Well-Mannered Frivolity

STOP! Grammar time

Posting about correct grammar will most likely come back to bite me on the butt. I don't claim to have perfect grammar, but my husband has, on occasion, called me the Grammar Nazi. I'm not as bad as my mother, however. She has been known to correct grammar in library books and on signs. 

This not an exhaustive list by any means. It's just a few of my pet peeves

Myriad is, perhaps, my biggest pet peeve. It is a stand alone word, people. It is neither proceeded by "a"  nor followed by "of".

Incorrect--I have a myriad of choices.

Correct-I have myriad choices.

Realtor follows close behind. Contrary to popular belief, as frequently shown on HGTV's House Hunters, Realtor is a 2 syllable word.

Incorrect- Real-a-tor

Correct- Real-tor

Clemson had no imaginary "p" in it.

Incorrect- Clempson

Correct- Clemson

This one occurs in writing. When you go on a diet the goal is to lose weight, not loose weight.

It is never, under any circumstances proper to say "her and I". Most people are afraid of the word "me". If the opportunity arises to say me the average person will say "myself".

Irregardless is not a word. Regardless will suffice. Irregardless is redundant. It bothers me to no end that Irregardless is recognized by spell check.

Irregardless of the fact that I only wanted to see ranch style houses, my Clempson educated real-a-tor (who could stand to loose a few pounds) insisted on showing a myriad of 2 story  houses to my husband and myself.

It pained me to write that.

Happy Pi Day!

Wendy

 

 

 

 

 

I'm back

Wow! It's been almost a year.

Tomorrow--An enlightening grammar post

Today-A song the eloquently captures my sweet and gentle nature

 

 

The Superbowl and how I almost didn't watch it

I didn't want to watch the Superbowl, and I didn't watch it, exactly. In fact, I don't even know who won. I even declared my non-watching as my Facebook status. We decided to watch a movie tonight instead. Before we started the movie Bill turned to the Superbowl to check the score, and the half-time show was about to come on. It was The Who. The Who. I broke my vow. I reneged on my Facebook status. It was The freakin Who for crying out loud. They did a fantastic set. The best part was watching my beloved offspring singing along. The worst part was listening to Bill make jokes about how Roger and Pete were going to escorted off stage with walkers. He can be such a turkey. James was totally enthralled by the way Pete played the guitar.

I'm glad that they didn't die before they got old. Well, Pete and Roger anyway.

Wendy

Booking Through Thursday

This weeks question on BTT is:

The northern hemisphere, at least, is socked in by winter right now… So, on a cold, wintry day, when you want nothing more than to curl up with a good book on the couch … what kind of reading do you want to do?

I don't find that my reading changes with the seasons. Right now I am in a bit of YA rut. I'm reading lots of teenage girl coming of age type books. I have a blog post, or series or posts, knocking around in my head about how teenage girls are treated, how they view themselves and how we can help them.

Wendy

To type, perchance to blog

I've been a neglectful blogger as of late. I've vowed to myself I will blog a minimum of 5 days per week for the month of February. So, here I am, blogging at 11:49 PM.

Here are my goals for the month--

To read the Gospels through 2 times

To improve my embroidery skillz

To read 2 books per week.

My goals for last month were to read the Gospels twice and to learn to machine quilt. I've been hand quilting for about 14 years, but I've never tried it out on the machine. I achieved both goals. I made a baby quilt. I had so much fun making it that I am going to make 2 more this month. Lots of babies 'round here.

Gotta go. I'm watching a special about The Who on VH1 and the commercial break is over. To say I love The Who would be an understatement.

Wendy

52 books in 52 weeks

Finally, a book challenge I think I can finish--52 books in 52 weeks. http://www.read52booksin52weeks.com/

The goal is to read one book (at least) a week for 52 weeks.  The rules are very simple:

1. The challenge will run from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010.  **
2. Participants may join at any time.
3. All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc.
4. Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2010.
5. Books may overlap other challenges.
   
6. Create an entry post linking to this blog. 
7. Come back and sign up with Mr. Linky in the "I'm participating post" below this post.
8. You don't have a blog to participate.  Post your weekly book in the comments section.
9. I'll be adding a post with Mr. Linky for participants to post book reviews. ***

I'm joining in a bit late, but I'm already almost finished with my 3rd book of the year. I would be further along in my reading if I could just slog my way through Under the Dome: A Novel by Stephen King. I feel compelled to finish it, but, man is it b-a-d bad. Stephen King is like the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead; when he is good he is very, very good (The Stand), and when he is bad he is horrid!

Wendy

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right

Read it and watch the video here

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/15/danny-glover-haiti-earthq_n_425160.html

Pacts with the devil? Global warming? How 'bout plate tectonics? Fault lines? Call me crazy.........

Okay, what Pat Robertson said was downright foolish. It saddens me because so many non-believers, for lack of a better word, look to him as a representation of Christianity when, in fact, the vast majority of Christians are giving to and praying and mourning for the people of Haiti.

Danny Glover? What the heck? The earthquake happened because of America's relationship with Cuba and Hugo Chavez? Or did it happen because of global warming? Or was it because the world didn't step up to the plate at the global climate summit in Copenhagen? I would venture to say that Danny Glover himself doesn't know what he is saying.

Apparently we have pissed of God and/or Gaia. Why Haiti then? Shouldn't the cataclysmic world disaster have hit America, the evilest of evil empires? 

Pat Robertson and Danny Glover can share a padded cell.

Wendy

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Girls with AS should be encouraged from an early age to look at dating and marriage realistically, factually, and logically. The fact is if someone is living in the same house with you, they may want to cook foods you don't like, move furniture, or otherwise do normal people things.

Asperger's and Girls Featuring Tony Attwood, Temple Grandin, and 7 more experts.

Wendy

Favorite book of 2009

I started keeping track of the books I read in April. From April 1 through December 31 I read 65 books. I thought over the next few days I would highlight a few of my favorites.

My absolute hands down favorite book of the year was Leisure Seeker, The: A Novel by Michael Zadoorian. I discovered this little gem on the new books rack at the library. Someone had pulled it off the shelf, and, instead of putting it back in its proper place, had placed it face up at the end of the row. I noticed an endorsement from Elmore Leonard--love Elmore!--so I picked it up and read the flap. It was about an older couple who had always enjoyed traveling around the country who were taking their final trip. My parents have always taken long road trips together, and every year they proclaim that this will probably be the last trip. I thought I would be a book my mom might enjoy. I read it first. Then she read it. Then she read it out loud to my dad. Then she passed it along to a friend. Then I said them 12 more times. Lets just say the book caused a ripple effect and changed lives.

More to follow tomorrow

Wendy

Katherine

14 years ago my life was forever changed. I became a mother. I will admit that I was somewhat indifferent during my pregnancy. I fretted that I would be a bad mother. I had no experience with babies whatsoever, and I was rather selfish. That all changed once I gave birth.

Katherine's was a difficult birth. I was induced on December 27th, 10 days after my due date. I spent the whole day hooked up to pitocin to no avail. That evening inserted some sort of gel into me (prostaglandin gel?), and the next morning the nurse hooked me back up to the pitocin. Then the doctor broke my water. Labor started shortly thereafter. I wanted to go drug free, but the pain proved to be more than I could handle. Turns out Katherine was face up. After 3 hours of pushing, the doctor manually turning her face down, a 3rd degree episiotomy, and a vacuum extraction Katherine was born at 5:33 PM. She weighed in at a whopping 9lbs 9oz and had a head full of black hair.

While I was pregnant I worked nights as a billing clerk at at trucking company, and Bill worked crazy hours at a grocery store. Our plan was that I would quit my job and look for one with better hours when the baby was 6 weeks old. Ha! 6 weeks stretched into 3 months into 6 months into 12 months and here she is, 14 years old, and I still haven't gone back to work. Other than a brief, disastrous stint in preschool Katherine has never been in an institutional school setting.

I discovered from a very young age that Katherine was a bit of a square peg. Rather than sending her to school and forcing her to fit into a round hole, I decided to keep her home a create a square  hole that she could thrive in. It's working out pretty good.

She's not your average 14 year old girl. She has absolutely no interest in boys, fashion, or current music trends. She reads 1-2 books per day. She loves the Science Channel. Her favorite thing to study is theoretical physics. She is very into politics and knows more about current events than most adults do. She is obsessed with Pokemon and the Warriors book series.

It has been a fantastic 14 years. Raising Katherine has led me to stretch and grow in ways I never imagined possible. In some ways I almost feel like we have grown up together. I love her more than she will ever know.

Wendy