Touched -

By the Hand of God!

Today I was outside in the sunshine sitting on the ground well on a table clothe lol. I was letting Anna run around and I was doing my Bible Study for First Place. At the end of each days devotion there is a prayer. Let me back up - this weeks focus is on God's will. You know doing what he wants of us and not always what we want. It went on in this particular days devotion to talk about how difficult it must have been for Jesus to do God's will when it included him going to the cross. I said the prayer out load and then added some to it and while I was sitting there something amazing happened. I had stopped praying but hadn't ended it I was just listening, you know. It went from being totally still out there to the softest of breezes blowing. It caressed my cheek and tossed my hair about a little bit. I will swear to my dying day that the Good Lord was touching me. He was letting me know that He is with me!

OK so after reading this through some of you will think I am crazy or being fanciful or whatever. You can think that but I will always know the truth!

Video Friday

Pesky Spam Comments

Due to an increase in spam comments I have turned on the word verification part of the comment system. Please don't let this detour you from leaving me a comment! I will try it out for a few weeks and either leave it on for good or take it off and suffer with the spam. Let me know if you think it will stop you from leaving comments! You can email me if it really bothers you! I know sometimes I won't leave a comment if I have to do that just because I don't want the hassle.

Thanks for your patience!

Productivity!

I have been so productive today even I am impressed lol. Of course I am now sitting on my butt, eating some baked chips and drinking a diet dr. pepper but hey we all deserve a break right!?! Let me just tell you all in bloggyville what I have been up to today. We got up and I fed Anna. I couldn't make myself eat so I started some laundry. After Anna was fed we got ready and ran out the door. We went to the store cause we needed just a few things and of course we were gone for like an hour. We got home and we hung out our first load of clothes and started another in the wash. While those were all running we cleaned the living room and vacuumed. Then I put the load that was in the wash into the dryer (hubby's dress clothes) and started another load. While that was running I started dinner (roast in the crockpot!) I went out and checked the clothes on the line and they were still a little damp but Anna and I enjoyed the sunshine for a while. We ran around like nuts chasing her ball and having fun. In between all of the playing I hung out another load of laundry. In hopes of wearing Anna down we ran around for another little while before lunch. It obviously worked cause she is now sleeping peacefully! YAY, maybe she isn't ready to give up naps after all.

If I had my camera I would have so many cute pictures. Anna trying on her new swim suit from Aunt Casey. It is SO adorable. It looks great Aunt Casey thank you so much. She didn't want to take it off but she had goose bumps lol. I was going to get a picture but I couldn't find it online.

I would show all of you in the North how pretty it looks here with our green grass and the leaves starting to pop out of the trees and plants.

I would show you how funny Anna looks all curled up in my laundry basket. Well, funny as long as there aren't clean clothes in the bottom lol.

So many things to share and NO camera. Have I told you all how much I miss it lol. We went to walmart this morning and I was looking at the cameras there. I am dreaming of a new camera! Isn't she pretty! I will continue to dream of one like this. One day!!!

WFMW: laundry

I have started doing something that no one knows about, well except my hubby and Anna lol. I have stopped using my dryer and started using a clothes line outside. This is not something I EVER thought I would do. When I was a kid I would help my mother do this and I really hated it. I am sure my parents will be shocked to discover this! (you guys can leave me a comment if you want.) Now I am trying to battle high electricity cost and just trying to get to a more simple life style. Not to mention it helps me move my body that much more. I can't tell you how it is helping with our electricity bill yet because I have only been doing it about a week. I can tell you that it is almost peaceful going out to hang them up. The sun shining down, the wind blowing and the gentle snaps of the clothes on the line. Mix in laughter from Anna because she loves being outside and you can just feel the simple life and the joys it can bring. It takes a while for the clothes to dry out there so I have still had to use my dryer on a few loads. Once I get into the habit of doing a load a day we should be able to stop using it totally except for on my hubby's dress clothes.

So going back to simple daily chores works for me! We are doing dishes by hand and now drying clothes on the line. I am burning more calories this way and saving money! I am also teaching my daughter that it is ok to do things for yourself instead of always depending on a machine.

Tiny Talk Tuesday!

Anna has been running off at the mouth. I, however, didn't write it all down so lets see what we can remember.

• Her very favorite phrase (we may have used it before but it is so cute) I'll BE back! She sounds like a mini (female) Arnold Schwarzenegger lol. It is so cute how she does it.
• This one is embarrassing for me but I am hoping you will understand. Well, really I am just hoping I am not alone lol. She was rubbing my face the other day and she rubs my chin and she goes "Mommy's beard"! I quietly said "sweetie Mommy doesn't have a beard." She rubbed my chin again nodded her head and said "Mommy's beard"! I said quietly, "sweetie lets just not tell anyone ok." Please tell me you guys know what I am talking about those pesky hairs that grow out on your chin. Oh God please tell me I am not the only woman that has pesky chin hairs. AAAhhhhhhh!!!!
• We were with Pop and Yia Yia this weekend. Whenever she would make a mess she would say with this adorably innocent look "awww, Pop made a mess"
• My daughter is obsessed with cleanliness! We go to the park and she wants to clean it. whether "it" is the slides or the rock wall or whatever. We put her in the tub and if anything is in there with her like a hair or toe jamb or whatever she freaks out. OOOOHHHH Mommy the tub is D I R T Y!!! And yet she loves to go out and do flips in the back yard in the grass. Go figure!

Well, that is all can think of at the moment. I will see if my hubby can remember any and add those later. Happy Tuesday and have a great day!

Guess what!?!

You remember me talking about fixing my fridge last week? I know it wasn't as exciting as me climbing a fence or anything but it was major in my life lol. Anyway, I thought I would just tell you guys that our fridge is still fixed!!! I was worried it was a temporary fix but so far so good. I just thought I would update you while I was thinking about it.

Oh and I have terrible news! My camera is riding around in the back of my sister in laws car. Therefore, you will not be seeing any pics on my blog for a while unless they are old.

I am really out of anything to say right now lol. Oh I got my taxes done YAY ME!!! We did pretty good but it will go away quickly.

Well that is all for me tonight. Candace ~ signing out!

A bunch of nothingness!

I don't really have anything to say! So I will leave you with this thought:

"It's quiet now what do you say?"

WOW

Check this out! I am playing with another photo program called Photoscape. It has some very cool features and is quickly becoming my pick for playing with pictures! This was the same picture. Do you see how it mirrored the image? I think this is very cool.

Adventures of Super Mom!!!

What a day yesterday was! It was crazy to say the least. It started out by me taking Chris to work. Then we (Anna and I) went to get our oil changed. I took it to one of the fastest places because we had a play date set up for 10. I waited patiently while Anna wondered around trying to touch everything making me cringe. They finished my car and I went out to leave. I cranked the car up and it died. I cranked it again and it died. Hmmm, this was not an issue before we came in. I went back and said probably not so nicely that I needed them to see why my car was not cranking. They came out and apparently they hadn't connected something correctly.

With that problem solved we went to grab a bite to eat. It was now 9:00 and we hadn't had breakfast yet. To avoid her wanting to play on the equipment at most places we ran into Krystal. We get a biscuit and sit down to eat. Anna is watching this guy mop the floor. He seemed like a very nice man and he was wearing a hat. The hat pushed his braids down over his ears and well it looked different. Anna looked at him and looked at him. Then she turned to me and said (in a stage whisper) "Mommy, ears! His ears funny!" I wanted to crawl under the table but instead I said "Anna" and looked up to see if maybe he hadn't heard her. He just grinned at me, watch out, table here I come.

After that we had a play date at the park down from our house. Brooks came and we met another nice woman that had a 3 year old and a 18 month old and was 5.5 months pregnant. Her son decided to go under the fence and almost went into the road. It was very exciting I tell you.

That afternoon it only got better!!! Anna didn't take a nap and I had a ton of stuff to do so I couldn't rock her to "make" her go to sleep. She wasn't cranky or anything so that was good. I ran out to go get the mail and left Anna inside cause it was rainy. I come back and she had locked our glass storm door! I don't have a key to the storm door! Our gate is sealed shut so I couldn't just walk around to the back yard. I wanted to cry but I couldn't cause I had to keep Anna calm. I walked to my neighbors house because he has a ladder in his backyard and I could climb the fence. The neighbors gate was locked. I went down one more house. I have never met these people even though they have lived there a few years. The guy that answers the door was very nice. I explain my problem to him while standing in the middle of his yard so that I can see if Anna comes out of the house and heads for the rode. The gentleman at the door explains he is just a visitor so he doesn't know if there is a ladder but he will certainly go look. He does!!! So we tromp down to our house and luckily it had stopped drizzling mostly. I am trying to think of any other way besides climbing the gate to get in but nothing works. It is a privacy fence you know one of those tall ones. You guys have seen my pictures you know I am short and well rounded. I didn't know how this was going to work out. The wonderful visiting gentleman offered to do it for me until I informed him there was a big dog in there. Even though he is old and probably sleeping he didn't think that mattered lol. So here I go up the ladder. I get to the top and I start praying! I put my leg over the top and I can't find the board I need to put my foot on. After several moments I managed to work my hips just so that I could get a toe hold on it. I shifted my weight onto that foot and the board started popping YIKES! In that one instant I thought I didn't tell this guy Chris's phone number, I am going to break something and he isn't going to know what to do! I started moving quickly after the popping started. I threw my other leg over and almost at the same time pushed on the fence and jump and/or flung myself backwards away from it. I landed on my feet. Ha yes I must have been a cat in a previous life lol. The only injury I incurred was a nice boo boo on my middle finger. I pretty much just pulled the skin off of it. It still hurts but hey I survived with all my limbs still intact! I walk in the back door and Anna was standing in the front door looking for me and Buddy was sitting in the front window looking for me. I didn't know if I should hug her or beat her! I went for hugging and strong chastising! Next time she will go to the mailbox with me!

Ah the joys of motherhood!!!

Questions

OK I think I am ready to answer my questions.

By Cheryl:

1. What do you consider your best personality trait to be? This one is tough cause I have so many lol! I would have to say one of my best is my positive outlook. I am a glass pretty much full even if it really isn't. I can find a way to spin it to make it better. Yes, sometimes this does get me in trouble because we all know reality is hard but hey I try!
2. What makes you a good friend? Sometimes I wonder if I am a good friend. I mean sure I have a handfull of people that I truly consider friends but not as many as I would like. I think I have a hard time opening up to people which makes making friends difficult. Once I got ya though my best friend skill would be my way to make you laugh even when you don't feel like you can. Again I can spin anything to make it look better. Either that or I am a good listener and willing to do it without offering (to much) advice.
3. When are you moving to Wisconsin so we can be neighbors? Well, honestly my butt would freeze if I moved there so you will just have to come south!

My Dearest Sister-in-law Casey:

1. What is the biggest "duh moment" or "Only a Candace moment" (as I like to call them) you have ever had????? Well, you would probably know the answer to that one better than me lol. I tend to put those out of my mind you know putting the positive spin on it and all. If I have to give an example we will go with losing my keys last summer for about a month because they were in with Anna's beach toys and I just didn't even realize it until the next time we were going to the beach. Either that or putting milk in the pantry and whatever was supposed to go in the pantry in the fridge. Yes I have numerous blonde moments. If you would like to share any that you find paticularly humorous go for it but if that comment goes missing well umm oops lol.

My new friend Reynie:

1. How about where would you like to travel to that you've never been? Well if we are dreaming big I would go with Ireland. I don't know why but I have always felt drawn there. I think it is so beautiful and mystical over there.
2. What is your favorite food? Speghetti
3. What's one of your favorite things about your husband? There are so many things to love about my hubby narrowing it down to one will be hard. Hmmm, I love how giving he is with his time. It is a double edged sword because we miss him at home a lot but he does such good things with the youth at our church and so many others.
4. What is one of your favorite memeories of your daughter? Nursing Anna gave me so many precious memories. When I was pregnant I was seriously NOT going to nurse! Chris told me just do it for 6 weeks (I think he liked that it was FREE). I relented because of the good it would do for her and honestly cause I had heard it helped you lose weight lol. We had trouble in the hospital with it and I got so mad and then I got determined. I WAS going to nurse that baby and she was NOT going to need supplemental milk. Let me just say when I get determined WATCH OUT! We got everything resolved and she nursed like a champ. I will never forget the first time she was latched on and I was looking down at her caressing her cheek and her arms and she looked up and grinned the cutest little elf grin around my n*pp*e. It was one of the sweetest moments ever. As she got older watching her figure out new positions was always fun well not always but mostly lol. She got to a point for a while she would grab my b**b with both hands like she had the biggest juicest cheeseburger and just squeeze and pull it to her. If you want non-milk related I would have to say the first time she gave a belly laugh. We were watching White Christmas she was only 4 or 5 months. We got to the part where they were singing the Snow song and there is a part where they make the train sounds you know chugga chugga etc. Well, I was singing along because that is my favorite all time Christmas show. I attempted to make the train noise and well lets just say it didn't go well and Anna let out this belly laugh unlike any I had ever heard. She laughed for quite some time and it was the cutest thing!

That was fun if you have any more questions bring 'em on! Happy Thursday!!!

Wordless Wednesday!

Tackle it Tuesday, Shew!

So last night was exciting. Anna hadn't had her nap and she was throwing one fit after another. We just went to her room and read until she was ready to settle down. We both crashed a little after 9. Today we worked on our fridge. I don't think I have complained about our fridge on here but the freezer part had a leak down into the fridge that would just collect in the bottom of the fridge after dripping down each shelf in there. It was awful and disgusting and very frustrating. So I posted on freecycle to see if anyone would now how to fix it or whatever and received lots of great advice. Today Anna and I tackled our freezer and then cleaned up the fridge. It looks so GOOD! I don't have before pics because it was yucky but just look at the after shots! I just hope and pray that what I did today has fixed the problem. So far so good. We will have to wait and see though! Oh and don't look at how empty it all is lol.

Rachel Ray come see what is in my fridge!

After we did that we went out to watch the birds enjoy some afternoon sunshine.

Anna ran around in our new found back yard and rode her 4 wheeler. Our dog Buddy just prawled around enjoying the brisk air!

Monday Meihem

We have had a funfilled crazy day today. We went to a friend of mine's house to play cards. Well, I played cards and Anna ran around like a nut with all of the other kids. It was a play date for me and I have to say it was so wonderful and very much needed. We played a game I had never heard of called Tripoley. It was a lot of fun. I am paying for that fun right now though. Anna is being a pill! She didn't have her nap today and let me just say CRANKY!!! I will have to write more later. Wish me luck please!

ou,o

300 POSTS!!!

I didn't even realize I had hit 300 posts! I would tell you 300 things about me but I am afraid you might get bored! I have seen several people do a thing where they let people ask questions. So how about we try that, if there is anything you want to know ask me and I will more than likely answer ha ha! Ask anything but I reserve the right not to answer lol.

Be sure to ask something and don't leave me hanging here, lol.

My Sunday School Class

I am not feeling chatty so I thought I would share my class with you guys. Aren't they a nice looking group. They were a little rambunctious today but we love them just the same.

The next two pictures were our original students. We would typically only have 1 or 2. Never more but these days we usually have at least 3 although last week we didn't have any. Little by little we are growing.

Can you tell how much fun we have!!!

Work Day

We had a work day at church today. I always feel pretty useless during these days because Anna is with me. Today I realized that even though I am not able to do a lot of the major work at least I can take care of the few kiddos and others can have a chance to work. It is my little contribution that doesn't feel so little to the other Mom's. I am not sure how I end up the ones with the kids. I guess I am a kid magnet and they just gravitate towards me. We ran around outside and in the nursery. Went to visit the other workers and made sure they were working hard lol. We also listened to our praise team practice. It was pretty fun. I just have to remember that even though I didn't get any work done at least I contributed my time and energy.

This afternoon in an effort to keep my body moving I cleaned the weeds out of our flower bed in the front yard that I just did about a month ago. It wasn't to bad but if I waited a few more weeks it probably would have gotten pretty bad. It looks fabulous right now. Although I now need to clean our walkway and do one of the other beds up there. Anna and I will work on that this week.

We also intend to declutter our house. I have heard about flylady by numerous people including my mother. I have signed up for her daily emails and have shined my sink! Doesn't that look pretty!!! So I am going to start doing the baby steps this week and see if I can't get my house in shape. Now that I have lost 8 pounds I have more energy so I am going to put it to good use. Hopefully Anna will cooperate with this decision lol. She typically has other ideas about my energy, like running around in the yard or going to the park and climbing the rock wall.

Lighten Up Friday

OK, so I have succeeded in totally confusing myself lol. Between weighing in for my class on Wednesday and doing this on Friday I don't know if I am coming or going lol. I think that I will start doing this on Thursday so that I can have them together. So I don't know how much weight I have lost this week but my total to date is 8 lbs. I can't wait until I get to the 10 lb mark lol.

Anyway, overall everything is going pretty good. With the structure of my diet it is easier for me to keep myself in check. I have splurged here and there like last night I was naughty. I guess if I keep it in small doses it will be ok. We will have a party when I get to the 10 lbs!!!

Valentine Blog Highjacking

Hi Hon! and all others who want to know how great (my first) baby is.

You said we've been together about 18 years. It is 17 years, 4 months, 2 days and 47 mins (as I type this line). We truely fell in love then for the very first time on the night of our first date. I was driving you back home. We turned right off of Woodland Drive onto the 12.4 mile stretch of highway that I would get to know so well that I can still drive in my sleep. Love triggered every time I dimmed the lights after turning them to high beam that seemed like a second before. Click-click...click-click...click-click...click-click. Who knows why we laughed so hard at that, but the soft touch of your hand on my forearm I will never forget.

We have had some great, good, and really bad days, even on Valentine's Day. Tonight was a usual night. I got home later than we all wanted. I snagged the remaining daylight to do some work outside that should have been done previously. That probably made you feel like your excellent dinner was not appreciated as it should be. You did the dishes to give me time with my daughter on perhaps her first memorable Valentine's. You gave and gave even though dinner had no candlelight. You had no long bath with a neck message. We did not even have two minutes on the couch to snuggle without competition.

I did not produce but if I had we would have red carpet for you and Rachel Ray to do a live show about how much better your cooking is than anyone's. You would have a gala to celebrate your success at motherhood; I would announce to all how wonderful and loving you are as a wife and friend. The private jet would fly us to the mountains where we shared our first summer as camp employees; then, to the Carribean, and New Orleans and Las Vegas. We could relive and remember all those good times we have enjoyed together, for better or for worse.

It is not always magical and you are not always applauded, cherished, thanked, pampered, served, or loved like you deserve. But I do want you to know that if there is ever a jet, it will take us to new places to explore or I will get in the car alone to drive the lonely desolate highways like the one we fell in love on as long as you are waiting for me once I get to you.

Sorry it did not seem special. I love you very much. To me, every day after that night taking you back home and each to come are special because you are there. Thank you for sharing your life with me.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Chris
Hope you don't mind the blog highjacking.

Happy Valentine's Day My Beautiful Girl

You have made mine and your Daddy's world complete. Life is a little sweeter, a little lighter and a lot more entertaining with you in it. We love you so much and are so very proud of you. You are wondering what some of the things we love about you are huh. Well, let me see...

1. 
   
   We love how you light up when you are proud of something you did. like when you master a new skill. or when you help us clean up something.


2. 
   
   We love when you try to copy things you see like dancing you see on tv. You do such a good job.


3. 
   
   We love how your smile lights up the room.


4. 
   
   We love how you like to have group hugs.


5. 
   
   We love how you take such good care of your babies.


6. 
   
   We love how you run around like a nut and look at us like we should be thrilled that you are doing it.


7. 
   
   We love how devoted you are to Buddy. He adores you more then any of us!


8. 
   
   We love that you love to read and sing.


9. 
   
   We love how much you talk. Your sentences are getting bigger and better every day. Maybe in another post I will ask you not to repeat the same questions over and over lol.


10. 
    
    We love how you have brought our family closer together.


11. 
    
    We love you just because you are YOU! We love you because you are the best gift God could have ever given us! You were so worth the wait!

This is just to name a few. You are stirring from your nap so I will stop here. Just know that you are loved and adored. No matter what the future brings we will stand beside you or behind you, where ever you need us!

My New LOOK!!!

Tell me what you think!

Cheryl over at Red Pens and Diapers created the new header for me. I absolutely love it. Thanks Cheryl for making my blog look so wonderful. You are the bomb lol.

Happy Valentine's Day Hubby!!!

More Graphics at pYzam.com
Today is the day of LOVE!!! I have been with the only man that I have ever loved for about 18 years now. He is the only man that has ever held my heart in his hands. The only man that has made me feel like the only woman on earth. The only man that makes me feel beautiful even when I look my worst.

Honey, Thank you for making me realize how special I am. If for no other reason than I have to be something special to get a man like you! You have provided me with so many things over the years. Love, comfort, joy, and peace just to name a few. You also provided (or helped God provide) one of the best gifts ever - Anna!!! I feel so blessed when I look at the two of you. It warms my heart when I hear you laughing together or reading together or just talking. We may not have a lot of material stuff but we have the important stuff. We have each other.

I love you with all my heart and I was truly blessed the day you walked into my life.

Wordless Wednesday - My 2 True Loves!!!

LoveFest Part 1

The rest of the week I am going to have a LOVEFEST! I am going to start out with Anna's love. Anna and her Sweethearts! Love is in the air between these star crossed toddlers. The one on the right is this years young love. Anna and Brooks played hard for a few hours this morning at the park and had so much fun. They get together at least once a week and definitely see each other at church. The one on the left is last years baby love. He moved away and we still miss him and his family. They were so cute together. They would kiss on each other and hug on each other like they were truly and deeply in love. It was sweet. & of course innocent. Anna stayed with his Mommy when I was working and they were inseparable. We saw them at church every week as well. She is a lover not a fighter!

Oh I have a few meme's that have been sent to me so I will get to those ladies! Also, Cheryl is helping me fix a new and wonderful header for my blog. I am very excited about that! So come back to check me out later in the week. She is being super patient and helpful with it.

Manic Monday and Tackle it Tuesday

I was going nuts with the chaos in my house. I don't have a dirty house but I have a messy house. It has toys and clutter everywhere. I am taking charge! I think taking charge of my body is giving me strength to take charge in other areas of my life. I started in the kitchen today because it is the heart of the house. I worked all morning and with Anna's help I am very pleased with our results. I didn't take a before picture because honestly the spirit just moved me to get to work! I do have after shots though and let me just say there is a WORLD of difference!!! I still need to do the floors, clean out the fridge and the pantry lol but other than that it is GREAT lol. Boy I guess I didn't get as much done as I thought lol. Oh well look for yourself and tell me what you think.

The picture above is the biggest improvement. We have had the little rack you see in the corner forever and never put it together. So Anna and I put it together and put it to good use finally! We also tossed out things we didn't need or put away other things that were just lingering.
This was a vast improvement too. The window seal needed a definite scrubbing. I keep all of my important mementos in my kitchen window for some reason. You will see the unicorn my brother gave me, a few candle sticks and holders given to us at our wedding, a little tiny egg plant pitcher and beautiful flower vase given to us by my hubby's me-maw, a few little figurines given to me when I was a little girl one by my aunt and the other I can't remember where that one came from maybe my parents, the little candle holder with rocks in it is for my hubby and well Anna too now I guess (they both LOVE rocks) oh and don't forget the little wood bear in the corner. This little bear has traveled with me since I was a girl. My friend, Jody's Dad made it for me one year. I think it has a date on it let me see it says 1988 how about that lol. Oh yeah and don't look at the dishes in the sink!
Of course here is the best treasure ever! I can't take pictures without her wanting in on the shot.
Don't you love my flat top stove! The pictures behind it are pretty cool too. They were given to me by my mother in law and I thought they would look great back there. My sister in law, God bless her, cleaned them up for me a few weekends ago. They get pretty messy hanging up there!
Here is our dinosaur microwave! We have had that little thing since we got married and we are working on 12 years. It still works at least most of the time so we hang on to it lol.

PS. What do you think about my counter tops. Our builder told us not to go with these because we would hate them after being here a year. I think we have been here 8 years now and I still LOVE them. They are different and fun.

Love Lifted Me!

I love going to church. We have a variety of people that go there and they are all wonderful in their own way. Some are entertaining, some are just down right funny and others are loving and kind. Even though it is a pretty small church it lifts my spirits to go. There is laughter and teasing and a lot of joy. It is very much like a family! I am sure that there are numerous people there going through a hard time but they put it all aside for the day. I feel loved and needed when we are at church. Starting this First Place class I am getting to know even more people that I have only exchanged pleasantries with. It is very nice and very rewarding!

I don't know why I am sharing this. I guess I just wish that everyone had a place like that to go to when they need their spirits lifted or whatever.

Pictures from our park!

We took Anna to the park downtown today. While we were there I had to get some pictures of our trees and pretty flowers. Aren't they beautiful!?!

Families Need Prayers!

There is a plant near my home that had an explosion and pretty severe fire that actually burned for more than 12 hours. 30 people were critically injured. Approximately 20 of those were sent to a different hospital with a special burn unit. 3 people have died and 3 or more are still missing. Please keep these families and community in your prayers.

Thank you!!!

Lighten Up Friday

I am so very excited to do this today! I have lost 2 POUNDS!!! YAY ME!!! I finally feel like I can take charge of this thing and beat the beast so to speak. I think I just need structure lol. I will forever be starting up First Place classes no matter what church I go to. I even resisted an urge to stop and get something yummy like a spicy chicken sandwich or something on the way home from being out and about today. That is HUGE for me because I have a hard time with that, which is why I either go out really early or not at all just so I don't have the temptation. Today we didn't get home as early as I like but resisted and instead came home and had some of our left over yummy chili! I love that stuff! I have to figure out what I will do for dinner tonight. I know I am going to make a yummy salad. Maybe we will have some grilled pork chops and wild rice to go with it. I need a good relatively healthy recipe for cole slaw that is what I really want so maybe I will look that up and do that instead of a salad.

Thanks for being with me through this rough journey. It helps just putting it all out there and getting support from you guys.

First Day!

My first day on First Place. It has been interesting so far. This morning I messed up because I hadn't been to the store so all I had was whole milk for my oatmeal. So between that and lunch I have 1 to many fats for the day. I have to eat some veggies too cause I haven't had nearly enough of those. It is all very complicated but basically whatever you eat is the equivalent of either ~ fruit, veggie, bread, meat, fat or milk. You have to have x amount of each in a day and also 8 glasses of water. Being on a 1200 calorie plan you would think I would be starving cause I am sure I was having way more than that before but I don't think I will get all of my points in for the day. This is why this plan works for me because it helps me stay balanced! Without it I tend to have more meats and starches. Well, I need to go eat a cucumber or something so let me scoot.

First Place Orientation!

We started our class tonight! It was a lot of information to pass out and try to explain. The truth about it is that the only way to learn it is by doing it, so teaching it was pretty hard. I just gave a few examples and covered the basics. We had 9 people there! I was really shocked I expected 6 maybe 7 but I am hoping next week we will even get a few more. Everyone hated the weighing part and didn't want to do a before picture. They did it though, well, most of them did. Next week we will start the actual Bible Study part of it and we will see how everything went for this week. Everyone is very excited and I think it will be great having a group of us doing it together. Being encouraged and understood is great.

Unusual Fact: One of the ladies told me that she heard somewhere that every pound you lose is 3 lbs off of your knees.

Shhhhew, I need a nap!

This morning Anna and I had to babysit her little friend Brooks. He is a sweet little boy that just turned 2 not long ago. He is a live wire and all boy! Now I need a nap lol. He and Anna really had a blast. They ran from one side of the house to the other. Played outside for almost 2 hours. They had a pb&j sandwich for lunch and then had a jump fest on the bed. Anna is tuckered out that is for sure. I am hoping she will take a nice long nap today. That will give me time to finish preparing for my class. Of course, I should be doing that instead of blogging but well, you know lol.

The weather here is absolutely perfect! It is about 80 degrees and windy. I love the wind! I remember as a little girl twirling in the backyard with the wind blowing through my hair. I was trying to see if I would just lift off of the ground and fly. I never did but I kept trying for a long time. Even now at 34 I find myself doing it with Anna lol. We are supposed to have some terrible storms coming through this afternoon but I don't see any evidence off it as of yet.

Speaking of when I was little and storms. When I was probably 12ish I spent the night at my friend Jodi's house. We spent pretty much every weekend together at one house or another and her Grandma lived right down the street from me. Anyway, this paticular day there was a horrible storm coming through. It had lightening like I had never seen before. It was forking all over the place and looked like it was touching down somewhere. Well, my dear friend even at such a young age was a total picture nut. She decided that she wanted to go into a field beside her house and get pictures of the lightening. Well, being so young I couldn't let her go without me, I mean what if she got hurt or worse what if she thought I was a chicken! So we went out there and I think her little sister, Jennifer even tagged along for a little while. I remember this one paticular streak had like 4 different forks coming off of it and well I shot out of that field in a split second and didn't stop until I was in the safety of her house. My nutty friend was still out in the field taking pictures. I can't tell you the shame I felt for years for not being as tough as Jodi lol. I just recently found Jodi on myspace and it has been fun catching up. It has really brought back a lot of memories from the past.

By the way the wind just slammed a door shut in the house it was extremely loud and Anna didn't even stir!

Random Thoughts

We had a lovely visit with my in-laws over the weekend. Here is Anna reading them a bedtime story. Friday night we had our party. Saturday my hubby had to work so we just did a little shopping and went to lunch. We left Pop at the house and he slaved in our back yard to try and get everything cleaned up back there. I can't tell you how much we appreciate your help Pop! Saturday afternoon we took Anna to the park and had some speghetti for dinner. Sunday was church day and the saddest day for Pop and Yia Yia because that is they day they have to say good-bye. They miss Anna so much when they are away from her and Anna misses them too. I am sure we will see them again in a few weeks give or take a week. Don't expect a party next time you guys lol.

I went and voted this morning. I felt it was my duty since so many women in the past had to go through a lot to get the right for us to vote. Don't forget to go vote if today is your day!

Anna is finally feeling better. Her nose was a little runny in the morning but other than that she is good. I will be glad when she is 100% again. It is hard watching her feel bad. I would much rather me be sick than her.

Tomorrow is my orientation for our First Place class. I am very excited! I still have a few things to do to get ready for it but I should be ready to go by tomorrow night.

Well, I need to go get some laundry going and work on my class stuff. Have a good Super Tuesday!

Blessings

Shawn blessed me today! Thank you for sharing the blessing Shawn.

This is something first started by Ukok. We are each to bless three people, as she explains:It’s a game of tag with a difference. Rather than looking inwardly, we look outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for 3 blog friends. By participating in this endeavor we not only make the recipient of the blessing feel valued and appreciated, but we are having some fun too. We’re going to see how far the bloggin’ blessings can travel around the world and how many people can be blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their sidebar if they choose to. If you receive a bloggin’ blessin’ please leave a comment on this thread here so that we can rejoice in just how many blessings have been sent around the world!

And, she wrote: “This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, Smiles when sadness intrudes,Rainbows to follow the clouds, Laughter to kiss your lips,Sunsets to warm your heart, Hugs when spirits sag,Beauty for your eyes to see, Friendships to brighten your being,Faith so that you can believe, Confidence for when you doubt,Courage to know yourself, Patience to accept the truth,Love to complete your life.”Author unknown


I want to pass this along to three others.


Cheryl
Lori
Reynie

I chose these three because they are a blessing to me. Both through their blogs and their comments on my blog.

May God bless you all!

Naughty ~ Naughty

I was very naughty this weekend. I ate what I wanted and didn't give a second thought to my diet. It was a pretty stupid thing to do and I knew it at the time. I guess I felt like since I am starting my First Place diet this Wednesday it was like a last treat lol. Kind of like a drunk about to give up alcohol goes on a binge. Not that I have ever done that but I would imagine it would be about the same. Today, however, I am getting back on the wagon. I ate pretty healthy today and I am excited about getting going again. I think since I have not been doing so good over the past week really I felt like I didn't have anything to lose. Ha ha. It is so easy to get into the mindset of well I have already screwed up so lets just forget about it. The problem with that is I can't forget about it. I can't just give up. I have to start over for myself, for my daughter and for my hubby.

My goal for this week is to lose 1 maybe 2 lbs. I have to get off my butt and get moving! It is time to get serious and get the weight off!

Little Angels

Yesterday after Anna woke up from her nap my hubby and I took her to the park. We were trying to distract her cause she was already missing her Yia Yia and Pop and Aunt Cakie. Anyway, we got there and it was fairly packed with kids mostly bigger than her. We got her to go play and she was trying to climb up that tub thing that is slanted pretty steep. She couldn't make it and 3 big girls were trying to go up but they were being so patient. Anna wanted out so one of the girls helped her out and they just couldn't believe how cute Anna was. After that they followed Anna around the play ground helping her where ever she needed help and in some cases when she didn't. Anna would look up and say "I do that" lol. It was so cute and so very sweet of those girls. It was a set of twins age 9 and another girl that was 8. I hate that I forgot my camera! There was this one time that they were "helping" Anna go down the slide. It is a triple slide so Anna was in the middle she had a twin on either side of her and the other little girl behind her. GIRL POWER!!! They will be great Moms one day. I hope that Anna can be that helpful to little ones when she gets older.

All about me Meme!

I was tagged by Marla.

Here's how you play: once you've been tagged you have to write a blog with 4 random facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end choose 4 people to be tagged; list their names and why you tagged them. Don't forget to leave them a comment saying "you're it!" and to go read your blog. You cannot tag the person that tagged you, so since you can't tag me back let me know when you are done so that I can go read your blog answers.

1. One of my most embarrassing moments: I was about 14 years old and went to the state fair. I decided to go through one of the fun houses and didn't think about the cake walk at the end of it. When I got there I was so scared to go up it that I would not let go of the rail and step on. The worker ended up smacking my hands to make me release the bar. At the same time all of this was going on one of the more popular boys from my school came walking by and watched the whole horrible display!
2. For 3 months I had to carry around a sack of flour dressed like a baby with a baby head on it for Teacher Cadet in High School. I named him Jessie after my granddad that I never knew. If I accidentally forgot him home I would log into my records that he was home with his Uncle Harry. Who was our dog lol.
3. I was in theater in my 11th and 12th grade years. I did everything from play a horrible lounge singer that couldn't carry a tune in a bucket to Clara for the Nutcracker. Not the dancing version just the acting one.
4. Since the others are all about high school I will continue on with that train of thought. My senior year I was the mascot 2 times. Our mascot was a Bulldog. The first time was AWESOME!!! It was for a pep rally and I was playing a guitar and running around dancing. It was so much fun and I did so good no one knew it was me. Cause in real life I can't dance at all unless I have been drinking. The second time was for a game. This time was horrible. It was an away game and we (the football team) ROCKED!!! GO DOGS! Anyway, we kicked butt and the whole thing with our bulldog was that he would do push ups for every point scored. I was in pretty good shape but I couldn't do push ups. So I decided that The Bulldog had to do something so I did jumping jacks lol. This was the game that we seriously KICKED BUTT. I think we scored upwards to 60 points that game. Every time we got a touch down here I would go again. It was hot as all get out in that costume and every time I would do a jumping jack the dog head would bounce up and the more I had to do the higher it seemed to bounce lol. It was awful!! I slept great that night lol.

So now you know what a goofball I was and if I am honest I still am lol. I am not going to tag anyone but if you want to play along let me know & I will give you some linky love and come check it out.

Video

Our Party Night!

Our party was fun. The food was YUMMY!!! The company was great. Anna had a blast. That makes the hours of work I put into it well worth it. It went by pretty quickly but the guys were playing poker afterwards. So us girls settled down and watched a movie. Anna's choice of course and it was The Jungle Book. She loves that movie. Her favorite part is when he is a baby. She really only watches about the first 30-45 minutes and after that she watches the parts that have music. She had a good night. She made Yia Yia feel good. She adores her Yia Yia and she loves to love on her when she is here. Which I am sure makes Yia Yia's heart just over flow with love!

Bedtime was ok. We went to our room and she settled down and went to sleep after a while. However, just like last time when she woke up to go potty she refused to stay in the bed. She wanted her bed or none at all. She and I ended up on the couch for a few hours where she finally zonked out again. I will be happy when nap time gets here lol. Tonight my SIL is getting the boot and I will hopefully get a full nights sleep.

Lighten Up Friday

As of last week I had lost 5 lbs. I was down to a number that I hadn't seen in a very long time. This week I got on the scale and it said I had lost another pound. That was until this morning. This morning I weighed in and I had gained that pound plus another one back. I am going to say it is water retention because it is, you know, that TIME. Hopefully by middle of next week I will be back down again.

Well I don't really have time for more I have to do more for the party while Anna is napping. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Preparations

Preparations have started for our party. Doesn't it look like such fun!

These were a gift from my Hubby's Aunt Aren't they great!
Yummy cookies. So far that is all of the food we have prepared.
I'm being so good while Mommy works hard.
Is it time to party yet?