A Very Positive Hodgepodge

What a difference a week makes!
Last week at this time it was just beginning to snow... and man, did it snow!
It didn't stop all day Wednesday and by 7 pm we had nearly 10 inches.

I spent most of the day taking photos of the hungry birds...of all types.
But these guys always steal the show, especially when it's snowing.

So the snow is nothing more than a beautiful memory,

 unless you count those traces of ugly piles still hanging out in the shade.

It has been in the mid to high 60s the past several days and feels like spring...

...even had a thunder storm the other night! Crazy!

~

So we're here for the Hodgepodge...

 ...where Joyce asks the question and we answer them on our blogs.
Here we go.
~

1. January 24th is National Compliment Day. Is it easy or not so easy for you to accept a compliment? Share a recent compliment you've given or received.

There's no doubt that I can give a compliment easier than I accept one. I am one of those who usually has a come-back with maybe "This old thing?" or "I'm having a really bad hair day." I wrote about this in one of my early posts, Gracie's Nativity. My MIL was one of the sweetest women you would ever want to meet and she handed out compliments like it was breathing...but she wasn't ever really able to accept one. I try to remember the words I wrote in that post when someone compliments me and I hesitate to accept it...in fact, I just went back and read it again. The last compliment I think I gave was to a new lady at church on Sunday...telling her what a blessing her outward enthusiasm for the the Lord was to me.


So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

2. Ten little things you are loving right now.

Even though it's all gone now, I am still loving the fact that we got 10" of snow last week and the beautiful birds that all came out of the trees to play in it, especially the cardinals. I can still love it even though it's gone, right?

We always have lots of cardinals but when the are placed on a backdrop of white, they almost take my breath away. The day after it snowed, I got out to make a trip to the grocery and it was the first time I had driven my Honda CR-V in very deep snow...all-wheel drive is a wonderful thing! And now that the snow is all gone, I was loving that rain that we had yesterday morning as it washed off all of that road salt. Let's see...flowers from the hubby that looks as though spring has exploded on my dining room table...

...the new prime lens for my camera, comfort food, a vintage quilt top that I got on eBay and the perfect fabric for the backing (it's really a great Ralph Lauren sheet) that I found at Goodwill.

 

 

And as of this evening after opening the mail, I am more than loving the fact that a letter from my healthcare insurance stating that the appeal that I filed for overcharging me due to using out-of-network doctors in the ER without informing me...and this is the same hospital that I have worked for the past 25 years...has approved it! They charged me over $2300.00 for two five minute visits. I won, I won! Yeah, I am loving that...thank you, Jesus!!

3. Would people describe you as a positive person? Do you see yourself that way? I read here  a list/description of eight things positive people do differently-

Positive people find something to look forward to every day, they celebrate the small stuff, they're kind, they stay busy, accept responsibility for their actions, forgive themselves, know when to move on, and resist comparisons.

Which action on the list would you say you do regularly? Which action could you add to your life to give you a more positive outlook?

I'd like to think that others see me as a positive person and for the most part, I see myself that way too. I will say, however, that although I would like to be able to say yes to all of the above, the fact remains that I am a flawed human being and don't always succeed. I am pretty much an up-beat person from the time I get up...and I don't even need my coffee first. I'm sure Jim sometimes wishes I wasn't because it takes him a while to get his social groove on when he first gets up. Mondays are just another day to me because I really like my job and I usually have something that I look forward to everyday. It doesn't take a whole lot to make me happy...it's the little things, you know. Kindness is very important to me and I try very hard to practice it daily...it's very important to what I do for a living since I deal with patients that are already in pain. Making them feel welcome and comfortable makes their physical therapy experience easier and sometimes even fun. Am I always kind? I'd like to say yes and I try very hard...but I can get riled up with the best of them. Depending on what the situation is, you may not want to cross me.😇Where I'm lacking the most would be comparing myself to others and self-forgiveness...I'm pretty good at beating myself up...sometimes with a smile on my face.

If you're a positive person, what's something you do regularly that's not on the list?

Smile...I smile a lot, whether I feel like it not. I can be carrying an almost unbearable burden and still smile. Many times folks around me have no clue what's going on inside. I guess that can be a good thing.

4. Homemade chicken soup, beef stew, or a bowl of chili...what's your pleasure on a cold winter's day?

It's probably homemade chicken noodle...with chili coming in as a close second. I made some last week during our snowfall (this is not it) and as I was getting ready to put the noodles in, I realized that I only had a handful of the spiral kind. I had some lasagna noodles though (the no boil kind) and broke them up into small pieces and threw them it. It worked great.
 

5. The best part of my day is....

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Once Upon a Cold Winter's Hodgepodge

Well, have y'all thawed out yet?

I don't remember when it has been so cold for so many days in a row.
It has certainly been the main topic of conversation for days and days around here.
I mean, it has been FRIGID just about everywhere but we so called southerners
aren't quite used to such temperatures!
I have a high-school friend from Ohio that started making up "It was so cold..." jokes
and posting them on her Facebook page...
...she started out with one and before it was over, she was posting them several times a day
and they just seemed to just get funnier and funnier.
Or maybe they weren't actually all that funny but we just needed to laugh to stay warm!
Here is a compilation of some of them that decided I would share with you.

And along with this cold weather, came some beautiful skies...

...feather-like clouds...

...to mortars lighting up the darkening sky...

...to strange looking funnel-ish cloud formations...

I am forever amazed by the masterpieces the Master Artist paints for us all to enjoy!

~

So lets get to why we're here...the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions on her blog and we answer them on ours.

~

1. January is National Mentoring Month. Have you ever had a mentor? Been a mentor? How would you rate the experience?

Wikipedia's definition is this: Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The mentor may be older or younger than the person being mentored, but he or she must have a certain area of expertise. If I was answering this off the top of my head, I wouldn't say I have been much of a mentor throughout my life. But when I really look at the given definition, I'd say that just about all of us, including myself, have been both the mentor and the mentee. Most every one of us have had mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and other women in our lives that have taken us under their wings... that we have learned from...God's word tells us we need to do this. And most of us have done likewise for the younger women/girls in our lives...some daughters, grand daughter, nieces, friends, etc. The only other time that I knowingly mentored someone is when I had to train a new employee in a job that I was knowledgeable in. Through the years I'd say I have had many mentors in one way or another and at the moment, nothing stands out in my memory about having a bad experience. I'll have to think more on that one.

Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s Message because of their behavior. 
Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives.

Titus 2:3-6 MSG

2. What current trend makes no sense to you?

Aw, come on...just one? I have a whole bunch! Man buns, water bottle flip, fidget spinners, ripped and holy jeans, taking a knee (unless you are going to pray)...the list goes on and on.

3. I saw a cartoon on facebook highlighting a few 'weird' things that make you happy as an adult. The list included-writing with a nice pen, having plans cancelled, freshly cleaned sheets, eating the corner brownie, cleaning the dryer lint screen, and sipping coffee in that brief time before anyone else wakes up. (Credit for the cartoon goes here) Of the 'weird' things listed which one makes you happiest? What is one more 'weird' thing you'd add to the list?

I can actually agree with the ones listed except for maybe the dryer lint one...okay so maybe if I have just taken brand new towels or something fluffy that left a lot of lint behind.... I can kind of see how that might be just a tad gratifying. There are probably many more of my own that I could add to the list but the first one that I thought of was messing up that nice, fresh, semi-soft surface of a newly opened carton of ice cream...using a spoon (not the scooper) and taking a big bite!

4. What's the last good thing you ate?

That would be this...

I was wanting something like pizza but without the carbs. I regularly use the Mission Brand low carb flour tortillas for tacos and ultra thin crusts for personal pizzas but I tried something a little different for my supper tonight (Tuesday). I sauteed all of my pizza toppings together in a pan, added a little pizza sauce and then fried up the tortilla in olive oil. I then scooped all of the yummy toppings and placed them on the tortilla, added Italian cheese and folded it over to make...well...you could call it a "skinny calzone" or a "pizza quesadilla". It was great!

5. Describe life in your 20's in one sentence.

Looking for love in all the wrong places...until I finally found it.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I saw this earlier on Facebook this evening and just had to share it. Only God.

Have a blessed week and stay warm!

Love,

Itty-Bitty Birdie Butts

It must be a slow day in the Land of Blog.

Am I getting desperate for subject matter, or what?
I started this post last winter one day when I was snowed in and never finished it.
The little birdies were just going crazy at the feeders.

My camera was set on continuous mode where you just hold down the shutter and let 'er rip.
I captured many different postures...but...these are special. (pun intended)

After going through the photos and catching many of them with their backsides to the camera,
I realized that our fine feathered friends just have the cutest little rear ends!

Seriously...have you ever noticed how cute their little butts are?

They are just adorable, don't you think?

And they never have to worry about what to wear...

I mean do you think a little birdie ever asks this question...

"Do these feathers make my butt look big?"

I think not.

Ah...such is the life of a bird!

So inspiration for a blog post can come from just about anywhere and anything...




...even from itty-bitty birdie butts :)

THE END
~
Have a good week!

Today I'm joining Maggie's...
Mosaic Monday

Hodgepodge and Heavenly Skies

It's Wednesday and time for Hodgepodge once again...

...where Joyce asks the questions and we answer them on our blogs.

Here in the south, you never know from one day to the next what to expect, weather-wise.

We went from 3 degrees to 73 degrees in a matter of five days.

The snow was pretty while it lasted and they say we may get more in a couple of weeks.

I don't mind the winter months because y'all know how much I like snow.

But even when there is no snow on the ground, there is just something about those winter skies...

...they seem to be especially heavenly in January.

They've been pink in the mornings and pink in the evenings.

Humor me as I insert some recent sky shots in amongst the hodgepodge questions.

And speaking of hodgepodge, let's get started, shall we?

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

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

 

After pondering this question, I decided that the only way I could answer it honestly was to actually give two answers. The first is about the resolutions that I make every year and how I'm doing with them...thus my answer, ALMOST SNAIL-LIKE AND PROCRASTINATING. We have  also been in the process of some major home improvement projects for the past year or two ...you all surely know those things can go...or NOT...and we are finally set up to get new floors. They were to come last Wednesday to measure so we could schedule installation and well, that didn't happen (some computer glitch...of course) so they are scheduled to be here today. It has been over two weeks since went and picked out the flooring. Need I say more? So.......it is going...AS SLOWLY AS PREDICTED.

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?

It really depends on who I am in a group with and what is being discussed. I tend to hold back somewhat and don't want to dominate the group or intimidate others who are sharing. I'm thoughtful like that :) I have been in groups (SS class comes to mind) where one person wants to have the floor during every discussion and it can really be intimidating and bordering on rude. Just like anything else, there should be a happy medium. If no one else chooses to speak then I guess someone needs to...but it wouldn't be me more than likely.

3. What do you remember best about being 12? 

Man, it's been so long...let me think...   Back when I was twelve, there was an innocence that doesn't seem to be there in this age group today, generally speaking. When I was twelve, I was still basically a little girl playing with dolls. I had a couple of Barbies and my sister who is next to me in age would have been over fourteen and she played with me. I also had one of those dolls that had the soft body and a face like a newborn. Long after I actually played with her, I kept her wrapped up and placed her on my bed along with my collection of stuffed animals. There was no make-up either, just a short little chubby girl enjoying my place as the baby in a big family.

4. January 18th is National Winnie the Pooh Day. Which character do you relate to the most, and why? If you're stumped go here for inspiration. 

I had no idea so I went "there". I'm Kanga...and I do love to camp :)

More heavenly skies on my way home from work last week...

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

I am still getting used to using apps since I have only had my smart phone just a short time. I never had a GPS so that is great, I've tried the flashlight out a few times and it's also quite helpful (and fun) to have Google at my fingertips...just to name a few. 

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?

It would be a toss-up between Sanibel Island, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico I think. Although I have never been to either place, a tropical paradise always sounds quite nice.

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

Oh my gosh, Joyce...sometimes you ask the hardest questions! There are so many...but I cannot hear the song, "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce without remembering my wedding day and my sister singing it. There.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Amen? ♥

Red on White

Here in the south, we really either hate snow or we get really excited.

Since I'm not from these parts originally, I get excited because being from Ohio, I miss it!

You out there in the colder parts of blog land kind of just accept snow as part of normal life.

So I tend to find ways to celebrate our few and far between snowfalls.

Of course, one of the ways is watching the birds go absolutely CRAY over it!

We always have a pretty good assortment of birds throughout the year, including cardinals.

I love feeding and watching all of them but when there is snow on the ground,
there just aren't any that compare to those stunning pops of red against the brilliant white snow.

I was able to get most of the bird photos through my dirty windows.
It was bitter COLD out there!

There were so many birds that I decided to put out an extra container of seeds on the deck.
It didn't take long for them to find it...and fight over it.
I love how the cardinal seems to be telling the sparrow, "This is MINE...go get your own!" :)

But I did endure the freezing temps for just a bit to get out in that lovely white stuff.
I walked the dogs down the driveway and when I turned around back towards the house,
it was kind of like seeing the red cardinals against the snow...except....different.

Our formerly-brown-but-now-red-house really stood out against the ground covered in white.

Also, the night before the snow came, Jim went out to the store and brought me back flowers.
I'm sure you see where I am going with this...

...and surely you remember how much I like to play with flowers in the snow :)

 Kind of a crazy idea for a post, don't ya think?
Oh well, it's only the beginning of January...surely things will get better :)
By the end of this week, we are to have temps in the upper 60's again.
Welcome to North Carolina!
~
And surely you have guessed by now that I'm linking up with Maggie at
Mosaic Monday


Have a great week!