Last Feb Hodgepodge

1.  When were you last facing an ocean? Using just ONE word, describe how you felt as you faced that ocean. 
Christmas break:  The Keys!  Have I mentioned lately how great that vacation was?  I felt:  peaceful.

2. What are three sounds you hate to hear?
Brakes locking up, metal hitting metal during an accident, and a civil defense/tornado siren.

3. This question comes to you courtesy of some real life friends. Hi real life friends! When you shop for yourself, do you try everything on in the store before buying or do you buy, try on at home, and then return what you don't like or what doesn't fit?
I try on in the store.  If I take it home, it may or may not be taken back in a timely manner.

4. February 26th is National Pistachio Day...are you a fan of the little green nut? Do you use them in cooking and baking or prefer to eat them right out of the shell?
LOVE pistachios!  Right out of the shell!

5. When did you last have to compromise with someone?  Were you happy to reach the compromise or slightly irritated it was necessary? 
Last weekend, CH & I looked at cabinets for our kitchen.  I wanted a bigger oven, he doesn't think we need it (since I honestly don't bake that often).  I compromised for an "in-between" oven.  But, it turns out that it doesn't really matter:  we've decided to hang with our current cabinets for a couple more years, then do an overhaul.

6.  Have you ever written a letter to an elected official? Did you get a response?
I'm a letter writer.  And yes, I've gotten a response.

7. We 'March' into a new month at the end of this week...what's something on your March calendar guaranteed to make you smile?
CAMPING!  We're planning a camping trip with CH's brother & his wife, and one of my brothers & his wife are coming, too!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
I'm not doing any better with keeping up with my blog.  I've just got too many irons in the fire right now!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. When were you last 'on a mountaintop'?  You may answer in the literal or figurative sense.
Well...one of my schools could be considered to be 'on a mountaintop', so I'll say yesterday!

2.  Do you establish and maintain a strict budget in your household?  What is one piece of financial advice you would offer someone just starting out on their own? 
Not really.  I pay some of the bills, CH pays the rest.  If we want to go to a movie or out to eat, we go.  I would tell somebody just starting out to not use their credit card:  If you don't have the money, you don't need it.  Unless, of course, you need to buy plane tickets to Europe!  :)

3.  Cherries-yay or nay?  Cherry pie, cherry cola, black forest cake, or a scoop ofBen and Jerry's Cherries Garcia...pick one. 
I like cherries.  I make this chocolate cake that uses cherry pie filling in it:  Chocolate Fudge Cherry Cake
You pour the frosting over the cake while it's still warm, and the texture is unbelievable.

4.  Should you ever discuss religion or politics with people you don't know? 
Better with people I don't know than family!  (JK!)    I get very uncomfortable when someone I've just met starts talking about religion.  Talking about politics doesn't bother me as much, but religion is pretty personal.

5.  When you take a road trip do you prefer to be the driver or the passenger?  Where were you headed on your last road trip? 
The passenger.  We took a little road trip between Christmas & New Year's:

6. If we peeked inside your closet, what color would we say is most prevalent?
Blue.  Or black.

7. Who's your favorite senior citizen and why are they special?
I can't pick just one:  my parents.  I think it's pretty obvious why they're so special to me!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
Every time I go by our little duck pond, I look for 2 ducks.  One of them obviously has something wrong with his/her wings:  it looks like they've died, they're just hanging there and aren't pretty.  The other duck is always close by, almost like it's protecting its mate.  It really is a sweet scene.  One of these days I'm actually going to stop and take a picture to share.

Weekend Wrapup Catchup

 Since I was too busy lazy to do a post on Friday, I'm going to include Thursday in this post!
On Valentine's Day, YS made his Orange Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Lemon Risotto for CH, me, and his girlfriend.  Since it was Thursday, I had flute choir practice that evening, and it wasn't ready before I left, so I had a late dinner.  He didn't disappoint!  It was delicious! I made a little something for dessert:

Chocolate Passion Bowl.  Really simple and very easy:  layer brownies, pudding (with a cup of cool whip mixed in), strawberries (or raspberries), and cool whip.  You could make a lighter version by using sugar free/fat free pudding and light cool whip.  A pound or marble cake might save a few calories, too.

At school on Friday, there were a couple of visitors:

The calf was the sweetest thing.  One of my students pet her, which was a very big deal for her to do that.  When the Kindergarten Classes went out, I had a preschool student with me, so we went out to see them.  At first he didn't want to go, but he let me pick him up and we went out.  When I asked if he wanted to pet the calf, he said "I don't want to pet him.  NOOOOOO!  He might bite me!"  So stinkin' cute!

Friday night I got caught up on shows that I can't seem to stay awake for or have a conflict:  Deception, The Taste, and Suits.  CH watched "Skyfall" on the big tv in the Man Cave.

Saturday was grocery shopping, some laundry, and I managed to go by the library to get a couple of books I wanted to read.  One of the books is "Farewell to Arms" (Hemingway).  I chose that one because that was one of the books that the tour guide talked about when we went on the tour of the Hemingway House over Christmas Break.  I also got a couple of movies from Redbox:  "Hope Springs" and "Five Year Engagement".  I thought "Hope Springs" was really sad; I felt so bad for Meryl Streep's character.  There were a couple of scenes that I thought weren't necessary (and they made me a bit uncomfortable), but other than that, I thought it was a good movie.

I also popped a couple of batches of cookies in the oven.  It was so cold on Saturday, that Taco Soup was the perfect thing to make for supper:

I made tortilla strips for the first time.  They came out pretty well, but I thought they were just a tad too spicy for me.

Sunday morning, the flute choir played during a church service at the director's church.  I thought we did pretty well; much better than we had done at the Christmas Concert.  The director said she was pleased, too.  Her church is about 45 minutes from my house.  I was about 15 minutes away when I reached for my pocketbook to get my chapstick, only to realize I had forgotten it!  I had no license, no money.  I just made sure that I didn't go over the speed limit, and prayed that I wouldn't be in an accident!  My sister, Tina, drove down for the service, and we went out to brunch.  She had to pay since I didn't have any money. I managed to get home safely and ticket-free.

The rest of the day flew by.  We went to dinner at our favorite Mexican place, and MS came from the big city to eat with us.    CH settled in to watch "The Walking Dead", and I watched "Downton Abbey".  Gosh, we lead such exciting lives!