Monday, Monday

Sigh, I'm not sure I'm ready to face the week.  Not that the weekend wasn't relaxing, but we are dealing with some less than stellar news with my mother.  Health issues.  Never a good time, and quite stressing.
So other than that we had a quiet weekend.  We didn't do a whole lot.  Laundry was accomplished, and I kept up with the dishes.  We smoked some fresh fish our neighbor caught and gave us. It turned out absolutely fantastic.
We are trying to get back in the routine of things.  It's a slow process, but having the kids back in school will help.  I really need to get better at the meal planning. I'm sort of looking forward to having it cool off outside so I can use the oven again, without heating the house up even more.

Now on to a freebie week with MMMM:
Austin Webb with All Country on You:

For something a bit different:
Walk the Moon with Shut up and Dance:

And lastly:
Chris Janson with Buy Me a Boat:

Have a good week!

Hodgepodge for Wednesday

Howdy all!  We are back at the grind stone around here after a lovely vacation.  The boys are back in school and Nick and I are back at work. But we had a wonderful, relaxing vacation and I think I am almost ready to be back at work, almost.
Anyway on with the hodgepodge:

1. It's hard to believe, but next week's Hodgepodge will find us in the month of September. What's one thing you want, need, or hope to do still before summer officially ends?
Actually, we got to do most of what we wanted to do this summer.  A bit more camping might have been nice, but time and weather and camper disasters conspired against us. Our summer was busy.  I am kind of looking forward to more routine based fall and winter schedules.

2. When were you last at 'your wit's end'? 
Every single time I take both boys someplace together.  Grocery shopping, school shopping, out for dinner, they can drive me to distraction or to my wit's end without even trying all that hard. It's a special skill they have to find the one thing that will fray my nerves and then do it over and over and over again.

3. Describe a time you were figuratively thrown into 'the deep end'?
I was hired as an assistant to an insurance agent.  At least that's what I thought the job was.  I was actually supposed to sell property and casualty insurance.  I'm so not a cold caller sales person type. the job was a disaster.  I managed all of three months.

4. Does the end always, ever, or never justify the means? Explain.
I think it depends on the situation.  If no one is hurt, and the outcome is favorable, then sure the ends justify the means, but the moment someone gets hurt in the process then the means do not justify the ends.

5. What makes your hair stand on end?
Deja vu moments, watching my kids get hurt when I know I won't be able to prevent it, and being startled.

6. I read an article on the website Eat This! Health, that listed 11 foods we can eat to help end bad moods. Basically it's a feed your brain so you're less anxious, grouchy and lethargic. The foods are-mussels, swiss chard, blue potatoes, grass fed beef, dark chocolate, greek yogurt, asparagus, honey, cherry tomatoes, eggs, and coconut. Which of those do you think would most help end your own bad mood? Which do you fear, if forced to eat, would put you into a bad mood?
I can do with all of those, but my pick would be the dark chocolate.  The least favorite would be the eggs.

7. What project around your home, office, or life in general feels like there is 'no end in sight'? 
All household chores--dishes, laundry, cleaning, etc. are never ending.  Home improvement goes on and on.  When you own a home, the things that need fixing go on and on.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
Here is a preview of the trip:

We all had a fabulous time.  And are already thinking ahead to next years adventure.

Hodgepodge for Wednesday--It's so Moving

And Questions:

1. When was the last time you relocated? Did you move yourself or leave it to the professionals? Are you happy staying put or is there a move in your future? Best thing about moving to a new city or town? Least favorite and/or hardest thing about moving house?
The last time we moved was when we moved into our current house 18 years ago.  Wow, that sounds like such a long time ago, but sure doesn't feel like it's been that long. Since we were young and broke, we moved ourselves.  Lots of car and truck trips across town.
We are quite happy to be staying put for the moment.  Some day Nick would like a bigger house.  I'm not totally sold on the idea.  It means more to keep clean and I'm not a huge fan of house work as it is.
Moving to a new city or town is filled with possibility.  That can be a good thing.  However, I'm not wildly outgoing and moving to someplace new is intimidating for the introvert that I am.
Packing up and actually going through the accumulated stuff so it can be moved is never easy.

2. When were you last 'moved to tears'? Explain. 
Just last week when we had to put our dog of over 14 years to sleep. Definitely some teary eyes with that process.

3. Do you have rules about eating in the car...any forbidden foods? What's the last thing you consumed in your car? Your go-to car snack when traveling long distance?
No real rules about eating in the car.  I mean I wouldn't want the boys trying to eat soup in there, but other than that most anything goes. We had McD's for breakfast just Sunday while heading out fo town to go four wheeling.
We love to have jerky and crunchy snacks for road trips.  I need to determine what we are having for snacks next week as we have a road trip coming up.

4. Share a favorite song relating to cars and/or driving.
Brad Paisley with Mud on the Tires:

5. What's your most frequently visited drive-thru...Starbucks? the bank? the pharmacy? some other window?
 Ummm, probably McD's.  We just don't hit drive-up windows all that often.

6. "He who hesitates is lost"...would you agree? When it comes to making decisions do you generally act quickly or do you more often than not fall into the 'lost' category?
It depends on the decision to be made.  I do tend to make snap decisions, but thinking before acting can save a lot of trouble. You just don't want to think yourself out of making a decision.

7. When was the last time you got lost? Was it stressful or an unexpected happy adventure? 
Not truly lost, but following the directions on the map ap on the phone can be misleading.  It was frustrating, but we eventually found what we were supposed to find. I tend to be the navigator and Nick drives.  It works for us.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 
 So we have an exciting trip to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole Wyoming next week.  Then the boys get to go back to school. It has been a blink you miss it summer.  Busy, but fun just the same.

Truly Random

So Tuesday, we meet again.  Shouldn't surprise me, we meet every week about this time.  Now let's random:

• The kids have like two weeks until school stars here. Where exactly has the summer gone? I feel like we blinked back in June and there went the summer. 
• At least we still have our trip next week. Jackson Hole and Yellowstone, here we come. Cause, the kids have to be dragged to the outdoors to look at natural wonders and large animals at least once. Especially since Yellowstone and Teton National parks are in our state. After this we have to go a bit farther to get to a national park.  Utah and Arizona are on our radar.
• Yeah, common sense is not so common any more:

•  Nothing gets you moving quite like this:

• I ahve seen several parking jobs where this applies:

• I have yet to truly back to school shop.  I will be getting the school supplies that are necessary to send a first grader to school this weekend as well as getting the 7th grader his notebooks, binders, folders and pencils.  As for clothes, I plan on a thrift store run after school starts.  I so lucky to have boys who don't really care how they look. Jenas and tshirts with cool sayings and they are set.

Enjoy what is left of summer!
Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

Monday, Monday

So here we are at another Monday.  This last weekend was...strange. It had highs and lows.  Let's get the lows out of the way first.
Friday morning we had to put our old dog down.  He was 14 and he just couldn't get around any more adn was in such visible pain that we just wanted to let him be at peace.  So good bye Guiness.

As for a high, Nick and I have been married for 17 years as of Saturday. We didn't really do much.  It was a laze about kind of day.  But still, we made it 17 years!  Love to my wonderful hubby!

And now for some music:
Brett Eldridge with Lose My Mind:

Drake White with It Feels Good:

Alan Jackson's with Jim and Jack and Hank:

Have a great week!

Spin Cycle--Love/Hate

So this week on the Spin Cycle it all about Love/Hate.  Do you love something everyone else hates?  Do you hate something everyone else loves?  I can think of several things I love, but most other people love them too.  I do have a few things I hate that other people love.
Onions.  Especially raw onions.  I really don't like the texture, taste, smell or anything about raw onions. I can handle cutting them up to add to recipes, but not a fan of adding the raw version to my salads. 
Nick loves them.  He would add them to any and all sandwiches if he could. He loves them in salads, and would add them to other dishes raw if he could.
I think the fact that I don't like onions came to a head when I was pregnant.  As all mother's know, your sense of smell ramps up when you are pregnant. I could smell things that I never had before.  This was not always a good thing.
Nick was helping some friends with some remodeling and they made him lunch--pork tenderloin sandwiches with slices of raw onions and mustard.  Nick loved them.  Then he came home.  Where I smelled the raw onion on his breath for three days after that. Ugg, it was awful.
I'm not sure of my boys like or dislike raw onions.  Since I don't eat them, they are not often on the menu. They will get to try that particular vegetable on their own.

Tuesday Random Time

Tuesday.  Just a buffer between Monday and the downhill slide of the week. 

Not tons going on here. Let's see what random stuff we can come up with:

• Oh, we did make an investment in our recreation fun.  We got another four wheeler.  And a trailer to haul them both on.  We went for a bumble down some dirt roads last Thursday and had a ball.  We even got to see a bull moose less than 50 yards away from us.

• So yeah, we did that and plan to do more four wheeling this coming weekend.  
• Nick and my anniversary is this weekend.  17 years.  Where exactly has the time gone? We have figured out what we want to do for our 20th anniversary. We want to take the train from Denver to California.  Crossing the Colorado Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas by train sounds wonderful, especially if we can get a sleeper compartment.
• Mobile party?

•  And for those who haven't thought since school ggot out:  Work this one out:

Have a wonderful week!

Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

Bact to Monday

Yep, here we are at another Monday.  Our weekend was quiet.  I got the majority f the laundry done.  Nick took Turbo to Hunter's Safety class.  Bruiser lazed around and enjoyed having no demands on his time.
Hunter's Safety class is a requirement to hunt here in Wyoming.  Both Nick and I did it as kids and this summer, as Turbo is old enough to hunt, it was time for him to take it.  What helped was that Nick had an old friend who had a son who was also old enough to take the class.  Turbo passed the test with flying colors and is all set.
It was a hot, lazy weekend here, but sometimes you need those kind of weekends.  Helps with heading back to the grind.

ANd now for MMMM
The theme this week is Funny Songs and Songs about Work.  Here goes:
Lonestar with Mr. Mom:

Toby Keith with Drinks After Work:

Alabama with 40 Hour Week:

A couple classics, enjoy!