Gnarly Bison LLC, Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, VA (2026)

06/28/2025

Take some time for yourself today. Do something for you. Read, go for a walk/run, flow through some yoga, grab a cup of coffee on your own… whatever it is that you may need to help fill yourself up. Fill yourself up so that you can pour some of it out to those around you. Fill yourself up so you can function and thrive from a place of being full. You deserve it!

-Tara xo

04/19/2025

On the day after every one of my birthdays my dad would wish me a “Happy Un-Birthday”. I looked forward to it every year, especially because I would always get sad when something special was over. Today let’s celebrate! Happy Un-Sugar Fast my friends!!!

What does that mean for you? Does that mean you’re free again to do whatever you want, or does it mean you’ve discovered a spiritual freedom that can allow you to go on to greater things? Keep that posture of mindfulness and awareness. Not to say that you can’t finally eat one of those Girl Scout cookies that have been sitting in your cabinet, but do it with awareness, thanksgiving, and self-control. Remember your next steps are up to you. Wendy Speake says, “Whatever you feed regularly will grow throughout your life.” Wow, how true is that?! Be careful and mindful of what you feed regularly-literally and figuratively.

Thank you to Wendy Speake, whose words helped to inspire me daily. And I want to thank all of you again for being on this amazing journey with me. I can’t wait for our next adventure together! Take care, my friend.

-Tara xo

04/18/2025

And just like that we’re at Day 40.

Wow! I don’t know about you, but there are so many emotions coursing through my mind, body, and soul right now. I’m excited and thankful that we’ve made it to this 40th day, but there’s also a bit of a sadness hovering over me. I’ve always had a rough time with endings and have so enjoyed this time of growth and transformation with all of you. I’m also feeling a bit nervous of what’s to come from here on out. How about you? How are you feeling today on this last day of our 40-Day Sugar Fast Adventure?

Whatever it is that you may be experiencing today, I want to remind you of the same thing Wendy Speake reminds us of in the devotional that has led me throughout this fast. She says, “Don’t get tied up with the affairs of everyday life again!” This is such a guiding light to me. Don’t get caught up in the minutia and the teeny details and the bs that doesn’t even matter at the end of the day! Don’t slip back into the same old patterns and habits that will lead you down a path of destruction once again! This may be the end of our sugar fast, but allow it to be the beginning of something else that is great.

So, see you next year you sweet Sugar Fast you!!

I’m so thankful for this amazing journey and for all of you incredible souls that decided to hop on board with me. I hope to see you again soon my friends. I’m sending all of you love and light!

-Tara xo

04/17/2025

We are at Day 39! Does it seem possible?! Well, it is! You’ve made it through thirty-nine days without sugar!!

Today we’re checking in with ourselves once again. How are you? Is there anything in particular that comes to mind when you think of what you’ve gained during this fast? That’s a bit of a funny concept because we tend to only think of losing when it comes to fasting. Losing weight, losing strongholds, losing bad habits, losing past hurts, losing all of the things that are holding us back from our full potential.

But today I want you to think about all that you have gained. Self-control, perspective, new and better life habits, or even renewed and refined senses. We gain so much from going without. It’s incredible. I think about my senses again today as I smell the graham cracker flavored coffee wafting throughout my house. Thirty-nine days ago, I would have barely smelled it, let alone tasted its deliciousness. Now it smells like a heavenly, decadent treat as I sit in the other room awaiting its brewing to finish.

So, whatever it may be for you, take time to be thankful once again. It’s this posture of thanksgiving that will allow us to continue on this journey long after the forty days. I honor each of you!

-Tara xo

04/16/2025

Good Morning Day 38!!

What are you grounded in?

It’s important to take a look at that question this morning as we near the last couple days of our sugar fast. Take care to explore where you’ve planted your roots and what you’ve planted them in. You may need to uproot some things you no longer need, that may even be holding you back, in order to have new, fresh growth that can bear fruit.

As we settle into spring, we are finally able to tend to the overgrowth that winter left behind. I absolutely love plants and trees and anything that has to do with nature. But when the plants and bushes in my yard start crowding each other, it becomes a bit of a mess. When you think about it, there’s lots and lots of growth there, but nothing is healthy. Nothing is thriving. Sometimes we must massively cut back, trim, and uproot the plants that no longer belong, so everything can become healthy and thrive once again. And yes, this goes for our yards, but our souls as well. What do you need to cut back? What do you need to let go of? Free yourself from? And what might be stopping you from doing so? Are you like me, who at times becomes uneasy, anxious, and downright scared?

Today, let’s look inward and see what you are choosing to be grounded in and what you are allowing to grow within and around your heart and soul. Check in and decide whether or not some things need trimming or even to be completely yanked out and uprooted, in order for new, beautiful growth to take place. Remember you are “eternally and abundantly loved.” Get rooted in Truth. Get rooted in Love. You are worth it my friend.

-Tara xo

04/15/2025

We’re at Day 37!

Why are you doing this sugar fast? As for me, I’m doing it for many reasons… for my health, as a reset, for spiritual transformation, and for my sanity. Yes, my sanity! I don’t know about you, but I need direction and structure so much. I tend to think I don’t, but I do. I need it in order to get focused and motivated… to have something that helps drive me. I need it to avoid a day completely full of insanity.

In the chaos of the everyday, it’s great to have a reminder to exhibit self-control, have direction, and set an intention for the day ahead of you. I find that during this sugar fast I’m reminded how important that structure and focus is. What is your intention for today?

Thank you for being on this journey with me! I hope it’s allowing you to find the structure and purpose to help you get through the daily grind. You’re doing an amazing job!

-Tara xo

04/14/2025

Day 36 is here!

At this point do you feel like these last days are just flying by?! Let’s not forget to be mindful during the homestretch of this sugar fast. It’s not over yet! Today, if you haven’t already, I want you to begin to think about life beyond Day 40 of this fast. What does that look like for you? Be prepared and proactive about what your next steps will be, so that this entire fast wasn’t done in vain.

The other day as I was typing away, my son looked over my shoulder and exclaimed, “Wow mom, you’re almost done with your sugar fast! Good job! When you’re done are you going to eat a ton of candy?!” It’s amazing how these little creatures who at times make you want to pull your hair out, can ask you these pointed, profound questions and hold you accountable without even knowing it.

So, my question to you today is, “Wow, you’re almost done with this sugar fast! Good job! When you’re done are you going to eat a ton of candy?!” Stop and meditate on that and see what comes.

-Tara xo

04/13/2025

Day 35 is here!

It’s amazing how fast time flies by! Can you believe we’re already at Day 35? How are you feeling today? I feel extremely emotional and want to remind us all to take time to appreciate your life and all of your blessings. It’s that simple today. Find beauty in the messes, appreciate what is in front of your face, and don’t take anything for granted.

Cling to what truly matters today. And bless you, you Gnarly Faster!

-Tara xo

04/12/2025

Welcome to Day 34!

Before this sugar fast, I’d make a salad with dill sprinkled on it and not really taste the dill, or I’d make a flavored cup of coffee and not really notice the flavor, or even eat a strawberry and not taste all of the intricate flavors in it. But now, on this thirty-fourth day of fasting, I can taste everything immensely. It’s incredible how heightened my senses of taste and smell have become. It makes everything richer and more enjoyable.

Have you been experiencing this as well? Or something similar? It’s so amazing what happens when we eliminate sugar from our lives. It’s like the cloud has been lifted and everything else is able to come alive!

Today I want you to continue to be aware of the amazing things this fast is doing for you. Allow that awareness to propel you forward to even greater things! Enjoy all this fast is bringing out in you. You’ve got this!

-Tara xo

04/11/2025

Don’t become complacent now! Yes, we’ve reached Day 33 and are nearing the end of this fast, but please don’t become lazy about it. Keep the fire going within you! Stay passionate about what you are doing and why you are doing it!

As we come upon this last week, stay alert to what is continuing to happen in your life. Keep that lifeforce running through your veins! Continue to dig deep and discover new and exciting things about yourself. We are getting closer and closer to finishing this sugar fast, but we don’t want to be finished with growth and transformation. So please don’t get stagnant. Keep on keeping on, you GB!

-Tara xo

04/10/2025

And suddenly we’re at Day 32!

Today we give thanks for all of the healing that has come with this sugar fast. Whether it be physical, emotional, spiritual, or otherwise. Healing on all fronts. Let’s give thanks to the transformation happening in our lives, and let’s continue to pray for any other form of healing you may need, even those hidden things that you may be unaware of.

A few years ago when my beloved Dad became very sick, I prayed and prayed for his healing. My sister and I prayed and prayed and prayed that he would get better. He didn’t. He ended up passing away. But you know what… when I examine it a bit closer, he was healed for a moment.

The last week that my sister and I spent with him, this man who had been unbelievably sick, who went from being a strong, burly man to reckon with to becoming a frail, bony man whose xiphoid process protruded painfully out of his chest, suddenly came to life once again. His brilliant mind came back to life, he had power and zest, his love of food abounded once again, and his amazing, witty, sense of humor, (oh how I loved his humor and would do anything to hear him tell a joke again), was awakened once again. In those precious moments he was healed. Our prayers were answered. Just not in the way we expected them to be, but wow how they were answered.

Healing comes in so many forms. We need to keep our eyes and heart open to all the healing that is constantly happening all around us. And we need to be thankful. The moments where we receive healing happen more often than we are able to register. I pray for your healing. I pray you can find it. And I’m so thankful for you.

-Tara xo

04/09/2025

Day 31! It’s all downhill from here!

There’s something that has been lifted from me. I’ve been feeling so weighed down these days… burdened even. I’m not saying that the chaos or challenges are gone or that my kids are singing in unison at the top of the Austrian Alps, BUT I feel lighter, slower to snap, and much more clear-headed. How are you today?

When the sugar cloud has lifted and that dragon is slayed, there’s such freedom… a satisfaction in all that has been achieved. It’s not that the battle is over, we know that challenges will continue to come our way, it’s that you know you can get through it all. Maybe with some battle wounds, but you can get to the other side.

I feel like today I’m getting a glimpse of the other side and it’s so freeing. It’s where you’re able to rest a bit in the maturity that comes along with the downhill momentum that’s been built up over the past thirty plus days. Feel free to enjoy the ride today. Close your eyes, stretch out your arms, and glide down that hill. You deserve it. Keep it up!

-Tara xo

Gnarly Bison LLC

06/28/2025

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