Fabulous Finds

I have not done A fabulous find in quite A while.Then the other day I was getting ready to go out and noticed how much body my hair had. I have been using the sun silk anti flat shampoo,It is in the yellow bottle and I get it at Walmart for pretty cheap. It is A shampoo that adds TONS of volume to your hair and I know it doesn't say its suppose to but I think it thickens my hair too. I have always heard that you are suppose to switch up your shampoo every month because your hair gets use to the shampoo or whatever. Recently I saw in glamour magazine that it is A myth and that you should find A shampoo that you love and that loves your hair and stick with it. So try this out and hopefully you will have the same great results that I have had. ENJOY!!!!

Aunt Amanda and Uncle Nick

Trace Colton Mc Cracken

7lbs 12 oz, 21 inches long born @11:09Rolling Courtney back for her C-SectionGetting her readyCourtney and Chuck with Dr. GarciaCourtney and her handsome Dr.Chuck and his Mom SandraAfter the epidural, Courtney on the phone and playing cards with GramChuck doing A word search... and WAITINGCourtney and ITrace was laying all on one side..Mommy and Daddy to beChuck Comforting CourtneyI think she was having A contractionNick and I were racing to see who could finish the word search first... we were soo bored and ready to see Trace Nap timeThis is going to be A long blog so prepare yourself...The past two days have been pretty crazy,emotional,fun and exciting. Nick and I are now A aunt And Uncle and are So excited. It was A rough ride for Courtney and Chuck but baby Trace is FINALLY here. Courtney was in labor for 26 hours and finally had to have A C-Section yesterday. Trace was born at 11:09 and weighed 7lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long. Sunday night Courtney went in and they applied cerva gel in hopes to thin her cervix. Monday morning at 8:45 they broke her water and began the platocin. Every 20 minutes they uped the dose and the contractions became stronger. Courtney wanted to have a natural pregnancy with no epidural but finally she gave in after being in much discomfort.Once she got the epidural she was fine and happy as can be playing cards and enjoying every ones company. The Dr talked to Courtney about A c section around 8 Monday night and Courtney and Chuck decided they did not want one and would wait it out. So they waited and waited and waited the Dr. said we would have A baby by 12:00 Tuesday morning... 12:00 rolled around and still no baby... By 2:00 everyone decided to head home and let Courtney rest... We were all pretty tired too. At 7:00 Tuesday morning I got A call from Chuck saying that Courtney was finally 9 cm dilated and that they would begin pushing soon. Then dropped her dose of platocin to lower the contractions to let her rest so she would have energy to push. Then Courtney started to run A fever and her pulse began to drop as well as the baby's so the put her on oxygen. Soon after they decided to do A C-section. At 11:09 she had Trace Mc Cracken, but was not able to hold or see him for very long. Since Trace was in the birth canal for so long and was tired and A little stressed out he was not able to respond like he should to stimulation. When the Dr would touch him he had no reflex. They were slightly concerned so Trace was in the nicu. Finally at 9:00 last night Courtney got to hold her baby. This morning the Dr. came in and gave the clear that everything is great he is healthy and all is well. Courtney is good spirits as well as Chuck and are very happy. While Courtney was in labor I got A call that my best friend Brittney was on her way to the hospital, She also was in labor..Courtney and Brittney were two rooms apart and in labor.. It was A very eventful night as I was back in forth between rooms. Brittney had A healthy baby boy named Trace Everett Pringle and was 8lbs 7 oz and 21 inches long.... What A blessing these little babies are..

Almost Here

My sister in law Courtney and I And of course the playoff game was on....Chuck and CourtneyParents to beCourtney with Gram and her Mom BettyCourtney and her sister Meagan Courtney,Meagan and IYes,She was having A contractionChucks grandparents which Courtney and Chuck were really close to, therefore they wanted to have them there for the special dayLooking at the contractions on the screenMommy to beThis evening my sister in law Courtney and her husband made there way to the hospital. Courtney is 3 days past her due date and therefor she will be induced tomorrow morning. They had Courtney admitted tonight to give her the cerva gel and prepare her to be induced bright and early tomorrow. In the past 2 weeks she has only dilated 1 cm so not A whole lot going on. After getting off of work this evening we made our way up to the hospital to visit for A little while. When we were there Courtney had some contractions but were very random and not very strong. Courtney and Chuck both seemed VERY nervous and excited as this is there first born. Please keep Courtney and Chuck in your prayers throughout the night and as well as tomorrow. Courtney is "Planning" on A natural delivery without any meds. So she will most defiantly need our prayers. I am just so excited and cant wait to see baby Traces face and what he looks like. Anyways I hope everyone had A great weekend!! Enjoy the pics

Live Love Breathe

I found this necklace online the other day and I LOVE It. Especially since I have these very same words tattooed on my body for the rest of my life. A couple Months ago I got A tattoo for Nick on my side that says "Live Love Breathe". It is something special to me and love it and everything it stands for. I frequently read Somer's blog over at http://lovetobreathe.blogspot.com/ you should check it out. She like Nick also has Cystic Fibrosis and is just As cute as A button. I AM IN LOVE with this necklace I have been dropping hints to Nick, Maybe A valentines day present...hehe. Anyways Her website is great because when you purchase Any of her jewelry she donates 100% to the CF foundation. GREAT WAY TO GIVE BACK . Check out her website and pick something up, Its for A good cause and they are beautiful and A every day reminder as well.http://www.etsy.com/shop/lissabird

Luck Chinese Tag

I was just tagged..

Great way to learn more about yours truly!

8 TV shows I watch

• Greys Anatomy
• Dr.Oz
• Oprah
• Criminal Minds
• Oc Housewives
• Forensic Files
• The Bachelor
• Keeping Up with the Khardashians

8 favorite places to eat and drink

• Olive Garden
• Orange Park Ale House (Really any Ale House will do though)
• Sushi Rock (Japanese Steakhouse)
• Chick Fil A
• Saharas Pizza on Hollywood Beach (I have been going here since I was A baby)
• Ruby Tuesdays (They have the best Mozzarella,Tomatoes salad)
• Sonic (for their drinks)
• Callahan Bar B Q

8 Things I look forward to

• Having Children with the man of my dreams (Nick of Course)
• Nick getting new lungs and being able to breath,dance run and enjoy life without getting winded
• Winning the lotto and never having to work again (This one might be hard considering Nick nor I play the lotto)
• Going to SSSC this year, Last year Nick and I learned SO much and really met some of the most amazing people
• Watching my brother and sister graduate from high school and continue on into college
• My next pedicure
• Getting back into my "Skinny" jeans
• Becoming A aunt to baby Trace

8 Things that happened yesterday

• I was naughty and ate A burger....(I still feel really guilty about this, I was doing SO good)
• Nick and I went to the gym and had A great workout together (After I ate my really fatty burger)
• It stormed REALLY bad here and I had A bed full of dogs who are scared of thunder
• I scrunched my hair, Which I haven't done in forever since I cut it short A while back.
• I found A new favorite song (Chasing pavements:Adele)
• I found out that my little sister has Level 7 Scoliosis (Please Keep her in your prayers)More on this later
• I gave Jag A bath
• I found out my Mom and Matt got their new place close to Hollywood beach ,Super Excited for them

8 Things I love about winter

• Christmas
• Bonfires with family and friends
• lots of feel good comfort food
• Going to look at Christmas lights
• Getting out my "Winter Blanket"
• It getting so cold that I can see my own breath
• The anxiousness that we might actually get snow here in Fl (Yeah Right)
• Toe Socks (So 8th grade I know,But hey they are warm)

8 Things on my wish list

• Lungs for my Hubby
• A Cure for Cystic Fibrosis
• A new house
• A baby when the time is right
• Longer Hair
• A new bed
• To be happy and healthy
• Change in certain aspects of my life as well as some of my family's

8 Things I am passionate about

• Raising awareness for Cystic Fibrosis
• Raising Money for Cystic Fibrosis
• Trying to stay positive in most situations (I still have A hard time doing this but nothing good ever comes out of complaining but negative vibes )
• Helping people, I love to make other people smile
• Random acts of kindness and pretty much just paying it forward
• Nick and loving him with every ounce in my body
• Family
• God and forever working on my relationship and walk

8 Phrases/words I use often

• I love you
• Freaking
• REALLY?
• Are you Serious?
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Money
• Did you find everything you were looking for today
• Have A good day

8 Things I have learned from my past

• That its the past for the reason like Nicks Gram always Says "That's water under the Damn"
• My past has made me who I am today and for that I am grateful
• Not to get attached to people to soon
• That you cant EVER take back what you say... So think about how you say things (Still working on this one)
• That I have to learn for myself... And in the end my Mom is ALWAYS there to say "I told you So"
• That your family and or Grandparents are not always going to be around so take the time to spend or call them while they are here (Learned this one the hard way)
• To forgive people, Even if it hurts
• TO LOVE AND TO BE LOVED....ALWAYS

8 Things I want/need

• A bigger butt
• It to rain all night long and into the morning (It helps me sleep better)
• A CURE FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS
• People to start donating to our great strides walk (JUST CLICK ON THE DONATE NOW BUTTON TO THE RIGHT )
• A Vacation
• A Excellent Job with benefits
• Forget A job, I need to win the lottery
• To go to the Oprah show before she is off air..

SHOW US YOUR LIFE- WHERE DO YOU SHOP

This Friday over at Kelley's Korner the show us where you live topic was, Where do you shop. Other than the regualr, Target, Ross, Hobby Lobby and Walmart I have A couple of my favorites.

www.sephora.com

Sephora is my absolute favorite store of all times, I swear I could spend hours in this store as well as all my money. Nick would never let me though. They have some great sales on makeup all the time. I usually shop in store I am not very big about online shopping.

http://www.worldmarket.com/

I love love love world market, They have some really unique stuff and the prices are great.They have different foods,wines,and stuff from all over that you couldn't really find in stores here. They have such a wide variety of things its nice just to go in and window shop too...

Hope everyone has A great weekend.. Hopefully by Monday Nick and I will be Aunt Amanda and Uncle Nick... Cant wait. Here is A picture of Courtney tonight... Her due date was yesterday so she is more than ready to have baby Trace.

Counting the days

Nick and I headed to the gym.... I just got the call from Nicks sister that we will have A nephew by Monday!!!! I am so overwhelmed with excitement. Courtney is due on the 21st and still is only dilated 1 cm. So the doctors were concerned that because the baby is pretty big they don't want to leave him in there much longer. So Courtney will be admitted Sunday night and they will thin her cervix. Then Monday morning they will begin inducing her. I am just so excited, Trace is the first Nephew for us and Grand baby in the family so I have A feeling he is going to be extremely spoiled...Not that this is A bad thing, Right? On another note, A couple of weeks ago Nick went and had A P.E.T scan done. It is something new they are doing with CF patients to see if there is any active infection in their lungs. Well...The results came in and it was nothing serious the Dr. just decided that he wanted to put Nick on IVs soon, Which is OK because it is that time anyways. I am REALLY excited to see what Nicks numbers are like. The last time he was at the doctor his lung function was 31% which had improved from 21% back in October. Since he has been working out and doing everything he can to take care of himself I am super excited to see what his numbers are. Keep yours fingers crossed. I hope everyone is having A great week....

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Wordless Wednesday Nicks Sister and I bungee jumping A couple of years ago...

TWO DOLLAR TUESDAY!!!!

Today is TWO DOLLAR TUESDAY!!!!

Just click on the link and donate 2 dollars to our team and help CF stand for CURE FOUND

Whats 2 dollars right...

**Please re post in your Blog,Face book, My space Etc...Thanks!!!**

http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/AmandaBrown6088

Simply Sunday

My gorgeous little sister and I She is only 12 and look...She is taller than me!!!
SillyHey everyone, I hope yall had A great weekend. Today was so nice, I actually had A day off. Nick and I decided to take A break from the gym today as we were A little sore. Nick and I actually slept until 11:30 which is kinda crazy since I normally cannot sleep past 9:30.Maybe it had something to do with the cold,It was 19 degrees this morning. I haven't seen my brother and sister in A while so I decided to head on over to Callahan for the day.My little brother wasn't there, But I have to confess it was kinda nice. I am always so consumed with Cameron and Mackenzie being little miss.popular that she is, I never get time with just her.So Mackenzie and I spent the day playing with makeup and I did her hair.Not only is she extremely smart,witty and beautiful but she is TALLER than me. I couldn't believe it, She is only 12 years old and almost A whole inch taller than me.While I was there my Dad showed me some pictures of Cameron, Mackenzie and I when we were younger and I wanted to cry. Time goes by so fast and I guess I never stopped and realized how they are becoming there own people and forming there own opinions ( Maybe to0 many opinions). I just wish that I could go back to when they were big enough to drag around on my hip and take care of them like I use to. Unfortunately before I know it Mackenzie will be going to prom and have her own little things going on I am exited to be there for her but nervous as well. I just know I always wanted A big sister when I was her age and I Hope I am that "Cool big sister" to her. While we were out in Callahan on our way home we stopped by Nicks sisters house to check on her and Chuck. Courtney has A Dr. appointment tomorrow to find out if she is dilated and if so it looks like they will be inducing her. She is SO ready to pop any day now and I am so overly excited. Her due date was suppose to be January 21st, Do you think she will make it?

I hope you all have A great week,It is what you make it.

Show us your live-New years resolutions

This year I told myself that I wanted to do the weekly show us your life post that Kelly over at http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/ does. I know most of you already read her blog but if not shoot on over there, She is A great Mom,Wife and Christian women who inspires many.Here are some pictures of 2009 ENJOY!!!This weeks show us your life topic is "New Years resolutions" I have been holding out on sharing them with you for this. I hope this year we can all manage to keep ours, Cant wait to read yours, LEAVE THEM IN A BLOG COMMENT !!!!

FIVE THINGS I WANT TO IMPROVE IN 2010

1. I am going to spend more time with God and hold myself more accountable for my every day walk. This past year I fell in love with God deeper than I ever have before. I found A church that I loved and was so moved. Then I got so discouraged about some things, and Nick and I stopped attending church. Right when something went wrong and I should have looked to the Lord for guidance I did the totally opposite. So That is the MAIN thing I would like to do this year is to get back on the right path and get back to where I was before and grow more from there
2. This is EVERYONE'S resolution this year, Its such A cliche. I really am going to get healthy this year,and loose some pounds. Since high school I think we are all A little more plump then we use to be. I have just come to A point where I want to be healthy and know that I am going to be OK in the long run. I know that if I don't take care of myself now then I am going to be miserable when I am older. This one has been really hard for me,I had to give up texting.... I know this sounds crazy but Nick and I were really spending A LOT of money on texting for the both of us. So we decided to cancel our texting and instead we are spending the money on A gym membership and working out together. Nick and I have also started eating more healthy and just overall making better choices. I am determined to make this happen this year.
3. I know all of us get SO caught up in our everyday life and what isn't going right. I am SO guilty of this and have ALWAYS been A kind of person that complains about everything.Now that I am getting older and have been around some people like that I have realized it is SO ridiculous. I am going to be more positive and inspire other people to do the same.This past year through Nick, I have really come to realize not to sweat the small stuff. I am so thankful for the people in my life and that I along with my husband are here and ALIVE. I am now constantly saying to myself when I find myself in A situation that is not what I would like it to be that "IT COULD ALWAYS BE WORSE" .
4. This is kind of A silly one but in the long run I will appreciate it. I am so guilty of going to sleep with my makeup still on, A million mascara covered pillow cases later....I am going to wash my makeup off every night and practice proper skin care.
5. On a day to day basis I get so caught up with things that I forget about who I am. I am always so worried about weather or not Nick has done his treatments, ate properly,rested enough etc. etc, That I forget I am his wife. This year I am going to enjoy being his wife and friend and not his care taker. I want to look back when we are old and know that I was A good wife and was there for my husband.

Nick and I went to Sunny Shores Sea Camp and had the most life changing experience and met some of the most AMAZING people

Nick and I at dinner at campAll the girls at The Southern Womens ShowNick and I are expecting our first nephew,WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!!Nick and I on our vacation to Ft. LauderdaleNick and I at our First Gator GameOur Team "Walking for Nick" At the 2009 Great Strides walkNick and I at our Friend Matt and Cassey's weddingThe Jags game of courseAt the Nickelback concert, That was SO amazing, Thanks Mom and Matt