The Hodgepodge Is Coming To Town

Hello Hodgepodgers! I hope you're enjoying all the blessings of this most wonderful time of the year. A reminder there will  not be a Hodgepodge next week (December 25th) since Christmas lands on a Wednesday this year. 

There will be a Hodgepodge link up on January 1st BUT!! I'll post the questions on Sunday (December 29th) to give everyone a couple of extra days to get their answers written.  

December 25-NO Hodgepodge

December 29-questions posted for the first HP of the new year (Volume 583)

January 1-the link goes live

Okay, back to today...here we go-

1. What's one thing you want to get done before the calendar flips to a new year?

Not a big deal, but I do still plan to tackle my pantry clean out and reorg. 

2. What's something that brought a smile to your face this year?

This little ray of sunshine, our newest granddaughter who's dubbed Sugar on my blog because she's pure sweetness and the smiliest baby I know-

3. What do you like on a cracker? Do you have a favorite cracker variety? 

I'll answer the second part of the question first since that's easier. My favorite is a Carr's Water Cracker, the cracked pepper variety especially. What do I like on it? Lots of things. I often have crackers with pimento cheese or chicken salad on top for lunch so how 'bout I don't overthink this one, and just go with that as my answer. 

4. Do you have plans for ringing in the new year in a fun or special way? Are you typically awake at midnight on the last day of the year? 

On a normal day I'm sound asleep at midnight, but I try to stay up to ring in the new year on December 31st. This year some neighbors are having a few of us over for a get together and we'll go to that, which should be fun. Bonus we can walk. I don't like being on the road on New Year's Eve. 

5. What are three words that describe your year? 

Is spendy a word, because I feel like this has been a spendy year. My three words are- 

spendy, tender, full 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I bought this Williams Sonoma advent baking calendar for my daughter2 this year because she loves to bake. Tanya (The Other Side Of The Road) shared several Advent calendars on her blog in November, and when I saw this one I knew I had to get it for my girl. Thank you Tanya! 

The calendar is so cute and really well-made. A French patisserie where the doors open and you find numbered boxes inside, each one containing some sort of baking tool or accessory. Many of the boxes hold holiday cookie cutters, one had pastry bags, pastry tips, another had the little shaper tools you use to smooth, shape, and texture cakes, etc. 

I took the calendar to my daughter when we went for Thanksgiving and she Marco Polos me every day to let me know what was in that day's box. Most boxes are small, but there's a bigger one close to Christmas we're curious about. This gift was a win. 

I'll be blogging some between now and Christmas, but in case you're signing off the Internet for the holidays I want to wish you much peace and joy as the year winds down. 

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My Hodgepodge Plans

Welcome to another 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, because comments make the blog world go round. Here we go-

1. When did you last have cancelled plans? Were you happy about that or disappointed? 

This past weekend actually. You'll find the details here-What To Expect When You're Expecting (not that kind).  I was super disappointed at first, but I got over it and embraced Plan B. 

2. On a scale of 1-10 how much of a planner are you? 

1= I go where the wind takes me  

10=I've got a power point on it, no matter what it is

I'm definitely NOT a 1. And 10 sounds like someone who can't go with the flow when going with the flow is required, so I'm not a 10 either. I am a planner and in general, enjoy planning. I like lists and adding things to the calendar and figuring out what there is to see when we travel, etc. But I can also flex when flexing is necessary and it so often is. I'm calling myself a 7. 

3. Do you have a menu plan for the week? If so tell us one or two things that are on it. If not, what's your plan for not having a plan lol? 

I do. I hold it loosely because if someone suggests a meet up someplace I'm on board. I make a general meal plan at the beginning of the week and adjust as needed. We're out a lot and on the go a lot but since we're home this week, I'm trying to eat on the lighter side. 

I used to love the California Pizza Kitchen's BBQ salad and I'm making a knock off version of that this week. It calls for jicama which I like, but I've never cut into one so that's something new. I'm also making a slow cooker swiss steak on Thursday because I'm out for a good chunk of the day and like not having to think about dinner when I get home. 

4. The Hodgepodge lands on National Bucket List Day. Do you have a bucket list? Is it written down or just in your head? What is one thing on your bucket list? If you don't have a list, what is one thing you'd add to a list if you did? Yes I'm going to make you think about it. 

Not a written one, but I suppose there's one running through my head. I used to keep a list on my sidebar called 101 in 1001 which was a list of 101 things (both large and small) that I wanted to see/do/try/complete in the next 1001 days. I might revisit that now that I remember it's there. 

Okay, true story I went down a rabbit hole reading back over my lists and I'm definitely going to revisit. I might make it a link up if anyone would be interested in trying it too. Here are the links to my first list, and my second. The last one was 'completed' in 2018 so it's been a while. 

101 in 1001-Volume 1

Ready, Set, Goal-Volume 2

Back to today...what's one thing on my bucket list? A trip back to the UK with my hubs. Since moving back to the states in 2009 we've both made trips back, just not together. It's time. And it's on the calendar so whoohoo! 

5. Rain buckets, a drop in the bucket, couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, sweat buckets, cry buckets...which 'bucket' idiom applies to your life in some way currently? 

Nothing stands out, but 'couldn't carry a tune in a bucket' always applies lol. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Many of you who've been around the Hodgepodge a long time used to also read my daughter's blogs. They both more or less set them aside because life is busy and they're trying to be intentional about how much time they spend online while raising young children. 

Both are back, not in daily posting (ain't nobody got time for that!!), but they're figuring out what works in this season of life. Hop over and say hi if you're interested in catching up. Daughter1 shares some exciting news I will definitely be weighing in on, and Daughter2 most recently shared her baby's birth story, which isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoy reading them. I love the details written out to remember and wish I'd recorded more of life's everyday 'stuff' when mine were little. 

Daughter1-Sincerely Shannon

Daughter 2-It's Elementary 

Have a great Wednesday everyone! 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 548

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. When did you last have cancelled plans? Were you happy about that or disappointed? 

2. On a scale of 1-10 how much of a planner are you? 

3. Do you have a menu plan for the week? If so tell us one or two things that are on it. If not, what's your plan for not having a plan lol? 

4. The Hodgepodge lands on National Bucket List Day. Do you have a bucket list? Is it written down or just in your head? What is one thing on your bucket list? If you don't have a list, what is one thing you'd add to a list if you did? Yes I'm going to make you think about it. 

5. Rain buckets, a drop in the bucket, couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, sweat buckets, cry buckets...which 'bucket' idiom applies to your life in some way currently? 

6. Insert your own random thought here.