Halloween

SPOOKY!!!!! You know I have fond memories of Halloween. My dad would take my sister, brother and I out to trick or treat. Then we would have to give up our candy, so that mother and dad could "inspect" it. I remember my favorite costume was either a ghost or a witch. There was this lady in our neighborhood, that would dress up like a witch to give out candy. There would be spooky music going on at her house. Then there was the neighborhood dentist that gave out tooth brushes and tooth paste. His house would be rolled every year.
Here where I live, I haven't had any trick or treaters at my door. There's a residential neighborhood down the street, so I guess they all go there. I miss my nephew being little. I went with my dad once when he took my nephew out. I think he was spider man. No, he had spider man pajamas and went out in those to trick or treat.
You remember the old theme "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat." I catch myself saying that every Halloween.

A Sound

Picture this. It's 2:20am this morning. I woke up because I heard a noise. I realized that my neighbor next to me, the one that share a wall in the bedroom was banging something against the wall. I concluded that he was hammering. I couldn't believe it. At 2:20am.
So, I grabbed a shoe and started hitting it on the wall. Finally the hammering stopped.
What gets into peoples minds. Hammering on a wall that early in the morning.
Unfortunately for him, I saw him this morning when I was out drinking my coffee on the patio. He shouted to me a "sorry."
Thats the down fall in living in a condo complex, you hear everything.
I wonder if he woke up anyone else.

Feeling Better

Since I went up on my insulin, I think I am feeling a little bit better. When your blood sugar is high you feel fatigued. I think though I may go up another 2 mgs. to get my levels below 150. Right now their in the 160's range. That is my fasting blood sugars. When you think about it, that sounds high. But for diabetes the normal range is between 120 to 150. For those folks who are not diabetics the normal range is between 85 and 100.
To change the subject, I didn't go Christmas shopping like I normally do the last week of October. I think though I have decided to get everyone gift cards so they can shop for what they want instead of me buying something they may not like or need. Oh, it's not going to be a lot, maybe $20 dollars per card. We don't normally do stockings with my family, but maybe I can get something little to add to that.
I like to go shopping early. One reason is to beat the rush. Another reason is there are great sales this time of year. Since I'm getting gift cards that won't matter.
Not much more to report today. Just laying around the house.
It's a beautiful day today, so maybe I'll take a walk a little later.

A New Insight

Well I talked to my doctor yesterday and was told that I needed to go up on my insulin amount. My blood sugars have been high in the mornings. So I'm suppose to increase it 2 mgs. every four days until my blood sugars are below 150. Last night I injected the new amount and it went down from 177 in the evening to 160 this morning. This is the first time in a week that my blood sugar didn't increase higher than my bedtime blood sugar.
It's very simple to increase the amount on insulin. The injector is pre- filled with insulin. All you do is dial up the amount of insulin in mgs. that you want, attach a new needle to the injector, push a button and the insulin is injected into the stomach.
I used to be so scared of needles, but now I have gotten used to it. It only took about two years to get used to it. Sometimes it hurts to put the needle in my stomach, but most of the time it doesn't. I learned a trick. Instead of pushing the needle in quickly, I slowly push the needle in and I can barely feel it.
Occasionally I do hit a blood vessel which hurts. My stomach looks like a patchwork quilt sometimes. I get bruises where I inject.
Some people inject on their arms and legs, but I have found it hurts less in the stomach. If I think about it, pricking my fingers three times a day hurts more than injecting. I have places on my fingers that are tough because I have pricked there many times.
So all in all, injecting and pricking my fingers several times a day isn't that bad. You get used to it.

Thursday

I've been having the same trouble with my blood sugar for a week now. It's low before I go to bed and high in the morning. I've doubled checked my medication dosage with the pharmacy, checked my insulin injector, made sure that I am well hydrated, etc...
But nothing seems to be causing this unless the insulin I inject is not holding me. So, I'll call my doctors office today to find out if I need to inject more or later in the evening. It's been a mystery since it's been happening.
I may seem that I am over reacting, but high blood sugar levels are dangerous to your organs. Thats why it is so important to make sure your fasting blood sugars are in check.
I have noticed that I am more tired than I usually am and I have had stomach pains for a week.
It just may be something that I can easily correct, but we'll see.
This is just another example of the trials that you live with when having diabetes.

Home

You know once this month I would like to come home and watch a good movie on TV. Since this is October/Halloween, all of the stations have gory movies on. I just don't see how blood and guts could be entertaining to anyone.
Now, the best scary movies are the vintage movies. The one's that have a good story line and mystery to them. So, I'm stuck watching TCM now.
Of course when I come home I always take my walks. And I fiddle with chores outside. This is the best time to be outside right now. I think I may even go to the park this week or weekend. I wish year round it would be in the 70's. Like it is in London, except for the rain.
But being home is nice after a long day. My cat is happy to see me and I can be as lazy as I want to be.

Tuesday

Well I was up early this morning again. I know that I have blogged and blogged about this before, but I just wish that I could sleep a full 8/hrs. a night. I have always been one of those that will sleep 3 to 4 hours a night no matter what time I go to bed.
Believe me I have tried everything. I was even on a Rx sleep aid at one time and I still had my old sleeping pattern. I can remember when I was in grade school, I would just lay in my bed until I went down for breakfast.
You would think that I would be a night person, being able to stay up til early in the morning, but I usually hit the sack around 11:00pm. and up at 1am or 3am.
So those of you who can sleep well, be grateful. Because there are those that don't sleep well. I'm not knocking it, I just have become so used to it.

Needing a New Place

You know when I  bought my condo I thought, "man I finally made it, I'm a home owner." Well, being a home owner is great, but sacrificing space is not. I have only one closet in my condo, so most of my clothes, shoes and nicknacks are stored at my parents house. I remember giving away a lot of furniture, lamps and clothing when I bought my place. Sometimes I wish I could move to a big apartment sometimes, but unfortunately I owe to much on my place than it will appraise for.
So, I'm stuck. The neighborhood is OK, it's convenient to everywhere. And it's close to grocery stores. I just miss having more space. Even when I'm not home and then return home, I only have a small space to relax in.
But I am thankful that I have a roof over my head, it's mine and the mortgage is low. I guess we all want more than what we have once in awhile.

Sunday

You know I take my blood sugar levels three times a day. Well last night I measured it at 158, which is good, right on target. This morning it was 169. Huh???? Now keep in mind, I didn't eat or drink anything, so why was it higher? I called my dad who is a doctor and we both couldn't come up with a reason why this happened. Could it be hormonal? Who knows. So now it's been high all day. Even if I have eaten good, it started out to be high, so in turn it stays high.
So, I've been drinking the water today. Still eating, not skipping a meal today. This is probably the most frustrating thing about having diabetes. To maintain a good blood sugar level takes a lot of hard work and dedication. You always have to watch what you put in your mouth, when you eat and how much you eat. You have to get exercise each day and get plenty of sleep. That is if you want to be healthy.
Sometimes it's a hard, but the outcome is worth it.

Neighbors

My hillbillie neighbors were out and about late last night. I heard them about 2am this morning, with their beagle out justa howling. When I went out to drink my coffee this morning there were pieces of bread all over the front lawn. I guess there trying to feed the squirrels or something. But it's really gonna attract other creatures as well. I'm not surprised we don't have a problem with rats.
If you can just picture this in your mind. Both these people are in their late 60's drinking beer outside till early in the morning. The wife is a waitress and the man stays at home. Their kids come over with the grandchildren and when this happens "all hell brakes loose." The kids run around all over the place. This past summer, one of the kids came out in the front with no diaper on. I can just imagine how their condo looks from day to day. But with all of this, their very nice people. I haven't had to call the police on them yet. Lets hope that stays that way.

Germaphobic

You know there a certain things that we don't think about when we are out in public. Last night I went to a mattress store because I'm shopping around for a good price for another mattress set. You know those pillows that these places have that are on their mattresses in the store? Have you ever thought how many people have laid their heads on those pillows? Talk about germs.
Or when you go to a public restroom. Do you ever think about how many people touch the doors leading in and out of the restroom? Yuk. Or even pumping gas. How many people have touched those handles with germy hands.
I'm not always good about grabbing a paper towel when I'm touching restroom doors or even cleansing my hands with anti germ gel after I pump gas. But I will never lay my head on those pillows. Who knows, someone could have lice or something.
So a good rule of thumb would be to always wash your hands and don't put any part of your body on public linens.

This is a great movie

You know I rarely come across a movie that influences me. I watched on TCM last night a movie called "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." With Spencer Tracey and Katherine Hepburn. It's about a couple who wants to get married and they just happen to be of different races. Of course this was set back in the 1950's. But it's all the same.
I believe everyone should be treated equally. And Love is the answer. I think there's a song about that, maybe from the Beatles. Anyway, there seems to be so much hate in the world, so many conflicts. Even now a days. But if we concentrate on loving one another, then everything seems to fall into place.
Don't you think?

Oh Yummy!

One of my elderly neighbors baked me homemade apple bread. What do I always say? Oh Aunt Bee, Aunt Bee. Thats from the Andy Griffith show. I say that whenever I taste something wonderful. I miss eating all those yummy breads, cakes and goodies. With my diabetes I have to be really careful.
SO, I'll freeze the rest of this bread and bring it out only once in awhile.
Speaking of my diabetes. I have really been good about maintaining it these past few months. On my last appointment I had slipped too many times and my A1C was elevated. So hopefully at my next appointment it will be a lot lower.
Before I was diagnosed, I used to drink chocolate milk all the time and eat ice cream and potato chips. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss these foods, but remarkably I don't crave these food all the time like I did. I think when you eat high fat foods all the time, you crave them more. Well at least thats what I'm telling myself.
So occasionally I treat myself to something yummy while I'm drinking lots of water and exercising.

Poetic Justice

I was driving home today from my doctor's office and this jerk was weaving back and forth on the interstate. It was pouring raining so it was hard to see. After he passed me he almost hit a car in front of me because he just couldn't wait and slow down. Now the speed limit was 70 and he must have been going at least 90. He was really flying. About a mile down the road I saw that he had been pulled over by a state trooper. I hope they really threw the book at this guy.
It's people like that that cause accidents on the road.

This is a Hoot!!!

I'd like to start off by saying that I appreciate being a fan of your favorite team, but sometimes too much is too much. I've blogged about my "self proclaimed redneck" neighbors before. Well now on each Saturday, game day they put out about 20 or so stuffed animals. All are different breeds. They are all wearing Alabama t-shirts. Their stacked up in chairs so their facing the parking lot and the front of the building, so you can't help but see them. Then they have this huge Alabama banner thats hung under the stuffed animal display. I think if a child were to walk in front of this, they would be scared to death. And not to mentioned I hear them yelling every saturday for their team." Roll f------ tide" Well, I think that statement says it all. If it's not the scary stuff animals propped up on their patio, it's the constant hootin' and hollerin' they do. It's like their calling an old tom cat out in the woods or something.
So needless to say, I'm entertained for free around here.

Better Late then Never

Whew!!! My internet access has been down for two days. I just had to reprogram my modem. Nothing in particular has gone on this weekend. Been waking up super early for some reason like around 1:30am to 4:30am, eaten breakfast then fallen asleep again til about 10:30am.
I did some weeding in my garden yesterday, trimmed an alberta spruce tree and refilled my bird feeder. I'm planning to plant two new shrubs in the front of my garden, I think lorapedelums [sp?] These are a deep purple color and their branches spread out to about two feet. They have this red bloom on them too.
Well, this is my cleaning day too, so I'll be starting on my hardwood floors soon. I wonder if most everyone cleans on Sundays. Well thats about all my news. Talk tomorrow.

Ahhh. feeling better

I had a restful sleep last night and I am feeling better. I've been just laying around in my jammies and it's past noon already. I have some weeding to do outside today so I about to get up, get dressed and get to it.
I watched a really good movie on TCM this morning called "some like it hot." With Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. Have you seen it? It's so funny. I think their running a marathon on Jack Lemmon movies today.
I'm a classic movie junkie. My sister teases me all the time about not watching movies from this century. I think I would have liked to have grown up in the 30's and 40's.
My mother is also a TCM fan too. I even got a cable box and am paying extra each month to get this channel. They have a classic film festival in Hollywood each year in April. Boy, I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that.
Well thats about all my news for the day. Happy Friday!!!

Well Tomorrow is Today

I didn't blog the next day. [on 10/11/11] I've been fighting a stomach virus or something. I sometimes think that it's all of the medicine I'm on or I seem to be around sick people most of the time. Who knows? But I do get sick a lot.
Enough about that. I can tell we're gonna have an early winter this year because the mornings and late evenings theres a strong cool breeze. I prefer the fall and winter over summer anyway. It's so pretty outside too, with all of the leaves changing colors. I can't believe that Halloween is just two weeks away, Thanksgiving is a month away and Christmas will be here soon. Where has this year gone?
I won't be having Thanksgiving here at my house this year. But I'm still going to decorate.
I know other single people that don't decorate for the holidays, but I always do. I always have my tree up the day after Thanksgiving, I put trinkets all over my house and I start listening to Christmas music.
I love the festive feeling during the holidays. I'm gonna try to go see some lights this year and I'm even thinking of going to Jasper's  Christmas parade this year. I know that Birmingham must have a parade somewhere, but I never seem to catch it. Oh and theres Christmas Village at the civic center that I may go to. I don't have a lot of money to spend, but I'd like to go to get ideas.
Well thats about all I have to talk about tonight. Have a good weekend everyone.

Huh?

Not much to report today. Feeling a little bit under the weather. I've been lazy all day.
I'll check back tomorrow. Bye!

What a Great Deal

This afternoon, I was hunting for a good deal. I needed about a dozen or so copies of paperwork that I have and I searched on the web to find a good price at a local printing shop. I found Kwik Kopy.
It's about 2 miles from my house. Instead of charging the standard 40 cents for one copy, I got 16 cents per copy there. And they were so nice to boot.
I'll be taking my stuff there from now on. I got another good deal at Brunos. They had a sale on their meat.
For 2 steaks, 1 roasted chicken and 1 pound of shrimp I only paid $11.00. My freezer will be full for a couple of months.
I always try and find good bargains. You have to with the prices being what they are now.
This is a little hint, I also shop for Christmas presents the last week in October. Stores usually put their merchandise on sale then. They've ordered in bulk for pre-Thanksgiving sales. This Christmas will be meager for me.  Even though I'm on a budget, I'm thinking about movies for everyone. Movies are good because they're both entertaining and priced reasonably. I'll probably bake some banana bread and cookies as a second treat for everyone.
I know some of you may think, "why is she thinking about Christmas now?" It never hurts to be prepared when there's bargain hunting around.

Woke Early

I woke up early again this morning, but then I fell back to sleep and didn't get up til 10am. Whoa....
It's so weird, when I fell asleep last night I had all the lights on and the TV on. Isn't it funny that you can sleep through a loud TV show. Of course when I woke at 4:30am this morning there were commercials on for certain products. These are the shows that run that early. When I walked a little while ago, it seemed that everyone was still asleep, cause I didn't see a soul stirring around.
With Alabama's homecoming yesterday, I guess that everyone had a late night.
It's so funny, Butter is drinking out of the faucet in the sink. She's got her whole head under the running water drinking. She'll also stand in water and dunk her paws in bath water when I take a bath. Weird cat.
I watched a lot of movies last night. Of course, it seems that every channel has some sort of scarey show on because it's October. I like the old classic black and white scarey movies not these bloody movies that usually run at this time of year.
I just saw on the tube that the network is running the series on The Dick Van Dyke Show today on TV land. It's the 50th. anniversery of the show. Can you believe 50th? May Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke are still alive. They must have been pretty young when they did that series.
Well my kitty is calling for me to play or feed her or just calling. Talk later..

Pretty Morning

Got up early and took a really good walk. I just love this time of year. The residents in the complex have all of their Alabama decorations out on their patios for today is their homecoming. So it's all crimson and white. I haven't  seen many Auburn fans around here.
One of the splurges I do for myself is buy fresh flowers at Publix. So I went this morning and bought some. There displayed in my living room now. It makes my tiny place smell so good and makes me happy.
You should try putting flowers out where you would see them.
I bought more bird seed and filled my bird feeder up to put in my garden outside.
My new shrubs are being delivered next week, so I'll get this "bald" spot in front covered. I even swept off my patio.
I'm planning on planting some winter flowers out say in the middle of October. I remember when I bought this place 5/yrs. ago in October there were yellow flowers in the planter boxes over hanging on the railings of my patio and fresh cedar shavings around the garden. It looked so pretty.
I'm hoping that it will look that nice this winter. I always plant something that can take the cold temps. I hate having an empty garden at any time, plus it dresses up your place.
Just a little more planting to go and I'll have it done.

Old Times

You know sometimes when I watch old movies on TCM, I often wonder how it was back then. No hustling and bustling around, no computers or new technology. I think I would have liked to have grown up back then. I've always been attracted to the simpler things in life.
Where men actually pulled the doors open for women, pulled out chairs for women and had a better respect for women.
Now it seems like there  is too much politics going on. Too much of women proving that their equal to men. Don't get me wrong, I support all of that, but we've somehow lost  the  feminine quality.
Even the dress was more appealing back then. When women wore hats and gloves all of the time. And even men wearing hats as well. It seems that there was more time spent with "the family."
So, there's a lot of perks from living back then, but I think I would miss the technology of these days. The means of communication didn't exist then. What I do like still is sending letters to people not emails. Emails are so inpersonal. It's so nice to get a card rather than an ecard.
So, when I watch these old movies, it's like a dream from the past.

An hour early

I'm home a little early this afternoon. I volunteered an hour later yesterday, so I left an hour early today. Not much to talk about today, just the same old same old.
It seems that my days are running together. It's hard sometimes to blog when you really don't have anything new to talk about. I am going to try to see a friend this weekend that I haven't seen in awhile. We've known each other about 28 years and even though we don't get to spend much time together, we're able to pick up where we left off. I think thats important because it shows how good of friends we are.
I did get to see some other friends on Monday afternoon, which was nice.
I may have few friends, but I have friends that have tested time and again. Friends that I have known for years and that have become part of my family.
Of course there are those that aren't part of life anymore, this is unfortunate because I don't think you can have too many friends. But they are nice to have.
My kitty is greeting me to pay attention to her so I've got to go play "string." More tomorrow.

Wednesday

Well this afternoon I got a recall notice on my honda. When I took it by the dealership, they said I needed an appointment for all recall repairs. So, I'll have to find time later this week to do that.
I saw the cutest baby in the grocery store. His mother had gotten a bouquet of flowers and he was playing with a carnation. He hadn't been more than three or four years old. I walked up to him and said "pretty flowers."
He then gave me the one he was playing with after his mother said it was OK. I of course had to buy it at the counter. Kids are so funny. I remember at one time in my life I wanted four boys. But I could never find the right guy to have kids with. I would have preferred to be married. All the guys I dated wanted to date the "long haul, no commitment."
If I had had my wits about me when I was younger, I would have found a man that wanted kids and just do it. WHo knows how my life would have turned out. But it's those chances that you don't take that effect your outcome.
So, I'm in my mid fourties now, wishing I had a child

Today

Not much to tell today. Since I've been home this afternoon, I've pretty much just layed around. I've been having trouble again sleeping. It seems this goes in phases. Every five or six weeks I won't sleep much. I think it has a lot to do with my anxiety. Yes, I was blessed with anxiety that I have lived with for a long time. I worry about everything. Call me a nervous hen, but I do.
It doesn't matter how much exercise I get, or how well I'm eating I go through these times when I don't sleep. If I think about it, I can actually live on 2 to 3 hours a night. Eventually it catches up with me and after a week or so, I'm whipped. I just happen to be in that sleeplessness state right now.
So, my days start running together, I get forgetful and I don't eat well. Oh and when I'm like this my immune system is awful. I'll catch colds real easily.
I think I'm getting one anyway. If I think back to my teens, I had a hard time sleeping then too. You just learn to get by with what you can. And move on.

Monday

This afternoon I met my dear friends at Cracker Barrell. I had the trout with green beans and carrots. It was so good. Then they followed me home and dug up my dying box woods. I don't know what I'm gonna plant out there now, but I was told the best time to plant shrubs is in the early fall. So we'll see.
After my chores were completed I took a long walk. The trees colors are so pretty now and there was still that cool breeze in the air.
Not much more to report for the day. Have a good week everyone.

Sunday

Boy, I've had a lazy Sunday. I'm up early as usual, then I doze back off to sleep around 8am. Get up, then doze off again at 12:00noon. I did take a walk early this morning and boy was it cold. I like it when there's a cool breeze in the air.
I bought this loaf of bread yesterday that has raisins in it and it's so yummy. I had that with butter this morning. Popped it in the microwave so the butter is all melted and what a great taste that was. I normally don't eat a lot of bread, but this was good.
I hear Butter crunching down on her kibble. It must be nice to eat all day and not worry about caleries, blood sugars or fat.
There has been a lot of young cats prowling around at night. They can't be more than a few months. They come right up to me purring. I wonder who they belong to. There's a busy street right in front, so I hope these kitties will stay clear of that.
Well, going to go get some clothes on. It's 3pm and I'm still wearing my jammies.

Up Early

I can't believe that today is October 1st. This year has just flown by. Well I'm up early. Actually I woke up around 4am. Been drinking coffee. I'll probably dose off to sleep later on today. But I was having the most odd dream. It was one of those dreams that was so real. You know, the ones that you wake up suddenly thinking you're still in the dream.
Well this one was a hoot. I dreamed that someone was stealing my camel. A camel of all things. I had it parked out in front of my condo. How do you park a camel anyway. This camel had two humps instead of one. How would you even ride this kind of camel. So needless to say, there's no camel outside only my car.
Aren't dreams funny. I remember one time I dreamed that there was a blob after me. I had just watched "The Blob" on TCM and so naturally I dreamed that there was a blob in my neighborhood. Eating up everyone.
I guess I need to sensor what I watch on TV.