Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Wednesday's Hodgepodge, Because I'm a Blogger! A Blogger Who Actually Writes Something Dagnabbit!

Joining Joyce for some hodgepodge question and answers.




1. Pokemon Go...your thoughts? Are you playing? Do you even know what it is?

I know what it is, but I do not play. No one in our family does because our kids don't have smartphones. They would love to, though. Lots of their friends play, and there's always talk about it at soccer practice. It makes no difference to me if people like to do it, as long as they are respectful of the places they go to find the things.

2. What was something you collected as a child? Do you still have that collection? If you're a parent, what's something your own children collected? Have you ever camped out, stood in a crazy long queue, or paid a ridiculous sum for a "collectible"?

I collected nothing as a kid. I still collect nothing except a few shells from a few beaches. I am not a fan of collections. There was a time when I was in my late teens when my mom and I were out shopping together. I must have pointed something out that had a cow somewhere on it. My mom apparently thought it meant I had an undying love for all things cow and bought me a variety of things for every holiday, including a pair of overalls with a cow on the bib. Proving yet again that my family deliberately found attire to make me look ridiculous.

A couple of my kids have collections. Phoenix has a coin collection. Giant collects bottle caps. There is a giant communal baseball card collection started by Bryan when he was a kid. Because Bryan is a pro at collecting things.

3. "Collect moments, not things"...tell us about a moment you've added to your collection this summer.

Ah, there are so many. For sure the white water rafting on the 4th of July and the biking downtown and the many hikes in state parks. But there are also the small moments, like cuddling with Cuckoo in the morning and playing endless games of Hand and Foot (a card game) and watching movies on rainy days and playing in the yard and just general chaos and noise that make every single day normal and wonderful all at the same time.

(Can you tell I'm getting nostalgic and sad about my Phoenix starting his senior year?)

4. What's something collecting dust in your home right now? Any plans to do something about it?

Bags. Lots of bags by the front door. Weeks and weeks ago we cleaned out closets and dressers and put all of the outgrown clothing into bags. Those bags are now waiting to be transported to Kentucky, where my nieces and nephew will dig through the bags and claim the items they like. I'm trying to find a day before school starts to spend a day or two with the fam. Crossing my fingers that it will happen.

5. A favorite song relating to time?

I can't say that I have a favorite, but I've always liked this one. Perhaps because it takes me back to high school...


6. What's been your most frightening or your most interesting encounter with wildlife?

You mean besides the bats and the mice and The Great Spider Infestation of 2005?

7. On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong set his foot down on the moon. If you could travel to the moon would you go? Why or why not?

Maybe when I'm 80, after I've lived a full life and am willing to try all sorts of dangerous and stupid things. I'll go to the moon after I bungie jump off a bridge and jump out of an airplane. Except that the entire space program seems like a giant waste of money and resources to me. I don't really see the point.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

School is starting two weeks from today. The only reason I'm looking forward to it is because it means the end of summer work for the high school kids. As Buttercup said today, "Normally, I'm at least a little bit excited to go back. You know that feeling on the first day of school when you realize you kinda forgot how to write because you haven't done it all summer? I'm not going to have that. I've done more than enough writing over the last two months."

That makes me sad.

I know they are growing up and are not little kids anymore and it's a part of life and blah blah blah, but seriously. They only have a short SHORT amount of time before they go out into the real working world and never get the summer off again and wow, this Phoenix-is-a-senior-and-all-the-big-kids-are-in-high-school-and-in-4-years-we'll-be-down-to-two-kids-at-home-thing is really getting to me!

If you've like to join in with the hodgepodge, you have plenty of time. The link is open for several more days!

Have a lovely day!

16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Lots of good questions and answers here. I admit to never having heard of Pokemon Go but I assume it's an updated version of the original Pokemon? I can't let that go without a joke though - How do you get a hundred Pikachus on a bus? Pokemon!

      I admit to being an avid collector of mouse ornaments, but only certain ones - not Disney or cartoon-type things, they have to look like proper mice. I've always liked mice and my mom started it off by buying me a figurine for my birthday one year, since then the collection has grown and I have them all grouped in displays in various parts of the house.

      I'm with you on the space programme, I really don't see the point and I'm sure all the money sunk into it could be better used elsewhere. And I hope I'm still around and can see you jumping out of a plane when you're 80! :)

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    2. You're getting good at that frist! :)

      Ha! I'll tell my kids the joke. Pokemon Go is a "live" version of Pokemon. It is an app on a smartphone, and you literally go to places all around your town/state/world to find Pokemon. There are poke stops and battles and all sorts of things I don't understand. You should google it and see how crazy popular it is.

      Well, if it has to be mice, I'm glad they aren't the cartoon ones, "proper mice" seems a bit of an oxymoron to me. Ha! I understand the draw of a collection. Oftentimes, they bring back good memories of fun times or loved ones.

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    3. The time difference often helps when it comes to frist :)

      My friend's daughter has recently got Pokemon Go on her phone and she was trying to explain it to me yesterday; one of the local Poke Stops is a deli just a couple of minutes walk down the road from here. I still don't understand it all though, nor do I see the point of it - I must be getting old! lol. Here's another one for your kids - Why did the Pokemon hide under your bed? To Pikachu! :)

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  2. Pokemon Go is crazy. Why can't you just find Pokémon on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade like every year? I used to collect clowns as a kid, but some people found them to be scary. I was the weird one (imagine that) because clowns brought me joy. I still have my favorite clown figurine playing a banjo.

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    1. Ha! Clowns!?!?!? Seems to fit you perfectly. :)

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  3. Loved your responses. I loved the Billy Joel song especially. I teach high school and for the first time in years I am wishing we had a little more time. We start back August 1st. Sigh.

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    1. It doesn't matter that our summer break was a respectable 10 weeks. Early August just seems way too soon to be starting school.

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  4. What a great Q & A post.

    I am not playing Pokemon Go. I've a smart phone and I am not interested in playing. I'm old. Let the young have at this.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. It is a good hop. She comes up with some great questions.

      It is certainly a young kids' game, but plenty of non-kids are getting in on it, too. All the people who played the game when they were kids are getting on board. I know several people my age who play. I say have at it if you enjoy it, just be respectful of your surroundings.

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  5. Hehehe I love that FRIST has gone even further and expanded into your own blogging community ;)

    And...four years is still four utterly wonderful summers, and when you consider how little Cuckoo is still, and how summer at that age is a whole lifetime, you have LOTS and lots of time to enjoy all those moments and collect them. And you will always have this blog (make sure you back it up!) with all your moments and thoughts collected in it :) <3

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    1. Me, too. :)

      Well, at first glance one would think four more summers, but not in reality. Next year, Phoenix will be working every summer, as will each child after that. I'll still have properish summers with the little boys for years to come, though. That helps.

      I have no idea how to back up my blog. I've thought about it, but haven't done it. I do go through old posts every now and again. Usually when I'm linking one. Then I get lost in the rabbit hole of nostalgia for an hour. :)

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  6. Good song choice! I've always enjoyed that one, too.

    Your post title made me smile. I've been writing so infrequently lately, also. The other day, I was contemplating starting another blog, but then I thought, "What makes me think I could keep up 2 blogs when I'm slacking so much with one?!" I hope to be more organized with the blogging thing sometime.

    Kids grow up, and as much as we miss their younger selves, we wouldn't really want them to be stuck at age 3. Just as you learned to adapt (and even--gasp!--enjoy) time to yourself when Cuckoo started school, the same thing will happen as the kids start moving out. You'll cry a bit, set the wrong number of plates for dinner occasionally, and then think of what an exciting time of life this is for your college kids. The quieter house will be a calm respite, and you and Bryan will be able to enjoy time together alone, like you did in the early years of marriage, but now with even more years of friendship between you. I promise, having the kids grown is not all bad. And then, of course, somewhere in the future are grandchildren! Grandkids are adorable and perfect--all of the fun, without all of the responsibility. Your feelings are understandable, but I promise, it will be OK.

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    1. Ha! I had the same thoughts about a second blog. Part of why I don't write is I have more ideas for serious types of posts, but I don't want those on this one. I like to keep this blog light as much as possible. But, like you, I can't keep up one blog let alone two! It seems lots of our friends are slowing down on the writing. A bit of a bummer, but part of me doesn't feel so bad since I keep up with many on FB. :)

      Thank you for your encouragment (Is that the word? maybe wisdom?). I know I'll adjust, as parents always have. And I"m sure I'll enjoy many aspects. Bryan and I have lots of plans for the future. Just not looking forward to it just yet. :) It does help seeing all the fun things you and John do together.

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  7. I am thankful they didn't come out with Pokemon Go when J2 was into Pokémon. I would've totally been addicted to it. Another reason I can't let myself get an iPhone. Ha!

    My mom was the same way...if you mentioned you liked something she made...you could be sure to have it every time you went for dinner forever!! ;)

    Seeing your kids near the end of high school is bittersweet indeed. <3

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  8. Bats! Shudder! I know they're good for eating mosquitos, but still...SHUDDER! Have a great day : )

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you're thinking!