4. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the Alphabet

So far I've only tackled 2 of the letters, and I'm gonna work on a third later....Y & T are the two I've done, so here are the movies...(These are movies I have not seen)

You Don't Mess with the Zohan & The Pick-Up Artist

I really liked The Pick-Up Artist more than the Zohan movie, but I love Adam Sandler, and I thought I might be able to get into it now, I tried to watch it a couple years ago, but I just couldn't get into it. And well, I couldn't now either, but I watched it, and there were places I laughed! I loved The Pick-Up Artist, old school Robert Downy Jr and Molly Ringwald, HEAVEN!!!

62. 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind

1. How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are? 
23

2. Which is worse, failing or never trying? 
never trying

3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do? 
Because we're scared
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
Probably

5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
War

6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
Teaching or adoption counseling (mostly birthmoms though)

7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
I'd like to think I'm doing what I believe in...but I think I'm settling more...

8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
I don't think I'd change anything....

9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
I think I've controlled it a lot, as for what degree, I have no idea...

10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
A little of both

11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
Stand up for my friend, even it means upsetting the people I respect and admire!

12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
Why would I offer a newborn advice, they're not going to remember it later in life....

13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
Yes

14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
No

15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
Housekeeping

16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
Because we are all different, if we were all the same the world would be a boring place

17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?
Gone to Italy, money

18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
No

19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
Italy, because I think it would be a fun place to live, and I've always wanted to go there

20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
Yes, and no

21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
joyful simpleton

22.Why are you, you?
Because of the things in my past, they make me who I am today

23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
I try to be, I'm sure I've failed some people, but I try my best

24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
losing touch with a friend near you, good friends can move away, but you can still be good friends.

25. What are you most grateful for?
My husband and my son

26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
well, I don't like either option, but I think I'd rather lose the old, and be able to make new ones

27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
No

28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
Not yet, hoping it won't

29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
Yes, it matters a lot

30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
Vacations in Virginia with my grandparents, because they were spent with my grandparents!

31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
Never

32. If not now, then when?
Never

33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
Nothing

34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
Yes, with some of my closest friends

35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
Because they support different types of love and they fight over who's right and who's wrong

36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
Yes, I think so

37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
Since I don't have a job, then yes =P but if I had a job, then I probably wouldn't quit my job

38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
Less work...

39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
Nope

40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
Never

41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
my son

42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
Famous

43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
Truly living is where you actually live your life, and just being alive is going through the motions

44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
Right now
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
Afraid of what the lesson is...

46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
Nothing

47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
All the time

48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
my husband, and I would hope so

49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
Probably not, I have a horrible memory!

50. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you? 
A little of both

Today's the Day

Today is National Adoption Awareness Day!


Nov. 20
Support your local adoption community by attending a ceremony. Now I have no clue what was done around my community for it, I'm going to go out on a limb and say absolutely nothing...and it's pretty sad that I didn't go looking for something, but to be honest, I slept til well after 1pm today...and I have not done any research to see what is going on in the community about adoption, I haven't looked for support groups, I've thought about it plenty, but I'm not sure if I want to put myself out there. It is no secret that I am a birth mom, but I am scared.

I know people judge me for it, and I know people think badly about my decision, they say rude things about me behind my back, and to others who know me. They've spread rumors and talked completely and utter CRAP about my situation and how I could ever do something like that. They don't care why I did it, they want to think badly of me for it, and so there really is no reason to tell them my reasoning. They're going to skew it into me being a selfish, unloving, uncaring person who just didn't want a child. I've seen it, I've heard it. People don't think that the stuff will get back to me, but it has. And it HURTS. I'm a very loving and caring person, and I do want children. And I never once thought about myself when I was making my adoption plan. It was all about how my child would be better off without me. It wasn't until after I had already made my mind up that I realized what this meant for me, in terms of making something for myself. And I never thought of my adoption plan as temporary, something I'd try to reverse once I found someone and got married. I was not looking to get married when I met my husband, marriage was the farthest thing from my mind, I was looking to go back to school, finish my degree, teach and then hopefully somewhere down the road get married. It just so happened I met my husband when my son was 2 months old and started dating him when he was only 3 months. By the time my husband and I got married it was far to late to change my mind about the adoption, there was no turning back on that. And anyone who knows something about adoption knows that it is very hard to get an adoption turned around. It would have cost a lot of money, taken a lot of time, and in the end, would have ended up being a completely and utter waste of time, money and energy. See, we did things by Georgia law, which allowed me to sign the papers in the hospital, and gave me 10 days to change my mind(quite a few states have this grace period.) After the 10 days you CANNOT withdraw your surrender.

(While looking to see which law we used, I found this to be quite interesting, it's from adoption.com, and it's about when consent to adopt can take place....

"Only two States (Alabama and Hawaii) allow the birth mother to consent before the birth of her child; however, the decision to consent must be reaffirmed after the child's birth."

Anyways, it made me giggle that people were saying I was going to try and get my son back now that I was married, they clearly don't know anything about adoption and how it works. I just don't get how people can be so uneducated about things. It's not like my son is in any harm or danger living with his parents, he's thriving and doing really well, so trying to get him back wouldn't be in his best interest, and would not only hurt him, but his family, and I could never do that to him or his family. Not to mention it wouldn't be fair to my husband, to ask him to raise a child that isn't his. Even though I know that if I had kept my son, and met my husband he would have done so willingly. And not that I think it is wrong to do that. I know many people who had children before they met their significant other and the s/o welcomed their children with open arms. Even being a better parent then the child's birth parent. So I know it can work. But this isn't what was meant to happen, I feel very strongly that I am living the life I was meant to live, and my son is living the life he was meant to live.

Even though I knew very early in my pregnancy that my son was meant for another family doesn't mean he is any less my son. But I just wasn't meant to raise him. And I am meant to raise children with my husband, our children. And I pray that one day I will get to raise children with him, because he will make the best father. If we have a girl he will be so tightly wrapped around her finger it isn't funny, same goes for any boys we have.

Negatives and Positives

I started following this birth mom, Stefanie, recently and in a post she wrote yesterday she asked for birth parent input, and so I quickly typed up and email and asked her how I could help, and it was all about the positive and negative things we, as birth parents, have heard.

So, this is kind of like my first guest appearance on a blog, and so I give you 19. Negative and Positive (Birthmom Edition)

Ya'll might remember the "How To" posts I did back in April, this is a lot like those posts, so here those are again, and someone asked me to do what not to say, so since it's Adoption Awareness Month I will write that up for ya'll.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Read two books a month - Novembers Picks

Number 36 on my list is to read a new book a month. And I'm trying to read books I haven't read yet, to broaden my book horizons. Here are the other challenges I've put on myself about reading, I'm going to have to remove one of my challenges, as it is the same as this one, except not new books, and well, I think it might be cheating if I use it too, oh wait, I'm going to do it too, so I will be reading a new book a month, and then I can pick another book I've already read to read too....(sorry for the think writing, lol)

1. Read 10 new books
2. Read 50 new books
3. Read 101 books
4. Read a book every month 

This month's book is "The Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux, I got it free for the Kindle, it is my favorite Opera, and I LOVE the movie, the book so far is pretty good. It was a little hard to get into. But I'm chugging along, when I read! ha!

Anyways, I also had started a Nora Roberts book, so I will finish that one as well, it is from the "Bridal Quartet", it's the third book, "Savor the Moment," the last book is "Happy Ever After" and it is suppose to come out this month(her site says Nov 2,) and I will be picking it up, as I've read all the others in the Quartet, but after I finish the third book.

I LOVE to read an entire series, and I have almost read every book in Fern Michaels "Sisterhood Series," I thought I had one left but it turns out she has 2 more to release in 2010 and one already set to come out in 2011. I will be getting the next one soon, as I don't want to get too far behind, as she seems to write a lot of these and keeps coming out with more. As of right now, there are 20 books in this series, and I've read all but 3...here is her site, she is one of my favorite authors, along with Nora Roberts.

If anyone wants to buy me something for Christmas, you can get me "Deja Vu," which is Book 19 in the "Sisterhood Series," and will be released Dec 28, 2010! And "Home Free," which is the 20th book, is scheduled to release April 1, 2011, which would be a great "sorry your husband is deployed or going to deploy soon" gift ;)