Wednesday Hodgepodge - Jan 24, 2024

Do you have a word for the year (WOTY)? If so, and you'd like to share, please share. How do you decide on a word? If you don't have a word are you still on the hunt for one for 2024? 

• I don't think I do. I keep tripping over references to connections and magic. I like both of those, but having a WOTY isn't really a goal for me.

January 23rd is National Pie Day...will you celebrate? Do you like pie? What's your favorite?

• Oops - yesterday? I guess not. I usually like the crust best on a pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream, or a chocolate dream pie.

Tipping. What are your thoughts, expectations, as to who, when where? Do you appreciate a store/restaurant giving a 'suggested amount'? Have you ever left an extravagant tip? 

• I usually try to tip at least 20%. If there's a selector with a few options, I try to hit one higher than the middle, if I can afford it right then. I know I could not handle a service job, so they deserve every bit of what I can afford, I feel. And if I can't afford to tip, I can't afford to be out and about. ;)

Share with us one 'household tip' that works for you. 

• Put the dang dishes in the dishwasher. I hate having to pick them up again later.

Influencers on social media are people who've built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a particular subject. Do you follow any influencers online? Have you made a purchase or tried something new because of that 'influence'? If there's one you particularly enjoy tell us who and why. 

• I think I mostly like to be amused online. I can't think of anything I purchased because of an influencer, but I really enjoy ones who make their point with humor, or educate me on another point of view. 

Insert your own random thought here. 

• Oh golly. We've been getting hit with a lot of yucky weather where I'm at, so foremost in my mind is planning to have a job where I can work at least part of the time from home by this time next year. Ya hear me, universe?

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Are you comfortable with silence? If you're home alone, do you like silence or do you need regular background noise? Do you seek out times and places to be silent? What's your favorite place to find silence/be silent?

I'm not uncomfortable with silence. But I usually have music on if I'm home alone during the day, just because I can and no one argues with me about it. I like silence best when I'm getting close to bedtime and reading my book or checking in one last time on the computer.

2. October 28th is National Chocolate Day. Can't let that go by without a mention now, can we? Will you celebrate? How? Let's say you can have one of the following right this very minute...a cup of hot chocolate, a strawberry dipped in chocolate, a bowl of plain chocolate ice cream, or a slice of chocolate pie...what's  your pleasure?

My chocolate of choice lately is the kids' Halloween candy. LOL And no cheap chocolate - I can't stand Hershey's wax. :(

3. How do you feel about blue jeans? Favorite thing in the world to wear or nope, don't own a single pair? How often do you wear blue jeans in a typical week? Do you own a blue jean jacket?

I wear blue jeans nearly every day - just this season started wearing some leggings too. I have four pair that I rotate between, and I've had them all for almost two years, I think. I thought I owned one blue jean jacket, but I found another in the back of my closet last weekend!


4. Are you superstitious? If so, in what way?


Yup, sure am. When I'm out walking with my family, I can't stand to have something come between the kids and I - like a post, or sign or anything. If there are multiple doorways, we need to go through the same one.


5. If you had to come up with a costume using only things you have on hand right now, what could you come up with?

Did this just last weekend! Ended up finding a black dress with white collar and cuffs in my (really old) dry-cleaning pile. I wore that, braided my hair, and went as Wednesday Addams!

6. What scares you a little? What do you do when you feel scared?

I can't think of anything random that scares me. Living alone for years got rid of a lot of that for me. No sense in randomly being scared - I had to just do something about it.


7. Perhaps today will be the day I _____________________.

Clear my office floor again! Got lots of organizing stuff yesterday for the rest of the house, but that makes room for some of the stuff that's landed in my office when it should be elsewhere. We'll see!

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

I'm gearing up for busy-ness again. Today is a pretty easy schedule, but I want little things done so I can enjoy visiting with my mom and dad tomorrow. And Friday is grocery day, so I want to have a menu plan/shopping list done before then. Hoping for great weather so the kids can trick or treat Saturday night!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What's something you're looking forward to in the month of June?  My birthday!!!

2. In what way have you come full circle?  I think when I was younger and still single and childless, I was more who I wanted to be with little regard for what others thought of me. Now I'm back to being who others want me to be as a wife and mom.

3. Lonely Planet lists 10 spots in America you should see in 2015 and the reasons why. How many on the list have you seen? Which one on the list would you most like to see?

(Queens NY, Western South Dakota, New Orleans, Colorado River Region, North Conway NH, Indianapolis IN, Greenville SC, Oakland CA, Duluth MN, and the Mount Shasta Region CA)
Let's see. I've been to New Orleans LA, Greenville SC, and Oakland CA for sure. Hubby laughs at me because my family traveled a lot when I was younger, but I really don't remember specific places. That being said, I really, really like New Orleans and would go back there at any opportunity.

4. A song that describes your mood right now? Honestly, that changes frequently. Both the mood and the song ;) But I currently can put a Pitch Perfect song to nearly any moment in my day.

5. Strawberry ice cream, strawberry short cake, strawberry pie, or strawberries right off the vine...your favorite? Hmmm... Strawberry isn't really a favorite, but I don't dislike them either. I'd take any of the above.

6. Aesop's birthday is celebrated on June 4th, although there is some disagreement as to whether or not that's accurate, or if he was even a real person. Regardless, the name Aesop is associated to this day with many well known fables. Which of the following best applies to something in your life right now? The Tortoise and the Hare (Slow and Steady wins the race), The Ant and the Grasshopper (Be prepared), The Fox and the Goat (Look before you leap) or The Crow and the Pitcher (Necessity is the mother of invention)? Most of my current life is usually handled with 'Necessity is the mother of invention.' I'd love to say we are always prepared, but that would be a lie. We usually just go with what we've got while we're out and about. My kids are past the diaper bag stage, so I don't have a good mental list of what I should always carry. Instead, I usually find something that will work for what I need.

7. The answer is yes...what's the question? Are you busy?

8. Insert your own random thought here. Yay June! Just a couple more weeks til I get to spend my days with both kids and ever-so-slightly less daily schedule.

Wednesday HodgePodge

1. What's something you're never too young or too old to enjoy?

Anything you feel like, mostly. I love to get silly with my kids, and they love to see me comfortable enough to do it :)

2. Share one happy memory from your high school years.

Mostly just the friendships, and the comfort of seeing and enjoying the same familiar faces day in and day out. I've fallen out of touch with most of them for various reasons. 
 
3. A nationwide strike of fast food employees took place in the US last week...they're calling for higher wages and the right to unionize.  Your thoughts?

I think fast food is a great job for a younger person, or someone who just wants minimal hours (like a mom with just a few spare hours each week!). If people want a career and more money, either put in the time and work their way to management, or get more training for a different job.

4. September is National Honey Month...what's a favorite dish you make or eat that calls for honey?

I like that my daughter loves a good peanut butter and honey sandwich.

5. If you notice someone with a tag sticking out, a button unbuttoned, a shirt inside-out, or some leftover lunch between their teeth,  do you say something or do you keep quiet?

I usually say something. Because I'd want someone to mention it to me. Unless there's absolutely nothing that can be done to fix it. Then I'd rather not stress about it.

6. What's a movie that always makes you cry? Or at least makes you feel like crying?

Hmm...While I can't just up and name one, there are several of the kids movies that I get a bit choked up over.

7. Mary Had a Little Lamb was written in 1830, and published in Juvenile Miscellany in September of that same year. Now for the fun part...create your own four line rhyme using that same tune.

Yikes..

Maggie's back to school again, school again, school again
Jack and I miss her all day long
Until it's four o'clock!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Huh. A constant random thought on my back burner lately is how great my chocolate team is doing! Yay Sweet Dreamers!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

So Googling led me to Meme-Aholics, which brought me to From This Side of the Pond, who hosts Wednesday hodgepodge. So here goes my first post for a new meme!

1. Summer officially rolls in with the Hodgepodge, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere anyway. What song says summer 2012 to you?
 I have to go with the Soup Dragons' Divine Thing. Probably because I listened to the Hotwired cd a lot one memorable summer. 



2. What is the quintessential summer food?
 Corn on the cob :)

3. I've spent a lot of time traipsing up and down the NJ turnpike in recent weeks. Did you know the rest stops on the turnpike are named after people who lived or worked in NJ? Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, James Fenimore Cooper, Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, Thomas Edison, and Grover Cleveland just to name a few. Of those I listed who would you most like to have known and why?
 Huh. I hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings by saying that none of them really jump out at me...

4. At what age did you move out of your parent's house and what prompted the move?
 Ugh. I commuted to college, so I didn't move out until I got married. Unfortunately, I think that's why I got married - I wasn't sure how to just 'move out.' That marriage lasted a whopping eight months, and after less than six months back at my parents' house, I got a place of my very own to move to.

5. What's more satisfying to you-saving time or saving money?
 Money. Any time I save gets eaten too fast by tasks I never have time for ;)

6. Name something you think brings out the good in people.
 That's phrased sort of like Family Feud. I think kids can frequently bring out the good in people.


7. This last question comes to you courtesy of Kathy at Reflections...are you taking a vacation or staycation this summer? If so where are will you go? If a staycation is on the calendar have you made any special plans to fill the time?
Nothing is actually on the calendar so far....