Insulin Resistance is not the same as Diabetes

So far, according to recent blood work from last week, I do not have diabetes.  I have never had diabetes.

Yet, for some reason, whenever I tell people that I am insulin resistent, some still insist that I have diabetes.

Yes, I do take medication that diabetics take for insulin resistance.  However, taking medication for insulin resistance does not mean that I have diabetes.  One leads to the other, but they are not the same.

So far, according to recent blood work from last week, Metformin is helping to get my insulin levels under control.  I have lost 25 pounds since beginning the medication.  As long as my body continues to heal, I will likely never have diabetes.

See:  Other people say the same thing

Final Report on 2012 Goals

I struggled a lot last year (Jan - Dec 2011).  We had just moved 1279 miles away from the only home I ever knew.  I missed my hometown, my family, my friends, our house in the mountains, the Anthropology department at UCCS, wide open spaces, sidewalks, the dramatic landscape and vast amounts of public land; I really missed everything.

My Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Source: Wikipedia.org

During our first several months in Circleville, we lived in a tiny flea-infested apartment.  I was a newbie at managing fleas (they don't live in Colorado).  I failed at getting rid of them despite bombs, fogging, and cat bath attempts.  We weren't planning to stay in that apartment forever, but it was hard to be positive.  Dusty worked 50 hours a week, but I couldn't find a job for the first five months.  I spent many lonely days in that apartment fending off boredom with Netflix and Sims and feeling sorry for myself.  When the weather was nice enough to go outside, I realized that my neighborhood had no sidewalks and there were no parks to go to that weren't strictly ballparks.  

The weather was especially hard to adjust to.  The sky was always grey.  The humidity was heavy in the air.  My favorite time of day was evening when the fireflies came out, but even then I was attacked by mosquitoes.  Rain showers lasted for hours and hours.  The electricity supply was inconsistent.  

I was unable to make friends in our new little town.  I felt really... different, like a real foreigner.  I was waiting to become a state resident before going back to school.  I couldn't talk to people without bringing up Colorado.  It was all I knew, and with Colorado I compared everything in Ohio.  I had too much free time to think about all that was wrong with our new home.  It was really hard for me to stay optimistic when I was unable to find work, and I had trouble relating to my small-town neighbors.

Circleville, Ohio
Source: www.ci.circleville.oh.us

I was depressed, but I decided to use my free time to invest in my health.  I joined the YMCA and discovered that I love to run on the treadmill.  I found a good primary care physician who introduced me to the rest of my healthcare team: my nutritionist, physical therapist, gynecologist, and endocrinologist.  In March, I began taking powerful medications to regulate my hormone disorders.  I continued therapy sessions over the phone with my mental health counselor in Colorado.

I started to find things to be grateful for.  Tornado sirens were neat; I actually liked hearing them because they were different.  I found solace keeping our bird feeders stocked and watching the astonishing variety of birds that visited our porch.  I saw my first cardinal.

In May, I was hired to sell electronics at Sears, and finally had a place to be and people to socialize with.  Eventually I started to feel more comfortable with Dusty's Ohio family, and by the end of 2011, I had registered for classes at Ohio State University and was looking forward to a productive and happy 2012.

On January 1, 2012, I posted these goals.  Some I've accomplished, others I have not.  I never really know how each year will be.  However, because of the steps I took in 2011 to improve my life, the year of 2012 has been a pretty terrific one.  Since I have consciously been working on self-improvement, I believe each year has been better than the last.

So, here is the list of goals I wanted to accomplish in 2012.

2012 Goals:

1. post these goals on my blog (January 1)
2. give an update after my birthday (June 16)
3. give a final report at the end of the year (December 31)
4. write as many blog posts as I wrote last year (21/45)
5. begin a regular exercise program (April)
6. plant a flower garden
7. plant a veggie garden
8. build a snowman  (no snow!) 
9. fly a kite
10. carve a jack o'lantern (October 20)
11. read 12 books (19/12)
12. go on a day-hike of 5+ miles 
13. visit a zoo 
• Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (July 2)
14. visit an art museum 
• Columbus Museum of Art (January 5) 
• Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati (January 16)
• Wexner Center for the Arts (June 14)
15. visit an aquarium  (April, July)
16. finish painting the bathroom  (November 20)
17. unpack all of our boxes 
18. put a guest bed in the guest room (October 11)
19. bake goodies and give them away for no particular reason 
20. donate to NPR  (June)
21. pick another borrower to lend to on Kiva.org 
22. buy, borrow, or rent a canoe and take it out on a lake by myself
23. join a club
• English Language Partnership Program
• Women's Glee Club
• Adopt-A-School
• Roundtown Ringers
24. take a road trip to Niagara Falls and cross the border into Canada for the first time 
25. visit my beloved Colorado (May 24 - 29)
26. play on the beach (any beach!)
27. mail four unexpected letters/cards
28. visit five unique parks, museums, historical sites, etc. 
• Columbus Museum of Art (January 5) 
• Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati (January 16) 
• The Topiary Park, Columbus (January 17)
• Purple People Bridge, Cincinnati (April) 
• Garden of the Gods (May 25)
• Wexner Center for the Arts (June 14)
29. go camping
30. volunteer 25 hours (210/25)
• 10 hours as a Classroom Assistant, tutoring 7th Grade English
• 200 hours as a Match Grant Intern at World Relief Columbus, assisting refugees with job readiness training and placement
31. enter a photo contest
32. attend an American Indian gathering 
33. add five counties to my list of U.S. counties visited
34. complete 12 courses at Ohio State (14/12)
• Music Cultures of the World 
• Women's Glee Club (x3 terms)
• Phonetics 
• Intro to Fiction 
• College Survey 
• U.S. Colonial Literature
• British Literature
• Disability Studies
• Evolution: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
• Cultural Conflict in Developing Nations
• Orientalism: Contemporary Views of the Ancient Near East
• Probability, Data, and Decision Making
35. maintain 3.0+ GPA (3.02)
36. attend the Circleville Pumpkin Show (October 18, 20)
37. preserve some of the harvest to enjoy during the winter 
38. vote in November elections (November 6)
39. complete all Christmas shopping by November 30th 
40. decorate the outside of the house with lights for Christmas (November 17)
41. mail all Christmas presents by December 15th
42. register and begin practicing for the GRE  

Feeling the (school) spirit

Yesterday I posted the link for Traditional Songs of The Ohio State University, performed by Ohio State Women's Glee Club.  I advised you to watch carefully around minute 2 to see the audience stand and sing along with OSU's alma mater, "Carmen Ohio."  Today I want to go into more depth and explain why I am so amused by this.  

For starters, Coloradans don't stand and sing anything together.  Most Colorado residents are immigrants from other states and have diverse opinions about what it means to be a Coloradan.  True Colorado natives (like myself) are largely outnumbered by these immigrants.  This is very different from the population of Ohio.  Most Ohioans are natives (like my husband) whose ancestors settled here 200 years ago.

Residents of Ohio say that they can go anywhere in the country (world even?) and shout "O - H!" into a crowd and from another Ohioan they've never met before get the response: "I - O!"  Actually, in any situation you find yourself in, just remember that "I - O" is an appropriate response to "O - H."  It works!  I've done this. 

And, Ohioans also like to do this: 

This picture was taken in Springfield, OH when Women's Glee Club went on tour in April.  Yes, that's me representing the "I," with my rooming buddy posing as "H," and our generous hosts making up the first and last "O." 

Ohioans are really into this pose!  Click here:  O-H-I-O to browse thousands of O-H-I-O poses.  People get really creative with it.  

The Ohio mascot, adopted by the Ohio State University, is the poisonous tree nut called a buckeye.  Yes, my school's mascot is a nut the size of a large marble.  There is a special dessert treat with the same name.  It's chocolate over a glob of peanut butter, shaped to resemble a buckeye.  You can buy them in gift boxes at just about any grocery store, or you can get the recipe and make them yourself.  People make buckeye cakes and wear buckeye necklaces   Starbucks has a Buckeye Mocha on their menu.  

This is a real buckeye.

On OSU football game days, it is customary to wear Buckeye Gear (scarlet and grey colored clothing).  Anyone caught wearing Michigan's colors gets boos from concerned Buckeye fans.  I have seen this.  You can find Buckeye Gear at just about any store.  In addition to clothing, you can get bag clips, mugs, blankets, sheets, Snuggies (we have this), Christmas ornaments, Christmas stockings, stickers, decals, shot glasses, curtains, beanies, hats, plush toys, Pillow Pets, silver commemorative coins, bibs, wallets, lamps, gloves, garden gnomes, flags, banners, framed prints, lapel pins, and any other item you would need to prove your loyalty.  Click here to see with your own eyes:  Buckeye Fanatics

Being a part of all this makes me feel warm and fuzzy.  When choosing a college to attend, I was smitten by The Ohio State University school spirit, and general love for the school demonstrated by Ohioans (alumni or not).  I really love being a part of it.  After warmup and before each Women's Glee Club performance, we stand in concert formation in the practice room, with our arms around the women beside us, linked and swaying back and forth we sing: 

Oh! Come let's sing Ohio's praise,

And songs to Alma Mater raise;

While our hearts rebounding thrill,

With joy which death alone can still.

Summer's heat and Winter's cold,

The season pass, the years will roll;

Time and change will surely show

How firm thy friendship -- O hi o

Handbell Choir?

This year I had the coolest opportunity to join the Circleville handbell choir.  Handbells?  Never played them before, but I had some percussion experience in high school and a lifetime of vocal and piano training, so I gave it a go and joined!  I am in charge of E♭, E, F, and F♯ on the bass clef.  

At the Circleville Pumpkin Show we performed four songs including Lady Gaga's "Just Dance," which is easily our collective favorite.  We have also performed at a hospice memorial ceremony.  I really enjoy being a part of this group.  It's fun to be a member of a community music-making team.

Treat yourself to the sounds of women's voices.

I am involved in a lot of things because I like to stay busy, but Women's Glee Club (WGC) is my favorite extracurricular activity at Ohio State University.  WGC is comprised of about 100 women who sing in four parts.  I sing Alto II, which is the very lowest (and very best) part.

Here are some links to one of our recent concerts, which was performed in early November 2012 at Bexley Methodist Church in Columbus.    

Enjoy! 

Confitemini Domino, and Jubilate Deo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWhzMcz7_EI
This is how we usually open our concerts: freak out the audience by singing really loudly behind them, then march creepily up the aisles chanting Latin in a round.  

Wie lieblich sind Deine Wohnungen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by9cPgieNI0
This is probably one of my favorite songs because it is just so beautiful.  I love singing this in a mixed standing arrangement so I can immerse myself in all of the different parts.  

Hexenlied
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VuVB9Myyjw
A song about witches!!  Perfectly appropriate for this time of year, though I'm not too sure about singing it in a church...

O Frondens Virga, and I Am Not Yours
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BglD6OL_39E
We like to do this to our audience after intermission: we surround them and sing at them from all angles.  It has a very cool effect in a space like this.  

Music Down in My Soul
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEmo_mW240A
A gospel song.

Gaudete!  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Xk9LqPQ-8
This is probably our favorite this year.  It's a real audience-pleaser.  

Traditional Songs of The Ohio State University 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QpPbrrnM0k
...be sure to watch around minute 2... the entire congregation stands for the National Ohio State Anthem (OSU's Alma Mater, "Carmen") and everybody sings along... Oh how I love Ohio and Ohioans.  This is just too cool :) 

May The Road Rise to Meet You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9yQi1AkiC0
The signature closing song of many WGC concerts.  

Upcoming OSU Women's Glee Club events:  

20th Annual OSU Celebration Concert, was performed last week, but will be broadcasted on WOSU TV December 9 and 25 at 8pm (I'm hoping to get someone to record this for me since we don't have TV channels).

Mozart Requiem The full hour-long requiem mass (Women's Glee Club, along with Men's Glee Club, Symphonic Choir, Chorale, and Symphonic Orchestra), March 3

Women's Glee Club goes on tour to Northeastern Ohio and Toronto, April 4 - 8

CD Release (?)  There are rumors that the latest WGC CD will be released in the spring.  

✓Register for Spring Semester and Purchase Books

As I am finishing up the Autumn Semester with just two exams, one paper, and three meetings remaining, I can't help myself... I have already purchased all of the books I'll need for Spring.

Here is a list of all the classes I'll be taking in the spring.  I can't believe I'm almost done!!!


Anthropology 3301 - Modern Human Physical Variation
Book:  Human Biological Variation


Anthropology 3350 - Prehistoric Indians of the Ohio Valley
Books:

Ohio Archaeology: An Illustrated Chronicle Of Ohio's Ancient American Indian Cultures

Indian Mounds of the Middle Ohio Valley: A Guide to Mounds and Earthworks of the Adena, Hopewell, Cole, and Fort Ancient People (Guides to the American Landscape)


Anthropology 3401 - Fundamentals of Archaeology 
Book:  Principles of Archaeology


Anthropology 3525 - History of Anthropological Theory
Books:

A History of Anthropological Theory

Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History


Music 2203.05 - Women's Glee Club
Scores:
Mozart Requiem

I Am Not Yours

O Frondens Virga

Wie lieblich sind Deine Wohnungen

Deo Gracias

Music Down In My Soul

Psalm 8 (Adonai, Adonenu)

..... and many more!