Give it up or not Hodgepodge.

1. What song reminds you of a specific time in your life and what is it about that song that makes you remember? I identify strongly with music, it takes very little for a song to take me to another place in time. The hardest part of this is going to be picking just one song. So I will go with the one that has been in my head for the last couple of weeks and will probably stay there for a long time. I sang this song as a part of my Universities Choral Christmas program which is amazing and this song has the ability to transport me to a calm and peaceful place.

2. What's something you've given up on? Something I have given up on? Do I want to answer this one with a joke or with something serious? Ok, for the joke, I have given up on sun tanning. Actually I should have given this up years ago. Beyond the fact that it is not healthy for you at all. I am very Nordic in my coloring, so it really is a bad plan for me. If it isn't fake my color is either white or red.

For something serious I have given up on. I have given up on being in control of my life. Between the knowledge that I need to let God be in charge and the reality that my life is controlled by the military I have had to let go of that need to be in charge.

3. What's something you'll never give up on?

Family, and the friends who are like family. I will never let them go and I will never let them give up on themselves.

Health, I will never give up on my health and doing what I can to take care of that as best I can.


4. If you had to cook something from scratch in the next hour what would it be?

Let's see I currently have the ingredients for potato soup, spaghetti bolgonaise, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, chicken and rice casserole, peanut butter balls, and I think that's it that would count as from scratch. If I had to choose one to make right now it would probably be potato soup.
5. Have you started Christmas shopping? Decorating? Listening to Christmas music?

Started? I'm pretty much finished. I still need a few things to finish the girls gifts but that is pretty well done. I also will have a few gifts for random things like white elephant exchanges and gift exchanges with friends, but I am done with everything else. Decorating? Nope, I refuse to until after Thanksgiving. I love fall decorations. Listening? Same as before, one holiday at a time here.
6. What do you know about your parent's wedding?

With my Father and Mother. I know where it was held, I've been there, I know what they wore and who was in it. I know how long after they met that they had it. I love to look at the pictures and hear the stories. I am a sucker for weddings and would listen to the stories all the time.

With my Mom's current husband, I know everything about it, I was in it. I helped to plan parts of it. So that's easy.

7. I can't believe I ___________________.

.... don't have ANY pictures of just DH and I together with him in his uniform since our first date. Yes you read that right. So I think that is something that needs to be fixed.
8. Insert your own random thought here.

I read this on Pinterest the other day and I love it.

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway. - Blessed Mother Teresa

Meal Plan Monday - Fall is Finally Here

This week is all about easy to prepare, warm, comforting foods. However my goal is to make sure that it is healthy instead of starting to pre-pack on the holiday pounds. I attempted to start couponing this week. Well let me tell you, it was a failure. I managed to save $40 according to my receipt, however I spent twice as much as I have been spending per shopping trip, so I am thinking that maybe I need to just keep up what I am doing.

So here are the meals in no particular order, mostly. We have a busy weekend with 5 extras so those meals are specifically set aside for that day.

Chicken and Rice Casserole
Green Beans

Peppercorn crusted pork loin
Rice
Glazed Carrots

Whole Wheat Spaghetti
Marinara Sauce
Garlic Bread
Stuffed Quesadilla's
Salsa
Jicama

Chili Dogs
Sweet potato Fries

Grilled Cheese
Vegetable/Tomato Soup

What's on the menu at your house this week? What's your favorite fall meal?

Hodgepodge

1. Who taught you how to cook?

My Mom. I love to cook and bake and I'm a pretty good one if I do say so myself.

2. Have you been told you think too much? Are too much of a perfectionist? Are too sensitive? Were they right?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Well sort of I think that I think things through and expect them to be done correctly if at all possible and that I have a soft side, but I don't think I am TOO any of those things any more than my brother is TOO adventurous or my husband is TOO friendly. It is just a part of what makes each of us ourselves.

3. As a child did you have a favorite blanket or toy? Tell about it.

As a young child I had a yellow blanket named DD. Actually I still have it, it's in a box of childhood memories up in the top of my closet.

4. What 'institution' do you have the most faith in?

Institution? Ummmm I'll think about it and if I come up with something edit later. Perhaps it is the lack of caffeine at this early time of the morning but I can't think of any institution that I have a great amount of faith in right now. I have a lot of faith in people and their desire for the best for themselves and those they care about and I have Faith.

5. Chrysanthemums-pansies-burning bush-ornamental cabbage...your favorite in an autumn garden?

Mums. Mostly because I have never had any other others in a fall garden. Pansies say spring to me, but something about a thick group of rust and gold chrysanthemums makes me thing of Fall every time.

6. What superpower do the kids in your neighborhood seem to posses?

Well, they are all pretty good at falling and getting right up again. We have a large number of kids who have some gracefulness issues, but it never stops any of them, they just bounce right back up and keep playing. Oh that and they all seem to possess louder than normal voices. My own children might be the worst in this group.

7. Are you a fan of the cranberry?

Yes! I love cranberry, juice, sauce, compote, jelly, bread, dried. Yum!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Every random thought I have right now is too grumpy to share with the world. I really should try and do Hodgepodge at night when I am in a better mood. :-)

Thoughtful, Tearful Hodgepodge

1. What gives you goosebumps?

An amazing piece of music. There is something about the way a complex chord sounds when sung by an amazing choir that will give me goosebumps no matter what. This song is one of my favorites for that purpose it is beautiful and powerful and the bass' part makes me shiver.



2. Halloween-are you a lover or a hater? Okay, that sounds harsh...Halloween-yay or nay?

Honestly, I'm ambivalent. I grew up in a house where we didn't celebrate Halloween, and I didn't miss it or feel like there was something wrong with not being a part of it. My husband loves it so our girls celebrate, but it isn't something I care too much about one way or the other. If he didn't love it so much I probably wouldn't bother.

3. Can you respect someone you do not trust, and can you trust someone you do not respect?

Yes, I can respect someone I do not trust. I feel like respect is a decision you make about a person where as trust is something that is more emotional and long term. I respect people in authority over me, but I weigh what they say and make my own decisions based on what is best for me and not what they say. When I trust someone it means that I don't question what they say or their motives.

4. Apples or oranges? Yes, you have to choose.

Apples absolutely. I love to eat apples; fresh, cooked, whatever. Oranges I like but not that much.

5. What is something you wish was in your town? (shop, restaurant, attraction, etc)

Chick-Fil-A I went from Georgia where there was one on every corner to Las Vegas where the nearest one is 5 hours away. I actually have asked my brother to pick some up on his way out of town to bring me when he visits.

6. What non-food item is in your refrigerator or freezer?

An adorable set of Super Hero glasses we have chilling for beer. About 8 ice bags for my husbands recent surgeries. And alcohol that has been left at our house when people PCS.

7. Are you at all superstitious?

Nope, I can never remember what most of them are anyway.
8. Insert your own random thought here.

This came across my Facebook newsfeed today. It is moving and so true so I thought I would share.

Military Man's Promise: I cannot promise you every night of my life. I cannot promise to be beside you for every difficult moment, every trial, and every hardship. In truth, I can promise you that I will not be with you for most. I will leave you at inconvenient times. Any special date to us may be tainted with the anniversary of the death of one of my friends. I will ask you to take over whatever life we have built together for months and years at a time. And will then crash back into that life that you have used your sweat, your tears and your heartache to keep together, and try to take it back as I knew it before. I will shut you out at times because it will be the best way for me to hold it together at that moment. I will lie to you. I will tell you I don't know things when I do. I will not always tell you where I am going, when I will be back, or who I am with. I may not call you for weeks and months and you will not be able to call me. You will ask questions that I won't answer. You will know answers to questions that you will hope you never need. I will share things with my brothers that you will never understand. They will know things about me that you never will. They will be a support to me in some things that you cannot be. I will miss birthdays. I will miss anniversaries. I may need time to process things that seem natural to everyone else. It will seem that someone - or something - will always take precedence over you. You may lose me long before you ever thought possible. I will uproot you and ask you to re-establish our family anywhere in the world, in any season, at any time - over and over again. Sand and mud will be tracked through your halls from the boots I am too tired to take off. I will leave you when you beg me not to. I will stand at attention while you cry beside me. I will not turn my head and I will walk away. I will knowingly break your heart. And I will do it again - and again. I cannot promise you all of me. I cannot promise you much of anything. But if you will have me, I can promise that as I march away from you, it is not without sharing your heartache. I promise you that every time I break your heart I will be breaking mine. Every time that I cannot answer you I will be protecting you. Whenever you want to call and you have no number to dial, I will be wanting to do the same. I will protect everything that we have created together with every fiber of my being while you do the same back at home. I will honor you in everything - every moment that we are apart and every moment that I am with you. I will fight harder and push further knowing that I do so for you. And I will carry you with me in everything, until my sandy boots once again sit just inside our door.

It's the Busiest Time of the Year!

       Oh my goodness what a weekend it has been. I keep thinking that things are going to get better before they get worse. I love the holiday season but sometimes the constant go, go, go that it brings with it can really wear a person out.
       This weekend we kicked off our holiday season with four, yes four Halloween/Fall Festivals. Two of them were school carnivals and they were packed. The girlies loved every second of them even with the zoo that they were. They both loved playing all of the carnival games that were set up. P-nut was especially proficient at the ring toss games, and won some pretty amazing prizes. AJ was great at the skill games like bowling. Face painting was another favorite as were the balloon animals. Today we went to a kids party for my husbands squadron. That was an adventure to say the least they had it set up half inside and half outside on the lawn. The automatic sprinklers kept turning on, soaking all of the kids in their Halloween costumes and causing mass panic. Tonight was interesting, it was time for the Junior High Youth at my church to have a costume party and carve pumpkins. Surprisingly enough it was not nearly as scary as it sounded. The Youth were great, there were no problems, and the pumpkins turned out great.
       Next weekend we have more Halloween plans including a birthday party which should be lots of fun. Then some Trick-or-Treating on Monday night. After Halloween the festivities really start. I am hosting Thanksgiving this year for the first time all by myself and it is starting to panic me a little, so I am sure you will be hearing all about that as time goes on.
       Time for bed with a good book and a nice tall icy glass of water. Night all.

Caramel Hodgepodge.

1. How do you typically react in a sudden, extreme, pressure-filled crisis? Would we want you nearby in an emergency?

I am generally really calm and logical in the face of emergency. However I don't feel like I have many special skills that would be helpful. So I would not be running around like an idiot or having a panic attack but I still could not give medical care or use the physical strength to do something impressive.

2. Caramel apple-caramel sundae-caramel corn-caramel macchiato...of the four, which Carmel treat would you choose?

When I was pregnant with my oldest I was the most frequent customer at the Baskin Robins on Lakenheath. My sundae of choice was a caramel sundae with nuts. I love caramel corn but it isn't something I buy often. I am dying to try the new Salted Caramel Frapp at Starbucks. I guess the only one that isn't a favorite for some reason or another is caramel apples and that is just because I hate how awkward they are to eat.

3. Is there such a thing as destiny? Explain.

Yes, I believe that God has a plan for our lives, something that each person was born to do. I also believe that we are able to make choices that will ultimately effect that destiny.

4. What's your favorite piece of furniture? I'm referring to something currently in your possession as opposed to something on your wish list.

Our new mattress. It is the first one we have ever owned that doesn't make my back hurt in the middle of the night.


5. Wednesday night marks the start of the 2011 Baseball World Series. Did you know? Do you care? Will you be watching? Ever been to a professional baseball game? If you're not an American do you find the title 'World Series' annoying or amusing?

Yes I knew, no I haven't been watching much baseball this season. I used to keep very close track of baseball but it has sort of gone by the wayside with the birth of my children (hockey too) I love going to professional games. I have been to multiple Arizona Diamondback Games, and a few of the games for the Las Vegas 51's (a minor team that feeds the Dodgers)

6. A sound that takes me back to my childhood is____________.

This is a hard one. I would have to say that classical music played on a record is a common sound from my childhood.

7. On average, once you've linked your hodgepodge post to mine how many other participant blogs do you visit? Do you ever come back to the Hodgepodge later in the day or even the day after to read posts?

I try and visit every single one, so an average of 40 I think. Some weeks I am better about commenting than others. I usually visit as many as possible on Wednesdays and then come again on Saturday to see what I missed.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I have a new favorite fingernail polish color. It's Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal. It's a great fall neutral. And I've added a link to the color and a quick pic of my toes and nails so that you can see what it looks like.

Hodgepodge

1. Have you ever been 'asked' to report for jury duty? Were you chosen to serve? If not, were you happy or disappointed?

Yes, but I couldn't actually report. The only time I have been sent the letter was when we were stationed in England. So I made a call and told them that I was a military wife stationed overseas and that I would be unable to come.


2. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being very), how mechanically inclined are you? Give an example to back up your answer.

I would say that I am a 7. I am more mechanically inclined than your average person, but I am no where near as good as my brother. He can just look at something and somehow he knows how it's made. Or he can think of something and somehow know the best way to build it.

3. Beets-cabbage-cauliflower-butternut squash....of the four, which is your favorite fall vegetable?

Cauliflower is my families favorite. The girlies will request it once a week or more. Personally my favorite is butternut squash, it is so yummy and so versatile. Stuffed Squash, roasted squash, squash pasta, squash enchiladas. Yummmm.

4. What do you recommend to overcome self-pity?

A good healthy dose of perspective. There is a quote that says "If we all threw our problems into a big pile, we would quickly grab back our own after we say what everyone else was struggling with." Self-pity comes from a place of entitlement, when you say that you deserve something more, better or different. What we need to remember is that life isn't perfect and God never promised that. What he did promise was to be with us along the way, and if we have God with us there is no room for self-pity.

5. Do you enjoy classical music?

I adore classical music. I listen to it almost as often as I do any other style of music except children's music, which seems to be everywhere with the 4 yo and the 6yo making the choices.
6. October is National Book Month...what's on your reading list this month?

Let's see, so far I have read Emma, Little House in the Big Woods (with the girls of course), two regency romance trilogy's by Julia Quinn, one by Catherine Coulter. I plan on reading some history books on Organized Crime, and if it ever comes in on the Library waiting list I want to read The Help.

7. What is your idea of 'cute'?

Hmmm, I think that is children being children. I love seeing kids who are allowed to explore and learn about the world and express themselves in their own special way. It almost always ends up being cute.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Not much today, nothing interesting or profound. Just the normal stuff, dentist, school, cleaning...