Giggles-n-Gulps » Uncategorized

Randomness 77

Tara — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:17:10 +0000

I really want to redo my blog header up there, but I dread the thought of re-learning how I actually did it. Maybe if I did a header every few months, the steps wouldn’t leave my head so quickly.
I have a secret desire to a fabulous photographer. I LOVE photo blogs and am hopelessly addicted to them. I’m a photo-blog-stalker. Maybe some day I’ll be able to get a fancy-shmancy camera and try it for myself.
S loves to dance and sing for us.
And she’s really loud, too.
Huntley is still my shadow. He never leaves my side and in fact often steps on my feet as he follows me around the house. That’s pretty annoying when you wear flip-flops. Crazy-lovable-huggable dog.
After the kids are in bed, Huntley jumps on the couch and owns it. Completely and totally. Last night, he even stretched himself out with his head on a pillow.
This past weekend, Chris took the kiddos and went up north a bit to visit his parents. I love the quiet weekends of relaxation. Sometimes a mom just needs a few days of quiet.
And the kids got to see snow for the first time!!! I hate that missed it but we’ve got some great videos of them playing in it. So fun.
A G funny story for you: He got some Spiderman stickers from the treasure box at school and they were the kind that if you moved them back and forth, you would see a different picture. I opened the package and moved it back and forth to show him and he loved it. He took the stickers and stuck them all over his short and wore them like that all day. When Chris got him, G ran up to him and said, “Look, Daddy! My stickers! And they move!” With that, he moved his upper-body back and forth to make the stickers change pictures for his daddy the same way I moved the stickers themselves back and forth earlier in the day. But since the stickers were stuck to his chest, his solution was to move his chest, too. I laughed so hard.

Silent Night

Tara — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:48:28 +0000

One of my favorite Christmas CD’s growing up (or was it a cassette? I think it was a cassette actually…wow.) was A Very Special Christmas. It included songs from artists including U2, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Madonna among others. Stevie Nix performed Silent Night for this collection and I must say that it is one of my favorite (if not THE favorite) version of Silent Night I have ever heard.

I hope you enjoy it, too.

Lukewarm

Tara — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:00:30 +0000

Bleh.

Lukewarm food. Lukewarm coffee. Lukewarm “hot” chocolate. I mean, they don’t it HOT chocolate for nothing, right?

Lukewarm. The entire point of Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. Here we are at Chapter Four. My favorite thoughts, convictions, hit-you-between-the-eyes lines:

My caution to you is this: Do not assume you are good soil. (Referring to Jesus’ parable of the sower)
Has your relationship with God actually changed the way you live? Do you see evidence of God’s kingdom in your life? Or are you choking it out slowly by spending too much time, energy, money, and thought on the things of this world?
Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? Or do the words “half-hearted”, “lukewarm”, and “partially committed” fit better?
Luke warm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give him a section of their time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives.
Luke warm people ask…”How far can I go before it’s considered a sin?” instead of “How can I keep myself pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?”
The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.
Jesus didn’t say that if you wanted to follow Him you could do it in a lukewarm manner. He said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”

Harley

Tara — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:06:34 +0000

Last night we were at my Aunt Markie’s having a big family dinner. Markie picked up my Grandma from the nursing home to come spend time with us. So fun! Just to illustrate how firey my grandma is…

Terry (my cousin’s husband): …I do want to get a Harley-Davidson some day. Grandma, if you want a ride, I’ll come down and take you for a ride!

Grandma: If you get a Harley, I’m driving myself!

And she was serious, too.

Randomness 61

Tara — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:36:29 +0000

Gosh, I’ve missed these. Being random on purpose. Fun stuff.
G’s preschool starts in a few weeks. He is SO excited.
He picked out a Diego backpack and Scooby Doo lunchbox. He says he is excited to learn how to do “school.”
I’m currently wearing a black sleeveless shirt…decorated with Disney-themed stickers.
S thought I needed help with my style apparently.
Delta and customer service just don’t belong in the same sentence.
They now CHARGE you for help over the phone.
What has this world come to??
Don’t answer that. We could be talking about it for days.
It has taken me three days to write this post.
Where does the time go?

Randomness 57

Tara — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:46:37 +0000

We’re taking the kids to see their first “fireworks show” tonight – I can’t wait! I hope they don’t get too cranky on us.
I bought a pink folding chair for tonight. We already had a blue one and I wanted to guarantee that Chris didn’t use my chair.
Tonight is the kids’ last swimming lessons. Other than S scaring me to death with her “disappearing under water” act, I think they’ve done great.
I feel a gray hair growing in already.
It’s still really, really hot in this state. Heat index over 100 again today.
I’m so glad I’m going to Heaven.
Do you ever think about the expression or phrase “hotter than hell”? Kind of makes me laugh. Hell is going to be a pretty miserable place and nothing on earth could possibly be hotter or more miserable.
But I suppose if someone wants to think so to make a point, sure…
It has taken me two days to write this list. It’s been a busy week!
So last night, we did try to go see fireworks but a storm rolled in…so disappointed but what do you do?
We might be heading to the beach today. Along with a million other people. I expect crowdedness.
And heat.
It’s going to feel like its hotter than … oh, yea, a frying pan?
Ha, I crack myself up!

Randomness 54

Tara — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:49:41 +0000

My backyard is a wildlife preserve lately. First a snake, then two armadillos.
Huntley’s been having a blast! Nothing makes a dog look more dog-ly than chasing after small creatures.
Did I just make up a new word? Cool.
The kids just went to their first swim class tonight. G had a ball, but, of course, wanted to NOT hang on to the wall as told.
My kids are so indepedent.
I was with S in her class. Most of the other kids were clinging to their parents. Do you think S did that?
Of course not.
It was all I could do to hang on to her. She kicked and played and splashed and with no problem. Water acclimation? Check.
Indepedence. Oh, boy.
I’ve tried some really good recipes lately. I may have to just do a separate post for those.
I discovered today that Kay Arthur has a free study on the book of Daniel on her website, and you can watch the corresponding video teachings as well. Free. What a blessing. Not that I’m a cheapskate, but wow – to make it accessible for everyone is a fantastic ministry and as it should be, I think. But I do understand the various reasonings for having to attach prices to things.
Wait, I am a cheapskate.
Anyone want to join me in studying Daniel with Kay Arthur?
I just finished reading Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. Excellent book!!
I haven’t given you a list update inawhile, so what do you say?
- 19. Took the kids to the zoo and their splashpark recently. They loved it.
- 24. Chris and I went to Asheville, NC to celebrate our tenth anniversary.
- 27. Went with Mindy and friends to Museum of Science and History here in our city. Kids had a great time! Great dinosaur exhibit.
- 37. We started swimming lessons last night!
- 42. On, Monday, I put some pretty plants and flowers in the planters near the front door. I’ll have to take a picture for you, but you can’t laugh at my lack of gardening skills.
- 54. Working on attending a Deeper Still conference in the fall! That would be so wonderful if it works out! Any one else going to be there?
- 66. I am working on this one, signing up for a particular exercise class I want.
- 72. It was way fun, too.
- 77. Finally finished Kay Arthur’s Lord, Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days. Great, great study on prayer. She could’ve kept writing and I would’ve kept reading. She really didn’t need to limit it to 28 days.
- 79. I posted a short story on how we met on our tenth anniversary.
- 95. Done! I now participate (mostly) regularly in 3 bloggy carnival/memes, whateveryouwanttocallthem.
- 97. I watched the entire Godfather series. Tragic, truly. I loved the first one, but the series as a whole was just so tragic.

Thankful

Tara — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:47:29 +0000

I’m doing these as part of A Dusty Frame’s Works of God Monday…

Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. -Psalm 136:26

I am thankful…

that Chris’s surgery on Friday went well and that he is recovering well. Sore, but good.
for our wonderful vacation to the mountains a couple of weeks ago. So refreshing.
for the hope we have in Christ.
for the prayers of friends and family.
for pretty flowers and plants. Don’t they just make you smile?
that the snake in my backyard is harmless. Mostly. It still slithers. That’s a problem.
for the armadillos in our backyard. They provided laughter and surprise today. Never a dull moment at the local suburban quarter-acre zoo. Now, to get rid of them before they dig everything up…
for good food. How often do we take this for granted?
for books! So I should be glad I can read, too, right?
for electricity. As we head into hurricane season and the season of afternoon storms, I’m always reminded of how interesting life gets when we do not have electricity. We’re blessed to have it.

What are you thankful for today?

Randomness 46

Tara — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:00:19 +0000

I’m getting dangerous close to the Randomness 50 post…what shall I do to celebrate? Be random? Hehe…I crack myself up. No, it really wasn’t funny, was it? I know you love me anyways. I get my sense of humor from my dad.
Let’s see, our food adventures lately have been plentiful and fun. My first attempt at wheat bread was, well, forgotten. Literally. I left it in the oven to rise and forgot about for many hours.
The second attempt at the Honey Wheat Bread was quite yummy! The only downside was that the bread stuck to the pans a good bit – I suppose I didn’t grease them enough? Otherwise, they made great sandwiches – grilled cheese even!
Yesterday, I made soaked granola – basically, our own granola cereal? Oh, yum! It was quite easy and delicious – except for the little too much salt part. It passed the G test. He liked it.
What a multi-purpose food – snack, breakfast, yogurt topping – even the ingredients are flexible! Feeling fruity? Chunk some of those dried fruit bad boys in there!
The recipe I used was here - Soaked Granola. Macie – you could probably make this there, you think? Would you have all the ingredients? Curious minds want to know…
I just watched last week’s episode of House, M.D. I’m sitting here analyzing it in my head (themes and everything! I know!) as if I were sitting in an English Lit or Drama class or something. Yes, it was that traumatic – but enough to be analyzing the themes as if it were Shakespeare? What is wrong with me??
My children are eating us out of house and home and they are not even teenagers yet. The food budget is through the roof. Where. do. they. put. it??? I can set a plate full of pancakes on the table (wheat, no less) and before I’m even done with my eggs and two pancakes, they have inhaled at least six. Chris and I just sit there stunned, quite certain little pancakes bits are going to start oozing out their ears.
Lovely image. You’re welcome. You can go back to your breakfast now.
Pancakes, anyone?
I couldn’t resist.
We visited a couple of farmer’s markets this past weekend as well as an arts market (one farmers market was within the arts market). Very neat, I think. I’m not sure what I expected. I’m really not a forward kind of gal at market-type places so actually talking to someone about their fruits and vegetables feels a little disconcerting. Tips, anyone? How does this farmer’s market culture work?
G said today, “Don’t be silly, Mom, just sing.” Ok, I’ll work on that. I much prefer the silly part though. Really.
So, confession time, just how silly do you get behind closed doors when only your small children are watching?