You would think that after 30 million people world wide has died from this disease over the past 30 years, that this story would get publicized a bit more. Nonetheless, the story is great.
Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient", suffered from both leukemia and HIV when he received a bone marrow transplant in 2007. The transplant came from a man immune to HIV, which I didn't know was possible either, but apparently 1% of Caucasians are. What happened next is the amazing part; his HIV disappeared.
"He has no replicating virus and he isn't taking any medication. And he will now probably never have any problems with HIV," his doctor Gero Huetter told Reuters. Brown now lives in the Bay Area, and suffers from some mild neurological difficulties after the operation. "It makes me very happy," he says of the incredible cure.
His leukemia came back a year later, and he received another transplant from the same donor. The HIV has not returned.
You can read more about Mr. Brown here or watch him talk about his cure in this CBS Video Report . Hopefully this can lead to further research and eventually a cure for this horrible disease.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
What's Wrong With Men?
We had beautiful summer weather today, and I spent the day on the beach with two girlfriends and kids. It was a great break from our normal busy days.
We are all single, raising the kids on our own, and never thought twice about it. Is it always easy? No, of course not. Some days I just want to run away, or at least crawl under my covers and hide out for the day. But that's not an option. When you are solely responsible for the financial security of your family, the education, emotional and physical well being of your kids, giving up is never an option. You do what you have to do, and make it work. The hard part is doing it all with a smile and enthusiasm.
As we sat on the beach watching our kids play in the water and on the sand, chit-chatting and sharing laughs, my friend says; "Here we are, three wonderful women; smart, decent looking, good sense of humor, raising our kids and having our lives together, yet we are all single. First I thought, what is wrong with us? But you know, there is absolutely nothing wrong with us. What is wrong with the guys who can't see that women like us are a catch?"
Well said, my friend! Why on earth do we always feel like we don't measure up, when we consistently are told "I don't know how you do it all".
Who made us think it is us there is something wrong with when our marriages or relationships didn't last, or our exes chose not to be involved in the children's lives?
Where did we ever learn that as single, working mothers, we have to live up to a level of perfectionism unheard of for other living creatures, before we can feel we are "good enough"? So our beach time turned in to a little pep talk for ourselves, and apparently a well needed one.
No, my kids are not perfect, but their mine - so to me they are.
My house could desperately need a scrub down, but fun time with my kids was so much more important than a clean house. And since when did a few dust bunnies hurt anybody?
No, I'm not quite where I want to be professionally or personally, but I have my goals and I'm working diligently to get there. I will say that by now, I'm damn good at overcoming obstacles, and you'd be hard pressed to put me in a situation I couldn't find my way out of (knock on wood...I really could use a break from obstacles!!)
I probably won't be shopping for sexy lingerie in the very near future, but I did get the ego boost today, that I didn't get while visiting the lingerie website last week. Nope, my body doesn't fit the measurements of the perfect woman, but I'm 40, gave birth to children and still wear a bikini to the beach. If some 22 year old thinks I'm too old, too fat, too saggy or whatever, tough shit! I'm really not trying to impress anybody, especially not someone under 30!
Obviously the pep talk worked. We left the beach content with ourselves, our lives and our singleness. I, at least, had a bit of a refreshed outlook on my future, and the knowledge that no matter how tough things can seem, or how down you can be on yourself, girlfriends will always have your back.
So what's wrong with men? I don't know. Some are total assholes, but others are wonderful. Some make choices I will never understand, others make perfect sense. Why are all three of us still single? We just didn't meet the right ones yet, or maybe we just don't want to.
We are all single, raising the kids on our own, and never thought twice about it. Is it always easy? No, of course not. Some days I just want to run away, or at least crawl under my covers and hide out for the day. But that's not an option. When you are solely responsible for the financial security of your family, the education, emotional and physical well being of your kids, giving up is never an option. You do what you have to do, and make it work. The hard part is doing it all with a smile and enthusiasm.
As we sat on the beach watching our kids play in the water and on the sand, chit-chatting and sharing laughs, my friend says; "Here we are, three wonderful women; smart, decent looking, good sense of humor, raising our kids and having our lives together, yet we are all single. First I thought, what is wrong with us? But you know, there is absolutely nothing wrong with us. What is wrong with the guys who can't see that women like us are a catch?"
 |
| Photo by Vongvanvi/FreeDigitalPhoto.net |
Well said, my friend! Why on earth do we always feel like we don't measure up, when we consistently are told "I don't know how you do it all".
Who made us think it is us there is something wrong with when our marriages or relationships didn't last, or our exes chose not to be involved in the children's lives?
Where did we ever learn that as single, working mothers, we have to live up to a level of perfectionism unheard of for other living creatures, before we can feel we are "good enough"? So our beach time turned in to a little pep talk for ourselves, and apparently a well needed one.
No, my kids are not perfect, but their mine - so to me they are.
My house could desperately need a scrub down, but fun time with my kids was so much more important than a clean house. And since when did a few dust bunnies hurt anybody?
No, I'm not quite where I want to be professionally or personally, but I have my goals and I'm working diligently to get there. I will say that by now, I'm damn good at overcoming obstacles, and you'd be hard pressed to put me in a situation I couldn't find my way out of (knock on wood...I really could use a break from obstacles!!)
I probably won't be shopping for sexy lingerie in the very near future, but I did get the ego boost today, that I didn't get while visiting the lingerie website last week. Nope, my body doesn't fit the measurements of the perfect woman, but I'm 40, gave birth to children and still wear a bikini to the beach. If some 22 year old thinks I'm too old, too fat, too saggy or whatever, tough shit! I'm really not trying to impress anybody, especially not someone under 30!
Obviously the pep talk worked. We left the beach content with ourselves, our lives and our singleness. I, at least, had a bit of a refreshed outlook on my future, and the knowledge that no matter how tough things can seem, or how down you can be on yourself, girlfriends will always have your back.
So what's wrong with men? I don't know. Some are total assholes, but others are wonderful. Some make choices I will never understand, others make perfect sense. Why are all three of us still single? We just didn't meet the right ones yet, or maybe we just don't want to.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Cougar Effect Boosts Lingerie Sales
When googling for fun stuff going on around the world, an article from last year popped up from Daily Mail in the UK stating that lingerie sales among women in their 40's and 50's have soared following "positive role models" as Courtney Cox and our beloved Sex In The City crew.
So I took a good look at the women mentioned in the article and thought that if they can wear sexy underwear, why shouldn't I? Granted the only thing I have in common with these women is age, but that is not the point. Why waste my money, you say? Well, even though I will be the only one ever seeing the lingerie, I figured it might make me feel better and at least a tad more sexy. I wasn't quite up to going to the department stores to browse through their assortment though, having my bikini episode fresh in mind, and decided to start on-line instead.
My friend has lingerie website, so I figured that was a great place to start. There was no problem finding sexy stuff to wear, along with some very interesting costumes, and I seriously considered buying a few pieces until I read the charts for sizes....Do the perfect 36-26-36 women actually exist anymore? Then what do you do when just one of those measurements fit? Check the queen size....?
And so I did. Sadly, the ego boost I was expecting from definitely looking better than the queen size models never came. Seriously?!? That is what a plus size model looks like? Then what category do I fit in? Heffer? Back to Google we go. "Sexy lingerie for sagging butt, boobs and love handles." The results? "This is not your Mother's Girdle." Really? The best we can do is the "suck me in and reshape" undergarments? And exactly which part of those are sexy? God, it sucks to be 40!
Luckily I also found a site for an exercise program that "tackles that extra jiggle in your tummy, butt or boob". I am now starting my boot-camp for boobs and butt, and expect to look like a 20 year old within a couple of weeks. You just wait. "Hot Mama" will be back shopping for lingerie in no time - maybe still the queen size, but at least I'll be out of the heffer category.
So I took a good look at the women mentioned in the article and thought that if they can wear sexy underwear, why shouldn't I? Granted the only thing I have in common with these women is age, but that is not the point. Why waste my money, you say? Well, even though I will be the only one ever seeing the lingerie, I figured it might make me feel better and at least a tad more sexy. I wasn't quite up to going to the department stores to browse through their assortment though, having my bikini episode fresh in mind, and decided to start on-line instead.
 |
| Photo by Roland Darby/FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
My friend has lingerie website, so I figured that was a great place to start. There was no problem finding sexy stuff to wear, along with some very interesting costumes, and I seriously considered buying a few pieces until I read the charts for sizes....Do the perfect 36-26-36 women actually exist anymore? Then what do you do when just one of those measurements fit? Check the queen size....?
And so I did. Sadly, the ego boost I was expecting from definitely looking better than the queen size models never came. Seriously?!? That is what a plus size model looks like? Then what category do I fit in? Heffer? Back to Google we go. "Sexy lingerie for sagging butt, boobs and love handles." The results? "This is not your Mother's Girdle." Really? The best we can do is the "suck me in and reshape" undergarments? And exactly which part of those are sexy? God, it sucks to be 40!
Luckily I also found a site for an exercise program that "tackles that extra jiggle in your tummy, butt or boob". I am now starting my boot-camp for boobs and butt, and expect to look like a 20 year old within a couple of weeks. You just wait. "Hot Mama" will be back shopping for lingerie in no time - maybe still the queen size, but at least I'll be out of the heffer category.
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