While watching the news recently a story caught my attention that I think is encouraging for young women — really for women of all ages.

A panel was discussing a 17-year-old British girl who will be a contestant in the Miss England pageant in July. Chloe Marshall is a size 16 and the first plus-size to girl to strut her stuff at the contest. The Miss England pageant is representative of all women because the winner is chosen in part by the public.

Chloe stands 5-feet 10-inches and weighs 176 pounds. She clearly stands out amongst the average pin-thin pageant girls and models and is proud of her curves. Chloe’s personality has a lot to do with her success. She is extremely confident and makes a great ambassador for teenagers.

Beauty does come in all sizes and its nice to see a young woman make it mainstream. Dove launched a campaign about “real women with real curves” several years ago that has become a huge success. It shows real woman of every shape and size who are not “photoshopped.”

The ads give a broader, healthier, more democratic view of beauty. Because I am woman with curves I appreciate seeing other women like me in the mainstream media. I also congratulate girls like Chloe who have the guts to be who they are and make no apologies about their dress size.

“No wire hangers…ever!”

Faye Dunaway shouted the infamous quote in the movie Mommie Dearest portraying what Hollywood mother? Hint: It definitely showed her Untamed (the first talkie in which the famous actress appeared in 1929.) OK, it’s Joan Crawford.

It’s amazing that on Mother’s Day I would remember such a flick. I think it changed the way I viewed my own mother – I realized that her yelling from time to time was nothing compared to the tyrant behavior of this starlet. This movie made me appreciate my mother. Not that I didn’t before, but I realize she was normal.

I was 12 years old when the film came out and on the verge of becoming a teenager who thought she knew everything. I was wrong in so many ways. Now that I’m 38 years old and the mother of a 14-year-old son, I see why mother lost it on occasion. I mean teenagers are meant to drive you insane. Aren’t they?

This movie was the first one to actually show a mother as something other than sweet and kind. Not all families were like Leave it to Beaver or the The Brady Bunch and although the movie changed the icon’s image forever, Crawford became real.

I think the public can relate to real. ( Just look at what’s happened to Brittney Spears today. ) We can see ourselves in them, more so than when they are only looked upon as pretty people. We can relate to their mistakes.

So go and give mom a big hug and kiss and tell her you love her. If you are not able too, why not watch a great movie about moms. Here are a few to get you started:

Terms of Endearment
Stella
Anywhere But Here

If there is one that you like, why not share it with the rest of the crowd. Happy Mother’s Day.

Just when you think its spring – BAM! – it feels like fall again.

OK, today I spent one of the things I enjoy doing most on my day off. Although it was a bit nippy, I went to yard sales with my mother. During the spring and summer we enjoy getting up early and trekking all around town to find the items people put out for purchase. We had a good time despite the chilly weather.

If you are one of those people who doesn’t like to look through things that others are discarding, then I feel sorry for you. (Besides saving money, it’s a great way to be green and recycle.) Plus you really can find some one-of-a-kind items.

This year my plan is to look for albums. Earlier this year I purchased a turntable that not only can I listen to my music, but I can convert the songs into iTunes.

I found a Foreigner album today for less than it would cost to purchase one song. I am on the lookout for anything 60s, 70s and early 80s. My son is a huge fan of classic rock so I guess that will be my mission this year.

Most recently I went through my mother’s old 45s and found a few that I remember her playing a lot when I was a kid. She really liked Carole King’s I Feel The Earth Move and Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman. I will always enjoy listening to someone who can not only play, but write great music.

My recent playlist includes tunes from Amy Winehouse, The Beatles, Gnarls Barkley, Steve Miller Band, Bon Jovi and Brad Paisley.

Tell me what’s on your play list.

Do you ever wonder if people are paying attention to what you say? I know at home when I’m talking to my son he pretends to listen to what I say by answering, but he really isn’t.

I feel blogs are the same way sometimes. Is there anyone out there who really reads what I write? I know there are a few people who do because they comment to me personnally, plus we are able to see statistics (the IT guys do their magic and get the numbers.) For the most part though bloggers at The Telegraph really don’t know what you think.

So here it goes. I figure if I write about something controversial or fun — depends on how you look at it. I typically stay away from specific topics, but today I want to shake things up.(Maybe.)

Recently I watched the preview for the “Sex and the City” movie, which will be in theaters May 30. I got excited because I have followed the “girls” since the show aired on HBO.

What I always liked about the program is their candor to talk about “sex.” So many people think it’s not polite to talk about it, but really it’s what makes life fun and exciting.

Almost anyone who has ever had sex has a story to tell and that is what’s so great about Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. I know they are not real women, but the qualities that the characters possess are like many women I know.

The show isn’t only about sex either. It’s about love and friendship and that’s what makes it great. These women still find the time to be friends, despite the other relationships in their lives. Some women find it hard to stay connected to their friends once they are in a relationship, (I know because I have lost many a friend once they find love.)

Girlfirends are the best to people to talk about the taboo topic. I know many of you have told at least one girlfriend a story that you wouldn’t tell anyone else. Really isn’t that what friends are for?

Confession — I have too many to tell so I will save them for another time, but I at least can say that life in my 30s is nothing like it was in my 20s.

In today’s world there are so many gadgets and products that it’s hard to keep up with them all. About the time we finally buy one or learn how to work one thing there is new technology that calls upon us to use. Not all gadgets and products are electronic, some are just simple, but they all make life more pleasurable. (Get your mind out of the gutter, although I do plan on writing about that subject in the near future.)

Here are few of my favorites:
DVD player. (Do I need to say more?)
Laptop computer (I not only check my e-mail, but I can watch movies on Netflix)
Digital camera (The ease of being able to download and print photos immediately rather than forgetting to take film to get it developed.)
Toaster oven (My son and I use this device more than we use the microwave, especially since it allows us to bake a 12-inch pizza in it.)
Hairdryer with brush attachment
Dental picks (Yes, those toothpicks with floss attached. They’re a great way to clean up your smile.)
iPod (Between my son and I we have more than 1,000 songs downloaded on our music miracles.)
cell phone (Besides using it for calls, I use mine as an alarm clock and scheduler)
Tampons (I did say it. Why shouldn’t I, because it’s a product that most women use and since it’s creation it’s the best feminine hygiene product on the market to date. Imagine life without it — Ick.)

So tell my what is it that you would be unable to live without?

I love to read. I haven’t done much of it lately, but whenever I pick up a book it’s hard for me to put it down.

I remember the first book I read and really enjoyed. I was in the 5th grade and overheard some girls talking about Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret? by Judy Blume. I asked what the book was about and they acted like it was a big secret. They snickered and told me if I wanted to know I should read it rather than ask about it. So I did. It was the start of my reading anything and everything written by Blume.

I think the book I will remember most is Forever. I read it in the 6th grade and it’s Blume’s “sex book.” It was the first time I read anything that really discussed the emotions of sex, a taboo subject for most adolescents when I was in school.

The thing I remember most when I read the book is the school librarian took it away until she could call my mother. She said it was inappropriate for someone my age. My mother’s response was that I had permission to read it and at least I was reading. (Something most youth don’t do unless it’s required as schoolwork.)

Throughout my school years I continued to read and no matter where I’ve gone I’ve read some great books, but it wasn’t until the 2000s that I found my way back to reading “chick lit.” I would consider Blume’s books “chick lit” for grade school girls.

Yes, we all know what “chick flicks” are about so why shouldn’t there be books that are geared specifically toward women’s interests as we read? They make us laugh, cry and fall in love.

Chick lit generally features a female protagonist in her 20s or 30s living in an urban setting. The genre spawned Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City and its accompanying television series along with Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary , which ended up on the big screen.

Other popular “chick lit” includes:
Melissa Banks, The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing (recently made into the movie Suburban Girl)
Jane Green, Jemima J and Bookends
Jennifer Weiner, In Her Shoes, Good in Bed
Jennifer O’ Connell, Everything I needed To Know I learned From Judy Blume
Sophie Kinsella, Confessions of a Shopaholic (set to be released as a movie in February 2009)
Lauren Weisburger, The Devil Wears Prada

So next time if you are looking for something good to read why not pick up some “chick lit” and tell me what you think. Maybe if there is enough of us we can start our own book club and call it “Chick Schtick.”

Today I decided to be a curly girl. Yes I am wearing my hair in its natural state. It’s raining out and so I figured why bother with trying to wear it any other way because the humidity will only make it frizzy anyway.

I have lived with curls my whole life, but when I was younger I really hated it. It wasn’t until I was older that I learned to live what I was born with.

I know lots of women with curls and they are all like me. There are days we wish we had straight hair, but then there are days we like our ringlets.

A few years ago I purchased a book about curly hair. New York hairstylist Lorraine Massey penned “Curly Girl: The Handbook.” It’s a bible for women with curls and how they can work with what they got.

Massey said most women do not properly care for their hair, or worse go through life pretending like it’s straight. (It’s something I’m guilty of from time to time.) She offers a 12-step program for taking care of your hair and says that shampoo is curly girls’ worst enemy.

Another tip I learned after reading the book is that a curly girl should never get her hair cut wet. Why? It shrinks and often the stylist cannot tell the true amount that’s been taken off. Anyone with curly hair whose eve had a bad cut knows this.

Many women wear their hair straight because they are told that it looks better. During an episode of Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo, Patti Stanger, founder of the Millionaire Club, a dating service for rich men, told one of the women that unless she straightened her hair she wouldn’t set her up with any clients. As a curly girl I was offended by what Patti said.

There are many men who see women with curly hair as wild and untamed. They think that since our hair looks unruly we must be too. I’ve got news for anyone who thinks that way — 65 percent of women have curly hair of some type so GET OVER IT.

I enjoyed today because I interviewed Clinton Kelly, co-host of TLC’s hit show “What Not to Wear.”
It’s always nice interviewing celebrities I like. You’ll have to check more on why I interviewd him next week in the Accent section of The Telegraph.

Normally I would be in the office when I interview someone, however I was covering an event so I had to use my car as an office space. None of that really matters. What does is that I got to talk to an really nice man.

I found out that was share some similarities — yes, we are the opposite sex — but we’re the same age, he likes fashion, home decor and he started his career in journalism.

Clinton worked as a writer, then became an editor of several women and fashion magazines before landing the role of co-host on WNTW. I spent 15 minutes on the phone with him asking him all kinds of questions and he offered several fashion tips that will be revealed next week.

Since I’ve worked as a reporter I’ve interviewed several celebrities. It’s always fun to talk to them, especialy when you’re a fan. I’ve had a chance to meet several of them too.

Since my interviews are usually tied to something that the celebrity does, I bet you can guess what type of questions I asked Clinton.

I’ll tell you that his fashion “faux pas” was people who wear sweats when they’re not sweating.

“Workout clothes are for working out,” he said. “Clothes are an expression of oursleves. If you’re dressed in sweats all the time it says how you really feel about yourself.”

Last night I attended the spring Jazz concert at Lewis and Clark Community College. It was wonderful. Alton middle and high schools jazz bands along with LCCC jazz band performed for nearly two hours. Of course I had to go and support my son’s music, but I enjoyed the show.

While I was there I got to thinking about why there were so few girls and women performing. There were only around a dozen females in the more than 50 musicians that played.

I did some research and learned the music genre has typically always been male dominated, but there are a few that standout since the music’s inception. Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters (who can forget her song “I Got Rhythm”) and Billie Holiday, Vi Burnside and Margaret Backstrom are just a few.

Ken Burns’s series on Jazz, which aired on PBS, offers some great information on the topic. To find out more visit Women in Jazz or check out NPR’s series on the subject.

Sherrie Tucker has also written a fabulous book “Swing Shift: All-Girl Bands of the 1940s.”

In general we think about women in jazz as being vocalists more so than instrumentalists. I learned that there have been and still are plenty of great women “tickling the ivories” or playing a horn.

I tip my hat to all women who continue to play what is considered the original American musical art form.

Do you know Angela Shelton?

According to a story written by Alison Bowen and published this week at Womens enews , Shelton is a filmmaker and activist who advocates women to speak out against sexual abuse. Her autobiography, “Finding Angela Shelton,” is being released on April 1 and to mark the occasion rallies will be held at Barnes and Nobles bookstores across the nation calling for women to report being sexually assaulted.

Shelton was raped as a teen by a stranger and repeatedly abused by her father. In her 2001 documentary “Searching for Angela Shelton,” the filmmaker interviewed 40 women with same name as her and learned that many of them had also been abused.

The discovery of widespread abuse didn’t really surprise her. What did stun her was that not one of the women she interviewed had reported the abuse.

Shelton was a major voice in a nationwide campaign last month that launched Report IT, a Web site designed to enable victims of abuse to report their stories anonymously and encourage them to report it to authorities.

Shelton partnered with a Chicago group called PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment to launch the site, which was timed to the opening of a retrial for the case of Tory Bowen, who was banned from using the word “rape” in a Nebraska trial.

Bowen pressed charges against her alleged rapist but when she testified at his trial, the judge would not allow her to use the word, instructing her even to describe a sexual assault nurse examiner as a “sexual examiner.”

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and on April 29 Shelton and PAVE is encouraging others to show up at courthouses across the country and report abuse to the authorities.

It’s not easy telling someone your story. In April’s issue of “flaire for women” (which is due out Friday) I wrote about my ordeal as a teenager and how I was sexually assaulted by friend. It’s not easy telling your story, but I believe that we should not remain silent.

Like Shelton I feel that acknowledging abuse is the first step toward recovery.

“We should no longer remain silent, because your story is no longer your story,” Shelton says. “It’s everyone’s story.”