Greetings from Japan! 日本からのご挨拶 !

I was away visiting various countries in Asia during the month of December.  Lots to write about, lots of pictures to share so keep your yes posted as I find time in between my work to put my thoughts together (and go through all the pictures that both my husband I took together).

One thing that worried me abit in the beginning of my trip was the mainly rice based diet that Asians tend to eat.  Like many diabetics, I try to limit my carb intake to keep my blood sugars from spiking, but with any food, it's all about PORTION control.  All I can say, was I ever wrong about what they eat.  While rice does remain the base of their meals in most cases, they also eat alot of fresh vegetables and fruits.  All very healthy and tasty and the main thing as I've always written about, eating food that is not processed, cooked from scratch is the way to go with being healthy!

One thing I loved to have in the morning for my meal was congee while I was away.  It's basically a rice based porridge (or gruel to some of you).  It can be eaten plain (this is according to research I have done for this short blog), but my morning meal tended to be flavoured with chicken, along with fish or other meat served along it. Along with a scattering of roasted seaweed and some nuts, it kept my blood sugars more stable then my usual oatmeal porridge and my tummy happy until later in the afternoon.  Let's just say, I was pretty impressed with the results of my blood sugars as well.

So, on that note as I'm supposed to be "working", without further adieu, here is a link that I found in my latest Canadian Living that uses your slow cooker to cook up this tasty meal (in their article no reference is made to whether it's for breakfast or dinner ... but who cares!).

And for those of you who poo poo carbs, according to the nutritional breakdown, I can now see why perhaps I was having a few lows as I was guesstimating on the amount of carbs for the portions I was eating.  So, take a peak, I dare you to try something that is different then what you normally eat, and your body may thank you.

If you're wanting to know about the benefits of eating congee then I highly recommend this link to help educate yourselves.\

And with that,  どうもありがとう Dōmo arigatō - thank you very much for reading my dribbles here.  The pictures below are when Sock Monkey and I got to be dressed up in beautiful kimonas by some wonderful ladies in Shimizu, Japan (they say it takes them only 15 minutes to dress themselves up).  Of course, I chose a beautiful blue design for diabetes and yes, the Children with Diabetes bracelet from Friends for Life that I attend back in Niagara Falls, Ontario in early November was still on!).

And of course,

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!  

明けましておめでとうございます

Mount Fuji was very clear that day!

Sock Monkey likes his hiding spot!

I'm still feeling High!

Okay - I've maybe worded the title incorrectly here - but psst - did it get your attention or what?

My HIGH comes from the incredible weekend I just spent with T1D kids/adults, T3's (parents/grandparents/sisters/brothers/etc.) at the 4th annual Children With Diabetes (CWD) - Friend for Life (FFL) conference and expo in Toronto, Canada. I actually am feeling a little depressed about being away from "my family" - missing the sounds of the beep, beep, and whirl, whirl of various medical devices being used around me - that I use myself to stay healthy with my diabetes. It felt so amazing to be part of such a big group - that got each other - we didn't have to question why you were doing this and that - do it in secret like some diabetics I know that hide out in dirty washrooms to test their blood glucose (BG) or bolus with insulin. It was just so cool is all I can say!!!

The last time I attended in Toronto I was part of the staff - and because of that missed out on all the great conferences that are presented. This time though, I wasn't asked to help, and of course, I felt like having abit of a pity party (memories of Joe Solowiejczyk talk about dealing with diabetes are going thru' my head here - I cried so hard with laughter - "Yipee I love having diabetes ... NOT!!!").

This time I managed to get our god daughter, Catherine and her son, Aaron who is a T1D like myself to come along. I do not think they regret one bit about my dragging them along (well - their only regret is that they didn't take up my offer of ear plugs - since I still am not 100% well - and snored ... or should I say ... purred REALLY loud). 

Sock Monkey paying attention

Catherine met up with other D-parents like herself, exchanged contact info and I'm hoping they stay in touch for many years to come as their children grown up into adults. So, the 6 hour drive back home after such an exciting long w/e was abit of a drag, as we didn't want to say good bye to everyone, but with good tunes and a GPS (Toronto is a big city) - we got back home safe and sound. Aaron is now putting his plans in action to figure out how to raise monies to attend the CWD FFL 2013 meet up in Orlando, Florida this summer. Obviously, he didn't get enough in Toronto!!!

For myself, it was meeting up with all the parents (some actually were looking out for me with my ears since they follow my scribbles in the sandbox at Diabetes1.org and in other social media areas I post in). Listening to their fears of their children with diabetes and trying to reassure them that with great patience - their kids will do alright, just like I did with having family members that looked out for each other with living with this disease (I hate calling it that - since to me - it's not a disease - it's just a hiccup in my life - that I try to make the best of the situation). Also spending time with the kids, sharing laughs, dancing (okay - it was more like an aerobic workout for this old D-cat) - just AWESOME!

Sock Monkey wanting to get in on the action!

Sadly, this maybe the last FFL being held in Canada, due to sponsorship - sigh. I have to admit, I had hoped that there would be more pump manufacturers other then Animas (you know my reasons there - and forthcoming blog will be revealing abit of a shocking conversation I had with Paul Flynn, Director of International business Development of Animas Canada). Perhaps, if those other companies, and a few more that have products aimed at diabetics all pitched into the pot, then I'll be writing about the next Canadian one that I am able to attend.

If you are interested in checking out the presentations (I know I'm going back to go over some of the notes I took down) - you can find it all at this link! 

Tired but happy bunch on the road back home!