I am no longer going to apologize for the fact that I am doing weekly Hodgepodges as my only blogging... I figure, if I keep you guessing, it's all good, right? :-) It'll surprise us both! Honestly though, I am so brain dead by the end of the day, it's a miracle I remember to take out my contacts, much less post a blog! I really need to work on that...
but I digress... on to this week's Hodgepodge!
1. National Read a Road Map Day falls on April 5th. Would people say you have a good sense of direction? Do you rely on a GPS when you drive somewhere new? When was the last time you used a map?
I definitely do not have a good sense of direction - and I'm extremely visual, so if someone says to drive down the road until you pass Tony's Market and then turn left and go to the red house... I've got it. Unless they say to turn left at Starbucks - because in Mountain Home Idaho, you would have to drive a really really really really long way to the nearest Starbucks - like, 65 miles, which is totally worth it, but I digress. And by the same token, if someone said that in LA, you would turn left, like 15 times due to the fact that there are Starbucks on every block!
And I have become incredibly dependent on my IPhone GPS - what an amazing feature. In an emergency it can show me where the nearest Starbucks hospital is, and the fact that it can show the current traffic flow is awesome too - on long road trips, it helps when I can tell my husband "Don't worry, only one more mile of heavy traffic and we're home free" Which makes him less cranky and thus our marital bliss continues!
I can't remember the last time I used a "real paper map" Except maybe when we got out the Atlas so I could show the kids exactly where Daddy was deployed to... does that count?
2. What's your favorite cookbook?
My favorite go-to cookbook that I have had for 13 years now is "Beyond Mac and Cheese" - I bought it on a whim at a MOPS gathering, and it literally changed the way I cook. In other words, I have NO idea what on earth we ate the first 4 years of our marriage, but after I got this book, I could cook and put together a complete meal with items I had in my kitchen already, and it would be GOOD!
For entertaining, and because I have several more years of cooking experience under my belt now, I love my Southern Living Complete Cookbook. I thought about getting a Martha Stewart book, but I knew I would spend the whole time sticking my tongue out at Martha, because I have a not-so-complex love/hate relationship with her which surely the Lord wants me to deal with. And I also thought about getting a Paula Dean cookbook, but I knew I would gain 15 pounds just reading the recipes.
Oh - I also LOVE the Mitford Cookbook... all homey and old fashioned and just makes you feel good inside!
3. What painting would you like to "walk into" and experience? Why?
Oh, I should totally shock my mother and list some graphically "naughty" painting. But I won't. Because I don't want to scare my mother.
So. The painting I would love to walk into and experience is pretty much anything by Claude Monet or Thomas Kincade... namely, these two...
this one is "Footbridge and lillies" by Claude Monet... original title, right? It just looks so peaceful and serene and quiet! Sigh...
This one says small town charm, pride, trust. Children laughing, puppies barking, loved ones laughing. And a gorgeous blooming garden that I dream of having someday... love it...
4. What annoys you more- misspellings or mispronunciations?
Oh that is hard - they both are annoying, especially when the person doing the misspelling or mispronunciation should really know better.
Probably the classic one I always remember is when I was doing a drive-through at a barbeque restaurant in North Carolina, and there was a sign posted on the window that said, and I quote directly, "We Don't Sale Lemonade" no joke. Now, if you know how North Carolinians, they really do say "Sell" the same way we would pronounce "Sale" but still... really?
It was really good barbeque though.
5. What is something your mother or father considered important?
"Naughty" art. JUST KIDDING MOM!!! Oh dear - I am SO going to get a call about this blog! (I can't use the "p" word instead of "naughty" because it will attract creepy icky people to this blog and I really don't want that. If you are one of those people, GO AWAY!)
Family camping trips, every summer. Yes they were long and we got filthy and all of that, but you know what, good memories were made... listening to Glen Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy", the Beach Boys, and John Denver's Greatest Hits on the cassette player - oh, we were so excited to get a car with a cassette player! And who can ever forget sleeping in our car as coyotes howled outside in Cameron, Arizona because we didn't have reservations at the Grand Canyon. Good times...
6. Do you like or dislike schedules?
I find I do much better with a schedule of some kind, but I do enjoy being spontaneous!
7. Let's have some fun with National Poetry Month (that would be April)...write your own ending to this poem-
"Roses are Red
Violets are blue..."
my children are sleeping
let's all shout "WAHOO!"
I know, I know... believe me, I'm sure I'll think of something truly witty tonight in the wee hours of the morning.
8. Insert your own random thought in this space.
Am I the only military spouse out there who doesn't really mind the March Mustache Madness that goes on? Really, the mustache is kind of a fun look, and it tickles when your man kisses you!
And never ever in a blog have I ever mentioned "Naughty" art and tickly mustache kisses in one setting... or ever, for that matter... hnmmm... how many more months of this deployment? Yikes! Y'all are in for some spicy blogs I fear!
