Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Fall officially rolls into the Northern Hemisphere on Monday (9/22)...what's your favorite thing about fall? 

My favorite thing about fall is how beautiful the trees become, smelling the smoke from a campfire, and a little cooler weather.

2. What's one thing on your real or proverbial autumn bucket list? 

Nothing at the moment.  All THREE grandsons are playing football.  I don't want to miss another game.  Blake plays on Thursdays and Saturdays, and the twins play every Saturday.

3. Apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and cranberries are some of the top fall foods. Which one is your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Any on the list you don't eat? Which one have you had most recently? 

Sweet potatoes are my favorite; sweet potato French fries are the best!  I usually just bake my sweet potato till it is tender on the inside but the outside is crisp....serve plain please.  Pumpkin is something I do not eat.  I have never been a fan and have tried but no success.  An apple I try to eat daily. 

4. 'Fall is proof that change is beautiful' is a popular sentiment. Would you agree or no? Elaborate. 

I am in the middle...Change can be beautiful.  Change can give you new adventures and opportunities.  Change can help you grow as a person.  Letting go and let God is a beautiful change.  The vibrant colors of fall is beautiful.

On the other hand, change is not beautiful.  Change is not beautiful when it brings pain, grief, and loss.  But one thing that I keep reminding myself is life is ever changing and I can be negative or positive about it.  I am choosing to be positive and learning to embrace change.

5. Is there a spot near you where people go to see the leaves change color? Will you try to leaf peep somewhere this fall? Lonely Planet lists the following ten places as the best for leaf peeping...of those listed which would you most like to visit? 

Stowe, Vermont~Shenandoah National Park, Virginia~Columbia River Gorge, Oregon~Zion National Park, Utah~Tennessee/North Carolina border~West Virgina~Northwesteroming~Wisconsin Northwoods~Northern Nevada~Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway, Arkansas

Usually drive the parkway, but I heard recently that parts of it is still not open due to the hurricane last year.  Since I live in the mountains, just about every place is beautiful.

Stowe, Vermont because I want to go to Vermont!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Monday evening, I attended a Women't Bible Study Group.  I can't remember the last time I laughed so much.  There is just something about when women get together to share  that brings you laughter.  And of course the food/snacks were amazing!!

Have a Great Rest of the Week and Enjoy Life!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1.  Are you more life of the party or more party pooper? If your answer is somewhere in the middle which side of the middle do you lean towards more? 

Birthday party, beach party, cocktail party, dinner party, charity fundraiser, surprise party, costume party, garden party, Christmas party, reunion...what's your favorite kind of party? 

I am in the middle but lean towards life of the party. I don't think I am a party pooper at all. 

My favorite kind of part would be a beach party. I have attended many charity fundraisers and I didn't mind going.  Hub just had to keep me away from the silent auction table. ha!

 

2. Cheese, wine, and balsamic vinegar all improve with age. What would you personally add to the list? 

Exercise, I believe, will improve with age.  I also think having a positive outlook on life improves age.

3. How do you feel about your birthday? How do you want to be celebrated? Or don't you? 

I don't really celebrate my birthday that much now that I am older.  Hearing from grandsons wishing me a happy birthday is all that I need.

4. What remarkable feat, interesting piece of trivia, or historical event occurred on your birth day and month? Not necessarily your same birth year, just the same date/month. 

I had to look this up and found out:  Battle of Gettysburg ended AND the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 3, 1776!!   Wonder why we don't celebrate on July 3rd, but we celebrate on July 4th or maybe I am just confused!

5. Share two good things about your life right now. 

1.  Health and having my basic needs met.

2. Even simple things...taking a walk with a close friend and sharing a cup of coffee .

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I went this weekend with a few friends to Hot Springs, Virginia.  We had rented a nice, cozy cabin.  We booked a one and one half hour session in the Warm Springs Pool.  The water is naturally fed by a 98 degree F mineral spring.  Total relaxation.

Our cabin had a fire pit and it was definitely used!

There was a creek running behind the property.  AND it was warm water.

We ate at this little place and the food was scrumptious!  The weather was perfect, so we were able to eat outside.

The property was lined with beautiful strawberry hydrangeas.  The picture doesn't do them justice.

It was so nice to just escape reality for a short while after this past horrific event in the news.

Have a great rest of the week and Enjoy Life!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What gives you energy? What takes it away? 

People tell me I have a lot of nervous energy and I do.  Here lately, I have been getting so tired and sleepy around 3pm so I drink a Celsius Live Fit.  It has zero sugar  This drink seems to perk me up.

 Natural energy comes from watching my grandsons play football.  Saturday I was at football games...twins and Blake all day from 11am to 6pm.  AND not one ounce of tiredness or sleepiness.

Stress does take my energy away and I stress out a lot!  BUT rude people and drama take my energy away,also.

2. How often do you shop for clothes? What accessory do you always wear? 

Here lately about EVERYDAY!!  I need to stop, but I have found the cutest boutique about an hour from me and the clothes are so cute, PLUS the employees make you feel so comfortable and are down-to-earth.  I am going to have to get three more jobs if I keep this up.

I use to always wear my wedding band, but since hub's death I have put them away.  I always wear earrings.

3. What's something free that you feel grateful for? 

The beautiful sunsets and lasting friends.

4. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...which meal of the day do you enjoy most? What's your go-to comfort food? 

a

 I usually skip breakfast.  lunch at school is eaten in 10 minutes and going to football games to see the grands play, my lunch is usually popcorn or a candy bar.  Dinner is by myself and I don't cook so it is more junk food (I know I have tried preparing meals but end up throwing them away).  

My comfort food is a bowl of cereal.

5. This week the world remembers the tragic events of 9/11. Do you mark the day in any way? How do historical events shape your perspective on your personal challenges? 

I remember exactly where I was on this day.  I was teaching at the middle school and the high school principal turned off ALL TVs.  We (teachers) would try to sneak to the library and see what was going on.  I remember watching the news all night and then the next day watching the celebration of what that country did to us. 

By learning from the past mistakes help me with personal challenges.  Historical events help me to be a cheerleader for the future reminding me that I will eventually get through this.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Saturday was spent at the ballfield....the football field.

The twins are playing tag football and their game began at 11am.  Well, it was supposed to but it didn't get started till almost 12. I get so tickled at this age group.  You have some kids who are so serious and others who run the wrong way.

Blake's  game began at 3pm.  Flag football doesn't last long, but I didn't want to go home and then drive back to Abingdon.  I needed to get some flowers for hub's and daughter's grave so I went to Hobby Lobby.  One can't just go into Hobby Lobby without buying other stuff not on the list and that is exactly what I did.  

Blake's game began on time (thankful) because it rained and at this age the game isn't cancelled!!  But I love watching him play.  He is so much like my precious Amanda ...personality wise and he thinks of others before himself.  He was crying after the game because  the ref said he had pushed another player in the back but Blake kept saying he didn't.  His parents had to explain to him that they knew he didn't push the player in the back but the REF is who is in charge and what he says goes.  Blake just had a hard time understanding why the REF would lie.  But all was better later the next day!!

Monday was eat lunch with someone GRAND at the boys' school.  Which was also book fair day  (yep, I knew what the school was doing).  The twins have adjusted well to school and was telling me I had to follow the rules!!  Eating lunch cost me more than a lunch, I will tell you that.  But so glad they enjoy books!!

This is Liam

This is Aiden.

This is Blake.

Have a great rest of the week and Enjoy Life!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Next Sunday is Grandparent's Day. Share a favorite memory, photo, recipe, or something you learned from a grandparent. 

My grandmothers and I were close. I would travel to Baltimore every summer and spend my summer with my maternal grandmother.  My maternal grandmother worked at the VA Hospital in the canteen then she took a job caring for a lady who was injured in an automobile accident. I can still remember how patient and caring she was with this young lady she cared for.  I can also remember making care packages for my uncle who was serving in Vietnam.  My grandmother didn't have much money, but there was nothing I did without while in Baltimore with her.  Often we traveled to Washington D.C to shop, see shows, or visit all the monuments.

My paternal grandmother was a faithful, Christian woman.  There wasn't a church service she missed. I never knew how she did it, but every Sunday after church there was a feast at her house!  And she never believed in doing any work on a Sunday!!  maybe clean the dishes but that was all!!  After dinner, we would sit on her porch and just talk.  The memory I have the most is when my oldest daughter was facing her second heart surgery; she was 16 months old at this time.  We were in Boston at Boston's Children Hospital.  The surgeon came to speak to hub and I and explained my daughter had 95% chance of not making it through surgery and 100% chance without the surgery she would die within a year.  I called my grandmother back home, crying my eyes out, and just wanted to hear her voice and her wisdom. My grandmother was that type of person.  BTW my daughter did survive this surgery.

2. What's a quote from a book (besides The Bible) that has stayed with you? ee

I can't think of a quote from a book, but a couple of quotes that have stayed with me are these two: This one is by Ralph Waldo Emerson

This one I said to my daughters about EVERYDAY: "Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail."  I wanted my daughters to be independent.

The second quote I really have had to learn (the hard way) by Robert Frost: " In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

3. What's your number one food pet peeve? 

Serving me dressing in a little bowl for a huge salad!!

BUT, I shouldn't complain because I saw/heard about someone going through the McDonald's Drive through. This person ordered a Big Mac without the bun.  When this person got home and opened the container, not only was there no bun, but no hamburger either: just a box of lettuce and sauce!!

4. What's one thing about you that is still the same as it was when you were young? 

I would have to say my hair.  I am a lucky one with still some thick hair.

5. September is National Preparedness Month...does your family have an emergency plan? Do you have some sort of preparedness kit you keep on hand? If so, tell us one thing that's kept there. 

I do not have an emergency plan or a preparedness kit.  I know I should and I keep telling myself to be prepared, but I haven't yet.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I went to a football game Friday night.  Tuesday at school, I was told I was on the local news.  What on earth for????  The teachers showed me a picture and sure enough the camera person from our local TV station was filming the cheerleaders and here comes me walking right through the cheerleaders oblivious to the camera person.

Have a great rest of the week and Enjoy Life!