the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm linking up with Joyce for today's hodgepodge post. I'll jump right in! 

1. "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."—Sam Keen

Do you feel less guilty relaxing in July than you do in January? Elaborate. Yes! When January rolls around each year, I am always highly motivated to get things done. I'm ready to use my new calendar that I have hanging in my kitchen, I'm ready to be healthier, I'm ready for all of the things and goals to be accomplished. When July rolls around, I'm in survival mode because of the time of year. I barely cook, I do as little as possible physically outside because of oppressive heat, and I don't really care about things/goals being accomplished.

I'm not complaining, I promise! As much as I may dislike being hot, I love the summer. I don't ever want to be too old to enjoy a summer, you know? 

2. What's a telltale sign you're upset? Without a doubt, I thought of being upset and going silent. I might also start stress cleaning something. The reason I go silent is because my mom always taught me if I couldn't say anything nice, to not say anything at all. 

When I clean, I love a good smelling cleaning product!

3. July 16th is National AI Day. What are your general thoughts/experiences regarding AI? Have you purposely used it? Does it excite you, scare you, or worry you? What do you see as a benefit? How about something relating to AI you see as a negative? I've had a great experience with AI and use it pretty often. I ask Chat GPT for help with things like why my plant keeps wilting, what to do with an area of my yard that won't grow grass, decorating help, and prettying up something I've written for an email. 

If I'm being honest, it excites me, scares me a little, and worries me that as a society, we rely too much on it already. I think it's great for people who use it for work related purposes. I was talking about this with my friend Marcia on Monday; she's a Realtor and uses it all the time to help her stage homes. I think that's great! I use it for good, but it's used for bad way too often. It scares me that it can create images of me being some place I'm not. 

As with the use of a lot of technology, it bothers me that it's making all of society a bit dumber, so to speak. What I mean by that is that we no longer rely on the rules of grammar we all learned; we don't have to know how to spell anymore, either, which is also because of technology. Spelling tests are no longer given in school! I didn't know that until I started working in a school again. For me, I enjoy using the technology we have today; I'm going to use it for good and not think about the flip side of things.

4. You're invited to a summer potluck and asked to bring an appetizer, salad/side, or a dessert. Which category do you go for and what are you bringing? I'm bringing pasta salad or another summer staple salad, like the corn salad I made for Bunco a few weeks ago. I will always choose something savory over something sweet. 

5. It wouldn't be summer without that afore mentioned oppressive heat. 

It's really hot when I wear shorts. Ha! 

6. Insert your own random thought here. As I write this, I'm listening to Meghan Trainor radio on Spotify. Are you a fan of her music? When I need to be motivated to get up and be productive, I love to turn this on.

I'm loving the clear acrylic drawer organizers from the Dollar Tree! I have six of them this week, along with four more for my bathroom drawers. I'm on a mission to organize and purge! You wouldn't believe the junk and old stuff I've thrown away since Sunday. Do you enjoy organizing your spaces like I do?

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. I'm excited to read your answers to the prompts. I'll see you back here tomorrow; love to all!

Jen