Gas or Charcoal?

The other day I was a little bent out of shape because of the heat. Well, today it's 15 degrees cooler--a gorgeous 80 degrees with a little breeze too. So, since summer is more tolerable today, I'll tell you two things I actually love about the season.

The first is flip flops. I have an addiction--it's pretty bad. I am not a shoes or clothes girl at all. But for some reason, when it comes to flip flops, I definitely go overboard. Maybe it's because they're so cheap, it's easy to slip another pair up to the register. I thought I might count how many pairs are in my closet for this post, but I decided not to because if I know the number, I might be really embarassed.

The second thing is the grill. Now, for the past 5 years, we've had a gas grill and we loved it. We loved the convenience and quick prep time of our gas grill. Well, it ran its course from being used so much over the years and we ended up getting rid of it last summer. This year, after moving into our new home, Mark went out the next day and bought himself the King of All Grills--a Weber charcoal grill. I promise you we are never going back. We LOOOOVE charcoal! The change in the taste of our food is unbelievable. From hot dogs to chicken to burgers, everything is way juicier. And I swear to you that our grilled peppers, summer squash and red onions the other night tasted like candy! (For anyone who has not tried this, you need to--thickly slice your veggies, brush on extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle liberally with pepper and kosher salt.)

Anyone out there who would like to share their grilling ideas with me, I'd love to hear it. We've been grilling out about every other night and I always like hearing other people's recipes or ideas for some variety.

The Dog Days of Summer

It's HOT!

Our central air is BROKEN!

I know...boo hoo. Well, what can I say? I'm officially spoiled by AC. I've had it for the past 6 years and not being a summer person in any way, shape, or form to start with, I love life with cooler temps on demand.

I was in Michael's today looking for a couple of things that I didn't find. I ended up coming out with the usual suspects from the dollar bins--thank you notes, magnetic grocery list pads (two things I go through quick), and a 2007 Large Grid Calendar (they're out already, Gretchen!). All that to say that the store was full of fall stuff! It amazes me every year that seasonal things seem to appear earlier and earlier. There was a whole aisle dedicated to Halloween, and it seemed half the store was autumn flowers, wreaths, candles, and welcome signs bearing leaves, pumkins, and scarecrows.

Needless to say it made me very giddy...until I walked out the door and got my 95 degree wakeup call. I won't go into my musings on why I love fall so much--I think I already did that when I first started this blog. But I'll just end by saying when the cooler temps get here, the leaves start changing, and I can go buy a bushel of apples for my annual applesauce making frenzy, I'll be ready and waiting.

Yikes!

The roller coaster has slowed down long enough for me to get off, even though rest of my family is still on it. Here's our last month in a nutshell--We moved from Minneapolis to Columbus June 9, and spent a week unpacking, getting new licenses, plates, learning our way around, etc.

A week later we headed out to Pennsylvania for three weeks of basketball camp. We lived in the dorm, spent tons of time with old friends, took twice-daily walks around campus, enjoyed fellowship at Heritage Baptist Church, threw zillions of pinecones into the pond, ran crazy around the gym when camp was not happening, and ate "yummy" food in the cafeteria, almost got attacked by the psychotic campus geese more than once, enjoyed fireworks with great friends, and had many ice coffees from the brand spanking new Dunkin Donuts. Our hearts were filled up there.

We ended up leaving camp a couple of days early to head up to Boston. My grandmother died July 1 (yaay for her being in heaven, sad for her not being here...) so we spent a few days with my family in Massachusetts for the funeral. It was really great seeing everyone--I saw relatives I hadn't seen in years and I know it made Grampy so happy that every single person in our extended family came (including soldiers flying in from Iraq and missionaries flying up from Ecuador). There was lots of crying, but even more laughing.

Mark had to leave the day after the funeral to start another basketball camp in Cleveland, but he insisted that I stay with my mom longer, so he drove the 10 hours himself with the kids.

I flew from Boston to Columbus today. My kids are still in Cleveland, staying with Mark's parents while Mark finishes up that camp. After these crazy 5 weeks, I've never been happier to sit on my own couch. Since we were only in Columbus for a week before leaving again and going through all the craziness, I feel like my house is brand new all over again.

We leave in another 2 and a half weeks for my brother's wedding down in Virginia, so that's another 9 hour trip to torture our kids with, but I'm not going to think about it yet. I have the next 3 days all to myself before Mark, Jake, and Rory roll back into town and I have lots of plans. I'll fill my days with coffee, relaxation, stocking our kitchen with food, getting a library card (always a necessity right away for me), exploring the city a little bit, and possibly painting the kitchen if I'm feeling extremely motivated.

Real life in Columbus has definitely not started for us yet. But we're almost there, and very happy about it.

Thanks to everyone who continues to pray for us.

In Limbo

I wanted to post quickly before we leave for Pennsylvania tomorrow because I'm pretty sure I won't have regular internet access once we're there.

We're here in Columbus! Our house is an amazing blessing from God. We feel like we have so much space, and we're loving the backyard. We are thankful and the kids are soooooo happy and are running free!

Of course, we don't really feel like we're here for real yet because we're leaving tomorrow for our 3-week stint at basketball camp, so that's where the "In Limbo" title comes from. We have a lot to do when we get back--Mark needs a job, we start the church hunt, I need some girlfriends... I know this will all come one step at a time, so until we have to think about those things, we plan to enjoy our time in Clarks Summit. We're excited to see old friends, to be at Heritage again, and to spend time on our beautiful and peaceful BBC campus.

See you in Mayberry, Abby!

To Laugh With Old Friends

Last night, Gretchen, Lisa, Abby, Angela and I went out for coffee. For those of you who don't know, these are my Minnesota friends who are originally from Pennsylvania--we all go way back. Lisa wanted me to see her favorite coffee place before I move away, and it turned into a kind of last hurrah for me to be with my girlfriends here. We had so much fun. We talked the night away and laughed a lot. I will miss that. I will miss being with friends who I've known for years and who know me so well, who know my history, who know my extended family members' names, who know my likes and dislikes, and who know my spirit. As exciting as this move is for our family, I'm sad to leave these friends who love us and who have supported us in our adventures. Thanks for a great night, guys--I'm so glad we have this picture!

Gretchen (and Baby Girl Miller #3), Lisa, me, Abby, and Angela

Lists

There's a week and a half to go and our apartment is looking sparse. The walls are bare, the shelves are empty, there are boxes in every corner and things are messy. It's not a fun way to live, especially for a couple of toddlers. But we're so excited, we don't care. Even Jake is excited, even though he doesn't REALLY know what's happening. He keeps asking if we're moving to a new house because every time I'm packing a box, he asks what I'm doing. I always tell him I have to pack up our stuff to move it to a new house. Then we go through the list of all the different things there will be at his new house--his own room, a yard to throw balls and play tee ball, a driveway to pull his wagon, ride his bike, and play basketball, a basement to wrestle with Daddy where the neighbors won't bang on the ceiling...

Along with the packing and cleaning, I have been making lists like crazy. I have always been a list girl. I love the satisfaction of crossing things off a list of to-do's. I love knowing that I don't have to worry about forgetting something on a trip because I checked my list before I left. But I don't think I've ever made so many lists at one time before as I have right now. There are so many things coming up, I feel like making lists is the only way to keep my head on my shoulders. I have a list of things that need to be done before the move, a grocery list of things we'll need for our one week in Ohio before leaving for PA, a list of things we have to bring to PA, a list of things I have to take care of while in PA, a grocery list of staples needed when I shop once we're home from PA, and there are more, but I just can't think of them right now. I know once we make the move, I won't have time to sit down and make shopping lists or PA trip lists because there will be so much to do in that one short week. And I have a lot of time here, so why not just get it done now?

I feel good about my lists. I feel organized, and when I'm organized I'm happy.

Hail the pen and paper!

A Hammock...

"A hammock is the best place to spend a midsummer afternoon. When you climb into a hammock, you are linked to reality only by the narrowest of cords. Suspended in time and space, you shed any sense of weight or corporal substance. As you sway with the gentle rhythm of the breeze, you drift and dream between heaven and earth, glimpsing the blue truth of sky beyond the wagging treetops. Then suddenly the spell is broken by a dog's snout poking you, a rumble of thunder or a child's cry, and you are brought back to a world you temporarily left behind. But the hammock's solace is not forgotten. Its gentle crescent lingers."

--Robert S. Kyff

Mother's Day

I had the BEST Mother's Day! Mark had to coach a tournament this weekend, but he more than made up for not being around part of Sunday. He made french toast for breakfast and told me I absolutely was NOT allowed to do the dishes. He made sandwiches for the kids and put them in the fridge after breakfast so I wouldn't have to make lunch for them. And he surprised me with Macaroni Grill reservations for supper. We had such a great time. I think that might have been our most successful restaurant experience with our kids--they were soooo good. And Rory piped in with the opera singer who came to our table to serenade the kids. She is hilarious.

I decided to go to our friends' church for the morning, instead of Berean, because I wanted to be with people I love. Since Mark couldn't be there, it was nice to sit with people I'm close to during the service. Mark had a two hour break from coaching and showed up after the church service to talk and visit with our friends for a few minutes, and also to help me get the kids out to the car.

The best part of my day was Jake telling me "Happy Mother's Day" before he went to bed. Mark had him saying it first thing in the morning, and througout the day, and I know he had Jake say it again that last time, but it sounded so cute and like he actually knew what it meant that time. He made me cry because he suddenly seemed so old.

Thanks, Mark, for such a special day. I love you!

Christmas in June

I haven't been blogging much lately. I have been told more than once that I have too much time on my hands because of all the time I spend online, but I can honestly say that it's no longer true. Now that I'm back from my South Carolina trip it's crunch time. I have exactly 4 weeks to get this place organized and packed up.

In the process of going through every room of our apartment and relocating boxes and bins, I was reminded of how many things we never got to unpack, simply for lack of space. Not only do we have tons of unpacked boxes, but Mark's car is still full of stuff we haven't touched either. I'm getting really excited about unpacking in our new home, and finding all kinds of lost treasures. It will be like Christmas in the summer!

Memoirs of a Geisha

I finally saw "Memoirs of a Geisha" last night. I've been waiting to see this since I first heard the movie was being made because I read the book about 4 years ago and I could not put it down. It is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read, and I loved learning about the Geisha world. In choosing books to read, I usually look for settings in worlds I know nothing about, cultures that I can learn from. I love learning about Asian culture, the slavery era in America, Native Americans, and even the South. These are all worlds that are foreign to me and that fascinate me every time I enter one.

I decided to reread the book before I saw the movie and I got through it pretty fast since we had our 12 hour trip to and from Ohio a few weeks ago. So I went into the movie with a knowledgeable perspective. I don't know why I put myself through the torture. The movie is NEVER worth seeing after reading the story first. I'd say the best book-to-movie transition I've experienced is Gone With the Wind. But you also have to take into consideration that Gone With the Wind is a long movie, so they were able to stick to the story with some continuity.

Memoirs of a Geisha is gorgeous, I'll give you that. The settings and wardrobes were breathtaking, especially those set in Japenese gardens. But there was so much missing from the story. I was constantly thinking to myself, how will anyone who has not read the novel know what is going on? It was patchy and confusing.

Bottom line and personal opinion of Tara Chapman: More disapointing than most movies based on popular books. There are thousands of movies out there--don't pick this one next time you're at Blockbuster or logging onto Netflix!

Recipe Obsession

I have an addiction to recipes. I just love them--I love reading them, I love watching people cook, I love trying them out myself. I have a rediculous amount of cookbooks and I read them and re-read them all the time. Not only that, but they are marked up with little post-its and then cross-referenced into dish type categories in Word on my computer. That way, when I'm looking for something specific to make, I can look under "Soups" or "Main Dishes-Pork" and find something pretty quick. (I know at this point some of you must think I'm crazy.) But wait, there's more.

Before we got rid of DirecTV, I constantly watched the Food Network--it was by far my favorite channel. Now that I don't have it anymore, once in a while I'll pop in a Food Network DVD because, yes, I bought a few of those collections at Target. So once in a while I can get a food fix from a favorite chef or two. To me, food is the prettiest thing to look at on TV--it's so vibrant and colorful.

And then there's the internet. When I'm bored, I'll settle onto the couch with Mark's laptop and start browsing recipes on allrecipes.com or foodnetwork.com or epicurious.com. As if I don't have access to enough recipe ideas, I constantly work on building up my online recipe boxes.

When does an obsession become unhealthy? =)

Follow Up On Familiarity

Okay, I'm hearing through the grapevine that a few people are thinking I'm in the depths of despair or something because of my last entry. I swear to you all that I'm absolutely fine--I'm not freaking out, I'm not depressed, I'm not looking for security (I KNOW where my security lies!). I was merely pondering some things that have drastically changed for me. Just thinking out loud. As my friend Abby says, her blog is about death and darkness, while mine is about coffee and donuts. =) So I guess I can see where the concern comes from. Thank you to those who care.

Familiarity

I had an epiphany today: there is nothing familiar going on for me right now. I don’t know my family, I don't know my new friends well, I don’t know my old friends the way I used to, I don’t know my church, I don’t know my town. I don’t know anything anymore except for my husband and my kids. Praise God for my own little family. There are things about God I don’t know anymore either—things I thought I knew in the past and now I question. It’s not the most important things about God—I know He loves me, I know He’s faithful, I know He’s my Father. Things are just different than the things I always learned, and it confuses me.

What a weird place in life to be. I crave familiarity.

(By the way, this may sound melancholy, but that's not how I'm feeling--I promise I'm not feeling sorry for myself or anything, I'm just musing over some facts of life, and this is what I came up with today.)

Dunkin Donuts Coffee

Okay, a lot of you friends have heard my opinions on Dunkin Donuts coffee in the past. But I'm feeling the need to wax eloquent on the topic today because I got to have a cup this morning on our way out of the Chicago area. Anyone who knows New England knows that DD coffee is pretty much a religion up there. In the Boston area where I grew up, there are DD stores literally on every corner, but as I have moved on in life and in the country, I've learned they are not as common everywhere else. Could be partly because DD was born in Massachusetts, could be because the rest of the country hasn't learned the wonders of the perfect cup of coffee yet, I don't know. All that to say, I don't get to have it very often anymore (except for around Christmas when my mom sends me pounds and pounds of cinnamon--shout out to Kylene!), so when I get to have a cup fresh from the store, I am immediately taken back to the first 18 years of my life when it was just common fact DD coffee was part of the daily routine for pretty much everyone I ever knew. I was speechless when I found out that after ten years of living in Clarks Summit, PA without a DD in town, one was being built as we moved away...

I know there are a lot of people who don't understand the obsession and who think it's trivial compared to Starbucks, etc. I do like Starbucks coffee. But as a true Bostonian, my heart will always love Dunkin Donuts more than anything else.

Quick anecdote: anyone watching the Red Sox in the playoffs a couple of years ago could not have helped but notice Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner at a few games--they flashed enough pictures of them. You may also have noticed that Jennifer always had a Starbucks cup, while Ben always had a DD cup. Ben grew up in Boston. Silly story, but just wanted to share since I know a ton of people who also noticed--and these are people who aren't from Boston, they just know me!

There really aren't words to describe a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee, so I'll just end with this:

Perfection

New Hometown

I have always been able to pinpoint a year of my life when I hear certain songs. “For the Longest Time” by Billy Joel reminds me of 8’th grade. Tom Cochran’s “Life Is a Highway,” “End of the Road” by Boyz To Men, and “When I Look Into Your Eyes” by Firehouse take me straight back to 10’th grade. “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something encompasses my entire Freshman year of college. The 40 Acres CD by Caedmon’s Call is my Sophomore Year, and the Dixie Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces” takes me right back to single girl apartment living with Kim and Kristen. It hasn’t been as distinct since I’ve been married—I don’t really know why. But I can already tell I have a new song for this spring. It’s “New Hometown” by Sara Evans. Here are the lyrics:

Every day we walk right past
All the concrete and the glass
I don’t know where we’re going
I hardly see your face
And there’s not enough space
For all the love we should be growing

Chorus:
We just need a little earth to stand on
Plant our hearts on solid ground
Turn the lights out on this city
And wake up in a new hometown
We’ll stand out in our front yard
Where we can finally breathe
If we find a little earth to stand on
Baby, you and me

Imagine Friday football games
Where everybody knows our names
They even stop to say hello
I’ll bet they have a town parade
Kids selling lemonade
Baby, don’t you wanna go

We’re leaving for Chicago, then on to Columbus, via Cleveland, in a few hours. Hello Midwest America! For me, there’s nothing like a road trip with a fabulous country song playing me into the sunset… (Too bad Mark will be listening to political talk radio--yaay for the wonderful iPod!)

The Kiddos

Here's Jake and my little surfer girl, Rory--just hangin out around the house today.

I smell Spring!

This may be the first winter of my life that I'm dying for it to end! I am a fall/winter person by nature. I love everything that comes with cold weather--the leaves changing, pumpkins, snow, holiday season, sweaters... But I think that may change a little now that I have kids. They are so sick of being pent up inside and we're all going crazy. It also may be because of where we lived this year--on the second floor of an apartment complex. To get the kids anywhere to do anything, inluding to play in the snow, is a major production. It will be interesting to see if next winter is different, being in our own place again. I wonder if it will be easier on the kids, having more space to play inside, being able to play in their own backyard anytime they want. We'll see.

Anyway, the windows have been open, the kids are wearing sneakers instead of boots when we go out, the grass is getting greener, we're wearing lighter coats...we're almost there! Best of all, Cadbury Eggs are in the stores (and my cabinet!) which is always the first sign of spring.

I'm about to go hard-boil a dozen eggs to decorate!

Who ARE you, Boston Belle?

Someone posted this comment to my Barnes and Noble entry:

"Tara, I can't believe how interesting you still are...maybe I thought part of our identity got washed away with motherhood and family life...but you have shown that we can remain the same pensive souls we always were. I say amen to all your thoughts on "B&N" because, for some strange reason (seriously unbeknownst to me), it has remained my favorite place in all the world for almost ten years now. I'm there ALL the time!"

I can't figure out who you are--my guess is Amy S, but I want to know for sure. So whoever you are, Boston Belle, post again and tell me your identity...Thanks!

Packing AGAIN?

It's been 8 months since the last time I packed up our existence. Only 8 months! How can I possibly be starting this again? And we have STUFF, man--a lot of stuff. We really down-sized with our last move, so this time may be a litte easier, not to mention there are bins and boxes that never got unpacked here because there just wasn't space. But still, here we go again.

Mark was in a frenzy over the weekend. That's what he does--during the week he has stuff on his mind so he keeps to his weekly routine, but once the bug hits on a weekend, there's no stopping him. He goes and goes and goes and asks questions about my stuff and some of his stuff and about half filled storage bins and if we can chuck this or that...it never ends until Monday, and then I can pack peacefully. =) I just sit and play on the computer or watch a movie and go about my routine with Jake and Rory during the frenzy. It's easier that way. We both know what works for us so we stick to it.

So now it's Monday morning and I'm trying to figure out where to start...

Green Tea Latte

I hit the Mall of America today. I only go once in a while and it's always to visit my friend Abby, who works at Starbucks there. It always brightens her day to see my kids waiting in her line. I went today because my mom's birthday is next month, along with Mother's Day so I had some browsing to do. There are lots of specialty shops there so I thought I'd check some out since my mom likes specialty stuff. I never SHOP at the Mall because it's more of a place for us to go just to get the kids out of the house. The Mall is a world of wonder for my kids--Lego Land, drinks of water from Abby in special Starbucks cups with GREEN straws.

All this to say, I got a green tea latte today (thanks, Abs!!). I wasn't sure how it would go over because I'm a no-tea/all-coffee kind of gal. But Abby's been raving about them, and I do really like chai, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It tasted summery (it was iced, by the way) and light. And I quite enjoyed the greenness of it!

Try one and tell me what you think.