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And now that I have you lulled into a false sense of security there is a ski trip I’d like to talk to you about…

For those of you (and by you I mean the only people who read my blog: stalkers, lost googlers and the FBI) wondering when I’ll be back to making real posts my answer is soon…I hope. I injured my back and have been in bed for like three weeks and there are other things going on keeping me from doing the things I like to do. So be patient with me.

Several years ago I bought my mom a bag of angels coins. I thought they’d make a nice trinket since she collects angels. Little did I know how a momentary whim would change my life. Shortly after she got the coins she started giving them away. You can imagine my reaction to learning she was giving away the presents I’d given her. That is, until I learned why.

You see, my mom is one of those rare souls who’s genuinely innocent. She really believes that deep down everyone is good. And she believes that it’s her responsibility to make everyone’s day better in whatever way you can. So when she got the coins she didn’t keep them for herself. No, she decided that other people, complete strangers, needed them more than she did. So whenever she came across a person who seemed to be having a bad day she gave them a coin, a gentle word and often, a hug. When I asked her why her answer was simple: Everybody needs an angel.

I really took that to heart and thought about how blessed I was and how many ‘angels’ I had and how they’d supported me in my darkest hour. I started doing little things to make life a little easier and a little brighter for people less fortunate than myself. One of the things I started doing was the Blogathon, a charity event not dissimilar to a marathon in which Bloggers around the world stay awake for 24 hours to raise money for the charity of their choice. The idea is that Bloggers gather sponsors who pledge to donate money if the Bloggers stay awake the whole time and entertain them. It’s a fun, exciting, stressful, crazy and ultimately rewarding adventure I’ve had the pleasure of participating in for several years.

This year I’m blogging for RAINN, the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network. It’s a program near and dear to my heart, not only because I’m a survivor of sexual abuse but because so many of the women in my life are also survivors. In past years we’ve done everything from prize giveaways to tarot card readings to chopping off most of my hair. This year will be no less entertaining. We’re planning some really fun activities including videos by myself and my adorable niece Katie. We’re also giving away four twenty-five dollar gift certificates to Amazon.com to folks who pledge at least ten dollars. Best of all, I’ll be donating a dollar to RAINN for each person in the Live Video community who posts a video about a time in their life when an ‘angel’ made a difference in their life.

The Blogathon is always a blast but this year it has special meaning for me, not only because of my recent issues dealing with my own abuse but also because my niece is with me this summer and I want her to see that one person really can make a difference in the lives of others. Please help me to fulfill my goal and raise money for a wonderful organization by joining me here on the morning of July 28th until the morning of the following day for inspiration, entertainment, education, prizes and much more.

Thank you so much for your generous support. Even if all you can donate is one dollar that dollar will make a world of difference for victims of the most damaging sort of violence. Even if you can’t donate you can stop in to offer encouragement and help us stay awake. Whatever you can do to help is appreciated more than you could possibly know and would make you my personal angel.

For more information please visit Share Your Angels.com.

Visitors will be coming to the site soon so I better get my info ready. Here goes.

Sean, Jamie and I will be participating in the Blogathon this year. Simply put the Blogathon is a charity event in which writers with blogs (what you’re reading now) struggle to stay awake for twenty four hours straight, posting every thirty minutes and doing outrageous things to keep their sponsors and viewers entertained. Why would be do that you may ask. For charity. You see our sponsors pledge an hourly rate or a flat fee to the charity we are blogging for. In return we torture ourselves for a day and night for their amusement. Sounds fair to me. For more information on what a Blogathon actualy is please go to Blogathon.org

We’ll be blogging for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital because that’s where a little girl in Jamie’s class was a patient. She passed away not long ago from Leukemia so we’re blogging in her memory.

As I said, participants go to extreme lengths to pull in sponsors and site visitors. This year we’re doing a group blog but each of us will have our own theme. Jamie will be watching five episodes of twelve different anime cartoons that you’ve probably never heard of. She’s a hardcore anime fan so even if you aren’t into anime stay tuned because some of the stuff she finds is down right wierd. In addition to posting a review every hour she’ll be uploading anime music for you to download and giving away eight really spiffy anime prizes.

Sean, being a chemist, will be going with a science theme. Each hour he’ll post a picture and info about the chemical structure of the things every Blogathoner is familiar with, like coffee and sugar. He’ll also be doing trivia about elements on the periodic table and the winners will get one of eight science related prizes. I’ve seen them, they’re very spiffy.

I’ll be sticking to art. Every hour I’ll post about a different art medium with links to sites that display what I consider to be some of the best art in that medium. I’ll also be posting about local artists and their work as well as premiering my newest pieces. I’ll be holding a raffle and the winners will get one of eight original art pieces made my local artists.

In addition to this we’ll have music for you to listen to, free Blogathon themed wallpapers and other shiny web site goodies. And if we exceed our goal of $200 Jamie and I will also cut off our hair and donate it to the Locks Of Love Foundation. This is all we have planned so far but I assure you there is more to come and you won’t lack for entertainment. So make sure you’re up bright and early on August 6th so you can help us stay awake.

We’re also holding a fundraiser on July 30th at the local Wal-Mart. We’ll be selling balloons and suckers for the kiddies and angel pins and handmade angel necklaces for the adults. There will also be a raffle for a lovely twoo foot garden angel generously donated by Wal-Mart. All the proceeds will go to DCH of course. I’m also putting up flyers at local business and putting an ad in the local paper. If I get the time I’m even going to contact the paper and radio station and see if I can’t get them to do a plug/story on the event. Of course, if you aren’t local you won’t be able to come but that’s ok because we’re setting up a store where (cross your fingers) you can buy the jewelry and prints of my work at barely above cost and all the proceeds will go to the charity.

So there you have it. I have tons to do so off I go. Now don’t forget to come back for the Thon. If you miss it I’ll cry and you know I don’t have a pretty crying face. So come keep me company and win yourself something nice. Good luck and blessings, Prana