I Ain't 'Fraid of No Candy Corn: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

 

Is Halloween a big deal in your neighborhood? Was it something you celebrated as a child? With your own children? Do you like candy corn? 

I'm not sure.  My apartment building doesn't have many families with young children (if any).  The other buildings have lots of kids, but I don't know the families well enough to know if they're celebrating.  I trick-or-treated as a kid.  As a teen and adult, I would volunteer to help with our church's fall festival. That was always fun, especially during my teaching years when I would see my students at the festival laughing and having a great time.  Hopefully the door will open so I can start helping with my current church's fall festival. Candy corn is not my favorite.  I don't seek it out, but I can tolerate it better when it's mixed with peanuts.  No, it doesn't taste like a Payday, but it tastes better than just candy corn.  Speaking of horrid Halloween candy...

Are you a scaredy cat? About what? 

I try not to be.  I have unreasonable fears about stupid stuff.  For example, for those of you who remember my issue with the car wash; I still haven't mustered up the courage to go back.  I don't know if it's just an illogical fear, or if it's pride because I don't want to be embarrassed again.

Last time you were somewhere that should have been busy but felt like a 'ghost town'? 

Nearly every Sunday.  When I drive through Denver to get to and from my church in Aurora, it seems that this is when Denver takes a nap (except for the church goers and hobos).  I like it though; my Sunday drive is really a relaxing Sunday drive.

Do you like chili and if so how do you like it? Beans or no beans? Meat or no meat? Beef or chicken? Spice or no spice? Favorite toppings? 

I like chili with beans, made with ground beef, venison, or turkey.  I'm sure chicken would be good; I've just never had it that way.  My homemade chili is pretty average, but I think I would like it with a little more kick to it.  I enjoy topping my chili with corn chips, cheese, and sour cream. I also like to eat it plain with a good piece of regular or Mexican cornbread.

Would you describe yourself as a night owl? What time of night qualifies? What are you doing while everyone else is asleep? Do you then 'sleep in'? Define 'sleeping in'. 

No, I'm more of an early bird.  Although I don't get up nearly as early as I used to when I work at the YMCA, I'm more accustomed to getting up early.  I occasionally sleep in until around 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. if I've not slept well the night before or if I'm not feeling well.

Insert your own random thought here.

In case you missed it:  

*My last Hodgepodge post, "Memories of Resilience," is here.
*My latest Five Minute Friday post "Purpose v. 2.0," is here.
*My latest Simple Woman's Daybook "A Buggy Full of Lemons," is here.
*My latest Auntie's Workshop post "Finishing and Fixing III," is here.
*My latest 2021 Flip and Sip Reading Challenge review of Love Does, is here.

Memories of Resilience: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

 
Do you (or did you used to) watch talk shows? Which are or were your favorite? 

I used to enjoy TV talk shows.  My favorite was the Oprah Winfrey show.  I'm not really into those type of shows now since they've gotten so base and weird.  Here's a question though: do podcasts count as talk shows?  If so, there are several that I enjoy from time to time: Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Ear Biscuits, Dream Big with Bob Goff, SmoshCast, and Beyond the Troupe.  They all have their pros and cons, but I pick and choose which episodes I partake of for optimal enjoyment.

Would you describe yourself as resilient? If so what do you think makes you that way? If you answered no explain why? 

Resilience is defined as, "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness."  I took a resiliency quiz for work once and it said that I was not very resilient.

They don't know me like that.

Resiliency is like a personality assessment; it is not a set in stone, one size fits all set of traits.  I've proven resiliency in many areas but need to work on others.  That's part of being human.

What parts of life have surprised you the most? Explain. 

My 40s surprised me the most. The first five years were some of the hardest of my life.  I know that I don't turn 50 until next year and these past four years haven't been easy, but I've been on a more positive trajectory with clearer direction from the Lord.

Why do you live where you live? 

I live in Colorado at the direction of the Almighty.  I've talked about it before, but never in a million years did I ever think that I would leave Alabama, much less move way out to Colorado.  I think this is a case where God "sits in the heavens and laughs"  (Psalm 2:4).

A memory from this week that made you smile? 

I have a couple:

 

This past Saturday, I attended a Mad Hatter Ladies Tea at Lakewood Church of Christ, my friend Jennifer's church.  It was such a fun time.  We wore hats, ate finger foods, sipped tea, and laughed ourselves silly.

 

I am so thankful that Colorado is having a real autumn this year.  Usually, we get a week or two of fall color then go straight into winter mode.  I took this picture at our old office building at Union Financial Plaza.  There are some great restaurants across and down the street from there, so my friend Kris and I ate at Jason's Deli.  Because of our schedules, we only get to meet for lunch periodically, so when we're not eating, we're cracking each other up.

Insert your own random thought here.

In case you missed it:  

*My last Hodgepodge post, "Age is a Social Construct," is here.
*My latest Five Minute Friday post "Purpose v. 2.0," is here.
*My latest Simple Woman's Daybook "A Buggy Full of Lemons," is here.
*My latest Auntie's Workshop post "Finishing and Fixing III," is here.
*My latest 2021 Flip and Sip Reading Challenge review of Love Does, is here.