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. "Egg on your face, putting all your eggs in one basket, a good egg, walk on eggshells, nest egg, or a tough egg to crack"...which egg idiom currently applies to your life right now? Explain. I don't know that any of these resonate with me and my life at the moment, but of the ones listed I've said something about "walking on eggshells" recently. Maybe because that's the life I used to have to live while I was married. 

I loved this quote that I saw on Instagram by Case Kenny! It made me laugh and it's a true statement. Never again will I do certain things! 

2. April 7th is National Beer Day...are you a beer drinker? If so, do you have a favorite? Beer battered fish, beer bread, beer can chicken, beer brats...which one sounds good to you? Have you made any of these? I am not a beer drinker, however, every summer I think it's Busch that releases a beer with apple or peach. Last year when I was swimming with a friend, he offered me a peach one, and I turned him down. I took a drink of his, though, and loved it, so I had one while we floated and talked. I don't count that as "real" beer, though. I love to cook with beer, but I haven't made any of the dishes listed. One thing I love to make for my sons that's a favorite of their is beer cheddar Joe's that I got from Shay Shull. To this day, they love that dish! Of the dishes listed, beer battered fish sounds amazing to me, though I try to not eat fried food. 

I'm so ready for summer! I want to float around and read. 

3. Do you have siblings? What's the best thing about being your sibling? If you don't have siblings, what are the pros and cons about being the only child? I have five siblings, one of whom is in Heaven. I'm the youngest out of Paul, Terri, Lisa, Debi, and Trish. I'm going to rework this question a little and not make it about me. I think the best thing about having siblings is the companionship that they offer later in life. Not only are they my siblings, they're my friends. When my sisters and I are together, I can't think of one time that I have more fun than right then at that moment. I love being with them and feel like they feed my soul. How fortunate am I to have such amazing women in my life that I get to see pretty often? I am talking about my sisters only, because I don't often get to see Paul. He lives in Orlando, and since Dad has died, he doesn't have much reason to travel back here. I get that, but we do talk pretty often.

Aren't they beautiful? This was just a couple of weeks ago, when Mom, Trish, and I flew to Denver to see them and to be there for my niece Erika's baby shower. 

And this was us when we went to Kennebunkport, Maine and Salem, Massachusetts for Fall break last October. I love traveling with them! 

4. How do you feel about floral scents in products? Do you have a favorite? I'm not a fan of floral scents in general; they tend to make me sneezy. I prefer scents like citrus or something that smells like I'm near a beach. If I had to pick a favorite floral scent, I would pick either a tuberose, plumeria, or a gardenia. Those are the smells that you might experience when you land on a Hawaiian island and are given in a lei. 

5. What's one thing in your home that begins with the letter G that you would say is a keeper, something you'll hold onto? Tell us why. One thing in my home that begins with the letter G is glassware; I have these pretty glasses that Mom bought me one year for Valentine's day that came from HomeGoods. They're clear with a cobalt blue rim; I love them and will keep them forever because she picked them out for me! Another thing that comes to mind are the games I have that were either mine as a child or the ones that belonged to my sons. Many an hour was spent around a table in this home playing a game from that collection. 

Here's one of my beloved glasses. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. I had such a great Monday off this week; Marilyn and I went to lunch, then we ran errands together. I had a chiropractor appointment that she rode along with me to, then she had a couple of stops to make before I came back home. I love doing mundane life things together! It's my favorite thing to do with friends/significant other. I miss having days like that, when I can spend my morning time any way I want to, and when I can wake up without an alarm. 

I'm still grateful for a job that I love, though, even when I am exhausted at the end of a day. The hugs and sweet words of affirmation are all worth it at the end of each day, and so is the pride I feel when I see a struggling student excel. I feel like a proud mom! I witnessed this yesterday with a fifth grade student that I spend time with each day; he was struggling with the thought of finishing a test, but he did great on it and ended up leading the class discussion on some of the answers. I was so, so proud of him as I sat and listened to/watched him. I was telling that story to my co-worker Karen when another co-worker Heather texted me to tell me how proud she was, too. She loved that I shared the story with Karen. I'll be sad to see this group of fifth graders leave at the end of the year! 

I'm excited to read your answers to these prompts today! Thanks for being here to read mine. Love to all!

Jenn