The Real Life Diabetes Virtual Happy Hour takes place every Thursday from 5 – 6:15pm CST. The event has nothing to do with alcohol, but is for adults living with diabetes or caring for someone living with this disease. Each week is filled with laughter, lame jokes, trivia and live music with people who get it from across the globe. Don’t be shy, pop in and make a new friend. CLICK HERE to register.
The Real Life Diabetes Virtual Happy Hour takes place every Thursday from 5 – 6:15pm CST. The theme or activity has attendance growing because we have a TON of fun with folks who “get it”. This event is a great place to meet new people, connect with old friends and hopefully lift your spirits as you roll into the weekend.
Checkout a few fun pics below and be sure to click on the Happy Hour logo to register. (more…)
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My adventure to Arkansas, as one of the first Real Life Diabetes “taking the show on the road”, was a smashing success. This couple had me tearing up within the first hour and laughing out loud at the same time. They were welcoming, kind, a ton of fun and not scared to share very personal stories of living, as a couple, with Type 1 diabetes.
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Well, we warned you and now it’s time to share another episode of “Ask Us Anything“. In this episode, we received stellar questions from #DOC royalty and some brave souls who were kind enough to leave us a SpeakPipe message. Amber & Ryan share their deepest thoughts, not advice on diabetes complications, drinking bourbon, carb guessing in uncharted territory and how to encourage a “friend” to make healthier food choices. We’re keeping it real and sharing some laughs. Hope you enjoy the show.
Let’s go ahead and say it–when we take a drink, our thought process breaks from the regular dude at the bar during happy hour. We have a diverse set of worries.
Normal people consider how many they’ve had. We consider how many carbs each drink has.
Normal people ponder whether or not they even like beer. We ponder whether or not our blood sugar is in a place to even drink a beer, then decide if we even like beer.
Normal people worry about whether they can drive their car home. We try to figure out the difference between being low, being tired, and being drunk, while still at the bar. (more…)
Over the weekend my new neighborhood celebrated the 20th Anniversary Mesta Festa and craft beer tasting. I rarely drink beer, but when I do, I limit myself to two because my BG roller coaster experiences have kept me skeptical of this frosty beverage. My justification – the $20 beer garden entry fee was going to a good cause and I might meet a cute, craft beer guy. No brainer, right? As I left my house, my BG was 77 so I sipped Perrier with a little blueberry-pomegranite juice en route. I fork over the cash and join my dear friends at the 405 tasting table where I sample their newest brew, the Trae P.A. Delicious!
The small neighborhood block probably featured about 10 local breweries. I had no intention of trying all of them so I set out to hit up the few that were of interest before they ran out. (more…)
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We admire and respect what Trae Carson and Jonathan Stapleton are crafting over at 405 Brewing, Norman’s first microbrewery. As people with diabetes, we were curious about the brewing process, the carbs, and, well, the taste of their Spring Stout. On all fronts, they did not disappoint. We talked about why carbs aren’t on the outside of most beer bottles. They helped Ryan unravel the mysterious effects of different beers on his blood sugar. We dug up carbohydrate counts on Guinness, Bud Light, IPAs, stouts, and lagers. We even got into the science behind alcohol’s interaction with the liver and how it causes the eventual plummeting of blood sugar. For all of those folks who love good weather and a drink to go with that occasion, this podcast is for you. (more…)
Let’s talk about Spring Break. I can feel it. I know you can too. It’s starting to warm up. Winter is fading away, well, for me because I live in Oklahoma, not Minnesota, and it’s trip taking time. Spring break is doable with diabetes. No doubt. Being out of college, I now look back fondly on the naivety of previous trips, filled with great memories and great luck. That being just said, here are my tips on how to not only survive spring break, but make it one for the ages.
You know that red thing with a prescription label on it, probably in the back of your fridge? Either grab it, or pick up a new one at the pharmacy because that one in the fridge expired 3 years ago. (more…)
Saturday nights can take one of two paths. Path number one is the relaxed, free-flowing night – most likely a result of people not going out the night before. Path number two is the forced and tired means of searching for something night – a result of either going out the night before, a grinding week in the office, or a low blood sugar… (more…)
What do you drink at happy hour?
AC – I prefer a vodka with soda, single, tall with a splash of bloody mary mix. Lime as a garnish. I seem to consume them quickly so the extra soda water helps me from becoming intoxicated too quickly. I LOVE a good bloody mary, but don’t want the sodium so a splash adds flavor. At home or with my friends I am definitely a red wine person.
RF – I’m going beer. I lean hard toward the IPAs. Here in OKC I like to go with the Titan or Caldera. Or I like to find a cool looking/sounding beer on tap and order that. Red wine has its own time and place too.
If you know you’re staying out past midnight, what are you packing with you?
AC – I am rarely out past 10pm, but I always have a fruit strip or organic gummies. I know that both items will raise my blood sugar enough w/o spiking it. Worse case scenario I would ask the bartender for a shot glass of cranberry juice.
RF – Rarely will you find me without a Clif Bar in my back pocket. I’ve found that if you end up going low at the bar, that usually means you’ve had more than a few. If you’ve had more than a few, asking for cup of soda incognito usually doesn’t keep it up for very long. The combo of carbs, fat, and protein works for me. Plus they hit the spot when everyone else is chowing pizza. I usually break down my tester and distribute the parts into 3 separate pockets.
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