Achoo! Hodgepodge!

 

1. St. Patrick's Day lands on March 17th. Do you believe in luck? Are there things you do thinking they'll  bring good luck or things you avoid because they're considered bad luck? I don't think I believe in "luck" per se! I have been known to say, "good luck" to people. I actually do not like for a black cat to run across the street in front of me. I also like to take down my Christmas tree before the new year. My son quotes someone from The Office -- "I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious."

2. Forest-lime-sage-mint-olive-emerald...what's your favorite shade of green? I think Emerald - the yellow greens are not my friend, but deep green is one of my best colors to wear.

3. In Ireland the meal on this day is often a hearty beef or lamb stew served with colcannon (mashed potato mixed with cabbage and leeks). In the US corned beef and cabbage is the more typical St. Patty's Day meal. Will you/did you mark the day with one of these dishes? Baked-fried-roasted-mashed...what's your favorite way to eat a potato? I don't like corned beef. I need to get someone who is a great cook to make some for me because I might like a "good" corned beef. I do love lamb or beef stew. We are hosting the Young Adults on Tuesday night and we are having Taco Tuesday on St. Patrick's Day haha! I love french fries. I would eat them every day if they didn't make me fat! I do enjoy a baked potato or a roasted potato or mashed potato . . .or potato soup. I love potatoes, but don't eat them every day.

4. What color of the rainbow best represents your personality/mood today? Tell us why. Rainbows make me smile! I love to spot one in the sky. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet - which one am I today? I am all pink today because it is Laetare Sunday - a "mini" celebration during Lent. The color for the day is "rose." I have on a pink dress and pink earrings.

5. Which 'lucky' quote resonates with you. Elaborate. 

 'Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.' E.B. White 

'Diligence is the mother of good luck." Benjamin Franklin 

'Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.' Seneca - I am going to choose this one. I had to look up "Who is Seneca?" Now I know!

'Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.' Ralph Waldo Emerson 

6. Insert your own random thought here. Spring is springing all over Alabama. Our cars are yellow. The trees and plants are showing new growth. Achoo!

Sunday Stealing by Thursday Thunks

 

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Once again we return to  Thursday Thunks, which is giving us more questions. Alas, the thunking stopped back in 2011.

Thursday Thunks

1. It's the middle of the night. There isn't another car in sight. You're stuck at a red light that just won't change. How long do wait until you run it? I would wait a reasonable amount of time, but at some point . . .if the light didn't change . . .I would look around and make sure no one was watching . . .and I would run it.

2. What's your favorite recipe? Oh my goodness - I cook a lot. My favorite recipes are always the easiest. My favorite recipe might be "going out to eat." Seriously, I love my lasagne recipe which was originally Pioneer Woman's recipe and I have tweaked it over the years. Most people love the Brown Sugar Brownies that our family makes. The recipe was my mother-in-law's and I have probably made 1,000 batches over the years.

3. When did you last ask yourself, "What the hell was I thinking?" I thought that just last week!! I think I thought it more than once! I was thinking it about school - heavy load for Spring B semester. I was also thinking about it after drinking ONE cocktail at Brock's Gap Brewing Company on Thursday night! I borrowed this photo from here, but my drink looked very similar to this one. Her recipe sounds great and I am going to try it soon!

photo cred here

4. Have you ever had a mole removed? If yes, where on your body was it? I'm trying to think if I've ever had an actual mole removed or not. In the fall of 2024, I had a cancerous spot removed from the very top of my ear! They didn't get it all and had to go back in and scrape it after it healed. The surgeon did a great job - you cannot tell where he slit it open (in an H shape!) and put in a lot of stitches! I've had some other spots removed on my legs and one on my chest and several on my face, but I don't think any were actual moles.

5. What website do you faithfully check (other than email)? I check the Samford website every day for class information/assignments/etc. I check the weather almost every day. I usually check Facebook and Instagram. I try to visit my blog friends (all of you!).

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

I Trust that It Is Wednesday Since It Is Hodgepodge Time!

 

1. Are you a naturally trusting person? Is trust built on logic or 'gut instinct'? Does everyone deserve a second chance? Elaborate. Wow! We are jumping into the deep questions early haha! I do not think I am a "naturally trusting person." I think that comes from having been hurt in the past. I think trust is often built over time and has a mixture of both logic and gut instinct. According to the grace of God, everyone deserves a second chance. As a human, I sometimes struggle. If you hurt my feelings, yes - you deserve a second chance. If you abuse a child . . . I'm not so sure (personally). On some level, I think everyone deserves a second chance, but I am human and I have human emotions and feelings . . .and there are people that I would have a hard time granting a second chance. I'm glad God is a God of second chances. I'm also glad that I don't have to make those decisions for everyone!

2. 'Beware the Ides of March'...March 15th on the ancient Roman calendar, these words were made famous by William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar.  Caesar was assassinated on March 15th 44 B.C. Have you read any Shakespeare? If so, do you have a favorite? Have you ever been to Rome? I've read some Shakespeare - in high school and then again in a college lit class. The last one I read was Othello and we watched an online version of the play. It is dark, but for some reason I sort of "enjoyed" it. I do love some of the lines in Macbeth! We have been to Rome -- in June of 2022. It was HOT that year. I loved the catacombs haha!

drinks at the rooftop bar of our hotel in Rome

Look at our hot faces as we stand in front
of the Colosseum.

Waiting to hear the Pope speak in
direct sunlight!

Mollie and I - you can tell we are hot!

3. Do you like a Caesar salad? If given the choice between a garden/house salad or Caesar which do you order? Anchovies or no? What's your favorite salad dressing? I do love a Caesar salad, but I never order anchovies. I think anchovies are mashed up in the dressing . . .right? I like several salad dressings - ranch, Balsamic, Citrus Vinaigrette, etc. I usually choose a light dressing (less calories) when at all possible.

4. Where do you typically work (or blog if that's easier) at home? Do you have a dedicated home office space? Are you happy with that space? I tend to spend a lot of space at our kitchen island because it is in the heart of our home.

But I do have an office upstairs that I use, too.

5. Snow drops, daffodils, lenten roses, crocus, hyacinth, or early tulips...what's your favorite early Spring flower? I actually love Forsythia - they make me happy! Daffodils are always pretty, too, and I get excited when they are blooming.

forsythia by the pond in our neighborhood

a blurry old photo - I think these may be
jonquils rather than daffodils - they
were very fragrant.

6. Insert your own random thought here. I know that you will be so glad when I graduate from college in May of 2027 so that I will stop talking about my classes. This semester I am taking a New Testament class. Everyone keeps saying, "It should be easy. You should know that from teaching adult Sunday School for over 30 years." Well . . .I haven't been reading the Bible and the history of the Bible in order to spit it back out on an exam. It is a different type of reading! The other class is Adolescence to Death (basically). It is the second part of the Human Development class - the class I took in Spring A covered conception through older childhood.      P.S. On an entirely different note . . .We had intense thunder storms on Monday night with unbelievable wind/wind gusts/thunder and lightning. It was crazy and I was driving home in it around 8:00 p.m. It was dark and the rain was so intense you couldn't see the lines on the road!

April A to Z Theme Reveal

Today is Theme Reveal Day for the April A–Z Blogging Challenge, and I’ve finally settled on my topic! I may have lost my mind because I want to participate in the April A to Z Challenge on top of everything else. 

This year I’m going with something simple and fun: “The A–Z of Things That Make Life Better.”

For each letter of the alphabet, I’ll be sharing one small thing that adds a little joy to everyday life. Nothing complicated or profound—just the ordinary things that make our days brighter. A good cup of coffee (A Cold Diet Pepsi). Comfortable shoes. Dinner with friends. Quiet mornings. Those little moments that remind us life is good.

I think I'm looking forward to writing these short posts (haha!) throughout April, and I hope they’ll be a gentle reminder that sometimes the best parts of life are the simplest ones.

Here’s a sneak peek at the list:

A – A Good Cup of Coffee (or A Cold Diet Pepsi)
B – Books You Can’t Put Down
C – Comfortable Shoes
D – Dinner with Friends

I hope to continue linking up with Sunday Stealing and Wednesday Hodgepodge throughout the month, too.

I hope you will come back and visit me soon.

Sunday Stealing Cookies

 

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

March 6 was National Oreo Cookie Day. So said Mary when she completed this meme, which she credited to Terri D (Your Friend from Florida), who used to host Wednesday Medley. So let's take on these tasty questions!

National Oreo Cookie Day

1. Are you able to pass by a plate of cookies and not take one or are you a bit of a "Cookie Monster?" I can pass on by . . .I gave up sweets back in 2017 and it is rare for me to even take a bite of anything sweetened with sugar now. I did eat a bite of gingerbread in Strasbourg in October, but it was sweetened with honey. I do eat Alyssa's cookies, which I purchase at Publix, but they have no added sugar.

2. Tell us about your favorite cookie. Have your tastes changed since you were a kid? I answered too quickly in question 1. I guess my favorite cookie would be Alyssa's oatmeal. They are made with no added sugar. If I were to pick a "real" cookie - there might be a tie between Girl Scout Tagalongs and our friend's homemade white chocolate almond cookies.

3. Enquiring minds want to know if you are a dunker and, if so, do you dunk in milk, coffee, or tea? I am not a dunker. If I were, I think I would dunk in milk - these days, I would dunk in Almond milk. 

4. It is that time of year and they are selling them on every corner and in front of every store!  Do you buy Girl Scout cookies and if you do, which is your favorite? I did buy six boxes of Girl Scout cookies from my co-worker's daughter and we've used the boxes of cookies as door prizes for the Young Adult group that meets at our house on Tuesday nights. I do love Tagalongs and I also like Samoas. I just choose not to eat them.

5. Raw cookie dough.  Yay or Nay? I've eaten raw cookie dough. I can take it or leave it. You can actually buy raw cookie dough that is considered safe to eat. One of our young adults brought some to our house!

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

March? Really? Hodgepodge!

 

1.  As the saying goes, 'March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.' Did your March come in roaring or like some other animal? Every month carries with it certain feelings, which is why some people love and anticipate December and others dread it. How do you feel about the month of March? Well . . . on Sunday, March 1, I worked from 7:00 - 11:15 a.m. During that time, I taught a combined adult Sunday School class from 9:30-10:30. After I got home, Mark and I prepared some lunch and then I took not one, but two finals! I rode my stationary bike for 35 minutes and I meal prepped my lunches using a new Pound Dropper recipe. I used all sundried tomatoes and I used turkey kielbasa instead of chicken sausage. I also made a double recipe of hashbrown casserole for Tuesday night's dinner for the young adults. We went for a short golfcart ride around the neighborhood right before dark. I ate a peanut butter on keto bread sandwich for dinner and we watched two episodes of Better Call Saul and one episode of Paradise. To some people, it might sound like my month came in like a Lion, but it was an ok day!

2. Where in your life are you a lion? Where are you a lamb? I am a lion when it comes to defending my family and close friends. Sometimes I come on too strong about other things, too. oops! I'm not sure I'm ever a lamb. Surely . . .I am . . .in some part of my life. Now I'm thinking about it . . .

3. The Hodgepodge lands on National Pound Cake day. Do you like pound cake? If so do you have a favorite flavor? Let's play this or that- We have my mother-in-law's pound cake recipe and it is very good! I don't eat it anymore, but it is good. Our son used to ask for "pound cake with icing" for his birthday cake! A friend makes coconut pound cake and it is sooooo good!!

• pound cake or layer cake? layer cake because of the icing!
• pound cake or cheesecake? cheesecake
• pound cake or angel food cake? pound cake
• pound cake or brownie? how about chocolate poundcake??
• pound cake or pie? what kind of pie are we talking about? 

4. What makes you feel childlike wonder right now? I'm in awe of God's creation. Overnight, trees have flowers. I feel like quite a few things in nature make me feel childlike wonder!

5. What's one thing you need to add to your wardrobe to get ready for spring? If you're in the southern hemisphere, then answer for fall? I need a great pair of jeans. I have skinny(ish), but muscular, legs and I hate those big baggie jeanlegs on my thighs. I'm going to start asking people - where did you get your jeans? I'm rounder in the middle. Anyone have any suggestions on great jeans? I will also buy a few more dresses. I just bought two from Tuckernuck and they are so cute!

6. Insert your own random thought here. Have I told y'all that we are studying the Prophets during Lent? You might think that would be dry material . . . but those prophets are interesting folks!! We are United Methodist and so we participate in Lent. Someone I know is a part of another mainline denomination and he posts every year . . .that he repents all of the time, not like those who only repent during Lent. I can't really respond to this because I would then need to repent from my words (haha!), but why in the world would he think we ONLY repent during Lent?? It is definitely a time of repentance and self-examination, but it is not the only time. Should I step down from my soapbox of random thought? Thank you for allowing me to vent in a safe place!

Monday Monday!

Here is a recap of a few things from last week.

This is a photo of Mark and two of our young women (Tuesday night YA group). One of the young women had a co-worker . . .and the office gossip was that the co-worker had her husband killed while she was out of town (several years ago). Mark has been obsessed with solving this and they were telling him he should have a podcast. We love these folks. We've been having about 18 or 19 young adults every week -- those in their 20's or early 30's, out of college, and not married.

We went with our out-to-eat supper club (from Sunday School) on Thursday night to The Pita Stop. We had a great time. I had shrimp kebobs and failed to take a picture, but this is what they look like (below) - they are served in a 9 X 13 casserole dish with fruit, hummus, pita bread, and greek salad. The plate also has rice, but I always ask for extra salad instead.

It was a dark and rainy night and when I pulled out of their parking lot, I quickly realized my headlights weren't on. I have automatic lights that brighten and dim as needed, but I had no lights! I put my blinker on to turn into a gas station to check. I looked into my rearview mirror and there was a policeman behind me with his lights on. Mark had already stepped out of the car to check the lights and the policeman was telling him to "get back in the car." He didn't give me a ticket, but I felt so weird after. I wanted to cry. That makes no sense what-so-ever!!

Mark went to the farm on Friday and I did laundry and studied all day. On Saturday, I went to my WW (formerly Weight Watchers) meeting and I'm 5 pounds from my goal weight (set by my doctor, not the goal that WW would set for me - he doesn't want me to go that low for some reason). After the meeting I ran to Walmart and picked up a few things that I didn't get in my Target Shipt order.

On Saturday night, we went to dinner with our neighbors and ate at the Front Porch restaurant in a nearby neighborhood. I have been craving shrimp so I ordered them at this restaurant, too, and I remembered to snap a photo! Mark ordered a pimento cheese burger. We both really enjoyed our meal. We even ate at an outside table!

On Sunday, Mark tried out a new appetizer recipe using his wild hog sausage. He brought the sausage up to temperature in the oven, using the oven probe. Then he put a piece of apple and a piece of sausage on a skewer and browned them on the grill. He drizzed honey on some and maple syrup on some. He said they were wonderful.

I, on the other hand, had a 4 ounce 96% fat free hamburger patty with mustard and no sugar ketchup, a small ear of corn, and a half cup of sweet potato. It was quite delicious and we are having leftovers tonight!

On Wednesday's hodgepodge, you can read about everything I did on Sunday. I won't make y'all read through it twice!!

How was your week last week? Your weekend?