What I've been reading.

I just got done reading a couple of really great books. I would highly recommend them. The first one, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly is like an adult fairytale. Within the story he takes great fairy tales and legends (Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, etc.) and gives a quite different perspective on them. I can't wait to read more of his books!


The second book is Milkweek by Jerry Spinelli. If you have seen and loved the movie Life is Beautiful, you will definitely enjoy this book. It is about the Holocaust and a little boy's survival. A very fast read.

What a success!

Last night was the style show and boy did we have a great time! The event was sold out with every seat in the house filled! All of the models looked fabulous! There were many great giveaways, the BEST being a free prom dress from It's a Girl Thing!!!!! I know that prom is months away, but if you want to get the prom dress of your dreams.....you had better get into It's a Girl Thing quickly before they are all gone! To read more about it, click here.

PRO-LIFE STORY OF THE DAY..GIRL LIVES THROUGH ABORTION

"Twenty-nine years ago, my mother decided to have an abortion. At the time, she was pregnant with twins, but nobody knew this, not even her doctor. My tiny brother and I were both there growing in her womb, until that dreadful day. Before the abortion, we were both alive. Moments later, I was alone.

It's frightening to think I was almost aborted when my mom had a D&C abortion. Somehow, miraculously, I survived! My twin brother wasn't so lucky. Andrew was aborted and we lost him forever.

Several weeks later, my mother was shocked to feel me kicking in her womb. She already had five children and she knew what it felt like when a baby kicked in the womb. She instantly knew that somehow she was still pregnant. She went back to the doctor and told him she was still pregnant...that she had made a big mistake and that she wanted to keep this baby.

To this day, my mother deeply regrets that abortion. I know the pain is unbearable for her at times when she looks at me and knows she aborted my twin brother. Mom says 'the protective hand of Almighty God saved my life . . . that God's hand covered and hid me in her womb, and protected me from the scalpel of death.

After surviving the abortion, I was born with bilateral, congenital dislocated hips and many other physical handicaps. Nine days after I was born, I was taken to an orthopedic surgeon who applied a cast to each of my tiny legs. My mom would remove these casts with pliers every Monday morning and take me to the doctor to have new casts put on.

At six weeks I was put into my first body cast. Many surgeries and body cast followed over the next few years. Unfortunately, doctors are telling me that now I'll need surgeries about every 5 years (please pray for me).

Today, I thank God I survived the abortion, but the pain continues for everyone in my family. In memory of my brother Andrew, we bought a memorial gravestone and placed it in a cemetary in Southern California. It reads:

ANDREW JAMES SMITH, TWIN BROTHER OF SARAH -- IN OUR HEARTS YOU'LL ALWAYS BE ALIVE -- NOVEMBER 1970

Please share our story with others so the tragedy of abortion stops hurting babies and families. Everyone needs to know the truth about abortion. Thank you."

--Sarah Smith

Where will it end?

Last weekend while I was in Chicago, I saw on the news something that I just couldn't believe. This woman in California is trying to pass a bill that would make spanking your kids illegal. This is insane to me. Now, I'm not for beating the bejeezus out of your kids, but spanking can be an effective method in discipline.....sometimes. Sometimes being the key word. Hitting and spanking are two TOTALLY different things in my book. Hitting is with a closed fist and spanking is with an open hand. Hitting is an act of anger and spanking is an act of discipline. Only in our society is it okay to have as many abortions as your little heart can handle but heaven forbid you try to teach your child right from wrong with a spanking. I know that back in the days of our grandparents, children were raised very strict. Sometimes too strict. However, look at the way they respected their parents and other adults. That RESPECT is completely lacking in many of our children today. Spanking is most definitely not the only way a child should be disciplined nor am I any expert in child rearing considering the fact that I have no children myself. My point is that if lawmakers begin taking away parent's rights in how they discpline their children.....then who WILL discipline these children.

Tastes like......Fruity Pebbles & Beer!

I'm over at a friends house right now and didn't want to forget what I wanted to say so I'm posting really quick! Has anyone ever had the beer Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat? I know that this sounds crazy but it tastes JUST like Fruity Pebbles mixed with beer! I SWEAR! If you are a Fruity Pebbles fan, you MUST give it a try! Just a little FYI. :)

Beth had her baby!

Little Colton Edward finally arrived on Friday January 19th at 12:31 pm. He weighed in at 9lbs 2oz.....what a porkchop! Beth told me that he is such a good baby. He only cries when he is hungry or needs his diaper changed. Such a good little guy! I think that he is soo adorable! Congratulations Beth & Richard!

Prom Style Show 2007!!!

It's a Girl Thing will be hosting an AWESOME show this Sunday at Block's Brewery. Jo will be showcasing MANY of her prom dresses and other fun things. Tickets are on sale for $5 and seating is limited so hurry in and reserve your spot! Those who attend will receive a goodie bag, hors d'oeuvre's and a chance to win a prom dress! It's a guaranteed fun time. If you are a highschool student or have one, trust me.....this is an event you DON'T want to miss!

Market was a blast!

This past weekend, Sarah and I went to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. We had SUCH a good time! We stayed at the House of Blues and had a wonderful dinner at Geja's. On Saturday when we first arrived in Chicago, we decided to have lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. As soon as we sat down, I looked across the room and saw none other than Miss Valerie! How crazy is that?! It was soo fun seeing another familiar face in such a big city! So, everyone MUST come into Bellasera to check out ALL of the fun things that we got!

Curious what an abortion looks like?

Thanks Valerie!

My friend Valerie over at Purple Valley is my new BFF. She completely wrote out the directions to show me how to add a picture into my header. I'm soo freakin' excited! Thanks Valerie!

Quote of the day.

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
-Herm Albright (1876-1944)

Decatur, we need to talk.

I for one, am very excited about all of the new things happening in Decatur. We FINALLY have a Target, the Downtown area is having new developments and West Main St. is being refurbished all the way to Millikin. My problem (if you'd even CALL it a problem) is The Olive Garden. Are you kidding me???? The Olive Garden would have been REALLY REALLY cool to have 15 years ago. It just goes to show how behind the times we are. Now, I'm not trying to knock our town. I was born and raised here and I don't think that it's that bad of a place to live. Seriously! Especially with all of the new developments. I just can't believe that the people of Decatur are actually ECSTATIC about an Olive Garden. I hope that this isn't the next trend, but unfortunately I think that it is. That trend being that we will very soon have an oversaturation of Italian restaurants...just like we have too many Mexican and Chinese restaurants. Can we not bring in any other ethnic food? Come on Decatur, let's broaden our taste buds!

I SOO need this for my New Year's Resolution!

It's a journal that I found over at Rare Bird Finds but you can purchase it at Barnes & Noble.

The Hair Petting Game w/The Bad Girls

I have some OCD like this sometimes! I love that it is now a game! Yeah!

Grandma's got jungle fever!

While I was sitting in the waiting room of my Dr's office today, I noticed an elderly lady sitting a few down from me reading a book. Being nosy I tried to catch a glimpse of the cover. I had to do a quadruple take! She was reading a book called Jungle Fever! I had to contain my myself. It's not just everyday that you see a woman your grandmother's age reading Jungle Fever!!!!! Well, I just did some investigating and found the book on eBay. I still don't know what it's about (judging from the cover) but it was indeed a good laugh.

Okay FINE Jeni.....you were right! *sigh*

I did a little investigating and i.d. bareMinerals and Bare Escentuals ARE indeed the same thing. I know that NONE of us believed you. Perhaps we will all learn from this humiliating mistake and NEVER EVER question you again. Maybe. But I can't guarantee it. :)

New Year's Resolution.

I don't always decide to have a New Year's Resolution but this year I decided that I should stop swearing, especially with my sister's little one on the way. It's just soo darn fun sometimes! (Did you notice that I used DARN?? Go me!) Just kidding. I really try to not use any colorful language on here. My favoriate however, is WTF! Okay, I digress. I thought that I'd post a few links to help me (and anyone else who is trying to watch their language) with my resolution.

How to stop swearing 1

How to stop swearing 2

How to stop swearing 3

Thought for the day.

You can't bully someone into forgiving you.

JWA rocks!

I can't express how grateful I am for the opportunity to be in Junior Welfare Association. I have TRULY met some of the most amazing women and better yet....have become such great friends with them! When I first joined, I have to be honest, I had some major anxiety going to every meeting. I didn't know very many people and I thought I'd be lucky to make even a couple of good friends. Well, here I am 2 years later and the circle (IC) of friends that I have made is above and beyond my expectations! I don't feel that these are friends that I will have only while I am an active member. I KNOW that I will have them for life. As you get older, it's REALLY hard to make new friends and JWA has given me the chance to do just that. Even if they are all just "social climbing snobs" (haha)....

Happy New Year!

I FINALLY get to share the good news!!!!! My sister Breahna is PREGNANT!!!! Although I am already an aunt on my hubby's side to 3 beautiful neices and 1 very handsome nephew, I'm soo excited to be an aunt on my side! Breahna & Nick will be such wonderful parents and we are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Brown!