A Perfect Spring 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 the blogger before you, because that's what good neighbors do. Here we go- 

1. It's like my mama always said, "__________________________________________." 

If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all. 

2. May 11th is National Eat What You Want Day. What will you be having by way of celebration? 

Hmmm...hasn't this been National Eat What You Want year? It feels a little bit that way which is why I will try to make good choices. We had a weekend of indulgent eating so I guess I've already celebrated. 

3. Describe your idea of a perfect spring day.

Temperatures in the sunny 70's, morning coffee on the covered deck, dinner in the crock pot so I don't have to think about it the rest of the day, spring flowers going into patio pots, a great book read on the porch, a walk somewhere, daughters in the house and grandsons fishing on the dock...sounds pretty perfect to me. 

4. Success, fulfillment, growth, achievement...pick one and tell us how it relates to your life in some way, either currently or in days gone by. 

I pick growth. Do we ever stop growing? It seems I'm a slow learner in certain areas of my life, but thankfully God is not done with me yet. 

5. I saw this going around on various social media sites and thought it would be fun to answer here. The last thing you bought on Amazon is your weapon in battle. How will you wield it?  (if you're not an Amazon shopper, then the last thing you bought online anywhere)

Computer ink cartridges....I suppose I could frustrate you to death trying to figure out how to get it loaded into this new printer?

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our new birdbath...so pretty in the sunlight-

Happy Wednesday everyone!

The Wednesday Hodgepodge

Some weeks you get a clever title and some weeks you get just a title. On this last Wednesday in May I'm going with option B for the win. If you've answered today's questions be sure to add your link at the end of my post before you run say hi to your neighbor. Here we go-

1.  How should success be measured? Using that as your standard, who is the most successful person you know? (or one of the most successful?)

This is one of those words people define in different ways. I think of success as the achievement of a goal, and as such I know many successful people. As I thought about this question I decided if someone has a goal and is working their hardest to attain that goal, then I see them as successful whether they actually attain their goal or not. Success comes from knowing your purpose, believing you can achieve it, and then pursuing it for all it's worth. 

2. Have you ever been to a hot air balloon launch/fest/party? Ever taken a ride in a hot air balloon? Is that on your bucket list? According to Frommers the ten best hot air balloon adventures in the world are-

Loire Valley (France), the Serengeti (Tanzania), Napa Valley (California), Lake Champlain (Vermont), Cappadoicia (Turkey), Istria (Croatia), Gstaad (Switzerland), Varra Valley (Australia), Muelle (Costa Rica), and Albuquerque (New Mexico)

Which one on the list would you most like to experience? 

I've never been in a hot air balloon, nor have I attended any sort of balloon festival. It's not on my bucket list mostly because I feel like there's the potential for a lot of motion in a hot air ballloon. Do you feel a lot of motion up there? I can handle heights, just not swaying and dipping heights. I suppose I might be talked into a hot air balloon ride under the exact right circumstances. 

Perfect weather would top my list of exact right circumstances.  

Of the rides listed I'm going with Tanzania because a friend of mine did this and said it was absolutely incredible. A safari is on my bucket list. 

3. May 25th is National Brown-Bag It Day. Did you/will you pack a lunch today? When did you last pack a lunch for someone and what are your go-to ingredients for a brown bag lunch? 

I did not pack a lunch for anyone today. I can't remember the last time I packed a lunch but my go-to ingredients back when I was packing lunch included a sandwich and some fruit and, because it was the 90's/00's, usually a cookie or maybe some goldfish. The food police were not out in force a couple of decades ago. 

I wasn't very creative in the brown bag department. If Pinterest is anything to go by, lunch box ingredients and options have come a long way since my girls were brown bagging it. 

4. What's one of your favorite dance scenes from a movie or television show?

How to choose??! One of my favorites is definitely Anna's dance with the King in The King and I starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. That dress! 

I also really love the scene in The Sound of Music when Captain Von Trapp dances in the garden with Maria. So swoony! 

5. John F. Kennedy made famous the line, "...Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." So what can you do for your country?

Respect the flag. Support the men and women who make up the armed forces. Vote. Lend a helping hand to lift up my community or state in some way. Treat people with kindness.  Get out and see this place I call home, appreciate the beauty that is everywhere. 

6. Weekends are made for________________________.

Less scheduled everything. 

7. On this last Wednesday of the month bid farewell to the month of May in seven words or less. 

Time flies when you're having fun! 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Question #2 reminded me I have pics of hubs and Daughter1 in a hot air balloon over Disneyland Paris. 

It was tethered, but still a little scary, or so they said. I wouldn't know since I was safely on the ground with Daughter2. 

Why was the center of the basket open? Shouldn't there be a floor there?

Just in case she steered clear of center...

...and stuck close to Dad instead! 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 267

It's that time again...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. How should success be measured? Using that as your standard, who is the most successful person you know? (Or one of the most successful?) 

2. Have you ever been to a hot air balloon launch/fest/party? Ever taken a ride in a hot air balloon? Is that on your bucket list? According to Frommers the ten best hot air balloon adventures in the world are-

Loire Valley (France), the Serengeti (Tanzania), Napa Valley (California), Lake Champlain (Vermont), Cappadocia (Turkey), Istria (Croatia), Gstaad (Switzerland), Yarra Valley (Australia), Muelle (Costa Rica), and Albuquerque (New Mexico). 

Which one on the list would you most like to experience? 

3. May 25th is National Brown-Bag It Day. Did you/will you pack a lunch today? When did you last pack a lunch for someone and what are your go-to ingredients for a brown bag lunch?

4. What's one of your favorite dance scenes from a movie or television show? 

5. John F. Kennedy made famous the line, '...Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." So what can you do for your country?

6. Weekends are made for __________________________________.

7. On this last Wednesday of the month, bid farewell to the month of May in seven words or less. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

A Low Key Hodgepodge

Welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge, your mid-week key to happiness. Add the link to your answers at the end of my post, then go say hi to the other key players. Ha! There is no end to the pun fun here today! Here we go-

1. What do you think is the key to success?

Articulating what you want, setting goals, and creating an action plan to make it happen. And then (this is the real key) following through on your plan.  That last part is where I usually drop the ball. 

2. Have you ever been to the Florida Keys? Any desire to see that part of the US of A?

We have been to the Keys and we love it there. In fact we have a trip booked there this month, which is what prompted my little HP theme. We've been to Key West and also Islamorada. This month we're staying on Duck Key which is about midway between Miami and Key West.  The Keys are a wonderful spot to visit if you want to relax. Very low key-ha!  

3. An old Portuguese proverb says, 'Beware the door with too many keys.' What do you think this means? Share an example of how this has proven true or false in your own life.

Hard question. I think maybe this is saying be your own person. Don't neccessarily 'choose the door' everyone can open. Another interpretation might be when there are many ways to achieve an end, take care to choose wisely. There may be lots of ways to address an issue, so think before you speak or act. I relate more to the first definition. We're all gifted with different talents and abilities so I need to embrace mine, which may mean not following the crowd. 

4. When and where did you last see a real live donkey? Monkey? Turkey?

We went to a Christmas party in December and the hosts had a small petting zoo there, complete with a donkey. 

I guess the last time I saw a monkey was on a trip to the zoo which has been a while.  I went to the zoo in SC with my daughter2 a couple of summers ago.  She was working as a nanny and we took the two littles in her care, but I don't remember seeing monkeys. Mostly I remember how hot it was, and how the three year old wanted to ride in the stroller and the one year old did not, except we needed that one year old in the stroller. 

Turkeys are in my back woods on a pretty regular basis. 

5. Besides your home, vehicle, and special jewelry, what's something you keep under lock and key?

We have a box in the bank where we keep some of our more important papers. We keep other items under lock and key, but the more I think about this question, the less I want to share. If I'm keeping something under lock and key should I blab that on the world wide web? I think not.

6. When did you last get keyed up about something?

I think of this as being an excited kind of nervous, and if that's the definition we're going with then I'm a little keyed up at the moment actually. My daughter is getting married. 

Have I mentioned that here already? 

7. Who thinks we need an easy one right about now? Key lime pie...yes please or no thank you?

Oh yes please! 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Daughter2 became the proud happy owner of a rescue Greyhound last week. She has put so much time and research into finding just the right dog, and her new little gal is a sweetie. I didn't know a lot about Greyhounds prior to her research, but they are an interesting breed. They don't sit. The way they're put together makes sitting all the way down on their haunches nearly impossible and really uncomfortable. They either stand or lie down. Or lean. Daughter 2's got a leaner. We love leaners in our house, and I can't wait to meet her!

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 185

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

1. What would you say is the key to success?

2. Have you ever been to the Florida Keys? Any desire to visit that part of the US of A?

3. When and where did you last see a real live donkey? Monkey? Turkey?

4. An old Portuguese proverb says, 'Beware of the door with too many keys.' What do you think this means? Share an example of how this has proven true or false in your own life.

5. Besides your home, vehicle, and special jewelry, what is something you keep under lock and key?

6. When did you last get keyed up about something?

7. Who thinks we need an easy one right about now?  Key lime pie...yes please or no thank you?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

A Teacher? Why Would You Want To Be A Teacher?

It's a big week in our house, a week where a milestone will be marked and celebrated. A week where family will gather and cheer for a girl so precious to each one of us as she crosses the university stage once more.  She'll don a hood of blue to match her eyes, but also because its the color required for her discipline and graduate degree.

Next week she begins grown up life. Oh, she's been a grown up for a while now, but somehow finishing her Masters Degree and accepting a full time teaching position makes it all feel more official.

When people ask me what my daughter is studying, and I say teaching, I'm generally met with one of several reactions.

Teaching??? I don't know why anyone would want to be a teacher these days!!  

Teaching? How great...it means she'll have summers off.

Teaching? But your daughter is so smart and has so much personality. Shouldn't she be running a company or something?

Really.

I know there is much to complain about when it comes to our educational system. I know there are some truly awful teachers out there and some truly lazy teachers too. I also know that for every bad teacher who makes the news, there are fifteen good ones who do not. And isn't that that all the more reason to encourage the best and brightest to become teachers? To fuel their passion instead of trying to squash it? To pursue and recruit those students into the field of teaching instead of pushing them in some other direction?

My daughter2 has always always always wanted to be a teacher. When she was ten years old teaching pretend school in our basement I was teaching real kindergarten. She probably had more lesson plans written out than I did.  She loves and relates well to children of all ages, and she likes them too.  That may sound silly but let's face it, we all know teachers who don't seem to like kids.

My girl is responsible and organized. A wonderful role model for any child. Dependable and a self-starter to the nth degree, plus she's smart. Also strong, compassionate, and brimming with self-confidence.  She loves to plan, and loves it when a plan comes together. More importantly she excels at going to Plan B when a plan does not come together.

Aren't these the qualities we want all teachers to possess?

After learning she 'got the job' my daughter told me her head started spinning. I knew exactly what she meant. People love to comment on 'teacher hours', but what they don't always recognize is the way your students and your vocation are never far from thought.

That inside the head of every good teacher the wheels are always turning. How when you lay down at night you are thinking about the boy in the first row, third seat back who needs some new approach when it comes to reading. Or the mean girl in the second seat, second row, who needs to see in you an example of kindness and compassion.  Or the parent who hovers anxiously outside your door, wanting a tablespoon full of reassurance or maybe a whole bucket load.

My daughter is a new teacher. She won't be perfect, but her effort will be. She knows a lot, but she doesn't know everything. That's the thing about great teachers. They are always learning, always adjusting what they do to meet the needs of their students. They tweak and fuss and read and research. They talk to other teachers. They scour the Internet. They pray.

My daughter pinned something on one of her Pinterest boards recently and I'm sharing it here. I don't know who wrote it, but I know I love it. (You can find a cute printable of the prayer here).

Next time someone tells you they're studying to be a teacher how about you say-Fantastic! The world needs more people like you doing the job.

Once upon a time I was the mom of a third grader. A blonde haired beauty straining to exert her independence, but still needing plenty of snuggle time with her momma. Big blue eyes and a curious mind.

Adventurous. Hilarious. A heart of gold.

first day of third grade circa 1998

She is still that girl.

Dear Parents of soon-to-be third graders-

You are so lucky.  

Love, the teacher's mom

Ice Ice Baby in the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 10

We had more snow overnite Monday which is not really news I know but on top of that snow we now have a miserable icy ice falling. It's crunchy. And slick. And heavy. And quite often when there is ice the power has no where to go but out. Hopefully that won't happen here today but I'm answering my questions early and setting it to auto post just in case.

1. Do you like your name? Were you named after someone? If you have children how did you settle on their names?

I don't dislike my name, how's that? My family calls me Jo and I like that. Hubs and I were in complete agreement when it came to choosing a name for daughter1. We both loved her name even before we had children and while it wasn't unusual it wasn't a name you heard often. It still suits her.

Daughter2 shares her name with my paternal great grandmother and hubs paternal grandmother...it makes life a little bit simpler when there is a relative on both sides of the family tree with the same name. We love her name and it fits her to a T.

2. How do you define success?

Knowing my purpose and accomplishing what I set out to do, never mind the reward. There may be some missteps along the way and likely some failures too, but at the end of it all, knowing that whatever I've achieved was done while always remaining true to my convictions.

"The secret of success is constancy to purpose."

Benjamin Disraeli

3. Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy?

I like them both which should come as no surprise since I like words and word puzzles. I don't watch Wheel of Fortune very often because it frustrates me when I see the puzzle and they don't. Hello! Why are you buying a vowel when the puzzle is already practically solved??? I like to play along with Jeopardy in the privacy of my own kitchen, however I would never make an attempt at being a real live contestant on that show.

4. If you could own any single object that you don't now have, what would that object be?

Wow, this question could go a million different directions...I'm going with a house on the water. A house is an object, right?

5. What is something that inspires you?

People who quietly serve...unselfish hearts make me want to do better.

6. Meatloaf-yay or nay? If its a yay how do you make yours?

Yay! I don't make it very often though. I like to use a combination of ground beef/pork/veal and add finely chopped onion and green pepper, some bread crumbs combined with a little milk and a beaten egg, parsley and pepper. Before I bake it I add a mixture of ketchup and brown sugar on top. Yum!

7. Which is more admirable-the ability to organize and be methodical or the ability to adapt and make do?

I had to really think about this one but I'm going to say the ability to adapt and make do. I feel like organizational skills can be taught but the ability to adapt and make do comes from inside of us. Somehow, adapting and making do implies hardship may be involved and I admire those who are able to make the best of things in difficult circumstances.

8. Insert your own random thought here-

Because my husband had a lot of travel this month he felt he needed to show me how to operate the snow blower. This is something I've had absolutely zero interest in learning because, really, why? We have a long drive which is auto plowed whenever it snows. By auto plow I mean I don't even have to pick up the phone and arrange it. We go to bed with snow falling and we wake up to a plowed driveway. We do need to clear our walkway though and that's mostly what we use the snow blower for. And I suppose it's possible there could be some sort of emergency requiring me to leave the house before the trusty plow shous up but still, eh. Hubs sometimes uses it on the backyard too so he can clear an area for the dog. Yes, he snow-blows the yard...I couldn't really see myself doing this but he was insistent. Whatever.

Before he left on his first trip out of town this year he pestered asked me at least 72 times to come outside for a demo. Daughter2 was home at the time and she encouraged me to humor him so I did and guess what? I liked it. I really did. There was actually something quite satisfying about operating gasoline powered machinery.

And that my friends is me in a nutshell. Why does hubs always have to pester, cajole, and in general talk me into doing something I think I don't want to do-won't enjoy-or that will be too much effort/work/trouble when I know I almost always end up liking it. When he says I sometimes make him crazy I don't think he is referring to the 'good kind' of crazy, do you?