2012 - Year of the Dragon

Everyone around me knows that I have been PUMPED for 2012! Super excited and ready for a great year, I am over 2011!
Usually I check up on the new year Chinese horoscope. It started a couple years ago at work as a joke that we would all see what each year had "in store" for us and then it stuck! Well, this year I should have skipped the quirky tradition.
There are four areas that you can read a prediction on:

Career
Love
Money
Health
The first three were so-so, no big promises or gleams of optimism. Rather bleak in fact. Mostly they just said to play it safe, not take chances, and "follow the guidance of the Dragon" blah, blah, blah...
Then I got to the last category.

"Health: There is an Unlucky Star showing in health area. That's a sign of injury. Therefore, Horse people need to pay attention the safety at work, to drive carefully on the road and to avoid conflict with strangers. Also, if Horse people have physical fights with others or do dangerous sports (like mountain climbing, car racing, diving, ski or even riskier activities), it might cause a bloody injury. Some fortunetellers suggest that doing a blood donation or teeth cleaning will help people escape accidents or injuries. Also, Horse people shouldn't ignore their health in 2012. Otherwise, a hospital door is opening for you."

So..I guess I'll be staying home in 2012.

American Diabetes Association 2011 Accomplishments

In the spirit of wrapping up 2011 take a look at all the great things the ADA, it's volunteers, and all your donations were able to accomplish this year!
Check out this link, http://www.diabetes.org/assets/pdfs/advocacy/2011-advocacy-accomplishments.pdf to see the see the full list of 2011 highlights. Below are a few of my favorites:

~The "Advocates in Action" initiative celebrated it's first year anniversary.
~The ADA expanded it's "Safe at School" campaign for children with diabetes.
~Instead of restricting access to glucose monitoring for children in Washington State, due to advocacy efforts access was expanded.

Hopefully the win against cutbacks in this area will discourage future attempts! Here's to a successful 2012!

The Compassionate Friends

While we are all celebrating the holidays and enjoying time with family and friends eating great food and finding amazing deals, I wanted to take a moment to share with you about this special day coming up! So many families have suffered from the loss of a child and I can imagine that during the holidays is it especially hard.

Recently I learned about a national self-help support organization, The Compassionate Friends. Fifteen years ago they created a Worldwide Candle Lighting to be held on the second Sunday of December in honor of all families grieving the loss of a child. Services are held in communities across America and the globe that you can attend and/or light a remembrance candle in memory of a lost child. You can visit their website (http://www.compassionatefriends.org/), to find the service nearest to you. The event officially begins at 7 p.m. on December 11th!