Editor’s note: This post was written last evening after having the most luxurious experience at a restorative yoga class.
I just experienced a little slice of heaven tonight.
Restorative yoga.
Have you ever tried it? It is a definite must.
So Friday night I was getting really hungry for dinner but feeling pretty unmotivated to make it. This happens to you too, right? I was planning to reheat some leftover gluten free pasta and spaghetti sauce I had made the night before. But I wasn’t very enthused about it because I tried a new gluten free pasta this time and was not very fond of it. Lesson learned: always stick with Tinkyada brand gluten free pasta – it tastes much better!
Just as I was about to quit wasting time and get off Facebook start making dinner, someone posted a Pinterest recipe to Facebook. I clicked on it to see what it was. It immediately intrigued me. It simply said, cut a zucchini in half, add cherry tomatoes, cheese and fresh basil and bake. There were no specifics such as oven temperature or length of time to bake. I had several zucchini on their last leg in my fridge and some tomatoes not too far from that point either. I decided to give the recipe a try and this is what I came up with!
Easy Baked Italian Zucchini
Sometimes diabetes management itself (blood sugar checks, shots, pump/CGM maintenance, etc) doesn’t feel so bad or like too much. It’s all those related add-ons — co-conditions/diagnoses, longer recovery times, acute illnesses, the lingering effects of diabetes on the body and mind after a low or high, the emotional and financial stresses and the often necessary yet tiring advocacy vs. remaining misunderstood scenarios that can pop up sometimes much too frequently. These things that get tacked on can really drag someone with diabetes down (me included!) and make it hard to keep on going day after day.
Good morning! I hope you had a night of restful sleep and good blood sugars upon awakening. Mine was 104 this morning when I woke up. Can’t beat that! My husband’s sister and her 3 children are flying in this morning from South Carolina. I am so looking forward to seeing them tonight for dinner at my in-laws house and a bunch over the next week. It has been 3 years since I last saw them. In January when I had tickets to South Carolina to visit them, my cat Juniper become very ill. I stayed here to care for her and she miraculously survived. She is lying to the right of me now while my other cat Mabel is on my left. My husband lovingly calls this “Oreo” as they are two little black furry kitties.
Every morning on my Facebook page for Diabetes Light I share a quote – since day one! It is one of the first things I do when I wake up after testing my blood sugar of course and petting my sweet, cuddly cats. If I have a busy morning and somewhere to be early, my husband has mentioned a few times that I should skip posting a quote that day. This is not something I let happen. I feel that someone might need to hear the message I am sharing and that it may add a little light to their day. This is my hope anyway.
Let me start with saying that yesterday was one of my worst days in recent history — years. Traveling with diabetes should not have to be this hard. If you travel frequently you may not understand or have compassion for my experience. I have not traveled much in my life due to the financial impact diabetes has had on me.
Post-ride 2011 — Can you tell how exhausted I am here?!?! : )
How I came to learn about the Tour de Cure…
In 2011 I participated in my first ADA Tour de Cure. A friend I used to work with, Janae, was deeply involved with the event and loved everything about it. She told me all about being a Red Rider (rider w/ diabetes) and convinced me that the Tour de Cure was something I needed to do. She also talked to me about the volunteer opportunities available and encouraged me to help out. I was sold. I signed up for the Tour only a few short weeks before the ride. I also started volunteering my time to help make the ride better for all fellow people with food allergies.
Have you heard about TeamWILD? Or seen the name Mari Ruddy around the diabetes community? Mari is the founder of TeamWILD & CampWILD. WILD representing: We Inspire Life with Diabetes. I love this! Mari has also lived with Type 1 diabetes for over 30 years and survived breast cancer twice! What an inspiration she is! Along with TeamWILD, she also created the idea for the Red Rider jersey for the ADA Tour de Cure. I first heard about TeamWILD last year at the ADA Tour de Cure after-party when I met Mari for the first time. She came over to a group of us and enthusiastically shared about TeamWILD. I thought it sounded really cool but didn’t think I ever might do it. The program was for real athletes after all, right?
Editor’s note: This is a guest post for the American Diabetes Association. It will be featured in the ADA Tour de Cure’s Twin Cities July Red Rider Reader.
New Note (added after original publishing): I mentioned in the original post that I would try making pumpkin maple bars in the future. I made some last night and they were a hit! They were so very good that I will definitely make them again! After posting a picture of them on Facebook last night, I had several requests for the recipe. I have updated this post to reflect the addition of Pumpkin Maple Oatmeal Bars (seen below the Banana Chocolate Almond Bar recipe!)
Hello Red Riders! How is your summer going? Did you enjoy the Tour de Cure this year? I had a blast! It could not have been a more perfect day – weather wise and everything else too. Plus we raised a lot of money to help STOP diabetes. Yay! We had 1,805 riders and so far raised more than $630,000! Woohoo! It is wonderful to see so many people come together for a great cause. And as someone living with Type 1 diabetes I sincerely appreciate each person’s hard-earned efforts helping us move closer to a cure for diabetes. It fills my heart with so much gratitude and hope. I’m already looking forward to next year! June 1, 2013 is the date. Mark your calendars!
I received a special request for this month’s recipe for the Red Rider Reader – ENERGY BARS!! I thought this was a great idea as we are out cycling and active this summer. A healthy energy bar is an ideal snack for anyone before, during or after cycling or any other exercise. Thanks for this fabulous suggestion Janeece Oatman! Janeece is the amazingly talented and passionate Associate Director for the Twin Cities & Rochester, Minnesota Tour de Cure rides.
How would you define D-I-A-B-E-T-E-S? What kind of feelings and emotions come to mind when you think about diabetes and it’s impact in your life? Shannon (from the D.O.C.) recently wrote two diabetes word poems and shared them on Facebook (they are both shared here with her permission). Her daughter Logan, now 15, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age 12. As a parent of a child with diabetes, Shannon knows diabetes intimately.
Her post inspired me to think about what D-I-A-B-E-T-E-S means to me. Thank you for this inspiration Shannon. The first two poems below were written by Shannon and the third was written by me. Thanks for reading.