The first Hodgepodge post of 2017.

Some things are new - but some things never change!  So, it goes with the weekly Hodgepodge.  It's a new year, but we can still rely on the 7 questions and a random thought. 

 

Here we go!

 

1. Share one favorite moment/memory from your Christmas holiday. 

 

I had many lovely moments!  I will share with you that the "after Christmas celebration" with both daughters and their significant others, and hubby and I all get-together was wonderful! We all met in Charlotte on the 28th - went to dinner together, and then had "Christmas morning" on the 29th with opening gifts, bloody marys, and pictures.  Then in the afternoon we went and saw Tim McGraw in concert!   We planned to go to the Belk Bowl football game after the concert, but it was cold and windy and none of us were really dressed warmly enough...so we went back to one of the daughter's condo and played games together.

2. What was the best thing you ate over the holidays? Was it homemade or store bought? If it was homemade did you make it?

 

On Christmas day we had ham, mac & cheese, green bean casserole,  a family favorite pineapple/cheese/crushed cracker dish, and more.  Everything was homemade (well except the ham.  We didn't raise the pig & kill it! ha).   We had store bought desserts.   

I made some of the dishes - along with daughter #2.  

 

3. What was one of the most beautiful things you saw over the holidays?

 

I would normally say the "Night of a Thousand Lights" at Brookgreen Gardens.  I go most years, but this year I didn't.  

 

But, I will say my favorite thing to see each year is all the candles lit at church on Christmas Eve during the singing of "Silent Night."  It really is a beautiful moment in time. 

4. What does fresh start mean to you?

 

A fresh start means getting rid of the things that were either getting in the way, and/or holding you back from doing something.  It means having a new set of eyes, and hopefully a new attitude. 

 

It means wiping the slate clean.  But, not necessarily forgetting what you learned from the past! 

5. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being very positive and 1 being not so great) how would you rate 2016 in terms of personal achievement and well being? Explain. 

 

I will give myself an 8.  It was a good year for me.  I didn't set any huge goals at the beginning of the year and I certainly didn't make a resolution to get caught up in.   So, I'm happy with the way my year went.   I have stayed relatively healthy - and happy!  I really can't ask for more.  (I didn't give myself a 10 because I didn't do something, or learn something, that was really 'over the top'.  But I am very content with an 8!  lol)

6. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse, or just general uselessness. Go here to read more about how the words were chosen or, if you're like me, to find out what in the world the word or phrase even means or the context in which it's used. There were quite a few on this year's list I'd never heard before.

Here's the 2017 list of banished words-

You, Sir-focus-Bete Noire-Town Hall Meeting-Post Truth-guesstimate-831-historic-manicured-echo chamber-on fleek-bigly-ghost-Dadbod-listicle-get your dander up-selfie drone-frankenfruit-disruption

Which word on the list would you most like to see banished in 2017? What word or phrase would you add to the list?

I'm with Joyce in that I haven't even heard some of these phrases.   Guess I need to look them up. Obviously, they are not used often in the circles I run!

 

Of those I do recognize, I think we won't be hearing "Town Hall Meeting" until the next campaign season rolls around.  Thank goodness!     The word "historic" is used too much, and is not always used properly.  I think it has become a word to use when something is really special, and perhaps unique.  Will it be remembered in history?   Perhaps not.  

 

I like "Dadbod" because I totally get it's definition! I know a few!  Others on the list I don't mind either.  So, I will say let's ban "selfie drone" - both the term and the action!!  In general, drones scare me!  I'm not worried about being caught doing something wrong with one, but they do seem to sound like legit spying to me.  

7. Large or small, light or deep, share with us one goal you have for the new year. 

 

Oh, so now I have to come up with a goal!  Hmmm     I guess my goal for the year is to work better on keeping healthy.  Because, you know, when you have your health you have everything! Right?    I have been fortunate up to now that I have been in good health without trying too hard.  But, last month I turned a new decade and it has me thinking that its going to get tougher to maintain myself! 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Gotta ask...  anybody watching The Bachelor?  Are you rooting for Nick to finally find true love??  The fourth time is a charm!!   I hope!

See you here in two weeks.  Joyce is traveling next week so she won't be posting any questions.