I received a lovely email from Luisa who wrote:
I live in Italy (Europe) every year I have a show with two quilter friends. can you see it ?
I made two quilts with your patterns and I thanks you very much.
again
Luisa Boldori
Genova Italia
You can also check out Luisa's website HERE
I get SO excited when I see how far our love for quilting goes. There may be a language barrier, but our love of color, the texture of the fabric, the feel of the needle, thread and thimble, is a universal language!
Take a look at Luisa's quilt show....there is amazing work coming out of Genova, Italy!
Be sure you have the volume up.....you will FEEL like you are right there in Italy too!
This is my last morning in Minnesota. It has been so wonderful to be here, it also is so hard to realize that we are all going our separate ways again to opposite ends of the country. We have decided that it is important to really try to be together once a year because life goes by faster as it snowballs, and we are just all at the age where we need to cherish every moment.
What is really fun too is my mom's cousin Verlon and his wife Pearl live in Schaumburg, IL! Verlon came to visit this week, and when I told him I was going to be teaching in Arlington Heights and doing a program on Thursday, he said he and his wife would love to come! So I will have FAMILY at my trunkshow on Thursday. Isn't that cool? It's fun to get to know my mom's cousins and hear all the stories of things that went on when THEY were growing up.
So...does anyone know? If Verlon is my mom's first cousin..what does that make him to me? First cousin once removed? I never understood all that "first, second, removed" thing. :cD
I also have a confession.....I thought I was doing so well with my health, but because my mom and my aunt are both diabetic, we've been checking my blood sugar while I've been here. It's still high. It's higher than it was 2 years ago. Even though I have dropped 25 lbs, and have been living healthier, eating healthier...AUUGH. I thought I could manage this with just diet, and not worry about having to go on meds, etc, but now I'm 2nd thinking this.
For instance....I didn't eat anything past 7pm last night. I went and walk jogged 5 miles this morning. My mom checked my blood sugar afterwards,thinking my counts should have gone down after that much burning, but I was up to 134. This is up 8 points since the other morning when I was 126.
My aunt is a nurse, has diabetes also, and said.."Welcome to the family, aren't genetics just GREAT?!"
I'm making an appointment to have a full workup done when I get home. It's time to really take this seriously.
Hello,
My name is Bonnie, and I am diabetic. I need to make some changes. Starting NOW.
Thanks you so much for sharing the quilt show! I am glad you are going to get a check-up! Take care of yourself!
ReplyDeleteIf he is your mothers cousin he is your 2nd cousin.
ReplyDeletecsarina.
Bonnie I'm glad you are taking your blood sugar seriously. My DH hasn't and is now in end stage kidney disease, as well as losing the vision in one eye. Diabetes can be so devastating if it is not managed. Please do take care of yourself, you have many years of quilts in you waiting to come out!
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Linda and I'm diabetic too. About that morning reading....did you eat something BEFORE you went walking/jogging?? Because if you didn't that could be why your reading was even higher after exercise. I read it's something about your brain signaling your liver that it isn't getting enough glucose to function properly so your liver filters out the insulin circulating in your bloodstream and releases stored glucose. Mine keeps going up in the mornings until I eat something and then starts going down. It's just how some of us react. Yes, genetics are great. My family is also predisposed to elevated cholesterol and the statin drugs make us sick & don't do much good. We are what we are.
ReplyDeleteVerlon is indeed your first cousin once removed. If Verlon had any children, you and they would be second cousins. And then your kids, and their kids would be 3rd cousins, and so on, and so on.
ReplyDeleteI also have a large extended family and we don't see each other often enough. The annual family reunion is a dream of ours. But at least we are doing one next year. So I whole heartedly agree that if you can pull it off - do so.
Hi Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteYes, genetics are truly wonderful. I'm a Type 2 diabetic, third in a line (so far as I know) of Type 2 diabetics.
The good news is that it can be controlled to a certain extent by diet and exercise and some medication. The bad news is - once a diabetic - always a diabetic. The hardest part I've found is to actually admit to myself that I have the disease. (Yes, I'm still partially in denial. And it's been at least 2 years or more for me now.)
I just joined Food Addicts Anonymous http://www.foodaddicts.org/ . Many people who share say they were on their way to being diabetic but were able to control their blood sugar on the FA food plan. Basically it's no sugar or flour. The website can help you find a meeting near you. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the sugar levels. Sometimes it doesn't matter how healthy you are or how much exercise you do. It is genetics!! Aargh!
ReplyDeleteBonnie - here is a link to a relationship chart. http://genealogy.about.com/library/nrelationshipchart.htm
ReplyDeleteHello..My name is Jo and I am prediabetic. Like you I am watching my diet...lost 35 pounds and excercising regularly. I was told cut carbs because they just turn into sugar. Are you a carb gal?
ReplyDeleteI am hypoglycemic and must eat to maintain a level sugar level. Takes a lot of discipline..
ReplyDeleteGood Luck
Hi Bonnie--be sure to go to your doctor about the blood sugar. You may be able to control it with diet with the proper education! I agree with a previous comment that by skipping breakfast & then running, you might have elevated your blood sugar levels. Verlon is your first cousing once removed. If they have children, their children would be your second cousins. My family's from the south, we have a lot of "once removed's"...
ReplyDeleteI agree that getting together with family and extended family is so important and it tends to get put aside as we get busy with "stuff". I hope your family will commit to getting together on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are going to the DR. Even if you need medication, the eating right and exercising is sooo important. It is always better when you can keep the blood sugar in normal range.
Last but not least... I am so excited that is finally time for you to visit my neighborhood. I can't wait for Tursday night. (Sadly for me your workshops wee filled quickly so I won't be in a workshop. You snooze you lose right??). Anyway see you soon!!!
Oh I wish my numbers were only 134! Take some classes...they really help you figure out what to do. Proportion sizes and relationships between protein amounts and carb amounts are really helpful. There are new advances all the time. Everyone is different and it takes awhile to get your pattern down but you can do it! I've got to tell myself that too. sigh.
ReplyDeleteThe quilt show was really fun! Thanks. NancyC in CA
I really enjoyed the quilt show from Italy - that was fun.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am glad that you are taking care of yourself, Bonnie. Going to Minnesota had lots of positive outcomes. I have enjoyed your posts about your family and your grandfather.
Sending hugs,
sao in Midlothian, VA
www.shirleyannesheart.com
drsaowens@gmail.com
Oh, Bonnie, you are so smart to start early! Good girl, good girl!!! You may know that I am a nurse...and I see the devastation of not paying attention to that glucose level every day. I am so glad you are a smart cookie!! (sugar free, of course)
ReplyDeleteThe way that I learned 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. is to count generations back to the common ancestor and subtract 1.
ReplyDeleteMy cousins and I share siblings. 1 generation. Their parents were the same. 2 generations. Minus 1 = first cousins.
My cousin's child and I are still 2 generations back -- because it's not even. They are 2.5 minus 1 = 1.5 or first cousins once removed.
My child and my cousin's child: My cousin and I = generation 1. My parent and my cousin's parent are siblings = generation 2. My parent's parents = generation 3. Minus 1 = 2nd Cousins.
I hope that helps rather than confuses.
As for blood sugar -- you're right to monitor. Exercise can only lower glucose when there is enough insulin available in the bloodstream to regulate the liver.
When you begin exercising, your liver produces and releases glucose into the bloodstream, to help meet the increased demand for fuel during your activity.
Exercise also causes stress on the body -- which raises blood sugar.
Some people with diabetes will notice a significantly higher glucose rise after more strenuous activity and/or competitive sports; this is because epinephrine (adrenaline) is a hormone released during exercise, stress, excitement, or illness, and its effect is to cause the liver to release even more glucose to supply the body with the needed energy.
The more intense exercise is, the greater the secretion of glucose from the liver. During the strenuous session, stress hormones will be secreted in large quantities which will then stimulate the liver to release glucose. This is an interesting paradox: the more vigorous the exercise the more glucose released by the liver with a likely rise in BG rather than a fall. To make matters worse, the level of stress hormones in the blood may be elevated for several hours after intense exercise causing the liver to continue the outpouring of sugar. Thus, the rise in blood glucose may last for a number of hours once the exercise is completed. Additional monitoring may be needed until the values have stabilized.
As the body adapts to intense training, the hormonal secretion decreases when the same intensity workouts are done. Consequently, an intense workout at the beginning of a season that caused a surge in blood glucose may cause a lesser rise at mid-season.
HI Bonnie, the Italian show was fun! Thank you to you and Luisa!
ReplyDeleteTake care of you, it so important, you are very young!
Val
Welcome to the world of the "pancreatically-challenged".
ReplyDeleteI've been Type 2 diabetic for about 15 years now. The two best things I ever did for myself regarding diabetes was to take a diabetes education class and accept the fact that I needed medication to help control my blood sugar levels. Once I did those two things, I started to feel much, much better.
You can do it!
DLS
Bonnie - I always go to the doctor when I need a "second opinion" - or so my husband says. So glad you are taking this totally seriously. Hope it can be managed by diet.
ReplyDeleteoh dear, sorry to hear about the health news. fingers crossed, good luck with it!
ReplyDeleteI too love, love, love thrift sales and shops and a good bargain! My ex brother in law's family lives in Schaumburg (small world) and diabetes runs strong in my family too. It is amazing how it skips all over..it skipped me and my siblings (so far) but my oldest son got it at 19..he is the oldest of that generation so still waiting to see if the other four will get it..it came my mom's way at around age 55 (shots not pills) and guessing I will have it too one day as my aunts, uncles and cousins do. Sorry to hear your family has it too...
ReplyDeleteHi, Bonnie!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the elevated blood sugar. Type 2 diabetes runs in my family too and you don't even have to be overweight to have it -- I only weigh 110 lbs.
Yes, if you exercise before breakfast your blood sugar will go up because your body thinks you're starving and the liver dumps glucose into your system.
Most diabetics try to eat as soon as possible in the morning to prevent a liver dump. And many of us find it helpful to eat some protein at breakfast. Eating just carbs (such as the standard breakfast of cereal, milk, toast, juice) can make your blood sugar really spike because your body converts them to sugar very quickly. Protein is converted more slowly.
You should test as soon as you wake up to get your fasting blood sugar. Normal people usually have a reading of less than 100. Then testing after meals will tell you how well your body processes glucose. A non-diabetic person will usually have a reading that is less than 140, one to two hours after the start of a meal. (My blood sugar hits its peak at one hour, so that's when I test.) And a blood sugar reading of over 200 at random times of the day would also be cause for concern. With your family history you are wise to consult a doctor.
The American Diabetes Association has a Type 2 forum that has lots of helpful info:
http://connect.diabetes.org/forums/Forum3832-1.aspx
Take care of yourself -- we quilters can't afford to lose our eyesight (one of the complications of neglected diabetes).
*** Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and my post does not constitute medical advice. I'm just speaking from my personal experience as a diabetic. ****