Wednesday Hodgepodge!

Happy Wednesday Friends! Time for another Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce from over at From This Side of the Pond ....this is always such a fun linkup.. join in anytime! Hope you enjoy. 

1. Are the leaves turning color where you live? Have they begun to fall? Will you have to rake when it's all said and done? Is that a chore you love or loathe?

Well we live in South Carolina so I kinda think fall normally starts a little later for us than most. But I have noticed leaves starting to fly through the air. I seriously think a lot of the US is going to have a bad winter and leaves falling this soon here, makes me think it even more. I don't really rake. I just don't do it and always assume it will turn into compost or something. Its nothing I love or nothing I hate...its just a job for the boys if it is going to get done. :) I do think rake day is always the perfect photo opportunity! 
2. When did you last shake like a leaf?
As I explained in this post and video life has been pretty stressful for me here lately. I am someone who tends to worry and become anxious easily. This year has been particularly hard trying to get it under control. At times my hands will shake horribly. I think its just nervous but its never fun to experience. 
3. After 20 seasons with the NY Yankees, Derek Jeter played his last official game Sunday afternoon. Jeter has been described even by opponents as a 'class act', both on and off the field. The NFL is back in action this month too, with several players in that sport also making headlines. What are your thoughts on athletes as role models? Should a professional athlete be expected to act as role model or is that going beyond their job description? What responsibility do the organizations these athletes work for have when it comes to dealing with off the field behavior? Discuss.

I could do an entire blog post just dedicated to this subject. First...Yes Derek Jeter is a total class act and pretty easy on the eyes too. I think he had an amazing career and will still do great things in the future. With that said, the NFL has some work to do. First their public relations suck. They should be working on cleaning up the behavior and having a standard but they can't get their own shit right. Its all about the money. I don't necessarily think that every athlete is or should be looked upon as a role model but I do think if they start getting sponsors and becoming highly known, then yes. The sponsors need to protect their brands and the NFL should feel the same way. They need to put some serious guidelines out there and let the players pay the consequences for their mistakes. I think if they are being paid millions by the NFL the least they could do is follow some strict rules. The picture above says everything. Its just the pumped up, aggression filled boys club + money....what could possibly go wrong?

4. What season of the year is toughest for you in terms of your health? Why?
Winter. It hurts my body to wake up to a cold house. It makes me shiver which makes my muscles tense causing me to be uncomfortable and I get sick easy. Last year we all got flu shots and I didn't get sick. Its time to do that again. 

5. The top six healthy food trends of 2014 according to Eating Well are-

clean eating (more veg, less meat, less sodium, limit alcohol and processed foods)
trash fish (you know those fish that get caught in fishermen nets and are thrown back? It seems chefs are finding creative ways to make them more appetizing)
cauliflower (this year's IT vegetable)
kaniwa (essentially baby quinoa, so like quinoa only smaller)
fermentation (think pickling except with twists on flavor we're not accustomed to)
community supported food (farms operating with community support/membership). 

Okay-so how many of the hot healthy food trends for 2014 have you experienced, encountered, enjoyed? Any you've tried and said ewwww? Any on the list you'd liketo try before year's end?
The only two off that list that I have tried are the clean eating and community supported food. We don't really eat totally clean often but we do try to balance out the bad with the good. For many years we were apart of a local CSA ( you can find a local farm near you right here ) which brought us fresh farm food, herbs, flowers, pumpkins and such every week. It was kinda pricey but so worth it. We also ended up buying organic beef from the same farm. Its totally worth it if you don't garden! 
6. In seven words or less, bid September adieu.
Goodbye month of issues, hello better days. 
7. What's something on your October calendar that makes you happy just thinking about it?
I hope you don't mind my list! 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
The last couple of weeks of September were not so kind to us around here. I am totally off schedule and life has just been hard. I am going into October with the thought of making this the best month we can. Its even been hard to blog or make videos and I have totally missed the hodgepodge the past couple of weeks. I hope you guys have all been doing well... and I will be sure to visit many of you! Thanks for stopping by. Have a beautiful and blessed day.  If you want to find me buzzing around online, here's where to go! :) Facebook| Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube Main Channel | Youtube Vlogging Channel | Bloglovin