Is It Just Me?

Birthdays. Is it just me or does anyone else have a baby sister celebrating a birthday today? Happy birthday to my little sister. The girl I shared a room, clothes, chores, secrets, and life with. We have our own rooms now, but we still share life.

c. 196_ something

I'm on the right and she's front and center because that's where she always liked to be. Really. She was photo bombing before photo bombing was cool. Case in point-

This was going to be a picture of me and my mom, and look who managed to get in every shot we ever took the shot. You know what they say though?

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree-

c. 2013

Like mother, like son.

For the record, we're just a year apart only my babies are in their mid-20's and hers is nine. Let that sink in for a minute. Ha! He keeps her young or at least that's what I tell her.

I'm so thankful for my sisters, thankful too my girls know the joy of both having and being a sister. Happy birthday little sis!

A hornet's nest. Also known as politics in America. Is it just me or does anyone else feel like we've been at this election thing for-evah? And it's still over a year way. More than one whole complete entire YEAR.

I have an idea...let's call a two-month time out on all things presidential election, take some deep breaths, and not hear another word about it until 2016. The year we actually vote.

Football. Is it just me or is the NFL not as much fun this year? I feel like play stops every other minute and the penalties are excessive. In my opinion (not that the Commissioner asked) they play too many games. The players aren't rested and the commentators have waaaay too much air time to fill and the refs are struggling and what's up with the game clocks going wonky every week? I love watching football but if I were commissioner I'd eliminate those Thursday night games.

I feel like money might be a factor snort so not betting on him taking my suggestion to heart. But he should.

The Write31 Challenge. Is it just me or did anyone else drop the ball on the Write 31 challenge? In my defense I did write 25 posts in October which isn't 31 but it's something. I only wrote 13 in September, so winning!

The Home Build. Is it just me or does anyone else feel like we should be further along in the home build process than we are? Pesky rain. Pesky pesky rain. On the bright side we've been busy making selections on the very long list of things we need to select. We started with the plumbing and have our sinks, faucets, tubs, toilets (more options than one might think) and showers chosen. We neglected to choose a sink for the garage, and we've already made a change in color to a lower level sink, and also to the kitchen sink after we selected our granite. This is how it goes, or so I'm told.

We've also almost settled on all of our appliances and we may have gotten a little carried away by ALL THE THINGS on offer and gone just a smidge overboard. We've since gone back to the appliance shop and made a course correction. Ahem. We may need another, but we're holding out to see if we save money in some other category. Our decorator looked at hubs like he had two heads when he suggested it, but we're nothing if not ridiculously optimistic.

The whole house build budget thing is a little bit like wedding planning. You have all these categories and an allowance for each one. And just like with the wedding, if we're under budget in one area we can shift the savings to another.

Yeah, so far not a lot to shift, but I'll keep you posted.

Last week we trekked to the granite warehouse and today we're off to pick tile. I predict this will be one of the more stressful categories because I'm flashing back to picking tile for the shower we renovated in our previous home. Have mercy there are so many choices and combinations and that was just a shower. Today we're selecting tile for more than one shower, floors for a hallway-laundry-bathrooms, back splashes for the kitchen, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Is it just me or is building a home from the ground up just a teensy bit nuts?

Remember Remember the Hodgepodge November

It's November. How did that happen? Welcome to the first Hodgepodge of the month. I love this season of gratitude and look forward to incorporating it into the questions as we roll towards December.

Also, who gets my title? Anyone playing along today from the UK? 

If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post. We're all grateful for comments, so be sure to at least visit the blogger who links before you. Here we go-

1. Besides Thanksgiving, something you're looking forward to on your November calendar?

We're going to see the Vols play in Neyland Stadium this month, something we haven't done in years, so that will be fun. As long as they win. ahem. We're also visiting college friends in Atlanta later this month, and that's always too much fun. Finally, we're meeting Daughter2's boyfriend's family at the end of the month, and I'm looking forward to spending time with them in November. 

2. If I gave you a thank you card right now who would you send it to and why?

We were treated to a really nice dinner Monday night, so I'll send a thank you card to our hostess. She works in our financial planners office in NJ, and happens to have family in our little SC town. Small world people. My favorite thing. We'd never met her in person, but have spoken on the phone several times as she handles some of our paperwork. Dinner on a Monday night? Why not? 

3. Of the breads listed, which one's your favorite...bagel, cinnamon, sourdough, garlic, banana, biscuit, pita, Naan, or plain old fashioned white bread?

Oh dear. I don't eat plain old fashioned white bread so that's an easy one to take off the list. Probably my favorite would be Naan because I love Indian food, and you can't have Indian food without Naan. I would not turn down a piece of homemade cinnamon bread either. 

4. What's something you have in abundance? Is that a good thing?

Rain. I'm not going to complain much, but holy cow we've had a lot of rain. Buckets and buckets. Cats and dogs. Round up the animals two by two. I think you get the idea. Do you know what goes together like oil and water? Home building and downpours. 

5. November 5th is National Love Your Red Hair Day. Are there any redheads in your family? Who's your favorite redhead?

I married into a family of redheads so the easy answer is yes. My favorite? Hubs, of course. 

Also, fun fact...red hair + gray hair = blond hair. 
No fair! 

6. The travel website Busbud recently calculated the most Instagrammed spot in every state. Go here to see what made the list where you live. Are you happy with your state's #1? If not what do you think should be the most photographed spot in your state?  Have you snapped a photo there? If you live outside the USA answer as it relates to your state city or province.

I live in SC and the most Instagrammed spot in the state is Myrtle Beach. I haven't been to Myrtle Beach in decades, but it's a popular tourist destination so I guess that answer makes sense. I've snapped many a picture in Myrtle Beach, but nothing recent. 

What do I think should be the most Instagrammed spot in SC? 

Pretty Place Chapel. A location that truly lives up to its name. 

7. I'm going to try to have something related to gratitude in this spot each week during the month of November. Here's this week's question-

What's something you've learned about yourself this year that you're grateful for?

Hmmm...that we can do this retirement thing? 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Did you watch the World Series? I didn't because the teams didn't interest me all that much, but I did love this. Billy Joel is a Mets fan and he sang the National Anthem in game 3. This season the Mets have been playing Piano Man in the 8th inning to rev up the crowd. Everyone sings along, and in game three they sang it with the original 'Piano Man' in the crowd. Awesome! Especially when he joined in-

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 242

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then scoot back here tomorrow and add your link to the party. Here we go-

1. Besides Thanksgiving, something you're looking forward to on your November calendar?

2.  If I gave you a thank you card right now who would you send it to and why?

3. Of the breads listed, which one's your favorite...bagel, cinnamon, sourdough, garlic, banana, biscuit, pita, Naan, or plain old fashioned white bread?

4. What's something you have in abundance? Is that a good thing?

5. November 5th is National Love Your Red Hair Day. Are there any redheads in your family? Who's your favorite redhead?

6.  The travel website Busbud recently calculated the most Instagrammed spot in every state. Go here to see what made the list where you live. Are you happy with your state's #1? If not what do you think should be the most photographed spot in your state? Have you snapped a photo there? If you live outside the USA answer as it relates to your state, city or province.

7. I'm going to try to have something related to gratitude in this spot each week during the month of November. Here's this week's question-

What's something you've learned about yourself this year that you're grateful for?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The Cure For Anything

Day 29-sea

If I were to make a list of my top ten favorite words this three letter small big word would most assuredly be on it.  A word that needs no words.

Everyone feels something when they stand before the sea.

I feel small.

Grateful. 

And absolutely certain God exists.

What about you? How do you feel when you stand before the sea?

Hello Hodgepodge, My Old Friend...

100 random points to whoever gets my title today. Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! Please don't link today unless you've participated in the HP.  I'm sure your blog is fabulous, but Wednesdays round here are strictly Hodgepodge. Thanks for understanding. 

I'd love for you to play along though, and newcomers are always welcome. Answer the questions before adding your link at the end of my post. Then hop over and say hello to the blogger who linked before you, because that's what good neighbors do.

Also, if you're visiting here from the Write 31 Challenge, you'll find my thoughts on today's prompt by scrolling all the way down to #8.

Here we go-

1. Are you comfortable with silence? If you're home alone, do you like silence or do you need regular background noise? Do you seek out times and places to be silent? What's your favorite place to find silence/be silent?

I'm very comfortable with silence. Unless of course it's an uncomfortable silence, then not so much-ha! I tend to fill uncomfortable silences with excessive chatter, but silence for the sake of being quiet? Definitely.   

Hubs likes background noise, but if I'm home alone the house is generally quiet. Until recently my favorite place to find quiet space was the sun room in my NJ house. The room was all windows, with a super comfy couch, and I could see the woods around me, watch our mama fox tending her babies, the leaves changing color...so much quiet beauty right outside my window. It was such a cozy room and that's where I liked to take my coffee and my Bible and start my day. 

Finding silence in this space is a bit more challenging. There's only so many places I can go in the apartment, and if the TV is on or hubs is on the phone I can hear it, even if I'm down the hall. Probably the thing I'm most looking forward to in our new home are all the outdoor spaces. There will be no shortage of places to find a quiet corner. 

In the meantime, I love to walk in the mornings. I do some of my best thinking and most of my heavy-duty praying there. I like the silence of the great outdoors anytime really..sitting by the water, on a mountaintop, hiking a woody path through the forest. I actually wrote about this topic on Monday (click here) and a reader mentioned he finds silence in a snowfall. I feel the same. 

2. October 28th is National Chocolate Day. Can't let that go by without a mention now, can we? Will you celebrate? How? Let's say you can have one of the following right this very minute...a cup of hot chocolate, a strawberry dipped in chocolate, a bowl of plain chocolate ice cream, or a slice of chocolate pie...what's  your pleasure?

I think you have to celebrate, right? Isn't that the law? If I had to choose one of the chocolate treats listed to consume right this very minute I'd probably choose a cup of cocoa. With marshmallows please!

3. How do you feel about blue jeans? Favorite thing in the world to wear or nope, don't own a single pair? How often do you wear blue jeans in a typical week? Do you own a blue jean jacket?

Blue jeans are my love language and they're one of my favorite things in the world to wear. I can go the opposite way too, and say I love fancy dress and wearing a great pair of heels, but that's not an everyday thing. 

If I'm at home I'm usually wearing blue jeans, which means I wear them several times a week. I do own a jean jacket that I purchased at Kohl's several years ago for the bargain price of $10. It was one of those items that had been marked down about eight times, then I had a coupon, and they were having a promo, and how does Kohl's make money again? Whatever, it was a great purchase. I still love the jacket, and still wear it pretty often. 

4. Are you superstitious? If so, in what way?

I don't think I am superstitious. I tried to think of something, and came up with nothing. Chain letters, Friday the 13th, walking under ladders...none of that worries me. As a leftover habit from childhood I sometimes refrain from stepping on the sidewalk cracks, but I don't expect trouble if I hit one now and then. 

5. If you had to come up with a costume using only things you have on hand right now, what could you come up with?

Everything we own, including the costume box, is in storage right now, except for our clothing and just a few personal items. How about a fisherman? We have a couple of fishing poles here and a tackle box. I could wear hubs fishing shirt and my rubber boots. It wouldn't win any prizes, but would work in a pinch. 

6. What scares you a little? What do you do when you feel scared?

Just a little? Building a house. 

What do I do when I feel scared? I pray a lot. I listen to praise music. I move...go for a walk, run the vacuum, empty the dishwasher, bake, do something physical to get me out of my own head. 

7. Perhaps today will be the day I _____________________.

Finish the great closet switch I began last weekend. Not my favorite task. Obviously. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Using this space today for my Write 31 Challenge one-word prompt. 

Day 28-hope

I almost skipped today's prompt, because the word  felt a little deep for the Hodgepodge. By the time I come up with the questions and then answer them and then live life I'm pretty much running on fumes. But that's why I signed up for the Challenge. To make me think, and nudge me to write when I'd rather be napping. 

I started thinking about what I'm hoping for right now. Today. Quite a lot actually, and if I were to put it in list form it would run the gamut from unimportant in the grand scheme of things to quite important in the grand scheme of things. I mean I hope it quits raining so work on our build can continue, but I also hope the babies in South Sudan had food for their bellies this morning. 

Hope has become one of those words we use perhaps more casually than we should. 

The dictionary defines hope as a feeling of expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen. I'm a hopeful person. I live with a feeling of expectation that tomorrow will be better than today. That an hour from now something can happen to change circumstances that are currently not great. 

I'm often told I see life through rose colored glasses, and I guess there are times that's true. But not all my hopes are simply wishful thinking. My greatest hopes, my heart's desire, the hopes nestled into the deepest recesses of my being are based on something far more powerful, more real, than wishful thinking. 

They're based on what I know about God, and what I know He can do. 

Anything. That's what. He can move mountains and calm the seas. God can make a way when I can't see a way. He can do immeasurably more than I ask or imagine so yes, I hope. Not baseless, unfounded, pie-in-the-sky hope, but real hope. Hope based in the knowledge that God knows and cares about my hearts desires. 

Live expecting friends because He.is.able. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 241

Here are the questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to share answers with the universe. See you there!

1. Are you comfortable with silence? If you're home alone, do you like silence or do you need regular background noise? Do you seek out times and places to be silent? What's your favorite place to find silence/be silent?

2. October 28th is National Chocolate Day. Can't let that go by without a mention now, can we? Will you celebrate? How? Let's say you can have one of the following right this very minute... a cup of hot chocolate, a strawberry dipped in chocolate, a bowl of plain chocolate ice cream, or a slice of chocolate pie...what's your pleasure?

3. How do you feel about blue jeans? Favorite thing in the world to wear or nope, don't own a single pair? How often do you wear blue jeans in a typical week? Do you own a blue jean jacket?

4. Are you superstitious? If so, in what way?

5. If you had to come up with a costume using only things you have on hand right now, what could you come up with?

6. What scares you a little? What do you do when you feel scared?

7. Perhaps today will be the day I ______________________________.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

The Sound of Silence

Day 26-whisper

Long ago I taught reading, writing, and 'rithmetic to a room full of bright-eyed, eager-beaver, five-year old cuties. If I were pressed to pick my favorite age five would most definitely be it. School is fun! I love my teacher! Watch what I can do! Tell me everything about everything because the world's amazing! Look a butterfly!

I've never been someone who yells, and there's nothing that makes me want to curl up in a corner faster than when I'm the recipient of someone else's raised voice. I was not a yell-er at home, and I never ever yelled in my classroom.

Yelling into a room full of crickets does you absolutely no good, even if they're adorable human crickets cheerfully chirping and hopping their way round your class.

When the noise level rose too high and I needed everyone's attention, raising my voice would have gotten me nowhere. Whispering though? Whispering got my student's attention. It piqued their curiosity. What's happening? Is something good happening? Why is she whispering? What's she saying? Gradually chatter would cease, and you could feel a hush sweep across the room like a soft summer wind. Bodies in motion became still and soon all eyes were on me, ready to hear something that surely must be important. When I whispered into the noise they tuned in and really listened to what I was telling them or instructing them to do.

In 2015 the world is noisy. Can I get an amen? Holy moly, we are full to the brim with sounds and devices and angry voices that distract us and irritate us and eat away at our good intentions. Why is everybody suddenly shouting? When did we become such a short-tempered, angry nation? If I'm not intentional about seeking quiet space in my day I can drown in the world's noise and confusion.

There have been circumstances in my life where God has shouted and I need that sometimes. More often though, He whispers. He speaks softly into the silent spaces that are present in every single day I'm given.

He's present in the beautiful places He spoke into existence like the early morning sunrise or the changing of leaves from green to red. He whispers into all the pockets of time and space where I make room to be quiet and still.

And that's the magic of a whisper.
The only way to hear is to draw near the speaker.

To cease the chatter in your head and let the hush sweep across your heart like a soft summer wind.