Food Judgments . . . .

Living with diabetes, I often feel like others constantly judge what I’m eating.  Since they often don’t understand diabetes beyond the many misconceptions out there, when they judge me I probably score pretty low.



A few weeks ago, Pete and I had lunch out with a friend.  We were just finishing up when I noticed two women at the next table staring at me.  I figured I was just being paranoid, as I tend to do, but every time I looked up they were both looking over at me.

“Hey, the ladies at that table are staring at me.” I whispered.
“What?  No they aren’t.   You’re just imagining it.”
“No . . . . really . . . they keep looking at me!”

Just then one of the ladies leaned over and said “We were just watching you eat that carrot stick as we sit here sharing out dessert!  We were commenting that we should be eating  more like you!!”



What a great feeling to have someone judge what I’m eating and throw me some high scores for once!!!  I’m so used to being criticized by the Diabetes Food Police that I was shocked when they complimented me on my food choice.

Of course, I did feel I needed to come clean about what we actually ate for lunch.  I let them know that the three of us shared an order of fried calamari, some mini-sliders, and a spinach and artichoke dip.  They hadn’t seen me eating any of that, just the last carrot stick that had been served with the dip.

I hope my confession made them feel better about indulging in some dessert.  Because as someone who has often had strangers try to heap on the guilt over my food choices, I’d hate to make someone else feel guilty about what they’re eating.

A Moment of Reflection

I live in Connecticut.  I was born and raised here and have been here all of my life, aside from four years in college near Boston.

It’s so heartbreaking when an unthinkable tragedy happens.  When the nation turns it’s eyes to a tragedy that feels like it happened in your own backyard it’s even more surreal.  I have driven through Newtown countless times over the years.   I drove through Newtown just a few weeks ago when I went to meet up with Kate.  My friends have family members and friends who survived and who were lost in the events at Sandy Hook.

Today I reflect on the innocent children and brave adults who were lost on Friday.  And on the families who must find a way to go on without them.

I Shouldn’t Be Here . . . . .

This month marks a pretty big milestone for me.  I was diagnosed with Type 1 in December of 1979, and although we don’t know the exact day I’m pretty sure it was more towards the beginning of the month.  (I spent a week in the hospital, and I don’t remember any Christmas stuff happening so I think it was well before the end of the month).  So I’ve been marking the occasion toward mid-December each year . . . . . and here we are, smack in the middle of December.

This year my diaversary is a biggie.  I was 11 years old when I was diagnosed.  That was 33 years ago.  So I have lived with diabetes for 3/4s of my life.  That feels like a very very long time.

I’ve been struggling with a major case of writer’s block for about a week . . . . not just when trying to write about my diaversary but while trying to write about anything at all.  And I realize I’ve been struggling with the thoughts and emotions surrounding this diaversary for at least a month now.  Because honestly, when I think about having survived diabetes for 3/4s of my life, one phrase keeps echoing through my head . . . .

I shouldn’t be here.

I shouldn’t be here.  I guess that must sound  pretty morbid.  But I can vividly remember laying awake many a night during my late teens counting up how many years I had left to my life.  Ten . . .  maybe fifteen . . . . but surely the last few would be filled with all of those terrible complications that had been drilled into my head over the years.  I had watched my aunt become sicker and sicker and eventually die from diabetes complications, and I thought it was a preview of my own unavoidable fate.  I’d be lucky to make it into my 30s.   I’d never see my 40s.



But here I am.  Forty-four years old and complication free.  Every time I think about being complication free a weird wave of guilt washes over me.  It comes from knowing that for so many years I ignored my diabetes management almost entirely and knowing that many who worked much harder and have lived with diabetes for a much shorter time have developed the complications I’ve somehow managed to avoid.  Why them and why not me?  Genetics, environment, or just dumb luck?  Who knows.

Thirty-three years.  3/4s of my life.  All with Type 1 diabetes.  I’m very grateful for the life I have.  I’m thankful to be here and to be healthy.  I’m lucky to be able to have hope that I may still have another 30 or 40 years to my life-span.  I’m proud to try to be a strong patient voice and to show that diabetes doesn’t have to stop you.  But honestly, lately I’ve been feeling so tired of walking the diabetes road for more than three decades.  I’ve been angry at the time and energy and emotions it demands.  I’ve been fed up with diabetes.  I know this will pass.  I know I’ll get back to a better place emotionally.  I suppose after 33 years, maybe it’s okay to rage just a bit?  Because after all, I shouldn’t be here.  But when all is said and done, I’m so glad that I am.

Way Too Organized . . . . .

Being organized is a great thing, but I often think there can be such a thing as being too organized - and I’m pretty sure that describes me.  I tend to drive myself (AND OTHERS) crazy by being so regimented and needing things to be “just so”.  At a Halloween dinner we hosted this year my friends teased me to no end when I got up in the middle of dinner because I needed to adjust a knick-knack in my bookcase  by 1/2 an inch.  I’ve often been compared to both Monica on Friends and Monk.  (I could totally see me neatening up the doctor's office!!)  And maybe I scrub my soap dish on a regular basis.  Yeah, well, whatever . . .

Being organized within an inch of my life helps a lot when it comes to diabetes though.  And that’s the topic of my latest post over at The Loop, Diabetes Organization for the Organized.

Do you tend to be organized, or do you just wing it?  Any tips to share?

** My Medtronic disclosure can be found here. **

Wordless Wednesday - #NDAMphotoaday

With the end of Diabetes Awareness Month last week came the end of National Diabetes Awareness Month Photo a Day, and my last two pictures.  I really enjoyed taking the pictures of the topics each day and I definitely think it was a great way to raise awareness.  I hope we can do it again next year.

#Advocate (Type1 Advocate Gramma and me on Capital Hill)

#CURE (I’m still wishing for one . . . . )

Apples and Oranges

I got to know Kate of Sweet Success during the second Diabetes Blog Week.  I felt like we hit it off right from the start and she was one of my Find a Friends during this year’s DBlog Week.  Even thought we were “just on-line friends”, I’ve always felt very close to Kate.  It makes me so so happy when I have the opportunity to meet an on-line friend in person, and Kate has been high on my list of people I still really needed to meet.  I’m in Connecticut and she’s in Arizona, but I always believed we would somehow meet some day and I always told Kate it would happen.  So when she told me she was coming to Connecticut to participate in a panel, I didn’t think twice about letting her know I would drive up to meet her.  We worked out our plans and on Thursday I drove up to her hotel so we could have dinner!

Yay, me and Kate in her hotel lobby!!

I knew I’d be writing a post about the wonderful time we had.  I thought it would be all about  how the on-line friendships we are making in the DOC are real friendships that transcend the boundaries and borders of the internet.  But, of course, that’s been said so many times by so many others (and probably by me as well), so it’s hardly news to anyone.  And then I read Kate’s post about our meet-up, and as I sat there with tears in my eyes I knew exactly what I wanted to write about.  Kate talked about how although Type 1 and Type 2 are both diabetes, with so many of the same issues and treatments, they are also very different in some ways.  I agree and spending time with Kate gave me an even better understanding of this fact.

But do you know what?  I was shaking my head in bewilderment when Kate wrote that she felt like I have a lot more to do to handle T1 than she does for T2.  Because honestly, as we talked Thursday night I couldn’t help but feel how much easier I have things than Kate does.  She told me about her long flight the day before, which happened AFTER a three hour drive to the airport.  And how when she finally arrived at her hotel she was greeted with a high blood sugar.  So what did she do?  She did what she had to - she went down to the fitness center and walked on the treadmill.  I was so impressed - understanding how exhausted she must have been and knowing that when faced with the same situation I would just press the buttons on my pump for a correction bolus and go to sleep.

At dinner we both chose some tasty salads.  I used my phone to look up the carb count for my salad and was taken aback to find it supposedly had 51 grams.  No croutons, no starchy vegetables besides a few carrot shreds, no bread sticks served with it - restaurant dressing aside 51 grams still seemed high to me.  I casually told Kate I’d under bolus quite a bit since I had an hour’s drive home alone and didn’t want to go low.  I said I’d rather end up higher for my drive than lower, and if needed I’d correct back down when I got home.  What I didn’t tell Kate was that I was secretly wondering how many carbs were in her salad, and what it would do to her blood sugar.  I felt guilty that I could correct a high down fairly easily, while she might have to force herself into another late night workout.  Who had it harder that night?  In my opinion, Kate did, hands down!!

Type 1 and Type 2 are both diabetes.  It’s not a contest as to who has it easy - nobody does, T1 and T2 are both hard.  We walk similar paths and deal with similar issues.  But I agree with Kate when she said comparing us is like comparing apples to oranges.  Yes, I’m taking over 100% for my pancreas, while Kate is an executive assistant for hers. She can’t imagine testing 4 times in as many hours like I did on Thursday (although I usually don’t test THAT often, there were a bunch of extenuating factors in play).  I can’t imagine trying to manage on one test strip a day and using diet and exercise as my main treatment options.  Perhaps the grass is always greener on the other side?  Frankly, I don’t think so.  I think the grass is pretty well-worn on both sides of the diabetes fence.

Kate, thank you so much for the lovely post you wrote and the lovely visit we shared.  Thank you so much for the kind words about what I and other T1s do to stay healthy.  And to you and everyone living with Type 2 - I salute you.  I understand a little better the road you walk and the work you do and the struggles you face.  You are all inspiring to me and I admire all of the hard work YOU do to stay healthy.

Advocacy . . . . learning as I go

As is fitting for Diabetes Awareness Month, the DSMA blog carnival has us talking about advocacy.  What one thing will I do differently and how will I accomplish it?

I think the one thing I need to do when it comes to advocating is to be more . . . . . aggressive . . . . bold . . . . I’m not quite sure exactly how to put it into words.  But here is the thing . . . . I always feel like I should be doing more, and like I want to do more.  So I guess I need to be more proactive in finding ways to advocate.  I need to just go for it!

My advocacy table at our JDRF walk

When I signed on as the Advocacy Team Chair for my JDRF chapter, I was scared out of my mind.  I’d never done any government advocacy before and I wasn’t sure I’d be up for the challenge.  But I knew I wanted to try and I knew I would give it  my all!  And I have loved every minute.  I’ve pushed outside of my comfort zone to meet with government reps numerous times.  And to make calls to their offices about diabetes issues (I am so not a phone person).  And I’ve spoken about advocacy, on stage with a microphone, at our two JDRF walks.  I was a bundle of nerves for each of these tasks, but the rewards have been so great.  I think it’s important, and very good, to push ourselves to do more than we think we can.  (Hmmm, I sound so preachy, don’t I?  Yuck!)

Wow, tangent much?  But to sum it up, one thing I will do differently is to do more, even if some advocacy tasks are outside my comfort zone.  The way I will accomplish it is by being bolder and not listening to those scared voices that try to hold me back and by being more proactive in finding ways and opportunities to advocate.

What are your favorite advocacy opportunities?  Do you have any new advocacy goals for 2013?

This post is my November entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival.  If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2012/november-dsma-blog-carnival-2/.

Wordless Wednesday - #NDAMphotoaday Week 4

#Dietdrink (it’s not easy to find Trop-A-Rocka near me, so I snap(ple??) it up when I can!)

#Carbs (my home-made cranberry sauce is my favorite Thanksgiving carb indulgence)

#Unicorn (I tend to hoard these awesome stickers from Sara)

#Exercise (I hate it, but I’m doing it)

#Eyes (I get ‘em checked every six months)

#Shoes (I'm a rebel & don’t wear “sensible shoes”. Especially on my wedding day!!)

#Stockpile (my post Halloween score!!)

Moving Forward . . . .

I’m excited to be participating in Joslin’s National Diabetes Month Blog Project, along with a great bunch of d-bloggers.  We have been given four topics to post about and we’ve been sharing our thoughts on each week’s topic on our blogs.  Aside from raising awareness about life with diabetes, we are also pitching in to try to raise some funds for Joslin’s High Hope’s Fund.  You’ll see a link at the end of this post to their fundraising page, if you’d like to donate.

This week’s topic is: Moving Forward: What tech/management tools/delivery systems have helped you live more normally? How could these things be better?

I guess I kind of jumped the gun, because I wrote a bit about d-technology and management in my Joslin Blog Project post from two weeks ago.  I love the tools we have today.  Carb counting and the bolus features on my insulin pump make eating much more flexible (AND FUN) than it used to be.  (Trust me, the exchange diet was NOT FUN!!)  My CGM helps keep me aware of high and lows that I just might not feel.  I can tell at a glance if I’m good for a workout or need to have a snack first.  I can tell at a glance if I’m good for some dessert or if I should delay it until my dinner carbs and bolus have run their course.  Fingersticks are unbelievably better than urine testing was.

But as for living “normally”?  Well, my normal is still vastly different from the normal of a person without diabetes.  I still stick myself with needles every three days.  I still draw blood multiple times a day.  Diabetes is always in my subconscious, and usually in my conscious most of the day as well.  Oh, and I also always lug around a ton of crap to cover any d-emergency that may arise.  So my normal with diabetes really isn’t that normal at all.

Until we find a cure, things that will make my life better are things that will make it easier.  Devices that communicate seamlessly with one another to stand in for my pancreas.  Devices that can be controlled by things I carry with me anyway.  Yes, I am saying again that I want my smartphone to be both my CGM receiver and also give me the options to do anything I can do from my pump screen.  Tall order, I know, but it would really be great.  I also am looking forward to seeing the Artificial Pancreas some day.  Because honestly, the thought of just sitting down and eating without doing major math equations and timing out boluses seems unimaginable to me.  The thought of avoiding most highs and lows because the Artificial Pancreas has my back seems crazy.

The thought of just living my life without always thinking about and doing the work necessary for diabetes management?  Yup, that is exactly how things could be better.

If you’d like to donate to the Joslin Diabetes Center High Hopes Fund, you can do so by clicking here.

Late, but still Blessed . . . .

Last week was the third annual Diabetes Blessings Week.  I always look forward to this event from Mike Durbin of My Diabetic Heart because I love the encouragement to focus on the good things we’ve experienced from having diabetes.

I planned to have my Blessings post up on Thursday for Thanksgiving.  But then the day filled up fast with cooking and eating and family and  . . . well, let’s be honest. . . . and quite a bit of prosecco.  Friday we left the house early for a day out with our friend.  And by lunchtime on Friday it became apparent I caught the cold my Dad had been sick with during the week.  So I spent Friday night and all of Saturday resting in bed.


And that, believe it or not, is my blessing.  For whatever reason, maybe diabetes and maybe not, my immune system sucks.  I seem to pick up every germ out there.  But because I have diabetes, when I start to feel something coming on I slow way down and take care of myself.  Diabetes is hard enough without tossing the flu or a cold into the mix.  Without diabetes I’d probably feel inclined to power through and push myself when I really need to be home in bed.  But diabetes has helped me appreciate the importance to taking care of myself when I need to.  Diabetes helps me remember that when I feel something coming on, it’s time to nip it in the bud.

Diabetes has helped me learn to listen to my body and not take my health for granted.  And that is a blessing.

Wordless Wednesday - #NDAMphotoaday Week 3

#Diafail (meter said 154, CGM said above 400 - I’ll be posting more on this soon!!)

#Blue (the emotion, not the color)

#Random (those random highs make me nuts!!)

#Bolusworthy (I made these cupcakes a month or so ago, so worth the bolus!!)

#Strips

#Friends (I love them all!!)

#Hate (I hate to be high, so I really hate those double up arrows)

Talking . . .

I’m excited to be participating in Joslin’s National Diabetes Month Blog Project, along with a great bunch of d-bloggers.  We have been given four topics to post about and we've been sharing our thoughts on each week’s topic on our blogs.  Aside from raising awareness about life with diabetes, we are also pitching in to try to raise some funds for Joslin’s High Hope’s Fund.  You’ll see a link at the end of this post to their fundraising page, if you’d like to donate.

This week’s topic is: Talking: Why/how did you get into blogging? What have been the best and worst parts of doing so?

Ah, talking.  Sometimes talking makes me nervous, and I get this babbling thing going where I barely take a breath.  But writing?  Writing is something I’ve always felt very comfortable with and something I’ve always loved.  As a kid I wrote long letters to my cousins.  As a teen I signed up for a pen-pal and we wrote epic, 30+ page letters back and forth (and we’re still friends on Facebook).  In college, between term papers and class notes, I wrote letters that kept me in touch with my friends back home.

So I guess it’s not so surprising that I got hooked on blogging pretty easily.  I started out with a knitting blog, and I loved connecting with others across the country who shared my love for our hobby.  But my knitting blog wasn’t nearly as rewarding as Bitter~Sweet has been.  Because this blog has connected me with others not only across the country, but around the world, who also have diabetes or care for someone who does.  Blogging has taken away the isolation of my invisible illness.  Blogging has made me a better informed patient and has helped me be in the best health of my life.  It has been so wonderful to connect with others who really understand what it’s like to fight the diabetes fight every day.  It’s incredible to answer a question for someone or support and encourage someone when they need it.  Through this blog, I’ve made so many treasured friends, many of whom I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with face to face as well as connecting on-line.

The worst part of blogging about diabetes?  Well, there isn’t much about it that I don’t like . . . . but I guess sometimes it can bring a bit of “diabetes overload”.  After all, there are a ton of d-tasks I do every day just to survive.  Now let’s add in blogging about diabetes, tweeting about diabetes, chatting about diabetes on Facebook, doing offline diabetes stuff like my JDRF volunteer work . . . . it can be a bit overwhelming at times.  But do you know what?  Even when it feels like diabetes has seeped into every second of my day, I wouldn’t trade in one minute of blogging, social media and volunteering.  Because it’s truly what I love to do.

If you’d like to donate to the Joslin Diabetes Center High Hopes Fund, you can do so by clicking here.

Wordless Wednesday - Two Days Late

You know it’s been a tough week when your Wordless Wednesday post gets published on Friday.  (And lets just ignore the fact that my Wordless Wednesday posts always seem to contain a lot of words!!)  But here were my #NDAMphotoaday pictures for the 8th - 14th.   

#Sparkle (the sparkle of my Lilly 25 Year Medal)

#Blood(y Mary) - easier on my blood sugar than martinis

#LowTreatment (this brings me up fast when I’m “scary” low - almost worth it!)

#Cupcake (someone thinks my cute cupcake blankie belongs to her)

#Love (I don’t  love being part-cyborg, but I love having tools to keep my healthy)

#Meter (sock monkey on the front, cupcake on the back)

#Today (it was World Diabetes Day)

Changes . . .

I’m excited to be participating in Joslin’s National Diabetes Month Blog Project, along with a great bunch of d-bloggers.  We have been given four topics to post about and we will share our thoughts on each week’s topic on our blogs.  Aside from raising awareness about life with diabetes, we are also pitching in to try to raise some funds for Joslin’s High Hope’s Fund.  You’ll see a link at the end of this post to their fundraising page, if you’d like to donate.

This week’s topic is: Changes: What were the biggest changes you went through after diagnosis, and what were (if any) small things you didn’t realize would change?

When I was diagnosed with Type 1 at age 11, it wasn’t only my life that changed.  My parent’s life changed, and I suppose my younger brother’s did too.  Diabetes affects not only the person diagnosed, but those who  love them as well.  But honestly, it’s been so long (32 years and 11 months) that I really don’t think about those changes anymore.   This is the life I have, and personally I do  much better if I don’t compare life before to life after.

However, there are some changes that I love to think about, because they give me hope and keep me going when things get tough.  They are the changes in how diabetes is managed today, as opposed to how it was managed when I was diagnosed.  Back then, I tested my sugar by putting a few drops of urine in a test tube and adding a Clinitest tablet that fizzed and burned.  I then compared the concoction to a color chart and this gave me a fairly broad idea what my sugar was . . . . . or rather, had been several hours before the urine test.  At meal time instead of counting carbs, I counted exchanges on my very strict eating plan.  I could only eat certain things at certain times of the day - and the fact that I was hungry or not hungry didn’t count for anything.  There were no insulin pumps or even insulin pens as part of my regime - instead my mother drew up two types of insulin from vials into one syringe for my daily injection.

When I think back to the “old days” with diabetes, I’m so thankful for the changes I’ve experienced.  I’m lucky to have my blood glucose meter and my insulin pump and my continuous glucose monitor.  I’m grateful to be able to count carbs and bolus for what I want to eat whenever I want to eat it (mostly . . .  although at times high or low blood sugars still can dictate a food choice now and then).  I feel very fortunate to live in a time when diabetes advancements are helping to keep me healthy and free of complications that were unavoidable for those in generations before me.  Living with diabetes still isn’t easy, but new treatments and technologies have made it a little easier than it was when I was 11.

These are the changes that fill me with joy.

If you’d like to donate to the Joslin Diabetes Center High Hopes Fund, you can do so by clicking here.

Savings and a TwitterChat from CVS

CVS has some cool stuff going on during Diabetes Awareness Month, and they were kind enough to provide me with information along with some samples from their diabetes line.  Here’s the scoop . . .

Well, diabetes is expensive, right?  And saving money on d-supplies is a good thing.  So, you can sign up for the CVS ExtraCare Advantage for Diabetes® program, which has been expanded to offer even more savings.  Savings highlights, straight from my email from CVS, include the following:

• Participants will earn Double ExtraBucks Rewards (that’s 4% back) on over 100+ products related to diabetes
• A $5 coupon is available to participants who sign-up for ECAD now through 12/31/2012
• CVS/pharmacy is a viable resource for those living with the disease as well as their caregivers
• Pharmacists are available for questions and concerns related to the disease
• ECAD offers more than $130 in savings from Diabetes Health Magazine
• CVS/pharmacy is also hosting free glucose screenings during National Diabetes Month in November.
• Customers can now receive a discounted $15 co-pay on a 30-day supply of CVS/pharmacy TRUEtest Strips, as well as a mail-in rebate for free meters.

I downloaded a copy of the Diabetes Health Magazine, and it contains some good coupons for many of the newest meters on the market.  It also has coupons for glucose tabs and other supplies, and some recipes.  It’s definitely worth checking out.  (Scroll down and click the Download pdf button in the What’s New tab).

Another cool thing going on is that @CVS_Extra will be hosting a twitter chat tomorrow, November 15th, at 3pm EST featuring Elizabeth Seaquist, VP of Medicine & Science from the ADA and CVS Pharmacist Flora Harp.  They’ll be answering all kinds of questions about the ExtraCare Advantage for Diabetes program and about aspects of diabetes in general.  The main hashtag for the chat is #DiabetesMonth.  Hope to see you (or tweet you) there!

Wordless Wednesday - #NDAMphotoaday Week 1

#Struggle (aftermath of a site change)

#Prescription (my co-pay total so far this year)

#Fingers (Here is what 10 fingersticks a day looks like - all on one finger)

#Oops (Tried something new for breakfast. It didn’t work!!)

#Bullseye (This is an old picture, but three devices reading so closely screams BULLSEYE to me!)

#Feet (I knit these, and how cool is this??)

#Gear (aka: why I don’t have one of those tiny cute purses . . . . )

The Beginning . . . .

I’m excited to be participating in Joslin’s National Diabetes Month Blog Project, along with a great bunch of d-bloggers.  We have been given four topics to post about and we will share our thoughts on each week’s topic on our blogs.  Aside from raising awareness about life with diabetes, we are also pitching in to try to raise some funds for Joslin.  You’ll see a link at the end of this post to their fundraising page, if you’d like to donate.

This week’s topic is: The Beginning: Share a story from when you (or the person you blog for/about) were first diagnosed.

I was diagnosed almost 33 years ago, in December of 1979.  That’s a long time ago, and although I was old enough to remember (11 years old at the time) a lot of it is fuzzy and forgotten.  I remember having to go to the bathroom all the time.  I remember not wanting to eat because I felt nauseated.  I remember my parents making the decision to take me to the ER.  I do know that I was very very close to lapsing into a diabetic coma and that I spent several days in Intensive Care.

But a couple of years ago, my mother filled me in on something I didn’t remember, and on something I never knew.  I didn’t remember that on the morning of my diagnosis, I said I was sick and wanted to stay home from school.  Apparently, my mom thought I would be fine and sent me in to school.  A few hours later, the school nurse called my mom to come pick me up because I was getting worse.  I don’t remember any of that.

But here’s the thing that really sticks with me.  My mom told me that, to this day, she feels very guilty for sending me to school that day.  More than 30 years have passed, and she still feels guilty about it.  And to me, the fact that she has lived with those feeling of guilt all of these years is the worst and saddest thing about my diabetes diagnosis.

If you’d like to donate to the Joslin Diabetes Center High Hopes Fund, you can do so by clicking here.

Farewell, Old Friend . . .

In 1994 I bought my first brand new car, a black Honda Civic.  It carried me all over New England.  It shuttled me back and forth to New Jersey nearly a hundred times over the three years that Pete was living there and we were doing the Long-Distance-Relationship thing.  It’s not bright and shiny anymore, but it has always started up faithfully.


When we bought our new Civic two years ago, we decided to trade in Pete’s car and be a two Civic family.  But when he started his new job in April and began commuting by car instead of train, we bought him a new car.  We transferred the insurance and registration from my old Civic to his new CRV.  And we made the decision to donate my Civic to JDRF.  This afternoon a tow truck will be here to take it away.

Farewell, old friend.  You were a great car and I have many fond and sentimental memories of you.  As hard as it is for me, I know it’s time to say good-bye.  And it warms my heart to know that by donating you, you may someday help bring a cure for diabetes.

Bring Out Your Blue!!!

Happy November!!!  Since this month is Diabetes Awareness Month, my blog is going BLUE for diabetes support and awareness!!



It’s been a busy week here, but I’m grateful to have made it through Hurricane Sandy safe and sound.  Those winds were fierce but my 91 year old house stood up well!  And now, I’m ready to celebrate and raise some diabetes awareness all month long.  Don’t forget to wear your blue tomorrow for Blue Friday.

Do you have any plans to up your advocacy for November?