the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm here with Joyce again today for the weekly hodgepodge...this is a post that I dearly love; thank you, Joyce, for your inspiring and thought provoking questions each and every week! I'll jump right in. 

1. What's worth standing in line for? You know what was worth it this week to stand in a long line for? A new car title and license plate in my own new name! My son advised me to be there thirty minutes before they opened to get a good spot in the line, so I showed up at 7:30 like he recommended. The only problem was that the office didn't actually open until nine. Oopsies! I was prepared, though. I sat on the steps until I got hot, then I moved over to stand in the shade. I read my new library book while I waited, but for the last fifteen minutes I talked to the man and woman who were over there in the shade with me. I love making friends wherever I go! Also, and I'm just going to say it here like I want to say it, since there's no better way: I felt like a badass after I did this. Add this to the list of new things I'm having to learn to do for myself! I love checking things off one at a time like this, and the fact that my car is now officially my car, well...I can't quite express what this means to me. 

This is my old plate, which is why it's pictured...but on Snapchat I sent this to my sons and said, "Out with the old and in with the new...". My old one was an E tag since he was in local government, and it bugged the daylights out of me being associated with that still. I need new and mine in my life. 

2. Tell us about a favorite food related memory. On a lighter note...I think a lot of my favorite memories are tied up with food. When I was young, we always ate dinner at an actual table, and Mom cooked every single night. We rarely ate out! When my sons were young, we always ate at the dinner table; we would talk about our days, we would laugh, we would sometimes have serious discussions, like when they would experience the death of a friend's parent or a close neighbor friend. To this day, food is important to me, not because I love to eat it, but because it's what I use to nurture someone. I want to make sure people eat well, so I'll sometimes offer to take dinner with me to a friend's house, or I'll inwardly rejoice when someone (a man) asks me to wait on him for dinner. I love to eat with people! 

3. What are some things you find particularly peaceful or calming? Music, music, MUSIC! These days it's my favorite thing to do when I get home from work. I don't want "talking" on in the background, but music? Yes, please! All day long. I have mentioned this no less than a thousand times here before, but I have different playlists on Spotify for different seasons/times of day. In the afternoon, I am ready for my favorite playlist that I made; it's a combo of country and pop music.

4. Is there something you do now that gets you just as excited as it did when you were a child? Yes! Travel gets me just as excited today as it always has. I love it all from start to finish, but I don't love the planning phase. I would prefer to let someone else do that; I just like to make the packing lists, pack, and people watch at the airport. I can never sleep the night before I travel! My next trip is coming up in a couple weeks; I'm going back to Dallas to see my Noah. I can't wait! After that one is a fall break trip, then I'll be home again until spring break. Stay tuned! 

5. To what degree are you in touch with friends from grade school? High school? College, if you attended college? I'm not really in touch with friends from those grade levels in school, but my childhood best friend and I are still in touch, though not as often as we'd both like. We've talked about meeting up for a weekend getaway; I want to make this happen sometime in the next year! She's finally an empty nester, and I'm free as a bird, so now's the perfect time. She lives in Oklahoma now, so maybe we would meet somewhere halfway? I love that my sons have met Stacy; she came in town about fifteen years ago and we all met up at Dad's house for a cookout. It felt surreal to have our kids meet! 

6. Insert your own random thought here. I took a half day off from work yesterday to get the license plate and car title issue dealt with; it felt amazing! I celebrated myself afterward by treating myself to breakfast at my favorite place, Eggs Up Grill. 

I had my book with me and enjoyed reading while I ate. This felt great! I don't usually eat at a sit down restaurant alone, so this felt empowering. I want to do this more, moving forward! I have some strong women in my life who are inspirational to me in this; I am making it a goal to be more like them. After breakfast I came home to do some laundry and cleaning, then I put the new license plate on my car, and worked on some blog stuff for the week before I went in at 12:40. I figured since I took a half day, I would enjoy a half day. 

That night I had Bunco, so it felt good (luxurious) to be home midday for mundane things. I maybe took that for granted before? I won't again, I assure you. I love my job, but I do miss doing things in the week. It's okay, though! I always have time at the end of my day, and I'm learning to be more careful and selective in what I say "yes" to. On Monday, for instance, I paid my water bill after work, then got a proof of residence printed off, and went to the library before coming home for the evening. It feels good to be figuring out my new life yet again; change isn't something I love, but I've had so much of it in fourteen months that it's starting to feel like my new normal. I'm learning that I'm strong, capable, and that I easily adapt to situations outside of my control. That feels pretty good, friends. 

Thanks for reading my blog today! I can't wait to read your answers if you're joining in with sweet Joyce for this link party. I'll see you back here Friday! Love to all. 

Jenn