Help SIDS Research and Celebrate Valentines Day

With Love...

and a little wine, chocolate and fabulous jewelry for your Valentine sweetheart!

Join Gabrielle Christian -spokeswoman for SIDS-ES & FAIR Fund- for a sweet celebration at the beautiful Artists Inn Residence off Dupont Circle

Join us for a fun evening - on your own or with your sweetheart - sipping wine, enjoying fine chocolate, and celebrating Valentine's day with old and new friends!


Come show love for your two favorite non-profit organizations and help improve the lives of women and girls this Valentines Day.

When:
Thursday, February 12th
6:00 - 8:30 pm Open House
Where:
The Artists Inn Residence
1824 R St, NW - Dupont Circle Metro

RSVP:
At rsvp@fairfund.org or call 202-265-1505 and leave a message for Ashley
Suggested donation and raffle entry ticket: $20.00

You'll also have a chance to purchase a Valentine's gift that truly means more, with gorgeous hand-crafted jewelry made by FAIR Fund's JewelGirls.

JewelGirls is a FAIR Fund program that supports young women survivors of trafficking and street life. By purchasing their hand-crafted pieces you are supporting their chances at lives free from sexual violence and exploitation -- and sharing beauty, creativity and purpose with someone you love. Learn more at www.fairfund.org.

SIDS-ES supports families who are grieving babies lost to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome through informational material, free peer counseling, and referral services. SIDS-ES is also a partner of Cribs for Kids, providing free cribs and crib-sheets to needy families. Learn more at www.SidsSurvivalGuide.org.

Join us to support their work and share love with those in need.

Wednesday Hottie Part 1 - Belated

I'm horrible, I'm horrible, I'm horrible. And I know it. UGH! I really want to get to a point where I am updating this thing at least once a day, everyday, and being on time every week with Wednesday Hottie. I'm working on it people. Classes and work and trying to stay sane are taking up a whole helluva a lot of time.

On Friday night, the second of eight final episodes of South of Nowhere aired. I will definitely miss this show. I couldn't choose between the two main actresses, Mandy Musgrave and Gabrielle Christian, so, they are both Wednesday Hotties!

I'm really making up for being a bad blogger aren't I?

Mandy and Gabi are best known for their work on South of Nowhere but they have both done many other shows, including episodes of CSI, CSI: Miami, Drake and Josh, 3Way (Maeve Quinlan's Web series), and many more.

Gabi is awesome. Her voice drives me insane. She's great to her fans too! I've met her twice at the SIDS Walk in Greenbelt, MD. I got a picture with her the first time, and two autographs, one for me and one for my best friend, the second time. She seems really down to Earth and was accepting fans as friends on her MySpace while she had one (it was recently deleted for unknown reasons, at least unknown to me).

Mandy is also awesome. What is it with the N casting girls with these amazing voices that just send shivers down my spine? Really. Also, while Gabi is more girl-next-door hot, Mandy is just sexy hot. "Trust me, it won't be spontaneous" Yes, I realize Mandy doesn't write the lines, but this line from the first season, before Spashley becomes, well, Spashley, Mandy delivered this line amazingly.




I will be posting another Wednesday Hottie ... hopefully.

Wednesday Hottie ... Belated

Okay, so, its the second time in a row that I am late with Wednesday Hottie. Sorry about that. Also, this week, my Hottie is a little different. I haven't chosen a celebrity. I've actually chosen a celebrity's mother. I'm sure many of you know Gabrielle Christian, star of the N's South of Nowhere. Well, this week, Gabrielle's mother, Joani Horchler, is my Wednesday Hottie.

Many of you might be wondering why I have chosen Mrs. Horchler as this week's Hottie. As you may have noticed, Gabrielle has a different last name than her mother. This is because Christian is just a stage name. Gabrielle lost her baby brother, Christian, from SIDS and decided to take his name as her last name. Mrs. Horchler decided to do something to help other women who have lost babies and to help prevent more women from losing their babies. Mrs. Horchler started SIDS Survivial Guide. On the website it says:

Our Mission is to support families (and helping professionals) grieving babies lost to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome through informational material like the book THE SIDS & INFANT DEATH SURVIVAL GUIDE and DANCING ON THE MOON and through free peer counseling and referral services.

Unfortunately, I can't find any more pictures of Mrs. Horchler (she is holding the white dog in the group photo). I think it is wonderful that she was able to take this horrible event in her life, and do something to help others dealing with the same thing. Part of what Mrs. Horchler did, was to co-author a book, SIDS and Infant Death Survival Guide (I believe Gabrielle has either a poem or short story in the book as well).

My grandparents lost their oldest child before he was even a year old. There was nothing like this book to help them deal and cope. They only had each other to lean on. They only had each other's shoulders to cry on. I have never had to experience losing a child, and I pray that I never will, but people lose thier children every day, and while Mrs. Horchler's work focuses on babies, parents lose older children as well.

The reason why I chose this week to tell you all about Mrs. Horchler and her work to educate people about SIDS is because this Sunday, the 14th, is the annual SIDS charity walk at Buddy Attick Park in Greenbelt, Maryland. The past two years, I have attended the walk (I even was able to drag my father out there last year). It's amazing seeing all the people who show up and support the Horchlers. Gabrielle is there every year and does not seem to mind talking with fans. I have been able to speak with her briefly every year, I got a picture with her the first year, and an autograph for myself (which unfortunately got lost when I moved off campus this spring) and best friend. I regret not being able to go this year, since I have committed myself to another event, but I will be sending in a donation and urge anyone who reads this to do the same or if you'll be in the area, please, attend the walk and make a small donation, even the smallest amount can help.

The park at which the event is held is beautiful and I believe the weather is supposed to be nice. The path is around a lake and every now and then, you'll get an awesome view of the sun reflecting off the lake between the trees. Even if you aren't a fan of Gabrielle Christian, but are a photography buff, this is a great place to get some great nature shots. And again, its for charity.

I've included this link to Mrs. Horchler's website above where you can get more information, the flyer picture above, and directions to the park. I hope some of you are able to attend and show your support for Gabrielle Christian, her family, and SIDS.

Click here to read an article about Mrs. Horchler and her cause.