The Summer of Hodgepodge

**Thank you, Joyce, for creating and hosting the Wednesday Hodgepodge!"

1. Summer officially rolls in with the Hodgepodge this week, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere anyway. What song says summer 2012 to you?

~ Springsteen by Eric Church.

2. What's your favorite quintessential summer food?

~ I can't think of one specific food.  I love fresh, just-picked fruits so ripe they burst on your tongue, veggies from the garden rich with flavor the store-bought ones just don't have, steaks, burgers, and shrimp on the grill, and mountain pies and s'mores cooked in a bonfire.

3. I've spent a lot of time traipsing up and down the NJ Turnpike in recent weeks. Did you know the rest areas on the turnpike are named after people who lived or worked in NJ? Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, James Fenimore Cooper, Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, Thomas Edison, and Gover Clevland just to name a few. Of those I listed, who would you most like to have known and why?

~ It would have to be James Fenimore Cooper.  That his was the mind that created Last of the Mohicans should be enough, but I think he'd have been an interesting character to know the more I read about him.  Did you know he was expelled from Yale...apparently for a prank that blew up another student's door.  He's also rumored to have taught an ass to sit in a professor's seat for another prank.

4. At what age did you move out of your parent's house and what prompted the move?

~ I was heading toward moving out from the day I was born.  Seriously.  I don't remember not having dreams of leaving home and the things I would do.  I headed off to college at 18.  At just barely 20 I got married.  I now live next to my mom, but I have to say that it only works because she isn't here all the time.  Her husband has a house, too, and they divide their time between them.

5. What's more satisfying to you-saving time or saving money?

~ Money, but you'd never know it from my lack of savings.  Or are we talking about finding a good deal, clipping coupons, etc?  'Cause I am all over that.  I'm no extreme couponer, but I save at least $20 with coupons when I go grocery shopping.  I "like" products on Facebook to get coupons and special offers, I will email a favorite product and tell them I like them so they will send coupons, and I sign up for store cards to get savings, earn special deals and save on gas.

6. Name something you think brings out the good in people.

~ Tragedy always seems to.  Of course it also seems to bring out the worst in some people.  In my experience, I've found that simply acting like you expect the best from people encourages them to act that way.  Like, maybe, they are afraid to appear as less than they think you've assumed they are?  


One of my favorite examples happened when my son was probably about 3.  We had been Christmas shopping and I had this old beater car that was loaded down with the stuff I'd bought and a layaway order I'd picked up.  When I tried to drive out of the parking lot of the last store this horrible noise came from under the car.  I got out to look and found the exhaust had fallen and was literally wrapped around the rear axle.  Well, I couldn't drive it home like that and this  was before cell phones so I couldn't get hold of anyone.  I tried my dad from a pay phone, but he wasn't home.  I ended up going to the car dealership next to the store and asking if they'd help me.  I figured it would cost me if they did, but it didn't.  It took their mechanic over half an hour to work the pipe free and they didn't charge me a penny!  To this day Tim can't believe I even had the nerve to stop and ask them for help, let alone that they helped.  What can I say?  I needed help and I expected them to do the right thing.

7. This last question comes to you courtesy of Kathy over at Reflections...will you be taking a vacation or a staycation this summer? If so where will you go? If a staycation is on the calendar have you made any special plans to fill the time?

~ No vacations on the calendar this summer.  Tim is too busy with two projects (and maybe a third) at work and the church building.  I'm still hoping we can manage at least a long weekend later in the summer.  Special plans for a staycation?  No.  I'm off the whole summer except for the couple of mornings a week I'm driving.  There are things I'd like to do, but again....Tim's work schedule probably won't allow for it.  Looks like it's just going to be me, the pool, and a stack of books for the summer.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
~ Haha, oh my gosh....never thought of this!  It's wrong, but so funny!

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Thought I would mention what happened at Bible study last night since I've shared on here about my spiritual struggles there....

Our teacher began by handing out a paper with some scripture references and an excerpt from a book....all about fighting off Satan's attacks.  Why?  Because, she said, it had come to their attention that some felt they were mad at them or had a problem with them.

My first thought was "Uh-oh...she finally read my blog and this is about what I wrote."  Turns out that's not the case.  Well, I don't know...she may have read the blog.  (I've asked her to and to give me her honest opinion about the God stuff I write.)  What this was about is the fact that at least 4 women have expressed that they thought the teacher and our pastor were mad at them or had some kind of problem with them.

They both assured us that they aren't angry with any of us, that if they were, we'd know it.  So, what we can take from that is that because of how wide-spread the feelings are....the class is under spiritual attack.  Why?  Because it's a good thing.  We are learning about the end times and how to withstand Satan's lies and tricks.  Satan wants to put an end to it.  It's as simple as that.

It was a major eye-opener for me to learn that others were experiencing even a little of the same stuff I am in there.