Conscious Rambles

Straight to it today with a story about how my Gam got her name. Those of you that went to high school with me also probably called my Grandma, Gam. It fits.. and I picked her name. For about the first 14 years of my life, she was Grandma. Never Gam. Around this time, my great-grandmother, whom I also called Grandma, got sick with dementia. She moved in with my grandparents and it confused her a whole lot when I said "Grandma" to anyone. I remember the day that I decided on the name "Gam".  In my Gam's kitchen there is a corner where the stove and sink almost meet. They're only separated by a 2-foot by 2-foot countertop. This is what my "Gam" has always called 'her corner'. "Tara, you get out of my corner." That was the most common line when I was helping with dinner. This is where her flour, cornmeal, sugar, etc. is kept. It's also where her cutting board lies. It's the Mecca of the kitchen. She was standing i...

Hey y'all! Today I'm coming at ya with some MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and you know I'm an advocate for this!!! I have been dealing with mental health issues since I can really remember. My Mom will tell you it started in 9th grade. I'm not sure when it struck, if it has been there since birth, or what caused my high functioning depression and anxiety. What I can tell you is that I can't remember not having anxiety/depression and that my grandmother and great-grandmother both had manic depression (commonly known today is bipolar disorder). Genetics? Possibly. Nature vs. Nurture? Who knows... What I do know is that I've learned to cope, some days are harder than others, and if you catch me on a bad day I'm a full on B*%&. Let's talk facts: (You knew this was coming right?) 1) 1 in 5 American adults will experience a mental health issue. 1 in 25 has a serious mental illness. 2) Suicide accounts for 41,000+ ...

OKAY, post #2! Here we go.... Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there! I have some of the most amazing moms in my life. Moms that are friends, family and co-workers. It takes a special something to create a tiny human and raise them into amazing images of yourselves. I'd be worried constantly and cry a lot. (This is what I do over my dog.) It's truly a miracle that you've done this. You deserve every pampering and all of the cake and cookies!! I told my mom today that I know I have a big head.. so she deserves this day for the physical pain I caused her........She said my brother owes her more.  I am full of useless knowledge. Anyone that knows me knows that I know random things. I used to think I would be on Jeopardy or something and win a lot of money... In reality, I just know fun facts. I wanted to learn the origin of Mother's Day.. so here's some "fun facts" of this day for ya....  1) Mother's Day began as one sin...

Hey, girl, hey!  Today I'm rambling about a few of my favorite things. Things I need to get through each day. And because I ramble, they are in no particular category. #1) COFFEE I need this every morning. Not a cup in the afternoon, not some when I get home. Just in the morning. In the biggest cup they offer (20 oz. by the way). What's my go to? Definitely the Caramel Macchiato. If I'm counting calories it's a cappuccino (non-fat). I -heart- O'Henry's because of the atmosphere. You walk into a GIANT community table. This week, I saw a group of ladies at another community table having bible study. One of the women had brought everyone roses in the cutest teacups. Talk about precious right? O'Henry's takes time making your coffee. It's always the perfect temperature. I don't have to wait 10 minutes for it to cool down (which I never do, because most of the time I just drink the scalding liquid life and burn the &*$! out of my ton...