Hodgepodging With a Twist

Can you guess what day it is?  I will give you a hint.  It is one of my favorite blogging days of the week.  Yep...you have got it!  It is Wednesday...and where there is a Wednesday then Joyce has put up some great Hodgepodge questions for her readers to respond to.  I love this weeks....but then I say that just about every week.  Ready to get started?  I am!

1. National Read a Road Map Day falls on April 5th. Would people say you have a good sense of direction? Do you rely on a GPS when you drive somewhere new? When was the last time you used a map?   I love maps.  I love reading them, although I get turned around sometimes with them.  I am not one of those who can look at the sun at mid-day and tell you where North, South, East of West is.  I know geese fly south...but what if there are no geese in the sky?  I also know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.....i should know this....on my way TO work...it hits my rear view mirror and blinds me....and on my way home FROM work....it hits my rear view mirror...and blinds me.  I can't win for losing. I have a GPS unit and never use it(right now it is in the trunk part of my car....dead as a doornail)....come on...the minute you buy one...it is out of date.  Frank and I use maps, mapquest, google maps all the time...and the last time I used one was when we went to the Villages of Little Texas. 

2. What's your favorite cookbook?  Honestly....it is the homemade one that my Aunt Shirley gave me for my birthday the year before she died.  It has all of her special recipes in it...and each one is laminated.  I love this book.  But....if I were 100% honest....I would have to tell you that it would be every single one I own.  I love cookbooks!  I love owning them.  I love using recipes from them.  I love reading them.

3. What painting would you like to "walk into" and experience? Why?  Any Monet.  I love the scenery in them.  They are so peaceful and calming to me.   I love the blues and greens and just the softness of his technique.  Besides....I would not be Baroque any more because I would be rolling in Monet.  (Sorry...could not resist that one).

4. What annoys you more- misspellings or mispronunciations?  I am a language teacher and there is no degree of more for me here.  I am annoyed by both.  Frank loves to annoy me by pulling the southern card and telling people about where he "learnt to spoke."  It is like fingernails being drug across a blackboard to me. I also don't like tomatoes and potatoes being called "maters and taters."  Come on people....even Forest Gump spoke better than that.  On misspellings....When I was a child my mom would never give me an answer about how to spell something, or what something meant....she would say...look it up in the dictionary.  It was a gift I received at age five. I learned to sound out words when I learned to read....and even today if I am unsure of the spelling or pronunciation of a word....I will look it up. (I am not perfect....I am prone to making mistakes too....I get in a hurry and don't check my spelling....so if you ever catch one...please let me know so I can fix it.....but don't do it in the comment section of my blog....send me an email.)
5. What is something your mother or father considered important?  That is an easy one.  God, followed by Country and Family in close second. 

6. Do you like or dislike schedules?  I am going to ride the fence with this one.  I like schedules for the most part....heck I am a school teacher...that is what we do.....but when I want to complete something and my time is up... I find I don't like schedules.  Also, when I am on vacation....no schedule for me. 

7. Let's have some fun with National Poetry Month (that would be April)...write your own ending to this poem-

"Roses are Red

Violets are blue..."

I suffer from Allergies

Achooo!  Achooo!

I have to share a sweet piece of prose with you before I move on to question number 8.  My daughter made me a Mother's Day card when she was young.  I was struggling with my marriage....even then....and she wrote this for me:

"Mom's Are Great,

Mom's Are Grand,

Mom's Are Everything

But a Man!"

I still have this little card....it is very faded...but everytime I look at it....it makes me smile and gives me empowerment.
8. Have you ever researched all the weird little holidays that are out there?  Well, I have and I also know that  April 9th is Name Yourself Day.  This is your chance to give yourself whatever name you'd like...for a day. So my question is what would you change your name to for just one day?  Have you ever thought about it?  My mom was going to name me Francis Mathilda when I was born....boy am I glad she didn't....but I always hated my name as a child...it sounded so ....podunk.  Somewhere along the path of life....I grew to love my name....especially when I found out that I was named Leigh after my grandfather and mother.  I am a third generation Leigh....and so I named Kat Leigh too.  BUT...if I could choose another name for the day....it would be (drumroll please).......Shavonne (Gaelic for God is gracious), Siobhan, or Kayleigh.  I have always wanted a Gaelic name.  Make sure you leave me a comment and tell me what your name would be.  I will be interested to find out!  Have a great Wednesday.  I am counting down the days until Spring Break is here!