The Holidays are full of surprises— especially after Mr. Divabetic gets a new job as the pastry chef at the St. Nicholas Nursing Home nestled in a cozy Christmas Village. But adjusting to life in a Christmas Village is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous resident, a real-life Ebenezer Scrooge, named Mr. Pincher almost dies——shortly after eating one of Max’s peanut butter swirl brownies. Despite all of the ingredients for danger, Mr. Divabetic along with our team of amateur sleuths and his overly protective mother — set out to find the real culprit in the hopes that his name isn’t on a lethal naughty list.
Our story was inspired by Kevin Houdeshell’s tragic true-life story. Thanks to the Houdeshell family for their advocacy efforts on behalf of the Emergency Insulin Act of 2019 and the emergency prescription refill legislation. Known as Kevin’s or Howdy’s Law, it allows pharmacists to dispense an emergency supply of a chronic maintenance medication if the doctor cannot be reached – a common-sense act that could save a life.
Starring Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, USA Best Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie Gentle, Terri Seidman, MaryAnn Nicolay, Trisha Artman, Catherine Schuller, Chef Robert Lewis, Seveda Williams, and Wendy Radford. Special thanks to the Houdeshell family, and Pharmacist Mandy Reece. Original music by Ivan Hampden Jr., Celine Dion’s vocals courtesy of SONY Music. Produced by Leisa Chester Weir.
In the spirit of Scrooge’s awakening at the end of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, we encourage you to honor Christmas in your heart by living in the Past, The Present, and the Future. Try to embrace the Spirits of all Three and the lessons that they teach.
The Holidays are full of surprises— especially after Mr. Divabetic gets a new job as the pastry chef at the St. Nicholas Nursing Home nestled in a cozy Christmas Village. But adjusting to life in a Christmas Village is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous resident, a real-life Ebenezer Scrooge, named Mr. Pincher almost dies——shortly after eating one of Max’s peanut butter swirl brownies.
Despite all of the ingredients for danger, Mr. Divabetic and our team of amateur sleuths and his overly protective mother — set out to find the real culprit in the hopes that his name isn’t on a lethal naughty list.
Our story was inspired by Kevin Houdeshell’s tragic true-life story. Thanks to the Houdeshell family for their advocacy efforts on behalf of the Emergency Insulin Act of 2019 and the emergency prescription refill legislation. Known as Kevin’s or Howdy’s Law, it allows pharmacists to dispense an emergency supply of chronic maintenance medication if the doctor cannot be reached – a common-sense act that could save a life.
Starring Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, USA Best Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie Gentle, Terri Seidman, MaryAnn Nicolay, Trisha Artman, Catherine Schuller, Chef Robert Lewis, Seveda Williams, and Wendy Radford. Special thanks to the Houdeshell family and Pharmacist Mandy Reece. Original music by Ivan Hampden Jr., Celine Dion’s vocals courtesy of SONY Music. Produced by Leisa Chester Weir.
In the spirit of Scrooge’s awakening at the end of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, we encourage you to honor Christmas in your heart by living in the Past, The Present, and the Future. Try to embrace the Spirits of all Three and the lessons they teach.
Please help me toast the holidays by listening to my new Christmas song, Pink Champagne, by Ivan Hampden Jr. and Paulette McWilliams.
The song is a passionate story of self-love and a woman’s journey from victim to victor at Christmastime. A mindset that I hope anyone who feels brokenhearted can find comfort in.
Breakups are hard. But the holidays seem to magnify the loneliness of heartaches: parties with everyone coupled up, romantic Christmas music and movies, and those annual Christmas letters brimming with friends’ burgeoning families. The airwaves are filled with upbeat holiday classics leaving little room for sadness and contemplation.
Take it from me, you can’t experience the joy of the holidays unless you let go of the painful emotions instead of holding them in. Hopefully, Pink Champagne can help bring joy and help those of us experiencing the same to move on during the holidays.
If you like my new release, Pink Champagne. please ‘like’ and share
Divabetic Mysteries are podcasts that use a cozy mystery format to educate people about diabetes and diabetes self-care. Our goal is to encourage people with diabetes to act like detectives. When unexpected issues related to your diabetes health occur, search for clues, take notes, consult with your healthcare team and work together to solve problems.
Hopefully, the intrigue and deception will draw you in and challenge you to see if you can figure out the puzzle before it’s revealed. Our stories always end on a positive note to wrap the story up with an important life lesson and bow. Invariably, Mr. Divabetic’s dreams of becoming the Next Food Network Star remain intact thanks to the encouragement of his friends and mother long enough for another misadventure.
We hope you feel like you’ve just spent time with some good friends by the time you reach the end of the podcast. Our team enjoys rehearsing and performing these podcasts for you annually. Thank you for listening!
Our ‘A Christmas Peril’ podcast was inspired by Kevin Houdeshell’s tragic true-life story. Thanks to the Houdeshell family for their advocacy efforts on behalf of the Emergency Insulin Act of 2019 and the emergency prescription refill legislation. Known as Kevin’s or Howdy’s Law, it allows pharmacists to dispense an emergency supply of a chronic maintenance medication if the doctor cannot be reached – a common-sense act that could save a life.
Starring Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, USA Best Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie Gentle, Terri Seidman, MaryAnn Nicolay, Trisha Artman, Catherine Schuller, Chef Robert Lewis, Seveda Williams, and Wendy Radford. Special thanks to the Houdeshell family, and Pharmacist Mandy Reece. Original music by Ivan Hampden Jr., Celine Dion’s vocals courtesy of SONY Music. Produced by Leisa Chester Weir. Video by Joe Hackney from Pixabay.
In the spirit of Scrooge’s awakening at the end of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, we encourage you to honor Christmas in your heart by living in the Past, The Present, and the Future. Try to embrace the Spirits of all Three and the lessons that they teach.
My voice trembles for a moment. Now that I have told my husband about the painting, I passed the fork in the road. There’s no turning back. He wants to know where his new piece of art is. The excitement in his eyes makes my heart flicker. I feel it too. But my adrenaline rush is coming from the shift in our power dynamic. Suddenly I’m in control.
I managed to do something so unexpected earlier today. The realization makes me heady. I laugh, taking another sip of pink champagne. Could my insecurities that consumed my life from gestational diabetes vanish just as quickly as the bubbles in my glass? The confidence I felt as my old self was returning.
My. Jasper shifts uncomfortably in his chair. I grasp his hand and slowly begin to explain. Midway through my story, it dawns on Jasper that he might not be getting the painting for Christmas. I’d like to think either guilt or regret is the reason why his tongue is tied. I’m explaining to him how I found a lonely man on the street, a stranger, who would take the painting I bought for free. The color drains from his face. Earlier today, I took a photo with the man, assuming I would rub it in his face at this point in the story, but it’s unnecessary. Jasper feels the pain he caused me. His jaw is stiff for a second, then it relaxes.
Whether I ever decide to tell him that I saw him with her at the restaurant doesn’t matter. Jasper knows I know. He tightens his grip on my hand, looks deep into my eyes. First, he apologizes to me. Then he says,
“I don’t need another painting.” Huh? My husband doesn’t need another painting is the last thing I expect to hear. “I already have a masterpiece. It’s sitting right in front of me.”
My eyes fill with tears. My throat is choking with sadness and fear and regret and what feels an awful lot like hope, too.
Now, Jasper is looking at me like he hasn’t seen me in years. He sees the fierceness that he first fell in love with. The woman was so opinionated before slowly succumbing to the idea of what she thought Jasper wanted his wife to be. Searching my husband’s hazel eyes, I see my reflection. I found myself again this Christmas.
TO BE CONTINUED …
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 1
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 2
Click HEREfor Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 3
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 4
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 5
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 6
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 7
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 8
Click HEREfor Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 9
Divabetic Holiday Playlist: Gary Barlow’s super festive song, “How Christmas Is Supposed To Be” featuring Sheridan Smith. Gary told The Sun: “Everyone loves Sheridan, don’t they? She’s a great ball of energy and a great laugh. She’s just wonderful — and is a great actress and singer.
“We met in the wings of the Blackpool Opera House last year while waiting to go on for the Royal Variety Performance. She just said: ‘I’m a big fan, will you take my number and keep in touch?’
“So we swapped numbers and then when I wrote How Christmas Is Supposed To Be last year, I just thought of her immediately.
The song, How Christmas Is Supposed To Be, is about a couple who have a falling-out, they can’t do things right, it looks like they might split up.
The Take That star said of a new album The Dream of Christmas, “We were all trying to make Christmas feel good last year.
“It was a really hard Christmas for so many because of the scenario we all found ourselves in. So to try and make things a bit special, I started writing these songs
Time stands still. The warmth I feel from my husband’s soft adoring eyes gives me goosebumps. My heart begs my lips to tell sweet lies. I could say that the traffic was terrible coming home from the city, the lines waiting for Santa Claus were neverending, or that my mom was late coming to the house. All of them are good enough reasons why I didn’t bring his present. Just go with the flow, get swept up in the magic of pink champagne, and not spoil the moment.
My stomach’s butterflies can’t stop fluttering when he asks me about my day. I take another sip of champagne. Something deep inside tells me that a lie is not the way to start to right what’s wrong in our marriage.
Jasper listens as the words slowly begin to tumble from my mouth. I describe getting the kids dressed and ready to see Santa. I talk about how they both insisted on upgrading the gifts on their lists before we left the house. We both laugh when I mention that Darren wrote down a Black Maserati!! What kind of a ten-year-old asks for a luxury car in such detail?
One more sip of pink champagne for confidence helps me dive headfirst into my story. Jasper shifts a bit in his chair when I mention that I attended the Cox Collection auction this afternoon at Christie’s. His reaction goes from shock to disbelief when he hears I actually purchased something for him. My husband followed the sale closely on his phone. He saw the prices begin to skyrocket once the phone bidding started. He’s intrigued. He wants to know what piece I bought. Apparently, Beverly’s hasty departure interrupted him before the auction finished. As a result, he missed the final sales.
Jasper gasps when I finally tell him the painting I bought. My fingers reach for my purse, grab the receipt and then slowly push it across the oak table. His eyebrows raise in astonishment at the proof. The painting’s price is bewildering even for someone living in our zip code.
TO BE CONTINUED …
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 1
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 2
Click HEREfor Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 3
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 4
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 5
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 6
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 7
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 8
Divabetic Holiday Playlist: Thank you, Spotify, for introducing our ears to the son of singer Rhett Akins, singer-songwriter Thomas Rhett. He received four Grammy Award nominations with two albums nominated for Best Country Album in 2017 and 2019. After learning to play drums while attending junior high school, Rhett later would go onstage with his father and play. He was part of a band named The High Heeled Flip Flops in high school. Thomas dropped out of college when he was 20 to pursue a career in music. His sweet banjo-infused country Christmas tune, Christmas In The Country, is just what we need to hear right now.
Christmas song. I sat down, and the lyrics to a song I’m calling Pink Champagne poured out. I liked it so much that I called my Luther Vandross musical family friends, producer Ivan Hampden Jr., and vocalist Paulette McWilliams. They agreed to record the song.
Here are the first lines of Pink Champagne:
Oh, Baby! pour me a glass
of Pink Champagne
after a few sips, I’d love to explain
why I decided on Christmas Day
to give my gift for you away!
Rather than post the rest of the song lyrics, I decided to share the short story that I wrote inspired by the song on this blog throughout December. Enjoy!
The bright streams of sunshine are as bitter as the taste of flat champagne this morning coming through the window of my bedroom. Once again, my husband, Jasper, left early. I’m alone. He’s made it a habit to leave for work before anyone else in the house wakes up. But, for the past three months, Jasper’s been coming home late too. Like my father with my mother, he can’t stop himself from reminding me that someone has to work to put food on the table.
It’s true. Someone in the household has to pay for our family’s life necessities. But lately, Jasper uses his role as ‘breadwinner’ as an excuse to stay away. Our family’s lifestyle gives him plenty of excuses, too, because we live in the Hamptons. Jasper is proud to tell anyone who asks that we live in a ten thousand square feet residence with 6 bedrooms and 8 baths. It features a clubhouse, high-end fitness center, and outdoor pool located just a short walk to the Village of East Hampton and a little over a mile from pristine beaches. Just the upkeep alone for our home isn’t cheap either. But, according to our account, Jasper’s cousin, Aramis Fishbourne, we don’t have a choice. If we let the value of our home slide due to negligence, it would be even more costly to our finances.
But today is Christmas Eve! Weeks ago, Jasper promised to spend the whole day with the twins and me. No phones, no interruptions, just family time. Now, his side of the bed is cold, and the kids aren’t even up yet. If he stayed home for breakfast or dinner, he’d know that our children have been counting down the days until our annual trip to the city to see Santa Claus. So why does his boss expect him to work? More importantly, why does my husband agree to go?
I turn to look at his pillow and find a note, “See you at 8”. Jasper didn’t bother to sign it. I guess I should be happy that he remembered that we are going on a date tonight without me having to remind him. Still, my mind can’t help but fixate on his initial lack of enthusiasm. He was actually upset that I distracted him from reading his Art Auction catalog. Still, I didn’t let that deter me. I gently took his catalog away as I explained to him how we used to go out on Christmas Eve when we were dating. We’d dress up, sip champagne and enjoy an elegant dinner at the Plaza Hotel. We’d spend half of the evening looking around and fantasizing about being as rich as Rockefeller. But, somewhere between getting engaged, married, buying a home, and supporting a family, our little romantic tradition was lost.
Lately, we act like co-workers instead of man and wife. My job is to raise our family, his job is to support our family, and our bedroom is the water cooler where we catch up with each other. All that to say, I haven’t felt any chemistry between us in a long, long time. So hopefully, ‘date night’ on Christmas Eve will jumpstart an office romance.
TO BE CONTINUED …
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 1
Click HERE for Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 2
Click HEREfor Pink Champagne Christmas Story Part 3
Pink Champagne lyrics are a slight nod to Nancy Wilson’s iconic “Guess Who I Saw Today” and Marlena Shaw’s delicious “Go Away Little Boy”. Both of these songs have brought me tremendous joy over the years. If you have never heard these immortal songs – enjoy them!
Join us for Divabetic’s Annual Mystery podcast: A Christmas Peril scheduled for Thursday, September 30, 2021, 6 PM, EST.
The holidays are full of surprises after Mr. Divabetic becomes the new pastry chef at the St. Nicholas Nursing Home. But adjusting to life in a Christmas Village is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous resident, a real-life Ebenezer Scrooge, named Mr. Pincher almost dies——shortly after eating one of Max’s peanut butter swirl brownies. So despite all of the ingredients for danger, Mr. Divabetic, our team of amateur sleuths, and his overly protective mother must set out to find the real culprit. Or will his name end up on a lethally naughty list?
This year’s Divabetic Mysteries: A Christmas Peril is based on the real-life story of 36-year-old Kevin Houdeshell who ran out of insulin over the New Year’s holiday in January 2014. He ended up with dangerously high blood sugars that spiraled into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), leading to him die alone in his apartment.
Thanks to the Houdeshell family for their advocacy with the Emergency Insulin Act of 2019 and the emergency prescription refill legislation, what happened to Kevin doesn’t have to happen to anyone else in several states. Known as Kevin’s or Howdy’s Law, it allows pharmacists to dispense an emergency supply of a chronic maintenance medication if the doctor cannot be reached. States that have passed Kevin’s Law include Ohio and Florida in 2016; Arkansas, Arizona, Illinois, and Wisconsin in 2017; Idaho, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee in 2018; and Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia in 2019. In many states, votes in favor of the legislation were unanimous.
Starring Mr. Divabetic. Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, Maryann Nicolay BA, DTR, Catherine Schuller, Terri Seidman, Wendy Radford, Seveda Williams, Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’, and Trisha Artman.
If you missed last night’s Salad Making program on Zoom with special guest, Jill Weisenberger MS, RDN, CDCES, she offered the following advice for anyone facing a weight loss plateau:
1). Learn to love yourself at your current weight
2). Focus on your health habits (Examples” How are you sleeping? Do you exercise regularly? Eating fruits and vegetables? Portion control, etc.)
3). Make a detailed list of what was working for you to begin with, and be honest with yourself. (Examples: Was it portion control? More, or regular exercise? Were you eating more salads?)
“I actually like people to do this during the weight loss process because most of us tend to underestimate what we’re doing and what aspects are working for us,” says Jill. “Then when we hit a tough spot, we can look at our list for motivation or a reality check. Maybe you were eating out less when the weight was coming off? Or maybe you were under-eating, and now you can see it’s not a good idea.”
4). Talk to your doctor about medical intervention using medications and/or surgery. using medications, devices, or surgery.
Finally, we tend to SHAME ourselves into getting better, but research proves this approach does not work. Self-compassion is much more effective at helping with blood pressure, weight loss or maintenance, sleep, and diabetes self-management. Be kind to yourself. We believe in YOU!
Jill Weisenberger’s Divabetic Salad Recipe features Arugula, Beets, Purple Cabbage, Jicama (a root vegetable that’s low in calories), Garbanzo Beans, Chery Tomatoes, and Avocado.
Divabetic Salad Dressing
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon herbs such as herbs de Provance, oregano or Italian seasonings
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons lemon juice (or vinegar)
8 tablespoons high-quality olive oil
Jill Weisenberger’s Tip: When cooked potatoes cool, some of the starch changes and becomes resistant to our digestive enzymes. Resistant starch then doesn’t get absorbed as glucose (so cold potatoes have slightly less calories and contribute slightly less to glucose levels). Resistant starch is food for our good gut bacteria.
Jill Weisenberger’s Stick With It is a self-paced video course that guides you step-by-step to the healthy habits you want. You’ll learn why your motivation and willpower move up and down like a roller coaster and what you can do to keep them up higher and longer!
Need a boost? Listen to Divabetic’s podcast focused on Eye Challenges related to diabetes with music from TLC. Guests include Sherrol Reynolds M.D. (Associate Professor and Chief of Advanced Ophthalmic Care at the Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry, President of the National Optometric Association (NOA)), Rishi Singh, M.D. (Retina Specialist and Staff Surgeon at the Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic), Andrea Sledge, Natalie Karabel,Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES.
Don’t miss Divabetic’s Annual Mystery podcast. This year’s A Christmas Peril is based on a real-life story premiering on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, at 6 PM, EST. Starring Mr. Divabetic. Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Mama Rose Marie, Patricia Addie-Gentle, Maryann Nicolay, Catherine Schuller, Terri Seidman, Wendy Radford, Seveda Williams, Chef Robert Lewis, and Trisha Artman.
Please join us for Divabetic’s freeBaking Party withStacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’ onThursday, September 23, 2021, 7-8 PM. Stacey will be sharing tips for how to cut back on the sugar in recipes, using sugar substitutes and alternative flours, and cutting back on the carbs without losing any flavor, and demonstrating one of her most popular Sugar-Free baking recipes.
