The Sacrifice

I have a must read and must see today over on my Lens Envy blog.That's all I can write because I'm too busy crying. :*(

http://lensenvyphotography.blogspot.com/2010/12/kris-birmingham-al-military-photography.html

Please thank a soldier and give their family members a big hug.

Radical by David Platt

I have just started reading "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" by David Platt. If you click the link on David's name that will give you a little bio on who David is. In a very big nutshell he is the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills where Lantis and I have been attending church.

David is a pastor that truly lights a fire under you. This church is doing UH-MAZING things right now!! Their global disciple ship is rocking. There are families who live in Greystone, Inverness, Homewood and similar areas who are selling their homes and moving to inner city areas to infiltrate those communities and spread the Word. There are just under 200 families who have signed up to be foster families in Shelby County. There are almost as many who are signing up to be adoptive parents. What an incredible commitment!! Theirs are stories that give you chills.

I'm reading along last night and here are some excerpts that had my name written all over them:

"...yet in the American dream, where self reigns as king (or queen), we have a dangerous tendency to misunderstand, minimize, and even manipulate the gospel in order to accommodate our assumptions and our desires. As a result, we desperately need to explore how much of our understanding of the gospel is American and how much is biblical."

There are a million passages in this book that I am dying to share and I'm not even half way through it. I'm just going to tell you to read it yourselves. This book is so appropriately named. It really is radical and it should really stir your soul. While reading this book, my toes have been stepped on a thousand times and I've been shamed more than once.

This is the promo for the book that should at least get your attention and in the next post there is another--slightly less intimidating promo. :) But you know me: I like to go straight for the jugular!

Radical Promo 2

And this is the slightly less intimidating promo. :)

Polka Dot Market

If you have kids you should check out The Polka Dot Market. She has the cutest stuff! You can follow her blog HERE or her website is HERE. She has great party ideas, gifts, birthday banners and clothes. Love her!

Discovery of the day!

I just discovered that I can post pics directly from my Shutterfly account to my blog! Hip hip hooray! I hate using Picasa because uploading is so slow. I love, love, love Shutterfly. I've been using it for several years. I back up all my photos to my account there. They have unlimited storage space for pics. They have fab products and services. Now I can upload my Shutterfly albums directly to my Facebook account and to my blog. That is going to save me lots of time. Of course, I'm the last one to know everything so I'm sure you've been able to do this forever, but I'm only just know finding this out. Oh well. Better late than never!

Check out...

If you dont follow my Lens Envy blog check it out today. I've got a lot of new posts. Enjoy!

Kindling my love for reading

For Christmas Lantis gave me a Kindle from Amazon. If you are a frequent reader this puppy is for you.

We realized a couple of years ago that I'm a tech nerd. Bad. Especially when it comes to gadgets that I think will make my life easier, more productive, and faster. I'm a sucker for it. Lantis is literally an educated computer nerd. Can program computers and do ridiculous things behind a keyboard, but I'm the gadget girl. iPods, phones, iPhones, TV's, Blu Ray DVD players, video camera, stereo equipment, computers, you name it, I gotta have it and I've talked Lantis into buying it. Most men would probably love to have a wife that was bouncing off the walls about buying a Harmony remote control. My hubby? Nope. He loves it deep down but feels obligated to keep me reigned in. I think my jubilation over gadgets has overshadowed his by far. He's jealous. Best Buy loves to see me coming. The smell of new plastic on an electronic device gives me goosebumps. I get as excited, maybe more, about gadgets as I do new clothes and accessories. Get the picture? What? I'm a passionate person!

So I had been eyeing the Kindle for awhile and dropping hints. Its not a cheap little thing so its not something I could just go run out and buy. I was secretly hoping that Santa would keep it in mind and he did.

This thing is amazing. It downloads books directly to your device in less than a minute. It uses AT&T's wireless network to download books where ever you are. If you're sitting in your reclinder or on the beach, it doesn't matter. It sends the book right to your Kindle in less than 60 seconds. All that is absolutely free. It even works around the globe! You create an Amazon account--or use your existing one if you shop on Amazon--and it bills your card for the book. Kindle books are dirt cheap. The last few books I've read were all under $5. The most expesive book I've bought on it was $10. It was Dan Brown's last book. When it came out in stores in hardcover for $25-30 I got it on the Kindle for $10. Its dirt cheap because you aren't paying for the book. You can also get newspaper and magazine subscriptions on it. It holds up to 1500 books. All these downloads to your Kindle are saved in your Amazon account. So no worries if something ever happens to your Kindle, you've still got all your books online that can transfer to another.

One thing that I've noticed about the Kindle is how comfortable it is. I typically read in the bed as I'm winding down at night. With certain books I have a hard time getting cozy, but this thing is easy to hold and comfy anytime, anywhere.

I know some of yall out there are big into library books and just books period. I have two jobs, a kid, a house to maintain, etc. I do not have time to go to the library or book stores! Most of the time I barely have groceries! Really. For awhile I was buying used books on Amazon. I was able to find used Stephen King books for a penny, some Sandra Browns for 20 cents! That worked out well until I kept getting caught without a book and waiting for the next one to arrive. I'm impatient.

Then along came Kindle and changed my life. For my lifestyle this is perfect and it has saved me money. Not to mention the fact that its technically a gadget! ;-) I do love the smell of a book, the feel of the pages in my hands and hearing the spine crack as I read. I will probably buy or borrow a book from time to time just to remember that good comforting feeling, but the times are a-changin' and I'm ready to roll with it. I absolutely adore my Kindle! It has changed my life and I highly recommend this bad boy to any avid readers. Put it on your wish list for the next birthday and/or holiday. Do it.

Oh and they also make really cute cases for them! Accessorize my Kindle? Why, yes I believe I will.

Reviews

I have been in a TV and movie-watching mood lately. I haven't had any good books to read so late in the evening when I'm winding down I've been finding something to watch On Demand. I love being able to rent movies from the comfort of my sofa while wearing pj's. :) Technology is wonderful.

Four Christmases: Hilarious. I love Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn in the majority of their movies. It gets four stars.

The Ugly Truth: OMG Beyond Funny!!!! I laughed uncontrollably through most of the movie. It earns two thumbs up for sure.

Angels and Demons: Good movie, but not as good as Divinci Code. I'll give it three stars. It is worth seeing.

Last night I watched the National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. Goodness, that movie never fails to brighten my mood. Too funny! It needs no rating because surely you've all seen it.

I also recently caught up on the entire first season of Gossip Girl. That show has taken the place of Grey's Anatomy and Sex and the City in my heart. If you haven't seen it--it reminds me a lot of Sex and the City. They live in Manhattan and obsess over designer clothes and swap boyfriends. Its a lot of drama and it totally cracks me up the way these characters live on this show. I've just gotten into it this season so now I'm catching up on the past seasons. Love it. Watch it, friends!

Fall=Fun Fashion

I think we've all established the fact that we southern girls LOVE the fall. That's all I've heard about on recent blogs, facebook posts and twitters. I couldn't agree more sisters! I'm all about the break in the intense summer heat, the crunchy leaves beneath my feet, the crispness in the air, the smell of warm cinnamon-y goodness coming from the kitchen, the ability to pour lots of stuff into the crock pot and let it cook all day and call it supper, new season premiers on TV, and college football, just like the rest of you. However, there's one thing that everyone keeps forgetting to mention--another reason to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fall is FASHION! OMG! I live for fall fashion. I'm a shop-a-holic year round, but it gets somewhat out of control when fall comes around. When I say shop-a-holic, I'm talking I have a salesperson that calls me weekly to inform me that they are holding items for me until I get there to try them on. Someone needs to take control of my shopping habit. Anyway, back to fall: Its when the fashion gurus tell us what we are and aren't supposed to wear for the next year. This is such an important time. Fall fashion sets the precedent for the entire year--later in the year they just alter a few things, make it shorter, thiner, more strap-y and cooler and call it summer wear. So go get your Vogue's, In Style, or Harper's Bazaar magazines and start shopping! Here are a few things I've picked up in the last couple of weeks that I'm super excited about wearing.

If you've seen me in the last two weeks, you've seen this Betsy in tow. I love her.

Much more comfy than they look, I promise.

Miss Me jeans--not the exact pair that I bought, but very similar. Lots of booty bling. :-/

Love these cuffed skinny jeans! I've already worn these a couple of times. Love em!

These are super comfy. I'm wearing these on the days when I have to walk a million miles around the hospital.

DIBS=yummy fun for everyone!

Have you all seen or tried the incredible, delectable little treat called Dibs? You can find them in the ice cream freezer at your local grocer. They are made by Edy's. They are very yummy and toddler friendly. Hudson goes berserk over ice cream no matter how it is served up. He would eat a bowl a day and I must say that ice cream is the one food that he is extremely precise with and spills nothing. He's so concerned with getting every drop in his mouth, that he doesn't risk a spill or mess for fear of wasting some. Anyway, regardless of how careful he may be with ice cream, sometimes I simply don't feel like dealing with the sticky stuff so Dibs are a great alternative. They are bite sized chocolate covered vanilla ice cream pieces and you'll love them and so will your little one. When I find something I love, I have to pass word along to all my fellow mommies and food lovers.