Wednesday Hodgepodge: Ride, Bride, Cried, Snide

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Thanks, again, Joyce, for hosting a fun and thoughtful meme. I always look forward to reading the questions that you've come up with-- and the variety of answers they invoke.


1. Have you ever been to the capital of the USA-Washington DC? If so what's your favorite site? If not, what site would you most like to see on a visit to that city someday in the future? Is it even on your list of places to visit?

Yes, I have been a few times. As a child, I loved the Air & Space Museum because I was obsessed with the adventures of Amelia Earhart and Charles Lingbergh. I dreamed of taking a ride in the Spirit of St. Louis! I also loved the Museum of Natural History because of the Hope Diamond (being a bling lover started with that mammoth stone in the glass case guarded by ominous men in uniform). As an adult, Ford's Theater captivated me since I'm an Abe Lincoln fan, and because the docent picked my children to help him reenact the final scenes of the President's death. For the boys, it was all about the gun, of course.

2. When did you last attend a wedding? Are there any weddings on your summer calendar? Were you a summer bride? If you're single is summer the season of your dream wedding?

I was not a June bride. Wanted to be a July bride because June was so common, but my parents insisted that since we'd only known each other 3 months when we got engaged, we had to wait a year so as to allow to "iron out any wrinkles." I didn't think either of us had wrinkles. Ahem!

The last wedding I attended was on May 7th when my dear friend, Sacha, got married. We have been in the same church a long time, but it was on a 10-day mission trip to Russia that we really bonded on a deep level. Her parents are dear friends. Her mom, Carol, is quite the intercessor. She prayed for weeks (months?) that it would not rain for Sacha's outdoor wedding. God heard Carol's prayer; it could not have been a more beautiful day with temps in the upper 70s, light breeze, sunny skies. It only sprinkled for literally five seconds, which seemed more like a spray of "holy water blessing" on the newlyweds and their guests.

Here are some pictures. Carol is in a wheelchair (no thanks to MS) and she's all smiles. It was sad, however, in the sense that three of Sacha's grandparents died within 13 months of the wedding, and so only one grandfather was there. Sacha wore her grandmother's wedding gown; the hat blew off as she came down the aisle. Her dad snatched it up and carried it along. Comic relief at a moment when most of us were getting really choked up--including my husband who admits that the closer his kids get to marriage, the harder time he has "keeping it together" at weddings. (Old sap!)








3. What is your favorite way to eat strawberries?

With shortcake and whipped cream. I also have a Weight Watchers recipe for Strawberry Trifle that basically layers cubed sugar-free angel food cake, lowfat ricotta & strawberry yogurt whipped together, sliced strawberries, and lowfat Cool-Whip. Talking about it makes me want some. Now.

4. What is one thing you are especially looking forward to this summer?

Well, if we can pull it off (or should I say, "if God wills"?), our 25th anniversary trip to Italy!

5. Do you use/like the self scanner at the grocery store?

Yes, but my love for the self-scanner is conditional, for sure. Since I prefer to shop for 15 items or fewer at a time (if you've been around the blog long enough, you know I LOATHE the grocery store), then the self-check is the way to speed on through. That is, until things decide not to function as I want them to. I find myself making snide comments to the deaf robot when she says, "Move your ...baNANas...to the belt." I answer her, "Move YOUR bananas to the belt!" And when she says,"The bagging area is full. Please bag items before continuing to scan." I say, "You call that full? I call it just getting started." I hate to go back and forth, back and forth.
But I like when a kind bagger comes along and offers to assist. I always take them up on it.

6. Share a favorite piece of common sense advice.

Better to close your mouth and have people think you're a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.

7. Barefoot, flip flops, tennis shoes, sassy sandal-your first choice for summertime?

Barefoot as often as possible, though it does make for reptilian feet. My hubby is not fond of sharing the bed with an alligator, but what can I say? I am a hillbilly at heart. I can walk on hot pavement and thistles in these calloused soles! Flip-flops next, although they sometimes result in "trip-trops" for me.. I only wear tenners when exercising or working in the garden with
spades and blades.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm eager to have my middle two children back home today after their 5-day getaway to Florida for a conference called NEXT/ mini-vacay. I'm so proud of them for handling all their own registration, flight, hotel, shuttle, and food details on their own. All grown-up like.