Happy Hodgepodge!

It's a big day in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. My Daughter2 is havin' a birthday so whoohoo! Happy birthday to my baby girl. 20-somethings can so still be called your baby girl. No matter what's on the news, my calendar, or my mind, I feel easy breezy light and happy on this day in September, because she makes it so.  

Now on to the Hodgepodge...

1. On Thursday we pause to remember a dark day in history-9/11. Will you mark it in some special way?

We live in what is technically considered a suburb of NYC, so there are quite often reminders of the day as you go about ordinary life here, even on days that are not marked as an anniversary. We'll fly our flag. I'll include families, our servicemen and women, law enforcement and rescue workers in my prayers specifically.  I'll remember where I was and how I felt when I heard the news because it's hard not to remember and feel.  I will hold tight to the promises in God's word.  

'...In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.'   John 16:33

2. Do you ever/still...listen to an actual radio? Watch a videotape (VCR)? Look up a number in a telephone book? Refer to an actual paper map while traveling? Set an alarm on an alarm clock as opposed to your phone?

We have a nice Bose radio in our bedroom that I listen to sometimes when I'm doing housework upstairs. I listen to the radio in my car too. I like radio. 

We still have most of our old home movies on VHS so yes, we still occasionally watch the VCR. I'm supposed to be transferring those to DVD and this question reminded me of that to-do. 

I never use an actual phone book anymore. We get several and they take up space in a kitchen desk drawer, and then new ones come and I switch them out and don't open those either. I think this should be an item we have to request.  Seems like a gargantuan waste of $$$ in 2014. 

We mostly use the GPS, but we do have an actual paper atlas in our car, and have referred to it recently.  Sometimes you just need to see the whole route displayed, and figure out what your options are. 

Hubs sets the alarm clock on the above mentioned radio to get himself up in the morning, and on boot camp days I set my phone alarm since that's earlier than he needs to be up.  Other days I don't set an alarm. I'm an empty nester, remember? 

3. Is it ever a good idea to discuss religion and politics with people you don't know?

Never say never. 
I think it depends on the gathering. 

4. What's a dish you haven't eaten all summer, but come September find yourself craving? Have you made it yet this month?

Chili.  I never make or eat chili in the summertime, but come September and football season and the slow fade to fall, I crave chili. Haven't made it yet, but I will before September is over. 

5. What's something you know nothing about?

Well that's a long list. One thing? How 'bout three off the top of my head-

The history of Micronesia
neurosurgery
the inner workings of a rocket-submarine-jet propulsion engine

6. September is Classical Music Month? Do you like classical music? If so, what's your favorite piece?

I do like classical music, and think it's suited to some occasions more so than others. Beethoven's Ode to Joy  makes me think of Daughter1 on the violin, Daughter2 on the piano, me in the kitchen making dinner. Sweet moments in the middle of long ago busy days.

I love the ballet and so do my girls, so The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky is another favorite. I also love Vivaldi's Four Seasons because it's beautiful. And these days I'm kind of partial to Trumpet Voluntary by Henry Purcell. I walked down the aisle to that one thirty years ago, and think my Daughter1 is considering doing the same. 

7. What's the oldest thing you own?

We have some antiques so in age they're oldest, specifically our clock.  These are not things we've owned the longest, but in terms of their actual age they would be the oldest items in our home. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Today my baby girl celebrates a birthday.

Okay, so she's turning 24, but let's pretend she's still this rosy cheeked, wide eyed bundle of adrenaline, with a will of iron and a face full of adorableness.  

Because really, she is.  Oh sure she's grown up in all the ways babies do, but on the inside? She is still this blue eyed beauty who stares back at her momma daring me not to fall head over heels in love. Still so full of confidence, passion, and wit. That will of iron has been forged into the most incredible sense of self-discipline, one I wish I had myself.  

She's still my girl who has always lived large, and is possibly the reason my roots need a professional. Still with those enormous blue eyes and a smile that lights up a classroom, my heart, the world.

A while back she started a blog, but has put it on hold for a while. She's got a brand new dog and a brand new classroom, which feels like a lot just now BUT!...her blog is still up, and I would love for you to hop over there today and flood her comments section with happy birthday wishes.  Here's the link-

Happy Birthday Daughter2!

Being your momma is an honor and a privilege, sometimes an adventure, but always always the great joy of my life.  

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 189

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

1. On Thursday we pause to remember a dark day in history-9/11. Will you mark it in some special way?

2. Do you ever/still...listen to an actual radio? Watch a videotape (VCR)? Look up a number in a phonebook? Refer to a paper map while traveling? Set an alarm on an alarm clock as opposed to your phone?

3.  Is it ever a good idea to discuss religion or politics with people you don't know?

4. What's a dish you haven't eaten all summer, but come September find yourself craving? Have you made it yet this month?

5. What's something you know nothing about?

6. September is Classical Music Month. Do you like classical music? If so, what's your favorite piece?

7. What's the oldest thing you own?

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

The Weekend

Since the end of July I have been home exactly 14 days. Not 14 days in a row, but 14 days scattered here and there amongst the 39 my calendar says have passed. You could write your name in the dust on my dining room table.

But! I am home all week and I am happy. And there will be dusting happening round here so whoohoo!

These past few days have been a bit of a blur between the wedding dress adventure and then attending Women of Faith all weekend with my mom. All I can say about both is wow. WOW!

Actually, that's not all I can say because why use one word when you can use two hundred  ten?

Have you ever attended a Women of Faith event? This was my first time, and I absolutely loved it. My mom and I went to the one in the city of Brotherly Love, aka Philadelphia. I'd given my mom the tickets as a Christmas present last year, and it was especially nice having her there with me.

I was familiar going in with most of the speakers, but not all, and I was definitely already a fan of the musicians on the roster. Natalie Grant performed Friday night, and Matthew West on Saturday afternoon, and they were both better than awe.some. I bought five Cd's if that tells you anything.

Yes I still play Cd's, especially in my car where I can play them loud.

My girls are smiling at that last line. They've been jolted out of their skin a time or two upon getting into my car. What can I say? Some music is meant to be played loudly and sung at the top of your lungs in the privacy of your own vehicle.

All the speakers were terrific, but the one who really made me squirm so to speak, was Christine Caine. I wasn't familiar with her story going in, but she is a truly dynamic speaker who made me feel like I needed to leave there immediately and get busy doing. We talk a lot about retirement in our house and what that will look like. One of the things she said in her message was that God didn't create us to retire. He created us to keep going forward, growing, learning, expanding His kingdom. I'm gonna have to let hubs know-ha!

I bought her book, Unstoppable: Running the Race You Were Born to Win, and it is speaking to me right where I am in this slightly confusing, middle age-empty nest-what's next, season of life.

Pete Wilson, pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, gave an excellent message on the life of Joseph and how would we respond to life's hard, seemingly unfair circumstances if we lived completely confident in the knowledge that God has a plan? I made a point of meeting him afterwards and got him to sign a copy of his book for me, Plan B.

When I first started my blog back in 2009 I had no idea what I was doing. I was living in England, preparing for a big move back to the states, and I just had so many words in my head that my husband said I really should be blogging. I had only a vague notion of what a blog was, and I guess I never imagined anyone actually reading what I wrote. And if by chance someone did read my words, was I ready for that? To be real and vulnerable the way I think the best writers are? Somehow Pete Wilson landed on my blog in those very early days, and he left me a very encouraging comment about my writing at a time when I was still on the fence about this whole blog thing. I so appreciated that and others who were kind too, when my blog was in its infancy.

It's often the little things, isn't it?

I feel like my mind and my heart are so full today. I'm glad I have some less busy days at home right now so I can mull it all over. Hubs is happy to have me home too.

We had a really wonderful day yesterday watching the Jets beat the Raiders on a gloriously blue sky Sunday afternoon. That 9/11 flag rolled out for all the world to see still does me in.

So what's on your calendar this second week of September? My baby has a birthday this week. She's turning 24, but neveryoumind. She will always be my baby. Happy Monday everyone!

Birthdays, Boating, and Brides Friday Fragment Style

So this happened.

Last weekend, but who's counting? 

Hubs celebrated the turning of a calendar page in his favorite place-

A boat on the water. And when the boat belongs to family you've got icing on the proverbial cake.  Add a daughter to the weekend and life is pretty close to perfect. Two daughters there would have made it so, but we had to settle for almost perfect. 

We did have a nephew on board and he knows how to throw it down. 

We enjoyed sunny afternoons on Paradise Island. 

The raft, not the Bahamas. 

Just as nice. 

We had dinner on the marina pool deck Saturday night. 

The view was free. 

We watched amazing storm clouds bubble and roll late Sunday evening. 

They gave way to spectacular summer weather on Labor Day, marking the end of a fabulous weekend.

I was home for a day, then made my way to D.C. via my mom's in South Jersey, because we had important business to conduct.

Seeing the bride-to-be in her wedding dress.
First official try-on.
Be still my heart.

As you might imagine I have more to say about that, but those thoughts are not fragmented at all, so I'm going to save them for another day.  When I have more time and my hair's not crazy and I haven't been in five states and back again in a three day time period.

My mom and I trekked back to her house in South Jersey on Thursday because we're off to the Women of Faith conference in Philadelphia tonight and tomorrow. Hubs is home minding the store.

I got the tickets for my mom as a Christmas gift last year, and we're so excited. We've never attended a Women of Faith event, but I've heard such wonderful things about them, and the speaker/music line up is awesome.

So what's been keeping you busy? Why not join the party and share your weekend plans, fragment style, over at Half Past Kissin' Time today?  Enjoy!

Hodgepodge Old School Style

With the back to school theme happening here today I feel like I should begin by saying good morning boys and girls! Be sure to add your link at the end of my post then go see what your classmates had to say.  Here we go-

1. What's something you wanted to do this summer that you never got around to actually doing?

Go to the drive-in.  It's not too late so we'll see if that's something we can squeeze in before winter makes an appearance. 

2. Share a memory of your own back-to-school days as a child.

I remember always having a brand new dress to wear and how nervous excited I felt the night before the first day. I was happy to share a room with my sister then. We didn't find out who our teacher would be until we got to school that morning.  They grouped us by grade and teachers read out their rosters while we students sat on pins and needles hoping a nice one would call our name.  

3. What's one chore or daily task you prefer doing 'old-school'?

A few things, all involving pen and paper. I keep a paper calendar, write in an actual journal, number my daily to-do's on cute notepads, and make grocery lists on the back of an envelope instead of on my phone. I do keep notes on my phone, but mostly forget to look there after I've written them down. I'm much more efficient and productive with a notepad. 

4. Share something you've learned in life through the 'school of hard knocks'.

Cliches are cliches for a reason...

Life is short.
Don't sweat the small stuff.

5. As a child did you mostly bring or buy your lunch for school? What was your favorite thing to find in your lunchbox?

During my elementary school years we walked home for lunch every day. Even in Jr. High and High School I still mostly brought lunch from home. My sister and I were just talking about lunchbox treats this past weekend. Our favorite was a RingDing, a round chocolate cake wrapped in foil. It was filled with a yummy cream filling (all natural I'm sure-ha!) and covered with a thin chocolate shell. 

6. Football season is upon us which has me wondering...how big of a sports fan are you (not just football)? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being 'I scream at the players through my television screen', and 1 being 'is knitting a sport?', where do you fall in fandom.

I'm a pretty big fan. I don't yell at my television screen, but when my team is performing badly I sometimes have to leave the room to calm the nerves in my stomach.  I'm going with an 8, because if I miss a game it's not the end of the world, but if I'm watching I'm all in, no matter if it's the NFL or our local high school team on the field. 

7. Share a favorite quote you think my inspire students of all ages at the start of a new school year.

"What one does is what counts and not what one had the intention of doing." Pablo Picasso

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I stopped in a nearby shop for a look-see last week, and ended up buying my mother-of-the-bride dress. I wasn't really planning to buy, but I fell in love with this dress which felt like it was made just for me. 

It is nothing like I thought I'd wear. 

I thought I'd wear short. 
It's long. 

I thought I'd wear a light golden champagne color.
It's a rich bronze. 

I say I'm not really a 'bling' girl.
It's got a bit of the bling. 

And on the very day I bought my dress, Daughter1's gown arrived in the D.C. shop. My mom and I are going down today to meet her for the big try-on. We are so excited! 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 188

Another weekend away, another week of questions on the run. But they're up and that's what matters, right?  Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to share your answers with the class.  See you there!

1.  What's something you wanted to do this summer that you never got around to actually doing?

2. Share a favorite memory of your own back -to-school days as a child.

3.  What's one chore or daily task you prefer doing 'old-school' ?

4.  Share something you've learned in life through the 'school of hard knocks'.

5.  As a child, did you mostly bring or buy your lunch for school? What was your favorite thing to find in your lunchbox?

6. Football season is upon us which has me wondering... how big of a sports fan are you (not just football) ? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being 'I scream at the players through my television screen' and 1 being 'is knitting a sport?' where do you fall in fandom? 

7. Share a favorite quote you think might inspire students of all ages at the start of a new school year. 

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Finding Beauty in This Tired Troubled Earth

Back in early August we spent a week in the Florida Keys. The Keys are known for their fabulous sunsets, and we were fortunate to be in just the right viewing spot one evening as we waited on our dinner. I didn't have my good camera with me, just my phone, but it's hard to ruin a spectacular sunset even if you're me.  

Planet Earth feels especially harsh just now. Chaos abounds. We humans have been witness to unspeakable acts of violence. We've seen evil on display in living color, an ocean away yet close to home as the faces of broken children and journalists flash across our screens. It doesn't feel an ocean away. 

In our own country riots and looting and destruction of property in the name of peace? 

I don't pretend to understand. 

It's not just the big picture that hangs askew either, its the snapshots around dinner tables and in social media and real life gatherings where sides must be chosen, defended, argued to infinity and beyond. Is anyone else tired of the massive leaps to judgement about anything and everything, by all the rage and anger we're confronted with at every turn? Weary of a society lacking in grace and second chances?

On a warm August evening I stand in front of a sky on fire and I feel small. Helpless to do anything about everything in this great big mixed up world. And I watch a big yellow ball sink slowly into the sea. I  document her descent inch by inch and my heart feels a little lighter. I smile and remember when our girls were little and we'd tell them the sun was dropping right into the ocean... going to bed, and they'd say 'good night sun' with their soft sweet voices and innocent eyes.

I understand how easy it is for people to feel insignificant in a world gone mad. To think, 'Wow-God's sure got His hands full with this place.' My own problems seem ridiculous when held up beside a war ravaged Middle East, missing jet airliners, earthquakes, or even a country like ours that just can't seem to find the right way forward.

Which is why every now and then I think the whole world needs to watch a pink-golden sun set down on the water. The sureness of it, the staggering multi-colored beauty of it, is a visual reminder that God is in the details. He's a worker of miracles and a bringer of peace. He is big and He is God and He's got the whole world in His hands.

You and me and them. The world wars and the families in turmoil. The national discord and the day to day worries that loom large when our heads hit their pillows at night.

Watching the sunset helps me remember the One who sinks the sun into the sea is the same One who hears me when I whisper His name.

My daughter called a little while ago. Her wedding dress arrived in the store today and as I listened to the excitement in her voice my heart filled all the way up.  Yes this world is harsh, but it is also filled with indescribable joys.  Keep looking up.