A Noisy Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thanks for joining in here today and every Wednesday as we talk about pretty much everything under the sun. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for your neighbor there. Here we go-

1. America celebrates turning 250 years old this year. Primary cities set to lead the celebrations on July 4th are Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. Other significant locations for celebrating will be Charleston SC and the 'historic triangle' which includes Jamestown-Willimasburg-Yorktown Virginia. 

Of the cities listed how many have you seen in person? Of the cities listed which would you most like to visit this year? Any plans to do so? What's one place in America you think everyone should see? If you're not American what's one place in the US you'd like to see? 

Of the cities listed I've seen them all. I've visited Boston...

and have lived in or around the others. I grew up on the NJ side of Philadelphia and my sister and her family (along with my mom) live in the city still. 

you have to run up the stairs and raise your fists like Rocky when you're in this spot

I've lived in the NJ suburbs of NYC twice. 

celebrating my 50th in The Big Apple

I also lived on the Maryland side of D.C. for nine years so am very familiar with D.C. 

                                Be still my heart

Daughter1 worked in DC after uni and I enjoyed spending time with her there. And my dad is buried in Arlington which is a really special place. 

I currently live in the Palmetto State, but in what's known as the upcountry as opposed to the low country, which is where Charleston is located. I have been to Charleston though and love it. 

I also lived in Richmond Virginia for a few years and have visited the three towns mentioned here, a lovely corner triangle of the country. 

I'm sure I'll be in Philadelphia this year, and maybe Charleston too. 

We've moved a lot. Can you tell? 

One place I think everyone in America should see? This one-

Arlington National Cemetery. 

If you visit D.C. make a stop here.

2. Three sounds you love to hear? 

children laughing, NANA!!!, and the many sounds of water including a gentle rain, waves lapping the shoreline or crashing along a rocky rugged coast, babbling brooks, and waterfalls including the one in my own backyard. 

3. Three sounds you hate to hear? 

chewing, the sound of someone flossing their teeth, and a dental drill

4. February 24th is/was National Tortilla Chip Day. Are you a fan? With salsa, guacamole, queso, or just plain please? Do you like nachos? With what on top? Is there anything (besides nachos) you make that calls for tortilla chips? 

I do like tortilla chips and my preference is to have them with a side of both salsa and guacamole. I like nachos but we have them very rarely. I'm good with whatever you want to throw on top. I don't like them soggy so go easy on any chili style toppings. Definitely lots of cheese, tomato, olives, onion, and jalapenos. 

I put a handful of broken (not crushed or pulverized) tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl before adding my taco soup on top. So good! 

5. We March into March with next week's Hodgepodge...what's one thing on your March calendar that makes you smile? 

What isn't on my March calendar? Whew. Gonna be a busy one, but I'm looking most forward to a few days later in the month I've blocked to spend with my daughter2 and her kiddos. I'll go there during the week when her hubs will have some work travel, so it will be just us once her little ones go to bed. 

When we're together it's often related to an 'event'...birthday celebrations, Christmas, that sort of thing. It will be nice to have nothing we absolutely have to do. We plan to shop, watch baking, and solve all the problems of the world. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Do you follow The Leighton Show on social media or maybe on his youtube channel?  If you have teenagers this site is a gem. Even if you don't have teenagers you'll enjoy it. Parents send him texts their teenagers have sent and it's hilarious. 

He also has a book out called 'What Time Is Noon' which was a text message a parent received. He's easy to find online but here's a link to his Insta (The Leighton Show). It's one thing on social media that always makes me smile. 

Have a happy Wednesday everyone! 

Nacho Average 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 post, then leave a comment for your neighbor there. I'm writing this on Election Day and while I don't know how it will go I do know we like to keep it friendly here. Thank you. 

Now here we go-

1. What is one good thing you often take for granted? 

Wow, so many things...hot water in the shower, opening the door to a full refrigerator, heat when it's cold and air conditioning when it's not, are just a few things that spring immediately to mind. 

Still, I think I'm going to say family. 

What I mean by that is my family of origin and the enormous blessing of growing up with two parents in the home and siblings too. With lots of love, and a sense of security and well being that in large part made me who I am. They are the people who make me laugh still, and they are always there.

They're the background noise, the fabric of the quilt, a sure thing...whatever you want to call it, it's a gift and it's good to think about it and acknowledge that now and then. 

2. What's the boldest piece of clothing in your wardrobe?

I lean more toward classic than bold so not sure how to answer this one. 

I have some sparkly pants I love wearing to events where sparkle is appropriate so let's go with that. 

3. Do you think common interests or common values are the key to people getting along? Elaborate.

Are we playing a game of cards or are we getting married? My answer would depend. If we're getting married then I think you absolutely need common values. And common interests will certainly help in terms of enjoying that person in all the many seasons you'll walk through in a long life together. 

If we're playing cards, pickle ball, or shooting pool then I guess our values might be secondary to our common interest. 

4. November 6 is National Nacho Day...do you like nachos? How do you like yours? Do you make them at home or only order out? 

I do like nachos. I very rarely make them at home (although this question has me craving a plateful right now) and only occasionally order them out. They feel more like a snack than a meal, but calorie wise they're a meal and then some. I mean who can eat just a single serving?Hubs and I sometimes share an order if we're in a Mexican restaurant and don't want a full dinner. 

I like them all ways. My favorite would be beef, cheese, pico de gallo, black olives, onion, jalapeno, and guacamole. Gotta have the guac. 

5. Have you spent any time in Washington D.C.?  If so what did you think? If not, is that a place you'd like to visit? What do you think about politics as a career choice? 

I've spent a lot of time in D.C. We lived in Annapolis for nine years so were in the city pretty regularly showing around our houseguests, attending events, etc. My dad is buried in Arlington National Cemetery and we like to visit whenever we can. 

My oldest daughter lived in Bethesda for a couple of years prior to getting married and worked very near the White House. I always enjoyed my visits there. I've written a lot of posts featuring treks into D.C. which are easily accessible by typing Washington D.C. into the search box on my sidebar. 

Politics as a career? Hmmm. Just say no-ha! I mean as one part of a career then sure, but don't go to Washington and make it permanent. I'm all for term limits. You shouldn't just keep running for re-election and end up never working a 'real job' or interacting with people outside the D.C. bubble, which is so artificial. 

I do think there are people who go to Washington with noble ideas, but then they get comfortable with the power, the notoriety, the money, and most of all with a sense of self-importance that's overblown. 

Come in, do your job, then go home and live and work amongst the people who elected you. Live by the laws you've helped enact. It's healthier for everyone, most especially our country. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Since I'm writing my answers on Election Day, and will have no idea of the results when I hit publish, let's just watch something funny. Surely we can all use something light hearted right about now.

My hubs sent me this on Instagram and it made me laugh, it's quick and -linked here. 

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 576

Somehow it's November. And it's a big day in the US of A. I will spend some time today praying for peace in our cities and in our hearts on this election day, and in the days ahead too. 

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there-

1. What is one good thing you often take for granted? 

2. What's the boldest piece of clothing in your wardrobe? 

3. Do you think common interests or common values are the key to people getting along? Elaborate. 

4. November 6 is National Nacho Day...do you like nachos? How do you like yours? Do you make them at home or only order out? 

5. Have you spent any time in Washington D.C.?  If so what did you think? If not, is that a place you'd like to visit? What do you think about politics as a career choice? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Leavings

Once a week blogging is not ideal. Too many words. More than my normal too many I mean, but I'm diving in here today because I can.

I'm home. And the bride-to-be is here with her mama, which means all is as it should be. I'm going to back up to Monday because y'all know I'm not one for a simple 'got a lot done this week' kind of recap.  Details are my love language.  

One of them anyway.  

I got to Daughter1's townhouse around lunchtime on Monday and I'm trying to remember what we did? Oh yeah-we packed. My girl had done a great job of getting nearly everything bubbled, peanut-ed, wrapped and boxed, but there were the last minute things as there always are in a move. It was a long day, and suffice it to say I fell asleep in the clothes I'd been wearing all day, and at one point my daughter turned on the light to be sure I was breathing. I know!

The word 'tired' does not begin to describe my exhaustion. Keep in mind I'd been up since 5 AM, had gone to boot camp, driven five hours in traffic, spent the day packing, watched my daughter spin and smile and grow up in front of my very eyes in her wedding gown and veil as she had a final fitting, then capped it all off with a lovely dinner out with her roommates.

And then there was all that e-mo-tion. 

Girls. Friends. Roommates. Tears. 

Throughout the day and evening and into the next day, there would be tears, and all the adrenaline combined with all the feels sends one into the twilight zone of tired.

Last week when I was talking to my daughter on the phone she mentioned that it was finally hitting her...all she was leaving behind. Don't misunderstand-she is positively giddy at the life that is in front of her, but that doesn't mean she won't miss her people, and her roommates are her people.  

Her words pricked my heart in a deep place. I understand this feeling on a level many people cannot. As my daughter said the words I felt that too familiar ache that comes with change. I know in my gut and in my soul what it is to leave people you love behind. In our married life we've moved eight times, which in looking back feels like a lot. But here's the thing...wherever we are we're there. We're all in kind of folks and when we settle in a new spot we open our hearts wide. We make friends, join, invite people into our home and make ourselves comfortable in theirs. 

There's a price to pay for being all in kind of people who never stay in one place very long, and that price is always the slow hard goodbyes. We think its a price worth paying, because these friends, neighbors, co-workers, family, and kindred spirits we've collected in city after city have blessed us beyond measure.  They've made our lives fuller and happier and richer.  

So you go and they stay and you survive. Your heart shifts and while it cements the old familiar into a corner or a nook or a big ole expanse, it also makes room for newcomers, add-ons, people you haven't yet met who you will one day feel you've known forever.  I'm in a Beth Moore Bible Study right now, and she talks about how sometimes God does a 're-mix' of the people in our lives, for His purposes and for our good. I know the truth of that.

I reassure my daughter these friends from this season of life will always be some of the most precious. You grew each other up. You were young together. You've been your authentic selves with one another in a way we rarely are again at any other age. As we grow older, and particularly once we marry, we want to keep some of the sharing for our spouse only and that's appropriate. We don't always want newer acquaintances to see our every little fault laid bare. To know all of our weaknesses in that way we didn't mind when we were young and knew we were still figuring things out. 

Recently a couple we've known since college phoned us and I remember thinking as we talked that these friends who knew us when, they never change. The way we feel about them now is the way we felt about them then. We live lives in different cities and don't see one another in person nearly as often as we'd like, yet I hear their voices on the other end of the line and I exhale and feel 22.

I tell my daughter that as hard as it is to say goodbye, there are people coming into her life who will also become so very dear to her. People who will walk beside she and her hubs as they navigate married life, parenting toddlers, teens, moves, a one day empty nest. These people exist now. They're out there and your lives will intersect in ways only God can orchestrate and there will come another day where you will look back and see the goodness and perfection of His timing. Where you will feel so grateful for all the people.

The new friends who have entered your life and added memories to the layers already stored. And the old friends too. Always the old, who in your mind are forever young.

The ones you're bidding farewell for now. The ones who never budge from the spot they claimed as theirs in a corner of your heart back when you were college roommates, or navigating the early years of adulthood where you struck out on your own in a grown up city in a grown up world. The ones who loved you, listened to you, lifted you up when you were down, and made you laugh until you cried. 

Those ones.

These ones.

Tuck these girls and this season into your heart, knowing it will never come again.
Knowing too, it will be there when you need to take it out and remember who you are.

A Note to Hodgepodgers

Hi Everyone!

I'm so sorry for the late notice, but there will not be any Hodgepodge this Wednesday (November 5th). I'm mid-move with my Daughter1 AND mid-wedding invitation addressing/stamping/mailing AND mid-picking up THE dress, and as such will be trekking back and forth to DC this week.

Yes I was just there last week, but that was last week and this is this week.

Reading my blog is like one of those exercises they tell you to do to keep your brain young.

I'm afraid I will not be able to squeeze one more thing into an already overly full Sunday- Monday-Tuesday, and am only slightly worried I will not squeeze in all of what's already there. On the bright side, once that moving truck and car carrier pull away, my girl comes home with me for ten whole, complete, entire days, so whoohoo!

Thank you so much for understanding and rest assured, the Hodgepodge will be back and better than ever upon it's return next week, November 12th.

Well, maybe not better than ever, but at least as good as it always was-ha! I'm still planning a fun little giveaway once Volume 200 rolls around, but that will now be a week later than I originally stated.

Enjoy this first week of November and don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Cheers~
Joyce

All Over the Map. Per Usual.

Why did I schedule a dental appointment for first thing Monday morning after a weekend away? Ugh. But done so that's something.

So here's what last week looked like. Get up in the dark of night Wednesday to drop hubs at Newark Airport for his trip to South Dakota. I know. Who goes to South Dakota? No offense South Dakotans, but it's just not a place most East Coasters ever get to see.

Unless they pheasant hunt.
We'll get back to that.

I left the airport and drove another hour and a half down to my mom's house in South Jersey, arriving just in time for breakfast. Like I said...early. My mom had a lot on her calendar Wednesday so the pup and I went for a walk, napped, and read while she was out. Thursday I drove another 2 1/2 hours down to DC to my daughters, stopping en route to pick up her car key from the detailer so that once I picked her up from the Metro we could then get back in rush hour traffic and collect her actual car. Keep up people! After we got the car we decided to have a leisurely dinner and allow some of the commuters time to get off the road. Not sure that ever happens around the Beltway, but by 8 PM it was some better.

Daughter1 went to work on Friday and I got busy packing up her share of the townhouse. In my head I had imagined this job being fairly quick and painless. Ha! Midway through the day I had to go to Home Depot and get a few more supplies. Have mercy!!, the traffic y'all. No wonder our politicians are all cranky. Home Depot is about 3 miles from my girl's house, but everybody's going somewhere, all at the same time, all the time it seems. I file these thoughts onto the 'reasons to be happy Daughter1 is moving out of DC' list I keep in my head. It's a short list, but the fact that she will leave all this traffic behind makes me a little bit happy. I know people talk about Seattle traffic, but a) she's not moving to Seattle, so won't be driving in it every day, and b) in terms of traffic DC trumps the state with a similar name by a mile.

Did you come here to read about traffic?

Even though there was a lot to get done, I had a nice time with my girl. Chatting, planning, working our way through a bag of Cow Tales. In our defense it was a small bag. She still has more packing to do, but we made a big huge dent in the process this past weekend. I'll be trekking back to DC next week to accompany her to her final dress fitting in the store, finish up the last bits of packing, and then bringing her home to NJ. Whoohoo! So excited to have her sleeping in her bed upstairs for a solid week before she flies to SC and then out to Washington State, and then back to SC, and then back to NJ with her sister for Christmas.

We won't think too hard about airplanes and Ebola.

Meanwhile, in South Dakota...hubs and some buds had a manly man's weekend pheasant hunting in the wilds of The Mount Rushmore State. He did not see Mount Rushmore, but he did come home with some beautiful birds.

If you're squeamish about such things don't look-

And don't open my freezer which is full of birds.

With a wing still on, which kind of skeeves me out so I'm avoiding the freezer too. Apparently one wing has to be left on for travel in case you're inspected. They need to know you only took males as it's illegal to take the hens.

And yes we plan to eat them, but I don't think I'll manage the whole 'under glass' thing. Remember in the old cartoons they were always serving pheasant under glass? Did I just date myself? Ours will likely be marinated in something and perhaps wrapped in bacon because we've heard they can be dry, and bacon makes everything deliciously moist. If you have a recipe you love send it my way.

Hubs had a wonderful time, and was overdue for some R & R. Of course he made friends with all the hunting dogs and no he did not wear flip flops in the field. He said I'd have loved taking pictures out there, so maybe one of these days.

With a side trip to Mt. Rushmore though, because if I'm going all the way to South Dakota I'm going to see the faces carved into a granite mountainside.

Say Yes To The Dress

Guess what we did this weekend? Ha! And what a fun weekend it was! Can I put exclamation points at the end of every sentence in this post?! 

We may still not have that wedding date officially written in pen, but we do have a bride-to-be with a dress. A beautiful dress. A be-still-my-heart dress. The dress. In the words of a long ago or was it just yesterday, fair-haired toddler princess, we have 'a spinning dress'. And for the moment, that's enough.  

When Daughter1 was a little girl her criteria for judging whether or not a dress was merely good or better than great was found in the answer to one question-'Does it spin?'

She has a great dress. 

I'm not going to post any pictures or give details, because despite living in the age of online everything, a bride-to-be's dress needs to be set apart, the image of her on her father's arm at the back of a church only imagined until the day she and her groom say I do.  

The middle of this post is a good time to start from the beginning so let's back up. Friday I drove down to D.C. with a pit stop at my mama's house for lunch. Such a treat! I parked at the Metro near Daughter 1's apartment and then trained it into downtown D.C., arriving just as she was leaving work. The weather was glorious, and we decided to hop back on the metro and walk around Old Town Alexandria before having dinner.  

If you've never been to Old Town, it's charming. The city feels a little southern which is probably why we love it, and yes I know it's technically Virginia, but it's Northern Virginia, and most of Northern Virginia doesn't feel quite so southern. No offense Virigina. 

We dined on the narrowest balcony ever, perched atop the second floor of The Fish Market, a great spot for people watching.  Funny story-as we were standing outside the restaurant trying to decide if we wanted to go in, Daughter1 saw a girl and said, 'I think she's a blogger I follow.' So we awkwardly asked her if she was indeed a blogger, and she was, and they read each other's blogs, so that was some random fun. Christa blogs at Forever Young, so everyone go say hi to Christa. You can tell her the blogger's mom she met at The Fish Market sent you. 

  

After dinner we walked around the waterfront...

...past the old Torpedo factory which now houses something like 82 artist studios...

then stopped for a bit to listen to this talented gentleman play the water glasses. Raise your hand if you're thinking Miss Congeniality right about now?

He didn't leap on the audience, in fact he was actually a bit of a theologian and told the story of Moses.  It was unexpected and sweet.   

We headed back to the Metro to collect Daughter2 from Reagan International. She was delayed (shocking I know!), so didn't arrive until about 10 PM. We then had to train it back to downtown D.C., change lines, and travel another 25 minutes or so on that line to Daughter1's apartment. 

Somehow we got to talking and realized two stops in, that we'd gotten on a train going the wrong way. No biggie (or so we thought)...we hopped off and waited on the correct track heading the right way. 

And we waited. 

And then waited some more. The train finally came, but once on board we sat for what felt like forever due to single tracking, and long story long-arrived back to Daughter1's apartment about 1:30 AM. Ugh! I am not at my best at 1:30 in the morning, in case anyone was wondering.  

We got back to Daughter1's apartment and collapsed. How much sleep does one need for a day filled with wedding dress shopping?! As it turns out, not a lot.  

And here we are many words later, and we haven't put so much as our perfectly polished toes through the door of that dress shop. I could wrap it up right now and say we bought a dress, but that's no fun, and I think you know that's not me. Why use one sentence when I can use twelve?!

Stay tuned for Part 2 Tuesday. The post where we actually say yes to the dress! 

A Quality Post

When we were raising our children the debate about quality time versus quantity of time raged loud and strong. I am of the mindset that children need both, that quality time spent with your children is valuable, but they also need gobs and gobs of your physical presence too.

Not necessarily sitting on the floor working a puzzle or playing tag in the backyard, although they do need that (kids are needy, aren't they?), but they need you to be around...in the house, nearby, available. There is something very comforting about a parent's presence,  in simply knowing they're near.  I don't have any statistics or data, but in my heart I believe our 'being there' helps build a sense of security in children they carry with them throughout their lives.

Of course when your 'kids' are almost a quarter century in years you take what you can get, which is usually quality versus quantity.

So, other stuff has been going on around here this month besides the A-Z challenge-ha! I'm determined to work one such event into my A-Z post today...

Q is for Quality Time

Hubs was in Japan for a week, and while he was away I took my own mother to D.C. to visit my Daughter1, her granddaughter.  Daughter1 has officially been working in our nation's capital for two years now, and my mom had never seen her home or office.
We accidentally timed our visit to coincide with the cherry blossoms at their peak.

A-ma-zing.

Do you know I do not have one single solitary photograph of the three of us in or around DC?  I'm not sure why, I guess we were busy walking, and talking, and sweating (it was almost 100 degrees the two days we were in town), plus my mom said she needed her hair cut and colored and didn't want her picture taken so I obliged because I've been there myself.

I drove down to my mom's on a Tuesday afternoon, and we got up Wednesday morning to make the three hour drive south.  We had such a lovely time traveling...the sun was shining, there was very little traffic, and we just talked and talked.  I'd also burned Alan Jackson's Precious Memories tracks to a CD so we had us a little hymn sing too.  You're allowed to do that when you're alone in the car with your mama.

Since Daughter1 was working when we got to town, my mom and I headed straight to Arlington National Cemetery.  My dad is buried there, and we intended to go by his grave since she doesn't get to do that very often.  We have a pass that allows us to drive straight to the grave site, but on this particular Wednesday it was a bit of a challenge. We encountered a funeral procession so had to pull over.

I'm convinced there is nothing quite as moving in this nation we call home, as a funeral service in Arlington National Cemetery. We watched as the caisson came down the road, and we jumped a little at the 21-gun salute. We also shed a little tear as Taps was played...impossible not to as you stand in a sea of white crosses, and the sad slow strains of that poignant tune echo across the hillside.

After leaving Arlington we made our way to the hotel near Daughter1's apartment.  She phoned when she was on the train and I may or may not have gotten a little turned around trying to get to the train station to collect her, so she ended up walking home and we just met her there.  She's used to me.

My mom loved seeing her cute place and meeting one of her roommates too. We went to dinner and my mom shared some stories with my daughter about her early married days, and about my dad, and it was just a very sweet sweet time.

On Thursday my mom and I hopped on the metro to meet Daughter1 at her office.  We didn't literally hop, but my mom was quite the trooper with all the steps and the logistics and the heat. Did I mention it was hot?  We successfully navigated the train and went to lunch with Daughter1, and then she took us up to her office, and we marveled at her very grown up life.

You do that when your kids grow up.
They amaze you a little.
A lot, actually.

After lunch Daughter1 went back to work and my mom and I ventured onto the mall to see some more cherry blossoms.

The Washington Monument is encased in scaffolding as they are still repairing damage from the 2011 earthquake.

I don't think that's a job for just anyone.

My mom sat on a bench and people watched while I crossed three streets to get a little closer to the trees. It was hot. Did I say that already?

Thursday night we did some shopping, because shopping is my mom's love language, and then had dinner and went back to the hotel.  Daughter1 spent the night with us both nights and she and I had the best time chatting and then laughing ourselves silly reading through the posts on 'When Parents Text'.  I can relate a little too well and she knows it. That's partly what she loves about me.

Friday morning we had to send her on her way, back to work because that's life in the grown up world, and my mom and I headed home.  The weather was miserable, raining cats and dogs as the saying goes, but we made it back to her house, and then I drove another two hours home to mine.

Three generations all together for two full days, and not a single photo of us girls.  Lots of real live, honest to goodness quality time though, and precious memories that will last.

Well. That Didn't Go As Planned.

I drove down to D.C. last Tuesday to spend a few days with my daughter1. Hubs had a business meeting in Canada last week, and then work commitments here afterwards so it was going to be some fun me and my girl time. I stopped at my mom's for lunch en route and had a nice visit with her before trekking on into the city. I got there about the time daughter1 was getting home from work and we celebrated with a grown up dinner in a nice restaurant. There is something a little surreal about sitting opposite your 'little girl' over a nice meal. You find yourself wondering how in the world you got there?

I'm happy we had that very nice evening out because things went downhill pretty quickly from there. I started with a sore throat and a cough on Wednesday. It was like one minute I was fine and the next I was the person people wanted to take three steps back from. Also, that evening my daughter asked me to look at a little rash sort of thing on her back. It was itchy and stinging slightly, but I thought it might be just an allergic reaction to something and it didn't look too worrisome.

Long story short (ish)...it leapt to miserable pretty quickly, and as much as we did not want to set foot in a walk in clinic we decided we had no choice. We had more or less self-diagnosed the rash as shingles and we knew if that were the case she'd need the meds within a few days to get the best outcome down the road. Thursday evening we trekked to a clinic outside the city (the one near her office said she could come in on Sunday! Four days away!).  On the way to the clinic I kind of made up my mind to go ahead and have the doc look at my throat because holy moly it was excruciating.

They gave me a flu test because they said they were giving them to anyone who came in with respiratory symptoms.

The flu test is not pleasant.
Just sayin'.
I think they scrape the edge of your brain with that q-tip.

My strep test was negative, but because I looked and sounded so awful they sent it off and he went ahead and gave me the z-pack. If it was indeed strep I'd already have it treated.

Doc diagnosed daughter1 in about 10 seconds with shingles. Haven't you always heard shingles was something for the over 65 crowd? Seems everyone she told knew of someone her age or even younger who'd had shingles.

Shingles are pain.ful.

She was given a 'controlled substance' for the pain and all I could think of was Gregory House and his addiction-ha. Daughter1 is used to my paranoia, but sometimes I wonder if these doctors actually register how tee-ninsy she is when they set the dosage. She might be almost a quarter of a century in years, but she's no bigger than a minute in weight, and sometimes I wonder if they notice.

Daughter1 had already arranged to leave work at noon on Friday and we'd planned to meet my sister in law in the city for lunch and then do a little walking around. Change of plans.  She  took a whole pain pill before work and then called me in tears around 11 saying she was green.  Daughter1 came home from work and went to bed and sister in law came to the house, which I gotta say at this point was feeling a little bit like a leper colony. I was well on my way to completely losing my voice and I'm sure my sister in law whipped out the Purell the minute she got back on the train.

The week away did not go as we had anticipated and looked forward to.  We didn't do the shopping we'd planned unless you count hitting CVS no less than five times in four days as 'shopping'.  

We don't.

We didn't eat out at all the fun places she wanted me to try.  Instead, we stayed in our yoga pants and ordered food in.  We drank gallons of tea, watched SVU marathons and napped on the couch.

We didn't do any 'sight seeing' although the Urgent Care north of the city is lovely.

We did talk, and I'm pretty sure we solved some of the world's most pressing problems. We managed to laugh a lot. Daughter1 said over and over how happy she was to have me there. She admits she's not the best one for getting herself to the doctor, plus shingles are a little bit scary. I did all her laundry and before I left I cleaned the bathrooms, changed her sheets, and Lysoled the place down for which she was grateful.

She was feeling a little less crazy from the pain on Sunday so she worked her tech magic and got my blog transferred over to my domain name before I left. Since you're here reading it must have worked. Hubs said I should stay if I felt like she needed that, but it was time for me to go.  I was annoying even myself and I knew she was feeling well enough to cope on her own. She has sweet roommates, one of whom is a P.A., and I know they'll keep an eye on her.

Now I know there are some people who might look at this week and say it was a big giant FAIL. Daughter1 and I would have to disagree.

Was it what we imagined it would be?  Definitely not, but mothers and daughters can bond over lots of things, including finding the humor in shingles and cough syrup.  

When daughter1 was little and we'd visit her grandma, she would get very emotional when it was time to leave.  My mom would always go back in the house and get her a cup of water, and this became required procedure for many many years.

Sunday was a gorgeous day in DC, and as I got ready to leave we were both feeling a little teary. Daughter1 came out of the house with something to give me-

...and for a minute, she was not the grown up girl with a job in the city, who rides a train to work, and pays her own bills, and manages her own life.

She was the golden haired toddler who sprinkled our lives with sunshine and whose heart has been inextricably linked with mine since a long ago day in June.

Definitely not a fail.

My Favorite Phrase-The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge! We've got quite a crowd playing along every week which is really fun. Be sure to hop around and visit the neighbors once you've added your link.  Here are my answers-

1. Lake Superior University has once again published a list of words/phrases they think should be banished from the Queen's English...here's the list for 2013-

fiscal cliff, kick the can down the road, double down, job creators/creation, passion/passionate, yolo (acronym for you only live once), spoiler alert, bucket list, trending, superfood, boneless wings, and guru

Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why?  Go here to read more about how the words were chosen.

Politicians in cahoots with the media have ruined more than a few perfectly good phrases haven't they? A month ago I'd have said fiscal cliff, but these days it's job creators/creation. People disagree on what that even means, what constitutes private vs. public, and how and which jobs are counted. 

2. When was the last time you rode a train?  Where did you go?

I guess that would be last March on my trip to China-Taipei-Hong Kong. We rode a lot of subways which is always interesting.  

That's me on the end with two friends who traveled with us. We're trying to figure out how to get to a particular market, and I love that we're all pointing to something different. No worries-we made it.

I'm in D.C. for a few days visiting my daughter, and I'll be riding the Metro while I'm here. It's a great way to get around the city (most of the time).  

3. Bagels-yay or nay?  Favorite 'flavor'?  Favorite topping?

Pretty sure if you live in NJ the answer to this question must be yes.  It's kind of the bagel capital of the world.  If you visit us we'll pop down the road and get you 'The Best Bagels in NJ'.  

My favorite flavor is the 'everything bagel'. It's rolled in a little bit of everything-poppy seed, sesame seed, roasted garlic, minced onion, and kosher salt-yum!  I like mine lightly toasted with a little butter or light cream cheese. Tuna, turkey, ham, etc are also delicious on an everything bagel.

4. 'Tis the season of awards shows....if you could star in a movie already made, which one would you choose?

This is a toughie.  I can think of a bunch depending on what criteria we're using, but today I'm going with Under the Tuscan Sun. I'd love to spend a few months in a charming villa set in the Tuscan countryside.  

5. The move towards single gender classrooms has been making the news in recent months...what say you?  Do you think kids perform better if separated by gender and are taught differently or is that discrimination?  If you're a parent is this something you'd support in regard to your own children?

When it comes to education, it's always something isn't it?  I think that's partly why teachers burn out.  

Education is never one size fits all.  I'm sure there are some children who learn better under this model, and others who perform better in a mixed setting.  I would prefer this to be an option, as opposed to turning schools upside down to 'see how it goes' and then a couple years down the road spinning it back again. I realize the field is always expanding in knowledge and best practices, but it sometimes feels like a giant experiment.  How about we try letting teachers teach?  

6.  What's your favorite thing about staying in a hotel?

Maid service, room service, the spa, and waiters bringing me something cold and tropical at the outdoor pool. 

7. Do you have a 'word' for 2013?  What's the story behind your choice?

I'd never really heard of this until last year, but I felt prompted to choose a word and it was joy. I think God knew I would need to look hard to find it in 2012.  

This year my word is love.  There are a number of reasons why I chose this particular word, but I think I'll just say the world needs more of it, and leave it at that.  

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I arrived at my daughter's in DC last night, just in time for dinner...

...it tasted as good as it looks!