Paul Prudhomme changed his recipes over a decade ago, and I tried watching his revised show, but he took it to an extreme that I thought was unnecessary. However, he is a good comparison and is what I thought of first. I have fond associations with Southern accents - it reminds me of some of my roommates at Rice. I no longer live in "Y'all" country, and I never used that word much even when I did, but I do not find it nearly as annoying as when people say, "What I'm going to do next is I'm going to..." instead of saying "Next I'm going to..." Or when people say "actually" twice or more in one sentence. There was a woman on the Steven and Chris Show that did that last week, and I had the change the channel because of her. Another word (not a real word) that annoys me no end is "vinegar-ette". It seems that chefs are deliberately taught improper English, and I think they should be made to take speech classes (or get speech therapy) like the class I had to take for my Interior Design degree. I do like Paula Deen, but I revise her recipes when I make them. I think her cheesecake recipe is fine as is, but I would not make it very often. I find it endearing that Paula calls her son "Son". To me, it shows motherly love. It's better than using "DS" on a forum, as "DS" can mean "son" or "sister", and it always gets me confused. Giving children numbers is even worse since pseudonymns are always an option. I had an uncle who had pseudonymns for everyone, but then he was rich, eccentric, and childless and could get away with it. Annie, I love the olive wood Paula Deen spoons you sent me!!! Larry the Cable Guy has made a career using a fake southern accent - he was born in Nebraska and has a midwestern accent in his normal voice. I wish Paula the best and hope she will be able to get this under control. Lars

Hi, No diabetes - rather unknown cause neuropathy in feet (and some in other places). My sympathies about the impact it will have on your teaching. No advice but will share what I've found that helps with the neuropathy - though I don't really have pain --- goes from great discomfort (enough to disturb sleep) to barely noticeable tingling. My neuro endorsed going barefoot, when I asked if my heavy shoes could be a cause. For me, I loved going barefoot as a child and have felt guilty about it as a 'full grown adult'. The other thing is really weird -these acupressure mats. I don't get the Running Man Game Show thing at all. So far I keep them under the coffee table (where I am sitting) and press my feet down. Best wishes (teaching is very active work).

Every diabetic is unique; that said one of the most common denominators is the need to count carbs. However, from there, everyone deals with it differently. Type1 on pumps can 'up' their insulin to cover a snack; folks on injections are committed depending on the duration of their shot; Type2 have many different management strategies. That said, its like a budget. If you get 20gm carbs, anyone (diabetic or not) can choose to eat them as candy, vegetables, whatever. And food with a lower carb count -- more can be consumed before hitting the target limit. Obviously some foods are better choices health-wise and also metabolically, but everyone is different. That's why it can be very difficult to determine what is, exactly, a diabetic-friendly dessert. As mentioned earlier, many sugar free items actually have a higher overall carb count than their "regular" counterparts. For some people, their bodies digest other components of food (fats, proteins) differently as well, and that may or may not affect their blood sugars. Sugar-free jell-0 has a zero carb count. Whip cream is also very low (but higher in fats).

Everyone always seems to focus on desserts when they have guests with diabetes, and there's this idea that the thing they need to do is to replace the sugar in any desserts with stevia, splenda or some other sweetener. But, people with diabetes CAN eat sugar and a piece of a regular dessert or a candy bar can have a lot less impact on their blood glucose than the rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, fruit juice, fruit, wine, regular soda, etc. that is commonly served with meals and almost never considered. It's not about sugar, it's about carbs and certain carbs will affect different people in different ways. For example, a friend of mine with diabetes would have a lot less trouble with a serving of most any dessert than she would with white rice. Also, desserts with stevia or an artificial sweetener can still have plenty of carbs, which come not just from the sugar in desserts, but also from things like flour. You can make sugar free cakes, cookies, pies, etc., but it's easy to forget that these have plenty of carbs in them from the flour and the sugar may have actually not contributed that much to the carb count in the first place. So, overall, making sugar free desserts just isn't that helpful for people with diabetes, especially if the desserts have other sources of carbohydrates. Honestly, I always just ask people if they have any dietary restrictions or if there are things that I need to consider when making meals. You might be surprised to find that a diabetic guest will be just fine if you make a regular dessert, but will request that you include a salad and other vegetable to go along with the lasagna, potatoes, rice, etc. that you were planning to make.