1. What does adventure mean to you? Adventure sparks personal growth by pushing you out of your comfort zone. It builds confidence, adaptability, and resilience through real-world challenges. You gain broader perspectives, discover hidden strengths, and often redefine what you’re capable of. Growth happens in the stretch. As I grow older, I find myself holding back from adventure out of fear—and I really can’t stand that about myself. 2. What are your thoughts on tipping? What businesses or service providers do you regularly tip? Do you resent being asked if you’d like to add a tip? What about when a…

1. Summer officially begins this week (in the northern hemisphere)…what was your favorite thing to do in the summer when you were a kid? What do you like most about summer now? I loved swimming and since we didn’t have a pool at home or somewhere to go swim, I always swam on vacation. With that being said, I also loved to travel. My Granddad (who raised me with my Grandmother) was a traveling salesman, so I often went with him. We also went on family vacations most summers. 2. Something you’ll celebrate this summer? Not sure, we’re celebrating anything…

1. June 10th is National Herbs and Spices Day. Besides salt and pepper, what herb or spice container do you reach for most often? Is there a spice you truly dislike? What’s a recent dish you made that called for more than salt and pepper? Garlic powder and red pepper flake are my go to spices. I also use a lot of basil, onion powder, and cayenne. I am not a big fan of fennel seeds. I make a taco soup that calls for taco seasoning, which I typically just make my own and that has a lot of seasonings…

1. What do birthdays look like in your house? How are they celebrated? Any special traditions? What about birthdays growing up? Birthdays now are usually dinner at a place of our choosing and for the boys we come back and open presents and sometimes have cake. Here’s some photos of my boys on their birthdays. And to clarify bc I have new people visiting today…I have 2 boys. These are them at different ages. My birthdays growing up were always fun. In upper elementary and middle school, I usually had friends over for a spend the night party. I think…

1. What’s your favorite room in your house and why? Now that we redid one the larger of the 2 kids rooms last year, it is my favorite. Even though I’m not in there much. I love it because with the new paint and new crown molding makes it feel ‘clean.’ There’s also no clutter. It’s not ‘lived in.’ 🙂 2. What’s something that will instantly annoy you? Bad drivers… 3. May 28th is National Hamburger Day…will you celebrate? How do you like yours? If you’re not cooking at home is there a favorite place you like to go for…

1. May 20th is World Bee Day…what’s something that’s kept you ‘busy as a bee’ lately? This past Sunday we got to have LA at our house for most of the day while her parents went to the lake with her sister. With a baby around, you are busy as a bee, but I couldn’t have been happier. It was lovely. She’s out of her fussy stage, which is nice. 2. Do you like honey? What’s something you make or enjoy that calls for honey? Although, I haven’t made this in years much to my husbands chagrin, this is a…

1. What’s something you’re curious about right now? I recently started playing around with ChatGPT and I’m curious about more productive ways to use it. I made my dog into a human…so that was fun. 2. If you could plan the perfect girl’s weekend getaway, where would you go and what would be on the agenda? Do you have anything like this on your calendar in the next few months? I’ve always dreamed of having a girls’ weekend in Key West (because Rob hates it and I love it.) I think its a great place to just hang out at…

Can’t believe I haven’t done a Hodgepodge post since last April >>> Wednesday Hodgepodge 4.2.2024 1. Let’s compare this May to last May. What’s changed? What remains very much the same? Oh wow! Let’s see last May I was playing catch up on the blog because I had had shoulder surgery in April. Monthly Digest from May Now, I’m healed from that surgery, but still don’t have full range of motion/strength back yet, but close. It’s probably on me for not continuing to do my exercises. It’s a very difficult recovery. Last May I didn’t have a granddaughter. We celebrated…