D-Blog Week: Diamonds of The DOC

There are several reasons why I love D-Blog Week but the main one is that it invites people living completely different lives, in completely different parts of the world, and brings them together through writing about one thing we all have in common - diabetes.  Seeing as this is the final post of this years D-Blog Week, it's time to shed some light on some of the superstars of the Diabetic Online Community.  Thank you to the following people in particular, some being new discoveries and some old favourites, for providing me with lots of quality reading this week:

The Tangerine Diabetic

Dave's posts are fantastically written and his ability to make the D seem humorous is so uplifting.  I'm so glad that he decided to take part in D-Blog Week as reading the musings of The Tangerine Diabetic the past few days has been a treat!

1 type 1

Kim's blog is one of my exciting new discoveries, thanks to D-Blog Week!  I love how her posts are so heartfelt that they manage to have me on the verge of tears one minute and then sporting a smile from ear-to-ear the next.  I hope my attitude towards my diabetes is as great as hers after 26 years of living with it.  Really looking forward to reading more from 1 type 1 after this week!

Vicki's Notebook

Vicki's writing is truthful, inspirational and absolutely beautiful.  Through D-Blog Week her posts have been first point of call for me to read before writing my own, as her ability to make you see the positive side of diabetes is a daily necessity.  Vicki's Notebook is consistently wonderful and enjoyable to read and Vicki's spirit is consistently contagious!

Teapot Diabetic

Emma's blog was one of the first that I started reading when I started writing about my diabetes 2 years ago and I've been addicted to her posts ever since.  Her down to earth approach to diabetes is admirable and the Teapot Diabetic is a very honest account of living with type 1.  Keep writing, Emma - I love it!

Thank you Karen Graffeo at Bittersweet Diabetes for organising yet another amazing opportunity to get further involved with and meet other wonderful members of The DOC.  It's because of the people in The Diabetic Online Community that diabetes feels less like a burden and more like a blessing.  Also a massive thank you to those who have read my posts this week and beforehand - as always, your acknowledgement and support means so much!

I have a 2 hour train journey today, so I plan to spend it all catching up on the posts from the last week and I can't wait!  It is with sadness that I say goodbye to D-Blog Week 2013, but I am looking forward to seeing you all again next year.  Wishing everyone in the DOC happiness, health and heroic blood sugars! xo

Day 13: I love you

We're meant to be focusing on 10 things we couldn't live without, but as the lovely Vicki Gibbs mentioned in her Day 13 post, if we only talk about the things we physically could not survive without then you're just going to get a boring and pretty obvious list of daily essentials.  Food, water and diabetes supplies being the main ones of course.  It's for this reason that I'm going to list the things that I love the most because I figured that, without the things I love, life wouldn't really be worth living anyway.

10 things I love:

1.  My family.  We may not be the most conventional bunch, but I like that.  The most important thing is that we love each other, support each other and can trust each other with anything.  You are beautiful, wonderful people and I love you all dearly.  Thank you for making me, me.

2.  My lovely friends.  It doesn't matter how long I've known you for, I appreciate each and every one of you.  I'm not going to put your names on here because you know exactly who you are.  I adore you all and I feel blessed to have you in my life.

3.  Anthony Brown.  I don't have to write much here because I think you already know just how much you mean to me.  You have become such an important part of my life and you make me so happy!  You're caring, thoughtful, intelligent, funny, creative and so much more.  I know we joke about how we can read each other's minds because we usually know pretty much exactly what each other are thinking, but I think that's probably because we're so well suited.  I know we never planned to be with each other, or to fall for each other, but I'm so glad we did.

I love you lots!

4.  The Diabetic Online Community.  When I first started blogging as Diabetic Dais, I never expected to become a part of such a supportive and wonderful group of individuals.  I used to feel alone as a diabetic and that probably lead to me not taking much care of it when I was younger, but I don't feel that way anymore.  If I'm annoyed by the fact that I've woken up with high blood sugars, my head hurts and I feel as though no one understands, all I have to do is go on my laptop and suddenly I'm surrounded by so many people who completely identify with me.  DOC - you make me a better diabetic, so thank you!

5.  Reading.  My favourite book is The Time Traveller's Wife because it's beautifully written and you know it's a good book when you cry more reading it than you did when watching the film.  Apart from that, I love reading everything.  Fiction, non-fiction, blogs, newspapers...oh and, since doing the DAFNE programme, the nutritional information on the back of food packaging.

6.  Movies.  The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile being my personal faves.  Those and The Sound Of Music...but that goes without saying.

7.  My music collection.  'Easies' is my favourite Spotify playlist at the moment.  Oh and Ray LaMontagne's voice warms my heart.

8.  My Uke.  I've played the ukulele for a couple of years now, thanks to my dad's musical influence.  I love it...and before you start picturing George Formby cleaning windows, he actually played the Banjolele (just to clear things up!)

9.  Flowers.  Lots and lots of flowers.  Especially tulips (bet you thought I'd say Daisies, right?!)

10.  My cat, Millie...because she's gorgeous!