Tiffany Girl by Deeanne Gist

I had the absolute privilege of receiving an Advanced Copy of Tiffany Girl by Deeanne Gist in exchange for my honest review.

I have been a huge fan of Ms. Gist's books for years. I own every single one of her titles, most in physical and digital forms.
I typically only read Christian Fiction (more specifically Christian Historical Fiction), so I was a little leery when Ms. Gist announced she was moving from the Christian genre to General Market. After reading Tiffany Girl, I have no more reservations. Her morals still shine through, but her writing is a little less "preachy" than Christian Fiction (in that there aren't a bunch of Bible verses, etc). I think she's done a good job of opening herself up to reach a broader audience without putting off her loyal readers from her previous books.

Set in New York in the 1890's, Tiffany Girl is the story of Flossie Jayne, a beautiful "New Woman" who dreams of becoming a famous artist in a world that isn't very accepting of women becoming independent and successful outside of the home. The story follows Flossie in her journey as a "Tiffany Girl," one of the women chosen to help Louis Tiffany- heir to the Tiffany Jewelry empire- complete the stained glass windows for his Tiffany Chapel for the 1893 World's Fair after a glassworkers strike threatens the project. You will see her move out of her parents' house and try to find her footing in her new life living at a boardinghouse and being a working woman. Will her parents ever understand or accept her dreams? Will she be successful in the new job that she loves? Will she ever be able to make the other boarders at her boardinghouse one big happy family like she imagines they can be?

You can definitely tell that Ms. Gist puts a ton of time and research into the history behind her books. The details are accurate and descriptive, but never boring.
And the romance in this one....WOW! Sweet and titillating, but never trashy or inappropriate.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history and/or romance novels!
You won't regret it, and you won't be able to put it down!

Tiffany Girl will be available for purchase on May 5th, but you can preorder now at iwantherbook.com/books

Caring for my family...And not ignoring myself

Have you ever felt like you're losing yourself because you're always focused on caring for somebody else?
 I can honestly say that my journey with Scentsy has been one of the most awesome things I've ever done for myself.
Being a wife and a mother was always my dream, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Almost my entire life is about what my hubby and son want and need...which is completely how it should be! They're my world!
But sometimes it's only human to need to focus on yourself a little.
That's what Scentsy does for me. It's something that is just for ME. It doesn't feel like a job. It feels like a fun hobby!! It lets me get out of the house and socialize. It helps me break out of my shell...meet new people, do new things. Just have a little break from the monotony of everyday life every once in a while. It has helped me feel more like myself again, and not just somebody's wife and mom. But I get to make my own schedule and determine how much I want to work. I never have to be away from my husband and son more than I feel is necessary.
And a bonus? It helps me earn a little extra money to help out with my family's expenses!!
Have you ever thought about joining Scentsy yourself?
Now, I know...$99 for the starter kit may feel like a little much. I used part of our tax money to join last year, and truthfully thought I was going to soon feel like I'd wasted money that could have been better used on bills, etc. I haven't regretted it even once. I made my money back more than 10 times over between April and December of last year. And better than that, I got to do a few fundraisers to help out a friend in need, and also a couple charities that are close to my heart.
Now, Scentsy isn't just for stay-at-home moms like me. On my team there are college students, people with other part-time and/or full-time "regular" jobs, and also people who just work Scentsy full-time. It's literally a business that will work for ANYONE who WANTS to make it work.
I am so incredibly happy that I chose Scentsy. If YOU want to choose Scentsy too, February is the perfect time to join! We're transitioning to our Spring/Summer catalog, so Starter Kits for new consultants are super sized next month...with both Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer catalogs and testers included! I wish I had known to sign up during a transition month! Here's your chance!

Want to sign up? Have questions? Need products or want to host a party to earn rewards? Contact me anytime!
Email: amanda.mauck.ga@icloud.com
Text: (985)351-2352
Web: http://southerngirlscents.scentsy.us

God Bless!

Choosing Your Attitude

Do you ever just stop and think about how lucky and blessed you are? I see so many people who continuously whine and complain about every little problem on Facebook or Twitter. I admit that I have done so on occasion, as well. Not only can it get annoying to see, but honestly, it's sad. Why do we focus on the bad things in our lives and not appreciate the good? Why aren't we thankful for the many, MANY blessings that God has given us?

   I have a close friend who has gone through so much in her life that I can't even fathom. Not only does she have her own health issues to deal with, but her young son has numerous serious conditions that constantly have to be tended as well. I won't go deep into detail, but in just the past week she has spent nearly every day going back and forth to different hospitals and ER's with her son. What was supposed to be a fairly simple outpatient procedure turned into not one, but two surgeries and a two day stay in the hospital. There have been what seems like constant complications and dr. visits since. And she's doing all this while ignoring dr.'s orders to stay off of her feet because of a health issue that she herself is having.

   All of this is just the tip of the iceberg for her. She will probably spend years going to therapy sessions, dr.'s visits, and procedures for her son. Not to mention all of her own appointments. She can't leave her son with just any babysitter and "get away" or have "mommy time" or "girl's night" or "alone time" or even a date with her husband. With her son's specific health needs he has to have somebody she can fully trust to watch him. Someone who's "medically minded" as she puts it. Someone she can rely on to watch for problems and give him the right meds in the right amounts at the right time. Someone who can properly use and care for his feeding tube. And the list goes on and on. So, basically, she can only get a break if her parents or her in-laws can watch him. 

   Something that baffles me is that she thinks that I have it worse off. Sure, I have a few health conditions, including a pretty severe immune deficiency that can occasionally cause serious problems. And my 2 year old son has also been diagnosed with the same deficiency. So, I probably can empathize with her a lot more than most (or maybe any) of her other friends, but we definitely don't have it as hard as they do. We may occasionally get pretty sick and need more serious medical intervention. But as long as we stay on top of it, live healthily, and keep up with our  meds/treatments it shouldn't ever be life-threatening or cause any major, lasting complications. But all of this is, in my eyes, nothing compared to what she faces. 

   She is a superwoman in my eyes. Not only does she face all of this head-on, but she does it with grace. You will never see her complain about any of it on Facebook. In fact, besides occasionally asking for prayer, she never even mentions their problems there at all. I even have to convince her that it's okay for her to "complain" to me about it. I know she needs to talk about it sometimes and not keep all that burden to herself, but she doesn't want to have a "poor me" attitude. And through all of this, she never loses her faith in God and her belief that He is in control. She's amazing.

   We should all strive to be more like this. Let's not focus on the bad in our lives. Let's not ignore the good just so we can complain about the bad and get some sympathy. I never understood what my mom meant when I was little, but she was right: Attitude is a choice. You can CHOOSE to focus on the bad and let it bring you down and make you depressed and grouchy, or you can CHOOSE to look past the bad and see the good in your life and be happy. Always be aware that there are many people who have it much worse off than you do. Are you and your family fairly healthy? Do you have a roof over your head and food in your stomach? Do you have clothes to wear? Yes? Then you are BLESSED. Next time you're tempted to complain or whine online about something bad in your life, why don't you stop and use that time to thank God for the good in your life instead? And maybe think about someone who has it worse off than you and pray for them, too?