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Thanks Pam!
A funny thing happens when you officially change your address…
You start getting junk mail for people who don’t even live in your house.
We receive promotional mail (i.e. not official stuff like bills or letters) for my father-in-law, mother-in-law and brother-in-law occasionally. Things like special offers for Cleveland lawn treatment services (my in-laws don’t live in Cleveland) and tuxedo rental offers. These kind of, sort of, maybe make sense.
But then we started getting mail for Pam.
Bath & Body Works coupons started arriving for Pamela K (same last name as me). One day, I got mail for Pam (we’re tight seeing as how she lives in my house supposedly) that contained coupons for not only Bath & Body Works, but also for Victoria’s Secret. Both contained coupons for free stuff so I threw them in my purse.
The next time we were at the mall I stopped in both stores and redeemed my free items, courtesy of Pam.
I ended up with $15 of free stuff, all because someone thinks I have a Pam at my house.
Thanks Pam!
Related Posts:
Mental Hang Ups
Are there any phrases or expressions that just bug you? Even when used “correctly” there are some expressions that for some reason annoy me. For example:
“Full-heartedly”
I will never use this phrase (other than above). It’s completely possible to refer to a full heart in some way or another, but wholeheartedly is not only more common, it just sounds better in my ears.
“Notion”
Rhymes with “potion” but for some reason feels foreign to say.
“Goes up” (conversely: “Goes down”)
Elevators and escalators do go up and down, but in other references I will always opt to use: increase, decrease, climb, fall, rise, etc. in whatever conjugation is appropriate. When the level of something rises, it’s not inappropriate to say that the “level goes up;” it just sounds elementary to me and I feel like there’s always a better way to describe something.
Watson creeps down the stairs
“Supper”
I always prefer to say “dinner” (or “lunch” according to some). This word also reminds me of Snoopy.
These are just some of my mental hang ups when it comes to words. Our brains are very strange places to say the least!
What are some of your hang ups?
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Conversation Skills
I was chatting on the phone with my brother (Seth) last week and he gave the phone to my 2-year-old niece. The conversation went something like this:
Seth: Say hi to aunt Rachel.
*crickets*
Seth: Can you say hi?
*crickets*
Me: Hi honey. How are you?
*crickets*
Seth: Can you tell aunt Rachel what a lion says?
Niece: RAWR!!!!
I’ll take what I can get. Read the rest of this entry
Checking In
The other night we got a call from the animal shelter to see how things were going with our cats. I can’t believe it’s already been five months since we brought Holmes and Watson home with us (in fact, I can’t believe we’ve lived in our house for five months already!).
Brad spoke with the shelter for a few minutes and mentioned that after the little scare we had when we first brought them home, everything was going well. Even though the shelter took care of the vet stay, the lady on the phone wasn’t aware of what happened. Brad briefly summarized that the day after we brought them home, the cats would not move from their carrier. They weren’t eating, drinking, using the litter box or purring. They also flopped over when we stood them up on their feet. There was obviously something wrong so we called the shelter and took them to the vet that works with the shelter.
Our kittens had to be kept there for two days and given IV fluids and medication. They had calicivirus. Something that they’d been vaccinated for, but much like the flu there are different strains and the stress of moving to a new environment made their immune systems unable to fight it off without some help.
It was sad to have them for one night. Then have them “hospitalized” for the next two, be allowed to bring one home, then have to wait a day for the other to come home.
The shelter volunteer who called was happy to hear that Holmes and Watson were active, affectionate cats and that we enjoy having them around. When Brad got off the phone I asked him, “Can you imagine what it would be like to be her if our cats hadn’t made it?” It would have to be the worst feeling to check-in on adopted animals to find that some form of tragedy had struck.
It made me thankful for our healthy little guys.
[and now is the part where I post cute kitty pictures]
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More Thanks
It’s still November, so I’m still thankful!
1. Family that’s family. Those people with whom you might share DNA but definitely share a warm relationship. They’re the ones who make the holidays enjoyable. The reason Brad and I don’t mind traveling for Thanksgiving is because it’s a day we associate with family.
2. Laughter. Jokes, stories, cute kids or crazy uncles tend to bring it on.
3. Traditions. Brad and I are building our own holiday traditions together, and as my house becomes filled with holiday decorations, the traditions become apparent.
4. Leftovers. Lunches, snacks and a quick bite of good food are great. It also means less cooking.
5. Hand-me-downs. My home is beautifully decorated for Christmas with a mix of new things and lovely things that have been passed on by others.
6. Tea. I’ve been drinking a lot of green tea for comfort and relief while trying to kick the cold that’s slowly going away. It’s calming and enjoyable. Almost as much of an emotional beverage as coffee.
7. Opportunities.
As November is heading toward it’s end, I’m curious: How do you give thanks all year long?
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Thankful in November
There are a lot of people posting daily one thing that they are thankful for. I haven’t been one of them, seeing as it’s November 6th, I think I can catch up a little and spread some thanks once a week.
- My husband. It’s a typical number one on the list, but for very good reason. I write about him a lot so you probably already have some idea why. I’m thankful for the past six years that he’s been in my life (even though he told me it was seven the other night) and I’m thankful for the future we have together.
- Electricity. I’m thankful that we have this amazing thing to power our homes and lives. I’m especially thankful that we were able to keep ours throughout the storm and that many have had theirs restored. I hope that those still living without, have it back soon.
- My kitties. It’s no secret I love animals, by Holmes and Watson really turn on the charm. They’ve shown many people already that not all cats are aloof and give affection to anyone who we welcome into our home.
This picture would be better if he were actually sitting with a Sherlock Holmes novel
Blog Action Day: The Power of We (in the DOC)
I participated in Blog Action Day last year and wrote about food (and diabetes). This year the theme is “The Power of We” so I think it’s high time I talk about the power of this online community that I’ve joined.
The DOC (which stands for Diabetes Online Community) in my opinion starts with Twitter (because that’s where I found them) and branches into blogs, Facebook pages and pretty much the entire internet. The DOC is a powerful, large (so large I don’t even know how many of us there are!) group of people living with all types of diabetes (there’s more than just two types and the DOC taught me that!).
When I’m asked about the value of social media, I find myself consistently coming back to the word “community.” In our online age, community isn’t physical anymore, it’s digital. When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I felt alone. I didn’t really know anyone else who had type 1 diabetes and I was being given advice and told stories about people with type 2 diabetes. Although both types cause high blood sugar, they have different treatments, different needs and I felt like I needed to “meet” someone who had survived those first few months of carb counting, self-injecting and handling the new lifestyle that I was having to adjust to. I turned to Twitter and found a vast community of individuals with diabetes and caregivers who helped me find the resources, encouragement and outlet that I needed.
In the past year that I’ve been navigating life with a chronic condition, I’ve found that I turn to the DOC with questions and support. They’re always there. In the middle of the night when I’ve woken up with low blood sugar, a brief tweet finds me someone who is either awake in another time zone or up dealing with the same issues. I get digital high fives when something is going well. But most importantly, there are people that understand what I’m dealing with.
I am a part of this community and I’m not just sucking the support, encouragement and information out of it, I can turn around and give it right back to others who need it. It gives me great joy to congratulate a friend (they’re my friends now) on a stellar a1c or answer a question about my insulin pump for someone who is doing research.
Without the internet, I would be in dire need of a support group, but with the speed my life moves, I wouldn’t get what I needed from occasionally attending meetings with other Type 1 patients. My support group is online, all the time. The DOC has been a powerful source of support but also a force of people communicating to healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical companies what it’s like to live day in and day out with a chronic condition, and how they can improve their care with that information.
Online support and the powerful “we” is not limited to those with diabetes or chronic health conditions, there’s an online community out there for whatever you’re looking for. You are not alone.
Related Posts:
Blog Action Day: Planning Meals
Need a little inspiration
Today is No D Day a day that I forgo discussing diabetes. So that is my final mention of that.
Click to see other bloggers observing today and link up.
Lately it seems that inspiration for many things escapes me. For instance, I have nearly 100 posts in my queue that will never make it the interwebs because they’re completely lacking in content, tone and generally inspired topics. I feel guilty when I don’t post consistently and it saddens me that so many of those drafts are venting about stupid things that none of you care about. I would like to keep this blog fresh and hopefully add some value to the internet. Read the rest of this entry
A great big letdown
I’m mad at my Dexcom.
Last Saturday morning I enlisted Brad’s help to insert a brand new sensor into my arm. By Wednesday, it was flapping in the breeze and I resorted to wrapping my arm to see if I could make it hang on to the 7-day mark.
Friday evening, we went out for dinner with our friends and the moment we were seated the screen went ??? on me. After 2 hours of not reading me, I ripped out the (incredibly itchy) sensor. Tested and decided to leave it alone until morning. Read the rest of this entry
Stream of Thought
Apr 3
Posted by Probably Rachel
Have you ever felt like you were forgetting something? I had that feeling all morning. I mentally checked off my list while getting ready for work. Contacts in? Check. Feed cats? Check. Put on deodorant? Check. Grab lunch from fridge? check.
I was almost all the way to the office before I remembered… I only put one set of earrings in. I keep meaning to bring a spare set to work and keep them in my desk, but I basically never forget to wear earrings. Today I’m sporting half-naked ears.
—
Our trash is still sitting on the curb. Between Easter observed on Monday and a solidarity, one-day walk-off among sanitation workers (supporting sanitation workers striking in another community), our trash was not collected yesterday as usual. It was still on the curb this morning when I left. I saw a garbage truck on our street so I’m hopeful. What happens when garbage sits on the curb for more than a day is a mess. Between people who don’t bag their trash and just put it in the can and people who only bag their trash and don’t use cans, there is unpleasant debris in the street. Not to be a whiner, but I hate picking up other people’s trash out of my yard.
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It’s never okay to tear your spouse down on social media. Airing a frustration over your wife leaving the oven on for an hour after dinner or your husband forgetting to fold the clothes out of the dryer is much worse than the actual “infraction.” I know that a lot of people use social media to vent, and I’ve caught myself a time or two wanting to tweet about one of my husband’s annoying habits but it’s good to stop and think, “Do I really want to put this person, who I love, down in front of my friends and family?” The answer is probably no. Plus it’s easier to get past those things if they aren’t immortalized on the internet.
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I’m afraid of potassium. When I was in the hospital when I was diagnosed with diabetes, everything in my blood was off including really low potassium. They gave me IV potassium and before I was discharged, I had to drink potassium powder mixed with juice (great idea hospital, make the person who’s just out of DKA drink juice). IV potassium currently holds the title for the absolute, most painful thing I’ve experienced. I’ve broken bones, had blood drawn what dehydrated, gotten a concussion, punctured my eardrum and has a spring-loaded canula inserted directly into a vein… and the potassium wins hands down. It was the only time I’ve ever thrown up from pain. The potassium powder drink was disgusting to drink as well.
Back to why I’m talking about potassium… My latest labs showed that my potassium was low-ish again. Knowing that I can do something about this immediately, I bought bananas. I hope to never need potassium in a painful way ever again.
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A couple of my stories are featured on OmniPod’s blog, Suite D today as part of their Diabetes Foolishness series. People say and think the strangest things about insulin pumps, glucose monitors and the things that people with diabetes do to stay
healthyalive.Related Posts:
Friday Five: What I Learned
Sometimes I’m Amazed
Curb the complaining
Posted in Commentary
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Tags: Conversation, Diabetes, Home ownership, marriage, OmniPod, Potassium, Type 1 Diabetes