Sep 20 2017

Dipping my Toe in the Advocacy Pool

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So when Shelby from Diabetic Foodie approached me to join her to talk to our Congressman on behalf of the American Diabetes Association, I jumped at the chance.  I met Shelby through our local DiabetesSisters’ group.  She had previously attended ADA’s Call to Congress last March and the ADA has asked her to continue her advocating throughout the year which included meeting with our representatives during the August recess.

We met with a staffer for Congressman Brat, who represents the 7th District of Virginia.  She was very welcoming and engaged.  Shelby and I shared our stories about life with diabetes, representing both type 1 (myself) and type 2 (Shelby).  We then proceeded to ask for certain things for the upcoming 2018 fiscal year:

Aug 2 2017

One!

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July was a hard month for me.  Saying goodbye to the sweetest little girl so unexpectedly really shook me.  She was wagging her tail, happy and seemingly fine one minute then three days later she was gone.  Even though they told me she was in critical condition, I never thought I’d be saying goodbye to […]

Jun 14 2017

Time is Flying By….

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May was a busy month! Besides it being Diabetes Blog Week in May, it was also Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, my 6th anniversary and my oldest turned two and half! The last update I did was back in March when my baby turned 8 months old.  The last two (almost 3) months have been pretty […]

Jun 1 2017

Blue Circle Voices

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I have exciting news to share! The International Diabetes Federation has launched a new initiative called Blue Circle Voices.  The aim of Blue Circle Voices is to represent the interests of people living with, or affected by, diabetes, through a worldwide network of members and other stakeholders. BCV act as the global voice of people […]

May 30 2017

The Freedom Broker – Book Review

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If you know me or have been following my blog for a while, you know that I love to read. So when I was contacted about reading a new book, where the main character is a Type 1 diabetic, I had to jump at the chance to read and review it. The Freedom Broker is K.J. Howe’s debut novel and it is fast paced with lots of action and suspense.

May 24 2017

Diabetes Blog Week Recap!

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The 8th annual Diabetes Blog Week (thanks Karen!) came and went by way too fast! I always enjoy this week because it’s a great chance to find some new DBlogs and it gives me some motivation to write my own posts. This year the topics were good but I’ll admit by day 4, I was starting to feel pretty down about diabetes. I somehow did manage to read all the posts and I tried hard to comment on as many as I could. Here are some of the posts that I enjoyed:

May 19 2017

Diabetes Blog Week – More Than Diabetes

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Today’s Diabetes Blog Week topic: More Than Diabetes:

Lets wrap up the week by sharing a little more about ourselves, beyond the chronic illness we or our loved ones live with. Share an interest, hobby, passion, something that is YOU. If you want to explore how it relates to or helps with diabetes you can. Or let it be a part of you that is completely separate from diabetes, because there is more to life than just diabetes! (This topic is a suggestion from the 2016 #DBlogWeek survey.)

May 18 2017

Diabetes Blog Week – Throwback Thursday: What Brings Me Down

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Today’s Diabetes Blog Week topic is What Bring Me Down:

Today let’s revist a prompt from 2014 – May is Mental Health Month so now seems like a great time to explore the emotional side of living with, or caring for someone with, diabetes. What things can make dealing with diabetes an emotional issue for you and / or your loved one, and how do you cope? (Thanks again to Scott for this 2014 topic.)

May 17 2017

Diabetes Blog Week – The Blame Game

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Today’s Diabetes Blog Week Topic is the Blame Game:

Having diabetes often makes a visit to the doctor a dreaded experience, as there is invariably bad news of one kind or another. And sometimes the way the doctor talks to you can leave you feeling like you’re at fault. Or maybe you have a fantastic healthcare team, but have experienced blame and judgement from someone else in your life – friend, loved one, complete stranger. Think about a particularly bad instance, how that person talked to you, the words they used and the conversation you had. Now, the game part. Let’s turn this around. If you could turn that person into a puppet, what would you have them say that would leave you feeling empowered and good about yourself? Let’s help teach people how to support us, rather than blame us! (Thank you, Brian, for inspiring this topic.)