Love, Fear and Dating for Single Ladies

It’s the month of love! I am a big fan of love. I love the earth, my dog, and my nieces. I also love cycling, cooking healthy, vegan, gluten-free food and walking my athletic dog! On top of all of this, I love taking action to make the world a more just, healthy, welcoming place … Read more

The New Year is Coming Is Your Brand Ready? One More Tip for You!

I am a big fan of the end of the year and goal setting and vision boarding. Perhaps part of why I like this time of year is because it means I’ve successfully survived Christmas and the merry making holidays. As I’ve mentioned, I’m a single gal with no children who doesn’t have much contact … Read more

Tools to Help You Never Give Up During The Holidays

I met Alexis Acker-Halbur when I was 16 years old and she was the Counselor-In-Training (CIT) coordinator at Camp Needlepoint, a Minnesota/Wisconsin summer camp for kids and teens with type 1 diabetes. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in June 1981, one month after I turned 16 years old. I took the bus out … Read more

5 Tips for Holiday Survival for Single Ladies with No Children

I don’t know about you, but for me, surviving the holiday season with good cheer is no easy task. I don’t hang out very much with my family. I am not married. At this moment, I don’t even have a boyfriend. I don’t have children. (that one I am quite glad about!) I am not … Read more

Thanksgiving, thankfulness & surviving diabetes

It’s a few days before Thanksgiving and I am thinking about what I’m thankful for, maybe you can relate. Are you considering what you are thankful for? There’s lots I am thankful for: my amazing circle of friends, my snuggly loving dog Echo, my overall good health, to name the top items. I’m also profoundly … Read more

Weight Loss, Type 1 Diabetes & Endurance Athletics

Ready for Weight Loss Action!
Ready for Weight Loss Action!

In May I broke my ankle, which radically altered my plan to ride my bike 100 miles a few weeks later. In fact, it interrupted my general fitness plans. Slowly and surely, my weight has creeped up. Not fun at all. I noticed how bad it had gotten a few weeks ago, when two pairs of my favorite pants no longer fit comfortably. Weight loss with type 1 diabetes is never a very easy problem to tackle.

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12 Years of Surviving Breast Cancer: YES! #DoingIt

Breathe deep. Plant my feet firmly on this beautiful Earth. Feel my heart open. Allow grief, loss, relief, gratitude, to one by one wash through my being. Today, October 20th, marks the 12th anniversary of my first breast cancer diagnosis. I am still alive. I am healthier than I have perhaps ever been. My attitude … Read more

Odyssey West Adventure, Camping with 50 7th & 8th Graders!

devilstowerAt the end of the school year last year, I was invited to join the Adolescent 1 (A1) Odyssey trip that headed West starting the 3rd day of school. I agreed to jump on the Odyssey train, not really knowing what I was signing up to do. I love working at Great River School, the Montessori/International Baccalaureate 1st grade through 12th grade school at which I substitute teach and help out in other odd ways. I used to take groups of teenagers on all sorts of overnight adventures, so tent camping for 7 nights with 50 7th and 8th graders didn’t seem like that big of a jump in my experience wheel.

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