What's Bob Gonna Do, Now That He Can't Drink?

Remember that kid’s show, Dora the Explorer? Kids had to yell at the television, “Swiper! No swiping!” so that the sly fox would not steal the prized object of the episode? That show always got on my nerves, but my niece loved it. I remember her watching it with fascination and getting so upset when Swiper came on the screen. She would gasp like, “How dare he!”Swiper was always there, lurking. Often we are too busy looking at the prize that we don't see Swiper hiding in the bushes.  Hebrews 11:1 is one of my favorite verses. God showed me this one back in high school and it became my life verse. It says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen.” Let's face it, faith is hard. I know that each of us have had something they have prayed and prayed for, only to wait and wonder if God is listening. That's the question right? Is God listening? It's like that Judy Bloom book, "Are You There God. It's Me Margaret." I hav...

I LOVE scary movies. I spent many hours watching them when I was growing up. I was, and still am in search of the latest GOOD scary movie. I think my love for all things scary started as a child, when I watched The Twilight Zone with my Nanny. We watched it every day. I also think that Scooby Doo had a lot to do with it. As I got older I remember watching the Freddy Krueger T.V. show called Freddy’s Nightmares . In high school and college I rented countless horror films from Blockbuster. Some of my favorites include: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Poltergeist, The Fog, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Conjuring, Insidious, and Amityville Horror (the original) . I don't know why I like these movies. It may be the rush I get when I'm scared. It may be the laugh that I have after the initial scare. As scary as these movies may be, they are “safe.” Nothing is really going to happen to me. I'm watching something unfold before me, but I am able to walk away from it at ...

I don't know about you, but I loved the show Parenthood. My friend Trish told me about it and then I binge watched it on Netflix one summer. It's so dramatic, funny, and I think it's basically what everyone wants their family to be: supportive, caring, and consistent. Yeah, it's messy. Relationships are messy, but when you're dealing with family, it's worth the mess.  I find myself thinking even more about family these days. Probably, because my immediate family has changed. I am so happy to be in this new season. It is so wonderful, and I am truly blessed. I was just thinking about the years I got to spend with my niece. I can't describe the love I have for this girl. I love her like my own child. I have since the moment I met her. I was living in Long Beach. Mom and Tena came to visit and show off this cute little baby girl. I instantly fell in love with her. She was little, but round. I was so sad that I missed out on meeting her when she was first b...

It’s gorgeous here. The sky is open and the land is wide. There was a time in my life when I was obsessed with that Dixie Chicks song, “Wide Open Spaces.” At the time I was headed on a new adventure of moving back to California, but this time as an adult. I was going to be away from my immediate family, and I was ready to spread my wings. That’s what you’re supposed to do in your 20s, right? I can remember driving up PV Drive and playing that song, with the hills to the right and the ocean to the left. It was a beautiful life.  Fast forward through some heartache, and a move back to Arkansas, to today. Now I am starting a whole new adventure. Marriage. Not just marriage, but marriage in the country. I grew up all over Southern California, and in Southwest Little Rock. Now I am living in a small town with about 850 other people, most of which were born and raised here, including my husband. He grew up on this land that I currently occupy. He has memories here that amaze m...

I just read my last post and WOW. I wrote that post in May of 2015. That summer I decided that I was going to choose joy, and that  it was, "the summer of Tara." Let me tell you what all I did, and the things that happened.  Before last summer, life got hard around Thanksgiving. My sister decided to move and that meant that my niece would be going with her. I had spent the last couple of years spending as much time with her as possible. I knew it would just be a season, but I really didn't want the time to end. Saying goodbye to her for an undetermined amount of time sent me into a time of deep sadness.  After months of getting used to a new normal, and still missing my girl, my birthday was approaching. I hate my birthday. I don't even know why. I just never have liked it that much. This time I decided it would be great, and I was going to have a great 39th year of life. This was when I decide it would be, "The Summer of Tara." I decided tha...