March is Rolling On Out Hodgepodge

 

1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less. Growing, writing, learning, and finding meaning in everyday joys. (plus throw in some 85 degree temps and a snowy day haha!)

2. Are you afraid of heights? When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous? I don't think I'm afraid of heights. I've been up high quite a few times.

I've climbed to the top of this fire tower.

I've climbed to the top of this ruin in Israel.

3. What's a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down? Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar. Caeser; Ceasar; Caesar? Somewhere between scheduling dinners, planning menus, and writing blog posts this April, I had to stop and ask myself (again): is it Caesar?

4. Love 'em or hate 'em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So... do you love 'em or hate 'em? Speaking of peeps, what's your favorite way to have chicken? Peeps are fine. I can take them or leave them. I think they are cute, but I don't eat sweets anymore. My favorite way to have chicken is as a centerpiece on my dining room table.

In reality, we eat a lot of chicken. I had it on Monday night in a chopped salad at a local "fancy" Mexican restaurant and it was yummy! I make Poppyseed Chicken for the young adults and they love it. I also make a Crack Chicken Casserole that they love. I love a good chicken kebob on the grill - with onion and peppers and maybe mushrooms or even pineapple.

5. This week's Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry?  Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite? I am not really a poetry fan. I really want to like poetry. I just googled . . .and It is Well with My Soul was originally a poem so I'm going with that!

It is well . . .

with my soul . . .

it is well, it is well with my soul.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  I'm writing this on Tuesday morning as I sit in the waiting room of a surgery center. Mark is having some surgery on a growth on his hand. The surgeon just called and said surgery went well and she is sending growth off to pathology. She doesn't know what it is! He is in recovery now. I'm going with a positive assumption - that it is just some weird fatty tumor. We knew it wasn't a ganglion cyst from his appointment with the surgeon.

A is for A Good Cup of Coffee - OR - A Cold Diet Pepsi

I can't believe it - I think I am a fool for trying to accomplish April A to Z this year . . but here goes nothing! My theme is "Things that Make Life Better."

What better place to begin than

A is for A good cup of coffee or A cold Diet Pepsi.

I LOVE Diet Pepsi. I have one every single morning and then I have at least one more during the day.

When we travel to other countries, it is sometimes difficult to find Pepsi products. That means that I drink either Coke Zero or Pepsi Max (or it is Pepsi Zero now?). To be honest, I don't really like either of those, but I drink what is available.

When we land at an airport on our way home, I begin searching for Diet Pepsi!

Evidently, I found one below.

Here is one by my books when I was studying.

Here is one in my old office.

This is a rare photo below. I don't really like to drink them from a glass! I want the Diet Pepsi to live in the refrigerator and be COLD without a glass or ice.

Just FYI - Diet Pepsi is not sponsoring this post. I wish they were. Maybe they could offer me a free year's supply hahaha!

Mark, on the other hand, is a coffee man. Every night before we go to bed, I run out to the garage fridge and bring a Diet Pepsi inside so that I don't have to walk too far upon awakening!! While I'm grabbing my drink, Mark is loading the Keurig. His favorite joke is that every night, right before we fall asleep, he doesn't say "I Love You!" . . . he says, "I get to wake up and have coffee." I'm actually not joking, but feel free to laugh!! Keurig is not sponsoring this blog either, but we would be glad to accept any products they might send us, too hahaha!

To Mark and to me, one thing that makes life just a little bit better is either "A cup of morning coffee or A cold Diet Pepsi."

What are a few things that make life a little better for you? What are some small things that bring you joy?

It's funny how something so small can feel like such a comfort, or even a treat! Maybe that is the point!

I hope you come back tomorrow because I'll be writing about books!

 

Sunday Stealing

 

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!

This week's meme was inspired by a post at My Random Randomness. That gentleman shared random thoughts about himself. His revelations have been turned into questions.

Random Revelations

1. Is your phone Apple or Android? What about your laptop? My phone is an Apple. My laptop is not. It is some weird brand like "Lenovo"??

2. Can you say "thank you" in more than one language? "Muchas Gracias" -- "Danke schön" -- "Merci" - I can guarantee you that tour guides have taught us thank you in every country, but those are all I remember right now.

 3. What do you draw when you doodle? Back in the days where we actually talked on the telephone a lot, I doodled. I don't doodle that much anymore. I would draw bunny faces and kitten faces and write my name in a million different ways.

4. Which do you enjoy more, Scrabble or bowling? I haven't played either one of those in many years! I don't have a preference . . .well, maybe scrabble . . .simply because I don't have to wear some weird shoes that someone else has worn haha!

5. Can you juggle? I cannot juggle, but my husband is an excellent juggler!! Our son can juggle, but not quite as well as Mark.

6. Have you ever worn pajamas in public? When I was in high school, I joined a club at school. I can't remember the name of the club. The initiation involved being dressed in our pajamas. They took us to the mall and we had to walk around and buy something or talk to people? . . .in our pajamas. In today's world, that wouldn't look that unusual! People wear some strange clothes - but to each his own! I always think it is weird when someone gets on an airplane in their pajamas. I fly in comfortable clothes, but not my pajamas. 

7. Was your best subject in school the one you enjoyed the most? I was and I still am . . .a good student. Today I'm using a lot of ellipses. I like school and I enjoy learning! 

8. When you're offered the senior discount before you ask for it, are you offended or grateful? I'm offended. Seriously. I know I shouldn't be offended, but I am.

9. Do you agree that with age comes wisdom? I think some wisdom comes with age, but there are a few people walking around who should have some wisdom, but they appear to have very little wisdom. Mark has a name for those people! 

10. Do you consider Sunday the first day of the week or the last day of the weekend? Technically, it is the first day of the week, right? I feel like Sunday is still part of the weekend, even though I have to work on Sundays.

 
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Springing into the Hodgepodge

 

1. It's officially spring in the northern hemisphere. Does it feel like spring in your part of the world? If you're in the southern hemisphere it's officially autumn where you live. Does the weather say autumn? Which do you prefer-spring or autumn? Why? Yes! It is definitely spring in Alabama! On Monday, March 16 . . .it snowed. On Saturday, March 21 . . .it was 85 degrees! Everything is blooming. I even saw some Dogwood blossoms this morning! Pollen is everywhere. My black Lincoln Nautilus is yellow - seriously! Just this morning Mark and I were talking about spring . . . actually because it was in the low 40's this morning - fickle weather! Anyway . . .I love spring, but I have to spend most of it indoors even though I take two allergy shots per week, a Zyrtec everyday, a Singulair every day, and use a full blown saline wash twice a day. I have severe allergies. Spring and Fall are both beautiful in Alabama!

2. What's your favorite thing about spring? I love seeing all of the new growth - it is like seeing HOPE personified. The tiny leaves are on the trees and they are all shades of green and the flowers are bursting forth daily. Literally! When we drove to our daughter's home on Friday, the Wisteria was not blooming in our neighborhood. When we drove home on Saturday, it was blooming!

3. Spring into action, spring in your step, spring to life, spring to one's feet...which spring idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain. I feel like I have a little more spring in my step. Since late July 2025, I've been tracking every bite of food that has entered my mouth. I'm actually about four pounds from my goal weight. I started this journey in 2017 and did really well, but all of the sickness and deaths in our family threw me for a loop. Thank goodness, I didn't gain it all back. I just had to lose some plus a little more!

4. Which spring food from this list is your favorite? What's a dish you like that includes your favorite spring ingredient? 

asparagus, strawberries, salad greens like mesclun, artichokes, spinach, eggs, peas, spring onions - I love fresh Alabama strawberries - they taste like little sugar bombs on your tongue! I like to eat them sliced in a bowl or on top of a bowl of oatmeal or mixed with some fat free Greek yogurt. Mark's favorite recipe would be strawberry shortcake. It would need to be homemade shortcake using his momma's recipe haha!

5. What's one task on your spring cleaning list? Do you actually have a list? I always have a running list of things I need to do. I do not specifically have a spring cleaning list. I need to clean out our laundry room before Saturday night! We are getting a new dryer on Friday so maybe I can do it after they deliver!

6. Insert your own random thought here. Speaking of spring cleaning, I just cleaned my office. It took two days. My office is the repository for everyone's crap. Excuse me, I meant to say everyone's lovely things! I filled a giant trashcan yesterday. Seriously, I borrowed one from the custodial staff!! I had to wear a mask due to the dust. Our offices don't get cleaned unless we clean them. I told my co-worker that using a windex wipe on your desk should not make mud puddles haha! We have a guest pastor flying in from London on Thursday night. He will preach on Palm Sunday (in three services) and then he will preach the Holy Week noon services next week (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday). I hated for anyone to see my office so I tried to make it more presentable!

Silly Goose is Two!

On Friday, Mark and I headed south to our daughter's home to celebrate our youngest granddaughter's second birthday. We arrived and waited in their driveway until they pulled in from after school. The girls were happy to see us!! Our son-in-law had previous dinner plans, so we headed into the little town with Laura and the girls to eat dinner. The bait shop below is the same bait shop that Mark frequented in the summers when he was a kid! It has been there a long time! Mark's aunt had a second home on a lake nearby and they spent many summer hours at that house.

We could not have ordered more perfect weather. We made it to Coach's Corner - one of the local restaurants. We were told it would be about a 20 minute wait, but there were lots of things to see . . . and we only waited about 5 minutes!

Look at that little nugget - she is a cutie pie!

This is the view from the restaurant deck.

We played tic tac toe and some pictures were drawn while we waited.

Look at that little hand on her mama's hand!!

When we got back to the house, we headed straight to the playroom.

Laura had sent a link to us for this kitchen. Since the paper had already been torn off most of the package -- who did that?? - we decided to go ahead and put it together. It took three grown adults to wrangle two kids and to put this thing together!

Finally, we all went to bed . . .I slept with our daughter, Mark slept on the bottom bunk bed, and Scott slept on the sofa - they don't have an extra room so we made it work!

Saturday morning dawned bright and early. It was another gorgeous day. Throughout the day, there was a lot of trampoline jumping.

There was lots of swinging. Yes . . .she has a ball under her dress. It was her baby. Who knows why? None of us! haha!

I love our daughter and son-in-law's dining room. Laura is talented and has a good eye!

In addition to the outside swing, lots of swinging happened inside, too.

The photo below is so funny to me - Mark and Uncle Bob reclining!

After a lunch of grilled hotdogs, we had birthday cupcakes.

Let me just say . . .there was a lot of icing hahaha!

They have an amazing back yard and I looked outside and the grown men were playing tee ball!

I didn't get a photo, but our son was also doing flips - full flips on the trampoline. Mark kept saying that he was going to go do that . . .which he could have, I'm sure. I'm really glad he didn't!!

The silly goose is two and she was celebrated by family and friends. She is beginning to say more words and she is so smart! She is also very opinionated haha!

Have You Ever Sunday Stealing

 

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!

This week's Sunday source is Minnesota Mom, who loves baking (especially cookies). She stole this meme from Esther, whose blog is no longer available, so the trail has gone cold.

These questions require just a yes or no, but you can answer at length if you're in the mood. The choice is yours! 

Have You Ever ...

1) Skipped school? I was a good student and until my Senior year, I was a "good girl." After my mom died, I did have a period of time where I was more rebellious. I remember skipping a class - I don't know if I ever skipped a whole day of school.

2) Lettered in a school sport? I did not letter in a sport, but I was in the Color Guard.

3) Made a prank phone call? We made too many prank phone calls! We used to call and ask people if their refrigerator was running. When they answered "yes," we would tell them they should hurry up and catch it and then die laughing and hang up. Silly!

4) Paid for a meal with coins? I have paid for fast food with coins, but never a meal in a real restaurant.

5) Laughed until some sort of beverage came out of your nose? Yes! Yes, I have!

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

This Chick is TEN!

Our oldest granddaughter celebrated her 10th birthday this past weekend. I told her that I remember when they put her in my arms (after she was born), I was amazed that I could fall in love that fast - instantly! She is smart. She loves math! She is funny. She is very curious. She loves to craft. She loves her Pops! She loves her chickens!

So . . .I went with a chicken theme and I think it turned out so cute!

The chickens were the "party favors."

I used brightly colored Easter wreaths for the nests. I found cute chicken decorations on Amazon.

I still had out some of my St. Patrick's Day decor, too. She loves hamburgers so gues what was on the menu? Hamburgers with lots of toppings!

We brought in the folding table and put a plastic cloth on it, plus one chicken. We brought the folding chairs in from the garage and we had 12 around the dining table and two at the small table.

Her favorite dessert is "Uncle" Wynn's banana pudding, so he brought a big one and I purchased a few cupcakes. I was glad I did because her friend didn't like banana pudding.

Wynn made a beautiful banana pudding. He loves to make desserts and is a good dessert maker/baker.

Our daughter painted the "This Chick is Ten" banner - I just realized that I didn't have the top corners taped down!

Chickens were everywhere - even hanging from the chandelier. Friend, birthday girl, middle granddaughter all in a row!

This little nugget sat at the smaller table with her momma. She is such a cutie. She had surgery on Wednesday - tubes in her ears and her adenoids "shaved" - which means they lasered them! She bounced back by the next day.

Here is the cute 10 year old!

The oldest granddaughter holding the middle one . . .

This picture is my favorite -- our daughter-in-law on the left and our daughter on the right along with all three granddaughters!!

There were presents to open . . .

"Uncle" Wynn will be taking her to her first concert!

The little one put that gift bag on her shoulder and waved bye bye to all of us!

Pops bought a "grabber" for her to have as her own, because she loves his so much!  hahaha!

The little one was playing with Uncle Bob.

We even put candles into the birthday banana pudding!

It was a successful birthday lunch and I think she felt our love!!

We are so proud of her and love her so much!