HUMP DAY HOPS!

It's NOT wintery here. It's in the 70s during the day. I hate it when we don't get winter. This means that I don't get to enjoy it and that the bugs will be REALLY BAD this year. 

If you're here for Chats on the Farmhouse Porch or Get Wired Wednesday only, then scroll down.

First up is WEDNESDAY HODGE PODGE from Joyce at From This Side of the Pond.  This meme is fun and sometimes even poses a challenge (read: she makes us use our noggins!).   

1. The NFL playoffs were held this past weekend and this year's Superbowl lineup will feature The New York Giants versus The New England Patriots. How do you define 'patriot'?

Well, NOT by THAT football team that I have no regard for whatsoever, that's for sure. :) 

I suppose a patriot is someone who gets their dander up when someone speaks badly of their country. Someone whose heart swells with pride when they hear the national anthem. Someone who rises to the occasion and bands together when need be. 

2. What's something in your life right now that feels like a 'giant'?

All the HORRID mess outside- front, side and back-of our house. It looks like a dang junk yard and it's all Hubs' stuff that he has let go and go and go and never put away after using, etc. I'm almost at the end of my rope on this one. So, if y'all hear a loud, and I mean really LOUD, noise and feel a huge, and I mean HUGE, shaking of the earth--you'll know I finally exploded. 

OR maybe it's the ceiling over the playroom that is starting to sag and that Hubs has been saying for OVER A MONTH that he needs to go over to his mom's old house and get the jacks to jack it up and repair it before it falls but hasn't done it yet. The same ceiling that he told me when I first pointed it out that it wasn't getting worse. Well, yes it is. 

3. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think back to being 18?

I wish I was 21. 

4. Coconut-mashed potatoes-vanilla ice cream-mayonnaise...which white food would be the hardest to give up?

Mashed potatoes for this 'starchy' southern gal!

5. Describe an incident or a day you remember as the coldest you've ever experienced?

It was the year some of us went with our Ohio friends to visit Cleveland. HOLY CRAP! I have NEVER been that cold- before OR after! I had on 3 layers of pants and tops, a sweater, a full length WOOL coat, scarf, gloves, hat and boots. I might as well have been stark naked. Of course, I whiskey sour (or three) in Capt'n Franks made it all feel better!

6. You're hosting a brunch...what's your favorite dish to prepare and serve?

Bourbon shrimp on Charleston grits of course! Oh, and my wild rice and artichoke casserole- Deanie's favorite.

7. How do you combat negative thinking?

By immediately inserting a positive one! Which I have been doing about that outside issue and the sagging ceiling issue for AREALLYLONGFREAKING time now. It seems to me that, when I do this, the negatives become fewer and further between. Does it go away completely? No. But I have gotten pretty darn good at sending them away and replacing them with positives. I always tell the lovelies to keep a positive thought because positive thoughts yield positive results.

Hubs, on the other hand, was brought up with negativity. His family called it Lofton (their last name) Luck and it was all bad. It DRIVES ME NUTS because I see that as a way to avoid learning life lessons and dealing with issues that need to be dealt with. Hubs tries to overcome this but it's hard after being raised around it. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm so, so sad that we haven't gotten any winter this year. I'm not saying that most of y'alls winters wouldn't freeze me to death, but come on. Just having the days not go above the 40s or 50s would suffice. And maybe just a smidgeon of snow. Just a teeny little smidgeon.  

Next up is a HUMP DAY HOP from Patrice at Everyday Ruralty called Chats on the farmhouse porch! Patrice made a very nice video for us this week! So hop on over there and check it out! And she's maybe making us another one soon featuring Wendell who is only the bestest horse in the whole wide world!

Questions:

1. Kimberly asks: How long have you blogged?  I am in my second year.
2. Lana asks:What is the most difficult part of taking care of chickens? I have no idea. We aren't allowed to have chickens in our subdivision.
3. Susannah asks: Would you prefer to live where it's hot or cold? Cold. Definitely. But not TOO cold. Somewhere that the highs of the day don't go above the 40s or 50s and where there is a little snow every year.
4. Farm Girl asks: What sort of things are you looking forward to in 2012? I am looking forward to Birdie being home from Texas for TWO MONTHS! I'm looking forward to, hopefully, visiting Deanie in DC. I'm looking forward to the next football season and Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. I THINK I'm looking forward to possibly running my first 5k. Although it's not looking too hopeful since, so far, I can only run a quarter mile without DYING.
5. Dreaming asks: What's for dinner? Zucchini lasagna, toss green salad, chocolate peanut butter crunch ball thingys-gluten free, of course, for the college crowd! It's Wednesday which means DoodleBug and company come to eat. It also means it's safe to make those chocolate peanut butter crunch ball thingys because the kids will take them downtown and I won't be tempted past dinner! WooHoo!

And NOW: 

I'm wired are you?

 It's easy to join! Just click on the button above to check it out!