Wednesday Hodgepodge (On a Thursday)

1. ASAP typically stands for 'as soon as possible'. What else could it stand for in your life right now? 

All Songs And Performances.  I'm in the middle of three days of auditions for the school musical.

2. Are you the last person to speak up in a group or the first to have an idea? Why do you suppose that is? Is it a good thing or no?

I'm typically the first person to speak up.  I have the gift of administration (we used to call it being bossy), so I'm perfectly fine sharing what I think.  It's typically a good thing, but I think that because I have a loud speaking voice and a passion for what I'm talking about, it sometimes comes across as being pushy, even if I'm not.

3. What do you remember best about being 12? 

When I was 12, I was starting the 8th grade, and I remember being surrounded by a fun group of friends.  That year, the HS boys baseball team played at Busch Stadium and all of my friends and their parents went up and stayed over night and we just had the best time.  Every time I hear the song "Cheap Seats" by Alabama, I think of that weekend.

4. January 18th is National Winnie the Pooh Day. Which character do you relate to the most, and why?

Apparently, I'm Rabbit, which honestly, seems about right.

5. What's an app you use that helps simplify or make life easier for you in some way? 

I'm still learning how to work my iPhone after always having a Droid.  I'm loving having a Podcast app that I can download my favorites straight to.  The Popcast is my favorite and has gotten me through a few long drives recently!

6. San Francisco (CA), San Diego (CA), San Juan (PR) San Antonio (TX) Sanibel (FL)...you have an all expenses paid long weekend to one of these destinations. Which one do you choose and why?

Those are all pretty fabulous!  My immediate response is San Juan, PR because it is so incredibly beautiful and I didn't get to experience near as much of it as I wanted to when I was there years ago.  But I would also love going to San Antonio so that I could see my great aunt who lives there and really can't travel anymore.  I keep saying I'm going to go down there again to see her, but I haven't had the chance.

7. Share with us a song that makes you feel nostalgic? For what? 

Oh, I'm such a music person.  I can connect a song with just about every big moment in my life.  The first one that came to mind was "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack.  I heard that song for the first time in my living room in college because Crys worked for the radio station and had a preview track.  A bunch of us were together toward the end of our first or second year of college and I just remember how happy I was to be listening to that song with all these friends I loved so dearly.  But I could probably pick a dozen or more others in this category.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

I haven't done the Hodgepodge in ages but in an effort to blog more, I couldn't resist!  It was always one of my favorite blogs, and even though I'm late to the party this week, I'm going to try to join in more again!

Once Upon A Time

It's been a really long time since I kept this blog up regularly.  I don't really know why I stopped to be honest, other than just not really taking the time.  And that's unfortunate, because I have "met" some of the best people because of this little corner of the internet.  My goal for 2017 is to try to come here a little more often.  I've set some personal goals for this year, so maybe I will come here to discuss them.

Those goals include:

• Reading two books a month that aren't for school purposes
• Taking some steps (baby though they may be) to improve my personal health
• To find ways to put love, peace, and goodness into the world by my actions and my finances (and by any other ways I can contribute)
• To focus on the joy, even when my default setting is worst-case scenario

These are seemingly small things, but I'm good with that.  I'm old enough to know that I'm not good with sweeping change.  I get really into for a minute and then I get frustrated or bored or whatever and stop trying.  I'm focusing on achieving the small things, because enough small things can turn into something bigger.  I think that part of that may be coming by here and sharing again.  Even if no reads it, I think it's something I'd like to do for myself.  So, I'll see you soon!