About most things in my life, I'm pretty systematic: I wash the same body parts in the same order in the shower each morning, can't test my sugar without first wiping my finger with an alcohol swab, take the same route to work, ad nauseum.

I've learned to be fairly stingy with pump supplies, too. Especially since I'm in a probation period with my employer (everyone is subject to it their first 90 days on the job, so don't think I'm a slacker and they singled me out!) and don't have benefits until Sept. 1.

I knew this going into the job and prepared accordingly: got sample bottles of insulin from everyone who would give it up in addition to getting a mail order prescription for three months, reordering testing and pump supplies and asking for a little extra just in case.

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When you see the check-mark-y swoosh, you think Nike, right? An apple gets you the computer company, golden arches make you think of cheesburgers, a peacock will have you thinking Must See TV, a red cross... you get the picture.

And when it comes to health there are several very recognizable symbols of support, perhaps the most popular is the pink ribbon for breast cancer. I was doing some research today on breast cancer and realized that the pink ribbon is quite possibly the only symbol synonymous with only one health condition. Even the red ribbon went from AIDS to a host of other causes.

You see a pink ribbon you instantly think breast cancer; you see a red, green or yellow ribbon and you have to do some thinking or asking. While many diabetes organizations and associations have their own symbols, there is not one that is universal for diabetes.

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I hate site-change days. It's not often that I use that word, but really, I hate days like today.

I was rushed this morning. I had planned to get up earlier than I did anticipating that I'd need to do a complete site and reservoir change. Didn't happen -- the getting up early part. As I sat at the table watching the kids eat breakfast, I felt myself rushing through the site-change ritual, even getting the infusion set tape stuck to the side of the QuickSerter. That's never good.

Take deep breaths, Michelle, I told myself. Slow down, I said. You're going to wind up with a bad site if you don't. So I did. Sort of. Well, enough to get my infusion set inserted.

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I have enough trouble managing my sugar when I take my daily walk, I can't imagine being a person with diabetes who is also a profressional sports player, or a body builder or even someone who decided to participate in a triathlon.

For some reason, the idea of someone like Doug Burns, who is Mr. Universe, managing type 1 diabetes is easier to accept than someone on a professional sports team. It seems like a professional body builder has more time to stop, test and adjust if need be. Or, maybe I just don't know that much about body building.

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I must admit -- with a bit of a blush -- that I'm very irresponsible when it comes to disposing of sharps and used pump supplies.

There was a time when I put every sharp in a medical waste container and The Mr. would dispose of it at the hospital for me. That was mostly pre-diabetes, though. That's when I was taking shots of blood thinners when I was pregnant.

For some reason, it became easier to drop the insulin needles in the bathroom trashcan than to find a sharps container. I frequently put "Get Sharps Container" on my to-do list, but it never got done. I never seemed as worried about the lancets, although I think they are still considered sharps.

In our new neighborhood, the city offers a free recycling program. And, get this, you don't have to sort anything! Just put all your recyclables in a big trashcan and the city picks it up once a week.

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I tend to get the best absorption from pump sites smack dab in the middle of my abdomen. Say, within a several-inch radius of my belly button. It's kind of odd, actually, since I used my love handles exclusively when I was on shots.

Several times since Toohey and I hooked up (such a bad, bad pun) I have tried to use my hip/love handle for a site. Partly because I know it's good to rotate and partly because often the real estate around my belly button is taken up. However, the two times I can remember using a hip site, I had to rip it out before its time was up because my numbers were so terrible.

So I was having trouble lately figuring out how to be able to use my hips and other areas of my body. I know, this shouldn't be rocket science, but it really did take me a while to figure out that all I had to do was gradually move my sites outward instead of yanking them miles across my body.

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