Wednesday Hodgepodge - June 4, 2014

It's been a while since I've taken part in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Joyce at From this Side of the Pond always lists the questions and participants supply the answers and add a link to their post on her list. If you are interested in taking part, head on over to Joyce's blog by CLICKING HERE for more information.

Now, for my answers to the eight questions.

1. I've read several posts and status updates recently describing end of year school field trips. Do you remember taking school field trips as a kid? Where did you go and do you recall a favorite? For any parents responding today, have you ever chaperoned a school field trip, and if so where?

There were lots of school trips. In elementary school we took day trips to places like the Franklin Institute and Longwood Gardens and took extended trips to Fellowship Farms and to the Poconos. In later grades we went to the United Nations and to Disneyland.

I'm never good at picking favorites but if I have to I'd say the 4-day trip to a camp in the Poconos with my fifth grade class was most memorable.

Have I helped to chaperone a school field trip? Certainly have. Quite a few, in fact. To the zoo, the dinosaur exhibit, the nature museum, etc. I was always willing to tag along when they needed extra people.

2. What's something you're tired of seeing online?

Pop-up ads. 

3. June is the month for roses. Which of the following expressions would you say could most recently be applied to your life-'everything's coming up roses' 'there's no rose without a thorn' came out smelling like a rose' or 'wearing rose-colored glasses'? 

I think the expression "there's no rose without a thorn" always applies. I follow the philosophy that nothing is perfect. All people are flawed in some way, relationships have their ups and downs, each career/job has good and bad points. Some thorns dig deeper than others and some are bigger challenges to overlook, but we need to accept them and deal with them the best we can. On the flip side, just because things are flawed doesn't mean we shouldn't see the beauty in them. Take time to smell the roses when you can. It's those good things that keep us going.

4. When grilling outdoors do you prefer gas or charcoal? Who does the grilling at your house? What's the last thing you ate that was cooked on a grill?

Both are fine but I love the flavor of  food cooked on a charcoal grill. I tend to marinade/prepare the food for the grill and my husband does the grilling. The last thing we had on the grill was Schweinehals (pork shoulder steaks) marinated with garlic, mushrooms stuffed with feta, and vegetable skewers (cherry tomato and zucchini), but one of my favorite things to make on the grill is eggplant marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.    

5. Are you afraid of the dark?

No, just what lies within it. :-)  

6. Share a favorite song with a number in its title.

This was the hardest of all the questions for two reason. Firstly, I LOVE music. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I am always bad at picking favorites, so deciding on one song to highlight is torture. I started a list. It included songs like Green Day's 21 Guns, Kylie Minogue's 2 Hearts, Fleming and John's 6,570, Jason Mraz's 93 Million Miles, and Lou Bega's Mambo Nr. 5. I mean, seriously. Pull out some of your cd's or go through your MP3 or wherever you have your music. It seems everyone has a song with a number in it. One of the most well-known old songs in Germany is Nena's 99 Luftballoons. And if we include songs with the word ONE in them, the possibilities are endless--Colbie Caillat's One Fine Wire, Robbie Williams' She's the One, Jamie Cullem's Just One of Those Things, Sara Bareilles' One Sweet Love. The list could go on and one.  So I am not going to pick just one. Here are two that I like. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to insert the video so I've included links. Just click on the song title. 

My husband's favorite artist is Trombone Shorty. Not only is he an excellent musician but he sings, too. All his CDs are good and he puts on a great concert.

Trombone Shorty - One Night Only  

Another great artist, who I admire for his versatility, wordplay, and sometimes poetic lyrics (like in Bella Luna), is Jason Mraz. I already mentioned 93 Million Miles, which is an excellent tune, but I really dig this song from his Love is a Four Letter Word cd. 

Jason Mraz - 5/6 

I was going to add a German song (1000 Fragen by Silbermond) but couldn't find a good video for it. Most of them were covers. Oh, well. So it goes. 


 7. "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding about ourselves."(C.G. Jung) Do you agree? Why or why not?

I'm not sure it's true in every instance, but it's certainly true some of the time.  If something irritates me about someone then in most cases I am the opposite. For instance, I am a very patient person and it bothers me when people complain the whole time they wait in line or they refuse to wait like everyone else. On the other hand, sometimes the things we have in common with people cause the irritation. If both Jane and John are confident and always want to be the one in charge, they are certainly going to be irritated by the other's desire to lead the pack.  

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Note for the creative readers. This week I am guest host over at Creative Bloomings. Today's prompt is to write a quintella. To take part, CLICK HERE. Also, don't forget to back-track to Monday's post for the earlier prompt.  

Also, I am co-hosting a contest this month with Claudette at her blog At Home. I won her photo contest and thought it would be a bit of fun to see who could write something nice to go with it. The winner gets a copy of my photo with their poem on it. To learn more about it, CLICK HERE.


Thanks for stopping by today!