Christmas Preparedness!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the 2-Oh-6!

Minne-snow-ta doesn't kid around.

We are snowed in. Literally. They weren't joking when they sent out a Blizzard Warning. I chose the right name for this blog!

However, we are fully supplied with cocoa, soup and Christmas music. Let the snowing continue! Being snowed in with the love of one's life is pretty great.

After a few false starts and lots of pep talks from B, my Etsy store is ready to open! Lovely things are made, photos are taken and *even before I've opened* I have 10 custom orders!

Check me out on etsy!

Coming up for my store in 2010:
-handmade wreaths
-handmade hair accessories
-embroidered lovelies
-some super duper gorgeous vintage items

Speak. Hear. See.

Today is World AIDS Day. Today, we renew our commitment to fighting for equal access to preventative education, treatment and support for the people who have AIDS, and for their loved ones. 33 million people live with AIDS. The need has never been greater.

On October 5, 2006, my uncle Sean Robert Donovan, died from complications due to AIDS. He was 36 years old. No one knew he was ill prior to July 2006. In that short period of time, our family, especially my mother, was thrust into a situation millions around the world face. 

Our first question was "How sick is he?" Immediately, our thoughts turned frantic. What about all the people who may have been exposed to the virus and not known it? I had lived with my uncle for a short while, during which there had been construction on his house and the cafe he owned (where I also worked at the time). What about all of my cousins (most of whom were under 10), grandparents, aunts and uncles... my mom cleaned up his bloody nose just a week ago. 

Fortunately, after being tested, we found no one else was infected. It was a miracle. It was also the most terrifying experience of my life. The thought that not only my mother, but my 19 and 13 year old sisters, 8 year old brother could be sick... even now, when I know everyone is okay, the thought paralyzes me.

That is how AIDS spreads. The virus is not limited to addicts and prostitutes. It doesn't live only in far away developing nations. It's here. And we need to do something about it.

For more information on what you can do, please visit:

Amfar

Aids.org

Youth AIDS

World AIDS day