Wednesday, December 22, 2010

A Sneak Holiday Peek

I know it's been a while, but I have been busying myself with holiday things.

Like keeping the reindeer and elves in check...



and receiving and giving lovely gifts..



and spending nights building gingerbread houses with friends...




Why yes... this one does have a solar paneled roof and an electric car. 


And while I cannot wait to write a killer post on all of the holiday happenings, I decided I just want to enjoy these last few days of this magical time of year, I want to be really in it. So here is the sneak peek of what's to come and the "sorry I've been MIA" apology, but there is a snugly pup, and a flower loom, and presents to be wrapped waiting across the room- so really.. I am keeping this short.

But before I go, a little holiday gift for you. If you haven't encountered Dallas Clayton's work just yet please pretend that you are unwrapping a present that has one of those holiday stickers that reads "From Sneezeweed" on it while you click here. I can't get enough, and I bet you won't be able to either.

Happy Holidays!

The Daily Sneeze ((or what's filling the stockings today))
- a gingerbread village.
- laughter in the kitchen.
- cookies in the office.
- tights.
- traditions.
- wool socks.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Hello New Year Mantra. Come Stay a While.

Let me keep this short and sweet.

Sometimes, I do this thing when I am nervous about a conversation I am about to have. I pace around and whisper the conversation out loud. I whisper the way I would like the conversation to go. I whisper all the things I would say to the other person if  I were brave enough to say them. All the things I would say if I could speak as eloquently to their face as I can in a whisper while pacing the floor. And then, no matter how the conversation really happens, I am calm because I have already gotten out all of the things I would like to say in the imaginary conversation.

I know, I know, I should be able to speak them out-loud right to the person who I pretend to whisper them to; but I am convinced that they are more powerful in my personal whispering conversation anyway.

Anyway, I just caught myself having one of these pacing whispering fits. Yes, usually I have no idea they are happening until one line escapes me that makes me go "hey, you're talking to yourself again!" And this time the line that came rolling off my tongue, barely making it past my lips in the sweetest whisper, the line that woke me up from my conversation trance was this: I am trying to fill my life with things that are real right now.  Real job, real friends, real home, real love. Only things that are real.  Well damn, if that isn't the truth I don't know what is.

Hello New Year Mantra, why don't you stay a while. 


"I am trying to fill my life with things that are real right now. Only things that are real."

Friday, December 3, 2010

The Daily Sneeze Tease

The Daily Sneeze ((or what's fueling the fire today))
-hiding out.
-preschoolers using cameras.
-when preschoolers are super excited they "got the perfect picture!"
-when this is the perfect picture:

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Awareness, Acceptance, Action: Today is World AIDS Day

"Having lived with HIV for nearly 27 years, have attitudes changed. No, so ask yourself why? Ignorance and fear, so changing attitudes and improving education at all ages and levels of our society may make that difference.  More awareness, better understanding and increased acceptance that HIV is here and not going away" 
-Michael, from www.worldaidsday.org

Today, all over the world, people are taking a stand to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. When I started to see people changing their status, wearing red, sporting ribbons, and even silencing themselves for the cause, I knew I wanted to do something too. I knew I wanted to take action, do my part to spread the word about what is going on today. I could have worn red, or silenced myself, or even sported a lovely ribbon, but I knew my efforts would go unnoticed being that I am stuck inside this Brooklyn apartment with a sick sneeze-baby on this gloomy day. And so I decided what better place to take a stand than here on Sneezeweed. 

HIV/AIDS is something that I have been hearing about ever since I was a child. I remember Mrs. Starkman, the elementary school health teacher, giving us fact sheets and dispelling myths about AIDS from the time we were little. I remember watching Magic Johnson documentaries in middle school, and I remember watching those same videos in High School. I always knew I couldn't catch it by giving a friend a hug, I always knew that people can live long healthy lives having HIV/AIDS if they received proper care, and I also always knew that not everyone received this care and many people died from HIV/AIDS every day. Today, though,  I was humbled. When I decided to write this post I thought it would be a good idea to do my homework and look up some facts and current goings on having to do with HIV/AIDS, and there are so many things that I did not know. 

-Did you know that there 33.4 million people living with HIV in the world today? I didn't. 

-Did you know in the year 2007 430,000 children under 15 were diagnosed with HIV? I didn't.

-Did you know that the rate of HIV infection is decreasing in many African and Middle Eastern nations, but is stable in America? I didn't. 

-Did you know that many people living with HIV still feel that there is a stigma against them, and they choose to hide the fact that they are infected? I did know, but I didn't want to believe it. 

I know that giving you four small facts about HIV/AIDS doesn't seem like much of a stand. I am not walking around silent, I am not volunteering to help others get tested, I am not even wearing red; but I am giving you information, and like Michael said educating our society may be what will make the difference for people living with HIV/AIDS. So I got to thinking, as bloggers, we are lucky to have discovered this unique way of communicating and spreading information. So here is the challenge: take what I have here, or create your own version of this post, and add a few more surprising bits of information to the list. Post it on your blog and challenge others to do the same. Spreading the word and dispelling the myths is the simplist, yet most powerful form of action. And while what we are all striving for is awareness and acceptance, we will never get there unless we all take a little bit of action. 





The Daily Sneeze ((or what's fueling the fire today))
-Awareness. 
-Acceptance.
-Action.