I'm Back

Heyy!

So I've been gone forever, sorry about that, but college has a way of being time consuming. Haha. I LOVE Cabrini. It is my school. I can't beleive I almost denied them. I love almost all of my classes, you know, can't like them all! I am carrying 6 classes this semester, which is a lot for a first semester frosh, but I guess I am special. I am picking up another class, which is one credit, one day a week. It's about social justice and christianity. Sounds like a lot of fun. I am considering a missions trip to Appalachia over spring break, but we'll see where that takes goes in time. If I have the resources and money to go or not. I would like to, especailly since my one roomate is applying.

Cross Country would be better if I wasn't such a klutz. I've been out on injury for most f the season which is annoying because I have such a desire to run and run. AND RUN! Gah, it sucks.
But ya know, math class beckons, so my story ends here

3 days!!

Three days remain until I move onto Cabrini's campus. I have my room assignment, my two roomates, and a broken wrist. That should be fun, let me tell you!

SBS

Well, the appointment went well this afternoon. I hadn't seen Dr. P in a really long time, so it was nice to finally get in and make sure everything is okay. I am having slight issues with my feet, because of all of the running. Simply being diabetic, I have issues with my feet occasionally. The skin cracks around my heels and toes, so I need to make sure that I keep them dry and clean. Now, I hate shoes, so I need to waer them more often while running. Last year, we ran a lot of practices in our bare feet and it was so much fun. Also since it has been so hot and humid here, early in the morning, when we go running, the grass is soaked. I bought these cool socks that are supposed to be water-resistant, so we'll see how they work. I actually didn't think about what I was doing with my feet, since I was more worried about my ongoing feud with prickers (grr).

But I have to get bloodwork done tomorrow morning, so I have to fast for like 12 hours, which won't be too bad. I hate getting blood drawn though. As much as I have to poke and prick and take blood from myself, I hate having to get it tested. I also have to do a urine test. Ugh! Which leads to the title of this post: SBS. SBS is Shy Bladder Syndrome. I created this because I can't pee on demand. I could need to pee like a racehorse, but if I were handed a cup and told to pee, I couldn't do it. It is so weird. I just pee when I need to pee, haha.

So since I will be having blood sucked out of me tomorrow morning, I can't go running. Instead, I called Lisa, and we're going to ride bikes through the park and back to our old elementary schools. This way, I can strap on a pack and keep some juice and carbs with me in case I go too low from having the blood drawn. I haven't ridden bike in the park for a long time, actually. It should be a lot of fun!

I have more news about the visit, but I am going to wait until later to post. It ight be a couple of days until I get the results, so I will have to find a new way to keep you entertained until then.

Public Enemy No. 1- When Prickers attack!

*Imagine dramatic music playing in the background*





I had a run in with prickers while running again. So now the score is Prickers:2, Jamie:0.


Lisa and I have been running about 2-3 miles every morning now. I was supposed to go crash out high school cross country practice last night with a couple of friends, but I got sick and couldn't go. Oh the fun of having a high blood sugar. I ran out of insulin yesterday morning, which shouldn't have happened, but the pharmacy couldn't refill my prescriptions, so I had no insulin pen until 3:30 yesterday when I went to the doc's office to pick up a sample pen. I have a endocrinologist's appointment at 3:00 today, and I have seen Dr. P since October of 2007. That's about the time that my beloved insurance *cough cough* decided to dump me, and cancel all appointments. Luckily, I have a new insurance company that allows me to see the same doctors I was seeing before, and hopefully, I can get an insulin pump soon. It would make life so much easier!

So I am still waging war with the prickers, I think I should just find a new place to run. But they are everywhere! I got sneak attacked by some today. I didn't even see them, and suddenly.....AHHHHHHHHH! They grab ahold of me a claw me half to death. They got me inside my thigh, where the last ones did. I don't even know how! I tried telling my friend Mike and he was so confused, as he didn't understand what I maent about being attacked by a bush. Haha, maybe they don't have prickers in Ireland. :)

I am nervous about the visit to the endocrinologist today. I am worried about my A1c and fate of my insulin pump as well. I want everything to be alright, and I do try hard to keep myself healthy. I need to work on making sure I take my medications when I need to, and make sure I adjust the dosages properly. I am pretty good at it, but I still slip up sometimes.

Well, wish me luck. I will probably be on later to tell about my visit. Now, I need a shower. You get pretty stinky after running a couple of miles! Hahah

The Morning Call Sucks

The Morning Call is our local newspaper, and it sucks! I guess that is my perogative, but when I subscribe to a newspaper, I expect news. Not crap, like what the MC produces. I think we are just going to cancel our subscription. Besides that, it was bad on international news and politics in general. Blah! So I like to go online and read my news now. It's more diverse, more informed, and it's not all in English!

I would really recommend Le Monde, a french newspaper at www.lemonde.fr. You can translate to whatever language suits you, and it's very informative.

So that's my rant for the day, The Morning Call sucks, Le Monde is cool

Running Nightmares

To start with, I am allergic to mosquitos. So of course, these delightful little bugs take every oppertunity they get to attack me, and now I have a virla infection from the wonderful little buggers. So this year, they decided that my right leg would make for a tasty feast, and consequently, my poor leg is swollen and bruised and war-torn.

I went running with Lisa yesterday, and as we were going, my knee started to swell where I had some really bad bites, and it got so I really couldn't run anymore. So I got home later, and I was icing it and talking to my friend Mike online later. He told me I shouldn't run until all the swelling had gone away, but I convinced him that I would be fine, that I'm used to running long distance, and that Lisa was going to school for athletic training.

So this morning, we go out after it had been raining and start the DeSales Cross Country course and after awhile I was in extreme pain. We ran and ran and ran through some prickers and under trees and through the woods across the train tracks. I practically killed myself today. When I got home, my feet and legs were screaming and my feet had what looked like a rugburn on the bottom of them. I asked Lisa, and she told me that my shoes were too old, and after we looked at them, we noticed that I had virtually no soles left on the bottomes of the shoes. So now I need to get new running shoes before I leave for college, so I can break them in. And where we ran through the prickers, yeah, that was stupid. The insides of my thighs were all scratched and bleeding and I still hurt, almost 15 hours later.

I am soooooooooooooooo glad tomorrow is Sunday, and there is no running.

Long story short, I should have listened to Mike. *Sigh*

College

I have been having minor freakouts about college lately. It comes from a lot of stuff actually. I am sooooooooo excited to be able to move away from home finally, but it still sucks because I am moving out at 17, and there's so much I still can't do because I'm a (minor). Ugh!

Truthfully, I am terrified of being on the cross country team. In high school I did it with my friends to have fun. I wasn't a serious athlete on that team. I got a varsity letter, but I am still afraid that I won't be good enough for the coaches or my teammates and the idea of that scares me. I want to be the best I can be, but I also want to be able to push myself to the next level.

I am also worried about having the "big D" on campus. I know there are going to be other diabetics at school, and I know I am in control of myself enough to handle my diabetes, but I still worry. In ways though, I think going to college will be good for me and my diabetes. I am the only one from my high school going to Cabrini, none of the kids there knew me before this summer. I was diagnosed when I was a sophmore, and kids at school knew the Jamie before diabetes hit, and then they knew me afterwards kinda in a different light. Going to college, the kids will only see me the way I am today, and they won't compare me to what I used to be. I like that idea, and the fact that they only know me as me.

I have a funny story from my visit to NYC that is only funny because it is after the fact, I am actually just going to paste a copy of it because I wrote about it on a forum I belong to already:

My friend and I were invited to NYC to see the taping of a new TV show called "Karen's Court", and we had to go through security at the studio. The guard going through my bad saw my insulin pen and opened it and started playing with it (twisting the knob and all) and I said "Can you not play with that please, sir? It's really expensive and I need it" so he gave me like this funny look and smashed the knob back down and the pen literally exploded. The needle cap blew off and the rubber cap on the vial flew off and shot 150 units of Humalog everywhere. I was 2 1/2 hours from home with a tour group and left with no insulin whatsoever. What made it worse was that I had eaten a dougnut earlier knowing that I had a lot of insulin in my bag, but now it was all gone. The guy who was leading the group was coincidentally, my 8th grade history teacher so I was in pretty safe hands, but we weren't allowed to leave the studio for four hours, so I had to wait until we got out. By then my sugar was 480 mg/dL and I was starting to feel bad. After the studio, we all got back on the tour bus and we got dropped somewhere in the city. My teacher led us to this resturant where we were supposed to eat lunch, and dropped the rest of the group. Then he took my friend and I in search of a CVS, which is the only drugstore that will accept my insurance. You would think a city as big as NYC would have a few more CVS's, but it took forever to find one. We had to finally get a taxi to find one on 42nd street (we passed like 12 duane reade's on the way). Once we found the store, it took forever to explain to them what had happened and they had to call my home pharmacy and call my endocrinologist to get an emergency prescription since my usual one wasn't up for renewal yet. So I had an unexpected copay on something and less money than anticpated to spend in NY. BUt after that, I got my shot in and I felt a lot better. Back at the studio, no one could find the guard who made my pen explode. I don't know what happened to him when they finally found him since I am assuming that he was found. But that's my tragic story of why security guards can be stupid.

Lucas and great-pop-pop!

Awwwww........two of my favorite men! My pop-pop and my nephew!

Lucas and Aunt Jamie play hats!

Soo this is a perfectly awful picture of me, but it was the only one with Lucas that would download. We both look kinda funny in the picture, but I promise to get better ones soon!

Matt in the pool

What is it with little kids and their fascination with sticking their tounges out when you try to take a picture?

Matthew attacked me from behind when I was in the kiddie pool with Christian at my party. Little bugger!

Christian eats a stick....ick!

Christian is my half-nephew and this picture of him is sooooooo cute. He was at my graduation party and tried to eat a stick......it doesn't seem too tasty!

I'm Back.....and I have a lotta news!

Heyy to all my friends and readers (if there are any left),

Sorry I've been gone so long. I don't have a good excuse, so I won't waste your time trying to think of something. Well, a lot has happened since my last post in October..... a whole lot. For one thing......Goodbye High School! As a member of the class of 2008, I am officailly done with High School and on to bigger and brighter things in college and yada yada yada.

I finally chose Cabrini College and was recruited to their Cross Country team, which I never dreamed would happen! I also ended my high school CC career with a varstiy letter, which really excited me. I ended up quitting the lacrosse team my final year and instead joined track where I threw shotput and discus. I tried my hand at javelin, but almost harpooned the coach.........errrr....

I spent the majority of the year on the Speech and Debate team, and I am officailly a nationally ranked debater. I got to go to AMAZING tournaments at colleges such as Harvard and Geroge Mason. I did a lot of local tournaments too, and placed very well in our local NCFL leauge. I missed going to natinals in Wisconsin by 1 point, and I am still mad at Notre Dame about that! But I digress, I love to debate, it is an art and a sport, and I love it.

I decided to major in History Education and minor in French and Art. I also think I am going to take up Italian as well. I would love to learn as many languages as possible, but Italy is where almost all of the great masters of art came from. You know, daVinci, Berini, etc..... I guess Italy is an art-hog huh? They claimed all the good ones. It is surprising that the Louve has so much acclaim, but I guess it has to live up to Italy. I would also LOVE to learn Gaelic, Irish tounge so to speak, but I can't find that as a class anywhere. I guess I have to find someone who can speak it to teach me. But I am a patient learner, I can wait.

I think one of the biggest things that has happened to me so far this year is the birth of my nephew Lucas in May. I can't express in a simple blog entry how much I love that little kid. He is a little part of me, and he is so well behaved and so loveable. My other nephew Matthew is 4, and I think he loves Lucas just as much as the rest of us. But he is little yet, and he still needs to know that I love him just as much as I love his little brother.