Friday Fun Day

November 30, 2019 / The WheatandTares / 5 Comments

Have you decorated for Christmas yet?

Social media seems to blow up with pictures of Christmas decorating right after Halloween and, then again, the weekend after Thanksgiving.

So, I’ll join in and show you a few of my favorites…

These aren’t fancy decorations, but each one sparks a sweet memory, because they’re each from a childhood. Mine, our oldest and youngest son’s.

I am a sentimental soul; so, I have lots of “favorites” on the tree, but I thought I’d share just a few of the simplest ones today.

What’s a few of your favorites?

Do you love or despise Christmas?

What is one of your favorite memories of the holidays?

Hope you have a Friday Fun Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to You!

November 28, 2019 / The WheatandTares

Today was full of good food, fun family moments and even a beautiful hike in the North Georgia mountains. I do hope you and yours had a wonderful day as well.

Yet, all of this reminds me there are so many who aren’t as blessed. There are so many people in this nation who grieve on this day. There are more who are alone, desperate and afraid. My heart breaks for those, and I will allow it to challenge my heart but not change it to pure sorrow.

For if I allow the heartbreak of the world to keep my joy in the shadows, then I’ve not learned from their loss, I’ve only grown in pity.

Yet, if I will allow it to confront my soul and draw me to repentance, gratefulness and awareness of the blessings I’ve received, then I have grown in wisdom and understanding.

If I allow it to divert my eyes to the less fortunate, and it causes my hands to reach out with love and graciousness, then I will have grown in hope and learned from His goodness.

Let us cherish the grace we have found.

Let us treasure the blessings we’ve been bestowed.

Let us never neglect the chance we have been given to share hope and compassion with another.

I pray this Thanksgiving will not only be a day we celebrate, but I pray it will be a season in which we abide.

Whimsical Wednesday

November 28, 2019 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Saw this post today, and I loved it. Such a true statement to the reality of life and to Thanksgiving. If you only give thanks for the happy times and the moments when you have all you want, you do not really have true gratefulness. True thanksgiving comes when you’re in your darkest hour, and you realize there are still things in life for which you can give thanks.

Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

Hope you eat till you’re stuffed, and I hope your heart is even more filled with gratefulness and wonderful moments of joy. 💗

Four Letter Word

November 27, 2019 / The WheatandTares

HATE is such intruding vocabulary

Such a piercing, cutting, severing term

HATE can slice the heart in two

Before the phrase is uttered, it’s often long overdue

LATE is such a regretful term

Such a frustrating, remorseful, sad word

LATE can break a friendship apart

Before the word is formed, it’s often red marked

FATE is such an intriguing effect

Such a wonder, a fable, a faith encased

FATE can bring healing or heartache

Before the style is thought, it’s not often a mistake

HOPE is such a wondrous force

Such a striking, surprising, miraculous wave

HOPE can transform a life

Before the plan is devised, it’s end is in Paradise

Penned – MG – 11/25/19

Tuesday’s Treats #191

November 26, 2019 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Tequila Mama

Location: Suwanee, GA

New place in a cool town center atmosphere. If you’re looking for a traditional, authentic Mexican restaurant, then, this might not be your spot, but I thought it was a nice change from our usual.

The atmosphere is bright and cheery. The menu isn’t too limited, but they don’t have the multiple pages of choices you’ll find in other restaurants. We ordered Momma’s Queso with beef, because when I asked the server if we could do bean dip (ya know, beans and cheese), she seemed a bit confused me did she’d never herd of that before. No, it wasn’t because of a language barrier either; she spoke perfect English. Although, unfortunately, that could have simply been a server issue, because she seemed a bit more interested in talking to coworkers throughout our meal rather than serving. 😕 Oh well.

My son was disappointed they didn’t have refried beans, but he had rice and the charro beans and liked it almost as good. I ordered the tequila lime chicken, and it was absolutely amazing. Hey he rice is a cilantro lime rice; so, it’s quite different than most Mexican restaurants, but I’ve always liked this style that you can’t find everywhere. The chips and salsa were good as well; although, the salsa wasn’t a bit spicy.

All in all, it’s a nice place to eat, and the food is good. I’m not sure I’d we will return often, as it doesn’t have some of the items we really like when we go to eat Mexican food, and the prices are a bit steep ($53 for just my son and me), but I am glad we tried it.

The website link via Google only takes you to an application form; so, I’m including the TripAdvisor link for you to check it out.

Website

What Do You See?

November 25, 2019 / The WheatandTares

As I was contemplating what to write today, I was reminded of this incredible devotional I read the other day. I thought I’d share it with you now.

Are you a prisoner of WAR or a prisoner of HOPE?

Are you a prisoner of your promise or a prisoner of your past?

How do you see God?

Will you see Him or will you see only you?

Your perspective will help you to pursue Him or cause you to forsake Him.

I pray you find His Hope today…

Devotional

*I do not own this devotional, nor did I create it. It comes from Youverse.

Friday Fun Day

November 22, 2019 / The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

Sometimes, you just need to be a kid!

Yeah, I know, these pictures aren’t real great.

Well, just pretend I’m a little kid today, sharing with you my new fun surprise!

“Look, everybody! 👀 👀

I’ve got GLOW IN THE DARK chocolates!!

Woohoo!”

… and my grown up kid self says, “And it was all on clearance for $1.20/bag!!” … 😉

What will you do today to remind yourself of being a kid??

Have a great Fun Friday!!

Abandoned Heart

November 21, 2019November 21, 2019 / The WheatandTares

You send me love letters, but they never arrive.

You call me on my number, but the phone never rings.

You knock at my door, but no one is ever at home.

You drive by to see me, but the windows have all been sealed shut.

The hallways are vacant of footprints.

The rooms are void of noise.

The entries have all been chained.

The exit gate is swinging wide.

Their questions will never be answered.

Their answers will never be questioned.

Their thirst will never be quenched.

Their hunger will never be filled.

It is said, “Curiosity killed the cat,” but that happened way before our time.

The story had ended.

The song has been sung.

The fortune was never found.

And the fat lady started to hum and then died.

Penned -MG – 10/31/19

*I do not own this video or have it in my possession. This is from YouTube, and I thought it would be an interesting addition to the poem.

Whimsical Wednesday

November 20, 2019 / The WheatandTares

*yes, this pic has markup to protect identity and privacy.

What we will do for our children and our pocketbooks…

These little gems cost me about 45 minutes of search this morning, as I dug through 4 bags of trash (2 recycle and 2 NASTY), only to realize my son and I had had a miscommunication! 😳

I hadn’t accidentally thrown them away the other day; his dad had, and they were simply in a much cleaner bathroom trashcan rather than the great big garage trashcan of kitchen trash! 🤦‍♀️

I am so very thankful, but Wow. Not exactly the Whimsical Wednesday morning I had been looking for! I am so grateful to not be headed to the dentist for a $300 replacement pair; however, I about lost my lunch, or rather almost didn’t eat lunch, over that little treasure hunt!🤢

I do hope your Wednesday was much more Whimsical than what mine was, and if not, we always have next week to which we can look forward!😉

Tuesday Treats #190

November 20, 2019November 20, 2019 / The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

Luciano’s Ristorante Italiano

Location: Lawrenceville, GA

*Oops! My apologies for the delayed post!*

We visited this restaurant quite a while ago, and honestly, we weren’t highly impressed on the first run, but this return visit is proof that, sometimes, you have to try a place twice to be sure it’s not a place you will actually enjoy. This time around, it was quite amazing! I gave a review then, and you can read about it here.

The only drawback I can see is the seating in the house. There are no booths, all tables and chairs. It’s very much a fancy cafe style setting (white tablecloths), and if you like that, then you’ll have no hesitation. My husband, son and I prefer a bit more cozy settings, but we did get a table in the corner, against the wall, and it was perfect.

Once seated, we were greeted by an incredibly friendly server, and we ordered a Caesar salad, lasagna and two small pizzas, one with only pepperoni, and the other with pepperoni, mushrooms and peppers (they do yellow peppers here instead of the common green). Everything was absolutely delicious. One interesting thing this restaurant does is if you ask for crushed red pepper, they bring you a huge bowl of it! (See pic) I wondered if it was “fresh,” because of how it was served, but I forgot to ask. It provides just the perfect kick for our pizzas, and our youngest enjoyed the fresh Parmesan they brought him as well. The pizzas are cooked in a wood fire oven; so, they have that delicious brick oven flavor. The Italian bread and dipping sauce, marinara and spices, is incredible. The lasagna is savory, meaty, cheesy and scrumptious.

I will have to say, the desserts were the “icing on the cake,” no pun intended. I had a cappuccino, and we ordered the zeppole for everyone to enjoy. Oh. My. What a delight! These ricotta cheese filled Italian doughnuts with Nutella were phenomenal. We definitely made ourselves overstuffed with those. The cappuccino was yummy served with a crunchy and very tasteful (cookie) biscuit.