The Final Countdown Hodgepodge!!

So - we are on the final countdown.  My beloved hubs, the love of my life for 19 years now, the father of our three amazing children, will be making his way home after serving in Afghanistan for the past 6 months.  And, God willing, he will be home by this time next week... (which may or may not impact my blogging next week... just sayin... ;-)  We are all so excited to be back together as a family, as a couple, whew - it has been a good six months, but a long six months as well...

BUT - never mind all that... well, kinda mind all that... but in the MEANTIME, lets do our weekly Hodgepodge!  yea!  (And after you have left your kind comments letting me know you stopped by (!), join Joyce over here to see her original answers and join in the fun, if you so desire!

1. Do you like chili? Red or white? Beans or no beans? Spice or no spice? Toppings?

Ooh, I love chili!  Not burn-your-tongue spicy, but on a cold winter night, there's nothing better than a big bowl of red bean and ground beef chili with just the right amount of cumin and other spices, topped with sour cream and freshly shredded cheddar cheese.  yum.   Also, served with cornbread made in my Granny's cast iron skillet - to die for - (or Frito chips, that my kids love to scoop the chili up with... blech )

2. Red~Orange~Gold...your favorite fall color?

Ooh, I like them all together!  But I'll admit, I love driving down the road and seeing the leaves on the trees turning red... absolutely gorgeous!

3. Who did you idolize when you were growing up?

My grandmother, Claires.  She was an amazing woman who lived in Hollywood during the roaring twenties and was a true flapper girl (no kidding - I have her journals to prove it!)  She also lost her husband in a tragic car accident when her two boys were quite young, and raised them on her own during a time in society when being a single mother could not have been easy.  She was beautiful, always impeccably dressed, and her smile lit up a room and her eyes twinkled.  I loved her very much, and losing her to Alzheimers as a teenager left a hole in my heart.  My daughter is named after her, and I see her sparkle echoed in her eyes!

4. When was the last time you did something 'arts and craftsy'? Share please.

Well, while my husband has been deployed to Afghanistan I have been re-doing our wedding album.  A lot of fun, bringing up all kinds of memories, but oy... a LOT of work!  Another thing I did was make my mother-in-law a birthday card a couple of weeks ago.  We are going with my in-laws to Hawaii next month, and so I made her a card with a hula dancer on the front that read "A Hawaiian Blessing for your Birthday" and then on the inside it read "May your coconuts never hang lower than your hula skirt!"  HA!  Everyone loved it!  :-)

5. What's a place that makes you really nervous?

Skid row, downtown LA.  'Nuff said.

6. Horse back riding...yay or nay (neigh?)

Yay!   We love horse back riding - in fact it is one thing my kids have said they want to do with Daddy when he gets back from Afghanistan!  Here is a picture of us horse back riding last fall...

7. What is your favorite cliche?

"Many Hands Make Light Work" - seriously, if everyone all worked together to get things done, they would get done so much quicker!  

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I had a really frustrating day.  After I bought out Costco, re-stocking the kitchen for my hubs return, I went to the local mall to get some new dresses and personal items for this next month.  But I walked out with nothing.  Why?  Not because I didn't find things I liked.  I did.  But the sales people... didn't acknowledge my presence.  Didn't ask to help.  And this was in 5 different stores.  Major chains.  Small boutiques.  Ridiculous.  So my day ended much like poor Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman... and I'll be darned if I'm not tempted to go back tomorrow, pick out all of the things I would have liked to buy, set them down, and say "Um yeah... all these items?  i would have SO bought them if only you had acknowledged my presence in your store!"  Good grief!