Wow!  Can you believe 2011 is officially GONE??  I hope you had a great New Year celebration.  With a 6-year-old, it’s been quite a few years since we’ve actually been out to celebrate on New Year’s Eve.  As usual, my daughter made it until 10:30pm until she dropped from sheer exhaustion.  Chris and I made it until midnight and brought in the New Year with kiss.

 

Of course, the New Year brings about something else exciting for you- as a woman with diabetes!  OPEN REGISTRATION for the 2012 Weekend for Women Conference, Partner’s Perspective Program, and the orange:will Diabetes Awareness Walk!  This year, our annual event will take place on May 18-20, 2012 in Raleigh, NC at the Marriott City Center Hotel.

 

For those who enjoy the time away from spouses, children, and the everyday demands of life—the Conference will provide the rejuvenation you need to make it through another year with diabetes (successfully!).  For those women who always bring their spouses/partners/significant others with them to the Conference, we are offering the ALL NEW Partner’s Perspective Program to make their time in Raleigh useful.  This Program is led by my husband, Chris Barnes along with David Edelman and Alex Munoz.  Their sessions will take also place in the Marriott City Center Hotel.  Just like you, they will have the opportunity to laugh, share frustrations, and bond with others who understand what life is like for them while also hearing from some experts in the field of diabetes.  I am so proud that we are offering this Program for the partners who are so very important, but whose needs are also often overlooked.

 

I am incredibly pumped, excited, and motivated about the 2012 orange:will Diabetes Awareness Walk.  It is going to be HUGE this year!  ABC11 has already signed on as our Official Media Sponsor and Zevia has already signed on as our Official Beverage Sponsor!  Angela Hampton from ABC11 will be on hand to emcee the Walk.  They will also be doing news stories about the event leading up to the day of the event.  With May being National Women’s Health Awareness Month, what better time to take a stand for ourselves, our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, our aunts, and our friends with diabetes?  Women with diabetes deserve resources to help them navigate the blood sugar fluctuations of puberty, pregnancy, monthly menstruation, and menopause and the increased health risks too often are not even discussed!

 

I was so pleased to see my daughter, Summer, really get into the orange:will spirit yesterday.  She decided to lead a Team in the Walk and she has already made a list of 38 people to send fundraising emails to!  Of course, before making the list, she had to come and ask, “Mom, if my team raises the most money, can I still get the grand prize—even if I am your daughter?”  I assured her that everyone who raises funds is eligible for the prizes.  And with that, she proceeded to make her fundraising list—thinking of teachers from her preschool and elementary school who had a relative with diabetes, friends from church, friends from our neighborhood, family members, my friends, her dad’s friends, even her grandmother’s friends! Since she got a new computer (a Netbook) for Christmas, she is excited to use the fundraising tools on the Walk website to send out emails asking people to be on her team and asking people to donate. (To all of our friends and family—let this blog serve as fair warning!J)   She is determined to have the biggest team and raise the most money!  Since she is my daughter, I have to say, “You’d better get out of her way when she sets her mind to something!”

 

NOTE: Announcement regarding specific prizes for fundraising is forthcoming.  Stay tuned!