A Nostalgic Hodgepodge

It's time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge and...YEA!...there is one this week.  Thank you, Joyce, for so tirelessly hosting.  If we don't say it enough, please know how much we all appreciate it.

1. ASAP typically stands for 'as soon as possible'. What else could it stand for in your life right now? 

"Ailment Spreading At Present"  There are a couple of nasty illnesses floating around this area.  I had the intestinal version the first week of the month.  The Hubby started coughing last week and it got worse and worse.  By the time I got him to go to the doctor's on Saturday he had acute bronchitis and was on his way to having pneumonia!  My mom called on Monday to tell me she has bronchitis and my daughter is sick now, too.  I am thinking of wearing garlic (isn't that supposed to keep germs away as well as vampires?) as the kids on the bus are also dropping like flies.

2. Are you the last person to speak up in a group or the first to have an idea? Why do you suppose that is? Is it a good thing or no?

I might be the first to have an idea, but I'm rarely the first to speak up.  I know why that is....I tend to be an introvert.  Sometimes it's good because it gives me time to think before I speak, but sometimes it's not so good because I often get ignored when I do try to speak up.

3. What do you remember best about being 12? 

That was the year we moved away from the wildlife preserve, which broke my heart.  It was also the year I returned to public school and that did NOT break my heart.  I had been a misfit at the private school I went to so it was great being back with regular kids.  

4. January 18th is National Winnie the Pooh Day. Which character do you relate to the most, and why? If you're stumped go here for inspiration. 

I think there is a bit of Rabbit in me....smart, busy, particular about things, and quite often frustrated by the goofballs around me.  I adore Eeyore, though, just don't have much in common with him.

5. What's an app you use that helps simplify or make life easier for you in some way? 

I use a banking app daily to check on things.  My hubby is notoriously bad at remembering to tell me what he spends and if he does remember he invariably gets the amount wrong so I love that I can now keep the checking account up to date without even having to ask him.  

6. San Francisco (CA), San Diego (CA), San Juan (PR) San Antonio (TX) Sanibel (FL)...you have an all expenses paid long weekend to one of these destinations. Which one do you choose and why?

San Antonio!  I've always wanted to go there and experience the River Walk.

7. Share with us a song that makes you feel nostalgic? For what?

Every time I hear John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads it takes me right back to my childhood in the wildlife preserve.  It was the 70's, the preserve was in the mountains of southwestern Pennsylvania...not all that far from the mountains of West Virginia he was singing about.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

For those of you who are grandmothers, how do you handle it if you have grandkids who live nearby that you see a lot of and others who live away and you don't see nearly as much of?  I already feel soooo guilty every time I share a picture of my daughter's son because I don't see my other grandkids as much. I don't want them to think I love them less, but the relationship with my daughter's kids is bound to be closer because of proximity and the fact that due to past events I am closer to my daughter.  The other grands just don't see us as much and are closer to their other grandmother.  I just want them to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we love them, too.  

All 3 grandkids at Christmas.