Blue Suede Hodgepodge

I interrupt my search for a new vehicle to bring you the following edition of 

the Wednesday Hodgepodge, sponsored by 

Joyce.   Thank you, Joyce. 

One  fuuny thing before I start: my hubby just chuckled at a weather page he saw online: 

"Tonight's Low--11 degrees"

Current temperature:-- 10 degrees"

1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English.  Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness (go here to read more about how the words were chosen).  Here are the words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2014-

selfie, twerk/twerking, hashtag, Twittersphere, Mr. Mom, T-bone, ____on steroids, the suffixes-ageddon, and -pocalypse added to anything and everything, from the world of politics the words-intellectually/morally bankruptand Obamacare, and from the world of sports the words-adversity and fan base

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

None of those words has bothered me (yet) from overuse. However,  I'm probably most annoyed with all the selfies I see on Facebook. It's not the selfies themselves, but the frequency and the mere fact that they are, by nature, self-focused.  I won't expound here;   I brought up this pet peeve by way of poking fun of it on my Facebook-- and one of my friends got so bent out of shape that she unfriended me. Wow. 

There's a suffix I'd like to see banned: -alicious.  Porkalicious. Waffle-icious.  Swagga-licious. It should  be banned. and so should first grade boys picking their nose and eating it. ("Boogerlicious ?")

2. What one unfinished project nags at you begging to be completed in this new year?

Fixing my old 1948 Singer 15-91 sewing machine so that I can use it.  (The power is amazing in that motor!)  It was useable when it came home from the repair shop (had it rewired for safety) but I decided to take it a little bit apart to clean the dust out, shine up some dull chrome, and polish the black metal.  (Thanks, YouTube, for the tutorial.) The other night I was "this close" to finish my reassembly it when I dropped a little, tiny screw that I cannot find anywhere. My son looked and looked. I used a flashlight. I got down on hands and needs. No can-do.

3. When did you last have a bowl of soup? What kind? Homemade or from a can? What's your favorite soup?

I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but it was a few nights ago and it was Ramen noodle soup, which is something I buy maybe once a year to satisfy my boy's craving for it.  He was so cute when he made it; he declared, "Now I'm ready for college!"  

I guess he's heard a few stories about how I survived on Ramen noodles circa 1985 in my humble apartment that had no stove, just a two-burner hot plate. And I was grateful . Hashtag Uphillbothwaysinthesnowtoschoolstory.

4. Snowed in, snowed under, snow job...which one most applies to your life in recent days, figuratively speaking.

Figuratively speaking, snow job.  I won't expound on this topic either; I have become cynical and am taking 2014 to try to reverse this recent (last 2 years) trend in my heart to believe I can't trust anyone who says they value me, my skills, or my giftings.

5. What's the funniest movie you've ever seen, or at least one of the funniest?

I'm really dating myself with this mention, but I think it was Meatballs.  Do you all remember it, with Bill Murray and all those pranks at summer camp? We laughed so hard. I wonder if I'd still find it funny, or if it just struck me funny in junior high. 

6.  In general, would you say you're clumsy?

In general, yes, and in specific, definitely yes.

7. Elvis Presley was born on Hodgepodge Day (January 8th) back in 1935.  Are you an Elvis fan?  What's your favorite Elvis tune? If that's too hard, which Elvis tune do you dislike the least?  Click here for a list of his songs.

I am an Elvis fan, indeed.   Not sure I can pick a favorite. Most danceable is "Jailhouse Rock," but I can also feel all swoony inside  when I hear "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You."  

Two bits of Elvis trivia:  (1) My husband's oldest brother used to be an Elvis impersonator. Hilarious!  He was particularly enchanting when he sang "Blue Suede Shoes." (Tony, if you're reading this, we must get an encore soon!)   (2) My mom's birthday is the day after Elvis's (but several years after).  Not that she reads my blog, but Happy Birthday to my mom!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Here's a "What Would You Do?" scenario for you, from my real life.  Let me set the background:

Yesterday I had to take my van in for a routine oil change and to have the tire plugged.  What a cold day! On the way to the shop, I stopped at the Exxon station to clean it out. Little did I know the battery was weak; after sitting at the trash can area for all of five minutes with the door open and lights on, I couldn't restart the engine.   I sat there cold, trying to put a plan together.

I closed my doors,  watched for anyone who looked like they knew how to jumpstart a vehicle (to no avail), called my hubby who said to call GEICO. Well, GEICO had me on hold too long; I couldn't waste my battery on that. Eventually my dear friend Bonnie came to my rescue and suggested I go inside and try to find someone with the know-how and confidence to give a hot-shot. I  then walked inside Exxon, summoned my public-speaking courage and cheeriest tone, and then asked, "Excuse me,  my car battery died out there. Is anyone in here able and willing to jumpstart it for me?"

I got the following responses from the six or seven customers in line:

-some pretended they couldn't hear me (but it's a small station and I projected like a cheerleader at a pep rally)

-some got suddenly busy on their phone or in their purse

-one lady asked,"You got cables?" and when I said, "Yes," she did nothing more.  Umm....okay.

Finally, one big, friendly man --who reminded me of former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis--stepped forward like a hero, out of the line he'd been waiting in. "I can help you, ma'am."  

And what did I do? First, I said something to him about getting more jewels in his crown for this good deed.  

Then I asked him, "Are you sure you're warm enough without a coat? I mean, I can call GEICO."   Something in me has to mother everyone I meet; why is that??  He gave Bonnie and me a brief refresher course under the hood: "black-to-black, red-to-red."  I think I knew that, but all things electrical scare the wits out of me. I thanked him profusely and he went back inside.

Anyway, what would YOU do if you had been one of the customers in the Exxon  in the same situation? Be honest. I'm curious.  

In My Neck of the "Woulds" (and Wouldn'ts) at Christmas

This is a sort of note to self, since my memory is short.  I've been recapping Christmas 2013 in my mind for the past week and making mental lists of how to improve next year's festivities.

In no particular order:

1.  I would buy the beautiful poinsettias from the school again next year for their "greens fundraiser."
I've never seen prettier, healthier ones in my life. Ten bucks each was a good purchase.

2.  I would NOT trust them to get a little drink on  a nice day when the weather could snap overnight and kill them.   Literally, they looked like this in 27 hours from the time I  brought them home.  My hubby took one look at them and said, "It must be a record."

3. I would make huge name tags from scrap wrapping paper  and big adhesive letters again.  It makes Santa's job of distributing them very easy. And they're cute a cute alternative to storebought to/from tags
when you can't find the ones you thought you bought after Christmas LAST year.

4. I wouldn't wait until Christmas Eve-eve for inspiration desperation to force my hand.

5.  I would volunteer again to be a school yearbook photographer. It grants me a
nametag and the right to sit front and center to witness my boy wait nervously for his
song to start. (Did you know those sticks are musical instruments called boomwhackers?)

6.   I wouldn't let him wear the tie without buttoning the top button.

     

     7.  I would make chicken alfredo with bacon again because it's easy, can be made ahead of time and heated up later in the oven, feeds a crowd, looks Christmasy, tastes good, is easier on certain stomachs than marinara sauce,  and the dish is disposable.

8.  I wouldn't buy nearly as much other food.  Oh, my, it was too much!

9.    I would pretend that August is December and I'd start all my handmade items then,  and finish by Thanksgiving.
10.  I would not wait for inspiration (or in hubby's words, "procrastination adrenaline") to hit me in the real December.


                                               For DIL who loves aqua, grey, and white

                                  For daughter who loves changing out her pillows seasonally like her mom.

                      I call this pillow "Sashing Through the Snow" because of the window-pane look.  She likes the added bling in the center.

11.  I would do anything again to make it possible for all of us to be together every Christmas Eve.
There's nothing quite like it.

12.  I wouldn't forfeit the joy of attending a Christmas Eve service like I did this year.  We haven't figured out how to compromise on attending church, eating dinner, opening gifts,
and getting everyone safely home before midnight.

Longtime Friendship Table Runner

My friend Barb and I have been friends since the third grade when I lived in Kansas. 

She still lives there, and I'm on the East Coast, but we're in touch a few times a

week.   

This year I started quilting (in September) and decided to make her

a special Christmas present: a very long table runner for her very long oak dining room

table, to symbolize our very long and loyal friendship. 

(I called her hubby one evening  when she wasn't there, and asked him to measure the table. When he said 67 inches long, 

I knew there'd be a lot of squares to piece and a lot of threads to snip!)

Here it is on my table.  The runner ended up 12.5 x 48", I think. 

 This was the backing material which I just love, and makes the runner reversible. When spring comes, or if she simply needs a burst of  sunny yellow in the dead of winter, it's right here.

Color Coded Goals, with Radiant Orchid Ones

For some reason, my most recent update of this list (last week) saved a draft, but not the final one.
So, I've revisited and revised it as the New Year begins.

I can honestly say that this type of list , which spans almost 3 years and is more goal--oriented and not "resolutions" to complete in one year, is proving to be my style.  It includes physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual areas in which to grow, change, and achieve for good in measurable ways.

Here's my color code:

Red--updates as of the end of April 2013
Blue--updates as of the end of December 2013
Radiant Orchid--updates as of January 2, 2014
Green--priority goals for 2014


Revisions in  "Radiant Orchid," the Pantone Color of the Year.  This may not exactly be Radiant Orchid, but it's as close as I can get with my computer. 


Starting date: Aug 1, 2012
Ending date: April 28, 2015

1. Sponsor a new child Joel's age (8/15/12, Marcos)
2. Pack boxes for Samaritan's Purse at a packing facility at Christmas 
Decided I want to make 7 doll quilts to send this year instead.
3. Make empanadas
4. Learn watercolor
5. Visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art
6. See NYC
7. Lose 2 dress sizes by June 1, 2013 (as of 8/15, down 5 lbs), 3 sizes by Jan 1, 2014) and 80 lbs total by 4/28/15) Went back up 5 by Oct 1, but went off gluten Oct 1 and lost 10 lbs that month.  Lost 1 dress size. by June 1.   Lose another dress size by March 1
8. Sand off faux finish in the master bathroom
9 Strip wallpaper from master bathroom
10. Give away 27 things a month 12 times (2x in Aug '12) (27x2 bags Nov '12, 1 in Dec 12, 1 in Jan, 1 in Feb, 1 in March, 2x in April, 1 in May)  lost track but it was 12
11. See S&A get married
12. Find a good chiropractor and have at least 6 adjustments
13. Read a book on classical education
14. Visit friends in KS again
15. Make a trip out west    redundant of #46  Instead,  save monthly for trip to Italy in 2015
16. Give blood
17. Talk with my folks about their will and final arrangements :(
18. Get 200K miles out of van  up to about 150K now
19. Write 3x to female soldiers
20. Join a nursing home ministry visited n. home w/ school kids May 2013
21. Teach more art camps at home
22. Host 3 game nights with friends
23. Get my hair cut by Mario (8/25/12) not worth the cost
24. Find a new church home  (been attending the same one since July; not sure it's home)
25. Sell the Victorian organ
26. Replace all carpet in LR, hall, and Bras
27. Get new mattresses for the boys
28. Make a guest room when SG moves out 
29. Make a hobby room when S moves out (guitar room)
30. Write a song
31. Send 24 greeting cards (Christmas doesn't count) (12 to date)

32. Design a set of 4 songbird greeting cards (1 chickadee 8/5/12)
33. Paint flowers A to Z
34. Give Daddy my first landscape painting (for his birthday ,Nov 2012)
35. Choose the new mailboxk  (installed 4/26/13)
36. Design the remodel of the kitchen
37. Walk 26.2 miles a month 3x
38. Ride a horse
39. Test drive an Audi A6 or A8  (tested and bought A4)
40. Host international students for an American holiday
41. Have a personal or mini-retreat w/ praying friend(s)  (4/27/13)
42. Troll around in a boat on a lake
43. Get piano tuned
44. Learn to draw 3 animals well (horse, bird, golden retriever)
45. Brush up on my Russian  --(No longer important)-- Instead, help produce a good yearbook
for the school
46. Visit TX and NM relatives *there, not here
47. Read a biography of a martyr
48. Get my tooth implant done
49. Start Joel's school memento book and do up thru grade 5
50. Develop the rest of my old film
51. Do J's baby scrapbook
52. Buy B&D's wedding photos
53. Frame and hang wedding photos
54. Take a drawing class (10 weeks, fall '12)
55. Read Battlefield of the Mind
56. Help S set up her new classroom (8/7/12)
57. Serve my three friends who have MS in a meaningful-to-them way (one passed away; sent my son to help another to do yard work/junk removal)
58. Make a pie crust from scratch
59. Sew two new family room pillows  Sewed 2 (Bonnie & Sarah)
60. Fast from the computer on Sundays, at least 7 times
61. Teach Reilly a new trick (play hide-n-seek with tennis balls I hide in house, per Andrea, 10/12)
62. Get zoom lens repaired    replaced June 2013
63. Make Christmas stockings for everyone (made 4 thus far: B,D,St,A ...12/12)
64. Clean out one drawer a month (kitchen junk 1/14/13, FR 2/13, SG's 3/13, DR 4/13)
65. Sell, give away, or repurpose old entertainment center
66. Organize all important phone numbers and addresses (11/1/12)
67. Play the hammered dulcimer
68. Have a mega-cooking party to serve singles and/or the sick (Mama, post-op, Sept 2012)
69. Get mammogram again
70. Serve a military family in a practical way
71. Go on a school field trip **Franklin Institute, Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit
72. Shop for master bath fixtures w/ hubby
73. Take an elderly or non-driving person to the polls to vote in Nov (offered, none needed)
74. Take a Chinese cooking class w/ hubby from his cheffy friend
75. Make an Indian dish
76. Host a birthday party for a friend
77. Learn Pachelbel's Canon in D Major on piano (making slow progress)
78. Read through the Bible chronologically
79. Keep a prayer journal with columns (Request, Date, Answer) (ongoing)
80. Attend a horse show, race, or other event
81. Host a ladies' brunch
82. Make a baby quilt  *finished 1  doll quilt, 3 table runners, started lap quilt, started haby play quilt, 
started nursery wall hanging  (all from Sept-Dec 2013)
83. Make curtains for basement in Ravens colors
84. Watch an old home video with the kids
85. Watch Ben's wedding video for the first time
86. Have a conference call w/ my 3 sisters at least 3x
87. Sell the Saab  May 18, 2013
88. Visit Savannah, GA
89. Meet a blogging friend for 1st time in person
90. Exchange 2-3 hours of cleaning for someone  *daughter,  spring 2013
91. Do a Daniel diet (10 days in a row meatless)  Jan 2013
92Complete a women's Bible study with a group   Feb 2013
93. Thank a good employee in front of his or her manager
94. Repaint wicker porch furniture   decided not worth it ; Instead, give front porch a makeover
95. Learn to make sushi
96. Do something scary (face one of my big fears) Packed an evacuation bag . Oct 29 for Hurricane Sandy .
97. Attend a professional performance of the Nutcracker (not professional, but saw it for first time 12/12)
98. Apply for tutoring job at local college (writing lab) OR be hired by school for art  
was "hired" by an art-for-kids company but so far no jobs; school hired someone else :(
99. Encourage hubby to have Manhood Weekend with the boy for "that talk" on his 11th b'day (I encouraged, but it didn't happen; maybe for 12th b'day?)
100. Do deep purge of the basement storage area (see #96) summer 2013
101. Hold an Ebenezer dinner to recount answered prayers in the last 6 months