Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's time for Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce, who blogs at From This Side of The Pond.  Each week she'll pose some questions for us to answer. What a great way to journal life.

I got around to commenting on some blogs last week, but not as many as I would have liked. I'm sorry. I don't like not commenting on at least most of them

1. What area of your life feels like you're stuck in a Groundhog's Day loop, doing the same thing over and over? I don't know. I mean I suppose work can sometimes feel that way. Sometimes I feel like each season is no different from the next in regards to life. I'm doing the same things, just different weather.  Does it bother you or is that just how life is in this particular season? No, not really, though there are times when I wish I wasn't working so that I could have more freedom and variety of activities to do. I do think that since I'm not doing any virtual assisting work at the moment I might have more time. I'm not sure how long that will last (if I will look to take on more VA work or some other online work), but I'll enjoy the time while I'm not.   

2. Something that makes your heart skip a beat? A lot of simple little things. When I spy something in a thrift store that reminds me of my childhood or was something my mom, dad or grandma had. The first snow of winter, a favorite bird. Walking into a new to me bookstore or coffee shop. Being in awe of the world around me, especially nature and wildlife. Being with my family.

3. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve or are you more of a closed book? I had to look at what the definitions of those were just to be sure I had it right. I guess I'm a bit of both.  Elaborate. It would depend on who I'm with and the circumstances. I don't really like conflict, confrontation or letting someone down, and if things aren't handled well, I shut down easily and won't share my feelings. If I know my feelings will be contradicted or minimized, I won't share. I also can be a people pleaser and don't want people to feel bad so maybe I won't be quite as open with feelings. However, I'm learning to express things better, to not be afraid to say how I feel, but it's not easy for me. 

4. According to Prevention Magazine, these are 25 of the best foods for heart health-

wild salmon, sardines, liver, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, oatmeal, blueberries, coffee, red wine, green tea, soy milk, dark chocolate, raisins, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, whole grains, apples, oranges, grapefruit, avocado, avocado oil, olive oil 

Which five do you include in your diet most often? Salmon, coffee, broccoli, avocado, avocado oil to name only 5. I do incorporate others as well. There are a lot on the list I like. Are there any foods on the list you simply cannot abide? I'm not a fan of raisins or grapefruit. I don't drink soy milk and rarely wine. Oh, and no thanks on the sardines. 

5. What was the last piece of furniture you bought? Some storage drawers from Costco. Is there a piece of furniture you need/want to purchase this year? I'd like to find a chair to put in our office/guest bedroom. We just had to put out a chunk of money to our water filtration system so we're not purchasing much at the moment. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. Recently one of my favorite podcasts These Are Good Days aired an episode titled Freedom From Opinions. The description said this: 

Today we are giving you permission. Permission to be free from having an opinion about everything. Our minds are full of so much information leading us to craft and curate opinions about things that truly don't matter. But, what if we started saying, "I don't know" or "I haven't given that much attention or thought?" How would it free up our minds if we just stopped. Join us in this conversation all about being free from forming opinions.

And even things that do matter, it's not necessary for us to blab our opinion or even need to have an opinion (which can seem contradictory to todays society), and especially on social media, where behind keyboards we feel entitled and emboldened to speak whatever comes to mind. It really gave me some food for thought, AND freedom to not take on every little thing. It made me remember another time where I felt like if I didn't post something or stand up or share things or seem "passionate" about a cause that was a hot topic, then I was "uncaring"...but we aren't all meant to be passionate about the same things. My soap box is not going to be your soap box, and vice versa (I think I spelled that wrong). Do we even all need to have a "soap box"? Well, sounds like I've been on a soap box...haha! I've just been pondering this thought, that's all. 

I'll leave it at that this week! In other news, maybe I'll wake up to snow. It's Tuesday as I type and it's supposed to snow tonight. Not much, and I seriously doubt we'll see any but I'll let ya know. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin