Wednesday Hodgepodge!

Happy Hump Day Everyone!  Enjoy this week's edition of the Hodgepodge, and don't forget to visit Joyce over at From This Side of the Pond to see how she and everyone else who links up answered this week's questions.

1. It's a brand new month...share one thing you're looking forward to in October.

• One of my very best friends is getting married on the 27th of this month.  I'll be traveling back east to New Jersey to watch him marry his amazing fiancee.  Not only am I beyond excited for the wedding, but another friend and I are turning it into a week long vacation by spending a couple of days in the town the wedding's in before the wedding, and we'll be headed up to NYC for a few days afterwards.  It's going to be an amazing week with my amazing friends. 

2. Is chivalry dead? Explain.

• I wouldn't say it's dead, but it is a little hard to come by these days.   

3. On October 2, 1950 the Peanuts comic strip made its debut. Which character is your favorite?  Which character is most like you?  (Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock or Pig Pen)  If you need a description click here.

• I like to think I'm a combination of Lucy and Schroeder.  I'm independent, outspoken and can be bossy when needed, but the side of me that is a musician and an observer relates with Schroeder.  According to a quiz I took, I'm totally a Schroeder.  :)  

4. What's something you're competitive about?

• Life?  Just kidding....sort of.  I'm pretty sure being competitive is part of my DNA.  I like to think I'm not obnoxious about it, but I have been known to argue a point to death in order to win said argument.

5. October is National Popcorn Popping Month...are you a fan?  How do you like your popcorn? 

• I'm a fan of legit greasy movie pop corn drenched in salt & butter, or with salt and Reese's Pieces thrown in (if you've never tried it...do it, it's an amazing combo of salty and sweet!).  I also love Smart Pop White Cheddar Popcorn.  That stuff is like crack.

6. When did you first realize the world is small?

• I've known the world was small for a long time.  You see, I have the most popular, likable father in the world.  Any and everyone who ever meets him, will remember him for the rest of their lives.  We run into people he knows in the most random places.  One of my first memories of this was when I was a little kid, and we ran into someone he knew from waaaaay back in the day at the Arizona State Fair.  The state fair is a big deal here.  It's always packed, and this person found my dad, and they stood around and talked for what felt like forever.  It's crazy.

   
7. In terms of architecture, what's the most beautiful building you've seen up close and in person?

• I haven't been to many places yet, but I would have to say St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.  It's not only impressive from the outside, but the inside is just breath taking.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

• I'm still waiting for it to actually feel like fall around here.  My scarves and boots are screaming at me from my closet, and I hate ignoring them!

Pretty in Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Almost 10 years ago my grandma lost her battle with breast cancer.  It was actually her third battle with breast cancer.  I still find it to be absolutely amazing that she was able to fight so hard for so long.  She was one of the strongest women I know, and I'm inspired by the battle she fought every day.

In honor of this month I've changed my template to one that is all pink, and it will stay that way until November.  I can't stress enough how important it is to stay current with anything health related.  As it is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I'd like to urge the ladies to keep up with monthly breast exams, and if you're old enough to need them, your yearly mammograms.  It doesn't just apply to breast cancer screenings though.  Wear your sunscreen, and see a dermatologist if you find something new or odd going on with your skin.  For the men, if you're old enough for yearly prostate exams, get them!  I also lost a grandfather to colon cancer, get screened for that too!  It may seem like a lot, and you may think it will never happen to you, but better safe than sorry.  There are certain ages where you should starting getting screened for all of these.  I urge you all to look into it, and just keep it on your radar.  Especially if you have a family history of cancer.

Ok, now that I've given my lecture, I'll back off.  I'll just say that I've watched more than one person I love battle cancer.  They've all battered different forms, but it sucks any way you slice it.  Dealing with cancer is not something I would wish on my worst enemy, and I would hate to lose anyone else because they ignored warning signs or didn't get screenings when they do.  I lecture because I care.  :)

That's all for now, so I'll just leave you with this photo of my grandma and I.  Good night all.

TGIF: Things I'm Thankful For

Ok, so this week was all sorts of not fun for me.  Work was oddly busy and annoying.  I'm always busy, so that part wasn't so odd, it was more of the stuff I was busy with.  I'm also rarely overly annoyed with my job.  I actually really love it, but this week was just not the best.  My allergies have also been acting up, so I felt sick most of the week, and I was generally just in a very "Negative Nancy" sort of mood.  Today however, is Friday!  Not only is it Friday, but it's Payday Friday, Half Day of Work Friday and Homecoming Friday!  I finally got hold of my silver lining for the week, and thought I would write a little post of things I'm thankful for to make up for all of the negativity earlier in the week.  Before I get to that, one last little negative....the rest of hockey pre-season has been cancelled as I predicted it would be, and my heart just continues to break a little.  Okay, moving on....

Things I'm Thankful For:

My Parents - 9/27/80

I'm thankful for my parents.  They're the best in the world.  They're amazing people, and they continue to put up with me and all of my ridiculousness (which can sometimes get annoyingly out of control I'm sure).  Yesterday they celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary, and I'm just so thankful that I have them as my example of what marriage should be.

San Diego - July 2012

I'm thankful for my sister.  Wednesday she and her boyfriend came over for family game night.  Wednesday was by far my least favorite day this week, and I really just wanted to come home and go to bed.  Lucky for me, I have the world's funniest sibling.  She's crazy in the best way possible, and we spent the night playing Uno and laughing.  It definitely made a bad day a lot better.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

So it's not so much that I'm thankful for Wilson Phillips, but I am thankful for really great songs.  I heard Hold On on my way home from work today, and I can't keep myself from dancing around in my car like a crazy person and singing at the top of my lungs whenever it comes on.  This song was followed by New Kids on the Block and Bon Jovi.  My shuffle was amazing today, and just strengthens my feeling that there's a song for every situation, and there's always a song that can make you feel better.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Last, but certainly not least, coffee!  I know it's over priced, but I seriously love Starbucks, and it's finally Pumpkin Spice Latte season!  I probably would not have made it through this week without all of the coffee I consumed.  It's definitely my lifesaver some days.

A few other things I'm thankful for: my awesome co-workers that always make me laugh, the instant messenger at work that allows me to talk to my former co-workers on the east coast, Harry Potter movies, Glee, my girlfriends who always let me vent, text message convos with one of my awazing east coast cousins, and a lot of other things, but I'll leave those for another time.

That's it for now.  Have an amazing weekend everyone!

How is it Already the Last Wednesday of September?!

Seriously though, where did September go, and why in the world are we still having triple digit weather here?!  I miss fall weather, and leaves that change colors, and the ability to wear scarves without fearing it will cause me to have heat stroke.

Anyway...on to this week's Hodgepodge questions!  Joyce always has such great questions for us to answer.  You should go visit her over at From This Side of the Pond and play along with us!

1. The Wednesday Hodgepodge this week falls on John Chapman's birth date.  He's more famously known as Johnny Appleseed...what's your favorite variety of apple? 

• I'm going to have to go with Granny Smith apples.  I love that they're a little more on the sour side.  In general though, I love all apples.  I'm not too picky.

2.   When did you last say 'ick'? 

• Today at lunch when my co-worker tried to convince me that the brats they were serving for lunch were really tasty.  I'm not a hot dog eater at all, and I'm really picky when it comes to sausage, and they just looked gross today.

3.   Do you think there's a generation gap?  Explain. 

• I think so, and I think technology is a large reason why.  The massive technology boom that's taken place over the last couple of decades has really split the generations.  For those who knew what life was like pre-internet, it's not a necessity.  But for those who grew up/are growing up with all of this technology, a life without the instant gratification that comes from having gadgets like iPods, smart phones and tablets is an absolutely ridiculous notion.  I feel like my life is split between the two.  We didn't have the internet until I was in junior high school.  I grew up playing outside with the neighbors and being active and finding imaginative ways to entertain myself.  I cherished time spent with my relatives at family dinners, and I still think it's rude to be on the phone/tablet/gameboy (or whatever the current cool handheld gaming system is) while at the dinner table.  Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone, iPad and MacBook, but I'm so grateful that I had a child hood where the new cool technology was Super Nintendo, and it was absurd to think that one day people would be camping out at a store to buy a cell phone.

4.  What's on your computer screen saver?  Do you leave it alone or change it often? 

• It's one of the random graphic things that came with my laptop.  I think I've changed it twice in the over four years I've owned said laptop.

5.  If you had the attention of the entire world for two minutes, what would you say?

• Wow, only two minutes to talk to the entire world?  That's a lot of pressure to say something profound in a very short period of time.  I guess I would say something along the lines of, "Dear World, I hope some day we can all come to the realization that we're just human.  Everyone makes mistakes, and we're all different, and that's what makes us awesome.  Can't we all just please get along and stop trying to kill each other all the time?  Thanks."  It's not very profound, and I'm sure it wouldn't make a difference, but it's how I feel.

6.  Four fashion trends to try this fall are-brocade/jacquard (fancy printed fabrics), peplum, lace, and printed pants...which of these four would you be most likely to wear? 

• I think lace is the only one I'm willing to go with.  I like to keep things pretty simple in my wardrobe.  I'm not real big on prints, but maybe if I found the right one I'd be willing to try it out.

7.  What can make your bad day better?

• Any of a number of things.  Here's a short list: Ice Cream, Brownies, Tequila, Dancing it Out, Drinking Tequila (or Mango Malibu Rum) while Dancing it Out, Wine, My Girlfriends, My Family, Starbucks, A Good Run/Work Out, A Hug, A Song, Sleep.  It really depends on what made the day bad to begin with.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

• I'm glad the Diamondback have started winning some baseball games, but I'm frustrated that they waiting until the end of September to do it.

Today Should Have Been Awesome

This is my hockey gear.  All of my t-shirts and rally towels.  The only things not in the stack are my Brooks Laich jersey and my hats.  Because my closet at my parents house is so small, and my hockey gear takes up so much room, it gets folded up and stacked in the top of the closet during the off-season. Today should have been like Christmas.  I should have been able to take all of this off the shelf in order to pick out the perfect outfit for tonight's first pre-season game.  Instead, I'm sitting here in the living room, watching baseball and writing this post.  My mother taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all, so this will be short and sweet.

This whole lockout mess is ridiculous.  If either side was fighting for anything other than money (player safety anyone?!) I might be able to justify it.  Unfortunately, this is a fight over money, and at the moment it would appear that neither side is willing to meet somewhere in the middle and compromise.  So both sides are being stubborn, and currently all pre-season games in September have been cancelled.  Considering today was the first day they've held meetings in two weeks, it's likely that there will be an announcement regarding October's games very soon.  

In the meantime, the fans are angry (pissed off season ticket holder, party of one....right over here!).  The last time the NHL had a lockout was the 2004-2005 season, and all of the games were cancelled that year.  They lost a lot of their fans after that, and they've just recently began to recover most of them.  Not only are the fans angry, but did anyone ever think about the arena employees who now don't have jobs until this is all over?  Or the businesses surrounding the arenas that thrive on game traffic?  It doesn't appear that they have.  So, for now, I'm just going to be an angry fan.  If you need me, I'll be in my room, staring at my closet, wishing I had a reason to put my hockey gear back in my wardrobe rotation.

Hodgepodge Hump Day!

Happy Hump Day Everyone!  This is my second week back working full time at my job after working some cut hours this summer.  Can I just say, that these two weeks have felt super long!!  If I could go back to working only three days a week, but get paid like I was there for five (if that meant working three 12 hour shifts, I'd do it...I'm not trying to get paid for nothing!) I'd do it without thinking twice about it.  Long story short, I'm glad we're half way through this week!

On to the hodgepodge!



1. What's the best and worst thing thing about growing older? 

• I'd have to say the best thing about getting older is the things we learn along the way.  Now, it's no secret that if being a student could be a viable occupation that's what I'd be doing, but that's not what I mean.  I'm talking about all of life's lovely little lessons.  Both the good and the bad.  They shape who you are, and a lot of those lessons can only be learned with time.  Now, the worst thing about growing older is feeling old.  Both mentally and physically.  Personally, I have the world's worst joints, I'm pretty sure.  So some days, my 27 year old body feels about 70.  That's not an exaggeration.  I'd say I'd love to go back to the time before I injured every joint in my body and be more careful and take better care of myself, but honestly, I'm fairly certain there's a high level of genetic predisposition there, so it probably doesn't matter.  Plus, the majority of those injuries happened doing things I love, and I would never be okay giving up any of those things.  As for mentally feeling old...I still have a great memory and all that jazz, but any time anyone reminds me that my twin cousins will be 16 and driving this year....I cry a little on the inside and wonder where the time has gone.  I mean, I was at the hospital when they were born, and I remember it like it was yesterday.  It's not okay that they're growing up, but they refuse to obey my instructions and stop growing!

2.   Autumn arrives this week in the Northern Hemisphere...what one thing do you love most about the fall season? 

• COOLER WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That is all.

3.  Speaking of fall...pumpkin seems to be flavoring everything these days-are you a fan?   What's your favorite pumpkin flavored food or beverage? 

• I LOVE PUMPKIN!  I love eating it...and I love carving them.  Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite past times.  I'm not going to be able to do it this year, and I'm already sad about it.  That wasn't the question though.  Yes, I am a huge fan of pumpkin-y food and drinks.  I wait in anticipation all year for the Pumpkin Spice Latte to make it's reappearance at Starbucks.  I love pumpkin pie.  Last year I got this recipe for pumpkin cookies on Pinterest.  They are so easy to make, and they really are as good as the blogger brags that they are.  Amazing!  I can't wait to make them again soon.

4.  Since we're on the subject of fall...what's the worst fall you've ever taken?

• Honestly, I don't think I have one.  I'm notorious for running into things and ending up with giant bruises all over my body, but I'm not really prone to falling. 

5.  If you could own a prop from any film what would you choose? 

• This isn't a film, but I really want the orange couch that was in Central Perk on the show Friends.

6. What's the most interesting word you've read or learned in the past week?

• I honestly can't think of a new word I've learned this week, so I just went to WordThink to see what their word of the day is.  Today is "fractious."  It's an adjective that means easily irritated or bad tempered. 

7. When was the last time you locked yourself out of your house, car, or office?  Was it a big deal?

• It's been a long time since I've done any of those things.  In high school I used to lock myself out of my truck all the time, but now that I'm super paranoid about it I haven't done it in quite some time.  Luckily it was never that big of a deal.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

• I'm hungry.  To the point that it's almost all I can think about.  I think that means it's time for dinner!

Thanks for reading everyone!  Please take a minute to visit our fabulous Hodgepodge host Joyce! 

A Few of My Favorite Things: Pop Culture Edition

Happy Tuesday!  In a continuing effort to share some of myself with you and to get to know some of you, I figured I'd share some of  my favorite things.  I think pop culture is something everyone can relate to.  Movies, TV, Music, Literature...oh my!  I have a pretty wide scope of what I'll watch/listen to/read, but here's just a few of my personal favorites.

Favorite Band:

via abcnewsradioonline.com

They had me at "Push" back in 1997, and it's been love ever since.  I love everything about them.  I love that their songs are so well written.  I love Rob Thomas' voice.  I love that, unlike some bands :::coughNickelbackcough:::, none of their songs sound exactly the same.  North is their newest album since going on hiatus in 2007, and it's awesome.  Rob Thomas also released two solo albums during the first hiatus the band went on, and those are also awesome.  I've seen Rob Thomas in concert once when he came to the state fair a few years ago, but I have yet to see the whole band in concert (don't even get me started on how upsetting this is!).  Now that there's a new album there will be a new tour, and you better believe I will be there.  Even if it means paying an obscene amount of money and even having to drive to a neighboring state!  Hopefully they'll have a show in AZ, but the American tour hasn't been announced yet.

Other Bands/Musicians I Can't Get Enough Of:

All Images via Google Image

Music is my life.  I can relate any situation to a song.  There's always some song stuck in my head (currently it's "Good Life" by OneRepublic).  So while I love these 5 artists, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  My iTunes library is massive and very diverse.  There will be a post some other time about why I'm such a nut about music.

Favorite Movies:

Images via Google Image

I'm very much the kid at heart.  Like music, my DVD collection is pretty diverse, but these two movies are hands down my favorite of all time.

Favorite TV Shows:

Images via Google Image

I watch a lot of TV.  More than I really should, but these four shows are my favorites.  To date there isn't an episode of any of them that I dislike or wouldn't watch multiple times.

Favorite Books:

Images via Google Image

Here's just a few of my favorite books.  I love to read, so if anyone has any recommendations I'm all ears!

I think that's enough from me for today.  What are some of your favorite things in the realm of pop culture?  Anyone have any fun guilty pleasures (i.e. listening to the song Call Me Maybe excessively or watching ridiculous shows like Teen Mom and 16 Pregnant.  All of which I do by the way...I'm not ashamed!)