But if she loves you now, what else matters?

.....so then he asked why relationships were so hard and women so much like a puzzle that can't be figured out.....

Dispensing unsolicited advice is one of my top ten rules of "no-no". I won't do it. I refuse to. Now, if approached for advice, obviously I will try to give quality, sound feedback for my friends. It does make me wary at times, that feeling of responsibility that often comes with this sort of thing. I think to myself "oh but what if I'm steering them wrong, or, what happens if I tell them to try something and they fail, then what?"

Try and try again, is the answer to that. At least that's how I feel. Of course, there does come a time when you have to fold, and walk away, let's be reasonable.

"We need, in love, to practice only this: letting each other go. For holding on comes easily; we do not need to learn it.” --Rainer Maria Rilke

So my friend, in trying to put himself back out there after a painful break up a few months ago, has become disillusioned by the dating scene and women and relationships in general. eek! Age-old questioning of the why's and why not's. I'm no expert but I am single and find that some people are more comfortable with the adage, "like speaks to like". If they feel I've been through similar situations, they are more apt to discuss them with me, than someone who they feel would not understand. Plus, I'm a girl, who better to help a guy friend understand, than the direct source. I had to mention that we are all made so unique, that I would never be able to speak for anyone other than myself. If a girl he likes is acting strangely or just simply disinterested, I can't provide the "why", she would have to do that.

I've been feeling sort of islandy today, dreaming of Hawaii vacations and beaches and laid back atmospheres. Bob Marley's "One love" came to mind, so with that playing in the background while I type this, it came to me.

What would Bob say to my friend?

You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She's not perfect - you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you... every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break - her heart. So don't hurt her, don't change her, don't analyze and don't expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she's not there.”


― Bob Marley
 
"One love....one heart. Let's get together and feel all right"
 
So my friend(s), there you have it.
 
See you soon,
Tiffany
 
PS Let's go to Hawaii and eat fresh pineapple for breakfast and lay in the sun and sail across the waves on a catamaran while spinner dolphins leap out of the air with exuberance much like we should have, were we to do this. Okay?

It takes time to build castles

March madness indeed.

Just to let you know, I've got Mizzou taking it all. This is based half on the fact that I'm from Columbia, MO, and half on, THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE IT ALL. Of course, if that doesn't come to fruition, I'm still a huge fan, not a fair weather one. While I dubbed last week "Bracket Pressure", it's fun to fill them out and then watch and see what happens during the games.

With one of my most favorite holidays forth-coming, I've been cooking Irish food (corned beef brisket and cabbage, Irish soda bread) and placing green things around the house (Irish bouquet with Stargazer lilies in it). Tomorrow I'll be wearing green, I don't want to get pinched!

Dublin is on my wish list of dream destinations. I revisit that dream more so in March then any other month of the year. I was reading an Irish Proverb this morning:

"De réir a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin" which translates to: It takes time to build castles.

Although I don't live in a castle, I've visited one, and I have a feeling it took ages to build it. I think this is what I've been doing my whole life. Building a castle. Mine may not have towers and turrets and a moat leading you over water to get to my front door. But it's one where the castle is my life. Friendships and views of the world, and family, and all of the things I love to do, come together to make me who I am.
That takes time, right?

While I'm building my castle, I'll be thinking of you this weekend and hoping for beautiful spring weather for you, and a happily celebrated St Patty's Day.

So here's to four-leaf clovers, and all things green, and a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Go get 'em!

And......GO MIZZOU!

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

Tierney's Cafe and Tavern is like going home.....

"Sometimes you want to go where everybody know's your naaaame"

 
It was the summer of 2008 when I received a call from a friend telling me that I had to try this quaint restaurant that she had just been to, where the food was so delicious and the atmosphere so friendly. "We could sit on the patio on a day like today!" she exclaimed.

When I finally checked it out, I felt like I had come home for a meal with friends and family.

"Voted Best Breakfast AND Best Lunch in Lewisville/Flower Mound in the readers opinion poll Lewisville/Flower Mound Leader 2009" Tierney's Cafe and Tavern lives up to that reputation even today.

208 E. Main St. was built as a home by Dr. J.W. Kennedy in 1885. Tierneys Cafe & Tavern opened their doors for business January 14th, 2008 and they are still going strong.


To mention just a few, the menu has the best fried catfish I've ever tasted, a grilled shrimp, bacon, fresh spinach salad that is mouth watering (and probably my favorite since that is what I order quite often), the biggest slice of chicken fried steak in Denton Co (I'm serious), and tantalizing prime rib served not only on Saturday night, but Sunday morning as well on the breakfast buffet. I can't forget the pan-seared salmon, another favorite. When recommending Tierney's to friends that haven't had the pleasure, I always tell them the breakfast buffet is a great time to visit, it offers a taste of everything on their menu.

The Dallas Morning News sums up their review of Tierney's quite nicely:


"On bustling Mill Street near the historic downtown, the cafe draws a mixed crowd; starch shirted executives with cell phones eating along side baseball capped construction workers. It's a real slice of Lewisville life."
 
I think that is why it's so comfortable at Tierneys. The menu, and the staff, bring all walks of life in with their friendly service and smiles, coupled with that absolutely fantastic food.
 
I would say I've spent many a Spring or Summer day on the patio at Tierney's, but I would be leaving out Fall and oftentimes Winter as well. I live in North Texas after all, sometimes a December morning can be quite warm here. With the tiki torches lit and beautiful greenery surrounding the patio, my friends and I have been known to stay out on the patio long after sunset, especially if it's Friday or Saturday night and there is a live band playing.
 
In the victorian-style house nestled on Main St in Old Town Lewisville, TX, a dish made famous by the owner, Greg Tierney, awaits you. Potato Chip Chicken.
 
 

 
Have you reached for your keys yet?
 
I'll meet you there. We could sit in the library by the fireplace!
Tiffany
 
To read more about my second home as I like to call it, go here:
 
http://www.tierneyscafeandtavern.com/index.html
 
 

Traditions

When I was growing up my family developed traditions not only around the holidays but other times during the year as well. I'm not sure if we, as kids, realize how much we come to love them. Now that I'm older I can look back and see the familial patterns, and I smile when I think of them.

I used to love Saturday mornings. Especially in the Spring in North Missouri. My dad would start mowing the yard early in the morning, and my sisters and I would play outside all day long. I think there's a picture somewhere of me in pigtails sitting on top of the swingset we had in our backyard. We weren't afraid of anything back then. Then my dad would invariably get the patio and grill ready for what we would have for dinner later in the day, and that is why to this day I love the smell of charcoal as the coals are turning white. I watched him clean fish that he had caught while out on his boat at one of the local lakes, I didn't really participate too much in the cleaning as much as just the observation of it all. They're squishy and I couldnt bear to look at their open eyes. But I will say this, the dinner they created was absolutely delicious.

We were pretty creative in thinking of fun things to do, especially when the weather turned even warmer. We had a hose with a sprayer on the end of it, so we wound a rubber band around the handle of the sprayer so it would have a continous blast of water going, and then tossed the hose over a tree branch. Voila! A sprinkler you could run under. How fun is that?

I know my sister Melissa (she's the one on the left in the photo, circa 1975) will love me for including this one: we used to play inside moving boxes. I mean the really big wardrobe type, that we could climb inside of, cut out an opening in the front that went halfway down, and then pretend we had our own business that you could visit at that window. We did this in the front yard, which completely cracks me up that we never thought it might look strange to the neighbors and passersby.

They say your friends are your chosen family, and I couldn't agree more. With my family spread out in between coasts, my friends are who I can see more often. Today my chosen family and I are going to see Silent House, I think there is only one of us that doesn't care for scary movies, so he'll be waiting for us after the movie to move along into the tradition we've created over the last few years, Joes Crab Shack. What better way to discuss a movie than over crab legs!

Winter seems to be lingering in Dallas, at least for today. Overcast and chilly makes for a great day to see a movie. Of course Monday it's supposed to be 80 degrees. Welcome to North TX.

Do you have favorite traditions that you still participate in even today?

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS I think I have some new friends that have heard about Breakfast At Tiffanys. Some ducks were quacking loud enough outside my window to wake me up this morning. I SWEAR I heard one of them say, "dude just keep quacking, she'll feed us if she wakes up. Trust me". He was right.

I've always believed in the balance of life....

"'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life...."


One of my favorite songs, "Bittersweet Symphony" - The Verve, is in the background of my day, and sort of my life actually. Right now anyway.
 
I've always believed in the balance of life. There will be good days, and there will be not so good days. I embrace the good days so tight I squeeze the life right out of them. They far outnumber any bad days I might have, because, as you know, for the most part I rarely have a bad day.
 
A very dear friend was recently diagonosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. Nothing like a reality check like that to have life come to a screeching halt for a moment. Cancer of any kind, at any age, is no fun obviously. He's only thirty-five years old, but he told me, "I will beat this".
 
So I wake up and go about my day. I hear, and see, parents screaming at their kids in public places. I see people cutting other people off in traffic. I hear people complaining at work about mundane things that really, in the end, have very little meaning. It makes me tired and sad in a way, to see a much bigger picture out there, that often goes unnoticed by others who forget to realize how lucky they are. I include myself in that statement too, I'm human.
 
"Here comes the sun"....comes on next, as I type this. And that is where I live, mostly. Constantly flipping the coin over to find the brighter side.
 
So yes, BP, you will beat this. If I didn't have faith in this statement I wouldn't say it. I've seen cancer get kicked to the curb so many times, this one will be no different.
 
My request for you, my friends, is this:
 
Be happy. If you're not, change things until you are. Read good books, and walk the dog, and eat a snowcone every time you want to. Be grateful for pretty things, like a gorgeous sunset or a lake with ducks swimming across the top of the water. Be kind. Call your friends and tell them you care about them. Make plans soon, especially if you haven't seen them for a while. Go to a concert and ROCK.OUT. Buy a plane ticket to a beach, and dig your toes in the sand. Write a book. (this is for my friend Kate who did just that, I can't wait to promote it when I get back in Facebook and Twitter).
 
And I wasn't kidding about the snowcone.
 
See you soon friend,
Tiffany
 
PS Severe Storms are on the horizon for North Texas tonight and tomorrow. If we have to eat Breakfast at Tiffanys by candlelight, I certainly won't mind. Will you?