InkStain'D: Monday, April 9th

Today's InkStain'D features many bloggers from the DOC (Diabetes Online Community), including:

• My Life with Type 2 Diabetes - We All Talk to Ourselves, Right? (HAWMC, Day 8) 
• The Diabetic's Corner Booth - Skittles on a Plane 
• Victoria Cumbow - A new, real-life friend 
• Texting My Pancreas - Failing 
• T Minus Two - Many Kinds of Delicious
• Bittersweet - Keep Calm (HAWMC, Day 9); and
• what to do with that leftover, yet awesome looking Magic Mouse Container Terrarium

Click here to read all about it.

Accessible InkStain'D

Also, for those of you who stumble on this blog who use a screen reader, the paper is largely accessible, and a link is included to an accessible page for the videos shared (also at the top of this page, link for Accessible InkStain'D.

Ready, Set, Fly!

There's a new kid in town. It's a little e-newspaper called InkStain'D.

To go back a bit, the Flying Furballs blog was born out of my need to share all kinds of things that go on in my life. I have shared posts about living with Type 1 Diabetes and it gave me a platform to be a diabetes advocate. I've also shared my husband Larry's accessibility 'adventures' as he lives with blindness caused by congenital glaucoma. He also lives with Type 2 diabetes which has, over the last few years, given me more insight into the diabetes 'world'.

But still, I kept wondering, how could I possibly add something to an amazing blogging community which has already done such a great job. Sure, I do have something to say, and Flying Furballs is still a perfect forum through which I can share, but due to limited time, I've been struggling with how to best serve the community and beyond.

InkStain'D is born

Read all about it, in InkStain'D

InkStain'D is an e-newspaper that I've been playing with for a while. It had humble beginnings (starting as the JamieNa Journal which morphed into the JamieAnna Journal), and I've had a few mis-steps to be sure. I've learned the ropes and now I can say I am the publisher and curator of this little paper. It proudly sports a new URL (paper.li/InkStain_D) and it will be published at least 2 days per week, assuming life doesn't get too much in the way.

InkStain'D is another way to access information - a kind of one-stop shopping. Because people prefer to access information in different ways. This e-newspaper format hopefully will bring information to more people, and hopefully introduce other people to the diabetes community. Essentially, it is another way to reach out to people - providing them with information in an interesting and entertaining way.

For those of you already familiar with it, the focus will be the same, but it now features some new stuff too. Not only will it have news and views from the diabetes and accessibility communities, it will also share so much more with readers, including:

• Posts from bloggers of all stripes, from within the diabetes and accessibility communities, and "beyond"
• Featured videos - educational, funny, creative and inspirational
• Photos and drawings of all kinds - interesting, funny, and cute photos that have been shared
• Technological advancements
• scientific discoveries, and
• other cool whatnots

What makes InkStain'D different?

InkStain'D was created, in part, to be an interactive forum for the community. Whether you are a blogger or "just" a person trying to raise funds in your community - whoever and wherever you are - you can use this forum to get your message out into the world. If you have a blog, just write about it, and it can be part of InkStain'D. If you don't have a blog, just write something up and InkStain'D (along with some space located on Flying Furball) will help you share your message.

What's this? Accessibility!

InkStain'D will be accessible - and this is huge. Why is this huge, you might ask?

Just think about it - so many videos are out there, featuring funky music with some floating script scrolling across the screen. This works for most of us who can see it, however, it's the same to blind people as silence is to deaf people. It may also surprise you that even though embedded videos are obviously sitting right there in a blog ready to click on for you and I, some screen readers do not even "see" videos embedded in blogs. Through Flying Furballs, this paper will provide a link to the source of the videos (at YouTube, Vimeo and other sources). For videos that are "silent", as well as many photographs, drawings and graphics, descriptive text will be provided to the best of my ability. This way anyone who has visual impairments can be included and "see" what everyone else sees. Look at the top of the page. There's a link there to bring you to the Accessible InkStain'D tab.

So now, no one is left behind. Anybody with vision issues or who navigate the web by alternate ways, can also enjoy what everybody else does while reading InkStain'D.

Ready to fly

I like to think of InkStain'D like the caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, and it's now time for the butterfly to take flight (I love metaphors, so please indulge me!)

I'm excited to be launching InkStain'D which has grown near and dear to my heart. I hope you will explore it with me, and please, tell me what you think.

Making Miracles Happen Today 03.04.12

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Updated 03.04.12


In addition to Flying Furballs, I also publish InkStain'D. This is a little paper that I hope will grow - for the community. Now, as I write this, somebody in the community needs you, and hopefully this paper will help share the message. 


Through InkStain'D and Flying Furballs, by outreaching through Twitter and Facebook, and most recently shared on Paper.li's FB page, we are reaching out to as many people as I can to help make a miracle come true.

So, what are you doing Today?

I Believe In Miracles
The Schuhmacher Family Miracle
03.04.12

Meri, one of the diabetes bloggers, has asked for our help, and I encourage each and every one of you to take a few moments to read Meri's story, and perhaps send a few good healing vibes her way. Her family depends on it.

To give a bit of background about Meri and her family, and her efforts to support the diabetes community. In Meri's words: 

I am the mother to 4 wonderful boys, 3 of which have Type 1 Diabetes. Through this blog I hope to share our ongoing story, to help others see that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Like you, I have muddled through all the emotional phases diabetes has to offer a parent. I know of the worry that sits with you like an old friend, because he is my friend too. I just try not to make him the life of the party. Take the ride with me. 

But sometimes life just hits us, and it has hit Meri's family. She writes, and is asking for help from us. 

We have received some bad news, and we need your help. Three years ago my husband Ryan was diagnosed with Melanoma. He had surgery and chemotherapy and we believed we beat it. This weekend we received the news that his cancer is back with a vengeance. He has 6 tumors in his brain, as well as multiple tumours in his lungs and abdomen. The news obviously not good... but we have not lost hope. 

We are asking all of you for your continual prayers, and ask if you will join our family in praying this Sunday March 4th, for Ryan. Please pray specifically for a miracle, because that is what we stand in need of at this moment. We spread the word to your churches, prayer groups, friends, and families. All religious denominations everywhere. We have a strong believe that we need to bombard the gates of heaven with prayers for ryan on Sunday... and beyond. 

For those of you that do not know our family very well, you can find out more about us at www.ourdiabeticlife.com. My husband and I have been married 19 years, we have four boys, ages 16, 14, 10 and 8. Three of our boys have Type 1 Diabetes. Ryan is 40 years old. 

Please. Please pray. We believe in miracles, and have already witnessed many since the diagnosis on Sunday. We can do this. Your prayers can and will help. 

Thank you in advance for your prayers and good will for our family. We already feel it lifting us. 

Much love, Meri Schuhmacher and Family

So, the DOC (Diabetes Online Community) is rallying together today, praying, and sending healing miracles Meri's way.  If Facebook is your thing, go for it and visit the Facebook page to support the Schuhmachers.

And of course, we have amazing bloggers supporting the family. Among them are some I know about:

• Ninjabetic - Major Help Needed
• Diabetesalaciousness - Words for Wednesday: Prayer and Community
• Moments of Wodnerful - We Pray

And I'm sure there are more out there, asking for miracles too.

Let's help the Schuhmacher family see the light at the end of their tunnel. After all, it could happen. It will happen. Miracles happen.

Miracles Happen

Ryan Schuhmacher

Where to go from here?

You may have noticed this, I haven't been posting a lot lately, and I've been asking myself why. I've been asking myself, "What is my value to the community."

Now, I'm not talking about my value as a person or my value to my family or to the in my life. However, I've been giving some serious thought about my fit within the DOC (Diabetes Online Community) family and beyond.

The Issue

To give some perspective to this issue, I spend a tremendous amount of time commuting - 2 hours each way to and from work. One might think this downtime could offer me a wonderful opportunity to come up with some creative stuff. But as it turns out, I suck at writing blogs while travelling. Sometimes the demanding days plus the ups and downs of my diabetic life collide, and I don't have the energy to do anything but tweet 140 characters at a time, or just take a nap while travelling. So as it turns out, my most creative moments do not happen while I'm enroute to and from work.

Once I get home, there's the rush of getting dinner on the table, making it on time for DSMA night, or just having the energy to stay awake while watching the next episode of Castle (Best.Show.Ever). Ok, I lied. I don't have any trouble staying awake for Castle, but once I've watched it, I'm ready to fall into bed, and then I rinse and repeat.

So lately I haven't even had time to visit the blogs that I've always loved reading. I just can't keep up with them all. So it seems to leave me with the rather sucky choice of choosing whether to read them or trying to write something that I don't have the energy or inspiration to write.

Don't get me wrong. I do love this blog and I fancy myself an ok writer. But apparently I can only write a complete blog when I'm inspired. If I get distracted (which happens easily), they get abandoned (poor little orphans). I estimate that I've got a half dozen or more unfinished blog posts because this whole living life, dealing with diabetes thing keeps interfering. I don't have time to read blogs, I barely have time to tweet (except for the aforementioned train tweeting) and I certainly have little time to advocate, which I feel is a very important thing to do given the state of the misunderstandings out there in the wild.

So what is a person to do?

After reexamining what my strengths are, I've decided to focus on the JamieAnNa Journal. It occurred to me that this little rag is perhaps the perfect venue for me.

I figure that by doing this, I can combine my love of reading blogs, taking the time to feature the ones that have some inspirational story, some informational tidbit or a snip of randomness that I think readers might might like too. So I've decided that I'm going to put on my very stylish editor-in-chief hat and rock this paper with the stories that touch me - and hope that they might touch you too.

I hope that the JamieAnNa Journal will become a go-to place to find some great information and be entertaining at the same time. I plan to feature the real people - in the DOC and beyond - who live with diabetes every day. I will provide information in a compelling, entertaining and somewhat eclectic way - because that's what I like... and I'm the editor. So why not!

I do hope my skills as an editor will allow me to connect with those already part of the DOC, and will reach out to more people who have yet to discover the DOC - and reach out in a format that might go beyond Twitter or Facebook - in an interesting way. I hope it will become a go-to point for people with diabetes of any type - whether they have type 1 diabetes like myself, are part of the type 2 diabetes crowd, or whether they are type awesomes - who are part of our invaluable support networks.

More than Diabetes

Another important point here before your eyes glaze over with all this diabetes talk - this paper will not only be only about diabetic stuff. True enough, it will often feature diabetes, but just as I am about more than diabetes, so will this paper. I will still keep an eye out for some cool technology, neat ideas, pop culture, random bits of political theatre... who knows what it might have.

Finally...

As a final note, my blogging days are definitely not over. As Editor-In-Chief, I reserve the right to feature my own blog from time to time. Hey, why not - I feel no shame in admitting that I would do such a thing. So the Flying Furballs blog will still be live and ready to go when the creative moment moves me.

So over the next few days, I am going to be reimagining the JamieAnna Journal - heck, I may even be changing the name. So stay tuned. I'll be sharing soon.

And I figure why not give this a try. If I can take on this diabetes thing, I can do this too.