Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Birthday Greetings

Happy Birthday to everyone I know who's having a birthday this week: my friends Kevin H. (today), Syd (the 28th), Tommy Jean (the 29th), and yours truly (also the 29th).

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Anniversary Greetings

A very Happy Anniversary to my friends Bev and Mike.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Blood Sugar Blues

I've been intending to post this for the last week or so, and I finally decided I need to post it today before it becomes old news.

For a long time now, I've been wrestling with an unusual physical problem--my lower legs, ankles and feet are constantly stiff and sore (or sometimes cold and numb), and there's very little I've been able to do to make them feel better.

My brother and several of my friends have been urging me to go to the doctor for a check-up because they suspected that I might have diabetes. I've promised to go several times, but I kept putting it off (I have a phobia about doctors that I'm trying to overcome) until one friend finally threatened to make an appointment for me and drag me there, kicking and screaming, if I didn't take care of it on my own.

Three weeks ago I finally went in for a check-up. The bad news is that I'm definitely diabetic (I have a "touch of diabetes," as the doctor put it). The good news is that she said I should be able to get my blood sugar under control with oral medication (Avandia) and daily glucose checks, along with paying more attention to what and how much I eat and getting more exercise and losing some weight (which are all things I should be doing anyway). The other good news is that my blood tests didn't turn up any other problems, so bringing my blood sugar down and keeping it there is the only thing I need to focus on.

So far things have been going okay--I've cut waaaay back on how much snacking I do and started making better choices when I feel like I absolutely have to have something to munch on. My blood sugar is coming down, but I haven't had any luck in losing weight so far, which means I either need to get more exercise or possibly switch to some different medication (since one of the possible side effects of the Avandia is water retention and weight gain), or maybe both. I'm going to give it a few more weeks and see how things go, and hopefully I'll have something positive to report then.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Wednesday Postcard Blogging

Today's postcard:


The caption on the back:

OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Located at N.W. 23rd and Blackwelder, it has long been a landmark in Oklahoma City. The statue in the foreground--"The Eternal Challenge"--is a witness of man's eternal search for knowledge. The girl carries a book, while the boy holds high the symbolic lamp of learning.

(The postmark on the back is a little hard to read, but the date looks like Sept. 21, 1964.)

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Wednesday Postcard Blogging

Today's postcard:


The caption on the back:

STATE CAPITOL BANK
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

This beautiful and unusual modernistic designed bank, located at 3900 No. Lincoln Boulevard, is called the "Bank of the Future." It is equipped with a floating air lobby from the main floor to the lower floor, and a cashier to customer TV drive-in banking window.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Birthday Greetings

A very Happy Birthday to my friend Gerald.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Wednesday Postcard Blogging

Today's postcard:


The caption on the back:

SEQUOYAH AND WILL ROGERS BUILDINGS
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

These modernistic buildings, housing State and Federal offices, are a part of the Capitol complex. They are named in honor of Sequoyah, famous Cherokee Indian chief who invented the Cherokee alphabet, and Will Rogers, Oklahoma's favorite son and world-famous humorist. "The Avenue of Trees," a part of the landscaping, is made up of 77 trees; each tree represents one of Oklahoma's 77 counties.

(The postmark on the back--my aunt sent this to my grandparents while she was here for a visit--is dated Nov. 12, 1963. FWIW, the message mentions that the weather was in the 80s that day.)