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My little brother, Caleb was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was only 8 years old. Type 1 diabetes is the kind that is insulin dependent, so he wears a pump that administers insulin when he needs it. He was done a great job at learning about counting carbohydrates in the foods that he eats and then figuring out how much insulin he needs. He is not letting the diabetes get in the way of anything that he wants to do! He plays soccer, baseball, and of course basketball. He LOVES basketball! Just in the short time that Caleb has had diabetes, the technology has improved (he went from injecting himself up to 6 times per day with shots of insulin, to just programing in the number of carbs that he ate into his pump). Just think of the improvement he will look back on when he gets older! That's why fundraisers like this are important.

The American Diabetes Association is having a fundraiser this Sunday in Augusta Maine called 'Step Out: walk against diabetes'. For more information, check out Caleb's Team page.

I'm surprised that I haven't written about The Big Bang Theory yet. It was our favorite new show from last season and this season has started off great too. It's totally hilarious, especially for a geek like me. I highly recommend it.

The Amazing Race 13 starts tonight. It has been a long time since we've watched TAR. We didn't see last season because we moved when it premiered and didn't want to start it part way through.

While I was checking on my credit card spending for the month I noticed an understated attachment to my online statement, Global Change in Terms. In it they state that effective in October my rates will be going up to the max. I can refuse the change in terms, but then they will close my card. So I guess it's time to shop for new credit cards after enjoying the Chase customer experience since 2005.

My top priority was to transfer my high balance card, one that won't be paid off in the next 12 months, to something with good balance transfer terms. About half of it is at a 4% promotional rate which won't change, but the other half could change from 8% to 26%. I settled on American Express Blue which approved me online and accepted the whole balance transfer with a $99 fee and a new interest rate of 4.99% for the life of the balance.

Next I need to replace my month-to-month rewards card. I already maxed out my $300 rebate for the year so I was going to look for another one anyway. Time to find one so I can ditch Chase. I liked getting cash back and I liked getting a high percentage from gas and groceries. I'm open to recommendations for my next card.

We have a frog that hangs out by our back porch light. He's really good at climbing the walls and things.

Last weekend we went up to my parents' place in Prospect Harbor with both Baxter and Rex. We got to see Uncle Jim, Grampy and Joy, and Tim and Sarah were there with their puppy, Scout.

Dear family and friends,

As you know, I've been dealing with all the awful effects of something called a Chiari Malformation. It is a neurological condition that causes the bottom part of the brain, or the cerebellum, to descend out of the skull. That puts pressure on the brain and spinal cord, causing pain and neurological problems. I've had three major surgeries since 2005 and I'm significantly worse than I was before any surgeries. The reason for this is that the doctors don't know enough about this rare condition to treat it effectively. This is where we need your help. Conquer Chiari (www.conquerchiari.org), a non-profit organization is raising money for medical research. They are holding a walk on September 20, 2008 for that purpose. I will be walking, along with some family members and friends. I'm asking for your support. If you are interested in sponsoring my walk, you can go to their website and pledge online. If you have any questions about chiari malformations or about Conquer Chiari, please let me know. I will do my best to answer them. I greatly appreciate your time and generosity! Love, Heather

It should be good news that the myelogram came back normal, but I'm not feeling like its very good news. A normal test to me just means more unanswered questions. The other issue is that Dr.B told me that the myelogram is not the best test to find a Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) leak so a negative result does not tell for certain that there is not a leak. So, I don't really know any more than I did before the test.

Today I will have a myelogram with CT-scan and X-rays. I'm quite anxious about this test. They will be injecting dye into my spinal canal to help get better pictures with the CT and X-rays. Normally this wouldn't be too bad. But, I always seem to be the exception...Lumbar punctures can be dangerous for people with chiari AND I always end up with a spinal leak when I have a lumbar puncture. The test itself will take about an hour. I'll have to stay in the hospital for a few hours after that, to be sure I don't have a major spinal fluid leak. After I get home, I'm going to have to lay flat for 48 hours while my body replenishes the spinal fluid that was lost during the test.

We haven't rented any movies in at least a year. Any recommendations would be great since I'm going to need something to watch so I won't go crazy being in bed for 2 days!

Heather made Baxter a bed to use in the living room. He doesn't seem to understand how to use it.

Even in my thirties, I still eat a couple bowls of cereal every morning. It's an easy, filling breakfast that I enjoy. But it is expensive. If you check the unit pricing, many breakfast cereals are over $5 per pound. To save money I started buying my cereal by subscription through Amazon. For instance, I subscribed to a package of 6 18-ounce boxes of Kix every three months. I get 15% off and free shipping for subscribing. That puts the price per pound at $3.38. The price at Shaws this weekend was $5.50 per pound for their largest box which was only 13 ounces.

Wow! Its been almost 9 months since I last wrote a blog entry. I think I have two reasons for not writing, both quite warped, so I guess I better just get over it and write away. The first reason is that I don't want people to know how bad things really have been for me. The second is that I thought if I didn't write or think about the pain, that it would go away.

Unfortunately, my health has continued to decline since my last surgery (almost a year ago). I'm dealing with constant pain in my head, neck and back and intermittent pain in my legs. The constant pain in my head is in the back - where my hardware is. I also have a few different types of pain in my head, from a pressure pulse pain (a blog friend of mine wrote a great explanation of how this happens ) to a sharp pain in the back of my eyes. My lower back muscles are always in a spasm and I have a pinching type pain in the middle of my spine that happens when I move certain ways. My upper back and shoulders are very tight and I can't seem to find anything that provides relief. I also have had some new issues such as urinary problems and instability in my pelvis/hips and shoulders.

My pain management doctor seems to think that I'll have to live on pain medicine. He has increased my dose just about every month. I'm seeing a bit of improvement with the increase, but not nearly what I'd like to see. He had some great ideas that unfortunately didn't help much. He tried something called dry needle trigger point therapy. Its a procedure that uses tiny needles to 'reprogram' the electrical signals in the muscles. I had about 6 treatments and didn't see any help, so we discontinued that. He also suggested that I get evaluated by Dr.Francomono for clarification of my possible EDS diagnosis. Dr.Francomono is a genetic specialist working with the TCI doctors to find out if there is a connection between chiari, tethered cord, and EDS. I'll write more later about that appointment, but long story short, I have Classical EDS (Ehler Danlos Syndrome).

Heather and I are pleased to announce that we are no longer home owners. No more mortgage payments. No more home owners associations. No more stressing about the falling Twin Cities housing market.

We received an offer on our townhouse on April 12th and closed the transaction on Monday. Instead of being in debt to Wells Fargo for another 25 years, we should be able to pay off the loss in a year. A huge thanks goes out to our parents for making this transaction possible. Thanks also to my brother Tim for giving me an old fax machine which made it much easier to complete the 22 page purchase agreement at 8pm on a Saturday.

It's tax time again. I usually get my taxes done before March starts, but I haven't had the motivation yet. I started it on Saturday morning and had the numbers complete by the afternoon. Now I just need to fill out the forms so they're fit the be submitted. I'm filing three returns this year, federal, Minnesota, and Maine.

The federal return was by far the easiest to prepare. Since I have mortgage interest I file the full 1040 with Schedule A, three pages.

The Minnesota forms are pretty easy too. There are three pages for the M1 and M1W, which are normal. The M1W replaces all W-2's in the envelope which I think is smart. I'm also filling out the M1NR since I moved out-of-state last year. I was disappointed to find that there isn't a fill-in version of the M1NR form. I like to fill them in on the computer so I can save a copy there and print out a nice clean, legible form. In total I should have seven pages for my Minnesota return.

The Maine tax forms are completely different. There aren't any fill-in forms at all. Not even the Maine long form. The long form is two pages, plus another page for Schedules 1 & 2, another page each for Worksheets A and B, and a final page for Schedule NR. That's six pages plus the three for the federal forms, for a total of nine pages, plus W-2's.

Okay, so two pages doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Take a look and compare M1NR with Worksheet A & B and Schedule NR. Worksheet A makes me feel like I am being interrogated. As someone who is returning to the state and bringing their out-of-state income with them, I am insulted. As for Worksheet B, why does it take Maine tax forms five columns where Minnesota only needs two? And finally Schedule NR, where we calculate a tax credit based on non-Maine income. I get a feeling that Maine thinks it is entitled to everything rather than just taking its share.

Being a Maine tax-payer again doesn't give me any warm, fuzzy feelings.

A few weeks ago I stopped drinking Mt. Dew. I ran out and I went through the caffeine withdrawal and thought that it was a good time as any to quit the habit. The problem is, I like the taste more than the caffeine. But I remember Coke had another drink like it but without the caffeine, Mello Yello. Unfortunately I couldn't find Mello Yello in any of the local grocery stores. So now I'm back to drinking one glass of Mt. Dew a day, for the taste.