1. Mayday! Mayday!…when was the last time (or a recent time) you literally or figuratively needed to call for help? Elaborate. 

I can’t think of a specific time recently but I am constantly relying on my husband for support, mentally and physically. I consider myself a generally tough person but you can’t go through life alone and it helps to have someone you can open up to. I’ve needed him this past month for emotional support as I seek new employment.

2. May Day…when was the last time you danced? Do you have a lot of baskets? What’s something you keep in a basket? What’s your favorite purple flower? 

Wow, I mean, I am not a dancer. I can’t think of the last time I actually did. I suppose, every now and then when I am alone in the house and have some yacht rock playing, I’ll break out into a little jig as the music moves me. Baskets? Not too many; just a few I break out at certain holidays starting in Fall. Something I keep in a basket would be beach towels but it’s not exactly a basket – more like a bin, but it’s the closest I could think of. It has a beach theme to it and rope handles and is tall enough that I can roll my towels and stack them in there, right by the back door so kids can grab them on the way to the pool. In terms of purple flowers, I have a Douglas Iris plant that somehow keeps coming back despite weeds in this one area. And the little flowers are purple.

3. What’s something you may do this month? 

LOL every time this question comes up I answer with something similar: I may regain some sanity. Someone commented on my Monday post that my weekend was less busy and she’s right. This weekend we are in St. Augustine for our last beer fest outing until August (and that one is in town) and then the weekend after, it’s just Dakota’s dance recital. We have some free days ahead of us and man do I ever need them! Especially as we head into pool season; I open it on the 8th (my chosen date). Once it’s going and all, I look forward to being home enough to enjoy it.

4. Do you like eggplant? Quick topic changes lol? If you said yes in answer to the eggplant question how do you like yours prepared? Of the following purple foods, which one is your favorite…plums, purple carrots, purple asparagus, eggplant, acai berries, blackberries, purple cauliflower, elderberries, purple potatoes, or passion fruit? 

You know, I do like eggplant but never make it. Last summer when we visited my brother-in-law and his family, he sliced it thin, slathered it with olive oil and salt and pepper and grilled it; I was in heaven! I didn’t know it could be so good. And yes, I love a quick topic change; my brain works well like that. It is SO funny that purple potatoes came up this week because I was literally just telling Ash about them. We had baked potatoes Monday night but I said I need to find the purple ones because one of our online health guys, Thomas DeLauer, swears by them and I think they’re better in terms of carbs and overall nutrition. I’m guessing I can find them at Whole Foods but I haven’t looked. As purple foods go, I do really enjoy plums and blackberries, though hate when I get seeds in my teeth.

5. The calendar turns on Hodgepodge Day…

“Then you have to remember to be thankful; but in May one simply can’t help being thankful that they are alive, if for nothing else.”-L.M. Montgomery

Tell us one thing you’re thankful for today. 

This is going to sound lame but just…being here. Ha. Tuesday morning I was feeling sort of stressed about time and money, etc but on my drive to work I caught a snippet of the 70s channel DJ saying he picked the next song for someone he knew who loved it but he was a kid who didn’t make it past his 6th birthday and just the 8 seconds of a story struck me. I’m over here worrying about a temporary problem when there’s folks out there really struggling. So I am thankful that I’ve built a life that gives me some extra padding to be content and safe and well-off. Yeah, that’s my answer.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I am getting so much done this morning. I switched my XM plan and the credit card it was being charged to, I finally got back into my ebay account that was giving me issues, got Isaac signed up for Fall soccer assessments, canceled my flickr account, and I am about to send the required documents to the schools for address verification. I have two kids going to different schools in the fall so they have to make sure you live where you say you do!

I guess I feel pretty good about that but I am striking out in the job search. Nothing in a little while. I know it will happen when it is meant to but in the meantime, it’s kind of depressing.

One positive though, is that in our goal to not drink as much during the week, we have so far been successful. Yesterday, Ash and I met to eat right after work then came home and once I took my daughter to dance, he and I walked four miles. Tonight we are going to a movie. You have to start somewhere. I remember how awful it was during covid: drinking and eating at all hours. Then we managed to wrangle it back into submission and got to a place where we couldn’t even keep weight on! I mean, there’s no way we’ll get back to that but I want to lose about ten pounds so you have to just begin. I literally only ate my Mexican bowl last night and that was it. Today we are doing leftover green beans and some steak. I feel pretty clean right now so that’s good. I even slept pretty good. Now, to go and read blogs and maybe even do some writing! I have to get stuff done so I don’t feel like I’m wasting away in this office.