Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Wednesday Hodgepodg-Vol 9 Snow Day

It's a snow day here in the great white northeast. Come on in and link up with this week's Hodgepodge...


1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness and they receive over 1000 nominations. Here are the fourteen words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2011-viral, epic, fail, wow factor, a-ha moment, back story, BFF, man up, refudiate, Mama Grizzlies, The American People, facebook/google when used as verbs, I'm just sayin', and Live life to the fullest.

What word or phrase would you like to see banished from our everyday vocabulary in 2011? You can choose one from the 'official list' or you can get creative and come up with your own.

I'd like the word 'like' banished from like our everyday speech. Unless you are like truly stating your admiration of some person place or like thing then please stop saying like every like third word. It makes like all the hair on like the back of my neck stand on end. The American People are tired of this overused, misused word.

2. Do you consider opportunity something that comes to you or something you create for yourself?

I think it can be both...sometimes opportunity falls in your lap and sometimes you dream dreams and set goals and make it happen.
Here's the one thing I do
know about opportunity~it must be seized. Carpe diem. Or as some would say, live life to the fullest.

3. Since we're all eating healthy this month, ahem, what's included in your favorite salad? Is there dressing?

I love salad and Greek salads are probably my favorite....a little bit of romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, black or kalamata olives, red onion, and a little feta in a light oil and vinegar dressing. It has the wow factor.

4. The fourth Monday in January is said to be Blue Monday...aka the most depressing day of the year. The date was calculated using many factors including weather, debt level, time since Christmas, time since we've failed at our new year resolutions, low motivation and feeling a need to take action. Do you get the blues this time of year and if so what is something you do to lift your spirits?

As long as the sun peeks out on occasion I'm okay. In the US even when it snows and is bitterly cold outside we usually still see a bright blue sky every now and then. One year when we were living in England my daughter and I were in the car at the end of January and we heard the radio dj say, 'We've had three hours of sunlight this month." Three hours? You've got to be kidding me. That is really hard. Really, really hard. I think the best thing to do is get out in it. Take a walk...even if the weather is bad a walk is always good for a perspective shift. I'm just sayin'.

5. Do you wear a watch? Any other everyday jewelry essentials?

I wear a watch every day. I love my watch and don't feel completely dressed without it. Young adults today (just call me mamaw) don't seem to feel the need to wear a watch because, in the words of my daughter, "Why do I need a watch when I have a phone?" My younger daughter did finally ask for a watch on her birthday last year. She is doing some practicum hours out in the public school system as part of her coursework and had an a-ha moment when she realized she needed to tell time while teaching. Using her phone wasn't going to cut it so now she wears a watch. A very cute watch.

I wear my wedding and engagement rings plus a ring hubs gave me as an anniversary present a few years ago, all the time. I rarely take them off. Unless they are smashed in a car door but other than that I pretty much leave them on all the time. You can go here to read the back story. I also wear two pair of earrings every day. I have some sapphire studs my parents bought me for my 16th birthday and they stay in...I rarely take them out. I change the earrings in front every day.

6. What is something useful you learned in high school?

Be kind.

Who wrote these questions today? They're hard.

7. Do you use an accountant when completing and filing your income tax returns or do you attempt to muddle through all by yourself?

An accountant. A whole team of accountants in fact. We are like BFF's with our accounting team. I expect them to facebook me one of these days. Not really. We are actually what they like to call a complicated case. We complete an online organizer and they prepare the tax book and send it to us for approval. Yes it's a book. And they always say something like, "Please read this 200 page return and sign that its accurate." Alrighty. Like I'm going to refudiate what they tell us? Isn't that why we pay the professionals? And yes I know its repudiate.

8. Insert your own random thought here-

One of the things I love about waking up to freshly fallen snow is that we can see 'who' has traipsed across our yard during the night. We know for certain that our friendly neighborhood bear is still around. There is no mistaking his paw prints in the clean white snow. And he is not little. Just sayin'.

Yes, I used that phrase twice today.
I'm just not ready to let it go.

26 comments:

  1. Enjoyed your answers. You made me chuckle several times, like you know what I mean...lol Good questions and answers! I am not so sure I would like the bear paw print, just sayin'
    until next time... nel

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  2. I'm not ready to let that phrase go yet either! Really enjoyed your answers today. : )

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  3. I heard once that "like" was a valley girl thang...but it seems to be the plague of my life...because it slips in sometimes. Weird. Enjoy a WARM snow day!

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  4. Hard questions today! I agree with the sunlight, it's pretty gray here but so much better than Germany, I swear the sun never came out in the winter and I have never seen so many shades of gray. My daughter just ask for a watch also only because of her job they can have their phones. I''m lost without watch,earrings and wedding ring. Have a wonderful day stay warm and drive safe!

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  5. You used almost everyone of those words didn't you? Too funny! Enjoyed your answers.

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  6. I've tried several times, over my years, to wear a watch, but could never get used to it. So, it's the phone for me, too. A bear? Yikes. Maybe your bear could take care of this critter taking shelter in my garage? Eeek!

    Our language is always evolving, right? ;)

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  7. Hi Joyce! Thanks, as always, for hosting!

    I completely agree with you about the "like" word. Like, it's so annoying when, like, people use it as a pause instead of, like, a word to say that you like something. Like really.

    heehee

    Have a great day!

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  8. No pictures of the paw prints? Hey, that might make a good post, or at least give some of us something to do: put pictures of the evidence of your night creatures (I'm talking paw/hoof prints here, not excrement!) so we can see if we can identify them! :D
    (Yes, I'm starting to get bored with being at the house!)

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  9. You always bring a smile to my face! Some of our answers were very close. I thought this was one of the "best" Hodgepodges. Thanks for doing this fun meme each week.

    Blessings on this Wednesday!

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  10. A bear traipsing through your yard, oh my.....

    And I too, love the Greek salad. It is just the best:)

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  11. Your post today was just so funny (with all your sneaky little insertions of those "banned" words!)! I'm glad I read it this morning ... got my day off to a good start!

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  12. Oh Joyce, aren't you a clever one? I enjoyed reading your answers--and that salad sounds pretty darn good!

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  13. I detest that taxes are made so difficult for mere mortals.
    I thought the questions were quite thoughtful this week.

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  14. Bears--to close for my comfort! Get out and enjoy as much sunshine as you can. Beats those winter blues--just sayin';)

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  15. Hope the bear doesn't come too close! I agree about "like" and I like the way you wove some of those banished words through your post.

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  16. Loved reading all your answers...if ever you are down at my beach off 30-A, we will go out for my favorite Greek salad...

    Glad you are thinking about the couch to 5k...running has been both therapy and exercise for me for years...it's a great sense of accomplishment to reach your goal (and finish a race)

    We got iced in for 2 days...a little snow, but mostly sleet...enough to shut our S Georgia town up...the kids missed school and we stayed in and held the puppy...he's good and spoiled about now...

    Just north of us, Atlanta has had a tough time...interstates closed, grocery stores out of products, etc. Thankfully, no major power outages...we can handle a heatwave down here, but definitely not equipped for freezing weather!!!

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  17. Like, the questions this week were totally epic! :-) Just sayin'.....
    okay....I'll behave!
    Thank goodness for tax people,hm?
    And bears? Oh my!! We see footprints all over our lawn, too, Joyce,but many of them are our dog and his buddies! :-)
    The sun has been peeking out occasionally here and does it ever make it bright in the house!! Where are my sunglasses? :-)
    Good questions this week and thankfully I had time to participate!!

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  18. I love sayin' "I'm just sayin'." "Man up," too. Wow, you can tell the people from Lake Superior University don't live in the South.

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  19. You are so funny. And I totally LIKE your Like answer for #1!

    I like the "just sayin'" also. Poor George W and his "refudiate".

    A bear paw in the snow? I would sooo be moving! I'm just sayin'!

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  20. Our daily newspaper wrote about a suspect who left his footprints in the snow- now LOL!!!!!

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  21. Hi Joyce,
    Thanks for doing the Hodgepodge. I so look forward to seeing what you come up with each week.
    Sounds cold up there ~ stay warm!

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  22. I looked outside this morning and saw two sets of prints on the steps and front porch. Our next door neighbor's cat likes our porch for some reason...even in the snow. The other set looked like a dog's paw.

    Thanks for the Hodgepodge. I needed to do something constructive today!

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  23. Like is a good word to pick. I agree I think it can be both on #2. I agree, a Greek salad is a great choice. I think that kind of weather would get to me in time. I don't feel that way in California. I wear a watch when I leave the house. Thank you for hosting.

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  24. I like, totally like, the word epic. Like, I think it is so easy to use and it like makes me feel like, almost like, I am a, you know, like a good writer.

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  25. It bothers my husband that I don't wear a watch but I don't feel the need since I'm surgically attached to my phone.

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