Oh My Stars! It's the Hodgepodge

A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1.  Marilyn texted me (Joyce) something that inspired this question, so thank you Marilyn! Of the following sayings, typically associated with the (American) southern way of speaking, which do you most relate to right now? Explain.

Bless your heart - too big for yer britches - madder than a wet hen - you're preachin' to the choir - knee high to a grasshopper - oh my stars

 

Any other time, I might say "bless your heart" but so far this month I think I'm in my "oh my stars" era. It's perfect for being pleasantly surprised, like when something went particularly well; or for being unpleasantly surprised or dismayed, like when another hour went by without me getting seen at the ER. It works pretty well as an exclamation of pain and discomfort, like every time I try to reach or bend and it hurts, or when I cough and it hurts. Also works for exasperation and frustration, like at work as programs aren't working the way they are supposed to. A very versatile expression!  

 

2. The Hodgepodge lands on (US) Veterans Day this year. Are you a veteran? Have a family member who's a veteran? If you answered yes, tell us something about them. Will you do anything to mark the day in some special way?

I am not a veteran, and the only family member of mine that is a US veteran is my uncle who passed away a year ago. He joined the Air Force as a very young man (I'm not sure, but I think he was actually underage when he joined) and later worked for NASA. He spent some time volunteering to help his local Civil Air Patrol chapter which was a neat thing to find out because my youngest son was in Civil Air Patrol for several years.

I don't have any particular plans to mark the day, but having grown up in Canada where November 11th is Remembrance Day (and was formerly Armistice Day), the practice of taking a moment of silence at 11AM on Remembrance Day is rather ingrained. I will be at work, so my moment of silence might not be right at eleven on the dot, but I will be pausing in respect and remembrance. (I wrote this in the morning but didn't get it published. I did indeed take my moment of silence at 11AM)

You can see my post from a couple of years ago for more info: Remembrance Day ~ Veterans Day on Homeschool Coffee Break

3.  Is breakfast for dinner a stroke of genius or a sign of total household collapse? Is breakfast for dinner a regular thing at your house? Are all family members on board?

 I love breakfast for dinner, and I love a restaurant or diner that serves breakfast all day! So I land on the possible stroke of genius side of this question! I hope it's not a sign of collapse because we do it often at my house, and always have. I wouldn't say "regular" in that we do it every other Tuesday or something like that, but it's not at all uncommon for us to have omelets or bacon and eggs for dinner. Nobody has ever complained. We raised our kids to love bacon, for one thing!

One of my favorite breakfasts that we do not have regularly is Waffles and Awesome Sauce. Awesome Sauce is the name my boys gave the thin custard-like vanilla sauce that we traditionally make for a topping on waffles. Like many breakfast-y foods, it's comfort food. I shared about it on a Homeschool Coffee Break post years ago: Waffles and Awesome Sauce

 

4.  How do you see the world?

Wow, talk about a short question about a huge topic! Let me set a timer to limit how long I could talk about this. Haha. 

I know very well that the world is broken because it is populated by broken, sinful people who constantly make dumb decisions and poor choices. But I also know and believe with all my heart that God loves us all and offers forgiveness and grace and wisdom to all. The reason everything is broken is because of sin, and the reason things go wrong in our lives and in the world around us is because our sin has damaged the good God has planned for us. (I'm not saying that every time something negative happens to you it is a direct result of you doing something bad. Just to clarify.)

That sets the stage for how I see the world. I am generally an optimist and because I'm also a disciple of Jesus, I see that God is working in our lives and in the world and that his purpose will prevail. Nothing happens that takes him by surprise or thwarts his ultimate plan which is to eventually make all things right and new and perfect for all who trust him with their lives. So while I'm an optimist that believes that things will work out in the end, I don't have rose-colored glasses. Rather my personality-based optimism is bolstered and grounded in my understanding that God is good, that Jesus has victory over sin and death, and that no matter what happens, God's plan is for our good and for his glory. 

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. ~Romans 8:28

5.  And this week's gratitude question - what's something about your surroundings (home, neighborhood, city) you're grateful for?

 I think I can name a few things . . . I'm grateful for this house and all the many good things about it. I'm grateful that we have big trees nearby, including oaks in the back and a (currently) red maple tree out front. I'm grateful to live in a safe and relatively quiet neighborhood, and in a suburb city of Columbus where there are so many things to do and see, and where we can easily get downtown for a concert or a hockey game without it taking hours.

 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I've been back to work this week, but have had to leave a bit early each day. I'm still moving really slow and run out of energy pretty quickly. My incision sites are healing okay but they are wierdly itchy and uncomfortable - thankfully not painful most of the time. So that's my recovery report. I'll keep my random thought to just that for this week since it's late.

How would you answer any of these questions? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

I host the Wednesday Quotes link-up every other Wednesday. Stop by and share a few thoughts and quotes on the current topic here: WQ - Integrity and Character. I host the Everyday Images photo link-up every other Thursday. And find the Scripture and a Snapshot link-up here every Sunday.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.