Category Archives: Fun

Best of the ‘Betes Comes To Portable Pancreas Girl!

Advocacy, Community, Events, Fun

Hi there.  Remember little ol’ me?  I hope so 😉  Even though I’ve been super busy with work and some fun traveling and more work, I’m here with an announcement.  I am honored to be hosting the Best of The ‘Betes Blogs for the month of April.  If you’re not familiar with what that is, let me tell you.

Here are the categories:

Best Use of Humor
Best Vlog
Best Recipe
Best Use of Photography
Best Advocacy
Best Reference to a D-Celebrity
Best Story of a D Meet-up
Best non-D Related Post
Best Post by a Type 1
Best Post by a Type 2
Best Post by a Type Awesome
Best Post by a LADA/ Type 1.5/ Not otherwise specified
Best story of a D-mistake
Best Motivational Post
Best Diabetes Art 

Think of blogs you have read or will be reading during this month, take note of any posts that you think are a perfect example of one of the categories listed above (please no self-nominations). Email bestbetesblogs@gmail.com or send a DM to the Best of the ‘Betes Blogs twitter account (@bestbetesblogs) with your nominations.

A nomination would look something like this

Sara (include link to blog if you have one) nominates Sprinkles for the Best Story of a D-Mistake (link to the specific post you are nominating on Sprinkles’ blog)

You do not need to have your own blog to nominate – anyone from anywhere can make a nomination!  Come back here or visit BestBetesBlogs.com on May 1st to see the winners.  Easy, peasy.  I like this idea because it gives exposure to some great blogs out there.  And provides some great reading material for everyone.  So get to it.  Send in your nominations!  It’s always open so you have from now until midnight (EST) of April 29th to submit.  Thank you Sara and George for bringing this opportunity to nominate blogs in order to connect everyone’s circles together and allow people to expand their network of support and encouragement 🙂

Flying With Diabetes.

Community, Education, Fun, Guest Post, Traveling

I love to travel.  I by no means travel more than some of my PWD (people with diabetes) friends but I have to been numerous locations abroad in recent years.  (Usually nice, warm, sunny locations!)  Lucky for me, the great people over at Sanofi Diabetes asked if I was willing to share some advice or tips if you will, on traveling with diabetes.  I am very honored to be featured over there today 🙂

Flying with Diabetes: Tips from Stacey Divone

Diabetes Art Day. 2013.

BG, Community, Emotions, Events, Fun

Diabetes Art Day is a fun event started by my friend Lee Ann to “encourage individuals and families with diabetes to engage in creative visual expression to communicate their experience with diabetes, connect with others, raise awareness, and promote insight and positive coping skills”.  One thing that I have learned over the past few years participating in this is that I’m really not all that creative 😉  But I still have fun and especially love seeing the entries by others in the community.

My submission for this year is about the ups and downs of diabetes. Figuratively and literally.  There are both good and bad times living with diabetes.  And even though the bad times can seem overpowering and never ending at times, in reality, the good times are bigger.  And this I believe is what gets us through.

IMG_1901

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!

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!

Diabetes Grab Bag. Copied.

BG Meters, Fun

I am all about accessories.  Handbags, wristlets, phone or tablet cases, meter cases.  I’ve got quite the collection of these things.  And lucky for me, diabetes gives me more devices that I can accessorize!  After reading Kerri’s post today on her Diabetes Grab Bag, I decided to post my own to answer her question, what’s in your diabetes grab bag?

Since I have an abundance of accessories for my BG meter devices, I do like to switch it up.  I tend to get bored using the same thing day after day.  My favorites are from Myabetic or Sugar Medical Supply or Stick Me Designs.  (If you haven’t checked them out, they each have great stuff!)  But lately I have thrown in a regular cosmetic case for use to carry my meter and supplies, like Kerri, Kim, Rachel, Alanna,  to name a few.  I like it because it’s compact yet big enough to hold all the things I need to test.  Or treat a low.  And keeps my meter or PDM handy instead of securing it within the case.  I can even throw my Dexcom receiver in there when it’s not next to me.

I also carry with me a separate case that holds my emergency supplies.  Two extra pods, an unopened vial of insulin in my Securitee Blanket vial protector, syringes, batteries, alcohol swabs.  So yes, I too carry a ginormous tote bag full of stuff 😉

No D Day.

Community, Emotions, Events, Family, Fitness, Fun

Today is No D Day.  A day set aside each year for the d*&$%#@!* online community to take time off from speaking of, blogging, tweeting or Facebooking about d*&$%#@!*.  I’m all for it so thanks G for coming up with the idea!  What I’m going to focus on today is the things I love 🙂

Number one, my husband.  I am reminded daily (yes even when I am cleaning up after him constantly) of how blessed I am to have a husband that treats me with respect, consideration, love and affection.  We will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary next year and I honestly love him more now than I did then.  He is the most mild mannered, patient person I think I have ever known.  He always seems to try and motivate me to do things when I am lacking.  (see: all the time)  His heart is as big as the world and I know I can count on him for anything.  We share something very special and for that I am eternally grateful.

Number two, my sister.  Being an identical twin, you share a special bond with your sibling that is scientifically proven to begin in the womb.  Although I see my sister nowhere near as much as I would like, we communicate frequently each day via phone calls, texts, emails, etc.  We have never had a serious fight.  Ever.  And with us being so close, I feel as if my niece and nephew are a special part of me as well.  And with a new baby on the way, I couldn’t be more excited.  Probably more than she is 😉

Number three, food.  I admit it.  I love food.  Of all different varieties.  My newest crazes are Pumpkin coffee and Müller Greek yogurt.  I tried Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte and fell in love.  The stuff is absolutely delicious!  I thought Dunkin’s pumpkin coffee would taste a lot different since they’re lacking the “spice” but it’s actually just as good.  And a bit better nutritiously, even if only a smidge.  I tried the Müller Greek yogurt for the first time yesterday and love it.  I had the caramelized almond and strawberry flavors.  Both very, very yummy.

Number four, exercise.  One would think that if I love exercise, I would do it all the time right?  Well I unfortunately struggle with this.  However when I do exercise, whether it be a run on my elliptical, some Zumba-ing, a bike ride or the few times I go to the gym, it makes me quite happy.  It feels wonderful to sweat out all your frustrations.  To push yourself when you feel like quitting sooner.  Knowing that you are helping your body work better is a huge plus too.  Now I just have to embed that in my brain somewhere so I can remember the next time I don’t feel like working out!

Number five, technology.  I’m not even certain how I became so obsessed with technology.  But I’ll be the first to admit that I am.  If I’ve had a device for more than 6 months, that seems like a long time to me!  My newest toy is the Kindle Fire HD 7”.  I like that it’s lighter and smaller to carry around with me than the iPad but the screen on this one is fantastic.  My next toy may very well be an upgrade to the iPhone 5 however I think I have some time to decide since it seems none of the stores in my area have them in stock!

Number six, nature.  Whether it be sunsets in the Caribbean or beautiful greenery in Boston Common or the autumn color of trees in NYC, I love it all.  Whatever kind of trip we take, I enjoy finding the greatest scenery for pictures.  And then when I look back at them, I think wow, that view was really before my own eyes.  The earth has much to offer for us to appreciate.

I could seriously go on and on about things I love.  There is a lot in my life that I am happy with and sometimes I need to remind myself of this when times get tough.  I hope you can take a moment and think of the things you love and make you happy too 😀

(image credit: digital-photography-school.com)