Wednesday Hodgepodge


I'm taking another little break from my Germany round-up to participate in the Hodgepodge!  Check back on Thursday for Eisenach!

1. July 24th is Amelia Earhart Day.  Earhart was the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  What's something you've recently accomplished solo? 
This wasn't exactly solo, but I managed to get YS, one of his friends, and myself from Hamburg, Germany, to Copenhagen, and then back home with crazy things happening
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2.  What's one product you use that never ever fails?
I've had to think long & hard on this.  To clean my floors (we have hardwood just about throughout the whole house), I use the Bona System.  I vacuum, then use this to dust:
Then, I use this to actually "mop" the floors:
It really is amazing and leaves the floor looking "spic & span"!  Even if I just vacuum and then dust, the floors look pretty good.

3. Have you found your place in the world? Where is it?
I think as I go through the different stages in life, I find myself rediscovering where that place is.

4.  Worst movie you ever saw?
Black Swan.  I'm just saying this because it's the latest worst movie I've seen.  It was one of those movies that you had to keep watching to see if it was going to get better. 

5. What's the last fun thing you did?
Alpine Coaster in Imst, Austria.  It was absolutely, hands down, the most fun I've had in an awful long time!

(YS getting ready for the ride.  He didn't have the hat at the end!)
6. The month of July is named for Roman Emperor Julius Caesar...ever been to Rome? What's your favorite Italian dish?
I don't know that I've had a bad Italian dish, and I don't know that I have a favorite.

7. What is one piece of advice you'd offer new mom Kate Middleton?
Sleep when the baby sleeps.  Although, if she's tired, I'm sure one of her nannies will take care the baby!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
CH & I camped over the weekend.  We made it a long weekend, since YS had freshman orientation on Monday & Tuesday nearby.  I went with him on Monday, and by the end of the day, he said he didn't think that was where he belonged.  We talked, went out to dinner with CH, and talked some more.  This is such a hard decision for a young person.  In the end, we told him that it was ultimately his choice and that we couldn't make it for him.  We told him that we would support him no matter what he decided.  Since he really doesn't know what he wants to do, he decided to go to his decision to go to the community college, and work part-time.  I completely support him on this, because, to be perfectly honest, while I was sitting in orientation, I just kept thinking, "I'm not sure this is the best place for him."  I just didn't get a good feeling about it.  They kept telling the students that they're going to need help that first year, almost like they were trying to scare the kids.  When you have a young person who isn't completely sure about a lot of things, that would totally turn him off of going there.  The people who spoke didn't seem real positive or even real happy to be there.  It was such a different feeling than when OS went to college (which was a different school).  So now, YS is in the process of registering for classes at the community college, finding a job, and getting his lottery scholarship transferred over.  It's going to be completely different with him venturing into a new kind of independence:  I've told him that I will not be making sure he's up for class/work; I'm going to do my best to try to make him feel that he's gone away to college.  And, with any luck, after a year or 2 he'll realize that he wants to go away for school, and CH & I will have the house to ourselves!  (Okay, I'm kind of halfway joking about that last statement!)

14 comments:

  1. It's good that your son was able to follow his feelings, and I hope it works out for him! Growing up is hard, sometimes.

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  2. I am glad you shared the story of your son. I am amazed that he was willing to make a different choice. I agree with you on Black Swan...it was not on my top ten list of great movies either.

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  3. I agree that if you don't get the good feeling at a college you aren't going to like it there. We had the opposite reaction. Both daughter and parents loved orientation. And after two years it still was the best decision.

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  4. You know, I am really hoping that they don't get a nanny. I think it's a shame that kids are nearly raised by someone else these days.

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  5. I think when kids get to this age things need to stay sort of fluid. It's great he came to this conclusion before beginning classes there. He'll figure it out, and I think more and more kids opt for a year of community college before investing in something more costly.

    Your answer to #3 is what I was trying to say : )

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  6. I haven't seen Black Swan & always wanted too... darn!

    I need to check out your cleaning goodies. I'm big on easy things to clean my floors... a must with 4 dogs!...(& a husband) ;)

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  7. Totally agree with you on Black Swan. And then got mad at myself for seeing it through. LOL I use a Shark steamer for my floors. I love that thing. Birdie (DD3) started her college career at community college. It lasted one year and then she was ready. It was a great experience for her. AND, I got to keep her home an extra year. We redecorated her room since she wasn't going away to college that first year and did all we could to make it feel real. It was GREAT!

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  8. I'm so glad that you all were in agreement on YS's decision - and glad he realized it before he started classes. DD went away to college ... only to realize about 2 days before classes started that it wasn't right for her. I didn't argue with her but went up and got her ... and in hindsight, that was one of the best decisions I made as a parent (even though it took awhile for the dust to settle and for me to see that it all worked out best).

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  9. The royal couple have actually said they will not be having any nannies! All your trips sound like so much fun!

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  10. I agree with your answer for #3, I keep rediscovering too! I couldn't even get through Black Swan. That coaster looks like it was fun for sure. Our son did community college for two years. Did all the required classes with credits to both types of schools. Then he graduated with honors at UC Santa Cruz. I think it is an awesome plan. I wish him all the best.

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  11. Good for your son to make that decision to do what is best for him and good for you to allow him to.

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  12. So great that your son has those instincts - sounds like he is good at making wise decisions thanks to having supportive parents allowing him to make his own choices!

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  13. I admire your parenting so much. Your son is lucky to have such supportive parents. I'm loving your trip recap too.

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  14. So much better for him to pull out of a bad feeling now then a few months into it. I applaud him for that....and you guys did a great job in supporting him!
    XO

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