Sometimes I have a handful of random stuff I want to quickly talk about. Seems like bullet point lists were invented for times just like this. But the problem with bullet point lists is that the typical bullet points — the actual, literal, bullet points — are boring. But I think I have a solution. Let me know what you think, Ok?
Our friend and fellow blogger, Allison Blass will be in town next weekend. We’re trying to coordinate some sort of local d-meetup, brunch sort of thing for Saturday, 11/27, somewhere around the Minneapolis/Twin Cities area. If you’re around and available, we’d love to hang out with you! Drop a comment here, or send me an e-mail, and I’ll keep you in the loop as details develop.
I got an e-mail recently from Tracy at the Immune Tolerance Network. She asked that I help spread the word about a couple of trials currently open to individuals recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. More information is available at www.type1diabetestrial.org and www.retainstudy.org. I don’t claim to know much about these studies, but I wanted to at least help spread the word.
I was also recently contacted by Cristy at the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission. She wanted to send some sweet potato biscotti and some information about sweet potatoes. The biscotti she sent was AWESOME. Did you know that sweet potatoes have a fairly low GI index? That means that they may not raise your blood sugar as fast as your average white potato. She included the recipe and nutritional information. My only feedback is that instead of listing the carbohydrate information in terms of “diabetic exchange” format (in this case, 0.6 starch exchanges and 0.4 ‘other carbs’ exchanges per 2 biscotti) that they just list the grams of carbohydrates and fiber, just like all other food labels.
www.bepartofthecure.org – The “CURE” is filling up with images and stories. It’s really fascinating to spend a few minutes zooming in and scrolling around to see all of the pictures and read about how diabetes has touched people. Please go take a look and consider donating and adding your picture if you feel inspired to do so. The people at the Diabetes Research Institute are the scientists doing the work to cure diabetes. They are on the front lines of the fight for our benefit, and every little donation helps keep them going. [Disclosure]
I had my quarterly endocrinologist appointment today and was pleasantly surprised by my lab results. My A1C went from 8.2 down to 7.5, my bad cholesterol and triglycerides went down and my good cholesterol went up a bit. All in all, the doctor said this was the best lab results I have had. This A1C is the lowest I’ve seen since February of 1999. I have not made any drastic changes in my diabetes management, but I have been exercising a LOT, which seems to be helping. I am proud, but I also give a lot of credit for this improvement to Ginger Vieira. She’s an angel, and a talented life coach. I think this is a great testament to her skills and presence in my life. Thank you Ginger!
When I was in Vegas for Blog World last month, I had the chance to meet up with Mollie & Jackie Singer (founders of Diabetic Angels). I had the pleasure of hanging out with them (and Kerri and Jenni) for the evening. We talked about all of the great things they are up to, and I’d like to encourage you to keep an eye on these two. They are great gals and are working on some big things. Take a look at this cool music video for their song “Can’t Say Love Enough” (iTunes link).