every two minutes.

In the United States, someone will be sexually assaulted every two minutes.

60% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police.

15% of sexual assault victims are under the age of twelve.



While I drank my coffee this morning, someone was being raped. While I brushed my teeth, someone was being raped. While I applied my eyeliner, someone was being raped. Waiting to pick up my son from school: that amounted to five people being raped.

(By the way, I do like Valentine's Day. But I am choosing to get involved and bring awareness to an issue that very few seem to want to discuss. My friend Jennifer has inspired me to get moving.)

This is an issue that is close to me, though not in an expected way. My husband was molested and raped by his half-brother from the ages of six to twelve. I have seen first-hand the devastating effects of such abuse, and how it can literally destroy a person.

Please get involved. Go to www.vday.org, and donate to this cause if you can. And if you've experienced violence against you, please speak. Tell your story. Silence gets us nowhere.

cuppa-cakes.

Today we made Valentine's Day cupcakes, using this recipe, by Nigella Lawson. This is the recipe I go back to over and over again, especially when making cupcakes with the boy. They're moist, buttery, vanilla-infused confections that can be decorated in any way, for any holiday. The most important detail is to cut off any rounded tops you might get, so that the icing has a nice, flat surface to spread out on.

An added bonus of making cupcakes two days prior to Valentine's Day, is that I get to make something chocolate-laden on the actual day of. Got to have something to wet your appetite, right?

Now go kiss someone you love!