It's All About Ice Cream Sunday Stealing

Thank you to Bev for stealing the prompts for us each week. These were stolen from Swap Bot

1. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? I haven't eaten ice cream in probably seven years. I used to love a good strawberry or butter pecan. 

2. If you could invent a new flavor of ice cream, what would it be? Oh! I thought it was just one question about ice cream. Let me think . . .how about Limoncello ice cream?

3. Who do you like to eat ice cream with? Ice cream is good by itself!

4. If you were a flavor of ice cream, what flavor would you be? I would be Margarita flavored ice cream with a touch of jalapeno.

5. Does your family eat ice cream regularly, or just for a special treat? I don't eat it at all (see #1) and the rest of the family eats it as a treat.

6. What is your favorite treat from the ice cream truck? I LOVED choco-tacos! They quit making them a few years ago, but I think my son said they are bringing them back.

7. Does frozen yogurt taste different than ice cream? I think it probably does. Most people are eating one or the other so you aren't sitting there comparing the two by spoonful.

8. If you could make a super sundae, what would it have? I actually keep thinking I might make a sundae using a no sugar added fudge pop and some sugar free cool whip with a cherry on top.

9. Can ice cream make a bad day better? It might!

10. Have you ever had homemade ice cream? Yes. My husband has mastered his mother's recipe for cooked custard homemade vanilla ice cream.

11. When is your favorite time to eat ice cream? I eat my no sugar added fudge pops after dinner.

12. What is the best kind of ice cream you ever had? I don't know. I didn't eat it but Mark said Jenni's blueberry lemon was one of the best ice creams he had ever eaten.

13. Do you prefer your ice cream in a cone or in a bowl? When I would eat ice cream, I usually ate it in a bowl, but I think it is more fun in a cone.

14. Is there such a thing as a bad flavor of ice cream? I imagine there is. I just googled it and am now gagging. Evidently an ice cream store in Delaware sells booger flavored ice cream. Just typing those words makes me gag again.

15. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. What does an ice cream a day do? It could make you fat or have diabetes. Sorry to all of you ice cream lovers.

16. Is ice cream better when it’s fresh or slightly melted? I never liked it when it was so hard that it was difficult to get out of the carton.

17, What is the craziest flavor of ice cream you’ve ever seen? I've never seen it . . .but the ice cream I mentioned in #14 sounds pretty crazy (and gross)!!

Hodgepodge

Hey friends! It is Wednesday, so it must be Hodgepodge time! Thank you to Joyce at From This Side of the Pond for our questions every week!! I would love to hear your answers. I'm really looking forward to reading all of the responses to question number one.

1. What is one cliche you think is nonsense? Everything happens for a reason. No, it doesn't always. Humans have freewill to make decisions and sometimes humans make incorrect decisions. As a Christian, I do believe that God can work good through all situations BUT I don't think everything happens for a reason. Another one that isn't always true is "if you work hard, you will succeed." I guess that depends on how you define success. We've seen some people work so hard, but never get ahead. What's one you think holds truth? You can't judge a book by its cover. I definitely think this is true and I am SO GUILTY of judging people by appearance. Almost every time, it comes back to me and I realize I was sooo wrong!

2. What's the last thing you broke and how did it happen? My sweet daughter-in-law dropped something at my mother-in-law's house the other day and it shattered. It was one of the millions of things Mark and his sister have found deep inside cabinets and closets. I didn't break it, but I was standing right there. I'm trying to think what I've broken lately . . .

3. Are you a fan of s'mores? Have you had a s'more this summer? Last thing you ate that you wanted to ask for 's'more of'? I don't eat sweets, so I haven't had one this year, but I do think s'mores are yummy. As a matter of fact, I have the supplies to make 100 s'mores kits for an upcoming event. Everything is in a giant box in my bedroom floor. It was on the dining room table, but we use the dining room table on Tuesday nights. I'm trying to think what I wanted s'more of . . .have you tried Lesser Evil popcorn? I bought some over the weekend and I did want s'more of that!

4. A mode of transportation you've never tried? Will you someday? This is a great question. I've never traveled in a Rickshaw nor a pedicab. My mom always said, "never say never," so who knows? I might ride in one someday.

5. Believe it or not, next week's Hodgepodge lands in a brand new month. What's your happiest memory from the month we're bidding adieu? Oh my goodness! The months are flying by. August was hard because we had to have Harvey put down, but there was still joy. We ate with friends several times. We had the back to school carnival (Party in the Lot) at church. Also, as Mark and Susie continue to clean out their mother's belongings, they keep finding treasures. Here is Uncle John (Mark's uncle . . .but he became mine, too) holding Glenn on the day of Glenn and Laura's baptism. He was such a fine man.

Here I am -- so young (the month before my 29th birthday) and with my original dark hair! I still love a good pearl earring!

A friend brought fresh silver queen corn to us and Mark cooked halibut from Alaska.

Mark celebrated a birthday and I made a blackberry cobbler using blackberries that Glenn picked. Our family likes lots of fruit in the cobbler. This is 11 cups of blackberries!!

6. Insert your own random thought here. I mentioned treasures. Mark brought these glasses home -- the ones with gold rims. We are going to use the water goblets for wine glasses and the champagne/sherbets for drinks like Cosmopolitans. I searched on Replacements and the pattern is by Minton and the glasses are HAND BLOWN. The replacements aren't that expensive but we have 12 waters and 11 champagne/sherbets. I may order another champagne. We have one small glass plate and I ended up putting it on the bar under a bottle of bourbon. The pattern was new in 1930. Mark's mom had so many china patterns -- full sets. Some of the granddaughters are taking a set of china. Our daughter is getting the set below and it is beautiful.

I told y'all about the print we had framed for our bathroom. You can scroll down this post and see the print. I wish I had thought to photographer the other things we've brought home. 

When was the last time Sunday Stealing?

I'm joining up with the thieves from Sunday Stealing. I still haven't figured out how I answered this week's questions last week . . .so, I'm going to answer last week's questions . . .this week.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ....

1 - Handwrote a letter to a friend? Do thank you notes count? If so, I wrote a couple last week. I haven't written a full blown letter in a long time.

2 - Cried? I cried buckets when we had to have Harvey put down a couple of weeks ago. My eyes still fill up with water when I think about it.

My friend texted to check on me and
I sent her this photo - my eyes
were swollen from crying
many tears.

3 - Fell over? About a month ago I was walking QUICKLY down the hall toward our chapel to set up for a baptism. I felt the toe of my sandal catch and I knew a fall was coming! I broke the fall with my knees and arms and was just a tad bruised. I hopped up and looked around to make sure no one saw me.

4 - Bought a present for someone? Mark's birthday was Wednesday and I bought a present for him.

5 - Had a pajama day? I have to be really sick or recovering from surgery to stay in pajamas all day. I just don't enjoy doing so.

6 - Watched a movie that you wouldn't have gone to the cinema to see? I rarely go to the movie theater so everything I've watched has been right here.

7 - Stayed up all night? Oh goodness . . .I haven't stayed up all night in many years.

8 - Bought something on eBay? I bought a text book on eBay last year and I bought an antique cookie press.

9 - Colored in a coloring book? I love coloring with the granddaughters. I colored with #2 a few weeks ago. I may have kept coloring even after she moved on.

10 - Told someone you love them? The last thing we do before going to sleep is say "I love you."

11 - Kissed someone? I kissed my hubby!

12 - Went to the doctors? I've been to the Dermatologist several times lately for this cancer on my ear. He didn't get it all so I have to go back on November 8.

13 - You traveled by train? We rode the trains a lot when we were in Austria. We don't have subways where we live. Our mass transit is almost non-existent. We enjoyed traveling around by train. Having our friend, Dave, who speaks German, with us helped a lot!

train station was about a mile from our small
family owned hotel. It was downhill to the station,
but after a day of walking everywhere . . .that
mile uphill was tough.

14 - Screamed because you were scared? We had a thunderstorm a few weeks ago with LOUD thunder and BRIGHT lightning. I screamed. I still have some PTSD.

15 - Visited your hometown? It has been a while. It is only about 30 minutes or so from where I live now, BUT it is so depressing. The community has gone down and is not very safe anymore. It was like Mayberry when I was growing up!

16 - Went on vacation? We went to the beach last October. 

The lighting is horrible in this photo. We were at
an outdoor restaurant - The Gulf.

We still had just two granddaughters . . .
but one was on the way! Laura
shared their surprise that 
weekend.

17 - Finished reading a book? I finish a book and then I begin reading the next one. I'm reading a light mystery right now . . .in addition to my American History. 

18 - Went to a church service? I work in a church. I'm there all of the time. For those of us who work on Sunday mornings, we have chapel once a week. Chapel and staff meetings are on Tuesdays.

19 - Wore a hat? I'll be wearing a hat when outside from now on. The last time I wore it was at our Party in the Lot a week or so ago. I also have my neck fan/air conditioner going full blast.

20 - Turned off your mobile phone? I turn it off every once in a while if it starts acting up. I turn my ringer off quite often but rarely turn my phone all the way off.

Hodgepodge

I'm joining up with the Wednesday Hodgepodge Crew!

1. What's the last thing you completely overreacted to? This is not the last thing, but it is possibly the funniest thing. Years ago, before our new office was built, our offices were located in the oldest part of the building. We had a “church mouse/mice” problem. One day I was working and a mouse literally ran across my desk . . .WHILE I WAS SITTING THERE. I ran screaming from my office. One of our maintenance staff, who has special needs, said in this accusatory voice, “you are completely overreacting to this mouse.” It isn’t as funny when I type it . . .but it was and is actually funny. When I was rearranging my office one day, I moved a small two drawer chest and there was a skeleton of a smushed flat mouse under that piece of furniture!

2. Your top five snacks? Premium Saltine Minis, Built Bars, Think Peanut Butter pie bars, fresh fruit like bananas, cherries, grapes, Ritz Peanut Butter Crackers

3. What smell always brings back some type of memory? Elaborate. If I were to smell Old Spice, I would think of my daddy. If I were to smell Coty Loose Face Powder, I would think of my mother.

4. What's something you learned from the last book you read? I’m reading a book by James Patterson right now – The 24^th Hour. I’m not sure what I’ve learned . . . A group of people are cyber attacking a hospital and lives are at stake . . .along with a trial about a girl with multiple personalities. Before that, I read Volcano Violence – a light mystery. I’m also reading Give Me Liberty for American History . . .I’m learning about the Revolution!

5. What's the next thing on your to-buy list? Will you make that purchase before the end of the year? Hmmmm . . .I’m not sure. I probably need to buy a few things for our trip in October. In September, I’ll begin purchasing ginormous bags of Halloween candy for our 1200 trick or treaters. I actually have to buy s’more supplies for our Women’s Retreat. All of these things will be purchased before year end. I just bought new shocks for my car last week -- over $1,000. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. Mark and I played checkers on a board he brought home from his mom’s house. When we finished, I flipped it over and it was made in Sweden! Also, Mark and his sister are doing a great job of working on their mom’s house.

Work Lately

Things have been quite busy lately!! At work/church we have Administrative Board once a month. The Admin Board members are picked by a Nominations/Lay Leadership Committee each year and there are three rotating classes so that there is always someone who has served before.

There are reports from the Finance Committee, Trustees Committee, and Staff Parish Relations Committee. There is a pastor's report each month. There is also a Faith Moment and an Outreach report, among other things.

Two members from our Tuesday night group spoke at the meeting last week. They told about their mission trip to Costa Rica this summer. They did a great job!!

Wednesday night was our Party in the Lot -- which is the big Wednesday night kick-off for the fall. I've been on the popcorn team for at least three years. We tried popping our own three years ago and we couldn't keep up with the demand. We now buy it from a local movie theater and package it ourselves.

My co-worker made a really cute sign for the popcorn booth.

Since I had skin cancer removed from my ear (I have to have another procedure on November 8), I will be wearing a hat more often. This picture was to show the pink highlights sprayed into my hair! Right before the "carnival" began, my co-worker said, "your hair would really show off the hair paint." I picked pink!

Sam and I handed out so many bags of popcorn and it was sooo hot outside but it was fun, too!

Here is a shot of the parking lot before people arrived. We had a ton of blow ups for the kids. Some things were for bigger kids and some were for smaller kids.

We had pony/horse rides. I had never seen a horse balloon before!

Look at the line at the Pop Ice booth next to us!! They had a line most of the night.

Lenora and her band brought the music. She is one of our worship leaders at our other campus. She recently sang the Tribute to Whitney Houston with Black Jacket Symphony. She is amazing.

On Thursday, our info for our cruise arrived! That is work and pleasure combined.

A friend at church has a Lucy and she brings cute clothes to me to give to our lil bit.

Sunday was the Ministry Fair. We set up on Friday around lunchtime.

During the ministry fair, we showcase as many of the ways a person can serve plus some of our adult Sunday School classes have a "booth/table" to invite folks who aren't involved to come and visit.

The balloon arch was used for Party in the Lot on Wednesday night, used for Ministry fair, was being moved for Sunday afternoon youth choir kick-off, and will be used again on Monday for our daycare. I love something that can be used several times!!

The Dollar Tree helium balloons are so good! They are more than one dollar now, but still so much cheaper than the grocery store or Party City.

These tables in the middle were covered with trays of food from Chef Bert and big urns of coffee.

Below is when people were first arriving. We had a great crowd and people seemed to enjoy chatting with each other.

We rolled out a new ministry tool yesterday from Ministry Architects. It is called Volunteer Accelerator. We called it a "ministry match tool." You scan a QR code, answer 20 questions, and your results pop into your inbox. The results don't sign you up for anything, they just guide you by matching your skills and interests with ministry opportunities.

We had a busy week last week!!

 

Sunday Stealing

I am joining up with Sunday Stealing Community to answer these prompts.

Reveal yourself in 24 easy steps

I am not . . .thin. I wish I were thin, but lately life has interfered with my mindset.

I hurt . . . when I see others being mean to their children – not just disciplining them, but using inappropriate words and I hurt when I see injustice in this world.

I love . . . my family and friends and our church and our community.

I hate . . .actually, I try not to hate people even though there are some I extremely dislike. I hate when I see racism in myself (I don’t want to be a racist – EVER). I HATE when I realize I have hurt someone with my words.

I fear . . .I immediately thought of the scripture, “I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.”

I hope . . .our world will be a better world by the time our granddaughters grow up.

I regret . . .anytime I haven’t been my very best me.

I cry . . .rarely, because when I do, I cry a lot and I’m an ugly crier. I’ve had two HUGE cries over the last three weeks and they have both been brought on by the health and subsequent death of our sweet Harvey – the best kitty boy ever.

I care deeply about many things.

I always. . .push the cart back to the “return carts here.” I almost typed return the “buggie” because that is what many people in Alabama call it.

I long . . .for a day where there is truly peace on earth. I doubt it will come in my lifetime.

I listen . . .well . . .to most people. I’m really bad at not listening well to Mark. I need to work on that.

I hide . . .how I really feel sometimes BUT my face usually gives me away.

I write . . . like I think. I jump from one thing to the next.

I miss . . .sweet Harvey and my mother-in-law. My parents have been dead for so many years, but I miss having parents who kept our stories alive and gave us advice – even if we didn’t want it.

I search . . .for the Holy Grail. Just kidding. I felt like some of my answers have been dark today, so I thought I would throw in a funny.

I learn . . .something new almost every day. I love to learn new things.

I feel . . .depressed and sad. I’m still grieving. The other day I was talking with a co-worker and I named all of the things that have happened since June of 2021. . .it has been a lot. Yes, I’ve seen a counselor and yes, I’m on meds. Some of this will pass. Exercise helps, too.

I know . . .that Jesus loves me. As the song goes, “Jesus loves me this I know.” I know that some of my readers aren’t believers. I hope I haven’t offended you but I do believe this.

I want . . .?? I’m not sure. I want to be a better person. I want to lose weight. I want to travel more.

I worry . . .about what others think of me. I know that is ridiculous.

I wish . . .upon a star?

I have . . . enough. We have a lovely home and plenty of food. We are surrounded by family and friends. We have three gorgeous granddaughters.

I give . . .generously, when possible.

I wait . . .for these feelings of grief to subside. I know they will never go totally away.

I need . . .for very little (see enough above). I sometimes feel like I need more time.

Just a couple of silly things . . .

 Once again, I am woefully behind on posts. One morning I wore my new wild pink dress to work. As I was leaving, Mark started to say something . . . but caught himself. When I got to work, I was telling my friend Laura about it. She said, "look at my pants." So we took a picture together and she texted it to Mark and said we were dressing in wild clothes that day! It is so great to work with friends.

A couple of weeks ago, one of our Tuesday night bakers made her famous Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pound Cake. When she dropped it by my office, it was fresh out of the oven and it smelled so good.

August is one of our busiest times as a church. Everything ramps back up and when people get back into their school routines, they come back to church. The first week of August, we made gift bags for every teacher/educator/school administrative workers, etc. It was fun putting them together. It was an individual serving of caramel and a pretty apple tied in a clear bag with cute ribbon. The gift tag said "you are awesome to the core."

I've Had the Time of My Life Hodgepodge

It is Wednesday, so it must be time for the Hodgepodge -- thanks to Joyce for our weekly questions!! Answer on your own blog, then join the group to add your link to the party. If you don't want to answer all of the questions, feel free to answer a few in the comments!

1.What was the best (or one of the best) summers of your life? Tell us why. As soon as I read the question, these song lyrics popped into my head . . ."I've had the time of my life" from the song in Dirty Dancing. I've had the tune running around in my head all day! We've had some great summers over the years and I remember some fun times when I was in high school and as a young adult. Some of my favorite memories are family vacations at the beach when we rented three condos and all of Mark's family and sometimes my sister and my sister-in-law's sister joined us. I also loved going on choir tour as a chaperone when my kids were in middle and high school.

Above is a photo of a photo -- our kids were high school age. Grace, who is getting married next year is the little one in the middle in Gmom's lap.

My daughter made a scrapbook for me as a birthday gift after this trip. 

That is me -- front row - second from left. This was 2003 or 2004 (I think). The sweet friends who sent flowers after Harvey died are in the boat with me . . .how fitting that I came across this picture just a few days later. They are still in the boat with me.

That is me in the middle with the bear.

I think this was that same summer so we continued the family fun over the fourth. That is Mark on the waverunner (middle) with our youngest nephew . . .who is out of college and living and working in Houston. Time marches on.

That was a really good summer.

2. When you have a trip coming up do you make a list and check it twice to ensure you don't forget anything? Or are you a 'throw whatever you can think of into the suitcase at the last minute' kind of packer? When returning from a trip do you unpack immediately or leave the suitcase right where it lands? I am a professional list maker. Ask my husband! I love a good list. I actually have several packing lists stored in my computer and print them off as needed and check off as I pack!! I try to think ahead about my clothes, especially when we are going out of the country or on a week long trip to the beach. If we are just running down to spend a night with our daughter and her family, I might grab a couple of random things and put them in a plastic grocery bag!! Regarding the unpacking -- it depends on what time of day or night we get back home. Mark always unpacks immediately (unless it is the middle of the night). Sometimes I unpack immediately . . .or wait a few hours. A few years ago, we got him in the middle of the night after traveling almost 24 hours (counting lay-overs all the way home from Tel Aviv). For some unknown reason, I felt the need to open my suitcase in the middle of the living room floor. One of our fellow travelers couldn't fit all of her souvenirs into her own suitcase and Mark crammed some Dead Sea Bath Salts into MY suitcase. The bag had burst in flight . . .unbeknownst to us . . .and when I opened the suitcase . . . bathsalts went everywhere. We had to clean it up before we fell into the bed. Mark was so annoyed with me. We always unpack within 24 hours and start the washing machine.

3. What's your favorite food or beverage made with lemons? Is that a flavor you enjoy? I love the flavor of fresh lemons. We tried (and enjoyed) Lemoncello for the first time on our trip to Italy in 2022. It is yummy, but has a lot of sugar!!

Our dessert baker for Tuesday night Young Professionals
sent lemon bars as part of the dessert last night!
How appropriate since we were answering this
question!

4. When was the last time you had to make lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking I mean? I feel like I've uttered those words recently. Sometimes we don't like what is happening, but we just have to roll with it.

5. Did you like school growing up? Why or why not? I LOVED school. I was the teacher's pet quite often, though I did get in trouble for always talking too much. I was a good student and learning was easy for me. I loved, and still love, new school supplies -- new pencils and fresh notebooks and new books to read.

6. Insert your own random thought here. Mark and his sister have been cleaning out their mother's house. Every week we have to shop and take a few treasures. There was a rolled-up paper and when we unrolled it, I said I wanted it. I took it to be framed and this is the final product. It turned out great. The copyright date is 1897. This is in one of the upstairs guest bathrooms.