A Heart-y Hodgepodge

Hello loves. It's February so I'm going to use that moniker. The very young bagger at Publix called me love yesterday, and if she can do it so can I. 

If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Bloggers love comments. Here we go-

1. What area of your life feels like you're stuck in a Groundhog's Day loop, doing the same thing over and over? Does it bother you or is that just how life is in this particular season? 

I feel like I'm always emptying the dishwasher and adding clothes to the washer or moving them to the dryer or folding them and putting away. Those two household tasks feel a little bit like a Groundhog's Day loop, but I think that's life in every season. 

2. Something that makes your heart skip a beat? 

This saying can mean either excited or nervous depending on the circumstance. We have a double sided stone fireplace and there have been a few near misses with little ones clamboring around the furniture that sits in front. Definitely makes my heart skip a beat. 

3. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve or are you more of a closed book? Elaborate. 

I looked back at my blog and it seems I've asked this question four times now. Oh well. There are lots of newbies in the Hodgepodge who weren't reading here in 2015. Or 2016. Or 2022. Oops. My answer was similar each time and remains the same still. 

I am not a person with a quick temper or short fuse, but I do cry and blush fairly easily. I think it depends on the 'audience' as to how my emotions play out. I can act like things are fine and don't bother me if need be, but I definitely stew about things behind closed doors. 

4. According to Prevention Magazine, these are 25 of the best foods for heart health-

wild salmon, sardines, liver, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, oatmeal, blueberries, coffee, red wine, green tea, soy milk, dark chocolate, raisins, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, whole grains, apples, oranges, grapefruit, avocado, avocado oil, olive oil 

Which five on the list do you include in your diet most often? Are there any foods on the list you simply cannot abide? 

Almost all of these are a regular part of my diet but I guess the top five would be salmon, blueberries, coffee, apples, and oranges. The only thing on the list I don't eat is liver. I despised it as a child, couldn't even stand the smell of it, and I've never gotten over it. My parents liked liver and onions but blech. Not for me. It's one of the very few foods I don't eat. 

5. What was the last piece of furniture you bought? Is there a piece of furniture you need/want to purchase this year? 

We purchased a lot of outdoor furniture for the patio and new outdoor dining spot, all of which was delivered last week. There are pictures in Monday's post found here-Weekending. We also added a new sofa to the pool table room to coordinate with what's outside. Trying to make these space flow together for entertaining. 

The next thing we'd like to buy (or re-do) is our family room couch. We want to reconfigure the furniture layout and it will all be a lot so not happening this year. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

He's not spoiled at all...

And by he I mean the little brown dog. 

We've had a couple of beautiful days weather wise and we're all soaking up some vitamin D in the hopes it knocks out whatever germs are lingering. 

Tuesday was a s'mores kind of day. True story-I'm not a huge fan of s'mores. 

I like all of the components on their own (especially the toasted marshmallow), but when you put them together they're too much. What about you? Love 'em or no thanks? 

Have a great day everyone! 

Weekending

Good Monday morning friends. We are still fighting germs in our house and it seems when one kiddo gets to feeling better another one goes down for the count. The two oldest grandboys spent the weekend with their other grandparents and I washed all the sheets and towels (again), Lysol-ed the house, cleaned all the bathrooms, then opened up some windows to let the sunshine and fresh air in. 

Hubs, daughter1, little miss, and I hung out at home mostly, with a few little errands thrown into the mix too. I've been doing a lot of cooking with a full house here and was running out of steam by the weekend. You forget how often kids eat. I mean there's breakfast then there's lunch and then of course dinner plus snacks in between. They are not picky eaters at all, but I'm just not used to all.the.meals. 

I made a chicken pot pie on Friday and we had BLT's Saturday which doesn't feel like real cooking and was a nice break. Pictures? Nope. 

How about an outdoor project update because I do have some pictures of that. When last we spoke (about this) we were waiting on furniture to arrive and guess what? It's here! The truck pulled into our driveway Friday morning and the unloading and figuring it all out commenced. Thankfully the designer came with them because it required a bit of finagling. 

It's a large space and we needed large furniture to fill it. Plus we always have people coming and going here so we wanted a lot of seating. It took a while to get the rug in the exact correct precise right spot and then get the furniture centered. Where is the center anyway? Is it between the columns? In line with the sliders? in line with the line that runs through the patio? hmmm...

Hubs needs everything symmetrical to the nth degree, while I'm more of a 'let's eyeball it and see how that looks' kind of gal. These delivery guys were great and super patient. 

Can you move it about four inches to your right? 

Wait, can you move it two inches back to your left? 

Bring it forward just a smidge. 

Too much! Can you back it up a hair? 

Maybe we should try removing one piece? 

Maybe we should add that middle piece to the left side instead? The right side?

Somehow the rug is now off center. Can you slide it over just a tad without 

moving all the heavy furniture we just asked you to set down there?

In short, we're a lot. Daughter1 tried to gently suggest hubs and I go upstairs and let them set it up and then come down and weigh in, but that's not how we roll here.  We have opinions. Especially one of us. Hi hubs! 

The end result though is so pretty! Can't wait to have a party of some kind when the weather warms up for good. 

I love the swivel chairs which sit out a bit from the main seating. You can join the conversation or swivel and look at the lake. 

We've made a cozy outdoor dining space under our screened porch and I love the new table and especially love all those chairs. 

We still need a fan installed in the dining space, along with some twinkle lights or Edison bulbs, and I need some lamps for the serving pieces, and some art and 'stuff' but we're on our way. 

We sat out by the new little fire table that afternoon and it was lovely. 

I have my new soon-to-be favorite napping spot all picked out-

Saturday we loaded up the car and went to see a couple of houses that are on the market. My daughter and her family are house hunting, and she's finally got her land legs after the move, the trip across the pond, the germs!!, so starting the hunt in earnest now. While Saturday's houses were a no-go, I guess it's good to eliminate things too. There's not a ton on the market, but listings generally pick up here in these next couple of months. While they're not in a big rush, I know it's hard not to be itching to get settled into your own space too. One day at a time. 

Saturday night we put little miss to bed, then the three of us watched Back In Action with Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. I thought it was going to be silly, but it was actually pretty cute and we all enjoyed it. 

Sunday hubs took daughter1 to see three more houses and a couple of these might be worth another look once her hubs arrives later this week. I did more cleaning, more laundry, and just some general picking up while they were out and it felt good to get the three inches of dust off my bedroom furniture. Hubs grilled burgers for dinner and then it was early to bed for all the littles. We watched Groundhog Day because it seemed like the thing to do. 

It's an unusual season here...we're trying to hold on to some of our routines, but others we've chucked out the window for the time being.  It's fine. Better than fine. We love having the kids here and I know the other grandparents feel the same. 

I confess I might need to mother my daughter a little less, but it's hard. I mean she's right here in my very own house so it's tempting to weigh in on all sorts of things I don't need to weigh in on. She was going to run an errand the other day and I launched into directions when she reminded me she lives here now and is going to have to learn her way around. Plus it's 2025 and she has gps so I actually never need to launch into directions. 

It's what I do though. Mothers gotta mother.

Think maybe I'll put myself in time out right here. 

Linking with Holly and Sarah for their regular Hello Monday weekend catch up. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 588

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here on Wednesday (February 5th) to share answers with the universe. See you there! 

1. What area of your life feels like you're stuck in a Groundhog's Day loop, doing the same thing over and over? Does it bother you or is that just how life is in this particular season? 

2. Something that makes your heart skip a beat? 

3. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve or are you more of a closed book? Elaborate. 

4. According to Prevention Magazine, these are 25 of the best foods for heart health-

wild salmon, sardines, liver, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, oatmeal, blueberries, coffee, red wine, green tea, soy milk, dark chocolate, raisins, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, whole grains, apples, oranges, grapefruit, avocado, avocado oil, olive oil 

Which five do you include in your diet most often? Are there any foods on the list you simply cannot abide? 

5. What was the last piece of furniture you bought? Is there a piece of furniture you need/want to purchase this year? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A Juicy Hodgepodge

Actually it's not that juicy but I needed a title. Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. So glad you've decided to join the fun here today. Add your link at the end of my post, and be sure to leave a comment for the blogger before you. That's what good neighbors do. Here we go-

1. What was your after school routine like when you were a kid? 

If we're talking about elementary school then life was simple. We walked home with our friends, my mom would give us a snack and we'd chat about our day, and then I think we mostly played, rode bikes, that sort of thing until dinner. 

I don't think we had a lot of homework in elementary school, at least not the early years. I do remember a lot of homework in sixth grade, which was still part of elementary school where I grew up. My mom worked part time as a librarian when we got a little older, but I think it was only on Tuesdays we let ourselves in. I had my younger sister with me so wasn't alone, and it wasn't for long. 

There weren't a ton of activities. That's me on the left and my younger sister on the right. Is she holding my hand or is she trying to place herself in front of me in the photo. You decide lol. I was a brownie and girl scout and took ballet but other than that life revolved mostly around the kids in the neighborhood (of which there were many), activities and church, and lots of imaginative play both indoors and out. 

When I was 13 I started babysitting for an hour or two right after school for the little girl across the street. Her dad got home sometime between 4 and 5, but her mom was a nurse and left for her shift around 3, so it was an easy job. Plus the people were great to me and the little girl was a sweetheart. 

2. January 26 is National Green Juice Day ( I guess it's true everything really does have it's day). Do you juice, as in make your own in an attempt to get healthy? Do you do the green juices? What's your favorite kind of juice (home blended or store bought, either one)? 

I don't juice and we don't have a juice bar in our town. It feels like a lot of fuss to do at home. I like juice but haven't really investigated the green varieties. My favorite  is cranberry. 

3. What's something trivial about which you have a strong opinion? 

How my groceries are bagged. Hubs gets annoyed at how over the top I am when I put the items on the belt, but I know some of the baggers load them as they come, and I do my best to prevent nonsense from happening. Put all the cold items with the cold items. Don't put milk and ten cans of something in a single flimsy bag. f

And yes, I know this is an absolute first world problem. I will say my daughter was shocked at the total when we checked out on Sunday. 

4. What do you need more of in your life? Less of? 

More of? Jesus

Less of? Dust and dog hair. Not very deep I know, but keeping it real. I've been off my game for the past week, have a houseful of people, and hubs (chief vacuum-er here) has been away so ugh. The floors need attention. 

5. Give us three adjectives to describe your January.

cold (original, right?), reset (mostly used as a verb I know, but it fits my January), and mellifluous (your word of the day)

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Fire + water for a January win...

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

Monday Morning Coffee Hour

Good Monday morning to you. How was your weekend. Ours was sick! 

I wish I meant that in the slangy way the word is sometimes used, but nope, it was the real deal. 

Here's the thing no one tells you about having grandchildren. They come with hugs and kisses and words and germs. Have mercy, the germs! I feel like a first year teacher when I'm around them (iykyk). I still remember having the most wicked case of strep throat ever my first year in the public schools. 

I do think you build up your immune system being around kids, and if that's truly the case mine should be good for the remainder of the year. 

My daughter said, 'you're not going to blog about this are you mom?' Of course not.

Oh my word it has been a week. 

I'll spare you the gruesome details but let's just say one half of the team had a fever-cough-sinus thing and the other half had what I feel certain was norovirus. Sadly I was in the second camp.

Actually by the weekend most of us were fine, but we kept it low key and just did more movie viewing and less eating than we normally would. 

We survived and I have the pictures to prove it. Sort of. Getting five littles to all look the same direction at the same time, whilst also feeling crummy, is not without it's challenges, but we persevered. I plan to have a cousin crew photo every year wearing matchy matchys. They've been told. 

Meanwhile...in Arkansas...

Hubs missed out on all the fun here because he was duck hunting with friends. I know it's not everyone's thing, but rest assured we will cook and eat what's 'caught'. 

Honestly I'm glad hubs wasn't home last week, because we need someone operating at full capacity. 

He always says he thinks I'd enjoy this, but I'm not keen on the idea of cold, dark, early, and wet. Especially the cold part. 

I do enjoy the photos though. 

And that was our weekend. Dead ducks...

... and lame ducks. 

Linking this post today with Holly and Sarah and their Hello Monday blog hop. 

Don't worry...I used lots of hand sanitizer. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 587

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here on Wednesday (Jan 29th) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. What was your after school routine like when you were a kid? 

2. January 26 is National Green Juice Day ( I guess it's true everything really does have it's day). Do you juice, as in make your own in an attempt to get healthy? Do you do the green juices? What's your favorite kind of juice (home blended or store bought, either one)? 

3. What's something trivial about which you have a strong opinion? 

4. What do you need more of in your life? Less of? 

5. Give us three adjectives to describe your January.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Hail to the Hodgepodge

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (January 22) to share answers with the rest of the world wide webbers. See you there! 

1. What's a winter memory you treasure (can be from any winter in your lifetime)? 

One of my favorites would for sure be the winter of 2005 when we took a family trip to Seefeld Austria. It was one of those trips where everything felt nearly perfect, from the location, the weather, the activity level, the accommodations, and the food. I wrote a little bit about it in this post-Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Ski Jumpers

Speaking of babies...look at these two teenagers from way back when...

2. Tell us about the last time or a recent time you were caught up in red tape. Does it send your frustration level off the charts or is it something you've come to expect when dealing with any sort of bureaucracy?

Hmmm...just got my tax organizer and anything tax related feels like red tape to me. I breeze through parts of it but there are a few questions that always send my frustration level soaring. I expect it which is why I haven't tackled it yet. 

3. Do you eat/like fish? Do you cook fish at home? What's your favorite fish dish? Ever been ice fishing? 

I love fish, all kinds and fixed many different ways. I don't know if I have a favorite but if sea bass  is on the menu I will likely order that. If we're including shellfish in this category then the answer is easy-Maryland blue crabs picked and eaten on a picnic table beside the water. 

Hubs doesn't like the smell of fish cooking in the house, but we do seafood on the grill fairly often, particularly salmon, shrimp, and scallops. I have never been ice fishing. 

4. Did you watch any of the US President's Inauguration coverage on Monday, Jan 20? On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being not at all and 10 being very very) how interested are you in politics in general? Do you follow/keep up with/ get involved with local politics? 

I did watch a lot of the coverage. History being made in real time. I'm interested in politics but they also make my stomach churn so I have to limit my consumption. I will say I'm an 8. 

I keep up with local politics and while I'm not involved in them I do vote in every election, no matter how small. 

5. What's the coziest thing you own and what makes it so? 

Hubs knows what I'm going to say and he's probably laughing, but also it is not his favorite thing in my wardrobe. 

My bathrobe. So so cozy. I put it on and instantly feel better. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Daughter2 arrived with her two littles today (Tuesday) joining her sister who's been here since last Thursday with her three littles, and it's not crazy at all...

Nobody in this crowd has a small personality, including the mommas lol. So much fun! 

Powered by Linky Tools

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