Thursday, December 31, 2009

Talkin' 'bout a resolution.

New Years Resolution #1 for 2010 - blog, blog, blog.

It has been a crazy month. Looking back over the past 30 days, I can't believe how much I managed to get done. It should go without saying that most of it was crafting and little of it was blogging. And oh, how I've missed it here. I didn't want the year to end without a post, though, so here it is...for what it's worth.

Several weeks ago I was talking to my mom and he conversation turned to Christmas gifts. We talked about how we already have so many "things" and Christmas shouldn't just be about feeding the corporate machine, but should be about showing your loved ones how much you care and all that warm-fuzzy stuff. Yadda yadda yadda. Since I was already planning to take the "Handmade Pledge", I extended the challenge to her. I couldn't wait to see what she would come up with and today I finally received my package in the mail...a few days late (snail mail is an understatement!), but well worth the wait.

For the Jakester: 2 chickens and a rooster were given in his name to a family in Africa. Yay! (No, not technically "handmade", but it's a "hand-up" and that's good enough for me! Plus, it's one less thing that I have to nag him to pick up.)
For me: a cuff bracelet that Mumji made from dozens of white and gold buttons. Love it! Not only is it super-cute, knowing that my mom made it just for me makes it even better. (You've really got to love somebody to sew on that many buttons!)
For both of us: cash, which I think we're going to spend it at the paint-your-own-pottery place that we've been threatening to go to...

All-in-all, I would say that it was a very successful experiment. I know I'll be smiling every time I wear my bracelet!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Respect & Protect

World Aids Day - Dec 1, 2009

People living with HIV:
33.4 million people living with HIV worldwide
31.3 million adults
15.7 million women
2.1 million children under 15

New HIV cases in 2008:
2.7 million people
2.3 million adults
430,000 children under 15

HIV-related deaths in 2008:
2 million total deaths
...