1. It’s National Wine Day (May 25)…do you like wine? Red or white? Dry or sweet? Do you have a favorite? Have you ever been to California wine country? Or any other wine region? What’s a dish you make that calls for wine? 

I’m not a huge wine fan but I do enjoy it when I drink it. My mom is the connoisseur so I typically drink it with her. I prefer a dry red and the one I remember liking is called Conundrum. I have not been to wine country but my parents did a train through it years ago. I do enjoy anything that is made piccata style with wine. As a side note, we have now made our own wine – it’s affectionately called ‘skeeter pee’ and is a lemon wine. We have since dubbed it ‘Liquid Gold’, to sound less gross.

2. What’s something you’ve whined about lately? 

Oh man, I guess my overall disposition. The last few weeks of the kids’ school year sends me into a weird place. I feel out of whack and like I’m stuck in scheduling purgatory. I have complained endlessly to my husband that I just don’t FEEL right. I know it’ll level off once the younger kids start camp next Tuesday and I can adjust my hours here, etc…

3. Last time you were ‘wined and dined’? Tell us about it. 

I guess for mother’s day when the family took me out to hibachi but honestly, we didn’t drink there. So I guess I’ll go with the last time Ash and I went to Growler Country and ate tacos. And really, it was beer. And not very fancy. But it was a little date just for us.

4. Three cheers for_____________________.

Y’all are really trying to make me feel better with these answers; I don’t have anything I want to cheer for! LOL. OK, let’s try. Three cheers for soccer season being over until Fall. I need a damn break!

5. This will be the last Hodgepodge in the month of May. Somehow next Wednesday the calendar rolls into June. Before we go though, sum up your May in twelve words or less. 

Soccer games; pool cleaning; up and down emotions; bring on June.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

As noted in my Tuesday post, me and Karen Carpenter had a moment in my car on the way to work Tuesday morning. I hate rainy days too and we’ve had a few. And what I have they used to call the blues, has come and gone before. I’m just in that rut. How does one break out? Or is it just time; in a few weeks I’ll be feeling normal again, probably.

I also finally realized why I’m struggling. In the fall I had to come to campus five days a week, then in Spring (so, for four months) I did not. Somehow, going back to five is killing me. BUT here’s the difference: in Fall, there were two days a week when I didn’t have to be here until 11:00. That made such an impact on me – it allowed me the mornings, when I am most productive, to get stuff done. Plus. my MWF classes were done by 10:30 so I got home and worked until I burned out around 1 PM. In the upcoming Fall, I have two Tuesday/Thursday courses starting at 11. However, I have to figure out how to work an additional 13 hours in the LC around that. I’m about to sit down and see how I can work it so I can have Wednesday as a day at home. I think that’s what will work best for me. And I’m also about to craft a list of little maintenance things I need to do at home. You know that stuff: start a load of towels, clean out the kids’ soccer bags, dust the mantle, replace bathroom soap. That kind of thing. I forget so easily!