GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

  • Home
  • About
  • Girlfriend Gathering Events
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

The Best Things in Life #8 – Eating Desserts

July 21, 2014 By Elaine Gray

One of the very best things in my life is eating desserts.   I love them.   I am the person that walks into a restaurant and checks out the dessert tray or dessert menu first  – usually makig an entrée choice based on my dessert review.

Growing up, I was lucky to be born into a family of great cooks.   My mother baked a homemade-from-scratch dessert every day……peach cobbler, banana pudding, sweet potato pie, etc.   If I visited one of my grandmothers and/or aunts, there was a homemade dessert in their kitchens, too.    It was normal.   It was natural.    We (the kids) had to eat all of our other healthy foods to acquire approval to eat dessert but it was never a problem because we had a cousin who would (upon request) eat the food item you didn’t like for you………squash, broccoli, beets, spinach, etc……..I always wondered if he had normal taste buds.

It was heartbreaking when I became an adult and finally realized I could no longer eat dessert every day.    At first, I thought my clothes were shrinking and then I acknowledged that I was actually growing larger.    So, I had to accept that I would have to enjoy my desserts in moderation.   Now, I have dessert only for special occasions and holidays – sometimes splitting them with friends.     However, I must admit the moderation step has only made desserts more desirable.    As they say, the forbidden fruit (or dessert) is always sweeter!

Here are a few desserts from some of my favorite Houston restaurants:

Dessert 4 Dessert 2 Dessert 1

 

 

QUESTIONS:

Do you eat desserts?

If so, how often do you eat them?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Cooking, Food Tagged With: Desserts, Houston restaurants

Wonderful News and Honor for Me!

July 12, 2014 By Elaine Gray

Hi Faithful Readership,

Please note that I have added a WONDERFUL badge on my blog site sidebar.   I have been honored by BlogHer as they featured my blog post “He’s JUST a Man” in the Love & Sex section of their blog site.   BlogHer is a community of 5,000+ female bloggers with a cumulative readership of 93+million persons globally.   Even though I have been a member of BlogHer for almost 2 years, this was the very first post that I directly posted in that community of bloggers and it was selected as a feature post.  Unbelievable!

Please check out the featured post (the title has been changed to “You Can (and Should) Set Relationship Boundaries”) on the BlogHer site at http://www.blogher.com/hes-just-man.

Also, visit some of the posts of other awesome bloggers on the BlogHer site and share with your family/friends.

This is a very inspiring event for me which validates all of those late nights I spend with my thoughts and laptop.

I just wanted to share!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Blog News Tagged With: BlogHer

He’s JUST a Man

July 9, 2014 By Elaine Gray

_DSC1998-EditRecently, I was asked for advice from a beautiful twenty-something young woman who is helping me to rediscover fitness in my life.    She needed some dating advice and I was flattered that she thought I could offer some helpful information to her.  After all, it has been awhile since I was twenty-something.

This young woman had recently reconnected with a male friend that she had worked with in the past.   He surprised her by confessing his feelings were more than friendship and asked if she would come and visit him as he lived in another city.   She was excited but apprehensive about this and asked my thoughts.

The first thing I did was to ask her about her feelings regarding his revelation and requests.   Her answers were very mature for her age.   She explained that she liked this young man and wanted to get to know him better “in a more-than-a-friendship way”.   However, she was concerned about going to his city and wanted to take things slow.  She wondered how to convey this to him.

I told her to tell him to come to her city (her “turf”)  for a visit and to tell him her boundaries.   She was amazed at my advice.   She asked, “Are you sure I can tell him my boundaries?   Is that okay?”    I laughed and told her it is perfectly fine for her to tell him her boundaries.   I asked her why she thought it would not be okay.   Her reply was, “Because he’s a man!”    I laughed and told her, “Yes, that’s right – he’s JUST a man”.     Her eyes lit up and she smiled.   I knew she understood.

It is important for young women (and some old ones, too) to understand that it is okay to have standards and boundaries for your relational life.    There was a time that women were considered “the prize” and she set the tone of the relationship.   Somehow that has gotten turned around and some of us are living a chameleon life.  We give a lot of energy trying to be a pleaser because we don’t want to be alone. Don’t lower your standards.   When you start contemplating them remind yourself….. “He’s JUST a man”.

QUESTION(S): What do you think about having dating standards?

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Dating, Friendship, Love, Relationships, Self-Evaluation Tagged With: Dating, Love, Relationships

The Best Things in Life #7 – The Appearance of a Rainbow

July 7, 2014 By Elaine Gray

Rainbows have been a part of the human journey since the beginning of time and a symbol linking mankind to the heavens.   We, Christians, believe it is a promise from God.    It is always humbling to look up into the sky and see one.

One of the myths told to children when I was growing up was there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.    Whenever one appeared, my siblings, cousins, friends and I would try to guess which street in the neighborhood it ended on so we could try and find that pot of gold.    We talked about all of the bikes and toys we would buy.   I guess that is what “chasing rainbows” is all about.

I know that we human beings have advanced enough to determine the scientific reasons that rainbows occur and I find that a little sad.   But, recently, my feelings about it was uplifted when there was a double rainbow in my area after a great rain shower and people were stopping in their tracks to take pictures of it with their cell phones.   Unfortunately, I had quickly left my home to go to the grocery store and forgot my cell phone at home.  By the time I arrived home again, the rainbow was gone.    However, I know one will come again.

What happens when you walk out of your home, office, or other building after a rain shower and look up to see a rainbow in the sky?    Does that sense of wonderment grab you?    I hope so.   It is a good thing to still possess that child-like awe of rainbows.

 

 

 

QUESTION(S):

 

When was the last time you saw a rainbow?

What did you do?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Nature, Rainbows

My Country ‘Tis of Thee – America

July 4, 2014 By Elaine Gray

USA Colours Party BackgroundDo you remember those patriotic songs we sung in our early school years?   “America, the Beautiful”, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, and, of course, “The Star Spangled Banner” were sung enthusiastically in my school and we loved those songs.   Even then I was fascinated by the words of those songs and I think this is probably how my love of history was birthed.

So, on this 238th birthday of America, I reflect back on my recent first visit to Philadelphia.  There I visited Independence Hall to see the room where the Declaration of Independence gave life to a rebellion against a mighty empire and the U.S. Constitution defined “We, the People” to unite us.    At times, it has been a very painful journey “to form a more perfect Union” and we continue to evolve as a country.  However, the beauty of it is that we eventually embrace our faults and change what is needed to become a better nation – “one nation under God”.

This is why I love my country and I just want to express it on her birthday.

Happy Birthday, America!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Cultural, History Tagged With: America, Declaration of Independence, July 4th, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Independence Day

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • …
  • 46
  • Next Page »

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address here to subscribe to this blog and receive immediate notifications of new posts by email. Also, you will receive the monthly SisterGirlfriend Newsletter!

Monthly Archives

GIRLFRIEND GATHERING EVENTS

CLICK HERE for more information

Copyright © 2025 · Gossip From The Girlfriend Gatherings | Maintained By Technology-Therapist