tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648Wed, 30 May 2012 16:26:25 +0000SummerMotherhoodGraphic PublicationsFreedomFREE Book ContestRecipe -SoupTrish BergFamilyParentingRecipe - Side DishAmish Country LivingChristmas TipsMemoriesThe Bargain HunterRecipe-Side DishRecipe - DessertRecipe - BreakfastHumorousWooster Weekly NewsBook ReviewsJoyManic MondayFamily ActivitiesSupper Swap RecipesNew Year's RecipeSupper Swap MealsFaithHealthy LivingSupport Our TroopsQuoted in Newspaper ArticlesGraphic Publications ColumnChristmasJoy in the Journey ColumnRecipe - SnacksRecipe - BeverageLife LessonsRecipe- ChristmasDaily Record ColumnRecipe - VegetableRecipe - ThanksgivingA Scrapbook of Christmas FirstsRecipe - DinnerSuper Bowl RecipeBook WinnersRecipe - ChristmasRemember Why You PlayWacky WednesdayFighting the FluLoveEasterChristmas DecorationsFootballGod's GraceTrish Berg On the AirSupper Swap Diarieshttp://blog.trishberg.com/noreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)Blogger257125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-7204787156814429706Tue, 29 May 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-05-29T05:00:11.703-06:00          I spend great deal of my time waiting. I wait in line at the stop sign. I wait at red lights and in line at the bank. I wait for the alarm clock to go off in the morning, and I wait on hold for tech support when my computer is acting up. I wait for the coffee pot to finish brewing, the popcorn to stop popping and for the sun to set so I can do it all over again tomorrow. Waiting is http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/05/waiting-game.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-2087394449016956118Tue, 22 May 2012 11:34:00 +00002012-05-22T05:34:00.330-06:00            This month, my husband, Mike, and I are celebrating twenty years of marriage. It has flown by, and yet life keeps changing. I am blessed to be married to my best friend, and I would be remiss if I didn’t share some of what I have learned in the last twenty years. So, here are twenty things I have learned in the twenty years I have been married to Mike. One. I am blessed more than http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/05/20-things-in-20-years.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-7966843837736903433Wed, 16 May 2012 11:35:00 +00002012-05-16T05:35:35.762-06:00            It has been said that it is easier to give than receive. I know that I have seen that truth reflected in my life. When we give to someone else, we feel good, valued and needed. When we are the receivers, we sometimes feel dependent and needy. Though I am trying to be a better receiver, it is still difficult for me to do. But we are not only called to give, we are called to receivehttp://blog.trishberg.com/2012/05/occ-day-of-service.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-21236624239653715Tue, 08 May 2012 06:00:00 +00002012-05-08T00:00:07.527-06:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic Publications ColumnGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain Hunter     Mother’s Day is around the corner, and I can hardly wait for my family to bring me breakfast in bed and shower me with gifts. Let’s face it; their breakfasts have gotten much better over the years, from burnt toast and watery, scrambled eggs to omelets and muffins, and coffee with cinnamon bun creamer to wash it all down. Yum! Mother’s Day is a day when I get to take a nap, guilt free, http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/05/paper-hearts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-3190824011100690610Mon, 07 May 2012 18:51:00 +00002012-05-07T12:51:01.606-06:00          I have to confess something to you. I am a grumpy mom. At least I can be at times, and last night was one of those times. I walked down to the basement to switch laundry loads in the never ending battle between clean and dirty clothes, which I seem to be losing. I arrived in the laundry room only to discover that the washer load I thought was in the dryer had been sitting in the http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/05/confessions-of-grumpy-mom.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-9199140746913729958Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +00002012-04-24T06:00:08.318-06:00     I may be jumping the gun, but I am in the mood for summer. Each day when the sun shines and the temperature gets above 60, I feel like summer is in the air. We already have our porch swing set up, the rockers are set out on the porch with throw pillows and old quilts< The kids are playing outside after school until we drag them in kicking and screaming for showers and homework. Ahhh, I http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/04/summer-is-in-air.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-5403500377945608542Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:14:00 +00002012-04-18T11:14:16.622-06:00     I have been a student for much of my life. I learned my ABCs and 123s in preschool, reading in Kindergarten, and math, social studies, geography and science through twelfth grade. Some things came easy to me, like math. It always made sense when numbers added up and formulas worked out. English class was always fun because I enjoyed reading great stories, and sentence structure seemed http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/04/lessons-learned.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-6526675915160851449Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:50:00 +00002012-04-10T07:50:00.163-06:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterMemories are a funny thing. We do not always control what we hold onto and what we let go of, though I wish I could. Sometimes I wish I could plant all of these seed memories in my children’s hearts so that twenty or thirty years from now, they can remember all of the times we spent together, and the joy we shared. But they have to make their own memories. They have to decide what to hold onto http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/04/making-memories.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-1261152219496332678Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:12:00 +00002012-04-04T07:12:00.216-06:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterWhen I think back over my lifetime, there are so many blessings it is difficult to comprehend. I have been given so much that I do not deserve. Evening knowing that, most days I still focus on what is wrong in my life. The job that is ending, the friends who have hurt my feelings, the imperfect house with imperfect stuff and bills that loom over my head every month. I gripe about the seven year http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/04/easter-blessings.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-5328723442414627649Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:10:00 +00002012-04-04T07:10:56.674-06:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterI am not a fan of reality TV. Well, that’s not exactly the truth. I am embarrassed to admit publically that I sometimes watch a reality TV show. It is almost like watching a car accident happen, knowing bad things are ahead and you are not able to stop it. Not that anyone would listen to you. For years, I watched American Idol and Survivor, but eventually grew tired of the same old same old. On http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/04/dad-picks-up-pillows.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-173554034771871112Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:09:00 +00002012-04-04T07:09:52.883-06:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterThere is something exciting about playing hide and seek with an Easter egg. Though they do all of the hiding and we do all of the seeking. When I was little, I remember going to the community wide Easter egg hunt at the park, and running across the grass to try and fill my basket with eggs just as fast as my feet would carry me. I wanted to get all of the good eggs before any of the other kids http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/04/hide-and-seek.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-950945815114937919Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:08:00 +00002012-04-04T07:08:49.123-06:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterWith Easter around the corner, I find myself thinking about forgiveness. Isn’t that what Easter is about? We have been forgiven so much through the cross and we are called to live out forgiveness in our own lives. Usually easier said than done. I have found that forgiveness always tastes sweeter once it is given away, but I tend to forget that. I tend to hold onto bad feelings and bitterness http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/04/chronicles-of-forgiveness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-2080054287547351824Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:00:00 +00002012-03-06T05:00:10.656-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterIf I could go back in time to any point in my life, what would I change? Do I have anything that I regret enough that it would be worth traveling back in time to make a different decision? After pondering this for about a week, I am not sure I am any closer to an answer. Don’t get me wrong, I do have regrets. I imagine we all do. There are so many things in my past that I wish I could have done http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/03/regret.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-2228175442586769841Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +00002012-02-29T13:04:17.189-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterAs I was driving down the road the other day, I noticed a sign on the side that read “Men at Work.” Just ahead, there was a group of men, and yes, they were working on the road. Because I am who I am (weird), it got me to thinking about signs, work and motherhood. On my thirty minute drive to work I began to ponder the signs we could post around our lives as moms. SNOOZE BUTTON MORNING. Place http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/02/signs-of-motherhood.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-4461467239291176764Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:21:00 +00002012-02-22T14:21:31.940-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterI'll admit it. I am a born neat-nick. (At least that’s what my mom calls it.) But being a neat nick is very difficult when there are four aliens (I mean children) constantly invading MY space with THEIR stuff. Like space invaders, they have taken over my life. Not too many years ago, I hit rock bottom in my addiction for cleanliness. I was wearing myself out trying to keep THEIR stuff out of MY http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/02/space-invaders.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-7653779696072230209Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +00002012-02-22T14:19:16.673-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterDear Michael- After twenty-two years of knowing you, I know not to send you flowers for Valentine’s Day. Not because I don’t love you, as you know I love you more than life itself. Not because I don’t like flowers, because I do enjoy the sweet smelling blossoms. Not because I don’t want to celebrate Valentine’s Day, because any excuse to tell the ones you love that you love them is a joy. And http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/02/true-love.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-8666054553430673316Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:23:00 +00002012-02-08T14:52:17.131-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterI like to know where I am going. I like to see the path ahead of me light up like the fourth of July on a hot summer’s night guided by the glow of diamonds in the sky and the sound of loud explosions echoing in the air. Instead, my path sometimes seems dim and can be blocked by closed doors. Sometimes, God opens doors, and sometimes He closes the doors that are in front of me. And most of the http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/02/doors.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-7657893911564745254Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-01-31T06:00:06.169-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterI did something today I never thought I would do….again. I went back to step aerobics class at the YMCA. I would like to tell you that it was easy, and that I am in fantastic shape. But the reality is that I have let myself get really out of shape. I mean, I have never been built like Jillian Michaels, and tend to look more like a before picture than an after shot. But life has sort of dealt me http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/01/step-in-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-603104872038780723Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-01-25T13:26:56.758-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterI am a popcorn fan. Not sure where the love of the white, fluffy, salty stuff came from, but I do love a big bowl of popcorn and a hot cup of cocoa on a cold winter’s night. Actually, any season is the perfect season for popcorn, the crunchy delight goes with just about everything and makes life sweeter even though it’s salty. A few years ago, Mike got me this amazing stovetop popcorn popper http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/01/popcorn-faith.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-5612007030748184619Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:31:00 +00002012-01-17T09:31:00.276-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterSomething fantastic has happened. It has become fashionable to wear mismatched socks! Let me tell you what a huge blessing that is for a mom like me who loses socks daily in the washer and dryer loads. A mom who can’t seem to find her kiddos a matched pair of socks at 7:10 am as the bus is roaring down the road towards our lane. A mom who needs to stay calm in a chaotic world full of insanity andhttp://blog.trishberg.com/2012/01/eclectic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-2218993388046895067Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:31:00 +00002012-01-11T09:31:11.651-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterThere once was a day (a very normal day) many years ago, when I sat in my kitchen with my eldest daughter, Hannah, and wondered if I would ever again get out of my house. I was feeding her lunch and the four walls seemed to be closing in on me. There she sat ooing and cooing at me with strained peas and mashed sweet potatoes on her face and all I could think about was whether or not I would be http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/01/toddlers-to-teens.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-2430187528033836753Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +00002012-01-03T06:00:09.637-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain HunterSometimes the memories of my youth feel like distant thunder rolling over the hills in the background of my life. I remember when we popped popcorn on the stove top by shaking the Jiffy pop pan over a red hot burner as fast as our hands could move, trying hard not to burn the kernels on the bottom. I remember when there were no VCR’s let alone DVR’s and we had to watch The Wizard of OZ when it http://blog.trishberg.com/2012/01/distant-thunder.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-2505899601059147524Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +00002011-12-27T07:00:09.100-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain Hunter(Part 3 in a 3 Part Series) Note: This is my last column in my 3 Part Series on the Gifts of Christmas. If you missed any off the columns, you can always find them on the Graphic Publications website. Hope. It’s that feeling that tomorrow will be better no matter what today brings. It’s the ever present drive to reach for something you can’t quite grasp with your hands, but you can always grasphttp://blog.trishberg.com/2011/12/gifts-of-christmas-hope.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-8807118038443723058Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:05:00 +00002011-12-20T06:05:35.232-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain Hunter(Part 2 in a 3 Part Series) Note: Please join me here next week as I wrap up my 3 Part Series on the Gifts of Christmas. Last week was on the gift of Comfort. This week is on the gift of Joy. If you missed a column, you can find them all on the Graphic Publications website. Things don’t always go my way. I would guess that things do not always go your way either. Life is full of disappointments, http://blog.trishberg.com/2011/12/gifts-of-christmas-joy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11085648.post-1848860652865072453Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +00002011-12-14T08:04:48.960-07:00Wooster Weekly NewsGraphic PublicationsThe Bargain Hunter(Part 1 in a 3 Part Series) Note: Please join me over the next three weeks as I share a 3 Part Series with you on the Gifts of Christmas. This week is on the gift of Comfort. The Christmas story is truly a simple story. One filled with hope, love, grace…and gifts. Christmas is filled with gifts. Not the packages wrapped in red and green paper under your Christmas tree, but the gifts that can’t http://blog.trishberg.com/2011/12/gifts-of-christmas-comfort.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Trish Berg)0