A Good Day

Today was beautiful. I love the heat of the Florida sunshine. I've only seen snow one time in my life on a ski trip in the 9th grade. That was enough... I missed the sand.

This afternoon my kids and I jumped in the SUV, picked up my niece, and drove towards the beach.

When we arrived the kids immediately started digging a "hot tub" with their shovels and buckets. Then they made pillows out of the sand. Then castles.

The waves were pretty big. We went in the water to cool off, jumping over breaking waves and squealing as each one knocked us over.

As the kids were building their various creations together, I took a moment to just soak in the perfect moment that was happening. I mean really just sat there, with tears in my eyes, thanking God for this perfect moment, trying to sear the memory into my brain.

I lost a good friend to cancer last week. Her Celebration of Life service was yesterday. Just a couple months ago she was giving me advice about my Kindergartener who was being mischievous at school. She was a mentor and a friend in so many ways. The impact of her life was shown yesterday as countless people gave testimonies of how she encouraged them, sacrificially gave of her time, efforts, talents. It was amazing to hear. Now she's gone.

Just like that.

Life is such a fragile thing.

We always say that, but yet we often don't live like we believe it.

So today I savored every little moment intentionally. I gave to others sacrificially. I reflected with a grateful heart all God has done for me. I spent time with good friends. And I sit here in gratitude for one more day I've been given here on earth. I tried to make a difference.

I really want to live every day like I did today.

I Dream of Tetris

Have you seen the Diabetes Mine Design Challenge? I always enjoy reading the posts and watching the entries each year! Inventing tech-y-ish things isn't exactly my forte. I'd rather write a sonata or something.... :) But there is one thing I've always wished for, especially when I was just a young buck. So if you need an idea. Here's mine and you're welcome to make it a reality for me.

Tetris on my insulin pump.

Or any games really!

Snake? Pong? Angry Birds?

This would have been especially fun when I had boring high school/college classes and got busted for texting or playing mindless apps in class. This is how it goes in my mind:

Teacher: "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to take that and you can get it from me after class."

Windy: "Oh! I'm sorry, it's just my insulin pump."

Teacher: *feeling ashamed and dirtbag like* "Oh! Well, I....er... didn't know. Go ahead and finish."

Mu-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha

I know. I'm terrible. But you know it's funny.

This may require a super-man like battery to power it. One made out of cryptonite or something. But, dang-it, it's 2011!

Make one Super-geeks!

Can't a girl get a fun insulin pump?

"Shut Up!!"

I love my Endocrinologist so much! She is great! If you live in the Tampa area.... really, she's awesome. So is her staff... which is sometimes just as important!

Anyways... today I got my A1c done in the office at my quarterly check up and as the little machine shook and jiggled I sat their nervously chatting with the nurse.

She sent me into the exam room before it was ready. I opened up the Diabetes Forecast and pretended to be interested in a healthy dessert recipe....

*Knock Knock!*

"Come in!"

*big smile* "6.7!!!"

"Shut up!!! I mean.... really??"

At this point... we both may or may not have kinda done "The Running Man" together for 15-30 seconds.

My Endo took almost an entire half hour answering my questions about my CGM data charts, tweaking my basils, and explaining to me how to go on a "Pump Vacation" by going back on Lantus shots and Humalog pens for a weekend that is coming up (and I just want to be wire free for it, goshdarnit!)

So anyways... we (my family, not my endo... haha, I mean you gotta draw the line somewhere) celebrated with Mediterranean take-out. (Falafels are awesome... And so is James Taylor... who talks about falafels in this song...)

Whoa... anyways....

I'm pretty happy with a 6.7! It's a half a point lower than my last visit. I really tried to stay in range over the past couple months.... and sometimes I wanted to throw my Dexcom 7 Plus in the toilet when it said BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP over and over again at ungodly hours of the night! But having some sort of tangible success in the form of a number, that may or may not have made my doctor dance like a totally rad 80's rock star... kinda makes it worth it. :)

P90x For Diabetics: The Completion Vlog...2 Years Later

I recently noticed through my site-tracker (thanks Kerri!) that I get a lot of traffic from my P90x blogs back in 2008 and 2009 and I realized that I never wrote a review of the work out program or told everyone about the results I got after completing the program! If you don't want to spend 5 minutes watching my video, my main results were the following...

1. Lost 30 lbs over 4 1/2 months, kicked my metabolism into gear and I've kept the weight off

2. Decreased my basil rate by 20 units per day on my insulin pump over the 4 month period

3. It gave me a lot more energy and strength to chase around my kids and enjoy life! :)

I am having a slight panic attack about the decision to include before and after photos in this video, but I am definitely never running for public office, so hopefully these will never come back to bite me in the you know what! Enjoy and be kind! :)

In closing, P90x is definitely not the ONLY way to get this kind of results. Any type of commitment to daily exercise and healthy eating will give you some type of results! The more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it I'm sure! The hard part, as always, is sticking to it and not giving up! My best wishes to all of you! Cheers!

Mentoring

"More time spent with fewer people equals greater Kingdom impact." Regi Campbell

I am turning 30 in a few months (gasp) and mentoring is an a word I've recently been focusing on. Jesus began his public ministry at age 30 when he turned the water into wine at Cana. (I've always loved that he started his ministry up by hooking up the party goers. What an awesome God we serve!)

Over the past several months I have kind of felt scattered in this area and decided it was a high priority to get some principles in place to help me be more effective and efficient with my time and energy in this area. My husband is a student pastor and I am a music educator by vocation, so this is an area where having the right tools is essential to being successful in pointing people in the right direction.

I sent out an email to a few trusted and respected friends (some of them mentors to myself!) and one sent me a book called MENTOR LIKE JESUS. It is written by an elder from Northpoint Church, Regi Campbell, who has had great success mentoring groups of men over the past several years. He lays out some VERY practical ways to help with mentoring. I am not using his exact model yet, but have incorporated a lot of his ideology (which really ends up being Christ's methods with his disciples) to be more intentional with some of the girls at our church.

And low and behold, the flood gates have opened with opportunities now that my heart is in tune with the Holy Spirit's nudging on this. The Type 1 diabetic sixth grader who is trying to control his disease while not letting it control him, the fifth grade girl who has decided to get baptized and learn how to play worship songs on the piano, the two high school foster boys who are searching for acceptance and direction, the Freshman who initiated starting a youth praise band for our Wednesday night youth group meeting, the seventh grade girl who is planning a 30 Hour Famine to raise money for World Vision, and the long lost cousin in prison who is reaching out for hope and a fresh start.

I can't even explain how thankful and humbling it is to be able to be living out what you know you were born to do every day. God created us with a need to feel purpose. And when you discover what that is for your life, you start living it with a passion that you've never felt before.