Sunday Stealing Survey

 

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 astonishingly random questions were stolen from Love Me Some Surveys. 

Survey Asks ...

1. Did you/will you have coffee or some other form of caffeine today? Yes, I will have at least one Diet Pepsi.

2. Who did you last have a text conversation with and what was it about? The most recent text conversation was with several co-workers about something we saw on social media.

3. Are there regular trains in and out of your town/city? We have no trains. Actually, that is not true. We have an Amtrak station with service to Atlanta, New Orleans, and New York. I wonder how long it would take to ride the train from Birmingham to New York. I need to check on this!! Public transportation is almost non-existent here. We have some bus transportation, but the bus stops are very limited.

4. Have you ever been hospitalized due to dehydration? One time, when our twins were about a year old, I was sick. I guess I had a bug of some sort. My head felt like it was going to split open. A neighbor kept the kids and I was in the car driving myself to the ER when Mark and his brother pulled into the driveway. I was dehydrated from being sick and they gave me an IV and some other drugs.

5. Someone texts/IMs you just as you’re about to go to sleep. Do you reply? It depends on who is texting! I usually glance at it and make a quick decision.

6. Do you grind your teeth?  I don't think I normally grind my teeth, but they have been working on our building and the sound is like a dentist drill and I have found myself clinching my jaw . . .and sort of grinding my teeth.

7. When you listen to music with headphones, do you keep the volume low enough to hear surrounding noise, or do you blast it? I'm embarrassed to say that I crank it up!

8. Are you wearing nail polish? I'm wearing nail polish on my toes, but not on my fingers.

9. Do you have an ice maker in your refrigerator door? When we bought this fridge, we didn't want the water or ice maker on the door. We have water inside the door and the ice maker is right inside the freezer (bottom drawer).

10. Do you have a friend named James? I know several people named James. We have a friend whose name is James, but he goes by Jim. I work with a guy named James and he has a little boy named James Wise!

Quick question - is anyone else shocked that it is already March 1? How did we get here? January seemed like it was a million days and then February flew by.

 

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Hodgepodge!

 

1. America celebrates turning 250 years old this year. Primary cities set to lead the celebrations on July 4th are Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. Other significant locations for celebrating will be Charleston SC and the 'historic triangle' which includes Jamestown-Willimasburg-Yorktown Virginia. 

Of the cities listed how many have you seen in person? Of the cities listed which would you most like to visit this year? Any plans to do so? What's one place in America you think everyone should see? If you're not American what's one place in the US you'd like to see?  I have been to Boston and Washington D.C. and Charleston so I've only been to three! I have flown through Philadephia's airport and New York's airport, but that doesn't count! I would love to go to New York City!! I would also enjoy visiting the "historic triangle." Philadephia might be fun. As of right now, I don't have plans to visit any of those cities. I think everyone in America should see the white sand beaches of Alabama or the Florida panhandle. The white sand against the blue-green water of the gulf of Mexico is breathtaking!

2. Three sounds you love to hear? Let's see . . .three sounds I love are a baby's belly laugh, a good soft rain on a tin roof, and the waves against those white sand beaches!!

3. Three sounds you hate to hear? I hate - totally detest - hearing someone throw up. I have always loved to hear thunder, but since our house was struck by lightning during a thunder storm . . .I'm not so fond of it anymore. I also hate to hear a smoke alarm - PTSD. We are studying the prophets during Lent and yesterday I compared the messages of the prophets to that smoke alarm on the night of the fire. The smoke alarm is not my enemy. The smoke alarm is mercy. The smoke alarm wants to keep me safe!! Of my list of three, hearing someone throw up remains my number one hated sound. I'm working on the thunder and the smoke alarm.

4. February 24th is/was National Tortilla Chip Day. Are you a fan? With salsa, guacamole, queso, or just plain please? Do you like nachos? With what on top? Is there anything (besides nachos) you make that calls for tortilla chips? I do love tortilla chips. To me, the measure of a good Mexican restaurant is the chips, salsa, and Margaritas. I love tortilla chips with salsa, with guacamole, with queso. I love nachos with meat and cheese and salsa and guac and sour cream and beans! I actually brought 6 tiny tostito rounds in my lunch today. Yesterday I put chicken breasts, 2 cans of corn, 2 cans of black beans, and salsa in my crockpot. I made nachos last night with 12 chips. I brought a cup of the chicken/corn/beans/salsa in my lunch today, along with 6 tostitos that I crumbled on top!

5. We March into March with next week's Hodgepodge...what's one thing on your March calendar that makes you smile? We will celebrate our oldest granddaughter's 10th birthday and our youngest granddaughter's 2nd birthday! We will also host supper club at our house. Yes, I know that I listed three things. This is my blog, right? hahaha!

6. Insert your own random thought here. We are having a cold snap. It was warm on Saturday and that cold wind blew all day yesterday and the high today was maybe 40 degrees. Brr! I've seen photos and videos of New York City. They are getting hammered by the blizzard of 2026, so I can't complain about a day or two of cold weather!

Weekend in Review

On Thursday, after work, I headed to Sapphire Nail and Spa for a much-needed pedicure. I received a gift certificate from Mark for Valentine's Day. He knows where I go and how much I love a pedicure! My toenails are teal!

Friday morning found me driving to the hair salon - 45 minutes away. I guess I will have to find a closer place at some point.

I did a lot of homework this weekend. I had two different presentations that had to be researched, written, and recorded.

Mark was at the farm on Thursday night but got home on Friday afternoon. I have no idea what we did. We went to the Pig (Piggly Wiggly grocery store) because they have an amazing beer selection. I think I made Kodiak waffles for dinner (low key) and we watched a little TV!

Saturday morning arrived and I headed to my WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) meeting and then I stopped at Walmart. Mark met our son and they headed to Wetumpka to build a swingset for our out of town granddaughters. Glenn was a single man because our daughter-in-law and oldest granddaughter are on a cruise!

I got home and did more homework! Mark walked in while I was recording one of my videos and yelled loudly . . .so I had to start over! Seriously!

On Saturday night, we went to our long-time supper club. Our hostess made Chicken Wellington. I took a beautiful green salad. Kim made some fancy smashed green beans. Terrie brough a charcuterie for appetizer and Laura made an apple cake for dessert.

On Sunday, I was at work by 7:00 a.m. I stayed at the Welcome Desk until 9:30 and then I ran up to the third floor to teach Sunday School. We are a part of the John Wesley Sunday School class which is a large class made up of folks in their late 50's through 72 or so. Last year, one of the young couple's classes asked if they could meet with us for the month of February. They loved being with us and we loved being with them, so they asked if they could come back this year! They are going to meet with our class for the season of Lent (from yesterday through Palm Sunday). Between the two classes, we had about 75 folks in our room. We even had a couple of babies crawling around in the back of the room. One of the moms told me that she would leave if her baby was disruptive. I laughed and said, "Most of us are grandparents. Pass that baby around!" When I closed us in prayer at the end of class, I thanked God for the sweet sound of babies in the room. I love that we are in a church where we can do things with our own age group, but also can be intergenerational!

There was a cold north wind blowing through Alabama yesterday. We ate a thrown together lunch and I recorded my second school "project." Mark helped me prepare homemade lasagna that we will feed the young adults on Tuesday night. I put some chicken in the crockpot for my lunches. I wanted Mark to cook the chicken on the grill, but it was just too cold outside. We both exercised. I ran the dishwasher twice! 

Did you have a good weekend?

 

 

Sunday Stealing - I say . . . you say!

 

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 we're playing word association as suggested by a blogger named Dawn Camp. She said these words "tickled her fancy," and let's see if they inspire you. Feel free to answer with either a single word or a thought/memory. It's up to you.

Word Association. Share what comes to mind when you hear the word ...

1. Biscuit . . .and gravy . . . or sausage

2. Crayon . . .coloring book . . .love to color with our granddaughters

3. Warmth . . . fireplace . . .we have used our gas fireplace so much this winter

4. Flip . . . flops . . . my shoe of choice haha!

5. Slush . . .fund . . I had to look it up after I typed it to make sure I knew what slush fund means -- yes, a stash of money to be used for illicit purposes, especially political bribery. Enough said!

6. Wing . . .and a prayer . . .I've always heard this expression, but I don't think I knew there was a movie made in 1944 with this title!

7. Candle . . .in the wind . . .I loved Elton John!

8. Cinnamon . . . gingerbread . . .I've been making gingerbread doughnuts/muffins since we returned from our trip back in October. I've mentioned them several times. They have a hefty amount of cinnamon in them.

What would be your response to some of the words?

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Procrastination Friday

Do I have time to write a blog post? Nope! What am I doing? I am procrastinating. I have two "papers" to write, but then I have to record myself presenting them. I have my ideas for both, but I have a headache that neither motrin nor tylenol nor peppermint oil has affected. Actually, they have knocked the edge off, but it is still there . . so I think I'll write a blog post.

On Tuesday night, we hosted our weekly group of Young Adults and we celebrated Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday or the last day of Mardi Gras. You choose! I made TONS of pancakes. I cooked 1 pound of bacon and Mark cooked 3 pounds. I made sausage squares. We had cookies and king cake for dessert.

I even decorated a little.

I had beads and candy and moon pies on the table and one of the young men went to Mobile over the weekend and brought a huge bag of beads from the parade (to share). Just FYI, New Orleans is not the original King of the Mardi Gras. Mobile, Alabama, is recognized as the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the United States, with the first organized celebration held in 1703, more than a decade before New Orleans was founded. Founded by French settlers in 1702, Mobile brought the tradition to the area, starting the oldest official Carnival celebration in the U.S. I have given you a fun fact to know and tell! haha!

I love Gerbera Daisies!

Here is one pan of the sausage squares. I made two pans. It is such an easy recipe and soooo delicious! You brown 1 pound regular breakfast sausage (I like Jimmy Dean) and one pound hot breakfast sausage (also Jimmy Dean). When meat is no longer pink, drain the fat. There will be a LOT of fat. Put meat back in skillet and put two 8 ounce blocks of cream cheese in the skillet. Stir until melted and mixed well with sausage. Spray a pan (9 X 13) with Pam and place one roll of Pillsbury crescent roll sheet on bottom of pan. Spoon meat/cream cheese on top and smooth out to the edges. Place second roll of Pillsbury crescent roll sheet on top. If you can't get the "sheets," buy the roll of crescent rolls and smush the seams together. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and until filling is hot and bubbly.

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and I talked a little about Ash Wednesday on our Hodgepodge post. Here are some photos from the worship service. It is SUCH A POWERFUL service.

In the photo below, the couple in the bottom right corner of the photo - see them? That is Mark's identical twin brother and his wife! George has a beard and Mark doesn't and many people still confuse them.

Below is my boss, pastor, friend, co-worker. He is an amazing preacher and pastor.

We all went forward and had the sign of the cross placed on our foreheads. All of our pastors participated. Imposition of ashes is not a sacrament, so even a lay person can do it, but we have lots of pastors on staff.

I snapped the photo below in the car after the service.

On Thursday, we had several special guests with us. We travel with EO - Educational Opportunities and Brian and I have been to Israel/Palestine 4 times together. The Mayor of Bethlehem came to visit us. He shared about the unemployment rate in Palestine and how the people are suffering. The unemployment rate is soaring and they are not allocated enough water per household. Did you know that by law, 17 Palestinian cities must have a Christian mayor and a majority of Christians on their city councils? In 2020 and again in 2023, we were blessed to eat dinner in a Palestinian Christian family's home - a meal cooked by them and served by them. The conversations were rich. Just let me say that sometimes what we hear on mainstream TV . . . is not the way things really are.

Maher Canawati, mayor of THE Bethlehem and Brian Erickson, Senior Pastor at Trinity UMC Homewood, AL

I love this hug photo!

He presented a gift to Brian and he brought all of us

a small Olive Wood cross from Bethlehem

Here is the gift he gave to Brian

I cannot make this photo turn right side up and with this headache . . . Below is a specialized, symbolic medal. It consists of two side pieces made of olive wood from the roof of the Church of the Nativity, surrounding a large central "coin" featuring a mosaic from the original Basilica. The side pieces look like the space where you kneel down in the Church of the Nativity. (I've posted a stock photo of the medallion in the church below)

See how the side pieces are similar!

Anyway . . .I still have the headache. Pollen is beginning its fun for the season - the trees are all having sex this week (that is a phrase a friend's husband says and it is so true). I might need to take a 20 minute snooze to see if that helps!

I hope you are having a great Friday!

Sweet and Colorful Hodgepodge

 

I wasn't able to join in the Hodgepodge last week, but here we are in a new week!

1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season? You might remember that I work in a church? We have "drive through" ashes from 6:30 - 8:00 a.m. They drive up, ashes are imposed, a prayer is said . . .and off they go. We also have a full worship service at 6:00 p.m. and it is a very meaningful service. I don't know if I will give up something or take on something this year. I'm still praying about it.

2. Pancakes...are you a fan? Syrup or no syrup? Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? Are pancakes on your menu this week? Pancakes are on our Tuesday night Young Adult menu -- Fat Tuesday! We will have pancakes, bacon, and sausage squares. Yes - I enjoy sugar free syrup, but will have regular for the young adults. I like pancakes plain (I usually make our personal ones with Kodiak so it ups the protein) or with blueberries or chocolate chips. Yum!

3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt 'spread too thin'. Today? Everyday? This semester is really stretching me. Enough said.

4. What's your favorite jewel or gemstone? In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors? I love pearls. Do they count? I also love diamonds! Many years ago I had a really pretty sapphire ring that I loved. Regarding clothing, I like bright blue, green, orange, red, bright pink, actually lots of shades of pink. I used to wear mostly black, red, and white. As I've aged, I've become more colorful!

5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge? This is too funny that you ask this question. We've had to take a million assessments in the Human Behavior in Organizations class. Some of the assessments have been about leadership roles. One of the things I don't like about being in charge . . . I hate hard talks - like when you need to tell someone they need to do a better job, etc. Also, when you are in charge . . .the buck stops with you!

6. Insert your own random thought here. We are having more spring like weather here today. The high was 70 on Monday. On Thursday, the high will be 78!! What is the weather forecast where you live?

Ridiculously Long Catch Up Post

This post contains A LOT of photos. I haven't done a weekend in review in a while and this is over the course of several weeks and weekends. 

Mark and his twin brother went hunting a few weekends ago. Mark killed one. . .

and then made sausage . . .

We went to dinner at Real and Rosemary with our friends (no photos) and then we went to the Homewood Theater to see a cute show.

I had to do a DAYC-2 assessment on a child under 5 years old (for one of my classes) and my co-worker very graciously allowed me to come to their home. I took a few props!

Last Tuesday, immediately following Director's meeting, my co-workers did sidewalk art! I had on a dress that day and there was no way I was going to bend over the sidewalk to draw haha!

Their art looked amazing.

I ordered Mixtiles from our October trip and hung them upstairs. I have lots of travel photos on the walls of this upstairs hallway.

This side of the hallway has some photos in regular frames.

Mark picked up our oldest granddaughter after school on Friday and she came over to spend the night. The first thing we did was use air pumps to blow up this monstrous jester hat!

We also went across the street to the park for some swing time. I was in the swing beside her.

On Saturday morning, we decorated our golf cart for the Mardi Gras parade.

We both have squinty eyes in this photo! I ordered matching shirts from Amazon!

Line up for the parade was at 11:00 in front of the town hall. I think Mark snapped this photo.

Our neighbor and her dog and grandkids were so cute! Look at the jester hat on the dog!

Another neighbor snapped this photo of us while we were waiting to roll.

Mark was the designated driver while Emma and I were throwing moon pies, beads, and candy.

I am evidently yelling at one of the neighbors - my mouth is wide open!!

This was our cart with the fringe blowing in the breeze.

We had over 20 golf carts this year which was exciting!!

The Amazon delivery driver was stuck for a few minutes!!

After the parade, we headed back to Townhall for the after party. One neighbor had decorated the tables - Lovely!!

In Emma's kidpack, there were all sorts of goodies including a cool mask!

We had a food truck (tent), live music, amazing door prizes, king cake cupcakes, bread pudding, and more.

In order to win a doorprize, they drew your name and then you had to spin the wheel. If the space was blank, you had to sing for another turn.

Our golf cart won second place for best decorations - we never could figure out which golf cart beat us! For second place we won a $50 gift card to Walk-Ons.

I won one of the big doorprizes - the bag had hurricane mix, hurricane glasses, moonpies, masks, a gift card for ice cream, a mini king cake, and more! Thank goodness - I didn't have to sing!!

The mini king cake was so cute!

We sat with our friends - cute pic of Mark, Dave, and our granddaughter!

Here is one of Lu, our granddaughter, and me!

It was a fun day!

I worked the Welcome desk on Sunday and taught a large group in Sunday School. One of the younger classes met with us and it is always so fun to have multi-generational!

After church we had family lunch at our house and enjoyed being with everyone.

We crashed afterwards and took a 30 minute nap. I made two pies for my friend's birthday and we both exercised and I did some homework . . .

and now a new week is here!