Queen of the Crop - Why Vote for me?

Yes, I've entered the Queen of the Crop Contest at Scrapbook Graphics. I didn't plan to at first. But then I thought more about a few things and thought I would give it a go. The whole charity $500 thing was a big motivator I must admit - but of course the $1000 grand prize is an even bigger one! [I would have still entered though if the prize was that you just got $500 to give to the charity of your choice!]

So why should you spend $2 to vote for me you ask. Well because I'm wonderful talented and just a bestest scrapper there is?! - Okay so maybe that's not all true - but I am wonderful aren't I? Okay so I'm nice... will that do? I am in no way the bestest scrapper there is. I would never claim to be such, and while I know my scrapping is good, because I have had enough praise to tell me this [thank you to all those who have] and have also had a bit of an industry nod from time to time. I am lucky to have had that recognition, very much so. But it certainly doesn't make me better then anyone else - it just makes me a little bit more lucky.

Sorry I'm waffling but I really want to win this and put in my best effort to do so.

So let me tell you first about the charity that I would give my money too. I'd love to be one to say that I'd switch it around and put the $500 in my own pocket and the $1000 to my charity. I would dearly love to but there is also a reason to why I really want that $1000 prize money which I will explain later.

My charity, is Youngcare Australia. What is Youngcare you ask? Well to steal an explanation from another site…

“The Young care Foundation is a non-profit organization that was set up to provide alternatives for young people faced with being cared for in aged nursing homes. Youngcare discovered that there are 6000 young Australians in aged care nursing home facilities with the youngest being a child of 10 years. These people are sick not old. This is why Youngcare has been formed, to provide a dignified and relevant lifestyle for young people with high care needs.”

Why did I pick Youngcare?!

Why does this charity mean so much to me?!

Well to explain this I have to tell you about one of the most beautiful girls I have ever known, Her name is Saani. We meet online at a wedding forum - she was planning to get married and I was an old has been {who didn't get married} on the site. As she was from Brisbane I got to meet her in real life also and she blew me away with how friendly and kind she was. Normally around people that are very skinny and beautiful I feel a little uneasy, as I feel like a big fat frump along side them and just awkward. With Saani I never felt that. It's very hard to explain, I don’t' think I will ever be able to. But let me just say I was surprised that I got to be her friend - and feel extremely blessed that I was.

You see before I meet Saani she had been diagnosed with MS (not long after giving birth to her daughter).

Stolen from Wikipedia

“Multiple Sclerosis (abbreviated MS, also known as disseminated sclerosis or encephalomyelitis disseminata) is a chronic, inflammatory, demyelinating disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). MS can cause a variety of symptoms, including changes in sensation, visual problems, muscle weakness, depression, difficulties with coordination and speech, severe fatigue, cognitive impairment, problems with balance, overheating, and pain. MS will cause impaired mobility and disability in more severe cases.” ……. Although much is known about how MS causes damage, its exact cause remains unknownMultiple sclerosis may take several different forms, with new symptoms occurring either in discrete attacks or slowly accruing over time. Between attacks, symptoms may resolve completely, but permanent neurologic problems often persist, especially as the disease advances. MS currently does not have a cure, though several treatments are available that may slow the appearance of new symptoms”


At the time Saani was ‘well’ and hadn’t had an MS attack in sometime, her main concern about the wedding was that she’d have another attack and wouldn’t be able to walk up the isle on her wedding day. The closer the wedding got, the more possible it seemed that it could happen. I will never forget the day I went over to help her with the order of services for the wedding, I even know what date it was as it was the day Tegan was born (I got the sms about it when I was with Saani), I remember that day Saani was having trouble with her legs and how scared she was that she was having another MS attack. I can still picture her crying and how remember how helpless I felt. I was scared for her too.

But Saani did make it down the isle. She walked down it with the biggest grin on her face. The photo of her with her husband and their daughter is one of the happiest wedding photos I have ever seen. Sadly though, Saani was sick at the time. Her wedding dress had to be taken in as she had lost so much weight. She looked pale and even tinier then she had been – she’d not had much meat on her bones to begin with!

After the wedding, Saani never got better. It was a slow down ward spiral she just got sicker and sicker and was in and out of hospital from then on. S eventually lost the ability to walk, to even use her hands, I’ve been told in the end she could only just move her head.

It breaks my heart to remember the few times I got to see her in hospital. Eventually she didn't want anyone to see her, and as I respected her wishes I stayed away. I wish though looking back that I had made more of an effort in other ways to just let her know that although I might not have been able to see her or even talk to her that she was in my prayers. That not a day didn't went by that I didn't hope that something would be done, some cure and we'd have our Saani back to chat to, to laugh with and that we'd once again be able to spend time doing what friends do.

That day never came, on the 28 July 2005, Saani passed away with her family at her side.

That’s the back story to my choice, but why Youngcare and not the MS society?! I originally thought of going with MS, but Youngcare is another organisation that always makes me think of Saani. When she was sick and I was still able to see her, Saani use to say how she was tempted to just book herself into a old persons nursing home, to save her family from having to look after her. That is what I mean about Saani the whole time she was sick it was never about 'her' it was about everyone else - what her mum was going through, her husband, her daughter, her friends and what she could do to make it all easier on all of us.

The first time I heard about Youngcare was after Saani had passed away, I was watching 60mins one night and there was a story on there about a young women by the name of Shevaune Conry. You see Shevaune, was like Saani, she also had MS. As the story unfolded we found out that Shevaune was married, only 33 years of age and living in an old age nursing home as she needed full time medical care. The story was basically highlighting the need for more age appropriate care in Australia, about Youngcare and what it was trying to do. I must admit until I had met Saani and seen what she had to go through I would never have thought about care for people in that kind of situation, I would of thought there was something out there for them some government thing, I never thought about people like Sheavaune and Saani at such young ages having to contemplate moving into and old age facility.

You can read the transcript from Sheavaune’s 60mins story here . And Learn more about Youngcare here

So yes that is why I have chosen Youngcare. I’ll post more tomorrow on what I want to do with the $1000. But I want it to make a dream come true that I have had since I was 15! Something that would hopefully earn me a bit of $$ and actually able me to donate even more money every year to Youngcare, at the moment I just throw in all my coinage when ever I see the collection blow at certain stores. Ie my local pharmacy

So below is my layout the photo in the 'sad' was taken just after Saani paased away. I had done what I normaly do when I get very sad, I had gone and gotten my hair cut. The photo was taken to show friends online, they all commented about the fact that I wasn't smileing in the photo which was an oddity for me as I am normaly the person that is always smileing.

Journaling:
These photos are taken at two very different times in my life. One where there was very little to smile about so much had gone on. So much pain and hurt. I don’t know how I made it through some days. But some how I did, to be able to take the second photo, the happy photo. While things in my life may not all be perfect. While there are still moments of pain and hurt, they are shorter, and I can now remember the good without being consumed by the bad. Things still have so far to go, so much work yet to be done, so many things still to overcome and get through, and I’m sure that there are still more bad and sad things to come, but happy or sad I know that I can get through them. That I can be happy and sad.

Now if you do vote for me and would like to show your support... I made this fun cute little blinkie for you!!!

You can vote for my layout right here

Thank you for your support - even if it is just reading thought this very long post :)