Unwrapping the Hodgepodge Vol 103

Welcome to the first Hodgepodge of the Christmas season!  I know it's not technically December, but I always feel like the Monday following Thanksgiving marks the transition into holiday mode.  Be sure to add your link to the bottom of my post and then spread some Christmas cheer by visiting the neighbors.  

Only four hodgepodges til Christmas, just in case you're wondering.

1.  With that being said, I think I need to dive right into some Christmas related questions, don't you?  Which do you prefer-pretty gift wrap with a bow or a pretty gift bag with/without a bow? What percentage of your holiday gifts are currently (as in right this very minute) wrapped in some form or fashion?

I have a bit of a thing for pretty wrapping paper.  The Container Store is super dangerous for me this time of year.  I love the way they display their papers with ribbon and embellishments...definitely makes me want to load up a cart full.   I also love pretty gift bags, especially for awkward items that aren't easily boxed, but I think there is something about unwrapping a beautifully wrapped package that just isn't the same with a bag.  

Did I answer the question?  
Pretty gift wrap.  

Oh, and if we're talking right this minute then 0.0%  

2. What is one item on your Christmas list this year?

A snow jacket.  Some people might call this item a ski jacket, but in my case snow jacket is probably more accurate.  I know I'm getting this one because my mom had me try some on while I was visiting a couple of weeks ago, and then she bought the one I chose.  She'll wrap it though.  

In a box with a beautiful bow.  

3. What makes a home?

I  find the concept of 'home' very difficult to put into words.  

Home is your people.   

Home is also your stuff.  I don't mean couches and tables and such, but rather the bits and pieces that stamp your name on a place...that make you say 'I belong here'.  

Home is a place where it's okay to be raw, open, vulnerable.   To be the real you and yet be loved and cherished because of, and in spite of, who the real you may be.  

It's a lap to fall into.
A safe haven from a sometimes cruel world.

4. Motown founder Berry Gordy celebrates his birthday today...are you a fan of the Motown sound?  If so who's your favorite Motown artist and/or song?  Here's a list in case you're stuck.

I love the Motown sound, especially the early hits. I don't think I can pick a favorite, but The Four Tops, The Temptations and Gladys Knight and the Pips are high on my list.  I for sure can't pick a favorite song but Just My Imagination by the Temptations is right up there near the top.   

5. Red or green...which one is more prevalent in your closet?

Probably red.  Not a true red, more of an orangey-red which I prefer with my coloring. 

6. True or false-bacon makes it better?  If you answered true, what's your favorite dish made with bacon?

True.  I make a lot of Saturday morning bacon and eggs and I love a BLT anytime.  We also eat a lot of Cobb salads and crispy bacon is essential.  

7. Share a favorite holiday memory.

My memories of Christmas morning growing up always start on the steps.  Every year my parents (who had likely just gone to bed) would go downstairs first so my mom could make the coffee and my dad could start the fire.  Then he'd fiddle with the camera for what seemed like for-e-vah and we four kids would squish together on the steps for the traditional taking of the Christmas morning photograph.  So much is captured in that early morning moment...the anticipation, the excitement, and most of all-the love.  

I've carried that tradition on with my own girls and they squish and grumble like we did, but they get it.  They know it doesn't matter if you're celebrating at Mema's house...

c. 1994

or high up on a mountain in the hills of Tennessee... 

c. 2000

You can move across the ocean, but still you can't escape it...

c. 2008

In fact, it doesn't even matter if you're practically all grown up and have cousins visiting for the holidays...

c. 2009

Her mama is my sister and she knows.  

Until you have children of your own you must endure (and secretly love) the traditional Christmas morning, sittin'-on-the-step photo.  I'd bet money that one day in the not so distant future these girls  insist their own children sit there too.  

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

It snowed here all day yesterday so originally I thought I'd insert a picture as my random.  I spent the day doing a little more decorating and organizing for Christmas and as I worked I played this song once or twice or maybe ten times. I never get tired of Casting Crowns version of this classic carol, and the lyrics feel especially poignant at the end of November in the year 2012.  Definitely worth adding to your Christmas play list...

Peace-

In our hearts and in our homes and for this nation. 

That's my answer for #2.