Winter fur gone.

So here's the clean shaven version.

Transformation.

Well, that time has come again. After a cold winter, spring is on the way. Certain creatures shed their extra winter fur in the warmer weather, and my husband is no exception. That's right. Last night, Paul shaved off his beard! Two days before, he shaved off his mustache in what he called his "Brigham Young" look. I had to take pictures of the event.

This first picture is from Christmas Break. It was taken when we all singing Christmas carols as my parents' house. I put it here so that you can see what Paul looked like with his full beard. All winter he was something of a novelty in our ward since most of the ward members are BYU students. Their honor code forbids guys from growing facial hair. (Notice Paul's awesome Zelda shirt. I have a Zelda shirt too and we sometimes like to wear them on the same day just to be geeky.)

The next picture is Paul's "Brigham Young look." Then we have the chin scruff transition. A few pictures of the shaving, and then... a completely different Paul. :) The only problem is, I can't figure out how to pictures below the text instead of above it. And when I tried to add the last picture, it kept putting it at the top. I don't know how to get around that, so I'll just put the last picture in another blog. Sorry about that.

A good ride.

Today, Paul and I had so much fun! We went out in the morning to get groceries (since we don't have class on Tuesdays). It was so warm and beautiful and tantalizing hints of spring were in the air. I was actually feeling decent, so we spontaneously decided to go up Provo Canyon. It turned out to be a lot colder in the canyon than we expected, but we still wanted to do something, so we went to Sundance and took the ski lift for a round trip. We had our pack lunches on the lift as we watched the people skiing and snow boaring below. On the way up the canyon, we stopped to take pictures at Bridal Veil Falls. Here are the pictures from the adventure.

This is how I feel about Fat Free Ranch.

I took this picture today being silly and I thought it rather matched my previous blog. :)

Never eat fat free ranch.

Well, it's official. I'm a Type 2 diabetic and so I have started loading up on sugar-free snacks and most importantly sugar-free ice cream (which isn't nearly as bad as I expected). I absolutely cannot abide nasty disgusting grotesque fat free Ranch dressing. It is too horrific for words. I forced myself to eat an entire massive salad with the stuff on it and I flat out refuse to do it ever again. It is so worth counting the carbs and getting the real thing.

Anyway, I'm adjusting. I'm still losing more pounds every time I weigh, so there are advantages to every situation.

Emporer Penguin

I just got this picture from my parents, who are visiting me. This was from the exciting ice fishing trip-- my prize fish.

But it was 15 below zero and I was bundled up ridiculously so that I look just like an Emporer Penguin. (Incidentally, have you seen March of the Penguins? It is a beautiful film and I highly recommend it.)

So anyway, ice fishing was AWESOME! Paul was laughing his head off in excitement when he started pulling them in on the second trip. A lot of things are new to my soft California boy and it is sort of like taking a little boy to do things. He's adorable and his eyes light up. And you'd think seeing a mule deer was like seeing a lion. He's so excited. We have to stop the car and he goes on and on about how beautiful they are and he's so amazed. It's fun.

Bring on the needles!

I feel like I've traded lives with someone, like everything that I've experienced since yesterday afternoon isn't actually happening to me. It's weird and sureal and I can hardly believe things can change so fast.

I went into the Student Health Center at UVSC yesterday thinking I had a bladder infection. I've been peeing all the time and I thought it was just a super persistent infection. I started having bladder problems in December and I thought it was finally time to just get some medicine and get rid of it. So I told the Nurse Practitioner what I thought my problem was and she had me pee in a cup.

But I didn't have an infection. My urine was all full of sugar and ketones. (I don't know if that's how you spell ketones...) It was in such ridulous quantities that it could only mean one thing. A quick prick of the finger revealed dangerously high blood sugar levels, proving without a doubt that I have diabetes.

And so I was diagnosed and referred to a Diabetes Clinic, which I went to today. I was there for over four hours. I talked with Dr. Robert Day and had more tests done. Then I saw a man who taught me about the mechanics of the disease and how to test my blood sugar and give myself insulin shots. Then I saw a nutritionist who taught me all about how I should eat and exercise. I was put on two medications and will be back to see the doctor twice next week. In the meantime, I have to give myself insulin shots four times a day.

It's hard to say which type of diabetes I have at this point. It really could be either one. I'm very young for the typical case of Type 2-- mostly it's a 45 and older thing that's more common in minorities than white people. But I'm also a little old for the typical case of Type 1, which usually manifests in childhood and is more common in whites. The doctor will be able to tell which type I am depending on how I respond to the medications-- they'd only be effective for a Type 2. If I respond well and am Type 2, then I won't take insulin anymore after the first week and will be able to tackle this thing on oral medications alone. If I don't respond to the medication, then I'm a Type 1 and I'll have to take insulin for the rest of my life.

So it wasn't just a bladder infection or any of the other things I thought were wrong with me. See, I have been feeling sick for quite some time now, but it was hard to define what was wrong. Sometimes I would just feel so tired and of course I would feel horrible if I didn't eat. Last summer, I started to have problems with my eyes. It felt like my eyes were rejecting my contacts-- things would be blurry and it was sometimes difficult to read. I saw an eye doctor who insisted that there was nothing wrong with them, but the problems have persisted and now I know why. And all my exhaustion and sleeping in late all the time-- I know why about those things now too. I was starting to wonder if I was a hypochondriac, always thinking I was sick when I wasn't.

But I was sick! Dr. Day is fairly certain that I've had diabetes for at least two years. And now that I know, I can actually get better! Yay! I mean, I can't get completely better, but I can do a lot to improve my health. I think once my treatment is figured out and my cells are actually getting the nutrients they need, I should be feeling better than I have in years! And that gives me such a sense of relief! And one of my medications causes weight loss. It's kind of ironic that I get to lose the weight I wanted afterall.

Bring on the needles!