Hodgepodge: Summer travels and more

It's time for the weekly Hodgepodge questions and my answers. As always, I love to hear your responses too, so feel free to add your thoughts.

1. What song says Summer 2012 to you?   Luke Bryan's "Drunk on you". The song is fun, and hot, and it makes you sing along!  It starts out:
 "The cottonwood fallin' like snow in July. Sunset, riverside, four wheel drive and a tail light circle.  Roll down the windows, turn it on up!
Pour a little crown in a Dixie cup, get the party started...
Girl, you make my speakers go BOOM BOOM! "

2. What's your favorite quintessential summer food?  Ripe, juicy tomatos.  Corn on the cob.  Burgers on the grill.  Sorry... I couldn't narrow it down to just ONE item. 

3. The NJ Turnpike rest areas are named after people who lived or worked in New Jersey:  Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, J. Fennimore Cooper, Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, Thomas Edison, and Grover Cleveland. Of those listed, who would you most like to have known?  Why?   Gee, thanks Joyce, for reminding me of the NJ Turnpike.  Ugh!   I have been on that road too many times.   As for who I might like to have known, I think Clara Barton.  You got to be impressed with a lady who went into the battlefield and nursed all those soldiers back to health and gave them a "woman's touch".   Can someone tell me who J. Fennimore Cooper is?  Ha!  Guess I'll have to google him.

4. At what age did you move out of your parents' house and what prompted the move?  The first time I moved out (temporarily) was to go off to college.  At the time we were living in Maryland and I went to Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.   I did my freshman & sophmore years there, then unsure of what I wanted to do, I took a year off and lived and worked in Columbus.  After that year I came back and moved into my old room, and finished college at Towson State University as a "commuter" from home.   I then officially moved out after graduation and got an apartment with one of my best girlfriends and we lived together for a few years until I married.

5. What's more satisfying to you - saving time or saving money?   Tough question, because at times both can be good - and at other times it doesn't matter.  I think it depends on the situation and perhaps the amount of time and money we are talking about!  I won't haggle over a few dollars.  I also don't get satisfaction out of "shorting" someone else.  As far as time goes...  it's precious. It's finite.  I try to appreciate it - not save it.

6. Name something you think brings out the best in people.   People are definitely at their best when serving others because they genuinely care about others and want a "common good" .  I think people who give do it because they know their blessings come from what God has given them. 

7. Are you taking a vacation or a "stay-cation" this summer?  If so, where will you go?  If it's a stay-cation have you made special plans to fill the time?    I am fortunate this summer to have a little of both!   In a few weeks I will travel to our family cottage on Lake Erie, where we  meet for a week each summer and reconnect.  I'm especially excited to meet my newest great-nephew this year!  My "stay-cation" happens over the 4th of July week when both my daughters and a bunch of their friends will be here to spend time at the beach and to enjoy all this area offers!  This has become an annual event too.  We go  watch  the local parade, cookout, and watch fireworks at night on the beach. This year we have a river property too - and boat.  So, let the fun begin!!!!

8. Random.  Summertime is my favorite time of year!  I love the warmth, and I love the family time. I love the food, and the activities!   There's not the pressure of other seasons and holidays.   Summertime is relaxing.     Do you feel the same way?