Wednesday Hodge Podge

Welcome to Wednesday. I’m joining Joyce from From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodge Podge again!

1.February 22nd is National Be Humble Day...what makes you proud? What keeps you humble?

I think my scrapbooking makes me proud. It’s not just that as the years have passed since I started digital scrapbooking I’ve gotten better at it, but it's me, the things I’ve done, my people and the silly things I scrap that make me happy, proud of all that I’ve accomplished and earned in my life.

No question that MS humbles me. I’ve had to earn to do many things differently, most significantly, I’ve learned how to ask for help and accept it graciously.


2. Where is the catch-all (aka dumping ground) in your house?

Um, kinda embarrassed, but the purpose of The White Tornado project is because the answer to that question has been “yes” for too long.


3. Do you make it a point to visit State/National Parks when you travel or even in your own hometown? What's your favorite?

When I lived in Michigan I was just a couple miles away from Maybury State Park and I was there about 4 or 5 days a week average. They had wonderful and peaceful walking paths, paved and rugged. I walked every day, at least a mile. I knew those woods well! In the winter I used my stationary bike for exercise, but it was nothing like the mental break of a walk in the park.

Grandma and I went to Tawas Point State Park for a picnic at least once every time when I visited her, except in the winter.


4. How would you define honor?

Honor is respect, dignity. You honor people by giving it and when you receive it, you’ve earned honor.


5. Angel's food or Devil's food-which cake do you prefer?

Where’s the chocolate in Angel Food cake? Paraphrasing Billy Joel, “I’d rather dine with the sinners than diet with the saints.”


6. What's the most recent road trip you've taken? Where did you go and how many hours did you spend in the car? Do you like to zoom to your destination without stopping or leisurely wind your way there with stops along the way? What is your car snack of choice?

Connecticut for Christmas with David’s family. He estimates that it’s about 10 hours each way. We meander, big time! We stop to photograph trains, barns and other things that strike our fancy. My car snack of choice is pretzels.


7. Recent headlines told how a preschool child in NC had their packed lunch from home taken away and a school lunch substituted by a school inspector who deemed the homemade lunch unhealthy. Reportedly the parent was then billed for the school lunch (chicken nugget meal) although an update to the story says the parent was not billed. The inspector was conducting a routine inspection of the classroom-he/she was not there solely to peek in the lunchboxes. The packed lunch contained a turkey and cheese sandwich, an apple juice box, a bag of chips, and a banana. You can read the story here. Your thoughts?

From the story:

“The state guidelines require that one serving of meat, one serving of grains, one serving of dairy, and two servings of fruits or vegetables are provided with each meal.”

“children who ate in the cafeteria on Wednesday were served a lunch that consisted of fish sticks, corn, peaches, potatoes, and a small carton of milk.”

“(the) girl’s lunch — which consisted of a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, apple juice and potato chips — ‘did not meet USDA guidelines.’”

Mom’s lunch:
turkey & cheese sandwich – protein, dairy, carbohydrate (grains? it didn’t say what kind of bread)
banana – fruit
apple juice box – fruit or at least a percentage of fruit (many juice boxes aren’t 100% juice)
potato chips – a treat which in moderation (like one lunch sized bag or chips) is fine

The school lunch on Wednesday:
Fish sticks - protein under breading and fat
corn – carbohydrate (NOT a vegetable or whole grain)
peaches – fruit
potatoes – carbohydrate (NOT a vegetable or whole grain)
milk – dairy

Aside from a recipe for forming habits that can result in obesity and diabetes, the state is lacking in a fruit or vegetable. The peaches are probably canned in syrup too.


Conclusion – the girl’s mother should be teaching the school board some classes about nutrition.

I would be livid if it was my kid, especially since all she ate was 3 fried chicken nuggets instead of the healthier lunch I packed her. If the school boards and government are going to raise our kids for us, they damn well better first prove they are capable. This North Carolina school - FAIL!


8. Insert your own random thought here.

It was snowing this morning. I asked David to pull the shade on the front window. What I don’t see doesn’t hurt me, right?