My Gram

It's been awhile since I wrote.... well anything really. I have an extremely busy life with two beautiful girls Clara & Juliet. I have an amazing husband and successful business. I feel my life is perfect my husband says no its really great but not perfect. Well to me it is. I have everything I've ever dreamed of. 

        Now even with this perfect life there are some terrible things that happen my gram that has been my rock my entire life aside from my parents is no longer with us. 

        I was pregnant with Juliet when my gram went to meet her Lord and Savior. I was sad yes but rejoiced that she no longer had pain. I was dealing so well with the loss of her until I used the Bobbi pillow and said "I got this so Gram could hold Juliet". The little things creep up in any given moment. 

      I will always hold my memories of my gram close to my heart my mom gifted me with one of her rings and for now 8 am using it as my wedding band so I feel even.  closer to her now more than ever. 

         I will see her gain someday. :-) 

Doesn't Make it REAL......

So.... If you buy, let’s say a Xanax over the counter does that make it real? Does it work the same without a doctor's prescription? Will it have the same side effects? Does it have all the same benefits? 

          OR...  are they diluted? As in not as affected or isn't guaranteed since it is not from the actual doctor? So let me ask you this! Will you buy it for yourself and use it? Will you use it and expect to get the same results as you would if you had a prescription from a Doctor?

          How many said No? How many said Yes? How many said why am I answering this question? lol

          Ok, so this is why I am asking you this. I promise there is a reason and I need to vent a bit is why I am asking this!

So... If you buy hair color from Wal-Mart for $6.99 does that make it "Professional" I mean the box says Loriel professional haircolor so it has to be right? Or Sally’s Beauty Supply Store wouldn’t sell it to us if it wasn’t real would they?  AANNTTT!!!!! WRONG!!!

           

            First off, Sally’s Beauty Supply is a STORE it is NOT a Salon if it was a Salon you would go in and have someone do that service for you. Not go in and buy the product for the type of service you are looking for.

            Second just because you “Spent a lot” on the products from Sally’s does not mean a Salon will use the products you bought. Just like in a doctor’s office or Pharmacy it is not guaranteed when it does not come directly from that business. So no I will NOT use the color you just spent $30 on how do I know when this stuff was bought. (Sorry can’t believe everyone) lol

            So in conclusion, DO NOT expect your local Salon to use the products you bought we do not know how old they are or when they were bought. Or, what the outcome will be even we just will not take those chances. We want you to love your hair not hate it because we used your products and do not have a guarantee on them.

Changing more than just my style...

So I was told by a certain someone ANITA!! lol that I should write in my blog because this week will be the last time I will be signing my name as "Candace Finley" After Saturday it's going to be "Candace Cross". I have lived with my name as a Finley for 26yrs now and it's going to be a big change to not sign it as that. 
Change is always good although I a lot of times do not grasp change as well as most people because I'm comfortable with things the way they are. Ask Jeremiah when he proposed to me instead of saying "Yes I'd love to marry you" I replied with "Oh my gosh are you serious?" lol
       But to be honest I can't say I ever would be saying to people I'm getting married, because for a long time I didn't feel good enough to get married or that I'd ever find that special someone everyone talks about. I'd gag at the sight of lovely dovey couples they seriously disgusted me. But now I'm one of those people lol Because I have found the love of my life and I try everyday to show him in one way or another how much I love him.
       In a few short days I'm going to have a house of my own where my dog Ace and cat Mr. West will be our kids until God gives us kids(Which isn't right off). There is going to be a lot of changing going on with my living arrangements, how I spend my money, my free time everything will change. But in this circumstance change is a good thing! And I will embrace it full heart!! And can't wait for the next chapter in my life. My next blog I will no longer be a single person but a happy married person.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens". - Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV

LOVE...

So I've been told by a certain someone I haven't written in awhile so I guess I should express some of my thoughts now. LOL. So I thought I'd talk about LOVE yes LOVE I mean it is Valentines Day next week and all.
         I know all you couples out there will be all gitty on this day and all you single people will be all like "Why did this day have to even come". LOL I use to be in that boat TRUST ME but not this year I have a great guy I not only get to spend a special day with but I get to spend a lot of other time with him as well. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me. 
    Ok enough about me, so for those of you that hate this Holiday for various reason rather it be you single and you don't have a special someone in your life or you've been hurt on this day or any other reason as to why you might hate this day. I want to brighten your thoughts about this day. 
        So in the Bible the most talked about thing that is ever mentioned in the bible is LOVE, yes that's correct it is LOVE. Love your Neighbor, Love the Lord your God, Love your Enemy and the list goes on. So lets say you don't have a special someone to spend the day with and you feel depressed every Valentines Day or you hate the day for other reason well this might make you feel better. God LOVES YOU! 
   Yes you in all your imperfections,quirks and habits he LOVES you! And even though you may not like Valentines Day as a Whole you can still have a peace of mind that there is someone who LOVES you even more than you can even fathom. And that should make you feel even better because God will LOVE you even more than your parents LOVE you. 
      Take a minute and think about how much your parents,friends or loved ones LOVE you now times that but 1,000 that doesn't even come close to the amount that God LOVES you but it's pretty darn close. 
      This day can be pretty awful for a,lot of reasons but I hope everyone can see that God LOVES you and for that you should feel great!

**Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away". - 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8*

Waiting....

I'm sure a lot of us have had to wait for certain things in our lives. Such as, finding the perfect job, a place you wish to live and even who you'll spend your life with. I know for me waiting is not something I really like to do, patience is not a virtue I have at all. So to wait for something in my life it is a difficult thing to do. As humans we all live in a fast paste world where you really don't need to wait for anything it's right at your finger tips. 

     I know I have customers that do not want to wait for a certain time to have their hair done. They want it done right then and there and they do not want to be told they need to come back another time. That's when people should learn patience because you can't control when things get done you just need to go with the flow as some would say. And you know what? Sometimes waiting when the attention will be on you 100% is even better because you'll get a better service done.

     The one thing in life that we really do not need to be waiting for to be patient about is God's love for us. That comes instantly when we are all created. It's a given God is going to love you, so this is one love you'll never have to wait for. Waiting for things in our lives that God wants you to wait for is the most important ones to wait for. The time we do things to quickly and do them against God's will is when things don't turn out so well. Waiting for things God wants us to have is the most important blessing we could ever acquire. 

   There's a song by John Waller that when I am not in the waiting mode I listen to because it makes you put everything into perspective again and it makes you realize why you wait and while your waiting to always praise the Lord. 

 "While I'm waiting I will serve you, while I'm waiting I will worship, while I'm waiting I will not faint, I'll be running the race even while I wait". John Waller

    

The Battlefield....

I know I always said I'd be talking about hair in all my blogs but sometimes you can't just talk about on specific topic. Although I will through bits and pieces of it in this blog. lol. So I'm going to talk about Stress, Worrying, Anxiety. Yes including myself we all struggle with is, however we don't need to.
     First off lets see why we have stress; there's stress caused by family's,jobs,friends or even people we have to tolerate but wish not to. lol. So I struggle with this on a daily basis I do admit and it is a constant battle to not let it get the better of you. I mean I could see someone one day and they can either make my day ten times better or it can go the total opposite where I'd rather ripe their head off because they stress me out seeing them. 
       So this is what I try to do in those situations, first off I try to calm myself down and thank God for their presence in my life. And I do a lot of praying about the battlefield of our minds and how we need to train our thoughts. Not every person we come into contact with on a given day can make it a positive impact. No they can make it to the point you want to yell at that person. But we all know we need to tolerate certain people and certain situations. 
        One of the biggest things to do in situations like this in your life is to make it a habit to have time with God and tell him how we feel and make it a constant habit to try and think positively. Even when we don't want to it is best to because its when we don't that the Devil gets the foot hold he needs to impact our thinking and we don't want that to happen. So it is a battle to make sure that doesn't happen. Whenever I don't feel like I can handle it anymore I first go to the word and the one verse that has an impact on that part of my life is Matthew 6:25-34
 “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. 26 Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. 27 You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it". 
       This verse helps me to just let go of all the worry in my life, and I continue to tell myself this verse on a regular basis. We shouldn't have to worry about the things of this life because our Heavenly Father takes care of those things for us. We just need to not let it get the best of us and to continue to move forward with our worry and not to be stuck in a state of worry which can easily happen. If you feel you are and you don't think your strong enough to endure it, well your Heavenly Father is so bring it to him. :-)

* I know I'm not Strong Enough to be everything I have to be I give up, I'm not Strong Enough hands of mercy won't you cover me Lord right now I'm asking you to be Strong Enough, Strong Enough, for the both of us". - Matthew West

We don't need to be Strong Enough when we have a Heavenly Father that's Strong Enough for the both of us. :-)

Why we have Christmas in the first place....

Do any of you have such a busy life there are times when you can't even see straight?.... Well that's my life every Holiday season better yet that's my life daily. lol. As a hairdresser we LOVE this time of year because of all the business of people coming in to get their hair all set for the Holiday season. The joy of having your business being so busy for the Holiday season is a wonderful feeling you never have to worry about a slow day, because you know it will be busy in some way because everyone wants to get their colors, perms, highlights, haircuts all these things done right before everyone comes over for Holiday meals. It also makes you feel good that you can do that for someone. That you have the ability to make that person feel good about themselves for that time being while their hair is getting done. A lot of people may not look at it like that but it is a good feeling it really is. I mean how many professions can you actually say you made that person's day by making them feel better about themselves because they got something new done to their hair. Not many right? I know for me that's the highlight of my day is when I get done someones hair and I know their confidence just boosted a little bit more that day because they like what they see. 
 As a family person the Holiday season can be down right stressful at times. Go there, Come here, you almost want to pull your hair out because its so busy. 
       We have to keep in m ind though even though our lives may become so incredible busy we've got to remember to be thankful that we have these life's to be busy with. I mean there are people in the Army that won't be home to see their family's for the Holiday season, there's people that have lost loved ones that won't be seeing them this year, the list goes on. I'm incredible thankful I have the busy life I do have because if I didn't something would be very wrong. lol. My family does not know how to sit still that is for sure.
        I think we all have to remember though why we even have Holidays such as Christmas. Now lets break down the word Christmas, its Christ...mas.... So when people say Merry X-mas. That's quite offensive to a lot of people that are Christians. We don't want to take Christ out of Christmas in no way shape or form. We wouldn't be celebrating Christmas if it wasn't for Christ. I mean he had to be born to even have Christmas as a Holiday right? So we should all ponder on that thought forget all the business this season brings us and all the stress of buying everyone under the sun a present. Our most special gift is Christ's birthday and why we even celebrate it in the first place. I hope everyone can step aside and remember what this season is all about and enjoy the time with family and not worry about buying the perfect gift, because in my book Christ was the perfect gift. 

*"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". - Romans 15:12-13*