The Bride Of Frankenstein Halloween Display

I received a package filled with lightning bolt-shaped styrofoam a few weeks ago. I didn’t throw them away. The shape was fantastic. Even though all of my Halloween Duck, Duck, Ghoul! displays are done. I wondered what I could make with the styrofoam. The styrofoam’s shape reminded me of the Bride Of Frankenstein’s eyebrows. So, I decided to make one more display. I studied pictures from the original movie.

According to Google, The Bride Of Frankenstein was created as a collaborative project between Dr. Frankenstein and his old university affiliate, Dr. Septimus Pretorius. The scientists create the Bride to give it to the monster as a mate, but the monster only wishes to have a friend.

The Bride’s gown in the 1935 movie is sublime. But its simple elegance and draping didn’t work on a duck. And trust me, I tried everything, including a Large Federal Express packing bag – I thought the corners would be perfect for the shoulders. So, I abandoned the idea of knocking off the original gown and let my imagination take over.  When the legendary Vogue and Harpers Bazaar journalist Diana Vreeland wrote “the eye must travel” in her book in 1980, I doubt she was referring to the front door of Dollar General. But that’s precisely where my thrifty spirit for crafting took me.

After a fruitless search, I wandered into my local hardware store. Inspiration hit when I spotted mops and a package of large coffee filters. I ventured to two more stores in search of paper dollies to complete her dress. I topped off my display when the cheapest wig I could find on Amazon.
Throughout October, health guru High Voltage travels to select schools around New York City to create awareness and excitement to empower private and public schools to take a stand against the sugar industry. During these Shocktober rallies,  High Voltage presents a powerful demonstration showing teens how to “Sugar Shock” their favorite drinks. Sugar Shock demonstrations allow teens to discover how much-added sugar they consume daily; when they do, most are SHOCKED!
Watch this video to see how many grams of sugar are in popular drinks!

Major sources of added sugars are sugary beverages (regular soft drinks, sweetened tea, coffee, energy drinks, and fruit drinks), candy, desserts, and sweet snacks (cakes, cookies, pies). Smaller amounts come from dairy desserts, milk products (ice cream, sweetened yogurt, and sweetened milk), breakfast cereals and bars, and other items.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to 100 calories per day (6 teaspoons of sugar) for most women and no more than 150 calories per day (9 teaspoons) for most men.

We’re talking about ‘THE SWEETEST TABOO’ aka ‘SUGAR’ with musical inspiration from Sade on this episode of Divabetic’s podcast.

Added sugar is everywhere. But do we understand the impact it has on our diabetes health?

If asked to name sugary foods, you may think of sweets, chocolate, sodas, table sugar, and perhaps fruit. But sugar also appears in savory foods such as ready meals, soups, salads, sauces, and ‘healthy’ foods such as breakfast cereals and yogurt. Furthermore, starches such as bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes also convert to sugar in our bloodstream, having the same impact on our bodies. These ‘hidden sugars’ can add a surprising amount to our daily intake.

Guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, Tameka Milline, Catherine Schuller. Kathy Dolgin aka ‘High Voltage’, and Stephanie MacKendree. Throughout the podcast, we play music from ‘The Essential Sade’ album courtesy of SONY Music.

Divabetic Pink Champagne Holiday Gift Guide 2021, #6

Whether you’re focused on losing weight or want to add a little extra sparkle into your daily diabetes self-care, we’ve got you covered with this year’s  Divabetic Holiday Gift Guide 2021. We believe in thoughtful gifts that bring a little happiness and good health into your life.

Our friend, Stacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’ was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes while training to become a pastry chef. She thought her career–not to mention her lifetime love affair with desserts–was over. Her devastation gave way to innovation, resulting in the inventive and simple substitution system presented here. Now Stacey Harris can enjoy desserts specifically designed to satisfy the sweet tooth without sacrificing flavor.

Stacey’s gift suggestion is one of her favorite kitchen tools, the Danish Dough Whisk. Stacey loves that this quintessential hand mixer makes the arduous task of kneading dough for fresh-baked pizza, sweet pie crust, mouthwatering pasta, delicate pastries, or artisan sourdough loaves and biscuits so much easier. our hands won’t get tired from kneading, and your dough won’t get stuck or trapped in the whisk leaving you with large icky clumps. Your hands won’t get dirty either!

This Dutch dough whisk has professional-grade stainless steel and a secure and sturdy wooden handle. $12.99 on Amazon.

Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?

Back by popular demand! The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic hosts this free, fun Virtual Valentines-themed Baking Party with our special guest, Stacey Harris aka The Diabetic Pastry Chef on Wednesday, February 9, 7 – 8:30 PM, EST on Zoom.

During this virtual Baking Party on Zoom, The Diabetic Pastry Chef will prepare a Valentine’s Day Sugar-Free Dessert recipe and share expert baking tip.

Register now to get the Zoom link for the program.

REGISTER NOW – FREE REGISTRATION 

Divabetic Pink Champagne Holiday Gift Guide 2021, #5

Whether you’re focused on losing weight or want to add a little extra sparkle into your daily diabetes self-care, we’ve got you covered with this year’s  Divabetic Holiday Gift Guide 2021. We believe in thoughtful gifts that bring a little happiness and good health into your life.

Our friend, Rachel Zinman is an internationally renowned yoga teacher and writer. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2008. She started her Yoga For Diabetes blog to share with the diabetes online community how yoga has helped her manage diabetes.

Rachel’s gift suggestion is a Manduka yoga mat.

“As far as Yoga Mats go you can’t go past a Manduka mat, Rachel says.

Durable, eco-friendly, and ultra-dense cushioning for superior stability and joint protection. Manduka has a range of mats that are specific to a personal practice. If you need more grip, something eco-friendly, or a mat with a line down the center to guide you with alignment – they’ve got it! 

New to yoga? Manduka offers two Foundation mats that provide an ideal combination of cushioning, durability, and performance at excellent value.

According to research, yoga therapy increases the number of insulin receptors and increases the proportion of receptor binding in patients with type 2 diabetes.  It improves insulin kinetics by reducing fasting insulin levels, shifting the peak insulin level to the left, and by normalizing the insulin-to-glucose ratio. Read More

“I’ve been teaching and sharing on Manduka mats for years and it’s the preferred mat in many yoga studios so they have a proven track record too,” Rachel adds.

 Retail: $55- 90. Visit Manduka

Rachel Zinman is absolutely passionate about Yoga, its true meaning, and its message. She first came across Yoga at the age of 17 and has never looked back! In her book, Yoga for Diabetes, Rachel shares her personal journey and her hard-won wisdom gained from her own experience of yoga and diabetes.

“If you are at all open or curious to learn about an ancient holistic way of healing and supporting the body, this book is for you. Zinman is clearly an expert and looks so glowingly healthy at 50 years old, one may wonder just how much benefit we too can get from incorporating some yoga into our lives.”—Diabetes Daily

Retail: $22.43  Amazon

For information on Rachel Zinman’s yoga classes, workshops, retreats, and training are designed to lead you step by step to the total understanding of Your Self visit: Rachel Zinman Yoga.

Our friend, Yoga For Diabetes Author Rachel Zinman shares a guided mediation on Divabetic’s popular podcast. Check out Diabetes Late Inspired by Aaliyah with  Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Pendulum Therapeutics CEO, and Co-Founder Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph. D., (the maker of Pendulum Glucose Control), Virginia Valentine, APRN, BC-ADM, CDE, FAADE, Dr. Darren Wayne from MealBetix and featuring music from Aaliyah’s Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number album courtesy of SONY Music.

Divabetic Cozy Mystery: Kill Me Madam, Part 8

Narrator: With no time to spare before the competition’s official start, Max hurries below deck to retrieve his food processor.

SOUND EFFECT: footstep (man clopping) 

Narrator: Making his way back to the deck, Max is ambushed by a woman who is blocking his path.  It’s the stylish Millicent Merriweather.  And she’s holding the stolen pearl handled pistol.

Millicent: Stop right there and hand over that box!

Max: This box? It’s just a kitchen appliance! Granted it has 8 speeds and reversible blades but still –

Millicent:  I saw you handing cash to Britannia for that food processor in the parking lot after you left without buying anything. I searched Britannia’s trunk after I ran her over and the whales’ there weren’t there.  The only place they can be is in that box.

Max: So that’s why Britannia put those Botox receipts in my pocket. She was warning me about you. They’re yours! You get Botox shots to numb your feet so you can wear sky high heels.

Millicent: It’s a small price to pay for how great my legs look in these Manolo Blahniks. Now this gun is going to eliminate another source of my pain.

Max: Wait! Those heels don’t have any scuff marks. If a robber had dragged you into the storeroom then there would at least be scuff marks or a broken heel.

Millicent: Yes, Captain Obvious, I faked the robbery to give me an alibi. Britannia Coffin betrayed me. I had no choice but to kill her. We planned this heist for months. She couldn’t pull it off alone in her condition. We agreed she would get the insurance money and I would sell the teeth to the highest bidder. I even had a buyer lined up but then she went behind my back and made a deal herself.

Max: That’s why you killed her?

Millicent: The retail business is dead thanks to Amazon. Those whales’ teeth were my ticket to a new life. After she came into my shop this morning and didn’t bring me the whales’ teeth like we’d agreed, I thought Britannia might be planning to double cross me. That’s when I called the buyer and found out she’d made a new deal with him and had cut me out. Then I remembered seeing her give you that box in the parking lot. I was heading over to her house to confront her when I saw her coming out of the Treasure Island Antique Shoppe. I just saw red!!! She was an easy target without her poles.

Max: You won’t get away with this. My friends are probably already looking for me.

Millicent: Open that box and give me what’s inside!

Max: Look! It’s only a food processor.

Millicent: I can’t see. Move your mangy stuffed parrot out of my way. Where are they?

Max: I swear I don’t know.  I don’t have them. But why don’t you let me help you find them?

Millicent: Not unless they are at the bottom of the ocean. Let’s go, Jolly Roger!

Max: No, you don’t want to do this!

Millicent: You know too much! I’m going to make you walk the plank like in one of those old pirate movies. You’re already dressed for the part.

Max: You do know I can swim, right?

Millicent: Not with a bullet in you. Goodbye, Captain Bartholomew Maxwell!

SOUND EFFECT: gun shot and splash

Narrator: Max falls headfirst into the ocean with his food processor.

TO BE CONTINUED 

Divabetic’s Mystery podcast, Kill Me Madam, cast includes USA Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst-Nicolay MEd, NDRT, Lorraine Brooks, Catherine Schuller, Wendy Radford, Coach The Cure‘s Trisha Artman, Mama Rose Marie, Seveda Williams, and Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. Produced by Leisa Chester-Weir.

Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from the Broadway Cast Album of ‘Call Me Madam’ courtesy of SONY Music.

 

Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?

Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, fun Tea Party with special guests, Divabetic Image & Style Advisor Catherine Schuller, Tessie’s Teas’ owner Rose Hall and Harlem Heaven’s Hats owner Evetta Petty on Tuesday, November 17, 2020, 7 – 8 PM, EST on Zoom.

FREE REGISTER – REGISTER NOW 

Assailants, Asphalt & Alibis by Tonya Kappes

We’re spotlighting our favorite cozy mysteries in preparation of Divabetic’s upcoming Diabetes Mystery podcast, Gingerbread Men Prefer Blondes, on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, 6 -7 PM, EST.

Want to go on camping adventure without all of the hassles of pitching a tent, packing up and being bug free? 

Pick up Best-Selling Author, Tonya Kappes’s newest book, Assailants, Asphalt & Alibis,  in her cozy mystery series of A Camper & Criminals Cozy-you’ll be wanting to sit next to the fire or joining Mae and her friends on their adventures!

Here’s a brief synopsis: 

Welcome to Normal, Kentucky~ where nothing is normal. A Campers and Criminal Mystery Series is another brainchild of USA Today Bestselling Author Tonya Kappes. If you love her quirky southern characters and small town charm with a mystery to solve, you’re going to love her new cozy mystery series! 

Telling stories around a campfire at Happy Trails Campground is very entertaining to The Laundry Club women until one of the story teller’s tall tale about murder and alibis comes true, leaving the story teller MURDERED!

Once again, Mae and the Laundry Club ladies find themselves doing things they never thought they’d do while trying to get clues to who or why someone murdered the tourist. 

Mae discovers an unheeded warning that will bring the tall tale to life if she can’t end the story for good before the killer strikes again.

BUY NOW

Divabetic’s 6th Annual Diabetes Mystery podcast, Gingerbread Men Prefer Blondes, will air on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, 6 – 7 PM, EST.

Mr. Divabetic’s culinary misadventures continue in this year’s escapade as he enters the fictitiously decadent Gingerbread Men Cookie Baking Competition at the Central Park Zoo. As if his dreadful combination of headless cookies and kale hot cocoa wasn’t bad enough to land him at the bottom of the culinary throwdown, his mother, Mama Rose Marie, is accused of poisoning one of the celebrity judges. Things go from bad to worse when the snake phobic Mr. Divabetic needs a clue that’s guarded by a giant python.  

The cast of Gingerbread Men Prefer Blondes features Mama Rose Marie, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach (Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE and MaryAnn Nicolay BA, DTR), Asha Brown, Chef Robert Lewis, Seveda Williams, Catherine Schuller, Wendy Radford, Dave Jones and Lorraine Brooks.  We will be featuring music from the original Broadway cast recording of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ courtesy of SONY MUSIC.

This story of diabetes mystery and intrigue provides proof that you don’t have to feel trapped in a diabetes life. You can make changes, even tiny incremental ones, and get into a life that feels just right for you.

TUNE IN

What’s Trending This Week At Divabetic

Check out the latest headlines in diabetes, diabetes self-management, healthy lifestyles and diva entertainment that we think you should know about.

Talking About Sex Is Great, But HOW You Talk About Sex Is What Really Matters

When individuals and couples have problems in the bedroom, it impacts other areas of their lives. “I once met with a couple to discuss how to manage the husband’s diabetes better. We talked about meal planning, label reading, exercise, medication dosing, and more,” writes Janis Roszler, LMFT, RD, LD/N, CDEFAND. “Later, I learned that he had erectile dysfunction (ED). She was angry and hurt. She assumed that his performance problems meant that he was no longer attracted to her.” READ MORE

Taylor Swift Goes to a Darker Place on New Album, ‘Reputation’ 
Singer Taylor Swift didn’t just release a new single this week; she kicked off a meticulous campaign to get die-hard fans involved in the collective experience of buying things from Taylor Swift.
When Swift dropped “Look What You Made Me Do” at midnight on August 24, another video appeared on her YouTube page to announce a new partnership between the singer and Ticketmaster in preparation for the tour she’ll embark on in support of her upcoming album Reputation, which will be available November 10. The basic idea is, as the peppy voiceover declares, to “beat the bots” to the business of buying the best seats, an ongoing frustration for fans of Swift and/or anyone else who routinely sells out shows. READ MORE
Hurricane Harvey: Diabetes Tips to Be Prepared for the Storm 
Hurricane Harvey is heading toward Texas and is set to make landfall late Friday night or early Saturday morning — meaning that people with diabetes should take preventative measures now.
The American Diabetes Association recommends storing three days worth of diabetes supplies, which, depending on how you take care of your diabetes, could include oral medication, insulin, insulin delivery supplies, lancets, extra batteries for your meter and/or pump, and a quick-acting source of glucose. You may also want to have an extra glucagon emergency kit. All these items should be kept in an easy-to-identify container, and stored in a location that is easy to get to in an emergency. READ MORE
Amazon Says Whole Food Prices Will Drop Prices 
Amazon is cutting the prices of bananas, butter, organic eggs, and other best-selling staples at Whole Foods’ 470 stores, promising customers lower costs and targeting the grocer’s “Whole Paycheck” nickname. The online giant also says its Amazon Prime members will get special prices and perks according to npr.org.
New prices will take effect on Monday, August 28, 2017 — the same day Amazon says it will finalize its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods. The online marketplace, famous for disrupting the book industry and other retail segments, also laid out its plans for combining its business with an established brick-and-mortar chain. READ  MORE

Dr. Phil Could have Ended up Weighing 500 Pounds.

“I’m the only one in my family who’s not morbidly obese,” says the top TV talk show host. “I have two nephews who are over 500 pounds, I’ve got aunts that died in their 40s from being hugely obese.” His father died of heart complications from obesity, and diabetes is a huge problem for both sides of his family. READ MORE

Luther Vandross Tribute Podcast
We’re honored to celebrate Luther Vandross and his musical legacy as well as raise awareness for diabetes health-related complications (such as stroke) on our annual Luther Vandross Tribute podcast. Featured guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Luther percussionist Steve Kroon, Luther vocalists Tawatha Agee and Pat Lacy, Luther historian Leon Petrossian, members of ‘The Luther Re-Lives Experience’, family members, friends and superfans. Throughout the podcast we will be featuring selected songs from the album entitled ‘Luther Vandross’ courtesy of SONY Music. LISTEN NOW