grace grits and gardening - ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

the lesson behind Baylor’s meltdown

January 2, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

There’s a lesson behind Baylor’s Cotton Bowl meltdown.

I remember the 1980s when a one touchdown loss was reason to celebrate. Baylor was that team everyone played for homecoming. A surefire win. The best thing about game day was Poppa Rolla’s Pizza. Football was ugly. The #SicSomeonePlease days.

And then Art Briles turned everything around. He was Baylor’s new miracle on the Brazos. RGIII. A beautiful stadium.

I pinch myself during every game because I remember the past. Remembering keeps me grounded.

A little gratitude is never bad. Being gracious is a good thing. Even in football.

Becoming arrogant and whiney and too-big-for-your-britches rarely turns out positive. Even in football.

Yes, overall Baylor had a great season. Ranked 5th in the nation. Invited to the Cotton Bowl. Everything was as golden as those blinding Baylor helmets right until Karma became the twelfth man.

I sure could have used a Poppa Rolla’s pizza yesterday.

Sooner or later in life, we all take our own turn being in the position we once had someone else in. (Author, Ashly Lorenzana)

#AlwaysABaylorBear,

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Karma became Baylor’s twelfth man. @BUFootball [/tweetthis]

P.S.

And now I cheer Go Ducks!

with my favorite Duck fan.

My One Little Word for 2015

January 1, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

After considering three possibilities for my 2015 One Little Word, I focused in on one. Focus.

2015 will be my year of focus.

The new year brings a clean slate, and oh how I love clean. An ending. A fresh beginning. A chance to continue the progress already made. A new year where amazing things can and often happen.

2014 was a year of change. A year of believing things could change and making purposeful, positive change happen.

Now I plan to focus.

Primarily on my writing.

I’m ready. I can taste it. I want to sit at my desk and write for weeks and weeks uninterrupted. Guzzling coffee. Forgetting to eat. Totally absorbed. That’s the focus I can feel building beneath my skin.

Soon I’ll be making final-final edits on my manuscript (fingers crossed and knock-on-wood). I’m dreaming of that last mile, a completed project. Visualizing a book in my hands.

And I have other unfinished manuscripts hidden in the cloud. Short stories that need attention.

In 2015, I will focus on the craft of writing. Words I’ve yet to write. Stories untold.

I want to be present. Attentive. Mindful.

I want to absorb my surroundings, the sights and sounds that translate into words.

Sense the organic.

Listen to the voice.

My voice.

And there are other things I plan to focus on in 2015. Like our yard. We have a new fence, and that’s a huge start.

Of course, I’ll still blog. But posts may be less frequent. After my daily writing.

I’m excited about 2015. Happy New Year!

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Focus. My #onelittleword for #2015. What’s yours?[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Kings of Leon- Last Mile Home

2014: Top Ten Blog Posts

December 30, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

As we approach the end of 2014—wha?—I’m looking back and recapping my top ten blog posts from the past twelve months. I did this last year too. You can see top posts from 2013 HERE.

While these posts are considered top ten based on page views, they may not necessarily be your favorites. Or mine. But I will say, these top ten blog posts make me believe people love to eat while cheering for the underdog. And apparently someone out there must enjoy decorating for fall. Or porches. Or both.

And by the way, if you make it to the end of this post, I have included a few of my favorites that apparently flew beneath the blog statistic radar. It happens.

No. 10

Spicy Baked Okra

“a more slender version of fried”