It's The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. For bookkeeping purposes...last week was Volume 665 and next week will be Volume 667. 

Also, I don't actually keep books here. 

Anyway...if you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you before you run off. Here we go...

1. I saw a meme on Instagram that went like this-'The movie Dirty Dancing came out in 1987 and was set in 1963, so if remade in 2026 it would be set in 2002. Now I need a little lie down in a dark room for a while." 

Time is crazy isn't it? So...what were you up to in the year 2002? 

I'm going to show great restraint in how many pictures I post. But we need a few, right? 

Living in Maryland. We had a boat and were out on it every weekend. We had friends with boats and we'd all raft up together. Lots of fun! 

I was working as the Director of a church Preschool and Kindergarten, and our girls were in grades 7 and 9. I have to say that makes me feel a little bit ancient. 

We got a puppy that year. A Gordon Setter we called the supermodel, the life of the party, and the absolute sweetest pup ever. 

Hubs and I went to St. Lucia for a reward trip with work colleagues. 

We took a family vacation to the Outer Banks of NC and rented a big house in Duck with four other families. 

We went camping a couple of times. Tent camping which we loved. 

We had a really fun family trip to St. Thomas for Thanksgiving.  

And it was another tender Tennessee Christmas spent with hubs family. 

2. "Me? I'm scared of everything..." What's something that scares you that you'd like to try anyway? 

I feel like this kind of question wants bungee jumping or sky diving or some other physical kind of crazy feat as an answer, but those are not things I've ever had a desire to do. 

How about camping with toddlers? Is that scary? I think it would be the fun sort of scary. 

If I dig a little deeper I'd say being bolder in speaking the truth with courage, and sharing my beliefs without holding back.

3. Watermelon-yay or nay? Which melon is your favorite-watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew Of the watermelon food/beverages listed which would you say yes to...

watermelon salsa~watermelon feta salad~watermelon sorbet~

a watermelon Jolly Rancher~a watermelon margarita 

I love watermelon, all melons really , but especially watermelon. Of the food/beverages listed the only one I'd pass on is the Jolly Rancher. As much as I love watermelon I don't love watermelon 'flavored' candies. 

4. August 12th is National Middle Child Day. Are you a middle child? If not, where do you fall in the birth order in your family of origin? Do you think this has influenced your personality? Elaborate. 

There are four children in my family of origin so no real middle. 

Except I do consider myself a middle because three of the four are girls and I'm the middle girl. I have an older sister and a younger sister and then an older brother, but as the only boy and king he doesn't count lol. 

I have a lot of the traits typically associated with middle children which include being "adaptable, easygoing, and independent people who excel at compromise". Middle children are often the peacemakers and that is very much me. Middle children are said to have high self-reliance which can be both good and bad, but my most uttered phrase as a child was-"I can do it myself" so you be the judge. 

I have a 2-yo granddaughter about whom I think you could say, 'the apple does not fall far from the proverbial tree', ahem. 

5. Would you rather talk to everyone at a crowded party for a short time, or have a significant conversation with two people? Explain. 

Probably the second, significant conversations with a couple of people. Huge parties aren't really my thing, but give me a dinner party for 6 or 8 and I'm a happy hostess (or guest). 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of time passing...

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

There's Always Throwback Thursday

Not a lot is happening here at the moment, and I thought about not blogging, but then I remembered it was Thursday. Sad, but true...sometimes I have to check an actual calendar to be sure of the day. Chalk it up to empty nest syndrome. Or middle age. Whatever. Thursdays mean bloggers with not a lot to say can grab any old photo they like and write because they feel like it.

I thought back to past Marchs. Marches?  What is the plural of March? Anyway, the month of March in years past. How did we cope with the month that wants to last forever? The one with the still-too-cold temps, that refuses to mesh with our longing for warm air and sunshine?

In the year 2002, we coped. We more than coped. We left the snow shovels and our children back in Maryland and Hello St. Lucia! Is it lame to blog about a trip we took twelve years ago?  No. Not when you've been cooped up in the house for too many minutes on a Throwback Thursday, it's not.  

Hubs earned this getaway through work, and some fun co-worker/friends were also along for the ride. We stayed in what was then a Hyatt, but I remember it was sold right after we left (not because of anything we did!), and I believe its a Sandals now. I wouldn't know because it's 2014, and I'm here in NJ where it's 16 degrees, as opposed to lying on a sandy beach in St. Lucia, but I digress. Let's discuss this picture-

My hair! So short! I don't think I've had it that short since. Maybe you didn't notice my hair because you were distracted by my awesome shorts.  Why did we ever think this was a good look?  

Did we think it was a good look?

Apparently.  My waist was small but that whole belt around the middle thing just ugh ew no, not a good look.  Plus I'm pretty sure I could have put both legs in the same opening.  On the bright side, I am rockin' the sunglasses.

Which I lost.

I was on a streak back in 2002...three pair in a single year.

We had such a fun week, dining al fresco, lounging beside the sea, hubs water skied and I watched-ha!, and as per usual he made friends with random people.

This is Raphael who delivered the most excellent frozen fruity drinks right to our chairs every day. We snorkeled and donned ridiculous helmets to ride horses on the beach.

We relaxed and forgot about frozen gutters, doing checking algebra homework, and all that 'what in the world will I fix for dinner???' kind of stuff, because grandparents were happily doing all those things in our place. First world problems I know, but enjoyable to be away from nonetheless.

Big corporations aren't as much fun in 2014, so sadly no Caribbean getaway on my March calendar.  No big legged high waisted shorts either though, so it's not all bad. You know what else?  Back in 2002 I put all the photos from this trip into a cute scrapbook with dates and labels, embellishments and clever sayings.  I'm really off my game in this department.

How 'bout we chalk that up to middle age empty nest syndrome too?

And the plural of March is Marches.
I may have cabin fever, but its not to the point I've stopped caring about good grammar.