go alot but could really get into it. I went today and picked up a few candles. One for my mom and one for my piano teacher/friend. My mom absolutely loves their candles (better then Yankee) and their nice sized 3 wick ones are on sale for 2 for $20. I dont think you can beat that too many places.
   My family and I will be taking a trip to wisconsin just after Christmas and coming back just after new year. I have cousins and and aunt, uncle and grandparents out there. It's usually a nice trip but in the winter I'm NOT a fan of going because its SOOO cold! My Grandma said on the phone the other day that soon we'll be there to help them enjoy the cold weather but thats not really how I feel about it!
   Well I dont really want to ramble and bore you all but just wanted to update. Tommorrow morning I can sleep in! No more homework and no work tommorrow. I hope to clean up my room, clean my car and other stuff like that but am thrilled to have a day there is nothing I have to do and can relax.

Well I'll sign off now. Goodnight to all!
(((HUGS))) Leanna