Catching Up -As of Lately

It's been a little while. Lots going on as I approach the end of the semester and the start of my favorite holiday season! So this is going to be a quick one.

As of lately...

I have been working on so many assignments for my methods course. My biggest assignment is due by Tuesday at 5:30am (hey every last hour counts) so that has been my main focus. It is coming along though. Hopefully I will have it all done by class on Monday. I have to create a math unit which consists of 5 lesson plans (which are very detailed), 2 quizzes, a test and an alternative assessment. In addition, answer keys and rubrics to go along... ahhh!

I was also really happy with how my lesson went that I taught last Friday. Here are the notes I wrote to myself just before presenting... I am going to keep these motivational sayings going from now on.

Blood sugars seem to be back on track which is always a good thing...but now experiencing a few more lows... ugh! Last week I felt like I was struggling to stay below 150. Now I feel like I haven't even been close to there! Frustrating because I am doing the SAME EXACT THINGS as last week when I was seeing some unfriendly numbers.

Spin classes have been going well! Getting a lot of positive feedback which makes me feel really good!

I entered another 5k for the weekend after Thanksgiving!

I am soooo excited for my family's annual "Pre-Thanksgiving Celebration" this Saturday... Bring on the food! (And the insulin)

Next week mom and I are seeing the Radio City Show... I have always dreamed of being a Rockette! I really do regret giving up tap when I was younger. (Tanya lets get on those adult tap classes)

Finally, make sure to look for me as THE ELF on the Santa float in the Macy's Parade next Thursday! I will be holding the reigns. :)

Also yesterday I got a manicure and loving this new color from essie. Check out shearling darling. 

Can you believe it's the holidays already?! 

Tuesday In Pictures

Before breakfast, yay! 

Got fingerprinted for NYS teacher certification. 

After breakfast :( 

Snow!!!! 

Starbucks was a winter wonderland. Perfect for the Christmas Blend. 

Another presentation down ( no picture ) 

Afterwards though I loved driving home to the newly added station. 

A great salad for dinner! 

Veterans Day

After a crazy week last week which in addition to being sick unfortunately included a death in the family things seemed to get back to schedule yesterday which was Veteran's Day.

It was my second day back to the gym after taking 3 days off. It felt extremely nice waking up at 7:15 as opposed to 5am. It was a strong workout and I am feeling it today... love the burn!

I headed out to school early to attend the Veteran's Day celebration my school has every year. Yes I went because it counted as an extra credit opportunity for one of my classes, but I really do enjoy it. It is very humbling to see all of the Vets that are involved in the SJC community.

I didn't stick around for the refreshments afterward because I wanted to grab coffee before heading to class for the afternoon to have with my bar. (Yes I settled for the cafeteria coffee and not Starbucks). Apparently I missed out because look what my friends Jolene and Kara picked up for me!

Hooray SJC! :) I took the salad home and had it with dinner and it was very good.

I also thought a lot about my grandfather who was a WWII vet. Boy do I miss him!

It was a nice transition into the week and overall good for a Monday. Now just trying to get those blood sugars back on track. Ugh going through a rough week. Not fun, but trying to deal... oh well!

Before I sign off, just wanted to give a special shout out to my cousins Mimi, Linda and Bobby... <3 

2013 JDRF Walk

This past Sunday I took part in my first JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. It was a great morning and perfect weather for a walk! (A little chilly, but I don't mind the fall temps!) 

Team Kim met at Bethpage Ballpark an hour before the start time at 9:30. Luckily we had an extra hour of sleep the night before.

I was so surprised when my best friend Tanya picked me up and presented me with a homemade shirt! She is so crafty.

 

Team Kim members included my best friend Tanya and her bf JT, mom and our good family friend Linda aka Lindaloo and friends from the restaurant I work at Mary Ellen and Margaret! I felt so loved.

The walk was 3.1 miles, just like the 5k I did a week prior... but this was by far the most difficult workout I have ever had! I am used to running 3.1 miles and being done rather quickly. Walking is a whole other story. It just kept going and going.

Finally we got to the half way mark when I thought we were almost done... 

What?!

Then of course, blood sugar starts to drop!

The last quarter of a mile is when I and a bunch of other T1's began to lose it. It was comforting to see so many others doing what I do all the time.

Tanya, JT and I hailed down a golf cart... the low blood sugar patrol (lol). I guess this is just another example of the unpredictability. I have gotten through multiple hour long workouts that felt a lot more strenuous, but a little Sunday stroll through me for a loop.

Oh well, it felt good to be there for the cause and have the support of some great people! :) Thank you again for all of the generous donations and support. In only a week Team Kim raised $560. Next year I will know what to expect and hopefully will raise even more and get through the whole walk.

Take The Challenge! #T1D4aDay

November is JDRF's Diabetes awareness month. For the month of November they are offering a challenge called Type 1 for a day. Free of charge, you can register any day in November to receive text message alerts from professional snowboarder Sean Busby to get a sense of what living with T1D is all about. In my opinion, this is not realistic because honestly the majority of the people will quickly read the text and not actually have to do anything, BUT it is a good way to educate and get SOME idea of what it is like. 

So I challenge you! Will you sign up? Watch the video posted on the JDRF site. I think it explains it well.

Speaking of JDRF, this Sunday I am participating in my first JDRF walk to cure Diabetes. Luckily I have had a few people join my team which I am really appreciative of! It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day so I am really looking forward to it. If anyone is interested in joining "Team Kim" I would love to have you. :)  Stay tuned for that post!

Also, Happy Halloween! I have never really been a big fan of Halloween. It all started when I was 3 years old and planned to be the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. It was my favorite movie and I had nailed the line "I'll get you my little pretty... and your little dog too!" However, the day of my pre school parade it was raining and I was afraid I was going to melt. So there went that idea. Baby Bop for another year in a row it was.

Luckily since I am not a big fan of candy, I am not too tempted. I am saving my splurges for Thanksgiving and Christmas which are quickly approaching.


I leave you with some of my throwback Halloween moments.

My good friend Nicole and I back during our LA Dance days

An Exciting Delivery

I usually pay no attention to the mail except for around the week of June 19 and Christmas.  However lately I have been paying special attention to deliveries because I knew something was coming other than my mom's shoe orders and diabetic supplies/insulin.

If you remember, ThinkThin and I are now besties.

They so kindly offered to send me some bars on them which I gladly accepted and am very appreciative of! Then I was the winner of their Fall Style Giveaway and won another box. 

 After receiving this message I was anxiously awaiting! 

Last Thursday was the day. I came home just before bar time to find this in the kitchen....

 

 After careful examination I was excited to see that they were made just the way I like...thick and fluffy! Maybe the best batch ever.

Then it only got better on Friday when I came home to see my second delivery waiting for me. I was on cloud 9! 

If you haven't already I HIGHLY recommend you make ThinkThin your protein bar of choice. They are so delicious, it is like having dessert. No strange after taste like I have had with some other brands. They pair nicely with Starbucks Coffee! My typical snacks include...

And remember... do not disturb. You have been warned if you interrupt.

Go give my pal ThinkThin a like and/or follow on your social media sites and give some of their products a try, you won't be disappointed! And if you are (which is impossible) I will gladly take the rest. :)

Thank you again to ThinkThin for their great products. Tasty and healthy!

Race Day!

Yesterday was a great day so therefore I must share! It was my second 5k race, this time the Commack Coalition of Caring. I was really excited to take part in this once because it was at my high school which meant I would probably see some familiar faces.

Of course there was that looming voice in the back of my head worrying about blood sugars, but I made it through once again. I am learning though that adrenaline is really tricky to figure out.

The day started with my usual breakfast. Nothing fancy, but I know it works. Off we went!

Another thing I am learning about races, is that if they tell you the race begins at 9am and registration is from 7-8:15, you only need to get there about an hour before. Arriving at 7:35am to an almost empty lot isn't necessary, but oh well!

Checked in, got my bib and began stretching. This race was clocked by a computer so everyone had an electronic chip to record their time and the results came out right away.

After watching my sensor all morning I was happy to see it staying steady at a slightly higher level. At 8:45 I checked and was 187. I had a small bite of a protein bar and headed off. Later I would learn that I most likely didn't need it, but with a race I just wanted to be safe.

At 9am...ready, set, go! 

It was a really motivating route. There were different checkpoints with volunteers cheering and handing out water. There were also clocks at the mile markers so you could see where you were at. 

The last mile felt like the longest. I was wondering when this last stretch of road was going to end, trying to ignore the fatiguing in my legs and of course thinking...Hmmm what is my blood sugar doing? I had my sensor on me and some glucose tablets just in case so that helped to put my mind at ease.

As "Firework" by Katy Perry came on I finally saw the finish line in the distance. Just before finishing, a volunteer called out 23:02... with only feet away I knew I could beat my first time of 23:35. 

And I did! Crossed the finish line 15 seconds faster. I was so excited!! Another race successfully completed. 

After catching my breath I checked my blood and saw the effects of my adrenaline... 304!! YIKES!! Usually when I am running for a regular workout, steady cardio tends to drop me, so it is really tricky to figure out when your blood sugar will do what. Oh well wasn't going to let it put a damper on the beautiful morning. Took a correction and knew it would eventually come down.

Results were posted and I scored 3rd in my age group! I am really liking this running thing :)

The awards ceremony was held in the gym and there was a bunch of vendors there as well. One of them being a massage company...

I even saw some of my spinners at the race! 

It was really rewarding to take home a bronze medal. Just another challenge tackled! 

The day only got better as we went to celebrate my dads birthday at our favorite restaurant Dazies! 

Anyway back to work on a presentation for school. Stay tuned for my next post about what came in the mail last week. Any guesses? ;)