Wednesday, January 6, 2016

So It's The Hodgepodge

Happy New Year! The Hodgepodge is back and I'm glad you are too. If you've answered this week's questions add your link and join the party. Please visit the blogger who links before you since that's the neighborly thing to do. Here we go-


1.  Are you ready for new? Is 2016 likely to be very different than 2015? Do you want it to be?

Am I ready for new? I think so. If by new you mean new house-ha! Every year tends to stand on it's own, so certainly 2016 will be different in some form or fashion from 2015. Of course there are constants in life too, but has there ever been a year that's looked precisely like the one before? We're moving into our lake house this year, so a new chapter. 

2.  January 6th is National Technology Day. Currently, what is your single biggest struggle or frustration when it comes to technology?

Currently? The Internet in the apartment is somewhat intermittent. Most days I log onto the computer and get a message saying I'm not connected. Grrr... I have to refresh it a few times and eventually it connects. The wireless printer has to be shut down and rebooted every time I want to print because of this irregularity, and hubs can't get our Apple TV to work for the same reason. The struggle is real, but a very first world problem.  

3.  It's that time again...time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words (or phrases) they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, or general uselessness) in 2016.  You can read more about the decision making process here, but this year's top vote getters are-

So (at the start of every single sentence), conversation (as in hotly debated topics where we're invited to 'join the conversation'), problematic, stakeholder, price point, secret sauce, break the Internet, walk it back, presser, manspreading (common in larger cities where some men take up the entire bus or train seat by sitting wide), vape, giving me life (refers to anything that may excite a person or make them laugh), and physicality

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

So, they want to banish so? I know I overuse that one in both my speech and my writing, but I suspect it's more annoying in speech. 

None of the words listed bother me too much. Maybe if I were in the business world I'd find them more annoying because they're more prevalent and  problematic there. If I have to choose I'll go with 'break the Internet'. Most things that 'break the Internet' are Kardashian related or just plain ridunkulous.  

What word would I add to the list? Like-'She was like all mad because we couldn't like go shopping.'  

4.  Share one of your current health related goals.

Go to bed earlier.

5.  Let's talk fifty shades of gray. As in the color. Gray is currently a popular color in home decor, pain, wardrobes, wedding party attire, and more. Are you a fan? Do you have the color in some variation in your home or wardrobe? Gray hair, the old gray mare, gray matter, gray area...which gray idiom can you most relate to right now?

I like the greige tones as opposed to a gray gray. I think the color is too sterile and cold and needs the beige to warm it up. I will likely have a bit of greige somewhere in my new home. As for the idioms, I'm going with gray hair.  Nothing a visit to my favorite stylist can't fix. 

6.  Certain foods are considered 'lucky' if eaten on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.  Cooked greens to bring economic fortune, black-eyed peas or lentils also symbolize money, pork which symbolizes progress, fish for good luck, and if you're in Spain 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight.  Did you eat any lucky foods on the first day of the year? Is that a tradition in your home? Of the foods listed, which most appeals to you?

My mother might correct me, but I don't remember eating particular foods on New Year's Day. It wasn't until I married my Tennessee boy I learned I was supposed to be eating black eyed peas at the start of every new year. Initially I wasn't a fan, but they've grown on me and I enjoy them now. I also love cooked greens and we had both over the Christmas holidays. I say that counts. 

7.  What's the single biggest time waster in your life and what, if anything, will  you do about it this year?

I think I might save this question for a blog post all it's own. One of my favorite things about the Hodgepodge has been the writing that springs from a question or someone's comment. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

True confessions...my Christmas tree is still up. Today might be the day. Might.



27 comments:

  1. So, those first world problems can be a real bear!
    Hope you get your tree down, a worthy goal!

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  2. LOL--overused words/phrases...Too many students write a paper exactly the way they talk-which is problematic! Have a great day!

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  3. New home, WOO HOO! I wondered when that date would start to roll around. Hope it's sooner rather than later for you guys.

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  4. Our daughter from Texas helped me take down Christmas decorations yesterday, or I'm sure my tree would be up another week or so. Greige? Never heard of it, but I bet that's the official color of my new sweater. I like it. Can't seem to develop a taste for black eyed peas. :-)

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  5. It's always a little sad when the Christmas tree comes down. With a coal furnace in our basement our house gets dusty really fast so ours usually comes down somewhere between Christmas and New Year's. If it weren't for that ours would still be up. :)

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  6. I agree with the word "like" and my girls are guilty of using it in every other sentence. Drives me crazy. Have a great week.

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  7. Today is Epiphany Day, so it's fine that your tree is still up and it can actually wait until tomorrow to take it down...or the weekend!! Mine went back to the attic last Sunday, though. I needed to get it done before going back to work. Thanks for our new year Hodgepodge, Joyce!

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  8. Don't feel bad about the tree---our neighbor across the street still has theirs up as does the town still have the decorations up. Many Happy Wednesday Blessings to you.

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  9. It was great to kick off the new year in "Hodgepodge" style :) I was glad this week's questions didn't require any "deep thought". I'm still brain dead from the holidays...
    Joyce, you sound like a "true southerner" eating greens and black-eyed peas :)
    Our internet hasn't been the greatest, lately, either. I, personally, think they're trying to get us to upgrade to the higher speed, more expensive kind. It worked fine until 'high speed' became available...
    Good luck getting that tree taken down. I'll be doing the same thing.
    Kathy (from Reflections)

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  10. Hi Joyce,
    We still have our tree up too. We will take it down Saturday. It is so dark here in Wisconsin in the mornings and evenings, it is nice to have the twinkle lights. ;-)
    Happy New Year,
    Carla

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  11. I remember when we were between places and had to deal with the internet in an apartment. I just remembered a frustration we have had but I didn't post about it. Our DVR's keep rebooting for some reason. Good word to add to the list. I keep telling my husband he needs to go to bed earlier. He watches TV, falls asleep for awhile then wakes up and stays up past midnight when he just has to get up at 5:30. I think he needs a solid sleep. I'm glad to hear that your tree is still up. Mary at Life in a Small Town talks about waiting for the Epiphany and I like that idea. By the way that is today!

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  12. Well, talk about aggravation......I had my HP done and ready to hit publish and out of the clear it just up and disappeared. Oh, my, I almost blew a gasket! I was on my laptop and it is so, so sensitive and I have no idea what on earth I might have mistakenly hit but nonetheless, I didn't have time to redo. Shucks! And, know it is so aggravating that you do not have a clear and strong wifi signal. I'll be with the HP next week for sure!

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  13. We still have our Christmas tree and decorations up. I am still enjoying them and will probably leave them up through the weekend.
    "Like" was popular in speech when I was in school. I think it was part of the Valley Girl talk ;)
    Happy New Year!

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  14. Our tree came down on Sunday. Does that mean everything is put away? I think not. I hauled it all to the south wing but since I can shut the door...out of sight, out of mind. Eh. Maybe tomorrow...

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  15. Oh, give the tree another day or two. Orthodox Christmas is on the 7th or 8th, I think. You can always claim to be celebrating it. That's what my mom does. LOL

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  16. Interesting we chose the same word to do away with. I find it so distracting and irritating. Also, thought since Hubs is from Tennessee, I would mention that we beat Middle Tennessee in the bowl game. They were a good team and some really nice guys. One of the defensive guys patted Jackson and complimented him on the way he hit him. You don't find that very often.

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    1. Congrats on the win! We're East Tennessee and are huge UT Vol fans. They won their game, and are finally looking good again. Happy new year!

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  17. Aw thats okay, we just took our tree down last Sunday. I know i wish the holidays weren't over too. ;/

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  18. My tree, too, is still up. And I'm going to take a nap. So it will probably still be up at the end of the day!

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  19. Would you believe that I take our tree down on Christmas Day, typically? This year, we waited until the 28th, which was a real stretch!

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  20. Our Christmas tree is still up, too. Today is the Day of Epiphany, as well as Women's Christmas (an Irish holiday). Our tree will likely come down tonight or tomorrow.

    Have a blessed day and a wonderful new year!

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  21. We've been having internet issues too! And since we don't have cable, internet is all we have! 😉 I'm not sure what the issue is as it doesn't seem to matter how many are online or the time of day.And the Christmas tree...In sure there are many people. Not me. But others. LOL Our tree was done a couple days later.

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  22. We removed Christmas last weekend. And on Monday I found a Santa in the bathroom, garland in both spare rooms and a Santa and snowman in the dining room... and I checked every room before I closed the storage boxes. Happens every year!

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  23. Our Christmas tree is still up too. Hey! It's still a free country...so far! Thank you for your kind words on my blog page. Prayers are always appreciated. Best of everything in the New Year!

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  24. Well my tree came down on the 6th but it hasn't yet made it back to the loft. Maybe at the weekend. As for the grey question, I have a favourite stylist too ;)

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  25. My tree is going to have to come down this weekend. And that makes me sad. I love to see the glow from the lights in the early morning/evening.

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