Wednesday Hodgepodge

Just click the Wednesday Hodgepodge button above to hop on over to Joyce's place to play along.

1. What's the last job you did that required elbow grease?

I would have to say scrubbing the shower. This house had a mold problem (I think this whole part of Texas has a mold problem!) and it is most evident in the bathroom.

2. March Madness, aka the men's Division I basketball championship, is nearing an end. What sort of 'madness' has your house seen this month?

I would have to say getting ready for the graduations of both our youngest son and youngest daughter. The invitations have been delivered and the caps and gowns have arrived. The rings have shown no sign of getting here any time soon, so there may not be a ring ceremony at the graduation ceremony. We still need to order the cake and make other party arrangements. We had to change the date for the ceremony several times due to conflicts, but hopefully this one sticks!

3. What's your favorite shop for browsing?

My favorite stores are bookstores, home improvement stores and some craft stores. Generally, though, I'd rather browse online instead of in person.

4. Is there ever a time when giving up makes sense?

Yes, I think so. Sometimes pursuing something is just totally pointless or even dangerous.

5. What's a song you love that contains the name of a city, state or country in its title?

I like the song Austin by Blake Shelton.

6. When did you first begin using a computer?

We got our first home computer in 1996. I was scared of it at first, afraid that I'd end up launching a missile or something. It was probably late 1996 or early 1997 when I got brave enough to try it out.

7. Did you buy girl scout cookies this year? What's your favorite?

Yes. We got the shortbread cookies and peanut butter cookies. David loves the shortbread cookies and the peanut butter ones are my favorite. Personally, I think the shortbread cookies are great, too, especially with peanut butter on them. :)

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm thinking lots about how things will go for us once all of the kids are in college. We'll have three there this fall. On the one hand this will give us opportunity to do more jobs, but it might also mean a lot more driving back and forth to the school as we only have one car and that isn't going to change any time soon.

I'm also excited about the impending release of the 1940 US Census. I am going to be an indexer and hope that I do a good job of it. Mistakes are frustrating all the way around. I just hope that I'll be able to decipher the handwriting!

You might also want to join the April A to Z Blog Challenge that I read about on From This Side of the Pond. Check it out; it looks like it will be lots of fun!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Just click the Wednesday Hodgepodge button above to hop on over to Joyce's place to play along.


This week's questions:

1. The first day of spring is here...do you enjoy working in the yard? Weeding, raking, mowing, planting-your favorite springtime garden chore? How about your least favorite?

Yes, I enjoy working in the yard, but not when it is a zillion degrees out there. I was making progress until someone interfered with my efforts, then I got sick. I just haven't totally gotten back into the swing of things yet. It is too squishy to do much of anything out there right now. But PTL for all of the rain because we sure needed it.

2. What puts a spring in your step?

My feet can't do too much "springing" right now because one of them is still recovering from a fall. But, what excites me is genealogy and visiting cemeteries looking for tombstones and statuary to photograph.

3. Describe a time when you had to spring into action?

The first thought that comes to mind for me was when one of my daughter's got a broken arm. She was out playing with the older kids and they were using a basketball as a soccer ball and it clipped the tips of her fingers. When that happened, it snapped both the radius and the ulna clean through right at the growth point near the wrist. It had to be reset and that had to be one of the most painful things that I've witnessed. They could have given her an anesthetic, but they said that would hurt her as much as the resetting. She told them to just go ahead without the anesthetic. She was maybe seven years old at the time. She was a trooper. I felt like screaming for her. It was awful. The weird thing about it was that it was healed in less than three weeks' time. I was very surprised at how fast it healed.

4. We're having carrots for dinner...would you prefer yours raw or cooked?

I like them both ways, but preferred the cooked ones...cooked baby carrots are my favorite.

5. Do you take the shampoos and other sundries from your hotel room when its time to check out?

Usually, especially if we have opened them already.

6. What's the most enjoyable team or club you've belonged to and what was it that made it so?

I enjoyed being part of Baptist Young Women. It was a fun time of fellowship and learning and growing in our faith.

7. Is cloning a sign of progress?

I suppose it could be seen as such, but I think it is more of a backing-up. Anything that has us playing God takes us further from Him, in my opinion, and isn't a true movement forward.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I wish that I were better about burying feelings on various things. I also think often about how funny some words are. Visually, they look like they would rhyme, like goes and does or goose and choose, but they don't rhyme at all when you say them. English is my native tongue, but it still doesn't make any sense to me. :)

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Be sure to visit Joyce at From This Side of the Pond by clicking the button above!

1. St. Patrick's Day will be celebrated this coming Saturday...what's a favorite article of clothing you own that contains a touch o' the green?

I own several articles of clothing that are green and one I won't go into great detail on. I have a green peasant top with white embroidery down the front and another green top that might also be considered a peasant top, but I'm not sure. It has tassels for ties and they're forever getting knotted up, but I love the shirt. I also have a pink St. Patrick's themed shirt with shamrocks on it.

2. What's a favorite 'green space' in the town, state, or province where you live?

My favorite "green space" is a cemetery. Maybe that isn't what is meant by this question, but it is one of my favorite places to be.

3. Do you wish you were taller, shorter, or think you're just about right in the height department?

My whole life I've wanted to be taller. I have been tired of being called names or having it pointed out to me (like I didn't already know!) that I am short. I am 4'10" tall, give or take, and at this point in my life I am fine with that. I'm a carbon copy of my grandma. I am the height that Heavenly Father intended for me to be and who am I to argue with what He thought best for me?

4. What's the surest way for someone to pick a fight with you?

Messing with one of my kids or my husband is a sure way to get something stirred up with me.

5. Broccoli-Spinach-String Beans-Peas...of the four, your favorite green veg? (Or the one you dislike the least if that first option's too hard. I just know there's some veggie haters out there.)

I can't choose! I love all of them very much.

6. March is National Women's History Month...besides friends, neighbors and the women you're related to, who's a woman in history you admire and why?

This question took a lot of thought because the women that I admire the most are in the categories that are off limits. I would have to say Helen Keller. She had so much against her, but fought her way through it. She didn't let it hold her back or use it as a crutch to get out of making something of herself. I think she was a very strong woman.

7. Keep Calm and ____________on.
You fill in the blank.

Keep calm and dream on...in the good way. No matter what is falling apart around you, stay calm and hold onto your dreams.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The bluebonnets are in full swing here in Gulf Coast Texas!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Please click the button above to join the fun!

1. February 22nd is National Be Humble Day...what makes you proud? What keeps you humble?

My children make me very proud. They aren't out there running wild and getting into trouble. What keeps me humble is knowing that I'm just a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things and He loved me enough to secure my future.


2. Where is the catch-all (aka dumping ground) in your house?

I think the whole house fits that description at the moment.


3. Do you make it a point to visit State/National Parks when you travel or even in your own hometown? What's your favorite?

It is one thing that I'd like to do, but we don't often go anywhere that is near a state or national park.


4. How would you define honor?

I think it is fighting and possibly dying for what you believe in. It is doing right even when it would be easier or more fun to do wrong. It is defending the defenseless. It is putting others before yourself.


5. Angel's food or Devil's food-which cake do you prefer?

Devil's food wins, though I'm not at all fond of the name! I think "Brat's Food" would work so much better. I'm a brat, so I should know. :)

6. What's the most recent road trip you've taken? Where did you go and how many hours did you spend in the car? Do you like to zoom to your destination without stopping or leisurely wind your way there with stops along the way? What is your car snack of choice?

We went further north in the state that had me driving for ten or so hours. If I had chosen to drive straight through Houston, there would have been less drive time overall, but there would have also been a freaked-out Suz at the end of the journey. We don't have the option of non-stop driving. One of us is diabetic and the other one is a old lady. Many stops are going to happen on any journey that we make. Generally, I like barbecue chips and Diet Coke.


7. Recent headlines told how a preschool child in NC had their packed lunch from home taken away and a school lunch substituted by a school inspector who deemed the homemade lunch unhealthy. Reportedly the parent was then billed for the school lunch (chicken nugget meal) although an update to the story says the parent was not billed. The inspector was conducting a routine inspection of the classroom-he/she was not there solely to peek in the lunchboxes. The packed lunch contained a turkey and cheese sandwich, an apple juice box, a bag of chips, and a banana. You can read the story here. Your thoughts?

Personally, I think the government is stepping way out of bounds. It should be the parents' choice what their child eats or doesn't eat. If they want to inspect the school-provided lunches, then let them have at it, but stay out of the private lunches. It is none of their business. It sounds to me like the lunch the little girl brought from home met the guidelines. She had a meat, a grain, a dairy, and two fruits. Sure, the chips aren't necessarily the healthiest thing, but how healthy are the school's extras? It just seems silly and intrusive to me to give this family grief over their child's lunch when most schools these days have soft drink vending machines all over the place. Maybe they should get their "healthy police" to get rid of those soft drink machines and leave little girls alone to eat their turkey sandwiches!


8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am wondering what happened to the little baby that I just read about in the newspaper online from back home. I'm also wondering how a family can bury two family members within four days and survive, but I hope that they do.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Please click the button above to join Joyce's Wednesday Hodgepodge fun!

1. George Washington-Abraham Lincoln-Thomas Jefferson...who would you most like to meet and why?

Most definitely I would love to meet Thomas Jefferson. He's supposedly in my family tree (still working to confirm or deny that!) and I think that he was a very interesting character. I think that his house and grounds are beautiful.

2. What's your favorite chain restaurant?

I love Olive Garden. Everything about it is great. The food, the decor, and the service, it's all great.

3. I spied this question on the Bears at Home blog last week and she gave me permission to steal borrow it-

When you look back on your life, do you imagine you'll think about the goals you failed to meet with regret? Or will you look at what you accomplished and say: it was good?

There are things at this point already that I wish I had done or done differently. There's no going back. I can only hope to do better from this day forward and I'm working on it.

4. Grapefruit-take 'em or leave 'em? Given the choice between an orange and a grapefruit which would you choose? Would you prefer it served as is or squeezed into juice?

I am majorly allergic to grapefruits and have a milder allergy to oranges. The last time I drank grapefruit juice (well over 25 years ago), it wanted out of me so fast that it passed itself...as I was drinking it, it was coming back up. It didn't even have time to warm up. Yucky, I know, but it is the truth!

5. When was the last time you cleaned out a closet? Is there a closet in your home that currently needs cleaning? What are you waiting for?

All of them could do with a good sorting and cleaning out. I'm waiting for the energy to do it. And maybe for the good fairies to beat me to it.

6. You get to have lunch with three famous people...who would you like to see round your table?

I think that I would enjoy a visit with Zig Ziglar. He is a great motivator and seems to be a genuinely nice man. I also think that it would be interesting to have Frank and Jesse James there, too. I want to know if my take on the reasons for their actions is on the mark. I know what I believe; I just want to know if it is true or not.

7. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your ability to parallel park?

-1000. OK, that isn't a scale of 1-10, but it is way more accurate in my case than 1-10 would be. I stink at it. I can't do it and, personally, I think the way they require it to be done is an accident waiting to happen!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I made an interesting find today. I found a pension application for one of my great-great grandfathers on my mama's side of the family. His name was Jim Spence. He enlisted in the CSA, Company C, Palmetto Sharpshooters, Jenkins Brigade, in August 1863 at age 16 and was in service until after the surrender in April 1865. He died in October 1923. You can learn some very interesting things about family members by reading these pension applications.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. It's that most wonderful time of the year...tax season! Do you complete your own returns or farm that job out to the professionals?

My husband has a Master's Degree in Business Administration/Accounting & Finance, so he does them. I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole!

2. This next question comes from Kansas Bob...he posed it in his response to something I asked in an earlier Wednesday post and I asked him if I could add it to the Hodgepodge some day. Today's the day....

Which do you think has changed you more-love or pain?

I'm thinking it is a mix of both, but pain has made the most obvious changes. Actual, to-the-core, hope is generally a thing of the past and laughs are few and far between. However, that trend seems to be changing and when I do laugh, it is a deeper, more true laugh than in the past.

3. Tangerine Tango has been named color of the year for 2012. Your thoughts? Would I find this color anywhere in your house? How about in your closet? If not, will you be adding this color to your life in some way in 2012? If you're not sure what tangerine tango looks like click here.

I'm allergic to citrus fruits and that carries over to home decor and clothing. :) I'm more into earth tones, blacks, and reds.

4. Are you a collector? What do you collect and does it get admired, used, and/or dusted regularly?

I collect angels and books. No, no, no in regards to the angels and yes, yes, no in regards to the books. The angels are in the living room and I rarely am in that part of the house. The books are here in the room with us.

5. February is National Heart Month...besides a green salad what is one tasty heart healthy dish you like to prepare?

Anything loaded with garlic would be our choice. Garlic helps to reduce blood pressure and that can't help but be a good thing for the heart.

6. When was the last time you had car trouble?

We had our last car trouble about a year ago, unless you want to count a flat tire. That happened on the way to take our daughter to class just a few months ago.

7. Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Is that a good trend?

In some ways, yes, I have been more demanding of myself lately and I do think that it is a good thing. Rather than taking things at face value and assuming them to be the truth, I am digging deeper and looking for confirmation. This comes out the most in my genealogical research. Just because someone says A belongs to B doesn't mean that this A belongs to this B. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered and records to track down to prove the connection. It would be easiest to assume that all information that I was given was correct and let my research stop there. But, I need to go the distance and get that confirmation through legal papers and other fact comparisons.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I do not like waiting. Most of my life I have been an impatient person. Over the last couple of years I have become a far more patient person. Until last night, that is. Someone dangled a blasted carrot that they know I want and now I have to wait to see if I can have the carrot. Hurry up and wait. OY! One problem with this particular dangler is that they dangle and then take it back without following through. I know this, but I can't help but get my hopes up each time, hoping that something will change for the better. I am determined, however, whether they follow through or not, I'll find a way to get that carrot with or without their assistance.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Please click the button above to join Joyce at From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge!

1. A new Miss America was crowned on Saturday night-did you watch? If you were a contestant what would your talent be?

No, I do not generally watch beauty pageants. The talent that I seem to have the most is ticking people off. A more positive talent, I guess, would be making something out of nothing. My husband says that I'm very good at that.

2. Do you have houseplants? Real or fake?

Does a dead poinsettia count? I do not generally have flowers in the house unless I am planning to photograph them. That isn't very often these days.

3. When you were in school did you speak up or were you more of the hide your face, avoid eye contact, and pray the teacher didn't call on you type of student?

I was always hoping and praying that the teacher would forget that I existed. The thought of being in front of the class, giving oral reports, writing on the board, all of those things scared the heck out of me and made me sick. I'm still the same way.

4. Next Monday marks the Chinese New Year....what do you order when someone suggests Chinese food?

We never go anywhere for anyone to suggest Chinese food to me.

5. How would you define a miracle? What would it take for you to consider something a miracle?

To me, a miracle is something good that has no possible way of happening, but it does anyway. For example, going to bed the night before Thanksgiving with no food in the house and waking up to people at your door the next morning with more groceries than your kitchen can contain.

6. What's your favorite Disney song? If you're stuck you'll find a list here

This is one of my favorites: Beauty and the Beast

7. I should have __________yesterday.

I should have walked through a section of the graveyard looking for some of the names on our list of markers to photograph, but it was just a lazy day all around.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am excited to find a relative online (that I never knew existed) that is every bit as excited about genealogy work as I am. She's got information that I didn't have; I have information that she didn't have and so we're both getting to grow our family trees a little more and maybe we'll be able to knock down a few brick walls in the process. I am very happy to have found her!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Lake Superior University has once again banished a list of words/phrases they think should be banished from the Queen's English in 2012-

amazing, baby bump, shared sacrifice, occupy, blowback, man cave, the new normal, pet parent, win the future, ginormous, trickeration and thank you in advance.

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why. Go here to read more about how the words were chosen.


I think the term "baby bump" is cute, so that one can stay. Of the choices given, I guess I would say get rid of shared sacrifice. Generally, they aren't truly "shared" and certainly not in the political realm.

2. Are you easily embarrassed?

YES! There are things that some folks think are totally hilarious, but they embarrass me something awful. There are some folks that I think are the happiest when they are being a goof ball *because* they know it is embarrassing me.

3. What is your go-to snack?

If I could afford it on a regular basis, shrimp would be the answer here. Shrimp fixes everything. But, for now, it is peanut butter crackers.

4. Have you ever been to Washington DC? If not, do you have any desire to go? What site/attraction would you most like to see in that city? If you have been, what's your favorite site?

I've never been to Washington DC, but I would love to go to see the Jefferson Memorial.

5. Sit ups-planks-lunges-squats-which one do you hate the least?

I don't really particularly like any of them, but sit-ups would win the most hated slot. I don't know what "planks" are, so squats or lunges would get the "least hated" spot.

6. What's a small act of kindness someone did for you that you've never forgotten?

When I was in elementary school, a girl shared her lunch with me and was my friend. In high school, my US History teacher mailed letters for me because I couldn't get to the post office. These were letters to my then-future husband.

7. Have you ever been a blood donor?

I have tried on several occasions to be a blood donor. Each time that I've gone, they have rejected me. Each time that I've gone, I've found out that I was pregnant. Now, I can no longer have babies, but am anemic, so not a good candidate for giving blood.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Love is a hard-to-figure thing. It shows up when you aren't looking for it and disappears when you are. It either is or it isn't. You can't make it be any more than you can make it not be.