Wednesday Hodge Podge #374

Play along here.

1. This time last year where were you? The same place I am right now, hanging at home and enjoying my time off work,  but with one major change. I'm going back and forth between my home and my grandmother's because I'm still providing care for her until my mom has fully recovered from her broken leg. 
2. In honor of National Pink Day (June 23rd) tell us your favorite pink food or beverage. Pink lemonade. Was it on the menu at your house yesterday? No. These days I'm only drinking unsweet tea and water. Do you like to wear the color pink?  Not really. As a freckled redhead, I find the only shades of pink that work for me are ones with orangey undertones, like coral or salmon. If we came to visit would we find this color in your home decor? There is nothing pink in my home. Blush-fuschia-salmon-raspberry-your favorite shade of pink? Coral and salmon.
3. Stop and smell the roses, looking through rose colored glasses, a rose by any other name, not all moonlight and roses, no rose without a thorn...which rosy saying currently fits your life in some way? Explain. I'd have to say looking through rose colored glasses. As depressed as I have been at times during this pandemic, I can't help but believe that this too shall pass, and that we'll get through it. It might not be happening as quickly as we want it to, but it will happen.
4. Are you a 'reader'? Do you tend to read lighter books in the summer months? Do you have a summer reading list? If so, give us a title or two. I love reading, but have found that I've had trouble concentrating since the Covid-19 mess began. Ironic, isn't it? Plenty of time to read while sheltering in place, but not having the ability to comprehend what I've read lol. I don't normally have a preference for what genre to read over summer. Right now, I'm trying to finish If It Bleeds by Stephen King, and I have American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins on deck.
5. Share with us one rose and one thorn from your weekend. Rose: I got to see my oldest nephew, Garett, briefly when he needed to borrow my jumper cables to restart his girlfriend's car. Thorn: Hardee's biscuits and gravy gave my grandmother diarrhea. Sorry, TMI alert.
6. Insert your own random thought here. Do clouds look down at humans and think "hey, that one is shaped like an idiot!"?

Wanting

Saw these adorable car succulents via a Facebook ad and now I'm obsessed! I must have one, but I can't decide if I want the llama or the VW van.

Tuesday 4: Summertime

Play along here.

1. What activities did you enjoy as a kid in the summer? Playing on my swing set or in my sandbox. Riding my bike around the neighborhood. Swimming in my Aunt's pool. Playing miniature golf with my cousins and Grandpa. Chasing after the ice cream truck.
2. Did you go on vacations? Where did you go? The only family vacations we took were to Six Flags amusement park and Cardinals baseball games in St. Louis. When my parents were married, we might have gone twice, maybe three times. After they were divorced, my mom couldn't afford to take us anywhere, but we didn't really mind. She always made sure we got our annual trip to the Heart of Illinois Fair. My brother and I were all about the rides, corn dogs, funnel cakes, and the free grandstand show.
3. Do you have a favorite summer time dinner? Share it with us please? Barbecued chicken, fresh off the grill. My late uncle Jerald made THE best barbecued chicken! I attempt it every summer, but it just doesn't taste the same. 
4. How often do you sit outside and enjoy an iced tea or coffee? Not enough. I'd like to do it more often, but the gnats and wasps are HORRIBLE.

Monday Movie Meme: The Year You Were Born

(*the creators of the Monday Movie Meme, The Bumbles, are no longer blogging, so I took it upon myself to go through their archives and start at the beginning)

This week's movie topic is all about the year YOU were born...

• What year were you born? 1969
• What movie won the Oscar for Best Picture that year? Midnight Cowboy
• If you have seen this film, what did you think of it? I've never seen Midnight Cowboy, but I do like Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin' " from the soundtrack.
• What is YOUR favorite movie from the year YOU were born?*  A Boy Named Charlie Brown is the only film I've seen in its entirety.
• Any movies that you have discovered in researching this that you now want to see? Cactus Flower (love Goldie Hawn); The Wrecking Crew (one of Sharon Tate's last roles); Hello, Dolly!; and Easy Rider.

*the link that the Bumbles listed is no longer working, so I went to Wikipedia and did my search there.

Wear A Mask

Even the goose at my local Arby’s is following safety protocols. If she can do it, so can you .

On a related note, I just have to mention how much I adore this drive through. Employees have it decorated so cutely. In addition to the goose, there's a wheelbarrow filled with flowers, painted rocks in the shapes of flowers, rocks painted like ladybugs, inspirational quotes, and a wooden pallet adorned with hanging plants. The next time I go through, I'll take more photos. Heck, I might even make it the subject of a Thursday 13!

Saturday 9: Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast

Play along here.

Saturday 9: Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast
... because it's Father's Day weekend.

1. This song is about a little girl who runs after her daddy. When is the last time you ran? Were you trying to get somewhere in a hurry, or playing a sport? I don't run...I speed walk. The last time was two years ago at Disney World, trying to catch a bus to one of the parks. If I was in a horror film, I'd probably be the first to die😜
2. This song was a top ten hit for Wayne Newton. Mr. Newton is better known for his TV work, having made more than 150 appearances since 1963. Have you ever been on TV? Or in a YouTube video?  I've been on TV twice. The first time was in 2009 when one of our local stations did a morning segment on "cool schools" and I was filmed working with one of my students. The second time was in 2012 when I was briefly shown marching with my fellow union members, protesting proposed cuts to our health benefits.
3. The road leading to Las Vegas' McCarran Airport is named Wayne Newton Blvd. in his honor. When was the last time you were in an airport? Were you flying somewhere, picking someone up, or dropping them off? June 16, 2018. My mom and I were returning from our week long Disney trip. Ironically, today is the day we were scheduled to fly to Orlando-Sanford for our next WDW vacation. <sad face> Stupid COVID-19 (and broken leg).
4. Wayne says Elvis Presley haunts Las Vegas, and believes that the King of Rock and Roll has given him performing and parenting tips from beyond the grave. When did you last see Elvis? On TV, on a t-shirt, poster, or magazine cover, or as a ghostly apparition? None of the above. I last saw him on a Facebook post from one of my high school friends who is a huge Elvis fan.
5. When Sam walks with her day, the problem isn't that he walks fast. It's that he's always stopping to pick up litter he finds on the grass. Litterbugs are his pet peeve. What's your pet peeve? People chewing with their mouths open, rudeness, lateness, people snapping their gum, and whistling snot...just to name a few.
6. What's something you've done recently to economize? Cooking most of my meals and freezing the leftovers. 
7. It was her father who taught Sam how to drive. Are you a better student or teacher? Student. When I try to teach, the right words or explanations don't always come to me, plus my method of doing something will more than likely be all over the place and will probably not make sense to anyone else. I'm your typical Aquarius😁
8.  Do you have any car maintenance tips to share? Always check your tires before driving and keep on top of your oil changes.
9. Sam's father satisfies his afternoon sugar craving with an almost endless stream of Butter Rum Lifesavers. Do you usually enjoy a between meal snack? I try not to snack between meals, but if I do get hangry, I'll top some sugar free Jello with sugar free cool whip and eat that, or I'll have one of my WW mini bars.

Wondering

Has anyone else had a difficult time concentrating since the shelter in place orders were issued in March, or is it just me? Three months later and I’m still struggling to focus, especially when I’m trying to read. It’s bad.

Thinking

The best addition to Facebook is the unfollow button.

Throwback Thursday: Children Of The Corn

Being photographed while standing in front of a cornfield is a rite of passage for all Midwestern children. My brother Bart and me, circa 1975. Check out my flares!

Justice For Makenna

Seven arrested for attack against Chillicothe autistic girl

When I first viewed the video that was circulating yesterday on Facebook, I felt sick to my stomach, and then was filled with anger. As a paraprofessional who works with special needs children, nothing upsets me more than seeing a child being bullied for no reason other than being "different" from his/her peers. My heart about broke when Makenna, tired of being hit, shoved and laughed at, and wanting nothing more than to just walk away, began to cry that she wanted to kill herself. What kind of low life, heartless, sick individual gets pleasure from making another human being feel that way?

As hard as the video was the watch, some good did come from it. The seven perpetrators, all in their mid-to-late teens, were identified and were arrested for aggravated battery and mob action. Their parents must be SO proud. Asshole kids like that lot make me fear for when I'm elderly and they're running things. Jesus take the wheel.

The best remedy for such ignorance and cruelty? Require each member of the guilty party to perform community service by working with autism/special needs individuals. They need to come out of their sheltered little bubbles and see that the people who make up the special needs population are just like us: they struggle and get frustrated; they experience joy and happiness; they have fears and get scared; they have likes and dislikes; they know how to love; and, get ready for it, THEY HAVE FEELINGS.