December 1 - World AIDS Day

A total of 33 million people now live with HIV/AIDS. Two million of them are under age 15.

Last year 1/2 million babies were bron with HIV.

In 2008, an estimated 2.7 million people were infected with HIV.

Every day, 7,397 people contract HIV – 308 every hour.

In 2008, 2.0 million people died from AIDS.

Worldwide, women make up half of all people living with HIV.

There are approximately, 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

An estimated 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the U.S. in 2006.

African Americans accounted for 46% of all new HIV infections diagnosed in 2006, although they only comprise 12% of the population.

As someone who lost a Brother to this epidemic, I urge everyone to educate themselves against prevention. I also please hope that we will not turn our backs on those who have fallen victim to this disease. If you have the virus, dont try and cope alone.
My Brother was diagnosed  in the hospital a few days before he passed away. His life could have been saved. But as we all know, our biggest lessons come in the form of big sacrifices. He did not die in silence.

The statistics speak for themselves. But our voices should be louder. Don’t stay silent. 

http://aids.gov/
http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/
http://www.joinred.com/word_aids_day/index.html
HIV/AIDS Facts - http://www.lightforrights.org/aids_facts.php

Thanksgiving is in less than a week and many of us already know where we will be celebrating, who will be there, and who will be bringing what. Some of us already know what stores we want to go to, no matter how cold it is, to shop in the days after Thanksgiving.
What an exciting time to see family and freinds, to get some rest, and to be reminded of how Blessed we are.

But I cant help but think about those who dont know from where their next meal will come from. Not a week and a half from now, but today.
While we choose to go out in the cold to shop, some dont have a choice about whether or not they want to go out and face the cold. The cold is home.

I pray all the time for God to help them. To be with them. And I know he will. He always is.

I just want to implore everyone to be grateful for the necessities, the little things this holiday season. Water, food, shelter, clothing. And to think about those who find these things out of reach. To pray for those, who due to their circumstances, dont view this as a holiday, but a day to be reminded of those things they lack.
To be reminded of the fact that they are alone.

Circumstances differ. But one thing we all have in common is the fact that we are human.
God felt that we were all deserving of life. And that alone is enough to guarantee us love and compassion.

What am I thankful for?
Every Second of Every Minute of Every Day that the Lord blesses me with.

Because of you....

In honour of the Men and Women who risked their lives for the freedoms we have today, I say Thank You and Happy Veteran's Day.

Because of you, I can be Me. Freely.
Because of you, We can be. Completely.
Because of you, Their attempts failed. Repeatedly.

We owe so much too soo many brave, resilient, and honorable individuals. May we never forget what we had to sacrafice as a nation to gain what we have as individuals.


To my Husband, a Navy Veteran, I will always be proud of you.

November is....

National American Diabetes Month

http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/programs/american-diabetes-month/

National Pancreatic Cancer Month

http://www.pancan.org/

http://www.knowitfightitendit.org/

National Adoption Month

http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/nam/

National Family Caregivers Month

http://www.thefamilycaregiver.org/national_family_caregiver_month/

               

National Epilepsy Month

http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/neam/

National Lung Cancer Awareness Month

www.lungcanceralliance.org/involved/lcam
_month.html

National  Alzheimers Awareness Month

http://www.alz.org/co/in_my_community_15005.asp

National Hospice Month

www.caringinfo.org/index.cfm?page=833 

Guilty By Association

This past weekend my Sister, Best Friend, and a very good friend of ours, went on a mini getaway. (mini=2 hours away from home..lol).

The night of our arrival we met my good friend's Mother and Cousin (whom we adore) for dinner at Red Lobster.
P (the Cousin) stepped outside briefly and when she came back she stated that there was a homeless man outside asking for food.
Now, before I go on let me state that the reason I really like P is because she not only is the sweetest person, but she and her mom both have non profit organizations. She helps adults who have challenges, but are otherwise independent, but need just a little bit of assistance.
I really admire her for that.
As soon as she said that we all knew we were going to help him. We set aside food in a to-go box. It was a feast fit for a king. lol
Then, the most amazing thing happened. The staff at Red Lobster allowed him to come in and eat his food at a table next to us! I was soo amazed. Now granted he wasnt smelly or dirty or without shoes, but he was still homeless, and that alone turns some people off.
But what really turned us off was when some of the staff repeatedly walked by and stared at him as if they wanted to say something. Like they wanted him to leave.

Turned out P remembered him from her program in the past.
He walked out with us (of course they were not going to let him stay if we were not there) and was in a cheery mood. He was funny.

Such a blessed situation.

I just want to say that I am soo Blessed and happy to be associated with women with big hearts. They did not think twice about helping him. They all have the same spirit of helping when they can. The empathy it takes to remain humble. Thank you God for them.
This also served as a reminder to me that there are decent people in this world. The staff did not have to do what they did. But, because they did, it helped someone and perhaps renewed his faith in this world and his circumstances.

Needless to say, this was such a great start to a great weekend.

This Too Shall Pass

The Lord will not put more on us than we can handle.
I truly believe this and this is what go me through the past two weeks.
I was more upset than I thought I would be at my Grandma's Celebration of Life (funeral).
I was quite overwhelmed. I guess it was the sense of finality that day seems to bring.
And although hard on my family, we understand that things happened how God ordered them.
And we understand that the tremendous hurt we feel will get a little easier everyday.

This shock.
This pain.
This regret.
This loneliness.

The Lord will eventually replace all of these feelings with healing and memories that bring laughs and and an even deeper appreciation of a woman that meant soo much to soo many.

Please cherish those you love.
And live a life that will allow you to see them again.


Below is a Peace Lily I was given.





World Food Day - October 16

Today is World Food Day.
It is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed,  year-around action to alleviate hunger. 
Please go to the below site to sign the petition to end hunger.


http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/