Things to do before I die.

List of things I want to do before I die...

(not in any special order)

1. Learn how to surf.
2. Sing the national anthem in a big stadium
3. Be on a billboard
4. Write a book
5. Go to Capri, Italy
6. Number 6 is a GREAT one but I am not gonna reveal it to ya. ;)
7. Learn how to cook seafood. Never done it.
8. Be able to do a back hand spring (could never get it in HS, all the other cheerleaders could)
9. Take my kids with me on a mission trip.


I am sure there is more, I just can't think of them today. TTFN.

T'lee

Did I just say that?

So you have probably heard of the phrase, "having diarrhea of the mouth", right? I realize that is a crude visual so I apologize. But, my point in bringing this is is I have a pattern with my blogging to say something and then wake up the next morning and wish I could erase whatever I just shared the night before. It reminds me of the first boy I said "I love you" to in high school who replied with, "That's cute!" Yikes! There is just no rewind button on life. Thankfully I am great at keeping others secrets in case you were wondering. I am just great at sharing a lot of info. about my heart and my life and wearing it all on my sleeve. Some people appreciate this. They know they can talk to me about anything and that I dont' have a topic that is really off limits. Some people don't really appreciate my candor about everything. OH well, what are you gonna do. I thought I'd add a few things to the "Things I love list", just for kicks and giggles. So here goes...don't worry I won't mention anything "INAPPROPRIATE". That is on a completely different blog, just kiddin'.

1. I love laying in my nicely remodeled spa tub (with awesome jets)reading People magazine.
2.I love My pillow. It is a special kind with a hole in the middle. Got it for Christmas. Matt bought one for me because my good buddy Michele had one so I wanted one too. :-) It rocks. It is like having a DVR, once you have one you can never go back. I had a Garfield comic for years on my fridge that had Garfield saying, "Eating makes me sleepy, sleeping makes me hungry, Life is good". So true.
3. I love Dessert at Melting Pot. Matt knows at this stage in our marriage to not interrupt my enjoyment of the fondue experience with chit chat. I like to close my eyes and really savor the chocolate. OK, moving on...
4. I love musical movies. Hairspray, Moulan Rouge, Grease 2, Sister Act 2 and even HSM 2. I apparently am a fan of musical sequels since I really prefer all the second ones. The best of the best is Cool Rider from Grease 2. I imagine it is me up on that ladder singing my heart out.

Good night friends and family, rest well. Gonna go read my People Magazine now.

About an email...

(I wrote this late at night, I hope no one takes it too personally.)

So I got an email tonight that said this...

There comes a point in your life when you realize
who matters,
who never did,
who won't anymore...
and who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

I am sure you've gotten this email poem before and will probably again from someone.

If you had read my blog two weeks ago you would know I am realllllly good at worrying about stupid things that end up being no big deal. (This is where Matt chimes in with "That's because you're a woman!" :-) This above little poem thingy got me thinking. Of course it is late and Matt is at station and I have a hard time going to sleep when he is gone. I know that I should probably NOT do my deep thinking now and then broadcast it to all of humanity (my 7 friends that actually read this), but I am doing it the freak anyway because I just don't want to try to sleep yet. Anyway, about the poem. I waste time trying to make friendships happen that maybe were not meant to happen. The whole idea of, "if they aren't banging down your door, sending you emails, calling you etc. I should not be making all the efforts I am making. I know there are some downright amazing people that I really haven't taken enough time to get to know and I really should do that instead. I am blessed by those that DO make the effort. Those that get up early to go to my Lupus walk,(with heart felt tears, thank you), those that sit with me in a hospital waiting room for 8 hours waiting for the Surgeons update, those that love me and listen to me when they KNOW I am making bad choices and yet still love me and listen, to you all I will be forever grateful.

About the line above in the poem about the past...well, I think I will just leave that there.(Unless I can't sleep and I need something to think about ;)

Growing Up in my 30's: Time stand still

Growing Up in my 30's: Time stand still

Time stand still

Time stand still...

In just two days, my precious five year old daughter will start kindergarten. I am so happy that she has survived five years after having such a rough beginning to her little life. But, I am sad that she won't be here at my house to play with all day every day. I know that she is a social child and will love school but I am still a bit bummed about it all. I am amazed at her little mind and her desire to learn new things. I know that she will far exceed our expectations for her. I am not worried about her adjustment, just mine. I remember two years ago when she started preschool. I was desperately wishing I could make time stand still and keep her home with me a little longer. Eventually I got used to and enjoyed having a little time to get stuff done while she was off playing and learning. Kindergarten is a much bigger deal. It is a long day. I know she will get tired and at times will want her mommy. I know God made this sweet girl with a servant's heart and a desire to help others. I can see her sitting by friends showing them how to do things and offering to pick up after others.

The other 2% I am worried about is myself. I confess ahead of time that this is shallow. There are the concerns of "what if all the other moms already know each other?" and "what if they are all available to come help during the day and I can't?" "will I miss out and they will all end up being BFF except me?". "Will they all have on perfect Ann Taylor ironed clothes? " Oh my gosh1 These families might actually iron their clothes? Do I even own an iron? Anyway, the mom factor feels like high school and school hasn't even started yet! High school was not fun the first time and I really don't want to re-live it. At some point I will choose to look at this all with spiritual eyes and pray about it all, but not today. Today I am having a little tiny freak out.

One of my favorite things to do at night with Matthew is go into the girls' room and look at them one more time before we go to bed. They are always sleeping in some funny position and it always makes us giggle. What amazing sweet gifts from God. Arn't you glad that God doesn't give us gifts based upon what we deserve? I never thought I would end up with my own flesh and blood children and now I have not one but two! God is good. He has carried Samantha through so much already I know He will carry her through Kindergarten, and first grade, and second, .....

Making time stand still...

What I am loving this week & more deep thoughts.

Two parts...

Part one...

Things I am loving right now:

1) Magic Eraser

It rocks! I don't understand what it is or how it works. But it does and I love it none the less.

2) Richard Simmons.
Yeah. Yeah. Don't mock me. The man is very encouraging.
He just has a way of saying, " You can do this, I believe in you", and I actually believe him. I understand he is stuck in 1985 but he likes it there so I don't judge him.



3) Aquaphor - read in some beauty magazine that it is an essential for backstage at fashion shows. We use it here in the Oyer house for everything. We put in on our lips to make them soft, our legs to make them moisturized after the shower (kids), and on any other boo boo that shows up.

4) I am loving and missing my sister as always. It is amazing to me that I have so many great friends these days and my sister doesn't know half of them because she lives in freakin' Egypt. I am so excited for her and her new great job but wish she was local to see the girls grow up and be available for coffee talk on a hard day.

This is me picking up my little sister. She is really my big sister because she is older but I call her my little sister because she is only 4'10. I feel like an ogre next to her.



Part two:

Deep thoughts by Tara...
I wish we as women could get inside our husbands brains for just a few minutes to be able to truly understand their thought processes, goals, dreams, aspirations etc. I think their job as husbands, fathers, providers, is such a different role than ours usually is and I think it would be great to get a glimpse of where they truly are at with that responsibility.

and...

I wish men truly understand the difference between telling a woman she is hot and that she is beautiful. I can remember the last ten times someone said I was "beautiful" but not the last ten times someone said I looked "hot". From my single life to my married life, I am just not sure men get it. I know we all love them just the same but it is just one little "glimpse" I wish they understood. Something about being beautiful is flattering in a different way. It acknowledges that there is something of value they see on the inside shining through that makes your outside appearance even more appealing.

These deep thoughts have made me sleepy. Have a spectacular week. comments are welcome. email them to me if you'd rather the whole world not see your deep thoughts posted here on the web. email will be for my eyes only. wink wink. ( I know some of you love Richard Simmons too)

Pursuit of happiness

It is 11:23 in the morning. Where are you? Are you at work taking a break? Are you home listening to kids running around in the background? Are you supposed to be doing something important but are blogging instead? or checking email? What is it that you are hoping will show up? Two nights ago Matt and I went to see the movie 21. It was pretty good. There were questions in the movie about life. Are you really living? What is it in your day that makes you really feel alive? I have multiple things I really enjoy doing but rarely get to do these things. Singing, dancing, being on stage/on camera etc. I like the thrill of the thrill and like to feel alive. There was a man at the theater saturday that was interviewing people on camera asking them where they find their happiness is in regard to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". I thought this was a great question. It made me think about the differances between joy, happiness and contentment. I believe these are definetley not one in the same. We need to make sure we are at peace with Christ as well as doing things that make us happy. (entertainment wise or otherwise) . Anyone every feel like you are just on survival mode and stuck in a routine? We are not obviously living our lives on the edge in Vegas but there has to be a middle ground where some fun comes in that gets our hearts beating a little bit more than oooo there is a new episode of "Rules of Engagement" on tonight! (really is a great show though). I know with my hubby's job there is the thrill of rushing into a building that is on fire. That is definetly an adrenaline rush. But stopping at target one more time because I forgot to buy wipes is just not on the same level. I vow to make a list of things I enjoy. Things that get my heart pumping and make me feel alive and I vow to start doing some of these things because I am not dead yet and I want to live. Once I come up with this marvelous list I will share it with you, my blog friends and you can then bug me about it later to make sure I have starting "living" on another level. Might I add that I love my husband, chidren, friends, church, etc. and would no way want to trade any of that in for anything not on God's path. I think I just need a hobby. One night a week where I do something exciting. :-)

It is 11:23 in the morning. Where are you? Are you at work taking a break? Are you home listening to kids running around in the background? Are you supposed to be doing somehting important but are blogging instead? or checking email?

Growing Up in my 30's: Hair and Share...

Growing Up in my 30's: Hair and Share...

Hair and Share...

Before Getting there... After!!


So I finally cut my hair in my attempts to "grow up". Think it needs one more adjustment, we'll see. Created a two week challenge and sent it out to get some dieting support. I lasted to day 3. Woo-hoo!! Send out a press release!!! Tara has issues with sticking to something. Well. I have been married for ten years. That counts as sticking to something. My house has been relatively maintained for a few weeks. That is progress. Now on to more important things...



#1 Why is it that I can't hear the song "I had the time of my life..." from Dirty Dancing without picturing myself dancing around a dancing studio with Patrick Swayze? It doesn't matter where I am, Publix, Shopping Mall, Dr.'s office...I am just instantly there! It is like a early 90's brainwashing!! I am physically and mentally incapable of not picturing that scene in my head and starting to sway my hips.



#2 Why do our cartoons friends have to be labeled? The smurfs, the care bears, the seven dwarfs! Can we all just be different things each days? Or maybe we are more than one thing every day? I know I am occasionally grumpy, dopey and sleepy all at the same time. Why did they have to be labeled as just one. It is so wrong.



#3 I think at this point of my life I am blogging for my own entertainment. I realize that no one may care to read this but I am amusing myself by writing it so that counts! Free entertainment for me, by me!


Good night to all my late night reading friends. May your dreams be sweet. May your rest be satisfying and may you wake up happy and content with the world.

One more time!

That Starbucks gets me every time! 1:30 a.m. and I am still up. Lucky me. Well today I decided to branch out a bit. I went to a ladies night out with gals from church and went ice skating. I actually made it through without falling down at all. I wasn't speeding around the rink I was really just trying to stay vertical. I felt like Phoebe from Friends who ran around Central Park like a ten year old girl. Well I skated around the ice rink like a 5 year old. I remember the feeling of roller skating as a kid and feeling so alive and free. The wind would blow through my hair as I skated so effortlessly to whatever Wham song played over the speakers. My skating experience tonight was nothing like that. Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful time. But I was really just trying to make sure I didn't beat the dust. I was determined no matter how badly my chins were throbbing to not be the first of my friends to have to take a break. I kept saying, "One more time around". How this relates to Growing up in my 30's you ask? I ventured out and did something new and different. I didn't stay home because it was out of my comfort zone, I went and tried. Go me! I got to get to know some wonderful women and got to try two new things at Starbucks. Life is good. I am going to to try, "One more time" to get some sleep.

The Beginning

Not sure if starting a blog at 4 in the morning should really be called something like "the beginning" when it really feels like "the end". I have been up for a while unable to sleep. It is at frustrating moments like this where it feels like "the end" of a battle I am just not going to win. I wish I could make my body obey the way we make our microwave obey. It tell it what to do and it does it. Nook my m & m's for 45 seconds....and it obeys. It would be nice to say "sleep!" and be able to sleep.

I am labeling this blog "Growing Up in my 30's". Now let me explain that the growing up is really something everyone else wants me to do but not necessarily something I am dead set on. Apparently throwing your dirty clothes on the floor as a married mother of two is not highly recommended. It is not that I am against the responsible organized lifestyle, I am just not good at it. If I could push the magical obey button and make myself that way naturally then

woop-di-du!!

that would be awesome. But seeing as though I suck at it then all the work and effort seems like such a pain. It is not that I am lazy. I will explain all that later. It is just I don't even think about it. I focus mostly on the essentials. Eat, sleep, relax, be the taxi lady to my kids, raise them to be amazing Godly people, go to my obligations etc. Wow, I am tired just typing all that. I am in serious need of a vacation. Big shiny clean cruise ship would be nice. Anyway, back to thought A, this is the recording of my journey to be a grown up. This is my journey to being skinny too hopefully. They say if you get one area of your life organized/structured the rest falls into place too. So here I go with my goal list...

1. Be consistent in my daily time with God.
2. Get house in great shape and then maintain it! (laundry, dishes, clothes put away etc.)
3. Be good wife, mother, blah blah blah.
4. Get skinny! Lose at least 12 pounds by Myrtle Beach time this summer.

Here's hoping I have some success in these ventures. Feel free to leave me comments and encourage the heck out of me. Thanks.