Bibliosphere

 This month has been a challenge. The whole winter has been honestly. But I am moving forward and making progress, as always. I thought that I would share some wins from February: My large-scale work event served over 225 people throughout Utah, which is an attendance rate of about 70%. For a free event, this is a minor miracle. I survived initial orders for cookies, which is a feat in and of itself. I went on my first date in a year. I started walking more, a welcome reprieve from winter blues. The sun has been shining more too, making walking more appealing. I tried many new things, including an indoor dutch oven and a sumo mandarin. I finished 5 books (2 audio, 3 print). One was finished on February 1st though, so you can debate me on whether that counts. I did two illustrations, one of my friend and my 2024 bucket list and one comic. My St Baldricks fundraiser is almost over and I've raised almost $200 for childhood cancer research (full post on this soon). And last, but certai

 Before you assume based on the title, it is not that I have issues with my friends. I love my friends dearly. But, if you have some sort of chronic illness or disability (including mental illnesses), there is a process when you get a new friend that they have to learn about it first hand. You can tell them about what it's like for you, but until they see what you go through, that's when it really sinks in. I've been autistic my entire life. I always will be. And I've had an assortment of mental illnesses for well over a decade now too. Not the same as if I had a physical disability, but it's still something that flares up and effects me in deep and painful ways. The worst part is that sometimes it kicks up when I least want it to, in ways that make others feel like it's their fault. But it's not. It's mostly genetic, a bad luck before I was even born. It's not something I'll overcome permanently, even if I have long periods of recovery. I know p

 So, for those of you who are new, one of my new years' resolutions was to try new things. By way of ease, many things that I try are food-related. This month I've tried a number of new things, including cooking wild rice, using an indoor dutch oven, and tasting a pomelo. I enjoy trying new things, and it's a source of enjoyment to explore different cuisines.  Cooking is also a form of expression for me. As I told my colleague, I will be moved to stop adding red pepper flakes to my food when cooking. I express my love for myself and others as I cook for them. The Joy of Cooking is a mood that I take with me in my life. Even when I don't feel like making dinner, I can find a little bit of love for myself in making a hot meal that I know I will enjoy. And, when I have time, experimenting to find just the right flavors and techniques also brings me joy.

 I have some wonderful news from France that my mom shared with me on Valentine's Day. A child, a 13 year old, from Belgium has been cured of DIPG with an experimental drug ( x ). It seemed to good to be true, honestly. How often do you hear that a tumor with a 0% survival rate just... disappeared? And other children in the cohort surviving beyond the normal survival time? I went a little deeper. The medication, everolimus , has been studied a few times for DIPG. It's a repurposed drug, currently used for a variety of types of tumors and more. According to this research on genetically targeted treatments for DIPG, the average survival time increased from 14 months without the adjuvent to 20 months with the additional treatment. However, this is ultimately a very early study on the drug, not a study that will truly create a treatment plan to help these kids survive. In another phase I study , you can see results with two biologic treatments, the same drug above combined with an

 While a lot of this blog focuses on days and awareness of what's happening with childhood cancer in the US, the reality is that childhood cancer has a global impact. This year International Childhood Cancer Day falls on February 15. From the organizers , "International Childhood Cancer Day is a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer, and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, the survivors and their families." Did you know that over 400,000 children develop cancer annually, but only half are ever diagnosed. There are huge gaps in childhood cancer care between countries, where 70% of children in some low and middle income countries won't survive their cancer, but only 20% of those in high income countries won't survive. Still far too high, but think about that difference for a moment. The International Childhood Cancer Day organizers have provided a toolkit to learn more about how you can help here .

 February 14, in addition to being the all-important Valentine's Day, is also National Donor Day! Whether you donate bone marrow, blood, or a kidney (and everything in between), today is the day for you! So here are some ways to celebrate your love of donors: Sign up to give blood! Check out this list by zip code. Make a donation to a local blood bank, the bone marrow registry, or a tissue bank. Thank a friend or family member who donates. Sign up to be a part of the bone marrow registry here . Make sure that your driver's license says that you're an organ donor and make your wishes known to friends and family. Ask your workplace, community organization, school, or church to host a blood drive.

 Hello everyone! Guess what? My fundraiser is still happening and there's plenty of time to make your donation!  Did you know that St Baldrick's is a top funder of childhood cancer research? I donated over a foot of hair twice and shaved my head once, all to help kids fight cancer. There's nowhere for me to shave or volunteer in Utah, so I started my own fundraiser in parallel with the February Facebook fundraiser happening nationwide! I'm walking at least 25 miles in February, and I hope that you will join me in donating to St Baldrick's to raise funds for childhood cancer research. You can donate here ( https://www.stbaldricks.org/fundraisers/mypage/4993/2024 ). Thank you in advance for helping save lives!

 So here's the deal. I used to go home in middle and early high school and sit at my desk and just creative. I made jewelry and painted things and played with wax molds and printing kits and all sorts of things I'd found at Goodwill and yardsales. I continued to create later on in high school and into college, but it dwindled as I got older. Grad school and mental illness took a lot out of me, and getting back into the arts, even just drawing, felt like a huge task. But, slowly, I've gotten back into crafting. I started easy, drawing. I did a few Inktobers (drawing challenge in the month of October), I started getting into visual journaling, and slowly began to get creative juices again. It was different than what I'd grown up with though. I was trained classically in drawing at the arts high school, drawing only from observation in many classes (although I branched out at home and in classes with a loose format). But I started drawing from memory, and it's mostly l

 Did you know that February 4 is World Cancer Day? The theme from 2022-2024 is Close the Care Gap, and it aims to close gaps in cancer treatment. From their website : The last year of our campaign is all about bringing attention to a higher level—literally. We will raise our voices to engage our leaders. Now that we have knowledge and a united community by our side, we are ready to shake the very foundations of injustice—to become lifelong advocates fully equipped to push for lasting change.   Together, we will make sure our leaders know that we demand a commitment to prioritising cancer, to creating innovative strategies designed to confront inequity and to investing our resources to achieve a just and cancer-free world. We will call on leaders to eliminate health inequities by addressing their root causes, ensuring that everyone has access to quality health services when, where and how they need them.   Be sure to check out their website for actions that you can take thi

 Today is the day - my fundraiser officially kicks off!   Donate Here  I have to say, I did some pre-fundraising. I have a few donations, some unexpected for sure. Of course I donated to my own fundraiser too.  I set "milestones" for every $100 plus one at $250 for the halfway point. It won't correspond exactly to miles walked, especially since I walk 3-5 miles daily, but I think this will be a special amount that I count only actual walks.  I love going for walks, so the 25 miles isn't a problem. 50 miles probably wouldn't have been a problem. But it's not about the miles.  It's about the kids. Donate Here