Ok, so I’m trying to win another contest Lisa McMann, one of my favorite authors, is having a contest. All I have to do is post anywhere on the internet about her books Wake, Fade & Gone and I could win an advanced copy of Gone which is to be released in February 2010. Luckily for me, this blog also posts at Twitter, Facebook and Myspace so hopefully I’ll get the word out even more. Click here for Lisa’s post about the 2nd Annual Freaking Huge Contest-O-Thanks!

Synopsis for Wake:

Not all dreams are sweet.
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people’s dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie’s seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can’t tell anybody about what she does — they’d never believe her, or worse, they’d think she’s a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn’t want and can’t control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else’s twisted psyche. She is a participant….

If you are looking for some very quick reads, you should pick up Lisa’s series. Wake is a very good introduction to Janie and later on a character named Cabel (whom I love) and Fade continues on with their story. By the time Fade comes around, a few people know about Janie’s ‘gift’ and she’s getting better at controlling it. Cabe is there along Janie trying to help her and work on his own problems.

I can’t wait to see what awaits Janie & Cabe in the next book. So help me! Tell me if you go out and get the books, let me know that my spreading the word really worked! lol..

Alpha Zulu Bracelets is run by two of my very good friends, Adrian & Britney. These bracelets are paracord survival bracelets.

from wikipedia:

Parachute cord (also paracord or 550 cord) is a lightweight nylon kernmantle rope originally used in the suspension lines of US parachutes during World War II. Once in the field, paratroopers found this cord useful for many other tasks. It is now used as a general purpose utility cord by both military personnel and civilians. This versatile cord was even used by astronauts during STS-82, the second Space Shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

The same properties which soldiers appreciate in paracord are also useful in civilian applications. After World War II parachute cord became available to civilians, first as military surplus and then as a common retail product. While some commercially available paracord is made to specification, even when labeled as such a given product may not correspond exactly to a specific military type and can be of differing construction, quality, color, or strength. Particularly poor quality examples may have significantly fewer strands in the sheath or core, cores constructed of bulk fiber rather than individual yarns, or include materials other than nylon.

Paracord has also been used by many since the 1970s for whipmaking. The durability & versatility of this material has proved beneficial for performing whip crackers & enthusiasts. Since nylon doesn’t rot or mildew, it has become known as an all-weather material for whipmaking. Nylon whips have grown in popularity over the last few decades, more so in the last several years

There are many places on the internet where you can find these bracelets, but I of course, choose to buy from Alpha Zulu. I’ve found some on the net that cost around $25 but I don’t think I’m willing to pay that much for them. Anyway, AlphaZulu has decided to start picking a charity to donate one weeks profit to. For a week, started Monday, Novemer 9th, they will donate 100% of their profits to the Breast Cancert Research Foundation. For information about sizing and colors check out their  facebook page.

LtoR:The Chief (1-4 colors),The Nova (1-2 colors),The Wave (1-2) and The Mini (1-2)

November is Prematurity Awareness Month.

For Prematurity Awareness Month, I have created a band in honor of Shaye. Many of you know her story, if you are new here, click here to read about our Shaye baby.

Now for some facts about prematurity and what the March of Dimes is doing to help prevent premature labor:

Prematurity has been escalating steadily and alarmingly over the past two decades. One out of eight babies is born prematurely in the United States. Preterm delivery can happen to any pregnant woman.

Today more than 1,400 babies in the U.S. ( 1 in 8 ) will be born prematurely. Many will be too small and too sick to go home. Instead, they face weeks or even months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). These babies face an increased risk of serious medical complications and death; however, most, eventually, will go home.

But what does the future hold for these babies? Many survivors grow up healthy; others aren’t so lucky. Even the best of care cannot always spare a premature baby from lasting disabilities such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation and learning problems, chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing problems. Half of all neurological disabilities in children are related to premature birth.

Although doctors have made tremendous advances in caring for babies born too small and too soon, we need to find out how to prevent preterm birth from happening in the first place. Despite decades of research, scientists have not yet developed effective ways to help prevent premature delivery.
 
In fact, the rate of premature birth increased by 36 percent between the early 1980s and 2006. This trend and the dynamics underlying it underscore the critical importance and timeliness of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign. In 2007, a small but statistically significant decrease occurred: to 12.7 percent.

The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign

The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign was launched on January 30, 2003. The Campaign has two goals: (1) to raise public awareness of the problems of prematurity and (2) to decrease the rate of preterm birth in the U.S. The campaign:

• Funds research to find the causes of premature birth
• Encourages investment of public and private research dollars to identify causes and to identify and test promising interventions
• Educates women about risk-reduction strategies and the signs and symptoms of premature labor
• Provides information and emotional support to families affected by prematurity
• Advocates to expand access to health care coverage to improve maternity care and infant health outcomes
• Helps health care providers to improve risk detection and address risk factors
• Generates concern and action around the problem

Important Milestones in the Campaign

• Creation of the Prematurity Research Initiative in 2004, which funds promising, innovative research into the causes of prematurity. Nearly $11 million has been awarded to 30 grantees over the past four years, and the program has already produced promising discoveries.
• Publication of the Institute of Medicine report Preterm Birth: Causes, Consequences, and Prevention (2005). Funded in part by the March of Dimes, this report thoroughly documented the impact of premature birth on families, the health care system and business; it also provided the first cost estimates.
• The March of Dimes initiated the PREEMIE Act (“Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers Who Deliver Infants Early”) in 2005. This act became law in 2006. It authorizes increased federal support for research and education on prematurity. Work continues on appropriation of funding to implement the act’s provisions.
• The PREEMIE Act also called for the first Surgeon General’s Conference on the Prevention of Preterm Birth, which was held in June 2008. The conference brought together experts from the public and private sectors. March of Dimes staff and volunteers were key participants in each of the six work groups that developed goals for an action plan. The goals were presented to the Surgeon General at the conclusion of the conference. Achieving the goals of this plan will require both private and public resources for broad-based research, capacity building, data systems, creation of interventions, quality initiatives and a comprehensive communications strategy.
• In March 2008, a strategic review of the Campaign was completed. It resulted in a March of Dimes board resolution that extended the Campaign to 2020 and established prematurity prevention as a global campaign. Publication of the first global report on preterm birth by the March of Dimes and the World Health Organization is planned to take place in October 2009 in New Delhi, India.

To learn more about what the campaign has achieved, read Progress and Impact.