A New Year

For my family, friends and all who come across this post.

Happy 2012

2012

I welcome 2012 with open arms. I'm very excited about the coming new year, I have so much planned, so many exciting things and ideas to bring to life. I can't wait to share my life this coming year.

2011 was a great year, 2012 is going to be even better.

Photo a Day

Source: Fatmumslim

Come January 1st I'll be joining Chantelle of Fatmumslim and a few other bloggers in a photo a day challenge for the entire month of January.

I'm very excited about this challenge for two reasons:

 1. I love taking photos and

 2. I will be getting a new camera soon

You can join us and share in the fun. 

Post photos to Facebook, Twitter, your blog or where ever you choose.

Have a look at Fatmumslim to see the how to's of the challenge.

So stay tuned for the photos (I just hope I can keep up every day).

Much love

Season's Greetings

Happy Holidays to all.

Greeting card courtesy  Share Holidays

Busy as a Bee

The Christmas hustle and bustle has officially started for me, and I must say, there is no enthusiasm at all. There is cleaning, painting, shopping, packing and organizing to be done. 

These are some of the things I'm not to thrilled about doing, but guess what. I do it for my family, because come Christmas morning when I awake, all the hustle and bustle would have been wroth it.


Make the best of the season, and enjoy it.

The people who matter the most

Two Saturdays ago, I had the best ever weekend in a long while. I absolutely love, enjoy and cherish spending time with my family.

My family on my dad's side had a small family get together at my Grand-mom's house. She's our matriarch, a strong woman, a woman we deeply admire.

This side of the family is extremely large, so “small gatherings” aren't so small. My Grand mom had 12 kids, from whom she got 40 plus grand kids and a growing number of great grandchildren.

We also celebrated my mom's birthday as well; I must say she is aging gracefully.

Mom and me

We had a fun filled day with good food, homemade ice cream and a cooler of drinks.

My dad, as always being the center of attention, entertained us with endless stories from when they were younger. Coming to think of it, even though we've had endless family get-together's, we've never really heard the same story twice.

So while my dad entertained his siblings and the more mature folks downstairs, we the "young people" (average ages 18 to 35yrs) had some very simulating conversations in my Grand-mom's living room. The two which were the most enjoyable and knowledgeable were on Spirituality/Religion and roles of the husband vs. wife. There were differences in opinions and perspective and we shared stories to support our opinions. 

However the thing I admired the most is that we had these discussions without any anger or vexation towards one another for the differences in beliefs and opinions. We were respectful and open minded to the other's choices and views on the topics.

I must say that these conversations have been the most thought provoking I've had in a while and I'm proud of the way we handled it. It shows that we are maturing. We are no longer the Galera girls and boys; we are the Galera women and men. We are the third generation of Galera's and our name will remain strong for generations to come. We represent strength, intelligence and beauty.

What's your Status?

Do you know your HIV AIDS status?

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is one of the leading infectious killer diseases. It affects the lives of infected persons, as well as their families and friends. This disease has no boundaries; it affects all races, genders, the rich and the poor alike, unborn babies, teenagers and the old aged.

The World Health Organization claims that over 25 million lives has been lost over the last 30 years, and in 2010 there were approximately 34 million people living with HIV. 

There are a lot of online resources to educate ourselves such as, HIVAware, World AIDS Day and the RED RIBBON FOUNDATION. The WHO recently published  Progress report 2011: Global HIV/AIDS response.

HIV AIDS is not a friend; it is a deadly disease that destroys lives and families. It is a disease that has caused stigmatization and discrimination.

Lets all do our part to prevent the spread of HIV. We can simply start by knowing our status and by not having unprotected sex. Remember condoms, when used correctly are life savers. But this alone does not stop the spread; this along with education can control this deadly disease from controlling our lives, the lives of our loved ones, our friends and our families. So lets us do our part.

Source of pictures: Graphics Hunt 

Be safe, educate and protect.