"Impossible" is not a word, it's just a reason for someone not to try.

So it has been a couple weeks and I am doing great!  I am even losing more weight and that is always good!  I'm not going to lie I went a little nutz the first day and pretty much ate any carbohydrate that was put in front of me, but in moderation of course : D  It is really amazing how your view on food changes after you decide that it isn't the "end all be all" of life.  You decide that you don't have to shove your face full of all the little things that you want because you have the rest of your life to enjoy them, whats the rush?

I will be giving you a sneak peak into what myself and any others that will be joining the 12 week Body for Life challenge that we will be starting on January 10th, 2011.  This is a plan I chose because I want to continue my progress and as long as I'm losing weight I might as well look good doing so.

This whole thing is not about losing weight anymore or even about feeling my best, it's about inspiring myself and in return that has inspired others to do the same thing or anything that they have desired to do.  There is nothing better then knowing that you are fulfilling your destiny, that the pieces are finally fitting together and you learn new things about yourself everyday, which you never thought would be possible because how can you know so little about the very person you are, but it is all too easy to slip into a "comfortable coma" never reaching your full potential, never following your dreams or becoming who you were destined to be.  BUT what if, what if we just stopped, stopped everything we were doing and for one moment we took the time to seek God, seek ourselves, seek our desires and then made a decision to change, change everything we thought we were and were unhappy with and do it all different, and it all starts with a thought, just a simple thought followed by an action and a great deal of determination.

This is why I have decided to start the 12 weeks Body for Life so that I could take the thought I first had, to lose weight, and make it into something greater, something more and something that would push my self and make myself a better me.  It is so easy to just go, go, go and before we know it we have spent our whole life going when we should have been DOING.  I have made up my mind to DO something and this is only the being my friends and it can be the beginning for you as well.  So please if any of you want to join me in my challenge then please don't hesitate to message me or send a comment my way and I will help you any way that I can.

I know that there is a reason why people say "You can do anything  YOU put YOUR MIND to." It is a saying that has been holding true in my life for the last couple months and I suspect it will be a life long virtue of mine, because I truly believe, NO I KNOW, that it if you can gain control of your MIND then you can do anything and everything and will achieve all things that you CHOOSE to do.

I hope you will all join me on my next journey, I will be posting regularly to keep you updated and also motivated.  I know that we can all achieve "the impossible", because the only reason that something is "impossible" is because you made up your mind that it was, now it is up to you to make up your mind that it is not.  I hope you all have a lovely Holiday and please join me in the New Year with reaching your dreams! I bid you all a farewell till......very soon :D

Warm Regards,
Candace

Fruit and Granola Parfait

Strawberries, Bluberries, diced
Honey Granola
Lite, Nonfat, Vanilla Yogurt (I use Dannon)

combine and enjoy: D this one is so yummy it is my new desert!

The End of the Beginning.....

Well, well, well.......I AM FINISHED!   Yes it is now almost midnight and that means I have just about completed my forty days!  This has been a challenging and rewarding journey and I cannot tell you how much I have learned about myself.

I honestly cannot believe that I made it till the end, when I first started the end seemed so far insight that there is no possible way I could have finished it, but I am very happy to say that I did!  twenty pounds down and still going!  Just because I have finished this leg of my journey does not mean that I will not be continuing the bettering of myself, because I will and I must!

After the New Year I and a few others will be starting 12 weeks of the Body for Life program, Now that I have lost the weight I am going to continue to keep my body in the best shape of my life.  There is no reason to not try to better yourself constantly.

Tonight is very bitter-sweet, it is hard to explain but let me try.... it is sweet because I have accomplished what I set out to do and I have started to mold myself into the person I have always wanted to become, on the other hand it is very bitter, bitter because it is a sad thing to think that what I set out to accomplish is over, I did it, which is great and feels so good, but this has become a part of my life over the past forty days, it has become my accountability, the way that I have expressed myself, the way that I have grown, my thoughts, my struggles, my insights over the past forty days and to say goodbye to this chapter in my life is sad because it has truly meant so much.

But I must open a new chapter in my life and I have a lot of unfinished dreams, not-yet-reached desires and awaiting goals to achieve.  Now achieving this I honestly feel like I can do anything, like my possibilities are my aspirations.  I will still be blogging, just not everyday, and I will be writing about my continued journey and also my 12 week Body for Life goal I have chosen to accomplish.

I am so thankful for all of you readers that have allowed me to take you on this journey with me.  I have learned so many things about myself and what things you can accomplish if you just put your mind to it. God teaches us things when we take the initiative to start something, if you are on a downward slope and not sure what to do to get out of your situation or how to change things, JUST DO SOMETHING!  Even if it turns out to be the wrong something at least you took the first steps and if it isn't right you will find out sure enough, but can I give you one more word of advice..go in the direction of your passions, your desires, your goals, your dreams all the things you wanted to do and were created to do are just waiting for you all you have to do it reach for them.

Some of the most successful people in this world are not successful because they did what made them the most money or what people in their life told them they "should" be doing or who they "should" be, No, they are successful because they followed their passions, they took the desires of their hearts and made them a reality.  It was not easy, it was not always fun, in fact 90% of the time it will be going through Hell, but if I have learned anything in these past forty days, it is you have to go through Hell and bring the enemy to his knees so you can tell him this, "There is no way I am letting you have control over my destiny and if you think I am afraid to take the risk of following my dreams, you are right, but I am still going to do it!"

I hope you all have learned things in your own life by reading this, but if you have learned anything I hope that it is you can accomplish ANYTHING you put your mind to all you have to do is do it.  There is nothing to great, no one circumstance that you cannot overcome, you just have to decide who you want to be...do you want to be the person you can barely look at in the mirror or do you want to be the the person you knew you always were.  I will choose to be the person that God made me to be, not the person the enemy tells me I am.  I am truly going to miss this road I've gone down, but it is time for me to say goodbye and please stay tuned for my next blogs for the next journey in my life and yours, it has truly been a pleasure.  I will bid you all a farewell till the next time!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Sun-dried tomato Roll-ups

Sun-dried tomato tortillas
Cream cheese
dash of garlic powder, dill, sea salt and pepper
Deli Turkey, shredded

Mix cream cheese and spices and spread overtop of the tortillas, scatter turkey on top of tortillas, roll the tortillas and then cut into 1 inch rolls, enjoy : D

Promises....

Oh boy, what a day what a day.  Things do have a weird way of working themselves out.  Today I expected one thing to happen and then the exact opposite occurred, but isn't that what I seem to have been saying these past few weeks?  Yep I believe even my post last night was titled "The Unexpected" and then whatta ya know, the very next day the unexpected happened.

It was not the thing I wanted to happen, and surly not the thing I thought was going to happen, but it did and I know that somewhere down the road, in the next couple days, the next week, or is may even be the next year, I will know why it didn't "work out" how I planned it, and I also know that the reason that it didn't will be better then why I thought it should have.

God has a funny way of showing up, He's never on time, but He's always right on time. Like when you think there is no possible way you can endure another second in your current situation and you know that any minute now God is just going to do something miraculous, but what happens when the minute turns into a decade or even twenty years?  How long are you willing to hold onto that promise, you know the promise from God that he gave you some odd years ago and you still have yet to see it come to pass.  Don't worry you will, the jews had to wait forty years for their promise land and maybe if they would have just listened the first time then it might not have taken them so long, but it did, partly because that may have been the way God wanted it, but partly because they let their unbelief seep in every time they became discouraged or disappointed.

If you let disappointment control you, you will be spending your lifetime waiting for missed promises that will never come to pass because you haven't learned the lesson behind them yet.  I cannot reiterate this enough people, please, please, please, make sure every time your going through a rough patch of life, STOP, THINK, PRAY and then REACT.  There is nothing harder than feeling like something was "suppose" to happen, and even thought with out a shadow of a doubt that it would....and then.....it doesn't, there is a slight form of panic that sweeps over you at first, then there is an anger and a frustration, and lastly(and this should really be firstly) you seek God for reasons why and come up with a whole list of questions to ask Him, and once you do all that, after the initial shock of the situation wears off, you began to forget about all the reasons why you wanted this thing to come to pass and ask the Lord what HE wants to come to pass.

It is that simple, we must seek first and then we will receive and answer, and it isn't always the answer we want to hear, but trust Him it's the best one.  I hope you all find the answers your seeking tonight and really get all the desires of your hearts fulfilled.  I bid you all a farewell and goodnight till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Top Steak Pot Roast

Get a large piece of top steak sirloin
1 cup of Chicken Broth
Steak seasonings, Garlic Powder, Sea Salt, Pepper

Put in Pot Roast on Low till tender, Enjoy : D

The unexpected...

Sometimes there are things that happen that are out of our control. When these things occur it is very important how we react to them, because the very way we react to them is the very thing that we may be being tested on.

If you let your anger or your frustration lead to disappointment, overwhelm you and overcome you then that is something that can turn what may have been an opportunity into a curse. No we can' t always control what happens but once it does we sure as heck better know how to handle it. I feel like God prepares us for the devastating moments he allows to happen to us, he does it in a subtle way so that if we are really listening then once something unexpected does take place we will be equipped to deal with it. It does not mean that going through some of these little life unexpectancies will be any easier but we might find a little more peace and joy and comfort while we are going through them.

Yes if we really listen then we may be able to recognize the things that we are going through a little better. How is it that we can be totally oblivious to the things God has for us? It's like we walk through this life completely blind and deaf an expect God to magically change our situation, but how can he possibly do that when we would not grow, we would not learn anything, it would not do us any good to just be given something without learning the lesson behind it. It is like that old saying "Give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish he eats everyday". You must learn while you are in that position before He will do anything.

I hope you can learn from all your unexpected moments in life, and always remember when something does happen you were not planning on, stop, think, pray, then react. I will bid you all a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Cinnamon Roll Protein Shake

8 ounces of milk or water
1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder
1 tsp. Of cinnamon
1 tbsp. Of butter
A few ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in a blender and top with a dash of cinnamon, enjoy :)

If you have nothing nice to say.......

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you only saw the positive in people instead of the negative?  Think about it, what a happier place this world would be, instead of focusing on their annoying qualities, the way they chew a piece of steak, it's like a masticated cow died in their mouth, or the way they talk so horribly about their spouse, or they always say negative things about them selves so you would be sure to compliment them.  Nope, what if we saw only the good, the way they have a way with words, or how they are always there when you need them, or the way they seem to give you good advice and make you feel at ease, or what about that time they loaned you 20 bucks when you didn't have enough cash, all those things are good things and all those things are little things that mean so much at the time.  So why is it we are so quick to forget about those things, it's like a week goes by and all the sudden we are back to seeing all the negative in that person again instead of the love we felt for them not seven days before.

Now what if we took all those positive things that hold true and encouraged them every time you saw these traits come out in them.  It's like when you compliment your friend's outfit and tell them how fabulous they look in it and how thin it makes them look, guess what outfit they will be wearing all the time now?  Yep the one that made them feel the best, that they feel the most confident in, that they received the most compliments in.  Because you see we are all human and we all want to feel that great way we felt when we got those compliments.  It is the same thing when we notice the great qualities a person holds instead of the negative ones.

A wise man once told me that it is very important that you do not label someone, for example if your son is extremely rowdy and rebellious and has a sharp tongue and so did your uncle growing up as a child, so you compare your son to that uncle " Oh yeah, that Billy is just like Uncle Rob, rebellious as ever" And right there you have just labeled your son and you are pulling your hair out, pacing back and forth praying that God will make him just obey you for one minute! But why should he, and how would he know how too, this whole time you have been telling him exactly who he is, and the more you spoke those words over him the more he became them.

You see it all is in the words you speak, they have weight, they are powerful!  The Lord SPOKE the Universe into existence, did you here that....HE SPOKE....ahh yes your words are very powerful.  They can make or break your current situation, they can make or break the people in your life.  Just think how wonderful people would be, how many people might get to being who they were actually suppose to be if someone just spoke those positive words over them, telling them everyday who they are and that they can achieve all their dreams and their desires.

What if our goal in life was helping people become who they were meant to be, wouldn't that be a great accomplishment on it's own.  The lesson for tonight is to speak kindly about others, speak with love, and if you want something speak it into existence and you just might get it.  I bid you all a farewell till tomorrow of course!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Taco Fajita Salad

Grilled Chicken Breast, diced
Avocado, diced
Grilled Onions, Green Peppers, diced
Pico Di Gyo
Vinaigrette
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Mix all ingredients and enjoy :D

Seasons....

It is crazy to think that all we have standing in our way is our unwillingness to change.  How do we do this?  We end up wasting so much of our life obsessing and double guessing every step we make and we sit day after day, hour after hour at our boring desk or the job we can't wait to get out of or the house we can't wait to upgrade or the body we can't wait to change, we some how think that if we just barely get through this period of time in our life then we might have enough strength to make it to the next stage.  Why can't we see that there is something more that we need to learn in this specific season, that it's more than just to teach us or grow us to a certain point, which by the way you aren't growing if you sit there complaining and wanting so bad to be somewhere else or doing something else that you can't even realize why God has you in that season in the first place.

I am here to tell you my faithful friends that the Lord is not a keeper of time so he's got as long as you do plus eternity and until you learn why you are in that situation and who your suppose to help or what your suppose to be learning then He will keep you there as long as it takes.  SO you might as well get through it quick and do it right the first time.  "Rejoice in your suffering, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance - character and character hope" (Romans 5:8) This verse is conveniently hung in my bathroom where I can see it everyday and it continues to remind me what my attitude needs to be, and if all I have at the end of the day is hope, then that should be efficent enough.

If you wake up dreading the day that you have to go to work or don't have a work to go to then you are already starting off with the wrong mindset and you need to make the decision to change your heart and with the changing of your heart comes the changing of your life.  If I have gotten any point across in the last 36 days I hope it is that in order to make a real change in your life you have to make a decision to do so.

Sometimes we don't realize that the only thing holding us back is ourselves, can you believe that!  WE are holding ourselves back from achieving our dreams, our goals, the desires of our hearts, we spend most of the week asking God why and to magically set his gaze upon us and change everything bad and horrible in our lives in the blink of an eye, but I have learned, because He has taught me, that WE must be the ones to act, we must be the ones to set the ball in motion, we can't just wait and hope for the best, No we must fight! We must take initiative! We must learn that just because things aren't happening the way we "planned" does not mean that nothing will happen at all. We must continue to strive for it, to yearn for it, to want something so bad that you are willing to fail to get it.

Because that is what it's going to take, you are going to fail, you will stumble, you will get discouraged, you will want to give up, you will want to slip into the "comfortable coma" of settling, BUT YOU CANNOT AND YOU MUST NOT!  The road is not easy, but if it was there is no way that it would be as satisfying once you accomplished it.  I hope you all want the desires of your hearts bad enough to achieve them, even if all you have at the end of the day is a picture on your bathroom wall to remind you never to give up, that you will always have HOPE.

Good tidings to you and I bid you all a farewell till tomorrow of course!

Warm Regards,
Candace

BBQ Chicken

Chicken breasts, baked
1/4 cup low sugar ketchup
2 TBSP worchteshire sauce
Sea Salt
Pepper
2 TBSP of Chicken Broth
1 TbSP of Cider Vinegar
1 TBSP of Splenda (or sugar sub.)
2 Slices of Bacon or Turkey Bacon, Chopped

Heat all ingredients except for chicken in a sauce pan on medium till mixed together and warm, put sauce on cooked chicken and enjoy :D

Perfection

Isn't it funny that as women we try to pretend that we can do EVERYTHING, like there is absolutely nothing that can phase us.  Yes we can put on the best Christmas party, make the best apple pie, have the most divine clothes, use the fanciest hair care, always have our nails up-kept, our homes are always clean and organized and our gams look the sexiest in our killer new heels, that are secretly killing our feet.  We are women, we are strong, we can multitask at the drop of a hat, we try to be the perfect daughters, the perfect wives, the perfect person, but what happens when they find out we aren't all those things, we don't have everything "all together", we do have deep dark secrets and horrible habits and we are only fooling ourselves and others by trying to paint ourselves into a perfect little picture.

WE ARE BEAUTIFUL and wonderful and we can accomplish amazing things, but by no means can we do it on our own.  There is no shame in asking for help, letting someone that you love and trust know that you are just you and you can't do everything on your own.  There is something quite unique about a self-confident women, the way she moves..it's graceful..it's magical, the way she can choose the right words at the exact right time, she has a way about her that is so charming, she is a hard-worker, she laughs in the enemy's face when he tells her she can't, to her CAN is the only option, she never backs down from a challenge and she is a gracious loser, she fights till the end for herself, for her family, for her spouse, she is elegant and loving and the only words that ever reach her lips are kind and just.  Yes this women is a masterpiece and the very thing that the Maker of the Universe created her to be, BUT SHE IS NOT PERFECT, the thing that is so captivating about her is that she knows exactly when to ask for help and she isn't afraid to admit it.

I would love to get my hands on the thing or being that told us we were on our own and that if we weren't perfection then we weren't anything.  I know exactly what it feels like to strive to achieve this so-called "perfection", we try to achieve it in our looks, in the perfect body, the perfect hairstyle, the best skin, the "I am not too needy" kind of cover-up, the "I am totally fine with doing whatever my boyfriend wants to do" thang, Let me tell you what, you will NEVER reach this kind of perfection, because even if you accomplish one of them you will never accomplish the others, at least not forever, this is the wrong kind of perfection you need to be striving for, because eventually your looks will fade, your body will sag, your hair will turn gray, you skin will be flawed, you will NEED someone, and you will get so fed up with always doing what he wants to do that by the time you get married he will think you are someone else and you will know that all you want to do is sit on the coach on a Friday night and watch Pride & Prejudice  NOT the playoffs.

Being able to forgive, love, show compassion, being a good steward, give to the poor, help the helpless, ask for help when you need it, admit when your wrong, apologize, those are the things that describe perfection.  This is a different kind of perfection, it's the kind that knows it has already failed at the other "perfection", and it is the kind that is willing to never give up, though you may fall seven times and seven times again, each time you get back up.  You must never stop running the race, and realize that when you try to compete there is only one winner and that is the enemy, he is constantly lurking, knowing that if you believe all the "perfection" hoopla is actually achievable then he's already won.  You must have enough discernment to tell the difference, it is pretty easy to recognize once you know what to look for, one is up-lifting and positive the other is negative and bitter and can plant a seed that will cause everything good in your life to slowly disappear.  Which "perfection" will you choose?  I know mine.

I hope you all have a lovely evening and know that you are great the way you are and if your unhappy with something in your life then all you have to do is make the decision to change it, ask for help if needed and then GET IT DONE.  I will bid you all a farewell and a goodnight till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Enchilada Pie

Cooked ground chicken
season with taco spices
Enchilada sauce
green onions, diced
lettuce, diced
green olives, diced
sour cream
salsa

Cook chicken, mix in seasonings, pour chicken into a pan and pour enchilada sauce over it, spread grated cheddar cheese on top, bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, top with salsa, lettuce, green onions, green olives and sour cream, If wanted put mixture into a warm tortilla, Enjoy :D

Timing....

Sometimes things don't happen at the time we thought they would.  Life gets in the way and those things we were planning slip away to a later date, other times we are waiting on something to happen and you thought for sure it was suppose to have happened by now, but it hasn't.  You don't always know the reason why the timing is off, why you missed that interview, why the person in front of you was the lucky winner of the day instead of you, why you seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

But what if you weren't, what if you were in the exact right place at the right time and you just didn't know it, all the things you were waiting for were the wrong things, all the things you were looking at when maybe your gaze needed to be in a different direction.  Nothing is by coincidence, everything happens for a reason and there is absolutely a time and a season for everything. 

Sometimes you have to give up the things you think your suppose to be doing and do the things that God really wants for you, ("your ways are not my ways and your thoughts are not my thoughts"), you see the very thing that we think we know, could be the very thing that is stopping us from receiving the next opportunity that we are waiting for.  

Ahh yes timing is such a beautiful thing when your balanced, only when your balanced and know what direction your heading, only then is the timing perfect, and even then God might make you wait for a few things, but once you've mastered the art of waiting you will be free, and it won't matter what time things happen or how they happen, it will just matter that your making your dreams come true and the rest will fall into place.  As always I bid you all a farewell and a happy Saturday night till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,

Candace

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded and sliced in almost in half

4 oz of cream cheese

pepper, garlic powder, sea salt, dill and fresh parsley

1/2 an onion, diced

Olive Oil

Pound chicken and slice almost in half still leaving connected, mix cream cheese and seasonings and onions, spoon cream cheese mixture in between sliced chicken breasts evenly, then cook in a pan with olive oil, enjoy :D

Not what you were expecting......

Not what you expected?...Hmmm oh really, well what exactly were you expecting?...Does this ever happen to you?  You have been waiting for something and then once it arrives, it's not what you expected, you order a gift set online and once you get it, it's not what you expected, you lose 20 pounds and you don't feel as accomplished as you expected, you see a 4-star movie and it's not what you expected, you get that dream job and guess what...IT"S NOT WHAT YOU EXPECTED!  Life is rarely what we expect it to be, but we must keep expecting, but instead of just waiting for something to happen, to arrive, someone to call you back, why not try doing something, taking action and then you may find that what you were waiting for is still not what you were expecting......it's so much better! 

You see when you decide to change, to take control, to give God the reins and really determine within your mind that it starts with you, then all you have to do is make a move, then another one and another until you get exactly what you weren't expecting.... you get more.  This whole 40 day journey I have made up my mind to take, has changed me, and I don't just mean I lost 20 pounds and now I can fit into smaller sizes, I mean it started from the outside and has really changed me on the inside.  I have had such a clearer concept on what my life is and what I was meant to do, and you know what, when you show initiative like that and discipline yourself God will turn his gaze upon you and say "Now your getting it", but you have to do it, you have to do the leg work, you have to decide and then act.  

I have made more connections, more positive decisions more proactive steps in my life in the past 33 days then I ever thought I would.  It is truly amazing how you can change your whole outlook, your whole thought-pattern with just one decision, it's the same decision you made when you decided to do all the good things in your life and it is the same type of decision that will see you through till the end.  

There is no way I am going to sit here and tell you that it was easy, in fact most of the time my weakness and give-in was so strong that I could barely sleep at night, I would toss and turn thinking that this must be the stupidest thing I could have committed myself too, 40 days was way too long and no one really would care if I failed or accomplished this or not. WELL I am here to tell you that right there, right when I was at my lowest point, when I was ready to give up and run to the fridge and eat a stick of frozen cookie dough, I DID'T, and you know why....my will was stronger.  

The human will is the strongest thing God could have given you, the will to live, the will to not give up, the will to win, the will to be everything you were meant to be and everything bigger that what you expected.  You can not succeed in this life if you are not willing to try, and I encourage you all to try and you will absolutely be surprised at the things you will accomplish, that is a promise.  I bid you all a farewell and a happy weekend and remember there is no end to what you can do, you just need to do it. 

Warm Regards,

Candace

"Betty Spaghetti"

Spaghetti squash baked, then take a fork and scrape out the middle and it will look like spaghetti noodles

ground beef or ground turkey/chicken

Italian seasonings

low sugar spaghetti sauce

mushrooms, chopped

onion, chopped

After baking the squash for about 30 minutes and then scrapping to the form of noodles, place noodles on a plate and then cook beef and add sauce and seasonings and vegetables, cook till done and top noodles with sauce and enjoy :D

DIFFERENCE

Do you ever wonder what kind of difference your making in other peoples lives, in the world, in the universe?  This is one question I think most of us have asked ourselves, but have you ever asked yourself if your doing everything you possibly can to make a difference?  This might be a harder one to answer because the truth is most of us aren't, and most of us aren't even doing everything we possibly can to help ourselves much less make a difference in someone else's life.

As I have said before there is no way that you can help others or make a difference in the world without being balanced in your own life.  And how do we get balanced......WELL it starts with just one area in your life that you know needs work, and then you accomplish it, and then with one down you start working on all the other areas that need help, until you become that totally free, completely inspiring, wonderfully made being you were always suppose to be.  You see, if you are not that person yet, the person you can look in the mirror and really like, really love, then you will never, and I mean never, be able to fully make a difference, because you can't make a difference and help others become who they are meant to be if you don't know who YOU are meant to be.

The only way to find yourself is to start shedding all the things that are not yourself, your bad habits, the horrible foods you eat, the unneeded extra money you spend, etc, etc, etc.  You see you know exactly who you are and what your passions are and all those desires that you have had since you were a little kid, now all you have to do is find the innocence of a child to get them back.  Do you remember when you were a kid, when you said you were going to be a princess or a singer or a movie star when you were all grown up, you would twirl and jump around with excitement because you actually believed that that was your reality and somewhere along the way, as you grew older and the pressures and hurts and misguided futures sunk in, you told yourself you couldn't, and you started listening to the world telling you that your reality wasn't your actuality.... and you gave up.  You gave up everything you thought you were, you gained a few pounds, you became too busy to even care to help others, you lost your dreams and in return you lost yourself.

Let's all return to that childhood-innocence that we were born with and try to remember why we were placed on this earth in the first place, TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.   One day you will be able to look yourself in the eye and really love who you've become and once you do that...well that my friends is when all your dreams start to come true.  Please find yourself again and be all that you were meant to be.  I bid you all a farewell and goodnight till we meet again, tomorrow : D

Warm Regards,
Candace

Spicy Rolls

Low Carb whole wheat tortillas
Cream Cheese, softened and mixed with garlic powder, sea salt , pepper and dill
Red, Yellow and Green Peppers, diced
Roast Beef, sliced

Take one tortilla at a time and spread cream cheese mixture all over, then add roast beef and peppers, tightly roll tortilla and cut into one inch pieces, enjoy : D

Resolutions....

I have people asking me what am I going to do when the 40 days are up, and I have thought and then I thought...and I thought some more and I have decided that I will be starting Body For Life and I have also asked a few to join me and if I haven't asked you yet, well I strongly encourage it.  I have chosen the Body For Life 12 week program because it is the perfect balance of foods as well as a balanced work-out routine.  I will be having a meeting with me and the other girls (or boys) on December 10th to get the plan down.  Don't worry we will not be starting before the Holidays, because it seems that that is something most people will not do and thought that I was absolutely NUTZ for doing it over Thanksgiving, but I choose to believe I was strong, I had will-power and I like a good challenge!

Anywho we will be planning this 12 week program on the 10th so we will be ready and prepared to start our New Year's Resolutions.  Did you know what the top two New Years Resolutions are by the way????....Well I do..Number One: To Lose Weight (big surprise) and Number Two: Be healthier (which goes hand-in-hand with number one.) Do you know why 99.9% of people fail their Resolutions???....BECAUSE, they do not have a proper plan in place AHEAD of time and so they give up before they even begin.

I will not and cannot do that this year!  I mean after all my Birthday is on New Years Day, so who am I to fail on such tradition : D  Nope, not this year!  We will be planning 21 days in advance so get all your cravings and Christmas cookies eaten by then because whoever decides to join me I absolutely will not let you back down!  BEWARE!

Some may ask why I care, or why I would be willing to hound you like a dog if your not keeping good on your resolution,  it's because I really do care, I know exactly what it is like to feel those things you hate feeling day after day and also I know exactly what it is like feeling like you are the only one who thinks those hateful things about yourself and how you could spend all day looking in the mirror and it wouldn't matter because your only growing older.  I also know after all the self loathing and all the nights and countless events you spent feeling uncomfortable, feeling like everyone was not really looking at you, not really seeing you for who you were, just seeing your faults, those negative things you see, after all of that and all the days, months and even years of feeling this way somethings gotta give.  I finally got tired of not seeing what everybody else really saw in me, all the good things all the quirky and kind characteristics that I hold are like no one else and I am the only one who holds them, so why was I lying to myself, listening to the enemy whisper in my ear saying I was not good enough, and you know what I'm not good enough but with God I am, and that beats anything nasty the enemy has to say about me.

You just have to get to the point where your sick and tired of feeling awful.  Nothing will  ever change, no compliment, no nice gesture, no hair-cut or new wardrobe will ever suffice.  You will have to decide in your mind that you will change and that you will not listen to those lies any longer and then DON'T.  It is very important that you DON'T.  If any of you readers would like to join the 12 week challenge I will be blogging along the way and may even set up a web page for it so you all can participate online as well.  I will keep you updated and if you want to get involved start early and read Body For Life or you can also go to their web page and read more there.  I really hope you decide to join me for the next leg of this journey only 10 days left of the old and then in with the NEW YEAR!!! Bidding you all a farewell and goodnight till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Low Carb Chili

Ground Beef, cooked
1 medium onion, diced
1 package of mushrooms, diced
1 small can of tomato paste
chili seasoning
Worstheshire Sauce, dash

cook beef and then add all other ingredients, the longer you let simmer the better it is, dish out and add cheddar cheese and sour cream on top, enjoy :D

Sense

Have you ever felt like something really good was about to happen?  Thats how I am and actually have been feeling for quite sometime now.  Touching on my post from last night, it is sometimes very hard to wait for it, but you must, you must stay diligent, vigilant and keep on going, keep pushing till you get to what you've been pushing for.   You see the very thing that the enemy wants you to do is stop, get discouraged and move on, deciding for yourself that what you were working towards was nothing more than a whimsical thought.  But you must not believe him!  You must keep on keeping on.

You may have been working so long towards that dream, your head has been down so long that once you decide to look up you can barely recognize the world around you.  It is so important to work towards the things that are in your hearts, your giftings, your callings, but you must remember to stay balanced while your on that journey.

If you don't take care of yourself on the road to becoming yourself then you will wined up feeling so run down and exhausted when you actually achieve your goals that you won't be able to enjoy it like you should.  It will take so long for you to get back into your "original state", the state of mind your suppose to be in, the state your body is suppose to be in, the state your spirit and soul is suppose to be in, that you could miss out on some opportunities that God had intended for you.

I was at a meeting tonight and the man speaking stood strong in his beliefs and took joy in helping people and it dawned on me while I was sitting there listening,  "God can heal us, but it doesn't mean he will, sometimes he wants us to figure something out on our own, He has given us the tools to heal ourselves, to heal our bodies, our minds, our total well-being, sometimes we just have to have enough sense to do it.

I know we all are capable of changing the areas in our lives that we want to change, the question is are we willing to do it.  I know I am, and I like to believe I grow one step closer each and everyday.  I hope you all have a wonderful time changing.  I bid you all a farewell and goodnight till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Roast Beef Salad,

Mixed Greens
Roast Beef, sliced
Goat cheese, crumbled
Dried Cherries,
Pecans
Greek Vinaigrette

Mix all ingredients and enjoy : D

Virtues...

Have you ever wanted something to happen so bad that waiting for it felt like you were going to die or possibly experience a small hernia?  I absolutely hate waiting for things, for people, for days to pass, I was probably the most impatient person that ever existed, until I decided to try and change.  key word: TRY.  I did try and have been trying and it is trying me.  You see I am the type of person that will get so excited about something and so gung-ho that I cannot possibly fathom having to wait for it to happen and if I do indeed have to wait (which happens to be 99.9% of the time) then I lose all motivation and ambition and decide I don't want to wait and if I have to then it means it was never going to happen in the first place...Uhhh WRONG!  

That may sound like one of the most ignorant thoughts in the world and you may be saying "C'mon, haven't you heard that all good things are worth waiting for", and in return I would say to you "I'm sure they are but I'm not willing to find out".  I have since made a change and I am trying this whole "waiting" thing, I guess its not so bad if you like being in agony every waking moment, but no biggie :D 

I will just have to cope and really believe that "patience is a virtue", I just have to remind myself that the longer I wait the more joyful and excited and blessed I will feel when what I'm waiting for actually happens.  There are so many ways we can practice being patient and sooo many ways we show our impatience.  At the end of the day I would like to be one of those people that stood out, while I'm waiting in line somewhere and its apparent that everyone else around me is glaring at the sales clerk, I will be the one who smiles at her and asks her how her day is going.  You just never know what being kind and patient can do for somebody and also you never know when God is testing you, which by the way is all the time, I would rather learn how to deal with this now then regret not doing it when I'm older.  

My wish is that we all would strive to be more patient, more kind, more compassionate and more loving with each other, as that famous country song goes, "I'm in a hurry to get things done, oh I rush and rush until life's no fun, all I really gotta do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why."  Lets not mimic these lyrics.  Bidding you all a farewell and goodnight till tomorrow of course!

Warm Regards,

Candace

Mock Chicken Pot Pie

Filling:

3 TBSP of butter

2 cups cooked chicken, diced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

3 stalks of celery, diced

7 green onions diced

8-9 green olives, chopped

dash of sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, chicken seasoning

1 TBSP of flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

Crust:

1/2 cup of almond flour (or almonds ground in a food processor)

2 eggs

dash of sea salt, pepper, garlic powder

1/4 cup of butter

For filling saute celery and onions with butter until soft then add cream, chicken, mushrooms, stock, flour and seasonings bring to a boil then pour in a glass pan

For crust mix all ingredients then spoon on top of filling and bake on 400 degrees for 30 minutes, Enjoy :D

 

Waiting....

"Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.  She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them....Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. (Hos. 2:6-7&14)

This verse has spoken to me, It speaks of how much the Lord is willing to wait for us, to allure us, to get us alone, away from all the distractions and busyness of life, away from all the things that are taking up our time but shouldn't be and all the while he just waits, waits for us to become the people we were meant to be, the very purpose we are walking this earth, and the very things we need to fulfill that only we can.

This verse is true for life as well, it seems we take many detours along the way and all along we were meant to be doing something else with our time.  Do you ever feel like your not really fulfilling what you were suppose to be?  Like all the desires of your heart, all the dreams and miss-accomplished destinies are just lost.  What in the world are we doing here, why have we let ourselves become so comfortable, when did we stop being the person we were meant to be and started being the person we never wanted to be.  It is a sad thing that probably 75-90% of people do.

We are just wondering around and all the while destiny is trying to block our paths that it knows we shouldn't take or build a wall to prevent us from going down a road that wasn't meant for us, but sometimes we are so stubborn or are lacking in what we are suppose to be doing that we grab our broom and our ax and plow right through that blocked off path and that built wall, we end up spending more time and working harder trying to become something we only think we want.  If we would just stand still for one moment and reevaluate our entire being, I think we would find the right direction, but unfortunately a lot of people are too busy doing the wrong things for their lives, that they forget to do the right things for their lives.

How about we don't become those 75-90% of people and we change that statistic to a lot less.  Your life starts with you and only YOU can finish it.  So lets pick up the slack and start thinking about the things that make you happy, that bring you joy, that make others happy, that help people, find out where your passions lie and then LIE THERE WITH THEM!  I can do this, we can do this, so lets do this!  I will bid you all a farewell and goodnight till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Subless Sub Salad

Mixed Greens
Your Favorite Deli Meats and Cheeses chopped (use the kind with no added fillers and no sugar)
Hot Peppers chopped
Ranch dressing or Mayo
Oil and Vinegar
Oregano

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and Enjoy : D

Complete Wellness..

Complete Wellness....hmmm now that's a concept, one that most of us deem as unattainable, and rightfully so, I mean c'mon we live in America!  We are known to foreigners as fast-tracking, over-processed, junk food conasours that wouldn't know how to cook a genuinely nutritious, chemical free, hormone free, wholesome meal if it smacked us in the face!  And I mean can you blame them for thinking that way?...Nope, absolutely not, you know why...because it is the sick truth that we must rid ourselves of and our bad habits and our nasty way of doing the same old thing.

I recently joined a whole sale all-natural, chemical free, hormone free and basically anything bad for you or your body free club.  And can I just say that I love it, I mean who told us that those harsh chemicals that kill 99.9% of bacteria had to slowly be killing us too?  Or that those meal replacement bars and protein shakes had to taste nasty and be unsatisfying?  Well I will tell you what, you all can keep purchasing those high retail priced toxic waste that is going to end up putting you in a small urn faster than you would have, but I am choosing to switch over and live healthier and freer and non-cancer forming as I possibly can.

I mean why do they even put some of these products out on the market in the first place?!  All of those harsh things we let our body just ingest and be around are probably causing a lot of our health problems or making us fatter.  If you want to lose that unwanted pregnancy weight or just that non-pregnancy weight :D then you should consider making a change in the way you eat the products you purchase and while we're at it we might as well make a whole lifestyle change (which by the way is the reason I started this blog in the first place).  To change your results you have to change the way you've been getting them, hmm sounds easy and simple enough to me, but you would be surprised on how many people can't or haven't done this.

Achieving wellness means you have to be WELL in the first place, and being well means you will definitely need to change the things that are making you not so well.  I have made a stand and decided that if I'm changing the way I eat I might as well be eating natural protein bars instead of chemical filled ones, or those morning protein shakes I like to make, I can change that too, or how about those harsh chemicals I just took in while disinfecting the salmonella off my counter.  There is no reason why we can't ALL be WELL and achieve TOTAL WELLNESS.

There is nothing better than feeling your best and to do that you need to actually FEEL your best, so lets all do it!  Let's strive to make a change, let's make our grandchildren proud and still be around and kicking when they enter this world, not lying on our death beds because we spent the last 60 years sticking to the same old bad habits and routines that were only hurting us in the long run.  WE CAN DO IT, so lets!  If your interested in doing the same send me any e-mail and I will give you some advice on how I'm achieving it! I hope you all have a wonderful night and I bid you farewell till tomorrow! (ccherieh05@yahoo.com)

Warm Regards,
Candace

Scrumptious Cucumber Bites

1/3 cup of Goat Cheese
Dash of Garlic Powder, Sea Salt, Pepper and Dill
1 Cucumber sliced
1 Whole Wheat Pita or Tortilla cut into squares (if your doing lower carbs omit this)

Crispify the tortilla or pita in the oven (cut before hand) then mix goat cheese and spices in a bowl and microwave for 15 seconds to get more spreadable, put a cucumber slice on a tortilla/pita chip and spread goat cheese mixture on top, Enjoy : D

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

You know those old Clint Eastwood movies where they are in a stare down at opposite sides of the dessert or corral and this can go on for quite some time, the movie writers make a killing off of you watching at least 10 minutes of two men staring at each other and all the camera does is shoot back and forth between the two mens facial expressions and them acting like they are reaching for their guns.  So after watching intently at these scenes you wonder, "okay who's gonna die here, it can't be Clint, he's the good guy, but still you watch and for 10 minutes you are watching the simplest scene the movie producers and directors could have ever shot, but your still watching...why?....I'll tell you why, because you want to see what happens, even though it may seem perfectly predictable, but then out of no where and when you least expect it...BAM, Clint shoots the mediator, the middle guy, the guy calling the fight and there it is, that moment, the one you didn't expect, thats why you were watching it, for the chance that something unexpected might in fact happen.

I said all that to say this, I think sometimes in our lives, we are a lot like those old Clint Eastwood scenes.  We wait around, and wait around, and wait around till we wonder why are we still waiting around, wether it be at that dead end job when you know what you are really meant to do just to afraid to take the risk, or wether your just waiting around for your butt to get up off that couch and drive it self to the gym, or maybe your waiting for God to move or for the sky to fall or for anything else to happen just as long as it's something so you can finally feel like your actually living instead of just passing by.

The truth is sometimes the Lord calls you to be still and let him do the fighting, but other times, and this I have found out is most of the time, you need to take the gun out of the holster and shoot the mediator, the middle man, you know that voice that tells you to just stay where your at, that the things that you want and wish to achieve will just somehow magically come to you.  Right, if that were the case then why are there all these broken people walking around this earth, with failed possibilities and missed opportunities.... you know why......it's because they listened to that voice, and then just kept listening.  It's like they are in a slumber and haven't woken up yet, all the things they meant to accomplish are still waiting for them because they are only things that they were suppose to accomplish, but instead all those dreams, the goals, they just sit there, somewhere between could have, should have, would have.... but didn't.

Let's not let this happen to us!  There is still time to get it right, to fix it, to become and do those things.  You just have to do it, so lets, and lets promise that we will never give up no matter what the cost.  I hope you are all on the road to achieving all your dreams and more!  I bid you all a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,

Exceptional Turkey Salad

Left over Thanksgiving Turkey cubed
1/2-3/4 cup of Mayo
2 Stalks of Celery diced
3-5 Green Onion Stems diced
dash of Salt, Pepper, Celery Salt, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and 1/2 tsp. of sugar sub. (splenda, stevia, etc.)

Mix all ingredients and chill in fridge for a few hours to marinate, then eat as is or put on top of whole wheat bread, crackers or pita, Enjoy :D

I made it!

Okay so one Thanksgiving dinner down one more to go!  Today at the Thanksgiving brunch, I walked through the doors and there are pastries and stuffings and a galore of different kinds of potatoes and waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream, it was almost too much to take, but as soon as I sat down got some coffee in me and then by 2 relatives asked if I had been loosing weight because I was looking thin, I decided this whole thing was totally worth it!

When you get to the point where people start noticing your progress it makes you want to keep going and not stop till you reach your goal.  It is so nice to be fitting into the clothes that I couldn't 25 days ago, and this Thanksgiving I think I am truly thankful that I have the ability to do something like this, change the way I do something so that I can inspire myself and others by accomplishing something that I never thought I would.  I know, I know, your thinking well how hard can it be to just discipline yourself to eat the things and only the things that will help you lose weight, but until you've done it my friend, well let me just say it can be harder than you think.  Oh yes it may be all jolly and motivational within the first 7-12 days, but let me ask you something, what the heck do you do when you absolutely cannot fathom having another bite of something "good for me" that even grandmas fruit cake is starting to look appetizing.

The point I am trying to make is, what do you do when you reach that moment when you forgot why your doing this in the first place, then you start to talk yourself into stopping because I mean c'mon it's not like your obese or anything, or 20 extra pounds never hurt anybody it's just extra padding for the organs.  So what do you do when you are at your lowest, when you don't have an ounce of motivation or determination left, when your snapping at everyone around you because all you want is a cookie and nobody gets hurt! : D  Yes, yes you may think it's no big thing to discipline yourself to eat right, but it's a whole other story when you have to do it for a long period of time and then some.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and you realize all the things you have to be thankful for, like bread :D  Have a great night and I bid you all a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Sugar free Pumpkin Pie

4 oz. of Cream Cheese softened
1/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
3 Eggs
15 oz. can of Pumpkin
1/2 cup of Brown Sugar substitute (I use the splenda brand or you can use a sugar sub. and molasses)
1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 cup Pecans ground
1 stick of butter

mix cream cheese and pumpkin, add brown sugar sub., eggs and heavy whipping cream and pumpkin pie spice, blend on high till smooth. For crust, mix pecans and melted butter and pat into the bottom of a pie pan for the crust pour pumpkin filling into pan and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes, enjoy ;D

Thankful

Oh Thanks giving is upon us!  I have just spent the last 3 hours baking pies and stuffing and tomorrow I will be baking sweet potatoes and broccoli salad all of which I cannot have, ohh wait I forgot I can have the broccoli salad, yep so tomorrow I will be going to a brunch at a very fancy Inn with my Dad's side and then on Friday after a LONG 10 hour shift I will be sharing a Thanksgiving meal with my Husband's side, all of which I will be consuming turkey and you've guessed it broccoli salad, Yay!!! : D

It's okay because like I've said before, Christmas is really my thing not Thanksgiving, so tomorrow I will just have to remember that decadent hot cocoa I will be having over Christmas with my mothers infamous brown sugar ham!

Even though Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday I do think it symbolizes a great tradition, the same tradition we hopefully all take time out tomorrow and truly thank the Lord for every great thing he has given us, our friends our family, shelter, food, warm clothing, a chance each and everyday to let people know just how much they mean to us.  You see why is it we have to designate a day such as Thanksgiving to celebrate the blessings in our lives, to tell the people around us that we are thankful for them, we should be doing this everyday, but as we all know life gets in the way, selfishness takes over and inevitably the things we set out to do get replaced with the same old way we always have done things.

How about this year we make a promise to have a heart of Thanksgiving, when we are talking with a friend say a little prayer of thanks, when you are surrounded by all the family members you love and some take some extra "special" love, why don't you tell them how much they mean to you.  When your home and it's just another "night as usual" say thanks, because you've got to remember that somewhere not so far away there is someone else praying for the very thing you take for granted.  If you are faithful with the "small" things then you will be trusted with more, but how about this, how about we  stop thinking about all the things we don't have and all the things we wish we had, and start thinking about all the things we DO have.

I hope you all have a very Thankful Thanksgiving and truly remember how much you do have to be thankful for.  Enjoy some pumpkin pie for me unless your eating healthy then don't  ; D I bid you all a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Broccoli Salad

1 cup of Mayo
2 shrubs of Broccoli chopped
6 strips of Bacon chopped
3/4 cup shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds

Mix all ingredients and chill in fridge for a few hours to marinate flavors, Enjoy : D

Only The Good

This time of year always reminds me of simpler times, I like to nestle up by the warm fire and watch all my favorite Christmas movies and listen to all my favorite Christmas music, like Bing Crosby in Holiday Inn or Harry Connick Jr. or good old Franky Baby.  Yes, yes those must have been much simpler times, nothing like this crazy schedule most of us have succumb to nowadays, no of course not back then they knew how to enjoy life, how to relax and when to work but when to play and really enjoy friends and family.

Isn't it funny how we remember those people, Bing oh what a great voice and great actor who starred in some of the classics and thats how people remember him, they chose to leave out that he supposedly had a temper and liked to knock around his wife and drink too much.  Or what about Frank, now I'm pretty sure if I was around back then or he was around now we would have be somewhat of an item, oh how romantic his songs and his voice, well his voice that put him on the map, there is none like it and if there are they are constantly reminded who they sound like, good old franky baby.  Now do you suppose people remember him as supposedly being heavily involved in the mob and maybe whacking a few guys in his day?  Nope, because people have a funny way of forgetting the bad things in such a historical persons life, they choose to only see the person as they want to, only the good stories.

Seeing only the good in people is something I strive to do on a continuous basis, because if you decide to see the negative instead then you become negative yourself and that helps no one.  We have all wandered down a wrong path here or there in our lives, made wrongs decisions, some big, some small, but we must always remember that we are all HUMAN, we make mistakes we have negative characteristics and things we all want to improve.  Don't expect people to see the good in you if you can't see the good in someone else, I mean have you ever heard you reap what you sow, I'm sure you have its from a very popular book, but there is nothing truer, if your always seeing the bad in someone then expect them to see it in you as well.

I hope that this Holiday season you all hold each other tight and remember why you fell in love with that spouse in the first place not the annoying way they chew their food or how they never pick up their socks, remember the first time you had a blast with that brother or sister how much fun you use to have, not that they've grown to be someone you don't really like or their views are sooo wacky.  No instead this year lets remember only the good things.  Well until tomorrow I bid you all a farewell and good night!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Turkey Chili Cheese Hot Dogs

Package of Cheese filled Turkey Hot Dogs
Ground Beef/Chicken or Turkey
Chili seasonings (none with salt or sugar added, I like to make my own)
Kidney Beans Dark and Light (If doing low carbs omit the beans)
Chili Beans (If doing low carb omit the beans)
Whole Wheat Hot Dog Buns (If doing low carb omit the buns)
Red Onions diced
Dill Pickles diced
Low Carb/Low Sugar Ketchup
Mustard

Cook Beef in a pan on medium and add seasonings and beans till cooked, heat hot dogs, top hot dogs with chili then top with onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard, Enjoy : D

Note to SELF...

Isn't funny how the mind plays tricks on you, how you think you did one thing but instead did another or how you think you said one thing but instead you said another.  You could have sworn up and down that you were right and to you you are right, but to someone else that was there you are sooooo not.  I wonder how we do that, or why our minds can't remember where we placed our keys before we find them locked in the car stuck in the ignition or when your looking all over creation for your sunglasses until you look one last place, THE MIRROR, and find them sitting on top of your scatter-brained head.

It seems the older we get the more frequent these things occur, "Are you sure I said that? I mean it doesn't sound like something I would have said, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered saying that"....When in actuality you can't even remember the last time you had one second to yourself.  And maybe that is the problem, most of us live our lives chugging our morning coffee and rushing out the door to punch the clock for 8 hours or for some of us more, picking up that extra thing at the store we forgot to grab this weekend, rushing home, only to spend the next 30-60 minutes making dinner and while its cooking jump in the shower to rinse the day off and there for those 5-7 minutes while your all alone you can be yourself, you can have a thought that isn't someone else's you can pray you can think about your dreams about your desires about all the things you swore you would do when you were all grown up.  You can still do all those things, you just have to STOP for one second for one minute and start to regain some ground, some ME time.

In order to do this, to really accomplish remembering who you once thought you were, you need to be dedicated to doing this, to making time EVERY single day to be alone, to be by yourself and I don't mean be by yourself and think about all the things you have to do tonight or tomorrow or this millennium, no, no, NO! this will not do! You need to completely blank your mind out and think about YOU, just you and who you really are.  Only when you discover who you really are is when you can truly give yourself to someone else, to help others, to be of any real difference to this world.  You see there are A LOT of half people walking around in this world who haven't taken the time to make themselves whole.

I hope that you all will take the time to make yourselves the whole person you were always meant to be. If you do this now you won't have to spend the next 20 years wondering why your life didn't work out as you thought it would, why none of your dreams came to a reality, nope you won't even have to think about it.  I bid you all a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Taco Bake

Crust:
3 Eggs
1/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
4 ounces of Cream Cheese
Taco Seasoning
8 ounces Shredded Cheese

Blend eggs and cream cheese until smooth, add heavy whipping cream and taco seasoning, in a pan distribute cheese on bottom then pour egg mixture over that and bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes
let stand for 5 minutes before adding the other layer or meat

Taco Meat:
Ground Beef
Taco Seasoning
Onions chopped
8 ounces of Shredded Cheese

Cook beef, taco seasoning and onions in a large skillet, pour over the cooked crust and the back at 400 degrees till golden brown and enjoy : D

Possibilities...

Did you ever have a book of possibilities?  Ya know the book filled with all the things you wish you could do and always meant to do before life got in the way and ruined it.  What if you took that book and made it a true, turned it into a book of realities, all the things you thought you could be and desired to be....you really could be, all you have to do is start.

So now that I have started this adventure I wonder what I will do next after I have accomplished this goal, I mean there are so many possibilities that are my aspirations.  I am ready for a change and ready to look back on my life and smile at the things I have achieved and the people that helped me get there, its not about winning its about finishing.

Lets all make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can to live lives that speak to people, that move not only others but ourselves, by getting through that trial you never thought you would, but you did and now look at you, stronger than you've ever been.  I hope you all have a goodnight and I bid you farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Chicken Caesar Salad

Grilled Chicken Breast sliced
Caesar Dressing
Parmesan Cheese grated
Purple Onion diced
Red Tomato diced

Mix all ingredients and enjoy : D

Half way

Half way there!  So I officially have 20 more days to go and that means I am one day closer to my Christmas meal and also one day closer to fitting into my skinny jeans.  I am down approximately 15 pounds and counting and wouldn't you have guessed it I am getting more clothes, not new clothes just ones I haven't worn in a while but they feel just as good as new ones.

When you reach the middle ground on a goal it is very important to not falter in the last leg of the journey.  It is so easy once you start feeling better about yourself to reward what you've already accomplished and slack off.  So reward yourself, but my advice don't go reward yourself with the very thing that you've worked so hard to gain control of.  Don't go out and get all your favorite little evils that you once desired, big macs, fries, triple chocolate brownie fudge, doritos, just to name a few..No you've changed your habits now you need to change the way you reward yourselves, try getting a facial, taking a relaxing bath, taking the time to watch your favorite movie with the people you love : D

I mean c'mon people why in the heck would you spend all this time gaining control of your bad habits only to ruin it with the very thing you were trying to avoid....doesn't make too much sense does it? But I can guarantee that 95% of people out there have done this and do this, why do you think diets never work, because you can't really be on a "diet" but a lifestyle change.

Thats right folks its all on you, you must change your lifestyle and then continue to work on it everyday because don't think for one minute that those demons that once haunted you and consumed your thoughts won't try to come back and whisper in your ear, because they will and you must be prepared and stand your ground.  I hope that you all will continue to do what you need to do to stay strong and continue to push forward even when you do accomplish your goal.  I will bid you all a farewell and happy weekend till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,

Eggs and Goat Cheese

2 Eggs
Garlic Powder, Pepper, Sea Salt
Goat Cheese
Salsa

Cook eggs, season, crumble goat cheese on eggs and salsa, enjoy : D

Something....

There are times when God called you to help people and then there are times when you need to help yourself.  Sometimes you can give so much of yourself to a person or a cause that you began to lose the reason why you started in the first place, so then instead of helping someone or something you end up getting so overwhelmed that you are of no use to that person or cause anyway.

It is very important that you do something, that you help others, that you find a way each and everyday to do something important, to do something meaningful, because what if that was the last impression you left, wouldn't you want it to leave a mark.

Everything has been going well, it is like second nature turning down sugary sweets and carb-filled dinners.  Who would have thought that giving up the foods I once pined for would no longer be a big deal. I mean seriously when you think how short life is and how many other things and people we should be having an impact on food seems sooo not important anymore.  It is only a tool that we use to fuel our bodies so we can live the lives we were always meant to.

I hope you all go out and live the lives you dreamed of so that you can make room for the new ones.
 I bid you all a farewell and good night till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Pulled Pork Salad

Romaine Lettuce
Chopped Bacon
Pulled Pork (with no bbq sauce, too much sugar)
Sliced Cucumbers
Ranch Dressing

mix ingredients and enjoy : D

Decisions, decisions....

Sometimes its just hard to determine the things your suppose to do in this life.  I believe the Lord will lead me to the places I am to be even if I take the round about way of getting there, but when your at a cross roads and the person in the car behind you won't stop honking there horn in their impatience for you to decide which way your going to turn already, and you thought that you made your decision but then you start to second guess your self and wonder maybe I didn't, only to come to the conclusion that you really don't know which way to turn....That right there, in that very moment of panic, double mindedness, not knowing which way to go that you start to sweat and your stomach and heart are wrenching so much that you have no idea how in the heck your going to make this decision much less come up with a conclusion....that moment, that very moment, I fall to my knees and ask the Lord for his decision because his is always better than mine anyway.

If you are at that very cross roads in your life and have no clue which way to turn may I suggest as I have before, try looking UP.  I can't tell you which way to go, or that you will make the right choice but I can tell you that I know who will and I know that if you humble yourself and ask for the answer you will find it and oh when you do, when you do, what a great peace you will feel what a great weight that will be lifted off your shoulder that you'll swear you weigh less ; D   The truth is there are about a million different important and meaningful decisions you will have to make in your life, the only thing you have to decide is how do you want to come to a conclusion.....the horrible way or the wonderful weight lifting, yolk is easy burden is light kind of way...you decide.

I really hope that you all come to some sort of conclusion after reading this and I hope that it is the right one.  Everything that you do in this life will echo the decisions you have made wether for the good or the bad, I'm choosing the good, what say you?  As always I will bid you a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Le Cordon Blu

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast pounded thin
Ham deli slices (make sure its not honey ham, you want the fewest amount of sugar)
Swiss Cheese sliced

Pound chicken thinly, place a slice of ham and a slice of swiss cheese and then roll up and and secure with a tooth pick then bake at 350 degrees till they look done, approximately 20 minutes, Enjoy : D

Definition

What defines you?  Is it your memories, your circumstances, the people you surround yourself with, the clothes you wear, how much money you make???  Answering that question can be a scary thing if you have to search for the answer.  The truth of the matter is we are all at fault of letting something other than what really matters define who we think we are, now we have to decide what we are going to let take its place.

To some of you this may not be a big deal, so what if your current circumstances make you who you are for now, because as long as your on top than thats alright with you, but what happens when you hit rock bottom, what happens when you lose that fabulous career or when all your friends really aren't your friends or when that ripped bod you once had turns into a tub of goo that you swear you saw in that tub of butter in your fridge.

Yes, yes what a sad day that will be but fortunately it won't take you long before you realize you lost the things you hide behind and now its just you, nothing but the person you were before you started this whole hide and seek game. And that person will get you to the place you always dreamed of or you could slump back into the same old routine and the walls you hide behind and always envy what could have been and the people who seem to have found it.

Lesson for the day:  Define yourself with the person you are and the things you aspire to be.  Me personally I find my identity in my God because he created me exactly in his image and the more I get to know him the more I get to know myself.  I wish you all good luck with your search to the true you!

I will bid you all a farewell till tomorrow!

Taco Burgers

Ground Beef
Burger Seasonings
Cheese of your choosing sliced
Lettuce
Taco Sauce
Green Onion diced

Mix beef with seasonings, cook burgers top with cheese, lettuce, taco sauce and green onions, Enjoy : D

One, Two, Three

I think I have officially met the total amount of protein consumed by one human being limit.  When you are trying to eat lower carbs it is so amazing how many things have carbs in them, I must have eaten a few dozen chickens and at least 8 cartons of eggs since this thing began : D

I am pretty sure I will not be wanting meat for a little while after my 40 days is up.  I can not believe I am almost to the half way mark!  And that cauliflower pizza isn't too shabby re-heated, wow it really is amazing how much your taste buds change after omitting certain things from your diet.

Ohhh the holidays are upon us and I am staying strong for Thanksgiving because it unfortunately falls within my 40 days, but Christmas doesn't and I like the Christmas food better anyways, sipping hot cocoa by the fire, the infamous brown sugar ham my mom makes and pecan pie.  Granted I will not be eating like that all the time but for Christmas I think it's necessary.

So what have we learned from tonight's post.....Number one: consuming too much protein can be detrimental to any future meat eating expeditions.....Number two: Cauliflower is good for you and as it turns out very versatile......Number three: Christmas is better than Thanksgiving anyways :D, (just kidding for all you Thanksgiving lovers, but seriously it is).  I will be bidding you all a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Cheese Crackers

Shredded Cheese of your choosing
low carb low sugar pizza sauce for dipping

put tablespoon sized piles of shredded cheese evenly spaced out on a greased pan, broil till crispy then cool and dip in pizza sauce, enjoy : D

Cauliflower

What a long day!  Working then finding out you have a very sick husband doesn't not make for a easy day.  As soon as I got home I tend to my poor hubby and then immediately start disinfecting the whole house with Lysol.  I am just now sitting down to enjoy my dinner at nine o'clock, and I have tried out something new and don't know what to think of it.

You know when your craving something it just won't leave you alone till you have it?! Well I was craving pizza and there is no way I can have that so I improvised and searched the web for healthy low carb pizza alternatives, yeah healthy pizza, its like saying that chocolate is a food group.  I finally came across a recipe that seemed plausible, how good it tasted, I had no clue.  I ended up making the crust out of egg, cheese and wait for it...wait for it...CAULIFLOWER!  I know, it does not sound too appetizing, but I decided to give it a shot.

After baking my little pizza creation I dove right in because by this time I was just about ravenous!  I hurriedly took the first bite and thought to myself, "well thats different" and thats just about all I can say, it is very different, but if you want something bad enough you will find a way, even if it comes in the form of cauliflower.

If you really want something you will find a way to get it, wether it be that dream you've always wanted to accomplish or a snickers bar you will find a way.  Now if we could only take the things that we want but should not necessarily have and change them to things that we need, then we just might be on to something.  I hope that we can all make the things that we want become the things that will help mold us into positive, accomplished, wise people, so that we can fully become the person we always were suppose to be.  Well I have to go finish my cauliflower pizza wish me luck! I bid you all a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

"Healthy" Pizza in every sense of the word

1 bag of steamed Cauliflower
dash of Garlic Powder
dash of Oregano
dash of salt
dash of Parsley
1 Egg
2 cups of shredded Cheese
1/4-1/2 a cup of low carb, low sugar pizza sauce

Mix cauliflower, spices, egg and 1 cup of cheese, spread out mixture on an oiled pan and put in oven for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, pull from oven and spread sauce and cheese over crust and broil for a few minutes until cheese is melted.

UP

Do you ever feel like your pushing up against a brick wall?  Its like okay I've tried to go left, I've tried to go right, I've tried going down now it looks like the only way is UP.  Up what a wonderful word, you may have tried something a million times and not succeeded but at least you know the sky is the limit.  There is always a way out, if all the doors seemed to be closed, slammed in your face and dead-bolted then you just need to throw a brick at a window and crawl out.

Sometimes the odds feel like they are against you and you have absolutely no idea what you are going to do or how you can even fathom picking your dirty face back up off the ground, just remember that there is always a way out.  You know the saying "when going gets tough the tough get going"  well, get going already!  You just have to know that there is nothing that will change if you give up, so don't, keep on going and bust through that wall.

Whatever your challenges in life may be you can get through it.  Though they may be hard, though they may require you to step outside yourself and become someone you thought you could never be, it will all be so worth it in the end.  Just remember that every time you get discouraged and want to stay and stare at the brick wall counting the number of lines in between each brick, remember how worth it it will be when you finally look UP.

I bid you all a good night and a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Salted Chocolate Milk

2 TBSP. of Coco Powder (Hersheys)
2 TBSP. of Sugar or Sugar alternative
1 cup Water or Milk
tsp of Vanilla
Cool Whip
Sea Salt

mix hot milk with coca powder, sugar and vanilla, top with cool whip and sprinkle with sea salt, Enjoy :D

Wisdom

Everything seems to be going well, but I can say that I feel like I am running to the grocery store 5 times a week!  Who would have thought that once you are spending your money on the grocery store and less on eating out how use to planning meals you have to be.  Once you get down the different meals you like you just need to plan ahead.  I feel like that is something you must do with this whole thing, you must plan ahead.  I know I know it sounds like something your mom told you, but isn't it ironic how you tend to listen to your mother when your older and not when you were a kid.

Ahhh yes the advice of the wise, there is nothing quite like it.  It is wisdom that caused you to forgive that person even when your heart didn't want you to, it was wisdom that told you not to purchase those extra items you really didn't need and it is that same wisdom that tells you you should follow your dreams, make your goals, become that person you thought you could be.

Knowledge goes hand in hand with wisdom and is almost as important.  It is good to be knowledgeable in all the things you wish to accomplish and even in the things that you don't.  Knowledge can take you farther then you would have gotten without it.

If you are knowledgeable about what you are doing and the goals you want to attain and then take wisdom from others that have gone down the same road before you, you will be ahead of the game.  It is so important to listen to the advice from others and remember nothing is new under the sun, everything has been done before and if you look hard enough and are knowledgeable in what your doing you can find someone who has done it before and learn from them.

I wish you all great luck in starting and completing the desires you set out to finish, but I do not think luck has anything to do with it, it can be done through what we just discussed, wisdom and knowledge.  These two things might be the most important and useful things you could ever seek, so make sure that you do.  Well I must bid you all farewell again till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Chicken Salad

1 grilled Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast cubed
2 TBSP. of Mayo
1 Stock of Celery chopped
2-3 Pickles chopped
Green Onions chopped
dash of salt, peeper, garlic powder and dill

mix all ingredients together then chill and enjoy : D

Dreams...

Some days just feel like you've accomplished more than others.  Like today for example it was my second day baking a birthday cake, this one is for my father, and i didn't need to have a taste, yay!  Granted I have no idea if it will taste good but at least my will-power is strong!

Do you ever feel like you're alone in your thinking?  Like today I was standing in the grocery store getting the ingredients needed for the cake I wont be eating and I was contemplating on how I could maneuver my way around this women who apparently didn't care that I was trying to get around her!  I was thinking okay she knows I am here and she is just standing there taking her sweet time and by the time I figured out how to push past her I instantly realized that any normal person might have just waited the extra 5 seconds.

It takes a lot to change the way you think but if you did you might just be happier.  Because you see its your thoughts that get in your way, its your thoughts that cause you from not fulfilling those dreams you have.  Its those same thoughts that can take you and make you into that person you've always dreamed of, you just have to think happy thoughts : D

I hope you all realize that the possibilities really are endless if you get your mind right.  Lets make our dreams come true just like we thought we would do when we were little kids before reality sank in.  The only problem is we were right when we were kids, reality is what lied to us, reality is what told us that those things we always wanted to be weren't possible, but they are! So stop believing those lies and start believing the person you really want to be.  I bid you all a farewell till tomorrow!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Banana Cream Protein Shake

1 scoop of Whey Protein Powder (I use vanilla, but chocolate would suffice)
6-8 ounces of Water (or Milk)
1 teaspoon of sugar-free Banana Cream pudding powder
Ice

Blend and pour, enjoy : D

Tweaking...

Every now and then you reach a point where the goal you set out to make needs to be tweaked just a bit to make it more attainable or more worth while.  Today I have reached that point, yes I know I know its only been 11 days what could there possibly be to be tweaked you may ask?  Well while I am on a roll I might as well go the extra mile instead of the extra block.  Why not do absolutely everything you possibly can to maximize the time you alloted to this goal in the first place.  So starting now I will be tweaking everything I am doing with this whole eating low carbs no sugar thing.  I will just be making minor adjustments that I know will maximize my time and not to mention make me drop a couple extra pounds when this is all said and done.

Oh yes t-w-e-a-k-i-n-g it may sound like small little changes here or there, but those are the hardest ones to make.  They are the little things that you may be doing that you say "well I'm giving up all this other stuff so I'm entitled", and hey your the one making the rules because it's your goal, but may I remind you the better and more efficient you do it the first time the happier you'll be that you don't have to do it a second time.  Now I am not saying that once my 40 days is up that I will be going back to the "old ways", no that would be such a waste!  And realistically that is the problem with "dieting" it is something you choose to do for a certain amount of time only to fall back to the old routine after your time is up.  I will be eating healthy with the occasional treat even after my 40 days and when I say occasional I mean like once or twice a month.

Diet:    a : food and drink regularly provided or consumed b : habitual nourishment.  WOW so it really isn't that four letter word that all women hate to say in a sentence "I'm on a DIET".  Then why do we hate this word so much, why is it thought of as a negative thing?  Well i'll tell you why, because the first person to ever sit down and decide that she was going to go on a "diet" was obviously not doing it right and then she told her friends how horrible it was and how she couldn't wait until she fit into her girdle so she could go back to eating whatever she wanted and then her friends told their friends and so on and so forth.  Until "diet" became the unmentionable word that actually meant just to eat or to habitually nourish yourself.  Man what a waste of a perfectly fine word.  


Well I hope you all are tweaking your goals so you get all that you possibly can out of them and I hope that you no longer fear the word that we've all been taught to hate.  I will bid you all farewell till tomorrow!


Warm Regards,
Candace


Turkey Burgers


1 pound ground Turkey
Any Spices you desire
Sliced Pepper Jack Cheese
Dill Pickles
Mustard


Mix ground turkey and spices together and then form into patties, cook on grill or stove top, once they are cooked place cheese on top for a couple minutes until melted, add your own sides and enjoy : D