Wednesday Hodgepodge

HELLO HODGEPODGE!  I'M BAAAACK!

(It's been a long, stressful few weeks for my family--here's hoping things settle down again eventually!)

1. Tell us about a time you found yourself 'in the middle of nowhere'. Was this deliberate?
My daughter and I went to a week of church camp last year.  It isn't exactly "nowhere", but it's a quiet, more secluded little area than we were used to.  It was nice.

2. What's something you're 'in the middle of' today or this week? 

Quite a few things, actually...laundry, vacuuming, a pot of coffee, my plans for world domination....

3. At what age do you think 'middle age' begins? What does it mean to be 'middle aged'?
I always thought of it as somewhere around 40.  I've thought of it that way since I was very little.  I still do.  I think it means mostly that things ache a little more--I'd say it means when things slow down, but I've known some very vibrant 60-somethings.  Besides that, when I'm 40, my children will be teens and that definitely does NOT mean slowing down is a luxury I'll have.

4. Ravioli, stuffed peppers, samosas, deviled eggs, steamed dumplings, pierogis, or a jelly donut...your favorite food (from this list!) with something yummy in the middle. Your favorite not on the list? 

Of the things on this list, steamed dumplings.  Not on the list...does pie count as a stuffed food?  If not, then stuffed chicken cordon bleu.

5. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying ''In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.'Would you agree? Have you found this to be true in your own life? Feel free to elaborate.
Oh yes.  Difficult situations are excellent education.  

6. What's a song you remember loving from your middle school years? Do you love it still?

Neil Young, Heart of Gold.  And yes, I do still love it.  (I was not your average early-nineties middle schooler.)  If it's supposed to be a song from the early nineties, I'm afraid I don't have an answer.

7. May 18th is National Visit Your Relatives Day. Will you celebrate? Which relative would you visit if time, distance, and expense were not considered.
I wish I could.  I did try to call my father, but he didn't answer his phone.  If time, distance, and expense were not considered, I'd go visit my sister again.  She's heaps of fun (and as an added bonus, I'd get to see my father, my nieces, my brother-in-law, my uncle, my cousins....)

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I somehow managed to get roped into chaperoning a field trip tomorrow for the kindergarteners, Sunshine included.  So I'm hoping for the best (and to get her and her two besties in my group, because I know them and I love them).

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Well, there's been a longer-than-intended hiatus here...after my grandmother's passing at the beginning of the month, we lost my father-in-law about a week and a half ago in a terrible car wreck.  Between the two, we celebrated my son's birthday (he's TEN, y'all!) and the had his Blue and Gold Banquet, cookie booth sales for Girl Scouts, went full-tilt into a landscaping project, and I think occasionally there was time for a nap, but I'm not sure.

But around here, the goal is to find the silver linings, and while I'm not necessarily doing it out loud, I am definitely counting my blessings this week.

To the Hodgepodge!

1. What are two or three expectations you have of yourself?
My expectations of myself are pretty low...I expect myself to get my chores done, does that count for anything?  My goal for tomorrow is to vacuum out the sofa...

2. In what way does your outdoor space need sprucing up this spring?
Oh, goodness.  Remember the re-landscaping project I mentioned?  It's actually nearly done.  We had this huge old rock garden with some weird...birdbath or fountain or whatever in the middle of it.  It's gone now, replaced with rhododendrons and some things I can't identify, but they're pretty.  And the ornamental grass in the backyard with the fluffy stalks of doom that set off my allergies are either gone or getting ready to be gone.

3. According to this site (Roadtrippers), six of North America's most wondrous waterfalls are-Webster's Falls in Ontario, Upper Whitewater Falls in North Carolina,Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon, Multnomah Falls in Oregon, The Lower Yellowstone Falls, and Niagara. Have you seen any on the list? Which one on the list would you most like to visit? Prettiest waterfall not on the list that you've seen in person?
The only one I've seen is Niagara.  Tahquamenon Falls is very nice, though, and I recommend that one.  Of the ones on the list, though, I guess I'd like to see the Lower Yellowstone Falls.  I just don't want to drive that far.

4. Looking back, what's something you wish you'd done as a teenager?
hm.  There's an answer to this question, but it's backed by a long, ugly story.  Suffice it to say, I would have ended up spending more time with my besties.

5. Ham...yes please or no thank you? If you said yes please which of the following do you like best-baked ham with all the trimmings, a ham and cheese sandwich, prosciutto with melon, a ham biscuit, a bowl of split pea and ham soup, or a slice of pizza topped with ham and pineapple?
Love ham.  Had it for dinner tonight, even.  Of the ones listed, I guess I'd say a ham biscuit.

6. Are you typical of your generation? How so?
I have NO idea.  I doubt it. 

7. April rolls in at the end of the week, and in keeping with that theme...'act the fool', 'nobody's fool', 'a fool's errand', 'could have fooled me'...which foolish idiom most recently applies to you? Explain.
Nobody's fool.  I don't trust easily, and treat most things I'm told with an unhealthy amount of cynicism.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
The past month has been a hard one for my family.  If it's okay with everyone else, I'd like the next middle-of-the-night phone call I get to be about a baby being born, okay?

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.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Describe love using all five senses.
Sight:  My family.  Without question.
Scent:  This is where I think of my grandma's fresh baked rolls.
Taste:  Any hearty meal that soothes whatever we need.
Hearing: laughter.
Touch:  a nice hug.

2. February is Canned Food Month. What's your favorite food that comes straight from a can?
I don't buy a lot of canned foods, but I guess I'd say home-canned applesauce.  If it really must be from a can, as bad as I know they are for me, I'm gonna say canned tomatoes.  Whether they're for salsa, or pasta sauce, or pizza, or chili, or anything, they're incredibly convenient.

3. A principal in a UK school recently sent home a letter to parents requesting they(the parents!) dress appropriately when escorting their children to/from school (basically saying please don't wear your pajamas) You can read the letter here. It's gotten a lot of publicity, both positive and negative. Your thoughts? And do/did you ever make the school run (or hit Starbucks, Walmart, etc) in your pjs?

I seldom leave my room without having changed.  Even if it's into yoga pants, but that's mostly because I'm getting ready to go to yoga.  Honest, I'm not trying to embarrass my children.

4. Crew neck, V-neck, turtleneck, scoop neck...which is most prevalent in your wardrobe?

Probably crew neck or V-neck.  Turtlenecks are uncomfortable and scoop necks show more than I'm comfortable with.

5. I read here recently a list of four things to avoid so you wake up happier. They were late night snacks, hitting the snooze button, social media just before bed/upon waking, checking emails. 

Are you guilty of any of these behaviors? Which on that list do you need to work harder at avoiding?

I'm pretty bad about hitting the snooze button.  My husband sleeps closer to the alarm, and he likes his snooze button.  I personally just like being under some warm blankets.

6. Share something you remember about a house you lived in as a child? Of all the homes you lived in as a child, which did you love best?

I lived in the same house from the time I was seven months old up until I left for college.  I remember my sister's room and I were across the hall from each other, and we'd whisper to each other through the vents once in a while.

7.Your favorite movie based on a true story?

Men of Honor comes to mind.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

It's been quite a week here.  We got some doors replaced, as well as a large window at the front of our house.  Our living room smells like stain now, and it reminds me a little of my childhood.

In the middle of that project, the landscapers are here to deal with the fact that our backyard floods with every heavy rain.  I'm looking forward to everything being ready to go.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Share a winter memory from your childhood.

I've probably shared this before, but it's a strong memory...

It was Christmas Eve, and it was a bitterly cold one.  I was four years old.  We were gathered around our new puppy when our older dog started going NUTS.  We went to the front window of the house, where he was, and saw the local firetrucks headed up the street across from our driveway.  There was a house up the way that was fully engulfed.  The hydrant was right in front of our house, and we watched as they hooked up the hoses and started to put out the fires--only to have the hoses shatter almost immediately due to the cold.

They couldn't do anything but watch that house burn down to the ground.

Some weeks later, I seem to remember the community coming together to help them rebuild, and my parents simply explaining that that's what neighbors are for.

2. What was on your blog this time last year? (Besides the Hodgepodge of course!) If you weren't blogging, what in the world were you doing with all that free time? 

Probably not much.  I don't think I was using this blog for much this time last year.

3. Ellen Goodman is quoted as saying, 'We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.' 

Do you see more flaws or more potential in your life at the start of a new year? Have you done anything specific this month to address either one? Does the new year truly begin for you on January 1, or is there some other month of the year that feels like a fresh start and new beginning?

I hope like anything I see more potential.  I plan on a lot of things this year, without all the "Well, here's what I need to fix this time..."

4. Who's an athlete you admire or respect and why?

Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs.  Diagnosed with cancer, what, a year ago?  Played through this season with the "yes I will" attitude that I can't help but respect.  He said once that football sore is way better than chemotherapy sore, and I definitely believe him.

5. Do you like cream in your coffee? Whipped cream on your pumpkin pie? Cream cheese on a bagel? Sour cream on a baked potato? Cream of wheat for breakfast? Have you ever had a scone with clotted cream? Of all the creamy foods mentioned, which one sounds most appealing to you right this very minute?

Sometimes I do take cream in my coffee, but not all that often.  If I'm lucky enough to get a pumpkin pie, yes, I take whipped cream on that.  I do love cream cheese on a bagel, but going gluten free has made that not a thing anymore. (have you ever tried a gluten free bagel? they're underwhelming.)  I've never had cream of wheat or clotted cream, but of the above, I would definitely take a cup of coffee with cream at the moment.

6. Where were you last kept waiting for 'hours on end'? Or for what felt like hours on end? How well did you cope?

Standing in line at the grocery store.  It was just ahead of the winter storm--usually I go on Saturday, but good sense made me go on Friday along with ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE IN PITTSBURGH so the lines were long.  But I understood, so I kept my mouth shut and read the covers of the magazines nearby (and nearly bought a few--for the recipes, of course).

7. Believe it or not, when next week's Hodgepodge rolls around it will be February.Huh?!? Bid adieu here to January in seven words or less.

Thanks for a good start to 2016.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Scout is doing a solo in the spring orchestra concert.  So, of course, his violin is in need of repair.  Thankfully, the shop I bought it in is one of those small businesses that I can trust.  Small, locally owned businesses are pretty much one of my favorite things.

WOOF, what a weekend.

Well THAT was quite a weekend...

Friday afternoon, we got hit with the threatened snowstorm (I think they named it Jonas?) and we wound up with about eight inches of snow by the time it was over.  Sunshine's dance class was cancelled.  Scout's baseball camp was, too.

So, feeling grateful that I did my weekly trip to the store ahead of the storm, what was I to do but make chicken cordon bleu soup and enjoy being inside on Saturday?  I'm not a fan of snow and I didn't want to be out in it.  Really the only person who did was Sunshine--she spent the majority of the time throwing around handfuls of snow and screaming, "LET IT GO" at the top of her lungs.  Then she'd come inside, curl up under a blanket, and whimper that she was cold.

Today, the roads were clear and our spirits were high, so we went to the mall after church.  After lunch, we split up: Scout and I headed to the cinema to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens and he LOVED it.  Asked a lot of questions (mostly along the lines of, "Is that guy gonna be okay?"), decided he wants to be BB-8 for Halloween, understood a lot more of the plot than I expected him to for someone who's watched half of A New Hope.

Sunshine and my husband hung around the mall for a while.  Then Sunshine decided, she wanted to get her ears pierced.

Husband says she did really well: didn't scream, cry, fight, etc, and that's all good stuff to hear.  The place she went caters to kids, and they loosened the earrings for me (which is good, because that's tough to do without pulling them out accidentally), she got a stuffed kitty and a lollipop, they took a picture, gave her a certificate, it looks great.  She even got her nails painted and got her hair cupcake scented.

If there's a Sweet and Sassy in your area, apparently it's awesome for little girls.  Maybe she'll want to do her next birthday party there.

So the next two months are devoted to helping her with her earrings.  That's fine; I've got two holes in each ear myself, so this won't be my first rodeo.

Making a spherical Halloween costume, on the other hand, may well be out of my range.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's good to be back, at least somewhat?  You know the days when everything is flowing and you feel like you have all of your ducks in a row?  January is usually about balancing that out for me.

1.  Speaking of skating...when did you last 'skate on thin ice', 'skate over the details', 'encounter a cheapskate', or just plain skate?
I feel a little like I'm skating over the details of a few things here, mostly because I have a cold and the medicine makes me feel groggy, but also because there's a LOT of details for a LOT of things going through my head.

2. What would you say is the biggest problem of people your age?

I've been seeing a lot of my friends talking about their student loans these days.  So maybe that.

3. What's your favorite accessory? Is it something you wear every day, often, or only on special occasions?

My husband gave me a mother's ring for Christmas.  It's beautiful.

4. January 20th is National Cheese Lover's Day. Are you a lover of cheese? What's your favorite dish made with cheese? Last thing you ate that contained some kind of cheese? 

I don't think I'm friends with anyone who DOESN'T love cheese!  My favorite dish that includes cheese is probably a baked macaroni and cheese.  Homemade, because that's the easiest way to sneak samples of the cheese while you're making the sauce.  We had Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie last night for dinner.  Husband said it tasted good...I couldn't really taste anything because I was feeling so stuffy.

5. What's something guaranteed to make you roll your eyes? 

Hearing, "But MAMA..." when I say it's time to get up/time to go/time to do homework/time for bed.

6. Your favorite book series? 

I am a big Harry Potter fan.  I'm also a big Harry Dresden fan.

7. Why did you choose your profession? 

In my previous job?  I worked in IT.  I loved it because the problems were something different every day, and because people were genuinely grateful when I had a solution for them.  

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

The kids finally go back to school today after a four-day weekend.  I love them but I am SO glad they'll be with their friends.