Domestic Violence-A Hidden Secret

 I ran across a post I had written when I first started my blog in March of 2011 and it seems like a good place to start my passion for writing about social issues and inspirational topics.  This post goes deep into the soul of a battered woman.  The statistics are staggering and still this remains a topic that most people would like to pretend doesn't exist especially the women who are in this situation.  Some of you might say, "Why don't they leave their abusers?" A question I don't have an answer for.  I think this video and post is a voice for those women who struggle everyday with this "hidden secret"

Domestic Violence-A Hidden Secret

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so, I will let this video speak for itself and just add that according to statistical data obtained from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) domestic violence affects roughly 32 million Americans and this only reflects the number of cases reported.  I am so saddened by this issue that I just had to write about it.  It is a serious problem that does not get nearly the attention it should.  Here is some information that will surely surprise you...it did me.

In the United States 1/3 of domestic violence cases are never reported.  Why?
Could it be shame or a lack of confidence that keeps women from speaking out against domestic violence?  Or, perhaps the inability of resources designed to protect them from this type of violence in making women feel safe in coming forward for help?

The United States Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner.  This can be physical with threats of violence, throwing objects, harming pets, unwanted physical contact or rape and murder.  Domestic violence can also be psychological involving mental and emotional abuse, economic and social control i.e. controlling victim's money or not allowing contact with friends and family...isolation.

Statistics from the End Abuse Organization states the following:

On average 3 women a day are murdered by husbands or boyfriends.  In 2005, 1,181 women were murdered by an intimate partner.

In 2008, the Center of Disease Control published data collected in 2005 that found women experienced 2 million injuries from intimate partners each year.

Nearly 1 in 4 women in the United States reports experiencing violence by a current or former spouse or boyfriend at some point in her life.

Women are more likely than men to be victimized by a current or former intimate partner.

Women represent 84% of spouse abuse victims and 86% of victims of abuse at the hands of a boyfriend or girlfriend and about 3/4 of the persons who commit family violence are male.

The statistics are staggering and I could go on and on.  One thing is for sure that no one in this type of situation goes unscathed.  15.5 million children in the United States live in families in which partner violence occurred at least once in the past year and 7 million children live in families in which severe partner violence occurred.
2/3 of the majority of nonfatal intimate partner victimizations of women occur at home.  Children under the age of 12 are residents of the households experiencing intimate partner violence in 38% of incidents involving female victims and in a single day in 2008, 16,458 children were living in a domestic violence shelter or transitional housing facility.  Another 6,430 children sought services at a non-residential program.  This is a social issue that merits more attention than it receives.

How is it that in the United States, a country that prides itself on being a world leader in personal freedom and a guardian of human rights can domestic abuse/violence exist?  If the video from the Coalition Against Battered Women: Domestic Abuse does not move you to tears then I don't have a clue what would.

For more info on Domestic Violence http://www.endabuse.org/ and http://domesticviolencestatistics.org .

A Change in the Wind...

I've been thinking lately about changing the direction of my blog.  That's not to say that I dislike the way it has progressed because it chugs along every week with different topics on one thing or another sort of like a hummingbird that flits around the feeder and never really stops moving.

~Image via Google~

I love visiting blogs where people write about their passion.  You can always tell where a person's heart is by what they write about and the images they post.  It is like taking a peek into someone's soul.

It has become harder for me to come up with inspiring posts about decorating, fashion, and make-up and while I have plenty of these posts in my archives non of these compare with those of you have made these topics your life's work.  Those of you who have studied design and thrive on the architecture, placement, and the design of a certain period or style, or those of you in the fashion industry who know the right kind of scarf, shoes, dresses, tops, and jackets to wear with what and of course those of you who re-design, re-work, paint and work with antiques.  All of you are nothing short of inspirational and your creativity comes out in your work.  This is where I fall short because it is not where my passions lay.

My passions lay in social issues and my writing pushes me in that direction.  Life for me is about the children who through no efforts of their own, go hungry or lack the opportunities that are often not afforded to them, the working poor who try to get ahead and somehow always fall short and the homeless.... people who are sometimes looked upon as the throwaways, the ones that have chosen a life on the streets because it seems a safer bet than the shelters offered to them.  This is where my soul takes me...writing about these issues brings out what makes my soul sad, these issues that lay beneath the surface of everyday life, the ones we seldom talk about or want to address.

So, my posts will be taking a turn with posts about inspirational topics and stories... and who doesn't like a good story!  Just like those of you who inspire me with your interior design, fashion, antique, d-i-y and beauty posts, I hope these articles give you cause for pause in your busy days.  That's not to say, you won't see fun and light-hearted posts and the occasional craft or design post to shake things up a bit too but is my hope, that I can through my writing on these topics, shed some light upon and bring some inspiration and hope to those who might somehow feel deserted and left behind.

I hope you will continue to visit and leave comments because I always love to hear what you have to say and your personal views as it relates to the topics I write about.  So, on to the New Year!

~Image via Google~

Transformation and The Dragonflies

Inspiration comes from the most unexpected places...

I wanted to share with you an experience that happened to me several years ago. At the time this occurred, our personal life had taken a dramatic change from what we were accustomed to and sent unexpected shock waves through me. It changed my world and sent me on an unexpected path I was little prepared for but destined to go through.  

One summer afternoon around 12:30 p.m., I went out to pick-up our mail.  When I opened my front door I was not prepared for what awaited me.  There before my stunned eyes were hundreds of dragonflies fluttering all around in my front yard in the most beautiful colors I have ever seen.  They weren't in any of my neighbor's yards...just mine.  I remember thinking "Why are all these dragonflies in my yard and no one else's"?  I wasn't fearful and even as I recall this phenomena now, I can still remember vividly the swarming of all of these dragonflies around me as I stood shell shocked in the front of my yard.  I continued down my steps looking to my right and then to my left until I arrived at my mailbox all the while staring in amazement at the beautiful sight of all of these dragonflies and wondering what it meant.  At the time, I didn't really know or understand the significance of what it meant only that it was destined to bring about some new change in my life.   As soon as I got back to my front porch they had all but retreated, I suppose back to where they came from.

The details of the changes and how we were affected by them are not important, but what is important is that my perspective on life was forever changed bringing with it a more "transparent and deeper look into my soul and the way I looked at others. 

I wanted to share with you a bit about the dragonfly and what it symbolizes.  I have a special place in my heart for them and what their visit meant to me on that warm summer day and how it forever changed me.

The dragonfly, in almost every part of the world symbolizes change and change in the perspective of self realization; and the kind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life. 

The traditional association of Dragonflies with water also gives rise to this meaning to this amazing insect. The Dragonfly’s scurrying flight across water represents an act of going beyond what’s on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life.

The dragonfly exhibits iridescence both on its wings as well as on its body. Iridescence is the property of an object to show itself in different colors depending on the angle and polarization of light falling on it. This property is seen and believed as the end of one’s self created illusions and a clear vision into the realities of life. The magical property of iridescence is also associated with the discovery of one’s own abilities by unmasking the real self and removing the doubts one casts on his/her own sense of identity. This again indirectly means self discovery and removal of inhibitions.

The eyes of the dragonfly are one of the most amazing and awe inspiring sights. Given almost 80% of the insect’s brain power is dedicated to its sight and the fact that it can see in all 360 degrees around it, it symbolizes the uninhibited vision of the mind and the ability to see beyond the limitations of the human self. It also in a manner of speaking symbolizes a man/woman’s rising from materialism to be able to see beyond the mundane into the vastness that is really our Universe, and our own minds.


I find myself looking back to this period in my life with awe, thankful for the experience and the changes that were the result of it.

Source of Information From:(HERE)

New Items Added to My Shop

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve and that 2012 brings a faBulous New Year to each and every one of you!  I have recently added these new items to my Etsy Shop and wanted to share them with you:

A Sweet Fall Ballet Pillow cover.  The image is designed by EvaAgnes and her designs can be viewed here: EvaAgnes Etsy Shop

Gorgeous Lithuanian Linen Tea Towel

Lavender Sachet with Antique Mother of Pearl Buttons

Antique Print Picture of Grande Duchesse de Toscane [Jean of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany]  

Sweet French Farmhouse Inspired tea towel

Lithuanian Linen Lavender Sachet

Another Lithuanian Linen Lavender Sachet

Lithuanian Linen Lavender Sachet with Grey Rick-Rack Hanger

Well, that is the extent of my new additions for now.  You can see them and other items here:  My Etsy Shop

TICK TOCK.....TICK TOCK

Its time to get ready...

By slipping into this...

So I can walk out in these...

With a mist of this...

As I slip on this...

And put these in

So that I can grab this in a mad dash

But not before I take sip, can I leave to enjoy...

Ooh La La...this!

I want to thank each and every one of you for the time you spend visiting and leaving comments.  I know how busy everyone is and sometimes taking that extra bit of time to stop by is difficult to say the least.  I hope that 2012 brings much success, good fortune, happiness, health and most importantly love to each and everyone of you!  ~ H-A-P-P-Y     N-E-W     Y-E-A-R-S~

(All images from Pinterest)

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day:
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
Dr. Seuss


Wishing Everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Joyeux Noel. I will be taking a break until after the first of the year. Enjoy the Tune!

A Basket Full of Wishes

One of my favorite antique shops on Facebook, Atelier de Campagne was showing a very beautiful champagne basket on Facebook and was asking if we had that basket what would we fill it with...it would have been so easy to list all my favorite material things and dream of how great it would be to receive a basket full of these things but that wasn't my first thought.

If I could have filled that basket, it would have been not for material items but for the dreams of so many children and families right now who are struggling to find the money to purchase just the basics for their families. To fill a basket with wishes of the thoughts that no child would ever go hungry, that all children would have warm clothing and the necessary school items to give them a proper education, that the homeless would all have a home, that there would be jobs and equality for the millions of middle class, poor, and disenfranchised people who are unemployed and that we as a people would come together for the common good of all people who are suffering at the expense of the gridlock in Washington.

One of the very first posts I wrote when I opened my blog was an article on the homeless and the encounter I had with one such person. It left me speechless, and to this day, I have not forgotten the look on this man's face. Because Christmas is a time of sharing and hopefully doing for others less fortunate I wanted to share this story once again with my "peeps" in the hopes that we won't forget the people who for one reason or another have lost their way and find themselves in a situation that they never in a million years thought would happen to them.

The Sad Plight of the Homeless:

We were out running around yesterday and had stopped at a Redbox to pick up a movie when I saw a young man who was homeless, wearing what looked like two pair of pants, one on top of the other. The second pair was faded, ripped, and so thin that you could hardly see much of the original pants. He had dreadlocks and there were leaves and debris covering the back of his head. The soles of his shoes no longer connected to his tops and flapped as he walked. He was headed for the trash can directly at an angle from where I was sitting in the car. He turned to see if anyone was looking and pulled out a pizza box. He opened it up and took out what looked to be a piece of the crust and pushed the box back into the can. As he walked away he kept turning around looking...Looking at me. I suppose to see if I was looking at him?

When my husband returned with the movie and we started on our way to the grocery, I suddenly was struck with the notion to go back to see if he was still there to give him some money. We didn't have much on us ( the use of debit cards have all but erased the idea of carrying cash) but I thought maybe he could use what little we had to purchase something to eat or drink. When we drove back around I saw him sitting on the edge of the curb drinking an orange crush with two packages of cheese crackers laying next to his drink. We stopped the car and I rolled down my window looking at him. His eyes were devoid of any expression...blank and lifeless and suddenly I was overcome with such sorrow and pain that I thought this must me how God feels when he looks into the eyes of one of his children who is suffering. I asked him to take the money for coffee or food but he shook his head no. After urging him to take it three times he looked at me, thanked me but said no. Not wanting to bother him any further we left.

I don't believe I have ever been so saddened by what I saw. His eyes still haunt me when I think of him. I keep asking myself why he refused the money? If, as most people think, that it is not a good idea to give homeless people money and if he was an addict of drugs or alcohol why didn't he accept the money? I still believe that, regardless of the circumstances that bring people to the streets, they still have some pride and dignity. That no one can feel the sense of failure, the desolation, or the hopelessness in their spirit.

I was trying to find a picture of the homeless to attach to this post but instead thought these words might be more fitting than a photo: " Homeless people are spirits sent from heaven to test our true character". So, the next time you see a homeless person seeking shelter, or looking for food in trash cans and you walk right past them without so much as a look ask yourself this: What makes me think that this couldn't be me?