YOU

What is this thing that we as women constantly do to ourselves, we try to give the illusion that everything is under control, we try to have the perfect body, the perfect hair, the best skin...we go to these "innocent gathers" with our girlfriends and all the while we are constantly trying to compete, most of the time we don't even realize we are doing it I don't think, we show up to a friends house wearing the latest and greatest talking about whats new and all the while making it sound like the best possible situation that we could ever be in at the best possible time with the best possible people...when in actuality we find ourselves up at night when we are all alone, when our husbands are sleeping, when we are finally quiet, wanting what some else has, asking God why we haven't accomlpished this yet or telling ourselves that tomorrow we will finally start that diet we have been putting off because we want to be as thin as so and so.

C'mon Ladies lets GET REAL HERE!  Maybe I am the only one who feels this way or has this constant need to want to be better then the next lady, but when I see day after day after day after day the same thing in other women it has me thinking I can't be the only one who feels this way.  The constant need for approval, the woman who is always trying to lose weight, have the perfect body, the woman who feels that if she can just be a size smaller or weigh a 115 pounds then life will be better and all her cares will wash away. 

That is simply not the case...because don't you see that if you don't want that you will always want something else, nothing will ever satisfy, no perfect weight or size 2 of jeans will make you suddenly perfect.  I say all this because I know my own struggles and I can see the same pain I've seen in myself in other women around me.  The only thing I can say is Thank God for Jesus....It is hard enough with him to cope with these thoughts I could not imagine it without, only to say I would think it would be almost unbearable.

I am hoping that my cander will help women going through something similar to find strength in knowing they aren't alone, that maybe if I show others my imperfections they will not feel so helpless.  I wish when I was 18 and even now someone would have sat me down and said..."you are the perfect you, you are beautiful, you can always strive for a goal but just know it's not the end-all-be-all if you fail, because your gonna fail, your gonna fall down, your not always going to achieve your dreams and your not always going to like who you are....but just know after all that..once your life seems to be so annoying and there is no door you see to escape or even a window for that matter...that you are still beautiful and no one, I mean no one can ever replace you...you are irreplaceable". 

Just know that if you don't like your life or yourself right now for that matter, then all you have to do it ask for strength to change and once you start to do that you will gradually notice that you really do have a lot to offer and you can wake up each day and look yourself in the mirror and say "It is what it is and I am really starting to like what it is".

I bid you all a farewell and a Good day til the next time!

Warm Regards,
Candace

Chicken Burgers with Goat Cheese Salad
spring lettuce
dried cranberries
chopped green olives
greek vinegrette (or any you like)
goat cheese
ground chicken
chopped jalapenos
dill pickles
garlic powder, sea salt and pepper

Mix ground chicken, seasonings and chopped jalapenos in a bowl, form into patties and cook on stove over medium heat until cooked.  Mix remaining ingredients for salad in a large bowl and toss.  Once burgers are cooked top with pickles and anyother burger toppings you like and enjoy ;D

Examination

Examination

Why is it that we go through this life concerning ourselves with the littlest things that have no real value and yet they can consume our very existence. Our whole being is caught up in this twisted toxic thing that occupies our minds and distracts us from why we are really placed here on this earth.

Who cares what so and so said and what they did last week that really annoyed you, or how they offended you in some way , or how they could possibly think that for one second they have their life all put together, does it really matter? When I think about all the wasted seconds, hours, days I have spent on things that have no value it leads me to want to change, there is something within me that is much stronger, that has more to offer then the latest gossip or how big of a home I have or how new my car is or what the latest fashion trend is, I mean honestly is there anything more important than living your life how you were meant to live it. There could be someone that you were suppose to help and because you were too busy in "wasted-time-land" they may never even meet you. It's all connected, you can't fulfill your purpose with out the help of someone else, wether it be your family, a friend or a perfect stranger...and so it is with someone else that may not get to their purpose because you were MIA. Are you willing to take that chance? ...That possibility....that is a hefty risk my friend that I am not willing or wanting to be responsible for, and while I am sure God would just send someone else to replace me if I chose to be so careless I would rather it be the way it was meant to be.

I have a feeling I was meant to do something great, something life changing, something world shaking, something that would have massive impact on society and so are you, there is no book written specifically for you that takes you step-by-step on how to accomplish your dreams, there is something to be said of figuring it out on your own, there is a sense of great accomplishment and determination once you finally reach that end result. I will never reach it if I never try.

Your life is staring you in the face and daring you to take the first step...if you don't someone else will, your destiny will not wait forever, your life begins NOW this second, this moment, there is no pause button or quick re-wind, this is it, the time is now and it is definitely not on your side, I don't want to be gray-haired and sixty before I realize that all the things I wanted to do...all the goals I wanted to fulfill was wasted because I procrastinated my destiny.

There is no second chance, no nine lives...you live once and you get what you give, and on that day when it all comes to an end and it's just you and our Maker and He asks you if you lived to the utmost and if you accomplished your destiny and if you helped when you could have and loved with all your heart....there will be no one to blame your failures on, or talk your way out of the problem, or rely on someone else to step in and answer for you, no, it'll be the one moment of truth where you have to be completely honest and I am just not willing to give a disappointed answer! So I will continue each day as best as I can, love as much as I can, give compassion when compassion is due, lend a hand when someone needs more than two and always strive to reach my purpose, because is there anything really more important? I bid you all a farewell til next time!

Warm Regards,

Candace

Baja Shrimp Tacos

De-vained and No Tails, Shrimp

Taco Seasonings

1/2 cup of Corn

1 Avocado

1 Tomato

1/2 White Onion

Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated

Whole Wheat or Corn Tortillas

Black Beans

Jalapenos

Lime

Cook shrimp in a large pan with taco seasonings, corn and squeeze the juice of one lime. In a food processor mix together onion, tomato and jalapenos until it resembles salsa, squeeze some lime in this mix as well. Warm tortillas in the oven. Assemble tacos with shrimp mix, cheese, avocado (diced), salsa mix, black beans and jalapenos, Enjoy :D