great news

Had some great news from the doctor today. It's been a year since I was first diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and, as many of you know, I have struggled with getting things under control. Finally, some positive results:

1. I have lost 22 pounds since July!
2. My A1C is down to 7.2 from 7.9 in July. (A1C is a picture of your average blood glucose control for the past 2 to 3 months and gives you a good idea of how well your diabetes treatment plan is working.)
3. The doctor says that if I get my A1C down below 7.0 I can reduce or cut out one of my medications.
4. The doctor predicts that at my current rate, and if I'm 'fairly good over the holidays', I can lose 40 more pounds by the time I see him again in April. (We'll see about that one...)

So, in typical Teresa fashion, I came home and celebrated with pizza and a handful of Dark Chocolate M&Ms. (Oops!)

Back on the diet tomorrow!

It's okay, I'm from Iowa...

You know you're from Iowa if...

• Vacation means driving through the Amanas or going to Adventureland.
• Down South to you means Missouri.
• You have no problem spelling or pronouncing "Des Moines".
• You know the answer to the question: "Is this Heaven?"
• You know where all the Yoders live (or Andersons, or Van den Bergs).
• You know what "Hawks" and "Clones" are.
• All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit or vegetable.
• You can locate Iowa on the map.
• You've ever been on a "Geode Hunt".
• Your idea of a really great tenderloin is when the meat is twice as big as the bun and is accompanied only by ketchup and a dill pickle slice.
• You say "catty-wampus" instead of "kitty-corner".
• You've never taken public transportation.
• You know what "uff-da" means and how to use it properly.
• You know what "Amish Country" is.
• The only reason you go to Wisconsin or Missouri is to get fireworks.
• You know exactly where "Field of Dreams" was filmed.
• When someone says they are going out for dinner or supper, you know which meal they are talking about.
• You're pulled over and asked by the cop, "Had a little to much to drink, (insert your first name here)?
• You can use the words, 'crik', 'holler', and 'skunk weed', all in the same sentence.
• Your Christmas gift when you were ten years old was a shotgun (a BB gun if you were a 'townie').
• You've had sex in the back of a truck ... amid cows.
• You know that cows don't sleep standing up.
• You're concerned about the rates of corn growth in Illinois as compared to that of Iowa's.
• You believe that trees in Iowa lean towards Nebraska ... because Nebraska sucks!
• You know several people who still refer to Japanese cars as "rice-burners."
• "Styx" plays a concert at the county fair, and people actually show up.
• You don't get nervous when you walk into a biker bar (unless you're an Iowa City cop).
• You judge distance by the time it takes you to get somewhere instead of by miles.(Example: Des Moines is about an hour from Creston.)
• You say pop instead of soda.

it's a new car!

Remember how the announcer on The Price Is Right yells out, "It's a new car!"? Close your eyes, hear it in your head, and then have a look at my new baby! After many test drives, too many opinions of friends and family and some serious financial haggling, I finally brought home a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe. It's black w/ gray interior, has 65,000 miles on it, power everything including a sunroof/moonroof and a 6-disc CD changer. Both Consumer Reports and J.D. Power & Associates rank it really high on their list of best used vehicles. I love it, love it, love it! And, isn't the car salesman cute?

crash and burn

Okay, nothing really caught on fire, but it might as well have. Last Tuesday I was 't-boned' at an intersection on my way to work and the Kia Sephia was totalled! Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, although I did make a trip to the hospital, as my head received a severe smash to the door frame. [I still wake up with a headache.] Two days later, I was salvaging my little baby at the junkyard for $300. How depressing! I made a visit to the bank, got approved for a car loan (tricky business in these economic times), and am now car shopping - yuck! Stay tuned for pics of my new ride...