Thankful Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I am armed with my grocery list. We are going to be spending the holiday with my in-laws; however, I am going to be making the corn pudding and I'm excited because it is THA BOMB. Yes, THA BOMB. Greatest stuff ever that my grandma's grandma always made, on down the line on my Dad's side, and now I get to make. Holidays and growing up are fun like that.

But I digress.

This Thanksgiving is particularly hard for some people to find thankfulness. I have so many friends that still can't find jobs-and have been out of jobs for over a year now. I know a few people that are losing their homes to foreclose, and because I work in the real estate marketing industry, I am constantly reading about how hard the economy is in areas all over the country right now. And it is scary.

But in a way, what is scary is also good. Spending less on things we don't need has made me realize what we do need: just time with friends and family. We need the ability to be thankful for what we have and not dwell on what we want or don't have.

Even in the worst situations, there are things to be thankful for, and the truest way to show thankfulness is to be content with what we have.

Cord Blood Stem Cells

Anyone that knows me knows the recent announcement that tax payer money will be used to fund Embryonic Stem Cell research has cut me to the quick.

I am amazed at how many people, even politicians, are in the dark about Stem Cells. The difference between Stem Cells and Embryonic Stem Cells? The cells are the same blank canvas that may lead to cures; however, embryonic means they were taken from a killed embryo-an embryo that would have been a person had it been implanted in a uterus, or not taken out of one. Regular ol' stem cells? Taken from Cord Blood at no cost of life. The same research can be done, the same cures found, just no one has to die, and tax money doesn't have to be used to support cutting up little embryos.

As I watched the news, one politician in a wheelchair claimed that now he had hopes of walking again. DUDE, Embryonic Stem Cell research has always been legal-it just wasn't TAX MONEY paying for it. It wasn't MY MONEY. If private people wanted to fund the research, then they could, out of their own pockets. Do you think if anyone had stumbled upon ANYTHING promising they wouldn't be out getting funding and support? And still, should my money be used to kill babies? I consider them babies, and I don't feel it is right that my tax money be used to now kill them.

BESIDES, you will get TONS, BILLIONS, more stem cells from CORD BLOOD than you ever will from an embryo. If you want a good amount of stem cells to research with, do it with the stem cells you get from having a baby born. It is the same, wonderful blank cells that can *possibly* be used to find cures to all our ailments, but no one has to die to get them.

My husband and I donated the cord blood from both of our babies to research and others needing transplants to fight leukemia or other ailments. If the hospital you are delivering at or your OBGYN does not offer cord blood donation, check here to see what you can do. Search around a few months before you are due, too, because everything does need to be set up to occur right after birth so the cord blood cells are viable for transplants or research.

The only way now, it seems, to fight the death of embryos is to offer another source of stem cells, and that my friends, is Cord Blood.

Edible Paint

Well, in honor of Shannon's last

Works For Me Wendsday

, I will share a fun, edible, go-to rainy day activity. This was great fun to make in my preschool class, and I am sure your children will love it as well. In a pinch, you can go from being stuck inside and bored to busy and happy around the kitchen table! This homemade paint recipe is safe to eat, easy to clean up, and fun to make with your kids!

Condensed-Milk Paint

you'll need:
bowls (1 for each color you want to make)
1 cup condensed milk per color you're making
food coloring

In bowl, mix 1 cup condensed milk with many drops of food coloring to make a very bright, glossy paint. This paint is not intended to be eaten, but it won't hurt your kid if they do eat it, which is fabulous! You can store leftover paint in the fridge, or just toss down the drain. This paint is great on paper, but not as great on poster board.

To clean up, just use a soapy rag or sponge, just like you would after lunch time. Depending on the food coloring you use, it might stain clothes, so either wear old clothes, a smock, or add a little dish soap to the paint so it will wash out of clothes easily. (But note if you do add the soap it is not longer edible)

Enjoy!! Next week

Works For Me Wednesday

will be moving to Kristen's, so stay up on all the great tips out there by checking her out next Wed!

Imagine the Potential

I got into an argument once over the potential of life. The person I argued with actual said that a poor quality of life is not what a child should be brought into and that it was better for the child to be aborted. Well, that enraged me, considering Oprah Winfrey, Geoffrey Canada, Karol Józef Wojtyła aka Pope John Paul II and any number of other successful people, had what some might call "a poor quality of life" growing up; including this guy:


I'm all for people being responsible and trying to plan children, but I am always amazed at how adoption options get overlooked. Why is abortion the answer? Just think of what the world would be missing if your mom had decided that you would have had a poor quality of life full of pain and hardships and decided to spare you from it.



Thank you, Nell at Casual Friday Everyday for sharing this video.

Freedom Of Choice Act (FOCA)

I know abortion can be a hot button for many people, so I have avoided talking about it before on my blog.

But the FOCA coming up for a re vote in our Senate soon has made me speak out.

The Freedom of Choice Act sounds nice, doesn't it? I like Freedom, I like Choice. For the most part, I usually like Government Acts too. But don't be fooled by the nice name, because the Freedom of Choice Act takes away freedoms while tossing aside all current Abortion regulations.

If it gets voted through by our Senate, President Obama has already stated he will pass it, so guys, we have to stop it in the Senate.

Here is a summary of what it is:

*It takes away all State regulations on Abortion.
*With State regulations taken away, that means: a minor girl of any age can go get an abortion without parental knowledge or consent.
*It takes away the choices of nurses, doctors and hospitals to not preform abortions
*It removes the restrictions on how abortions can be preformed, allowing women to do it however they want or desire, which opens them up for trouble should they decide to try doing on themselves or going to someone that is not trained in how to preform abortions
*It will lift the restriction on partial birth abortion, where a baby in the second and third trimesters is induced, halfway born, and then either the neck is broken or the brain is sucked out in order to "abort it" before "birth" at which time it would have been legally considered human.
*It will set aside portions of tax money to fund abortions


Yes, I am strongly pro-life, and if you care to know why or desire arguing with me about it you can email me at coordinatedychaos@yahoo.com

Anyways, I wanted to make it clear that I am biased. However, know that voting against this Act DOES NOT mean abortion laws as they are now will change. They won't. Abortion will still be legal, and States will still have the current restrictions they chose in place. ABORTION WILL STILL BE ALLOWED, but in the current safer, guided ways with limits and rules. Here are the current restrictions and the number of States with them:

- State abortion reporting requirements in all 50 states
- Forty-four states’ laws concerning parental involvement
- Forty states’ laws on restricting later-term abortions
- Forty-six states’ conscience protection laws for individual health care providers
- Twenty-seven states’ conscience protection laws for institutions
- Thirty-eight states’ bans on partial-birth abortions
- Thirty-three states’ laws on requiring counseling before an abortion
- Sixteen states’ laws concerning ultrasounds before an abortion

FOCA will remove all these restrictions completely. Taking away these restrictions will only hurt the women this Act is meant to help by taking away the right to full knowledge (like the states that require an ultrasound; looking at the baby, and seeing the heartbeat, fingers and toes, can help a woman decide if abortion is what she wants so that later, when she has a pregnancy she does want, she is not shocked to see the early ultrasound and haunted by the uninformed choice she made for what she thought was just a blob). It will take away the right of nurses, doctors and hospitals to choose not to assist in abortions, currently protected by 46 states. One of my best friends is a nurse who just adopted a little girl after years of trying to have one. Could you imagine her losing her right to say no, I won't assist in an abortion? It takes away the requirement for counseling before an abortion-if something so dramatic is going to be done to a woman's body, doesn't it seem reasonable to help her prepare mentally for what she is about to go through? Yea, that will all be taken away.

Here is a list of sites you can get more information on FOCA from:

READ THE ACT:http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/Abortion-Access-to-Abortion-FOCA.pdf

PRO-CHOICE STANCE:http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/issues/abortion/access-to-abortion/freedom-of-choice-act.html

ACTIONS OF THE ACT and LINKS:http://www.nrlc.org/foca/index.html

WHAT THE ACT DOES:http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=29839

LATE TERM/PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION INFORMATION :http://www.abortionfacts.com/online_books/love_them_both/why_cant_we_love_them_both_18.asp

WHAT MICHELLE OBAMA SAID ABOUT PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION: http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2008/05/michelle_obamas.html

To Fight Foca, go here to sign the petition, write your Senators and Representatives OR comment here or through my email at coordinatedchaos@yahoo.com, let me know your name, state, and area of representation and I will write and mail a simple statement saying: "Please Vote No To the Freedom OF Choice Act" to them for you. You can also go here to directly email your Senators and Representatives: http://actions.nchla.org/Core.aspx?Screen=compose2&SessionID=$AID=970:SITEID=-1:VV_CULTURE=en-us:APP=GAC:ISSUEID=15856$

Watching History

I wish Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr could have been alive to see today. Though I am not the biggest fan of some of Obama's ideas, I am still quite proud to have the privilege of watching history in the making and very hopeful he will do a fantastic job.

Watching some of the pre-party things going on, I noticed too that Bush looks so relaxed and happy. With all the beatings he has taken over the years I am sure he is as happy to be out of office as the rest of us are.

I'm excited to watch the inauguration tonight and excited for what the future will hold.

And my goodness, do you not just LOVE the jackets Michelle Obama wears? I'm in love with the green one she was wearing today and the beige one yesterday was so lovely with her outfit.

What if....

Fire Fighters Ran The World?

I saw this commercial the other night and thought it was awesome, so I am sharing it with all of you that may not have seen it yet:



I have always hated that most issues coming up for vote in Congress have all kinds of additions tacked onto it. Like a vote a few years back, (that was for a mostly education related bill), as a side effect of passing, resulted in a teapot museum being built in Selma, NC at the cost of a couple million dollars-my taxes at work, nice.

And, of course, if anyone had been against the waste of a few million dollars going to a teapot museum in the middle of no where (Yes I know. I grew up in the boonies of NC)Then you know when election time came around the other party would blow up how they "didn't vote for education" but leave out the part that voting that bill through wasted tax payers money. Yea, I hate politics.

Anyways, I always complain about it and what I would do differently; but wouldn't it be nice if fire fighters really did run the world?

An Amazing Moment

Yes, I am proud to live in America. I didn't vote for him, and I am really skeptical of his healthcare plan and I worry about the Supreme Court Judges he might get to appoint; however, I have never been more happy to see my choice lose. Seeing Obama win the presidency was a great moment in history I am forever proud to have witnessed:



An amazing speech from an amazing man at an amazing moment.

Yes, Amazing.

A Prince in the Back Yard

Britain's SKY NEWS reported that Prince William landed his HELICOPTER in Kate Middleton's back yard as part of a "routine training sortie"....

LONDON, England — Military officials have defended a decision to allow Prince William to land his Royal Air Force helicopter in girlfriend Kate Middleton's garden.

The Ministry of Defense issued a statement after the News of the World reported the prince had landed the aircraft at the property in Berkshire on April 3.


OH MY GOODNESS! That is SO CRAZY ROMANTIC!!! I love fairy tales, (if you know me, I am the BIGGEST Disney fan)and it is so cool to hear a sorta modern day one!

And hey, it might have been a waste of public money, but really, can you say that politicians here dont waste public money constantly? Like say the "Love Gov" and the Tea Pot Museum in Sparta North Carolina.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who, with Sen. Richard Burr, got the Teapot Museum its money. They also received several thousand dollars in campaign contributions from the project's lobbyists.

Foxx told us she's simply claiming a share of the money Congress sets aside each year for such purposes, called "earmarks."

"The money's gonna be spent, and it's up to us to again be advocates for our areas to try to help with those areas," Foxx said.

They say the money is there, why shouldn't we have a piece of it — so what's wrong with that?

"That is exactly the kind of attitude that got us $29 billion in pork in 2006," said Leslie Paige of Citizens Against Government Waste.

That's right, $29 billion worth of race-car research, something called the Cattle Congress — and teapot museums.

Does anyone know where Sparta is? Or that it is an hour and a half from an airpot? I do cause I used to live near there when I was younger, and drive through it on the way to visit family-trust me, thousands of people are not flocking to see all the teapots sitting there in the building our tax money paid for. People are; however, driving over the potholes in the highway that runs near Sparta. NIIIIICE.

Seriously, I'd much rather have a politician (though Prince sounds much more romantic, I'll say Prince)...I'd much rather have a Prince using the money to fly to the girl he loves for a visit than to have the other shameful wastes of money (ahem, Love Gov) that go on here every day.

But that is just me. Perhaps because I am a coffee drinker I just don't understand the need for a teapot museum.