A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

blog challenge

Secret Subject Swap: What does Thanksgiving mean to me?

This post is for the Secret Subject Swap, a monthly blog challenge. Information about the swap can be viewed at the end of this post, as well as links to all others taking part. Have a peek at some of the other bloggers and see what they had to come up with. If you are a blogger, consider joining up for future months!

My theme is “What does Thanksgiving mean to you?” and it was submitted by Baking in a Tornado.

It’s interesting to take a look at some holidays. Thanksgiving, for the most part, has been one of my least-favorite holidays. 

Not sure why, but it’s never “wowed” me. Maybe it’s because I’m not the biggest fan of turkey. So my thoughts about Thanksgiving have kind of grown over time. Let me break it down. 

When I was younger, it was just time off from school. The family gathered on Thanksgiving and we ate. It was always earlier because it’s a holiday. 

When I got older, it took on a different meaning. 

As in – drinking. 

I’m not sure if it’s this way around you, but Thanksgiving Eve near me is one of the biggest bar nights of the year. We used to start early and end late, usually in a drunken stupor. 

But goodness was it a blast. 

People came back to town. The bars were packed. You saw people in different groups. It was just one of those nights to look forward to. 

Alas, as I grew older, that wasn’t as fun. I last did it a few years ago. But … things have changed. How? It was me and two friends who decided to pop out. We went early, had a couple of beers, and called it a night. We weren’t out late. 

That was maybe 4-5 years ago. And I don’t think I’ve been to many bars since then, period. After some softball games before I stopped playing a couple of years ago, but overall? I don’t do it often. 

And now, we bring it to the current years. It’s back to the family thing, which I enjoy much more. It’s way more low-key. It’s enjoyable just to be around family. 

So what does it mean to me? It means some peace and relaxing. It’s fun to be able to just hang out, have some good food and chill. It’s also nice to get three days off from work. When I was in newspapers, that was the one holiday I often volunteered to work because my family always ate early, and I could get in to do a shift, 

Now, though? 

Hanging with family. Having a good meal. And a cold turkey sandwich at night. Football is not part of my tradition. So it’s just a way to chill and enjoy being able to be around loved ones. 

How about all of you?

Five others have taken part in this challenge, so go check out the other posts and have some fun reading their secret subjects!

Enjoy blogging challenges? We have several that happen at A ‘lil HooHaa, and we’d love to have you join us! The Photo Blogging Challenge is one of our main ones and it runs monthly! We also have the Food Photo Challenge (current theme listed at end of post). We’d love to see you!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Food Photo Challenge (October 2020): Candy

Candy.

Goodness is that something that really takes us all by storm? Doesn’t matter what kind … odds are you like some sort of candy.

It’s not good for me — diabetes and all. BUT.. I can have some if I am smart about. Sometimes I am. Other times… not so much. This pandemic hasn’t been the best for it, either.

Food Photo Challenge logo

Before we go on, though, if you are new to the Food Photo Challenge, check out this post, which explains everything. Also, the linkup for this month’s theme will stay live for about a week, so join in even if it’s later!

Simply put, though, each month there will be a theme (announced at the end of this post) and on the 28th of each month, come back and link up.

So we keep moving forward with these food photos and it will be fun to see what kind of things happen with this theme.

Let’s check out this month. And yes I know I’m late!

Theme: Candy

It’s October. And that means Halloween. And that also means candy.

Lots of it.

I go in stages with candy. I like certain ones more than others, as I am sure most of us are. Straight chocolate — not so much. But add to it? Ot some othr sugar-loaded treat?

Yeah.

The key, I think for everybody, is portions. Sitting down and eating five candy bars is not smart!

My favorite is something with peanut butter in it. Or white chocolate. I do love that. How about you? Favorite? What do you avoid?

Here’s my submission for the month! Yum!

That’s my submission for the month and I am looking forward to seeing who else is taking part in this challenge and what they have to offer!

If you took part in the challenge, please make sure to link up below. Also, make sure you visit everybody else’s posts (and do come back to see who may have linked up after you!)! 

Let’s, too, try and grow this challenge. Tell others and invite them. And, as always, one can check out the Facebook group for this challenge and others as well. You can access the group here. 

The linkup is below, but how about November?

The theme for November is: Plate it. Come back on October 28 to link up!

Food Photo Challenge: October 2020

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Secret Subject Swap: Wild stories

This post is for the Secret Subject Swap, a monthly blog challenge. Information about the swap can be viewed at the end of this post, as well as links to all others taking part. Have a peek at some of the other bloggers and see what they had to come up with. If you are a blogger, consider joining up for future months!

My theme is “Who is an entertainer of any type that you know a wild story about? What are the details?” and it was submitted by Climaxed.

My theme is “Who is an entertainer of any type that you know a wild story about? What are the details?

This is an interesting question and, honestly, one I can’t really answer. Though I know a few entertainers in real life, talking details about any wild stories we have isn’t my style.

But, that brings us to a bigger thing — the obsession society has with items like this.

Let’s take a quick example. Say I know Entertainer A. I go out and have a crazy night with Entertainer A. Nobody knows them where we are and maybe it’s before they make it big. I post about it and maybe … somebody sees it and shares and so forth.

All of a sudden, a story that was secret is out there. People eat it up and on it goes. Maybe you all of a sudden, too, lose a friend.

This is something that, no doubt, has happened countless times.

Again, though, this got me thinking. With all happening in the world these days, it really shows the power of the internet, which obviously includes social media, blogs, and the such. If you whisper it, it can be heard by many people.

We live in a day filled with reality television. “News” sites like TMZ cover an entertainers every move. Paparazzi can’t let celebrities eat in peace, let alone walk around and try and blend in. We’re an obsessed society with celebs. And it’s not just the United States — it’s everywhere. Look at the UK’s viewing of the Royal family. I’d wager many have opinions on Harry.

So where did this come from? Is it from shows like The Real World or even when Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie had their deal? Is it the Kardashians? How about shows like Big Brother or Survivor?

Somewhere along the line, the obsession went from flipping through a newspaper aisle junk rag to full-blown obsession.

I remember, as a kid, my grandmother used to get things like The National Enquirer. Though there were celeb things, there were so many other items such as aliens and the such. I used to love reading them because it was so out there.

But now, things have changed.

From reality TV to many different internet sites that cover celebrity sightings and things they do, we — as a society — can’t seem to get enough of it. Add to it so many reality TV shows and people become celebrities just because they live in a house together for three months with cameras all over the place.

Crazy, right?

When I was younger, life didn’t have all of this. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy shows like Big Brother and the Amazing Race. Or the reality food shows etc.

So while I think deep, I have a story or two with a borderline celebrity or two. None of them are earth-shattering and likely wouldn’t even gt a sniff outside of this blog post. But sometimes, things are just left as they are!

What are your thoughts on celebs/entertainers and stories about them?

Five others have taken part in this challenge, so go check out the other posts and have some fun reading their secret subjects!

Enjoy blogging challenges? We have several that happen at A ‘lil HooHaa, and we’d love to have you join us! The Photo Blogging Challenge is one of our main ones and it runs monthly! We also have the Food Photo Challenge (current theme listed at end of post) and the Can of Corn Challenge. We’d love to see you!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Secret Subject Swap: Hot or cold?

This post is for the Secret Subject Swap, a monthly blog challenge. Information about the swap can be viewed at the end of this post, as well as links to all others taking part. Have a peek at some of the other bloggers and see what they had to come up with. If you are a blogger, consider joining up for future months!

My theme is “Which do you like best, cold or hot? Why?” and it was submitted by Wandering Web Designer.

This one has quite the broad range that I could go with. So, I’ve decided to cover two topics and, for the most part, the outcome is the same.

Cold.

I’m not saying things have to be bone-chilling cold, but I tend to like things colder than warmer.

Weather

First, here’s the thing — I can’t stand super hot and humid weather. If I could be somewhere that it was anywhere from 40-65 all year, it would be perfect. Rain can be at night. Partly cloudy during the day. Perfect.

We know it’s not a perfect world.

So, if I have to choose — I’m going with cold. The main reason being I can adapt easier. I know how to dress for the cold and I can layer up in case it warms up. With the heat, it’s very tough for me to deal with it. It drains me faster, I hate sweating, and it just get uncomfortable.

Again, I’m not saying 10-below-zero wind chills here, I’m just talking colder. It’s probably why fall is my favorite season, outside of the colors. That sweatshirt and jeans weather is awesome and it’s great to be outside during it.

Walking is also more comfortable for me in the cooler weather, so that’s another reason.

Now, the warmer weather does bring a lot of good things. Baseball, for one. So there are benefits to the weather being on the warmer side.

Drinks/Food

This is an interesting one. I would say 85 percent of the time, I like my drinks cold. Even during the winter, I take a bottle of ice water with me to work. Most things I like cold. Even Guinness!

Alas, I do like hot tea in the winter, as well as hot chocolate. Outside of that, I don’t like my drinks warm or hot.

There’s just something truly refreshing about a cold drink. It seems to revive you. Hot drinks, on the other hand, are more comforting, at least for me. It’s nice to sit at home on a cold and snowy winter and have a nice cup of tea.

Food is where it gets interesting. I don’t need mine piping hot. Warm is fine. I love me some chowder, and I like it on the warm/hot side. But, not all food has to be hot to eat.

I’m not even going to talk about the normal cold foods (subs etc.) that I love.

But take something like chicken strips. Or a ham steak. Those are good warm, but they are really good cold, too. Pizza? Same thing.

On the flip side, unless it’s over a salad, I don’t need cold steak. Same goes with pork.

But take things like french fries? Or a hamburger? Or pasta? I need them hotter, that’s for sure. I am not going to enjoy those being cold.

So how about you? Hot or cold?

Five others have taken part in this challenge, so go check out the other posts and have some fun reading their secret subjects!

Enjoy blogging challenges? We have several that happen at A ‘lil HooHaa, and we’d love to have you join us! The Photo Blogging Challenge is one of our main ones and it runs monthly! We also have the Food Photo Challenge (current theme listed at end of post) and the Can of Corn Challenge. We’d love to see you!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Food Photo Challenge (August 2020): Dessert

Do you have a sweet tooth?

I know I do. Sometimes it’s more prevelant than others. Having diabetes doesn’t help, either, as you have to be really careful about what you put in your system.

But there are times …

Before we go on, though, if you are new to the Food Photo Challenge, check out this post, which explains everything. Also, the linkup for this month’s theme will stay live for about a week, so join in even if it’s later!

Food Photo Challenge logo

Simply put, though, each month there will be a theme (announced at the end of this post) and on the 28th of each month, come back and link up.

So we keep moving forward with these food photos and it will be fun to see what kind of things happen with this theme.

Let’s check out this month. And yes I know I’m late!

Theme: Dessert

Goodness the things you can choose here. I wanted to try and make something really tasty looking.

And I am not good at plating!

It started with this wonderful piece of blueberry pie. Then I knew it needed ice cream. And a little whipped cream.

Goodness though … I had it way too off-center on the plate. And I knew if I tried to move it, it may not have a “clean” look. And I also knew when the photo was done I was going to eat it.

Hence … a close up!

Such a tasty treat and is there anything better than a slice of pie after dinner for your dessert?

Here’s my submission for the month! Yum!

That’s my submission for the month and I am looking forward to seeing who else is taking part in this challenge and what they have to offer!

If you took part in the challenge, please make sure to link up below. Also, make sure you visit everybody else’s posts (and do come back to see who may have linked up after you!)! 

Let’s, too, try and grow this challenge. Tell others and invite them. And, as always, one can check out the Facebook group for this challenge and others as well. You can access the group here. 

The linkup is below, but how about August?

The theme for September is: Fruit. Come back on September 28 to link up!

Food Photo Challenge: August 2020

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!