It's the simple things in life...

I love these bubbles!!

They're so simple...but it's these simple things that make a Saturday afternoon a memory, camp ground neighbors become friends, and a cabin of kids with nothing in common bridge the gap, bringing eyes to life and shrieks of laughter as they watch bubbles float through the sky.

I've seen kids and full grown adults get swept away in the excitement of these bubbles, standing in wonder if something so...beautiful....and simple.

This year, I want to laugh more, love bigger, and live brighter!

Get back to the basics, the things that truly matter.

Ah simplicity....we need more bubbles in our lives.

There are no words....

I have a lot of these...and I feel like they should be shared with the world, you know, to make it a happier place. It is the Christmas Season...and I've been in the giving spirit. So here is a gift...to you...from me.

Thank you Nick Livanos, thank you, for the HOURS of comical relief.

This, my friends, is our honorary 5th roommate of Dogwood 8.....















































Thanks Nicholie. You're awesome.

Communication model....how do you work again?

Emotional. Passionate. High Spirited. Easily worked up.

Me.

On any given day, at any given time.

Tonight was rough. It was one of those nights that you come home and think, "wow, that definitely could have gone over better."

I consider myself a pretty good communicator. At least, I try. In conflict, there's something extremely fulfilling about being able to communicate your feelings to someone accurately, and have them do the same....coming out of the conversation with a deeper understanding of who that person is, and hopefully, bringing you both closer in the end. I love it. Not the conflict itself, but the "working it out part". Maturity. Yes, maturity is what it's called.

Well I sucked at that tonight. I mean, really blew it. I had the raised voice, the hands over my face, little eye contact. All the cardinal rules. I broke them. Thank you Speech Communications major, I can now effectively pinpoint what NOT to do. Awesome.

Why is it so easy to communicate with some people, and then completely miss the point with others? When brains work SO differently, and thoughts are not parallel AT ALL...how do you remedy that? How can you fight with someone about how much you care about them? How can the things you are both saying....meant to be encouraging, loving, and considerate, be frustrating, hurtful, and completely misinterpreted. And the more you try to communicate effectively...the more exasperating it becomes. I very rarely experience frustration like that. And I gotta say, I'm not a fan.

We are a race that longs to be understood. A people that screams, "Please, get me. Get my thoughts. Get my jokes. Get my passions. Get my quirks, and love me for them. You don't have to agree with me, but please...understand me." And when we're not understood...or not understanding, whether it be on a large or small scale...it's frustrating, and sometimes really damaging. Some people will even turn that part of themselves off, claiming to "not care". They'll strip themselves of emotion, swallowing the need to be loved and understood, replacing it with cynicism and selfishness.

This world is full of broken people. Some have it worse than others, but everyone is searching for the same things. Everyone needs the same things. Love, acceptance....love.




Connect Tara. Connect and do it with love and a level head. Find the common ground, and plant yourself there, build something solid and tangible on it. Seek to understand. Learn to hear. And always, always, do it with God in the front of your mind.

Emotional. Passionate. High Spirited. Easily worked up.

Me. Tonight.

Good intentions? Yes.

Effective? Probably not.

Growing experience? That's what we'll call it.

Cheers to friends and Holiday Cheeriness!

Edited by crazy face Zachary McDonald.