Hodgepodge

1. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?  On a scale of 1-10 how much of a fan are you? (10 is never miss a game and 1 is I'm just here for the snacks). Who's your team? If you're playing along today, but live outside the US feel free to sub your feelings about futbol for the more American sport of football. 

If a football game is on TV because someone in my household has turned it on (I have never turned on the TV for a game) and a team I even remotely care for is playing, then I am a 10. I get super into the game, emotionally invested, etc. However, if "my" team is playing but no one turns on the TV to the channel where the game is on and therefore I don't watch the game, I am a 1. I have to be viewing a game to really care about it; if I am viewing a game then I really care about it. I hope my explanation makes sense...

My college football team is the 2025 college football champions  and it was fun to watch the games last year that I saw on TV (since my team WON them all!!). One of my brothers is also an IU alum and he is a super fan (he doesn't need to be watching them play to be a fan!). He drove to our house to watch  many of the games with Donnie and me. We'd grill or get food with my brother when he came to watch the games-it was a whole event since my brother lives about 2 1/2 hours from us. 

Alyssa got me this FM t-shirt for Christmas. I love it!

Favorite college football teams in order of how I like them: IU, University of Cincinnati, University of MI, University of TN

Favorite NFL football teams: the Bengals, Colts, Cowboys, Raiders (so long as Fernando Mendoza is on their roster)

2. What's something you currently have a game plan for managing? 

Nothing is jumping out at me 😆

3. Do you like chicken wings? Hot, mild, or some other flavor? What's a must have food for you on a tailgate menu? I know tailgating isn't as big of a thing outside the US of A as it is inside the US of A, but you can also answer the question this way-what's a must have food for you at a sporting event viewing party? 

I like chicken wings but they aren't something I go out of my way to obtain/eat. I would never order them at a restaurant, put it that way. But when Donnie orders a bunch and there's one or two sitting there that have not been consumed by the wing lovers, I may decide to eat the wing. I prefer hot wings for the most part because I am not a wing connoisseur. My husband and son love wings and they have exotic sounding flavors that they enjoy. 

Must have food for a tailgate would buffalo chicken dip and chips

I'd also like something small and sweet to munch on like chocolate chips cookies or brownies.

4. Teams typically have strict playbooks they follow. What is one unwritten rule or piece of advice in your 'life playbook' you think everyone should know?

One thing is that lies tend to catch up with you. Telling the truth, while hard in the moment if you messed something up, forgot to do something you should have, etc. I'm not going to say I've never lied (that would be a lie) but I've really tried to make truthfulness my standard even when I don't want it to be.

I've tried to impart this to my kids. One of my kids was looking for a way out of something, maybe it was something like getting out of a day of school- I can't remember exactly. She said to me, "I know you won't life for me and I'm not asking you to do that." I really liked that my child knew (or strongly suspected) that lying was not something I was going to do for her. 

As a Christian, I believe that lying is wrong because the Bible says it is. But practically speaking, it's a  good idea to avoid since it tends to catch up with you. 

5. This is the week we remember and mourn all that was lost and changed on September 11, 2001. I always include a spot for bloggers to share anything they'd like to share about 9/11. Share as much or as little as you like. 

I don't have much to share. The pictures gut me. Our fractured society saddens me. Some people in our country, including influential people on social media, think that America got what it deserved on 9/11. 

6.Insert your own random thought here. 

The three day weekend was such a welcome one! I wrote about Friday through Sunday on my Monday's post and will likely write about Monday if I do a Friday post. Suffice it to say, it was a great long weekend and I didn't take it for granted!

The one year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's murder is coming up soon. I just received a book that I pre-ordered. It's  Frank Turek's book called The War on Reality which contains a lot of information about the mission and hope that Charlie Kirk had for college students across America. Frank was Charlie's mentor and was with Charlie on the fateful day when a radicalized young person believed that Charlie should die due to his political beliefs. The book is already hard to read in some ways but I will read it. 

Linking up with Joyce for the Hodgepodge