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No Surprise

No surprise here, but I’m exhausted. These past couple of months, I have been unable to fall asleep. Honestly, it takes half a century to fall asleep. Once I’m asleep I’m good, it’s just getting there that’s hard. Thankfully, I have bloodwork in a few weeks to determine if my thyroid is the culprit. After all, it usually is!

While it’s no surprise I’m tired, it will come as no surprise that prior authorization approval is still pending for the Mayor’s Dexcom. When he was in the hospital in October, Cigna called and told us they would approve a CGM and insulin pump immediately for him. Cigna doesn’t have the best reputation, but they did the right thing. It is taking weeks for BCBS to approve the Dexcom 7. It’s unacceptable to me that BCBS would delay the medical equipment necessary to keep his blood sugar stable.

Perhaps I’ll sleep better when I’m not worrying about where his next Dexcom is coming from. I’m going to try calling again this evening. The doctor’s office reached out to BCBS yesterday. It’s so infuriating that I even have to fight this battle. At this point, I’m going to have to take it to the socials to get it approved. They already have confirmation of his type 1 diabetes and have paid for his insulin pump. This is just absolute insanity.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading She Wolves by Helen Castor.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why?

If I could be someone else for a day, I’d want to be my Grandma T. I’d love to walk a day in her shoes with her memories and her experiences. The not-so-serious answer would be that I’d love to be Victoria Beckham for a day, so I can hang out with her husband David.

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Reese’s

So we go through Reese’s cup in this house like they’re going out of style. They’re the Mayor’s go-to emergency snack to bring his sugar up. They’re ideal because they have ample carbs and some protein. Originally we stored them in the fridge, but it was way too easy access for the hubby and I. It was also cool enough outside to stash them in his diabetes storage drawers.

We quickly learned the best way to replenish the stash was to hit up the post-holiday sales. Nothing beats Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups at half price. Also, the holiday ones tend to be more fresh. We already killed the Valentine’s Day peanut butter cups. In fact, the Mayor was yelling at the hubby and me for eating the cups out of his stash. Mind you he’s never been without an emergency stash and we’re paying for the cups. The only other person who wouldn’t be happy with my coffee and peanut butter cup diet would be my doctor.

Jake’s wife Melly makes these amazing peanut butter balls, which I should learn to make. They’re truly little masterpieces of chocolate and peanut butter. It would probably save us some money at Target as we’d no longer buy all the bags of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. The Mayor also has a stash of Powerade and Gatorade, which helps keep his sugar moderated during the day. It’s quick too since it’s liquid. After several months of living with type 1, we’re starting to settle into the new normal. It’s just our new normal can be a bit shifty and tenuous at times.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading She Wolves by Helen Castor.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

I wouldn’t permanently ban a word, but would ban the overuse of words. For example, folks throw out words like communist, fascist, and socialist for every person they disagree with politically. These words have heavy meanings and heavy implications, so to overuse them to the point they lose their meaning is dangerous.

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Fabulous

I had a fabulous weekend with the family. It was, however, a bit short. Oh, and there was the fact the Mayor’s Dexcom died and so did the replacement. We had to go bare Saturday night. It was a nightmare. I don’t think I slept at all. The Dexcom gives us security. We know if his sugar is off, the Dexcom will alert us. With no Dexcom to alert us, we were back to waking up in the middle of the night to make sure he was okay.

Our change of insurance precipitated the issue with his Dexcom. While my weekend was fabulous, I think we all know health insurance in the US is far from fabulous. BCBS will not approve the Dexcom prescription without prior authorization, despite the fact that he has an insulin pump with a noted type 1 diagnosis on file. It makes me wonder if they’d rather have us manage his condition at the hospital. Surely that can’t be the more cost-effective way to manage type 1.

We ended up paying cash for one Dexcom 7 sensor to tide us over until the authorization comes through. Unfortunately, our Walgreens didn’t have any on hand. Fortunately, Sean, the pharmacy tech assisting us, called around and found us one nearby immediately. While I’m usually quite tepid in my praise for Walgreens Pharmacy, yesterday they went above and beyond for us. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief once the Mayor was back on his Dexcom 7.

In between the continuous glucose monitor drama, the Hubby and I took the puppies for walks on Saturday and Sunday. The weather was perfect for it and the dogs were thrilled to go on an adventure. Saturday is an active rest day for me, so a nice leisurely walk with the dogs was on brand. Hopefully, it’s a habit we can maintain as the spring continues. It’s great for the dogs and it’s great for us.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): I made it into February and haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m reading She Wolves by Helen Castor.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

What is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?

In the next six months, our youngest will be graduating high school and concluding his youth hockey career. It’s odd to think about hanging up the hockey mom life after twenty-plus years of mayhem. Anyway, it will be a big adjustment for both me and my hubby.

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Hump Day

It’s hump day. I woke up thinking it was Thursday only to be disappointed by the fact it was hump day. Isn’t that the worst? Just like January, this week is dragging its heels. This girl needs the weekend to rest and refresh badly! Emphasis on the rest part of that equation. I am tired.

I could use a weekend of spa treatments. We have a busy weekend on deck with brunch and the Cats game on Saturday. The Mayor has one of his last regular season games Sunday afternoon. It should be a good game. It’s the only team in the league that our boys haven’t beaten. Last time they played they tied. Having fully enjoyed my day as a hockey mom, including wine and espresso martinis, I may not recall that game at all. Whoops…

The Mayor had his first practice on the pump last night. It looked like his sugar was okay during practice, but there were plenty of low alerts afterward. I’m not sure if those were false lows, which the Dexcom does throw, as I fell asleep before they got home. I’ll chat with the hubby tonight and see. We’d like for the Mayor to be able to drive himself to practice again, but we need to be sure it’s safe.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 29 days in and I haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

What would you do if you won the lottery?

There’d be signs. I’d buy a hodgepodge of my favorite things. The first thing I’d do is adopt some puppies and get a bigger space for them to play. Then I’d quit my job to travel the world with my boys and dogs.

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Pump Day

It’s pump day for the Mayor. The nurse educator set the Mayor up with his insulin pump this morning. The training and setup took just over an hour. Once it was completed, he was ready to rock and roll. Now he’ll only need one type of insulin, fast-acting, instead of two. Also, no more injections for him! Instead, he’ll use insulin from vials to fill his pump. We will, however, still need to keep both types on hand in case there is an issue with the pumps.

Obviously, we have no chill about this pump. It’s an absolute game changer for him. Honestly, it should make managing his diabetes and staying in range much easier. For the hubby and I, it should help us get more sleep. My hope is the pump eliminates the high blood sugar alerts in the middle of the night. Those are the worst. We still need to be watchful about the lows, but even those should be less.

Speaking of chill, it is still cold here in South Florida. We may not have gotten any snowfall like the panhandle did, but boy is it chilly. In fact, it hasn’t gotten out of the fifties today. As someone born and raised in Minnesota, it pains me to say I’m cold when it’s 50 degrees. Nonetheless, I’ve definitely acclimated to South Florida’s amazing climate. While we have been in the 50s all week, Minnesota was nearly 100 degrees colder. In case you were wondering, the weather was a driving factor behind our move.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 24 days in and I haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: on it!
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting.

I’ve always wanted to visit the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables. It’s fed by an aquifer daily and looks stunning.

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Still Tired

Well, I’m still tired although we got more sleep last night. The Dexcom alarms didn’t start until 3:00 am this morning. Today’s alarms were of the hypoglycemic variety, which I find quite scary. The Hubby went upstairs to ensure the Mayor ate and drank something to raise his blood sugar. As always, the Mayor was a peach. Fortunately, his blood sugar rebounded nicely and didn’t bottom out or spike the rest of the night.

Next week he has his nutritionist appointment at the endo’s office. I’m sure he’s super excited for that one. Our endo removed his carb restriction, which thrilled him. The following week, he has an appointment to receive training on his insulin pump. I think this is the appointment we’re all excited about. Once he gets the pump, the high blood sugar alarms should, the operative word being should, become a thing of the past.

While I’m still tired, I appreciated meeting my new manager this morning. I’ve worked for Doc before, so I’m excited about this new change. I wish I could say the leads and my production have been as exciting, but I’d be lying. For the past two days I have been riding the struggle bus. Such is life in sales. Anyway, I’m still tired.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 7 days in and I haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: it’s been two days, but so far so good
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?

My great-grandmother lived to be almost 105 years old. She died just months shy of her 105th birthday. She experienced both world wars, the Spanish Flu and COVID, and the move to a world dominated by computers and cars. More than that, she was able to experience several generations of the family she created.

My great-grandmother had a very special relationship with my oldest son Jake. She was his great-great-grandmother. I remember his face as she recounted how Lindy (Charles Lindbergh) used to dip his wings to say hi to her when she was working in the fields. She connected us to our past, while Jake connected her to the present. It was a beautiful connection to witness. Longevity made this connection possible, and it was an absolute gift.

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Tired

I’m tired. I know, know, I’m always tired. Today’s been rough. The Mayor’s Dexcom was going off with high blood sugar alerts all night. His CGM showed his sugar level as over 400, while Accu-Chek showed nearly 300. We gave him a correction dose around 1:30 am based on the accu-chek numbers, but it took a while for the Dexcom to stop squawking. Anyway, my alarm came way too fast.

The Mayor stayed home from school today as the night of high school blood sugar left him feeling nauseous and exhausted. He complained to me that his dad and I woke him up too many times. Meanwhile, the hubby and I could get no sleep as his Dexcom went off every five minutes. His sugar is much better today and has been stable since we woke up. Hopefully, his blood sugar will stay stable throughout the night so we can all get some sleep.

Here’s a nice TBT pic

As for me, I’m fighting the good fight at work. Our department meeting went well. They reassigned my boss to a different department, so as of January 1, my boss changed. I’ve worked for my new manager before and found it to be a pleasant experience. The last several months have been difficult for several reasons, so I’m happy for a fresh start.

2025 Goal Tracker:

  • Run a 5K: in training
  • Complete Kayla Itsines program: in progress
  • No afternoon Starbucks (except for travel/vacations): 7 days in and I haven’t buckled!
  • Top performer at work: it’s been two days, but so far so good
  • Travel: working on it
  • Eat to lower inflammation: in progress
  • Read daily: in progress. I’m currently reading Armadale by Wilkie Collins– so good.
  • Get out of debt: in progress
  • Financial independence: in progress

What could you do differently?

There are a lot of things I could do differently. One thing that I’ve been contemplating starting, aside from Goat yoga, is the European grocery shopping trend. This involves several small shops at different stores throughout the week. The goal is better ingredients and less waste. Too often the produce I bought on the weekend, isn’t fresh when I use it later in the week. Theoretically, this should save us money if it results in less food waste.