You say Gala, I say Gala

Wait... that doesn't really work in written form. Oh well, whether you pronounce it gay-la, or gal-a, that's where Fred and I were on Saturday night, the JDRF Dream for a Cure Gala.

When we were invited, I wasn't sure we would be able to go, but then the AH-MAZING Laura volunteered to wrangle our kiddos. And did an AWESOME job of it, I might add. Elise's BG was sky high then crashed, and Mattias screamed, and screamed, and screamed some more when poor Laura tried to feed him or give him a bottle. Glad I'm not the only one he refuses to eat for. I should have snuck some of the free booze out for Laura after all that hard work.

Then there was the little problem of me not having gone to anything fancy in about 10 years. Sure, I own a dress and some shoes. But they were last worn a decade ago at a Christmas party. And I don't own any make-up. Or know how to apply it. Basically, I was afraid I would look like a hobo who had wandered in off the streets.

Thankfully, the dress still fit (as did the shoes), and you can buy make-up pretty much anywhere AND the make-up I bought had instructions on how to apply it (I'm not even kidding). Reyna, I need you to come give me a crash course in "making your eyes pop".

So Fred (looking all hot in his tux), and I enjoyed a wonderful (kid-free) evening of yummy food, good conversation, and watching uber-rich people dropping some serious dough to support the artificial pancreas project. Over one million dollars was raised Saturday night!

Some of my thoughts:

-I am so very glad that there are people in this world who are very generous with the wealth they are blessed with. I had tears in my eyes watching some people raise their hands to donate amounts as large as $25,000!

-There were over 1100 people in attendance... Wow!

-People become jerks around celebrities. Bret Michaels was there, and people got so pushy when they came up to him to ask for a picture or get an autograph. They didn't care that people had been waiting in front of them (including some of the junior ambassadors), they just shoved their way to the front.

-I have to say I'm not really a Poison fan. Nor did I watch Celebrity Apprentice. But wow is Bret Michaels a patient, hospitable guy. He had a kind word for everyone who came up to meet him, and really seemed so into being there. He's also on the same insulin regimen as Elise (NPH and Humalog)!

-Don't asked overly-excited, middle-aged, potentially drunk women to take your picture... you will end up with a blurry shot of your boobs.

-I also got to meet Jeffrey Brewer, CEO of the JDRF. I really enjoyed talking to him.

-Gene Stallings, who apparently is this huge football legend (I'm not into football, so I don't know these things, but he seemed to be very loved by the crowd), was the keynote speaker. What blew me away was the story he shared about his granddaughter being diagnosed as T1 at 11 months old. Her BG at dx was 1962. A collective gasp went up from the audience when he said that.

-I can't wear heels anymore. I just can't. My poor feet still hurt.

Now, for the pictures!

All dressed up with some place to go!

Poor Bret being mobbed

Okay, I was one of the mobbers

That stray hair in this picture is bugging me, obviously not enough to photoshop it out.

Julianne Hough was the entertainment - we didn't stay for the whole show... it was already 11:00!

So thank you to the JDRF for inviting us, thank you Laura for being such a great baby-sitter, and a HUGE thank you to all the people who donated to raise money for my daughter's future. I am grateful beyond words.