Tara's Random Tidbits

Have you ever had a friend or family member call you last minute to say they are coming to visit? We have all been there when that call comes and we look around our house and realize you need to straighten up. Then you are frantically running around trying to clean everything before they get there and while your doing it, you are creating more of a mess. What if I told you a way to get it done faster and still have time to brush your hair before company shows up? Well, keep on reading because I have some tips and tricks to make sure you are using your time in the best way possible. Follow my easy tips, then do what I call the four round cleaning method. Tip#1- You want to grab a trash bag for trash and a bin for things that don't belong ( here is a bin I recommend using). Tip#2- You also want to make sure you do one room at a time.  Tip#3- Start on one side of the room and work your way around in a circle. Tip#4- The key is to only go around the room once for each

Have you ever heard the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure?" With spring upon us, it's the perfect time for yard sales, whether you're shopping at one or having one yourself. I love yard sales! I feel like I get more excited to see what other people are selling than to sell my stuff. I will usually have one at least once a year at my house. I like to find that next special piece that's going to go perfect in my home, or the next cheap piece of furniture I can fix up and re-sell. Whatever you're looking for or "not looking for," and whoever you do it with, you are bound to find some treasure. I have had a lot of yard sales over the years; therefore,I have learned some things about how to better prepare for them. Every time I have one, I always think of something new I should do for the next time. So I wanted to share with you some of the things I do every time I have a yard sale. Hopefully after reading these tips, you wi

Who doesn't love a good, classic bowl of chili? I guess naturally there are people out there in the world who don't care for it, but if you are here then you probably do. Last week, in Arizona, we had some very chilly weather (get it? chilly, chili?). Anyway, it was so cold that Scottsdale actually got snow and that's unheard of here. We had chicken noodle soup one night and we're trying to think of something else warm. Chili came to mind since it is filling and delicious! It's pretty hard to mess up chili since you can make it however you want. My husband travels a lot and has gout, so when he is home we make it with ground chicken since he can't have red meat. Let me tell you, it is just as tasty! When we went to visit my mom over Christmas break we couldn't find light red kidney beans anywhere, so we just replaced it with pinto beans. The ingredients can be interchangeable to your liking. You can use any type of ground meat, and you can use any kind of

  Why yes, yes it is!            I have a problem. You know how people wake up and can't function without coffee in the morning? That's me, except with tea. I can't help but wonder if this tea obsession started brewing when I was a wee little lad in England. My dad was also plagued with this addiction and I never saw him without a hot cup of tea in his hand or on his desk next to him. He would even have me make it for him sometimes, wait let’s get real, I was making him tea multiple times a day. He liked it a certain way: Tea, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and a splash of milk. I was the pro tea maker in the family. When I was younger, I never really understood what the big deal was or why my dad felt the need to drink this stuff all the time. I had tried it a few times, and yeah it was good, but it really didn't consume me until later in life. Now, I have to have it everyday.              Let me just start by saying that I prefer iced tea, I mean come on we live in Ari

So, this week I wanted to talk about a very difficult subject that has been weighing heavily on my heart, grief. Recently, it seems like every time I turn around someone is gone, and it is so hard to cope with, but it is a difficult part of life and we need to know how to help those left behind. We don’t always know what to do for someone who has just lost a loved one or even what to say, for that matter. It’s hard to say what they might need from you at the time because they probably don’t even know what that is themselves. It’s impossible to know how someone feels during this time, especially if you haven’t been through it yourself. The important thing is to just let them know that you are there for them for whatever they may need. My nephew, Sam. Last year before Christmas we lost my nephew at 8 years old. My sister lives in another state and it was very hard for me to decide how to be there for her, when I couldn’t physically be there. I ended up sending her some mo

Hi there, my name is Tara! I live in Peoria, Arizona, and I am currently pursuing an Early Childhood Education Degree at GCC. I plan on transferring to NAU. My ultimate goal is to teach second grade. I have a 14 year old daughter, Aliyah, and a 4 year old Beagle named Bruno. I have been happily married for 14 years and they are my world. A few of my hobbies would be reading, playing the piano, and cooking. I collect snow globes from places we visit and I am a huge Disney fanatic. If I had 1.4 billion dollars, I would give money to family, pay off our house and cars, invest some, donate some, and put some away for my daughter. I have so many different interests that I couldn't pick just one thing to blog about, so I really hope you enjoy my blog filled with random little tidbits.