Wednesday Hodgepodge & Chit Chat on Patrice’s Farmhouse Porch

It’s mid-week, why not laugh a little, right?  I couldn’t resist and hope you enjoyed the funny.  What brings me today’s post?  Certainly not menopause for if it had, then I would have probably forgotten I needed to write my post for today. As you may know each Wednesday I enjoy participating in two get-to-know-me/get-to-know-you memes. These offer an interesting perspective on how we see ourselves while in turning making us seem more human to our friends in Blogosphere.  I hope you’ll decide to jump in on today’s sessions and make its regular weekly routine.

Thanks for hosting,Joyce!

1. Who taught you how to cook? I learned the basics from my mother, but because I got married quite young I also picked up many tips from my mother-in-law. Both mothers are excellent cooks. Both giving me great guidance on how to become a good cook. The bottom line is, you have to practice, practice, practice to perfect your culinary art.
2. Have you been told you think too much? Are too much of a perfectionist? Are you too sensitive? Were they right? Heavens, no! In fact, I’m told I need to think more. lol. I’m hardly anything else than a perfectionist. Okay, I do like things a certain way and if it’s not right then I can get a little crazy sometimes. However, I can just as easily let go of something, too. I won’t be driven out of what little mind I have. Generally, I am not too sensitive. I’m very easy-going and I find I can let things roll off my back without any worries.
3. As a child did you have a favorite blanket or toy? Tell about it. You know this is gonna sound sad, but I don’t believe I had a ‘favorite’ toy or blanket. I preferred playing with my Barbie dolls with my best friend, but that’s about it.
4. What ‘institution’ do you have the most faith in? I believe I’m going to side Joyce in saying ‘marriage’.  I know marriage gets a bum rap, especially considering we have the highest divorce rate in the world. But, I love..”Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”— I Corinthians 13:7….and, Martin Luther once said, “There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.” Marriage is simply an act of two people working together for a common good, and like anything it requires a bit of elbow grease to pull it off.
5. Chrysanthemums, pansies, burning bush, ornamental cabbage…your favorite in an autumn garden? These are all beautiful plants, but I adore the happy faces of…
   

   Photo Borrowed: www.ufseeds.com

6. What superpower do the kids in your neighborhood seem to possess? Frankly, I’m not sure. There are some young ones on our block, but I don’t see them out and about. However, when our daughters lived at home then I would have to say our youngest seemed to have the superpower of invincibility.  That girl has walked in front of moving vehicles getting lightly tapped to falling down a manhole to having hot cement thrown on her, yet she escaped each time with relatively mild if any injuries. All I can say, her guardian angel is really on her toes. Maybe, she has more than one guardian angel.
7. Are you a fan of the cranberry? Definitely! I make a yummy cranberry compote for Thanksgiving and Christmas, which has been a favorite among us.  I also enjoy making cranberry-pumpkin bread, which is a yummy treat. I like the tart taste of cranberries in chocolates, too. Mmm,good! Cranberries really add a special touch to the holidays!
8. Insert your random thought here.  I love the sweet chocolaty taste of cocoa on a cool autumn morning. Recently, I decided to give the sugar-free instant cocoas like Swiss Miss ‘Diet’ (25 calories per/packet) and Nestle ‘No Sugar Added'(50 calories per/packet). Like all cocoa mixes when made with water these aren’t nearly as tasty as made with skim milk. However, it surprised me just how it is, compared to their regular sugary cocoa versions.  Yesterday, I had so much fun doing one of my exercise videos which I haven’t done in a very long time. It’s Zumba Sculpt & Tone. When I ordered my Zumba DVDs, it came with these things called toning sticks,which kinda sound like maracas.  I was happy to learn by the end of the workout, I could actually feel the effect of using the light weight toning sticks. Check out the video….

This is the best example of the video, but you can catch a glimpse of the sculpting routine.  It’s totally high energy and fun.  Just like all the testimonies you hear on any of their promos, this workout series really is like having a party in your living room. You just don’t feel like it’s exercise, it’s that much fun! I’m considering getting more Zumba DVDs to add to my fitness collection. Go Zumba! This is not a paid advertisement or review. I’m offering this tidbit as one friend to another.

Moving on to my next meme…

1. Alison asks: What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve overcome or need to? The biggest thing I’ve had to overcome is my self-confidence issues. I’m not exactly sure why I always had such low self-esteem. I believe most girls suffer from this problem more so than boys do.

Growing up, I felt ugly and stupid. I always felt bad about my appearance. I had problems with my teeth as a child. It had something to do with my mom not getting the right vitamins while she was pregnant. When my baby teeth came through, I’m told they were black. I would certainly imagine this may have caused issues with prematurely losing my baby teeth and then when I got my permanent teeth, I had such horrible problems with them. Needless to say, I have had extensive dental care over my early years.  I have pictures of me as a kid where I’m not smiling and I recall being told to not smile. I know now, they meant no harm, but in a small child’s mind it equaled ‘ugly’.

Another bad childhood memory was of my poor reading skills. I partially blame this on my regular ear infections. I couldn’t hear too well when I had these flare-ups and it seemed like it occurred quite often. This limited my ability to pick up sounds properly causing me to become a slow reader. In the mid-60s,  teachers singled out the brightest students, while making the weak ones feel stupid. Was this their intent? I don’t know, but it came across that way. All of my early years I felt less smart than others because of my inability to read quickly. It trickled into my other studies causing me to struggle. In addition to my loss of hearing, my brain just didn’t want to stay focused. I’m sure if they knew what ADHD was back then, they would have surely hung that title on me. Thankfully by the time I reached high school I was better at paying attention in the classroom. 

To make a long story short, all these negative knocks made for an adult who felt bad about herself. Thankfully, I had the help of good man, my DH, to show me I’m pretty and smart.  I didn’t fully learn this until I was in my late 20s or early 30s, but still the road from there to now I made many improvements in the way I see myself; I have come a long way.  I can now honestly say, I not only feel pretty but see myself as pretty and while I’m not Albert Einstein, I’m certainly not stupid, either.

2. Julia asks: If you won $100,000 what changes would you make? This is simple, I’d wipe out all of our debts first thing, then buy a new car, finance a new mortgage on a larger home with some property in the country, take a long needed vacation, have a tummy tuck (Go ahead admit it, you would, too.Hee-hee!), help our parents & children, invest in some high-risk stocks, put a small reserve in savings, … These are just a few off the cuff things I can think of doing, but if I actually had the money then I may see other needs I don’t now.
3. McGuffy Ann asks: What’s the most unusual pet you’ve had? This isn’t at all unusual, but I did have tropical bird once. I can’t recall what kind it was now.  That’s common, as I said, but it was different for me because I had never owned one before.
4. When do you start decorating for Christmas? I’ll begin getting things out in about two weeks. I like having everything put out before Thanksgiving. We usually don’t put the decorations on the tree until the first weekend in December.  I like the sense of the festivities surrounding the Christmas tree even while enjoying Thanksgiving. After all, aren’t we thankful that Jesus came to this earth as payment for our sins?
5. What’s your favorite type of magazine to read? I like reading Reader’s Digest, Guideposts, and fitness-related publications. I enjoy anything that’s inspirational or encouraging – spiritual, physical, or emotional.  However, I don’t read much these days since most of my reading is on my computer or iPhone.

Before I hit the trail, I’d like very much to invite you to join my mid-week blog hop I co-host… Wayback Wednesdays!

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