So this is Diabetes: Road Trip!

Ah nothing alike a little road trip with your favorite person, and some great tunes. This weekend the lady and I went up to Philadelphia to visit our friends Katie and Derek Bransker (a fusion of their two last names, very clever).

As I have mentioned before the Branskers are health nuts and extremely into fitness. You know the couple you wish you were? He's an attorney and she is a very talented hair stylist, they are our family friends. We do not make it up enough, but we have decided that we will make an effort to visit more often.

Since I have that thing, you know "the Di-ya-betus", we had to plan for snacks and such for the road trip. We stopped at the grocery store on our way and picked up some fruits and protein, the medication makes me nauseous unless I eat the 5 small meals my doctor has ordered. I was craving chicken so I got some low fat chicken salad, which was NOT the easiest to eat whilst driving. Jenn had to hand feed me it and it was really awkward, but really funny.

We drove for about 2 and half hours and we were entering Philly! Here's the picture..Yeah the "Welcome to Philadelphia" sign was about 2 seconds before Jenn took the shot, she was frantically trying to get the camera on the phone, but alas, this is what she took. That move is what I like to call, "pulling a Jenn" Which also stands for being "Awesome" in a good way people!

And so we made it to the Branskers abode, and we hung our for a few hours, Katie was kind enough to do some research on restaurants that had healthy options for me to eat, and she landed on a place called "FUEL" it is a place where everything on the menu is 500 Calories or less, and it was AMAZING! Click on the name and you will be taken to their site, I highly recommend it. We had the Goat cheese Guacamole as an appetizer and I had a Chicken and gorgonzola cheese panini, on whole grain bread, and a salad. I have always wanted to try these Fad Juices that people like Jason Mraz (who is my favorite singer) make from vegetables and some fruit, so I ordered the "Hulk" it was made of Cucumber, Spinach, Lemon and Apples. It was DELICIOUS! So of course now Jenn and I want to get a juicer and start making these juices which are good for you and better than soda!

The next attraction of the evening was to go bowling at some cool hipster-you-can-only-find-in-a-city-like-Philadelphia alley, and yes I drank alcohol, light beer and tequila, which according to my nutritionist friend, is the "healthiest of alcohols, because it is made from agave" so I went with it! And here is how the evening went............................

Jenn, LOVES to bowl! She even had her own bowling shoes, I say "had" because she decided to leave them at the bowling alley after a few drinks and said she wanted new ones for Christmas, so if anyone knows the first thing about how to ordered those things, please feel free to contact me!!!!!!!

Katie, looks a little like a hipster right? She claims she isn't but let's add it up..........

She is an awesome Hair Dresser (a very hipster like job) with cool ass tattoos, she lives in Philadelphia, she wears those cool glasses, dates a pretty cool guy, whose picture I thought was taken, but then again remember there were a few drinks had, also she has two adorable dogs, that SHE RESCUED! and they are "Perfect Little Angels," her words, not mine. She is one of the best friends I have ever had! She is studying to be a nutritionist so SCORE! She can practice on me!!!! And She did, she's the one that talked my into drinking tequila, OH Katie.........

I had my picture taken by my "buzzed" wife, who apparently did not want to turn the flash on, so it looks like that, truth is this, we had to wait a little bit so we had a few drinks at the bar prior to getting our lane.

-->that over there, is the score board, did I fail to mention that I am NOT good at bowling? Well sober bowling; that was the score in the first game we played and I got better as the drinks wore on......................... And forgot to document it.

<----this happened, I don't know why I took a picture of it, but it happened. And now my favorite shot of the night......................

That pretty much says it all, we were wasted and having a good time, and it looks like Katie had to go to the bathroom?

She did have to go, and took Jenn with her and they were gone for a long time, turns out this is what they were doing..............

I know what you are all thinking, "Miguel, you were drinking? Is that not supposed to be the number one rule of having diabetes, and blah blah blah?" So Listen up!-Sorry I didn't mean to yell-I have to live my life, you only get one shot at this world, and you cannot spend it worried all the time-Yes I am not "supposed" to be drinking, but I have been following my diet and exercise plan, and I am human, and humans crave certain things that are not necessarily good for you, and so you must give in to those "cravings" some times because otherwise, you will be MISERABLE. Yes life is hard, REALLY hard. You have to take the reigns , it is only ONCE you get on this ride, so throw your hands up in the air, enjoy the ups and downs, puke, and make sure to buy that ridiculously expensive picture,- or here's a hint, Take a picture with your phone of that picture, I mean sometimes you HAVE to be cheap!- My point is, make memories, experiences, and enjoy your life and most of all share it with people who love you and you can't live without. Diabetes is NOT the end, I will never allow it to become who I am, It will never define me; it will be something that I just have to take care of.

All good road trips must come to an end, so we left our friends, a little hung over and started driving back home to our boys who we missed so much-please keep in mind it had been less than 48 hours since we saw them, but since we spent the night apart from them, it felt like a lifetime, we know we have issues, but those two love us unconditionally, and we them.

One thing that became clear to me; is that I am still me. I am allowed to enjoy myself, and I have not changed, the only things that have changed are my eating habits and having to take a pill everyday, but at the end of the Day I am still Miguel, I will be a better, healthier ME by the end of this, in the end, that is the ultimate prize, to be able to spend as much time as you can on this earth, and have a good quality of life. Yeah being diagnosed with Diabetes was scary, but having looked further into it, it has also been a gift, a gift because now I am able to to practice what those health nuts say "my body is my temple". So no, I am not worried that I had a few drinks, I am however very glad to be home, and thankful tot have the day off from work today, so I lay with these two watching TV until Mommy gets home.........................