Young At Heart In The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my blog. Be sure to visit your neighbors on the list as comments make the blog world go round. Here we go- 

1. Do you feel older or younger than your age? Elaborate. 

Hmmm...depends on the day and what's happening. While I don't feel like a 20-something I also don't feel four decades beyond that either. Physically there are definitely days I feel my age. On the inside I'm still younger than the calendar claims. 

I think about this quite a bit as my mom and my mother-in-law are three decades ahead of me, yet I know they still feel young at heart. It's frustrating to have your thoughts and opinions discounted or unappreciated because of a number when on the inside you are still the girl you always were. I feel this too. 

2. What's one thing you should toss right now, but just can't?

I have several dresses I feel like I should part with, but there they hang...still in my closet. They fit, and are mostly classic in style, but I never wear them because they have been worn and worn and worn and sometimes you just want new. 

3. Have you visited many of the 63 National Parks in the US of A? You'll find a list here. Do you have a favorite? What National Park that you haven't seen do you most want to see? 

We've visited some, but not nearly as many as I'd like to see. A trip out west (Yellowstone and Grand Tetons) is high on my 'to-see' list. My hubs grew up just outside of the Smoky Mountain National Park and we've spent a lot of time there. It's for sure a favorite. 

I had to go in search of a photo because I have literally dozens of us at various ages and stages in the Smoky Mountains, but here's where I landed-

Be still my heart. I think this must be 1992 and y'all those babies on my lap now have babies this very same age. The absolute sweetest days. Then and now. 

Also there's my God given hair color. 

Carry on. 

Acadia is another favorite, definitely one of the prettiest places in America. I've also been to the Rocky Mountains many times as my grandparents lived on a Colorado farm with a view, Shenandoah (ooh, that's another favorite...they're all favorites I guess)...Mt. Rainier, The Everglades, The Redwoods...so many beautiful places. My sister and niece were in Joshua Tree recently and they loved that. I've been to California a few times so not sure I'll get to that one, but never say never. 

4. How often do you get take out? What's your favorite? 

There's basically no take out where I live. I mean there is I suppose, but by the time you get home with take out it's cold so you may as well eat there. We don't even have pizza delivery. We either cook at home or go to a restaurant. There's not a lot of in-between. I keep a frozen pizza here for when we want pizza, but on the whole we don't miss take-out. 

Well okay, occasionally I might pine for pizza delivery, but mostly we have adjusted expectations and it's all good. There is so much to love about living on a lake, and I have a grocery store and all other life 'necessities' within an 8-10 mile radius so I don't pine too much over the no-delivery. 

My favorite would be Thai or Chinese but it's not happening here. We do have a Thai restaurant we enjoy so if we want Thai we just eat there. 

5. Do you have many (or any) subscriptions? Not necessarily magazines, but thinking more along the lines of boxes or products that companies offer, and you can sign up to receive on a regular basis. Could be weekly, monthly, quarterly, even daily. Tell us about them. 

I have several subscription boxes. I've been ordering Home Chef a couple of times a month since the Covid nonsense, but am going to cancel that one at the end of the month. We recently bought a chest freezer so I've started a meat subscription to Good Ranchers and will do that instead. 

Not the same thing, but honestly we're not enjoying the Home Chefs as much as we did in the beginning. If you're looking for lower calorie/lower sodium content the options are few. And I never order any of the steak entrees because we're picky about our steak. 

We've ordered random boxes from Good Ranchers and like their product. It's all American ranchers and farmers and the quality is excellent. I started a subscription that included free Wagyu beef patties in every box for a year, plus a $100 dollar/box savings over the course of four orders. I signed up for a delivery every six weeks, but you can pause or cancel at any time. My box includes ground beef, chicken, sirloin, and flat iron steak, plus the free burgers. They always have specials so check for one before you order. The podcasters Allie Beth Stuckey and Alisa Childers both always have codes you can use too. 

I subscribe to Lovery for my youngest grands, and I get a Stitch Fix box once a quarter which I enjoy. I get a Grove box once a month, although some months I skip depending on what we've been doing. I get trash bags, dishwasher soap, dish soap, dog treats, dog bags, toilet bowl cleaner, and a few other odds and ends from them and it's nice not to have to add those items to my grocery cart when I shop in person. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Well I have a million things to do to get ready for next week, but instead I spent a good part of today (Tuesday) putting together a photo book from a trip we took in 2017. 

I'm on top of things. 

In 2017 we drove up the coast of California from San Francisco all the way to Tacoma Washington, where my daughter1 was living at the time, and every time I look at my photos I think 'I should really make that album.' 

My daughter makes beautiful family yearbooks with Mpix and I had a 40% off coupon sitting in my email that expires today, so I made a book. It was time consuming and I'm so glad I have my blog, because I wrote about the trip in great detail when it happened and that helped me get the album in chronological order, and also remember the names of all the tiny towns we drove through. 

Still a long to-do list, but tomorrow is another day. 

Also, in 2022 we drove up the California coast from San Diego to San Francisco and once I see how this  album turns out I'm determined to get Volume 2 done as well. Before another seven years pass I mean. 

Have a great day everyone! 

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