Monthly Archives: January 2013

48 Things About Me.

Community, Fun

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? A couple of weeks ago.  I think.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Most of the time.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Honey maple turkey.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I’d like to think so 😉
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? I do.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes and they are gigantic!
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Part of me wants to, the other part isn’t so sure.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I rarely eat cereal but I do like Banana nut Cheerios.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?  Yup.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?  Not always.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?  Plain ol’ vanilla.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their hair.
15. RED OR PINK? Pink.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My laziness likes to take over sometimes.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Daddy 😦
18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST? Being more outspoken.
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Veggie miso soup.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?  Myself and my office mate typing.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Pink Sugar perfume, Twisted peppermint lotion or soap, sandalwood vanilla.
24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?  I hate politics.
25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?  Mountain hideaway.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Football or hockey.
27. HAIR COLOR? Red.
28. EYE COLOR? Hazel.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope.
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Salads (honestly!), guacamole, hummus, cheese, pizza, bacon, yogurt.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Hunger Games.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black, white, pink.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Neither.  Spring or autumn.
35. FAVORITE DESSERT? Creme brulee.
36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO? Cardio.
37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION? Computer.
38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Just finished Breakthrough last night so must find a new book.
39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? At work, pictures of my niece + nephew.  I don’t have a mouse pad at home.
40. FAVORITE SOUND? A baby’s laugh.
41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? If I had to pick one, I’d go with what is considered pop.
42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? I’d say approximately 2,200 miles to Costa Rica.
43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Is retweeting a talent? 😉
44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Brooklyn, NY.
45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW? Queens, NY.
46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE? The outside is brick.
47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR? Silver.
48. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 48 QUESTIONS? I always like these sort of things 🙂

Thanks to Cherise for starting this meme over at DSMA.  It’s a great idea for us all to get to  know each other better, in a non-diabetes sense!

New Good Reads.

Advocacy, Community

When I was growing up with diabetes, there weren’t many books around that I knew of on the topic.  These days, I’m happy to say there are more book resources available to people with diabetes and their loved ones.  And some of them are even written by people I know and respect.

I wanted to share some recent books that are out there.  The first is Ginger Vieira’s new book Emotional Eating with Diabetes.  I read her first book Your Diabetes Science Experiment and loved it.  I’ve also worked a bit with Ginger on my own eating and exercise habits and love how Ginger works with each person on what fits their individual needs and lifestyles.   If anyone can help you create a positive attitude about food, it’s Ginger.

The second is Diabetes Do’s & How To’s by Riva Greenberg.  Riva is a well respected member of the diabetes community, being diagnosed with T1D in 1972.  (And a great travel mate 🙂 )  She contributes to the Huffington Post regularly as well as the author of 50 Diabetes Myths that Can Ruin Your Life and The ABC’s of Loving Yourself with Diabetes.  With her new book, Riva strives to guide people with their diabetes self care, avoiding common confusion and feeling overwhelmed.

Living with diabetes myself, I don’t get the viewpoint of being a care giver for someone with diabetes.  It has its own challenges and thinking back, I’d never really known what my parents felt as I grew up.  Fortunately, there are many parents of children with diabetes in the community and I learn all the time about what that is like.  One book that is currently available is Kids First Diabetes Second by Leighann Calentine.  It explores the many challenges surrounding raising a child with T1D.  Leighann’s insight on taking care of her daughter has been valuable to me, seeing diabetes through her eyes.

A book that is available for pre-order is Life is Short, Laundry is Eternal by Scott Benner.  Scott shares his story of keeping a positive attitude, despite his daughter’s T1D diagnosis, and his experience of being a stay at home Dad.  Scott is a really funny guy and I do admire his outlook on things so I am certain this will be a good read.

Year in Review. A Tad Late.

Community, Fun, Holidays

Technically, the year is still new right?  And 2012 not that far away?  Good.  I’m getting a late jump start on the year in review meme that was circulating earlier in the week 🙂

January – “Since I know that many of you have been keeping an interest in my OmniPod trial (which I greatly appreciate by the way), I thought it fair to share with you my decision.”

February – “I have made two rather major changes to my diabetes management recently.”

March – “When I was at the JDRF Research Summit last month, the main focus of the presenters was the progress, current efforts and complexity of finding a cure for type 1 diabetes.”

April – “If you know me, you will be well aware of my interest in new things that come out.”

May – “Vacation.  I think everyone needs one once in a while for the sake of their mental health.”

June – “One of the things about living with diabetes is that there are a lot of medication and supplies needed on daily basis.”

July – “I got home tonight from my first ever Roche Social Media Summit in Indianapolis.”

August – “Wordless Wednesday.”

September – “Wow.  When you haven’t cried in a while and something sets you off, it’s kind of hard to stop.”

October – “My last A1c about 6 weeks ago was not only one of my lowest ever but also close to a 1% drop in 3 months.”

November – “When Dexcom announced their new G4 continuous glucose monitoring system last month, I was ecstatic.  And anxious to get mine.”

December – “On Christmas eve 31 years ago, my life changed forever.  And my family’s.”

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope the new year is off to a good start so far!