365 Challenge?

So, I am considering doing the 365 Challenge and curious if anyone wants to join me? If you are not sure what this is, it is when you take one picture a day, for an entire year, and post it to your blog. I found a group of Bloggers that have done this, and I don't even know these women, but it just was a lot of fun checking out their pics each day. Here are a few of the blogs that I have been following, so you can see how it works, if you are new to this.

The Days and Life of...

A Photo a day

365 Challenge

Anyway... if you would be interested in joining me, I think I am going to create a special blog, just for my challenge, and I will post it on my blog, and you can follow along. If you decide to take the challenge, please let me know, and I will post your blog on my list next to my 365 Challenge, and we will be a group. I think it will be a lot of fun!! :)

Hope to hear from you!

Happy New year and God bless!

It's about time!

Well... it finally happened! We were sitting at dinner last night, (which... sorry I have to share... my very sweet hubby picked up Gramma's Steak Hoagies for us on his way home from work! GOtta love those nights!) ...



anyway... we were sitting there and Doug finally said... "we really need to cut Grace's bangs! I am sick of not seeing her eyes!" LOL... my mom and I have been begging him to let us cut her hair for weeks, but he kept saying no. Needless to say... I knew if I let it go, he would let me do it eventually. So... Gracie went from this.... to:

This! Doesn't she look like a great big girl! Awwww..... my baby is a big girl!

Baby Stellan!

Updated:
Please check in on MckMama's blog... she has updated it, and baby Stellan urgently needs our prayers!

Original Post:
Please pray for baby Stellan, MckMama's little miracle boy. He has been taken back to the hospital for the this nasty cold that he has, and now he is currently being admitted to the ICU. I believe that I read that he has RSV, which is very dangerous for infants. For more updates, please check her page. On the left sidebar, you can follow her by Twitter.

Therapy...

This is a special message for my dear friend Terah... Please Check your e-mail. I need your help. Thanks!

Candace :)

Merry Christmas

From my family to your's, I hope you all have a very blessed and Merry Christmas.

Not Me! Monday...

This is probably one of my favorite times of the week... and it is here again! So let's get started!

Ok... I most certainly have not eaten my share of my special "spritz cookie" cookie dough that I made specially for Christmas, just because I wanted to! Seriously... I most certainly did not do that!

I also, while I am at it, have not eaten my share of my mom's very special kiss cookies... just because I am pregnant and it doesn't really matter anyway!

Next... I didn't actually try to talk my husband into keeping the two extra dog's that we adopted over the summer, even though I know that we can not handle 3 dogs right now. Nope... not me!

I did not spill the beans about or new little bun in the oven at church without my husband there. Nope... I would never do that!

Of course... instead of comforting my daughter after she had been disciplined by her daddy, I definitely did not take her picture while she was crying because she was so stinking cute when having a severe fit. Nope... not me!

Just this once... I defintitely did not add my name to MckMama's Mr. Linky before this blog was finished just so I could get in under the top 20 list... I would never do that!!! Nope... not me!

32 things about me...

So... I am 32 years old now(even though I swore up and down a few Monday's ago, I was not having a birthday...), and so I thought that I would give you 32 facts all about moi!

1.) My name is Candace Gail (Mc- No... I am not going to share my last name)

2.) I have lived in the same area nearly all my life, and when my husband and I bought our first house(where we live right now...), I now live exactly 10 minutes away from my mom and dad on the same exact road. It was just a coincidence!

3.) I have one brother, one sister(who is really my aunt... but more like a sister!), 3 sister in law's 3 brother in law's(which includes my aunts husband... long story... lol), 5 nieces, 6 nephews, lots and lots of aunts and uncles and cousins that seriously... if I listed them all.... I am sure that I would be listing someone that you are either related to, or know. I live in that small of a big world! :)

4.) I was saved by the blood of Christ when I was in the 8th grade and baptized a week later.

5.) I met my husband on the internet... fell in love(on the internet) and was engaged less than 3 months after meeting him in person... and married less than 9 months later.

6.) I have been married for 5 years this coming May.

7.) WE have 3 cats and 3 dogs.

8.) We tried to get pregnant for 2 years before Grace came along.

9.) My best friend in the entire world, besides my husband, is Terah(but really... you knew that already.

10.) I love to scrapbook!

11.) I haven't scrapbooked in a long time!

12.) My favorite color is PINK!!!!

13.) Besides Terah... my mom is my other best friend(even on the days that we get on eachothers nerves!).

14.) When I was 13 years old, I called a New Kids on the Block 900 # like over 100 times and ran the phone bill up so high that I was grounded for almost a year and was not allowed to go and see the New Kids on November 18th in Cincinnati. The worst punishment of my life... that and I had to do the dishes for a year!

15.) I have had like... 10 cats, all of which either ran away, or became roadkill... now I have all indoor cats!

16.) My feet are freezing right now...

17.) My favorite movie, that I could watch over and over again is the Holiday... or Wizard of Oz... or You've Got Mail... or When Harry Met Sally... or 27 Dresses... or Pretty Woman... or Runaway Bride... or Sweet Home Alabama... or 50 First Dates. Seriously.... I have a problem.

18.) I love buying movies!

19.) I am seriously addicted to the "twilight" books! They are amazing, and I believe that young or old, you should read these books. They will give you a totally different outlook on vampires! LOL!

20.) I lost 40 lbs at Weight Watcher's this year.

21.) I have been to Hawaii and want to go back soooo bad!

22.) Ok... so seriously, I LOVE the Anne of Green Gable movies! They are awesome... ifyou have a little girl... they are a must!

23.) I like tv just a little too much.

24.) My daughter is the light of my life.

25.) My husband is the only man that I have ever kissed... he was my first, and my last. And... I was his!

26.) I worked at a Credit Counseling company for nearly 8 years.

27.) My fingers are so cold they are nearly numb....

28.) I love my ipod!

29.) I have a boyband fetish... duh.... if you read this, you would already know that! LOL!

30.) I love to blog... and love my blogging friends... almost to the point that I am addicted to checking for updates on my favorite blogs... like Marshan's blog, Mindy's Blog, MckMama, Momstheword, Confessions of a Student Nurse, The Stanfield Journey, The Reality of Happily Ever After... and soooo many more that I have listed on my sidebar. Even though I may not send notes, or tell you I am there... I appreciate all of your blogs and love you all!

31.) My life is not perfect, but I love it just the way it is!

32.) I am pregnant! We just found out about a week and a half ago, and we couldn't be happier. I have not gone to the Dr yet, but please pray that this baby is healthy and happy, and for his or her momma as well. :)

If you wanna play a long... drop me a line and I will be sure to stop by your blog and check out your things about you! :)

This is one of those pictures...

that I will be bringing out when she brings home her first boyfriend. I am not even sure why she was crying, but I am sure that it was probably something that she was told no to, and of course, decided that she wanted to throw a fit about. So... here it is... documented for all to see.

Look at these tears! Seriously... I can't help but think my daughter is adorable... even when throwing an ugly fit...

Of course... moments later... she was having fun again:

Have you...?

I found this on The Arrison Family blog, and really liked it. So... here it goes:

PUT THE THINGS YOU'VE DONE IN BOLD.

Started your own blog
Slept under the stars
Played in a band(Does highschool band count? I say it does...)
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland/Disney World
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
Grown your own vegetables
Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Slept on an overnight train
Had a pillow fight
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Built a snow fort
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping
Run a Marathon
Ridden in a gondola in Venice
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Seen an Amish community
Taught yourself a new language
Had enough money to be truly satisfied (when I was younger. much, much younger)
Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
Gone rock climbing/repelling
Seen Michelangelo’s David
Sung karaoke
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted/sketched
Gone deep sea fishing
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater
Been in a movie
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies
Gone whale watching
Got flowers for no reason
Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
Bounced a check(seriously... not my fault!)
Flown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy
Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Eaten Caviar
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square
Toured the Everglades
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Broken a bone
Been on a speeding motorcycle
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published a book(Does one of those photo books from Snapfish count?)
Visited the Vatican
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Had your picture in the newspaper
Read the entire Bible
Visited the White House
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Had chickenpox
Saved someone’s life
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous
Joined a book club
Lost a loved one
Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Been involved in a law suit
Owned a cell phone
Been stung by a bee
Read an entire book in one day.
Fallen in Love

Thankful Thursday...

I am thankful for:


My family: My beautiful daughter, my loving hubby, my wonderful parents(I can't even go into how thankful that I am for my mom and dad!) and in-laws, my Brother Brad and sister in law Jess, my aunt Cathy(who is more like my sister than my aunt) and uncle Dave, and Doug's brother Andy, his wife Cynthia and Doug's sister Lisa and her husband Duane, my very handsome nephew's Ian, Zach, Caleb, Davie, Bryan and Nathan as well as my beautiful niece's, Carly, Abby, Emma, Tori and Jennifer. All of my aunt's, uncle's, cousin's, and so many more that I can not list here. Seriously... I am related to almost all of Clermont County! LOL!

My dear friends: This list is almost even longer, but to name a few... I am thankful for my best friend, Terah Lee, who has always been there, through thick and thin, good and bad, and even the pretty and ugly. You have met Terah... remember this moment? Also, I am thankful for all my dear friend's that I made through the years at Trinity, and for a couple that I brought to Trinity from Lane Bryant, such as Aleathia and Sharon. I have a strong bond with these women, and love them dearly. Next... I can't leave out the Phat Girlz! They are my daily chat buddies, scrappin' friends, and prayer warriors! I love you girls! I will introduce them at a later time... I promise, but in the mean time... I love ya's!

My home: We are blessed to have a wonderful home full of warmth, and it is one of my favorite places on earth. I am very thankful for that.

My blogging friends: I am thankful for the blogging friends that I have made recently. You are all so very special to me, and whether you know me yet or now, I know you and love the common bond that we share. Our families, and our lives. May God bless you in this coming year. You are all precious to me.

ALL of the unsaid blessings: There are so many more things, that I can not even think to list, but for those things... I am thankful.

Not Me! Monday...

So, again, it is that time of the week where we share our sordid stories of Not Me! woes.... so, as usual, here it goes:



So, to start things off.... this week, I most certainly am not keeping a HUGE secret. Nope... I absolutely do not have a GIANT secret that is eating me up inside, but most certainly can not tell yet. I would not do that! And... to top it all off, if I was keeping a secret, I wouldn't post about it in my blog, taunting you, telling you there there most certainly is not a secret being kept! So... for now, nope... not me!



I also, have not burst out crying several times this week for no good reason(especially not today while I was out shopping with my mom, and I definitely did not just bawl in the middle of the home goods, just because I am nervous that I am almost out of money for Christmas shopping).... seriously... not me!



Here is a twilight one for ya... I most certainly did not, while kissing my husband, bite him teasingly, and get asked, "What are those books doing to you?" Seriously... who would do that! Not me!!! LOL! (Sorry... that just made me laugh, not remembering that!)



So... for now, that is the best that I can do. I am sure that I could come up with some others, but I am most certainly not tired at all! Hope you all have a great week!

New Sandra Bullock Movie...

Ok, I am huge fan of Sandra Bullock and was just saying the other day that we haven't seen her in a romantic comedy in a long time. So... here is the clip for the new movie. Hope you can check it out. It looks pretty funny! Here is the link:



Oh... and that picture looks bad, I know, but it isn't. Trust me... it is funny.

What do you know!

Ok... so, again I have to thank my very handsome husband. He has kept me from going completely crazy, tearing up my house, looking for that precious little white sweater. Seriously though... he claims that he found the sweater underneath the clean basket of clothes on my side of the bed. What? No... I am pretty sure that he found it in the black hole located under our house, and then planted it somewhere that would drive me completely nuts! Ok... so it is more likely that it was under the clean clothes basket. At least my original fear was not right... my original theory was that we had our house broken into by some crazy sweater stealing bandits and my fear was that my favorite black sweater would be next! Phew!

Here are some pics after the recovery effort! Thanks for listening!

By the way... Momstheword, I am pretty sure Kindred Spirits is exactly right! We(ok... Doug) literally found it about 5 minutes after I read your comment! Sooo funny!

Missing: One White Sweater!

Ok, so... you ever have one of those days, where you remember something that you haven't seen in the laundry in a while, and then... you start wondering where in the world is that white sweater of Gracie's!?! Well... as you may have guessed by the title of this post... we are missing one white sweater. Now... this is not a specially hand made sweater that has any bearing on my happiness in life if I do not find it, however, it is so annoying to me whenever I might misplace, lose, or just can't find something. It nags at my brain until I have scoured the entire house, and turned it upside down, just to find this item. Now, it is not just sweaters that do this to me... it can be scrapbooking paper, a certain CD, a necklace charm that I have bought and was too lazy to put on my necklace and then after having a complete breakdown, opened a cabinet door on my china cabinet and it was there in my very old checkbook(of course... that is just an example! NOT!)

Why is this driving me nuts??? Well... for one, the sweater was a great deal! It was a clearance item at the end of the summer, and it was only $4. Second... it looks so cute on her!!! So... until I find it... here are some pictures showing the missing item! Pray for this crazy momma... I am seriously going to drive my husband nuts until I find this... I just can't help myself! :)

Wordless Wednesday...

Ignore that last blog! LOL!

Award

I was recently having kind of a crummy day. Of course, to get it, I wrote about it. Not in detail, but just enough to feel a little better. To put it out into this wonderful blog filled world, where someone read about it, and possibly relate. So, that day, my new friend from momstheword (please check out this blog... I have been reading it and really have enjoyed getting to know her blog!) sent me a nice comment with encouraging words(just what I needed, by the way!), along with this cool award! Thank you soooooo much! It was so sweet! So... to play along, here is what I am going to do... I am going to pass it along! :)

Here are the rules:
"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find, and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

The rules are:

1. Put the logo on your blog

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you (Gracie's Momma)

3. Nominate 8-10 other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on yours

5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

So now I have to choose ten blogs! How hard is that? Choose only 8 to 10 cool blogs? I choose:

momof2beautifulgirls

In a Nutshell

Mom of six

The Reality of Happily Ever after...

Our Journey of Love

You're Gonna Miss this...

I'll Fly away

The Stanfield Journey

The Family News

These are some of the blogs that I have been reading for a while. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. God Bless and hope you all have a great evening!

Love,

Candace

"Not me!" Monday

So, it is that time again... can you believe that another week has gone by? I can't! Can you believe... there is only 17 days left til Christmas? Nope... where has this year gone? Day by day, week by week, month by month... time is just slipping away! So... since it is Monday, we might as well get to it. So, here is this week's list of things I definitely did not do...:

So, first of all... I most certainly did not eat all of that decadently yummy Whisky River BBQ Burger with the exception of the 1/4 of the burger that Grace ate, and did not enjoy every single bite! Seriously... I did not savor every single bite... Nope... Not me!~

And another thing I definitely did not do, I did not beg my husband to get my the new Cricut machine, and go an entire week with it, still in the box, not scrapbook at all! Seriously... I would not do that!

So... here is a gross one, that I 100%, absolutely, did not do! Okay, so... Grace and I have been suffering from a small head cold this week. And... as everyone knows, with this, usually comes along with a runny nose. Well... I most certainly did not use Grace's jammie shirt (while she was still wearing it) as a tissue for my daughters extremely runny nose, because there was not a tissue in sight. While I have already grossed you out... I might as well say, that I also did not wipe my very own nose on my very own jammies, because of the same exact reason.

So, let's move on! I most certainly did not use the excuse that it was my birthday(even though, we know that I did not have a birthday) to not clean my house, the entire time that Doug was gone hunting! Seriously... I did not do that!

And yet... another thing that I did not do... while my wonderful husband was gone hunting with my dad and brother, I did not overly enjoy my time alone this week, and definitely did not sprawl out across the entire queen size bed... using both his pillows and mine. Nope... not me!

So, as a birthday present to myself... I definitely did not go out and by the brand new Britney Spears CD. I most certainly also did not by the Sims 2 Pets game for my computer! Seriously... who would do that... or admit it in their blog? Not me!

Again this week, I did not just sit idly by, laughing, and snapping pictures as I watched my adorably cute daughter, do this:

Again... I did not do that! Seriously... I don't know where she gets this! LOL!

I also have not had a million other not me moments, but because I didn't write them down as I thought of them, I am not writing them here in this blog.

Finally... I am definitely not prejudice when I say that this is the cutest child on the planet! OK... maybe I am just a little! :)

Have a great week! Candace

Sad, lonely, frustrated, and completely blah!

Ya ever have one of these days... from the minute you wake up, you feel like the world is against ya? Am I ever having one of those days! I am seriously in a funk. It didn't start out that way... it started out just getting up in the morning, and not feeling well from this stupid cold that I have. Then, it just snowballs into something more awful. An argument with Doug, ruined breakfast, messed up day... and just hoping that things will get better. I am sure that they will, but I still just don't know how it all started. Ok... that is a lie. I know how it started... with my dropping that stupid egg! Anyway... please pray for me. I am struggling with some internal conflicts right now, and until I deal with my demons... I will not be able to focus. Oh well... Hope everyone else is having a better day! :)

"Not Me!" Monday...

So... another week, another list of things that I most definitely have not done!

So.... first off, I most certainly do not have a birthday tomorrow... and most definitely... I WILL NOT BE 32! No matter what you are told... I definitely am not!

While I am at it, while tomorrow is not my birthday, I will not be going to Red Robin(definitely not my favorite restaurant), and will not be eating my very own Red Robin Whiskey River Barbeque Burger! Why would I do something so crazy... knowing good and well that this burger has 35 points! Ok... so I will probably eat half and share it with my sister in law, Jess! :) Of course... while I am there, I most definitely will not be eating more than one basket of French Fries! Again... knowing that it is totally wrong for a girl so committed to her Weight Watcher's.

So... speaking of Weight Watcher's, I have a good one. I most certainly did not eat a 1/4 cup of Dark Chocolate M&M's before going to bed last night and expect to actually lose weight. I also did not, immediately after my weigh-in, call my mom and ask her if she wanted a Hoagie from Gramma's pizza! Who would do that????

So... since this is a blog about "Gracie's Momma"... I should probably give you one with Gracie actually in it. So... I most certainly did not take pictures of my husband and precious little girl, while they were both sick with the stomach bug that ravaged our household, and the households of my entire family, the week before Thanksgiving.

While we are on the subject... I did not tell my daughter no, when she was doing something wrong, and then, when she gave me this look....

forget why I was being stern with her and definitely did not start to laugh. I most certainly do not have any hope!

Shrek in the house?

So.... yesterday afternoon I had this beautiful light come into our front room and Grace happened to sit down right in the light, so I could get the perfect shot of her playing. I just love these pics. So... I show them to my wonderful husband, and what does he say...

LOOK AT THE SHADOW!!! She looks like SHREK!!! Well...Hmphf! So much for my artistic streak! Nah... I still love them!

Twilight...

So... I have recently been caught up in "Twilight" mania. So... this clip of the movie is for my bestest friend, Terah Lee... you are gonna love this!

Twilight Trailer


For those of you unfamiliar with the "Twilight" books, you can check out the author's website and read about them. I am a true teeny bopper at heart, and have never really been a fan of scary stories, but... truly, this is one of the sweetest, most endearing love stories I have ever read. If you like to read(even if you don't), I promise, if you pick up this book... you will be hooked. There are 4 books in the series, and I am telling you, it is worth it. Doug is happy that I am reading, instead of sitting on the computer all day, or watching soap operas! LOL! Anyway... I hope you go in without any prejudices... yes, it is about "vampires", but it is mainly about LOVE. Trust me.... I promise, you will not be sorry!

Leaves, leaves and more leaves!

Falling from the sky!

So strange... usually whe you hear the song Rock a bye baby... you picture them in a cradle... not just hanging by a limb like we found this one earlier today! LOL! just kidding... Gracie was having fun being airborn a few times this evening! :)

When you just need some time to yourself...

Ok, so when you are one year old, there aren't a lot of places that you can just go to by yourself, where you can't get into some trouble. Most people... when they need some time alone go to the bathroom to think... or read... or, well, never mind that last thing. Anyway, if a one year old needs some time to herself, where can you go? Here is Gracie's answer to that question...

Like father...

Like daughter!

Free Gift From OPRAH!!!!

Ok... ladies, this is FREE! Check this ou!!!! Go to http://www.oprah.com/ and if you go to Thursday's show, and follow the link that says "Get your free gift from Snapfish.com now!". You will get a free Photo Book. There is not much time... just go now! I am going to try to post the link, but I am not sure if I am doing it right or not.... http://www.snapfish.com/freebook2008.

Good luck!

Almost... Wordless Wednesday!

Ok, so I can never leave it wordless, especially since technically... at the time of this post, it is really 12:32 a.m... but I just thought that I would post some pics of my crazy 15 month old girlie girl, along with a little story. My daughter has a complete fascination with my eldest child, my 8 year old cat Rainy. She is quite old(at least, she believed that she is old... hence the deep growl of agony every time that she get picked up, or sat on by Gracie) and pretty much can't stand any visitors that we have in the house. Especially little kids... she really does not like little kids. I do understand this however, because when she was little she was tortured by her original owners children and put into a bird cage. I imagine that could be scaring for a cat. Anyway, as you can imagine, when Grace was born I was a little nervous how she would react to the new little creature that would be brought into our house. We have two other cats and she literally almost disowned me when we brougt them into the house, and let's not even go into what she did when we got Honey! LOL! So... for the most part, Rainy pretty much ignored Grace, that is, until Grace could no longer ignore her. Now, I should also tell you, when my niece Carly Mae comes over, she really wants to be friends with Rainy, but Rainy rebuffs her advances. She bats her paws and hisses like crazy.

However... Rainy has finally realized that this kid isn't going home with my brother Brad, as much as she wishes that she would! Here are some pics of my eldest and youngest child... bonding. No..... I am not sure at all what she is doing in these pictures.

This is underneath the old sewing machine that was my mammaw's... I used to sit underneath one just like this when I was little at her house.

So.... I have one more thing to discuss. It is a little traumatic, and honestly, I try not to let it happen that often, but I am going to admit it now. Sometimes... I ask my wonderful, willing husband to change Grace. Now, most days, it turns out ok, but there are definitely times when... if I were to ask him to do this, he would honestly let our precious baby girl leave the house looking like this. I guess it could be worse... LOL!

On a really sweet note though... last night Doug came home from the grocery store and he had gotten that really cute Sleeping Beauty lunchbox for Gracie as a present. This is the man that recently thought that a purple swiss army knife was a good gift... (actually, I really liked it, because it fits on my keyring, and it has tweezers in it... I am always looking for my tweezers! LOL!). He is definitely in love with his little girl! :)