Wednesday Hodgepodge (Saturday Edition!)

Sorry it's late, guys...I can explain, honest!

1. February ended with an extra 24 hours in 2016. What did you do with your bonus day?

I went to the doctor.  Also, I found out my beloved grandmother had passed away.  It was not much of a "bonus" anything.

2. What's something in your life that's grown by leaps and bounds in recent days, weeks, months, or years? I'm giving you lots of room to come up with an answer here, so no fair passing on this one.

It sounds like a dismissive answer, but my children.  We were talking the other day about how little and sweet they were when they were born, and fast forward to now, when my son no longer needs a booster seat and is just a shade shorter than I am, and my daughter no longer needs us to read game instructions to her.  It's a bittersweet feeling.

3. Do you read reviews about a film before deciding if you'll see it? Did you watch The Oscars this year, and if so your thoughts on the program? How many of the Best Picture nominees had you seen prior to the broadcast? (Spotlight, The Martian, The Big Short, The Revenant, Mad Max: Fury Road, Room, and Brooklyn) If you watched The Oscars who gets your award for 'best dressed'?

Sort of.  My husband and I occasionally joke that if the critics hated it, we'd probably love it.  I didn't watch the Oscars, and hadn't seen any of the Best Picture nominees.  The last movie I saw in theaters was Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but before that was so long ago I don't even remember what it was.

4. When did you last have overnight houseguests? Give us your top three tips on being a good houseguest.

October, during my daughter's birthday.  I can't claim I have tips on being a good houseguest.

5. March 2nd is Peanut Butter Lover's Day. Will you be celebrating? If so, would you prefer a home made peanut butter cookie, a Reese's peanut butter cup, an old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or shall I just hand you a jar and a tablespoon?

I did not, but I would have happily celebrated with a jar and a spoon.  I love peanut butter.  I love peanut butter by itself, or covered in chocolate, or with apples, or with carrots, or in baked almost anything...

My daughter once caught me dipping a spoonful of peanut butter into a bag of M&Ms.  Without a word, she got her own spoon and the jar of peanut butter and handed them to me so she could have one too.  So that's kind of our thing now, at least on occasion.
6. Why is failure important? Or isn't it?

Of course it is.  I went to an engineering college where we're taught failure as experimentation, so to speak.  I'm not sure if most engineering colleges are that way, but they should be.

7. Share with us one fun thing on your March calendar.

March 13 is a day full of all the things for us.  Scout's birthday is that day, and so is his party, and so is Scout Sunday at our church, and so is the Blue and Gold Banquet (which, for those of you who aren't familiar with the Cub Scout year, is the end of season celebration for Cub Scouts).  I'm looking forward to it all.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

After finding out about my grandmother's passing, I made a hurried trip home for her funeral.  I'm glad I was able to make it.  It was a beautiful service and it was, in spite of the heartbreaking circumstances, a joy to see my cousins and uncles again.