So I decided I wanted my medical bracelet to look like a piece of jewelry instead of a medical bracelet.  Here are the ones I've worn so far:

This was the first one I ever wore.

Rather ugly.

So I ordered two sports bands.  I didn't really like the clasps on them, but I did wear them until they wore out.

Then I bought a stretch band - wore it about a week and the band broke.

Then I saw some pretty beaded bracelets.  But the price floored me.

This one is $30

This one is made with Swarovski Crystals and is $60

Since I have several of the Medic Alert medals, I decided to make my own bracelet.  I went to Michaels and bought four different packages of Swarovski crystals for $6.99 each, and a jewelry starter kit for $15.  I can make 4 bracelets with this kit for the price of one from Medic Alert.

When I finish it, I'll post a picture of it.  I've never tried making jewelry before.

I'm getting kind of bored with Xanga.  If it weren't for having a lifetime account, I'd just give it up completely.

Our chorus had our regional competition this past weekend.  We took first place in our division and 5th place overall!  The chorus I almost joined didn't take home any awards.  I am glad I chose this one! Here I am holding our trophy!

Here we are in the hotel finishing up one of our contest songs while we wait for the bus to take us over to the auditorium (I'm the one with the big head just to the left of the director's right hand):

Thought I'd update.

Last week I went shopping at Kohl's - found some great stuff but spent $500.  The good thing is that I got $100 in Kohl's cash so  I took Roger with my $100 in Kohl's cash back to Kohl's on Sunday.  Found $220 worth of stuff for him (A pair of running shoes, three shirts - two of them came with tee-shirts) all half price so total was $110 and with my Kohl's cash, we only had to pay $10.

My new drug regimen seems to be working, almost too well. My Endocrinologist put me back on Actos - he said it is used also to treat fatty liver because the main cause of fatty liver is insulin resistance and that is precisely what Actos fights.  He also put me on a new drug (injectible) called Victoza.  This drug replaces a missing hormone that helps my food digest more slowly and keeps my blood sugar steady.  Side effect is nausea.  I started out with .6mg for a week.  Just as my body was getting used to it (nausea abated) I had to double the dose - 1.2mg.  I was on that a week and again, just as I was getting used to it, I had to up it to 1.8mg.  The sample pen was almost empty (about 3 days worth left) so I took my prescription up to be filled.

Turns out this drug is supposed to be pre-approved by my insurance company before it is prescribed.  So when I went to pick it up, it wasn't ready.  I asked how much it was without insurance. <THUD> $500! So I said I'd wait.  I called my doctor today and it was approved, so Roger just left to go pick it up for me.

Anyway, this stuff works WELL.  Almost too well.  I've reduced my basal insulin by 30 units and have only had to take meal insulin once in the last two weeks.  Problem is that I am waking up a lot with low blood sugar (45-55).  And about 2-3 hours after breakfast it is low (45-55).  It seems to want to stay at around 70-80.  I think that is too low (but it would make for one hell of a good A1c!!)  When I called my doctor today I told the receptionist what was going on and she is going to talk to the doctor and call me back.  Or, rather, call Roger.  I can't find my freaking phone!

Weight loss has tapered off.  I'm down 16 pounds.  I can't eat less, so I have to move more.  It's time to join the gym.  I think we're going to do the family plan.  I am also going to hire a trainer.  Maybe by this time next year I'll be a healthy weight.  (I almost said I'd be normal, but we all know that ain't gonna happen LOL)

Allergies have been kicking my butt.  Finally broke down and got some Claritin-D.  That stuff works WONDERS.

And just for grins, I bought a long hair wig.  Will probably wear it to the next hippie fest with my tie-died Rare Earth tee shirt.  My hair was this long when I was 20 years old.  Hasn't been this long since.

Either my  house is haunted or there are critters in my walls and attic.  Who do I call?  Ghostbusters or Pestbusters?

I just got a very nice white embossed thank-you card from Kohl's thanking me for my recent purchase.

Doesn't matter that it was all done via computer.  It's still a nice customer relations gesture.

This past week I went to see two specialists.  First to an endocrinologist.  He put me back on Actos and added Victoza.  The Victoza is an injectible drug that simulates a hormone that I may be missing that causes my stomach to empty out slower thereby making me feel full longer.  It also seems to suppress my appetite.  Just in the first week I've lost an additional 3 pounds so I'm down 14 from my highest weight.

I also went to see a gastroenterologist.  The reason is because of my fatty liver.  He did some physical checks and said it doesn't seem to be enlarged or anything and if I can get my diabetes under control, I can probably get my liver back to normal.  In the meantime, no alcohol (which isn't a problem since I rarely drink anyway) and no acetominophin (Tylenol) which means no more borrowing Roger's Vicodin if I needed it (which I haven't done in months)  Other than that, I never used Tylenol because it never really worked on me for any kind of pain.  I used aspirin exclusively until ibuprofen was turned into an over-the-counter medicine.

I have been noticing all week that I do feel full sooner, I eat less, and have no desire to continue eating - for example, dessert.  At home after dinner I usually head to the cookie jar and grab a couple of cookies but I haven't had the desire to do that.

THIS is what I

needed!  Something that would make me not want excess food. 

It's going to be slow going, but I want to get down to a healthy weight.  Here is what I looked like at 25. 

I don't want to get that small.  I was thin but not very muscular.  I'd rather have an athletic body than a skinny one!  If it looks photoshopped it's because it is.  I took out the background and just filled it all in with the color of the wall I was standing against (which, believe it or not, was supposed to be 'white' but was covered in smoke and nicotene - I smoked back then.)

I wonder what the scores would be of many of the people here who write long entries if they submitted their entry to the Bullshit Meter?

http://www.blablameter.com/index.php

Most of my entries came up with "Your text shows no or marginal indications of 'bullshit'-English."

Just out of curiosity, I plugged in the Gettysburg address.

"Your text shows only a few indications of 'bullshit'-English."

Probably because of the era.

Haha, maybe I should put in my divorce decree.

Got my sister Debbie all moved in.  Damn she has a lot of stuff LOL  She is also a smoker so every time I open a crate I get a huge whiff of old stale smoke.  I've been laundering her clothes and linens as I come to them.  I also cleaned up all of the crystal stemware she had on an open shelf.  They had so much smoke film and dust on them even the dishwasher didn't get them clean.  I don't think a smoker can appreciate this much until they've quit smoking and realize that everything they owned used to be covered with smoke film and smelled like stale smoke.

But it will be nice once we get everything all put away (or stored) and she begins to feel like she really lives here and isn't just a guest.  She's come for the weekend many times and said she felt more at home then than she does now, maybe because she could make herself at home then and then just go home when the weekend was over.  Now it IS home and she can't leave to go home because she's already there.  Send that one to the department of redundancy department.

We bought her a new bed.  It's sooooo pretty.  Here is a picture:

She bought a nice quilted bedspread for it in off white with pastel blue and yellow flowers.  It looks so much better than this fuchsia comforter!

And in other news... My stepdaughter is going to a hairstyling academy.  She just redid my hair for me.  I'm no good at self-portrait, and had to take it in the mirror because when I tried to just aim at my head with my phone, I was taking pictures of my left boob or the floor or the opposite wall - everything but my head.

And in my health journey - I'm down 11 pounds from my highest weight.

This picture was posted on our chorus web page.  I have the biggest head in there!  Sheesh. (Front row with white notebook and multi-colored shirt)