Although All Different, We Face Difficulties & Fears As One Family. - Wordless Wednesday

Walk the Catwalk… The Diabetes Catwalk

They were big, and golden; an amber kind of golden. Big, and gaudy. Flashy. A novelty. I'm not really sure how my mom got them. These were about size 11 heels, and my mom was around 5½.

All I knew at the time, was that they were awesome. They were not the same, boring, every day, sensible shoes that *I* had to wear. Brown or black, mom always said. "All you ever need to compliment an outfit, are either brown, or black shoes. Otherwise you end up wasting money, foolishly."

They were always tucked away at the very back of my oldest sister's closet (and she was a size 8)... and every time they came out during a Spring closet cleaning (and for some reason, never disposed of), it was like Christmas morning.

I remember the day I discovered them. Mom seemed almost embarrassed to own them, and seemed to try, rather discreetly, to just put them back where they were. But their glint, and glitter caught my eye... and a love affair of sorts began. I eagerly asked if I could try them on... for role play, I said. I must have been about 6 years old. Amazingly, she easily caved in, with an "Oh, alright... but only for a little bit," which she sternly declared. "And be careful in those things, don't fall and get hurt."

They were just enormous on my little feet, of course... but who cared! They had the tallest high heel I had ever seen... and well, you put them on, you tried to prance "elegantly" down the long hallway with the mirror at the end, and you tried hard not to trip! And at 6 years old, no one really thinks you're going to "doll up," and run off with a boy, while wearing size 11, 'loose woman' kind of heels, so your mom LETS YOU play in them! Oh, joy!!

I loved those heels. I loved everything they represented.

But I grew up... and I never bought my own pair of gaudy, flashy... glittery heels. I was always caught up in the sensible, brown or black, Catholic-school-approved type of shoes. I had almost forgotten the memory of those golden beauties, until about this morning (to tell you the truth). I don't know why I chanced remembering them, now.

Maybe... just maybe... because recapturing that bit of morning joy; that childhood love affair... That's how the Blue Heel Society makes me feel.

You see, it was never comfortable walking in those shoes... and you were always an inch away from falling on your face! Those things were not exactly the stuff of Hush Puppies' commercials... but that was never the point. The point was being fabulous, being a Queen, being the Grande Dame, being... a rock star. Being someone you NEVER thought you could be... with just a pair of shoes. Being... a fabulous diva.

As adults, we tend to lose some of that imaginative edge... And it does seem a lot harder, now, doesn't it? To be inspired to reach those heights? To live out our dreams? To even get up, and get going... because we have a different kind of catwalk, these days. Some mornings, we can barely manage it. You know which walk. The Diabetes Catwalk.

Figuratively, or not, we wear our own painful heels, every day... and we walk down our own long, mirrored corridors, on our own slick flooring, trying hard to "elegantly" strut our stuff. Trying hard to seem every bit the poised people we were meant to be. It's really not an easy walk... and frankly, some of us seem to do it with so much more ease than others. (But boy, if the shoes could talk! I'm sure they'd tell another story...)

The diabetes catwalk is probably, by far, one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. A painful walk, in painful shoes... while facing myself in the mirror, down a long corridor. Facing the mirror; facing the music. Facing a life long, seemingly endless journey.

You and I... We will never wear the same shoes. And we were never meant to, but in a way, we do. We wear the shoes of faith, of pride, of endurance, perseverance, of love, of joy... of hope eternal. The shoes of pain; of tears, sometimes, of anger, exhaustion, and grief... of resentment. We walk them down slick corridors, down gravel roads, down inclines, down every path that life imagined... They fit our feet, in their own unique ways... and they are... their own burden.

But my friend, though  your shoes are different, if they walk beside mine down that long, crazy, winding corridor of life... they give me wings. A shoulder to lean on, should I trip. They make that long walk, all the shorter... all the more fabulous, all the more doable. I can be anyone. Do anything; balance on anything. I am, suddenly, the Grande Dame, the fabulous diva, the rockstar... the sexy thang.

Yes, I am proud to be a Blue Heeled Wearing Diva... and I am even prouder, when you are wearing yours, right next to mine. Walk with me. Just for a mile. Or maybe just two. I promise I'll catch you; catch you if you choose.

by Lizmari
http://theangrytype2diabetic.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com//lizzmariposa

'Behind the Blue Scenes' Week ending 02/26/2012

Click the Play button to listen

Welcome to this week's edition of 'Behind the Blue Scenes', where we share with all of you, some of what goes on as The BHS grows.

Congrats to our Facebook Fan Of The Week Diane Wrona Irvin! Thanks for being a Bluetiful part of the BHS!

We are tickled BLUE to see the most popular item on our Facebook Page  for the week was our newly introduced BHS Fan Marquee. Since YOU are the reason we do what we do, it makes us quite happy to be able to showcase how & why you interact with us, and give everyone a chance to be showcased. It is also a great way for us to see what you do (and don’t) like about what you see.

Another one of the top item’s were exercise related, as our friends at ‘Discuss Diabetes’ ask’s What’s your favorite way to exercise indoors? & the folks at Diabetes Care reported that Weight Loss Can be Contagious according to a Study.

If you can’t excersize indoors and need to do so outdoors, there is a service that was very popular that we shared called Type 1 Sitters that say’s “ Having Type 1 Diabetes is hard, but finding a babysitter in your area to take care of your Type 1 child is even harder”.

Another popular item as we shared was that Sanofi US launched the ‘2012 Data Design Diabetes Innovation Challenge’  where they seek to help “Improve the outcomes and/or experience of caregivers, family/friends, healthcare providers and/or people living with diabetes in the US.”

You also showed great interest in our Sister Organization Type1Rider.org, where our CEO/Co-Founder Tony Cervati is featured in a Pre-Trailer for 'Type1Rider the Film'  If you haven’t checked this out yet it is a MUST SEE!

This coming week we will unveil the first Component of our ‘Shoebox’, the Application to become a BHS ‘Chapter Luminary’, so we can start mobilizing all of our wonderful peeps that have indicated they are ready. This is also the first & most important step for the BHS to start internally planning where & when our “Shoeins” will occur.

Finally & the most exciting thing to keep your eyes open for is the very first Guest Blog post by our dear friend Lizmari M. Collazo. Lets just say that Lizmari will bring you back in time in joy, as she also shares that she is also a “Blue Heeled Wearing Diva”. It is also one of THE most POWERFUL things you will ever have the pleasure of experiencing. The post will be published early tomorrow morning, so stay tuned.

Get ready for an EXCITING Week coming up & keep on being as BLUETIFUL as can be!

Tom Moore
Chief Shoehorn Tooter

p.s. ALWAYS looking for input & suggestions from YOU. Please send me an email & we may include your idea in our Weekly 'Behind the Blue Scenes'.

Are you GREAT?

One of my fave quotes is: "Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them". This quote is from William Shakespeare but I think it's very fitting  for our Blue Heel Society. Why? Because we are all involved in something great here!! In 3 short months, BHS, has rallied the DOC and you have NOT disappointed us. We LOVE all the pics your sending to us with your blue shoes!!  We LOVE when your out and see blue shoes and IMMEDIATELY think Blue Heel Society and diabetes or see someone in the airport sporting blue shoes and tag us in your photo. We LOVE it all!! Keep 'em coming!!

However, I know there are some of you that are thinking, "what's a pair of blue shoes gonna do?" Those pair of blue shoes, you wear, can spark a conversation that educates one person about diabetes. Who then, in turn, educates another person and it goes on and on and on...(I throw my hands up in the air sometimes saying Hey -Yo!) sorry...couldn't help myself!! We all know it is going to take EACH and EVERY one of us to educate the public about diabetes. Why NOT do it in blue shoes??

So on this Blue Friday, go forth and be GREAT!!! And ask yourself: were you born with it, will you achieve it or will it be thrust upon you???

There Is A BLUE Shoe for Each & Every One... Wordless Wednesday

What BLUE means to me...

I HATE blue!! Before you get your heels all in a twist...let me explain. Blue has been in my life FOREVER!! Those of you that have attended a catholic school know what I mean. Blue is everywhere...it was in my school uniform, it was in my spirit wear, sports uniforms,shoes, backpacks, sweaters...like I said, it was everywhere...for 8 years!! (I think I chose a public high school just to get away from blue!) I stayed away from blue like it was the plague. If the option was blue or naked...I'd take naked, thank you very much!! Fast forward many, many years and now my T1D daughter is attending the EXACT same catholic school wearing the EXACT same uniform!!!

(My girls, Nora & Evy. The uniform on the left is the one I wore!)

But now with the push for a circle to denote the universal symbol of diabetes and a BLUE circle at that, I've started to see blue, in a different way. Now, I smile when I see blue. I am SEEKING blue, everywhere I go!  My first purchase of blue shoes set me over the edge and I became a "blue-for-life'er".  I'm one of those people that when I'm committed to something, I obsess. My husband knows this... for Christmas he bought me a blue jacket, blue Converse and a blue Pandora bead. He said I could wear them to all my diabetes events.(Insert "AWE" here...I love that man!) I can't go into a store without looking for blue clothes and of course, blue shoes!! It's so bad that every time I see something blue, I squeal in delight! I've even got my sister looking...and she is NOT a shopper!!

   

(My first pair!!)

But what does all this mean?!?! (besides the fact that I obviously need therapy!!) Now...blue means: diabetes, DOC, unity, strength, love, but most of all it means HOPE. Hope that with each day, new medications and  new devices will improve the health of my diabetic daughter and  HOPE for what we all so desperately want...a CURE!! To see diabetics, their family and friends all together,  all wanting a cure...people we don't even know yet brought together by this dreadful disease, showing solidarity by wearing blue is a sight to behold.


(WDD 2011 Cincy, OH Artistic Vision)
I wear blue to support my diabetic daughter and raise awareness for diabetes. It's amazing how a blue pair of shoes can turn into a conversation about diabetes. Don't believe me? Try it! It happens to me all the time! So, I guess I've come full circle...the color I've despised for years has now become my new favorite color! I <3 blue!! 

HOPE, STRENGTH, LOVE & BLUE!   

'Behind the Blue Scenes' Week ending 02/19/2012

Click here to listen: Blue Shoe Blues by Jive Creek Ramblers

Welcome to this week's edition of 'Behind the Blue Scenes', where we share with all of you, some of what goes on as The BHS grows.

As we celebrated our Happy 3 Month Birthday to the BHS! & Valentines Day we realized as we sat down to write this Post, that we had another BUSY & BLUETIFUL Week! 

We were entertained, to say the least, by Allen Tallbott & the Jive Creek Ramblers as they dedicated the "Blue Shoe Blues" to all of the BHS'ers (And some special love at the end of the Tune). How COOL is this!

We were very pleased to announce that Jen Hamilton Loving will be functioning in the critical role of our Chief Content Officer. Jen is very well known within the Diabetes Online Community, and has first hand experience with diabetes as her 11 years old daughter was dx'd Type 1 at the age of 4.  Jen currently works as the Chair of The Family Outreach at her local JDRF chapter & much more. You can read all about her here & find out how to contact Jen directly with any & all ideas you may have related to Content.  

We were humbled, honored, and blushing in BLUE, over the love shown by Sanofi US on the Article "How Grassroots Diabetes Efforts Support Community Growth" on the Discuss Diabetes™ Blog presented by Sanofi US, a leader in the discovery and development of innovative diabetes products, as part of their commitment to help improve the lives of people with diabetes. And as they state   "Blogging isn’t easy for a healthcare company"   and the BHS feels that Sanofi US is a LEADER in bridging the gap in Consumer relations, as demonstrated by Discuss Diabetes™ .

We are SO happy to announce that our very dear friend Lizmari M. Collazo, will be honoring all of us with a Guest Blog post from time to time, so stay tuned for that and make sure and visit her Blog where she is “Challenging the Status Quo of Living with Type 2 Diabetes“. You can also follow her journey as “The Angry Type 2 Diabetic” on Facebook .

We are very excited for Dr. Dyer a.k.a. The EndoGoddess, LLC as she will be going to the White House  to discuss diabetes in the Hispanic community at the National Hispanic Medical Association 16th Annual Conference. Read more about that on her Blog 

We close this week’s segment with THE most important part of why we do, what we do...YOU, our Bluetiful Peeps! Our Facebook Page is sporting some NEW additions, as we have been so graciously gifted full Versions, by the Developer, of what we are calling our “BHS Fan Marquee”   & “BHS Fan Of The Week", where we showcase some of what YOU are saying & doing as you interact with us on Facebook. If you or anyone you know have a Facebook Fan page, these are MUST have Apps for growing your Fan base & and MUCH more. Please visit them here & tell them that the BHS sent you!

Get ready for an EXCITING Week coming up & keep on being as BLUETIFUL as can be!

Tom Moore

Chief Shoehorn Tooter

p.s. ALWAYS looking for input & suggestions from YOU. Please send me an email & we may include your idea in our Weekly 'Behind the Blue Scenes'.

The Evolution of The Shoe... Blue Ones Too...

As defined by Wikipedia:

"The earliest known shoes are sandals dating from about 8000 to 7000 BC and found in Oregon, USA in 1938. The world's oldest leather shoe, made from a single piece of cowhide laced with a leather cord along seams at the front and back, was found in a cave in Armenia in 2008 and is believed to date to 3,500 BC."

The shoe has evolved over the years with the advent of new technologies, creation processes, and materials. In the early 16th Century, the Chopine platform shoe appeared requiring servants to help you walk.  This was the Great Grandmother of today's High Heel.

 

The evolution of colors, style, materials, and function has continued through today where we are blessed with a dazzling array of technologies that allow the making of some spectacular shoes.

 

Just as the shoe has evolved for the last 5000+ years, The Blue Heel Society continues to evolve and adapt to changes and different styles.  What started out as a mere social media post 3 months ago has, thanks to the support of all of you, evolved into something unbelievably Bluetiful!

As part of that process, The Blue Heel Society would like to announce that it has added another pair of heels to the staff! Jen Hamilton Loving will be functioning in the critical role of Chief Content Officer for our organization.  

Jen is very well known within the Diabetes Online Community, and has first hand experience with diabetes as her 11 years old daughter was dx'd Type 1 at the age of 4.  Jen currently works as the Chair of The Family Outreach at her local JDRF chapter, and she spearheaded World Diabetes Day at Cincinnati's Fountain Square.  Through Jen's efferts and persistence, the local businesses to turn their buildings (most notably the Great American Insurance Tiara) BLUE on November 14th.

All of us here at The Blue Heel Society are very excited and grateful to have Jen step into her new position!

Lots of Valentine Love For One And All - Wordless Wednesday

Happy 3 Month Birthday to the BHS!

Blue Velvet Cake with Blue Suede Shoes

Happy 3 Month Birthday to the BHS!

Thanks to all the Bluetiful people that have joined us for the ride. We join in celebrating YOU as we turn 3 months old today.

We would love for you to post a Comment as to your favorite thing about the BHS!

'Behind the Blue Scenes' Week ending 02/12/2012

Welcome to this week's edition of 'Behind the Blue Scenes', where we share with all of you, some of what goes on as The BHS grows.

This week we rolled out BHSBabble on our Facebook Page, thanks to the GREAT folks at Fotobabble, where we welcome you to come share a picture & record audio to attach to the picture, and share with everyone *where* you *wear* and/or see Blue Shoes in action.

Our Facebook Fan Of The Week (chosen at random by computer magic based on interaction) is Megan Floyd. Our Facebook Fan Of The Week get's a FREE copy of the EndoGoddess App, available on Android as well as Itunes,.and also get’s mentioned in the 'Behind the Blue Scenes' Post, as well as bragging rights for being an AWESOME member of the BHS!

Lastly & certainly THE biggest story this week is the introduction of "Diabetic Barbie". She has taken Facebook by storm in just a few short days, all thanks to one VERY smart little girl named Emma, and a WONDERFUL DMom named Amy Ermel. We URGE you to visit & 'Like' her Facebook page, as we all help in every way we can to ensure "Diabetic Barbie" comes to life! Please make sure and visit Amy's Blog Laughing At Diabetes as well.

Still working on our *Shoebox* for applications to become a Chapter Luminary. Keep checking our Blog for details as we give you all you need to bring the BHS into your Community.

Get ready for an EXCITING Week coming up & keep on being as BLUETIFUL as can be!

Communicating with Shoes - Wordless Wednesday

'Behind the Blue Scenes' Week ending 02/05/2012

Welcome to this week's edition of 'Behind the Blue Scenes', where we share with all of you, some of what goes on as The BHS grows.

We are thrilled to announce, with many more details to follow in the coming day's, that the kind folks at Fotobabble have given us complete access to their GREAT Products & Services. They have a VERY dedicated Team striving to bring the very best to everything they do, including working with nonprofit organizations striving to make this world a better place.

Fotobabble is an ingenious way to add audio to ANY picture you have from many different online services we all use daily, upload from your computer, AND a FREE Iphone App. We will be incorporating Fotobabble into many area's and we URGE you to visit their Website and create your very own Fotobabble's that can be shared everywhere you visit online, most importantly on the BHS  Facebook Page.

One of our Twitter followers demonstrated one of the things we are so proud of. In an Airport she happened upon someone in Blue Heels and shared the Pic  In that millisecond it took to snap the pic, the whole time knowing that it represented more than just a Blue Shoe. All of us can do the same and is a perfect *fit* for using Fotobabble. See the Shoe...think of BHS...post a Fotobabble!

Our very own Alexis was featured on a  Podcast with Tony Rose from Blogging Diabetes and as always Alexis WOW's & ROCKS the interview with her passion & drive that we all know & love.

We were just tickled BLUE beyond words to be shown some LOVE from Kerri Sparling at Six Until Me (SUM) in her Blog post  What We Document.: Solving for "Why." Make sure and visit her Blog and be AMAZED at all Kerri does & tell her we sent you!

Our Facebook Fan Of The Week (chosen at random by computer magic based on interaction) is  Moira McCarthy Stanford. Moira is one of the BIGGEST & BEST diabetes advocates you will ever know. She is an accomplished writer & blogger, and make sure and visit her Blog "DespiteDiabetes".  Our Facebook Fan Of The Week get's a FREE copy of the EndoGoddess App, available on Android as well as Itunes,.and also get’s mentioned in the 'Behind the Blue Scenes' Post, as well as bragging rights for being an AWESOME member of the BHS!

Final touches being put on our *Shoebox* for applications to become a Chapter Luminary. Keep checking our Blog for details as we give you all you need to bring the BHS into your Community.

Get ready for an EXCITING Week coming up & keep on being as BLUETIFUL as can be!

Thanks,
The BHS Team

"Defeated" Is Out Of Style. Time For A New Pair. - Wordless Wednesday