Scrabble this!

Jun 01, 2008 | milodes

Wonder if email, google & photoshopped are in the dictionary yet...

They are in our house! We've written in our own acceptable words which are in common use. (And we allow one look-up, too.) I love playing scrabble - words have been a passion of mine since I first learned to read. Kyle likes Scrabble, too, but gets bored particularly since we've learned eachother's games so well over the years and I want to play several evenings a month.


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When's too early to start planning for a vacation?

May 18, 2008 | milodes

If I hadn't started my eBay Live '08 folder months ago to keep all the stuff I'll need & if I hadn't already created my list of stuff I need to take to Chicago with me, I'd be frantic at the last moment - and who wants that stress? Sure, one can buy toothpaste or undies if they forget those things, but since I'll be teaching a class this year and have coupons to pay for my hotel room, there are somethings I just won't be able to replace if I neglect to pack 'em.

Here's hoping when you go on your next trip - to Live or wherever you may travel to - that you'll be prepared so your trip can start & continue stress-free!


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Happy Mother's Day!

May 11, 2008 | milodes

As Tippy above wrote, I, too, will spend a bit of my time today putting listings together - Sundays are my listing days. And I will be thinking much about how I love being a Mom to my daughter Nicole & how glad I am that she gets to celebrate today also, being a Mom to Gracie & Bella. (The roses on Tippy's shirt are in honor of Nicole who loved roses even as a young child - though I recall her liking them in deep red.)

Of course, I will call my Mom to wish her a beautiful day & thank her for me being the first of her six kids to make her a Mom...and for all she taught & gave me in my life! The orangey flowers behind Tippy are in honor of my Mom who's always loved orange flowers. (Wish she could see our orange roses next to our front door!)

To all you Moms who love being Moms - have a wonderful day!


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For women only! How to get him to...

Apr 20, 2008 | milodes

...take you out to dinner. (Works if you do all the cooking!)



(Doesn't work if he's into doing Atkins also...)


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Bone-ah-fee-dees?

Apr 08, 2008 | milodes

A couple times lately, I've heard reporters pronounce bonafides as bone-ah-fee-dees. Since I'd never heard that word spoken, whenever I've read it, it's been bone-ah-fides (long I). AskOxford.com provides the pronunciation as bone-ah-fi-dees - a combo of what I recently heard & have always read.

I love words - how they're spelled, how they're used, their pronunciation & how puns can be made with them. When I was in the 5th grade, I wanted to best 6th-grader, Bryce Johnston, as he could spell antidisestablishmentarianism. I found the longest word in the English language - pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. I mispronounced it for well over 2 decades when I finally decided to disect the word: pneu-mono-ultra-microscopic-silico-volcano-coniosis. (lung - single - very - teeny - silicon - volcano - whatever)

Misuses of words and grammar, particularly by those on TV or radio, drive me crazy! (Especially when they have a pretentious use!) Using "I" rather than "me" may sound classier, but it's inappropriate often... "If it wasn't for I, they would have done nothing", for example. The "self" words are others which are frequently misused. "Yourself, myself, ourselves" are reflective words. One cannot do something to myself (me), he can only do it to himself or I can only do it to myself. Pretension in the written word also speaks negatively to me - using "colour" by someone who was educated in the US causes me to suspect the writer thinks the Queen's English is superior to US English (and I just cannot think of any objective reason why that would be so).

And spelling! Egads! I've had to train myself to loosen up when, especially on the eBay discussion forums, I've read how someone has everything to "loose" (LOSE!) by some new eBay rule or that the buyer "payed" (PAID!) with a personal check or how someone has an item they want to "sale" (SELL!) or someone wants "advise" (ADVICE!). Granted, we all make errors (bet you find some in this blog), but i just don't understand frequent misspellings of words we all learned by the 4th grade.

Well, 'nough of this rant...think I'll see if Kyle wants to play Scrabble or Boggle tonight!


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Do the calls to your Mom go like this?

Apr 06, 2008 | milodes

Is your Mom the one in your family who keeps all the details - and tells 'em all to you? Hard to get a word in edgewise? I can relate most of the time. (When I have something to say, I can eventually break in!)

I love my Mom & when she tells me what's up with my siblings & their kids, I do want to hear that. But, Mom, c'mon: that article about yogurt cultures or chelation in this month's Family Circle Magazine is not why I call you...

I just posted this on my eBay blog - and received a quick comment: "no - my mom is in Heaven - be grateful"

Of course, I'm glad my Mom is still around & I am thankful for that, but even though the commenter may be missing his/her parent, that comment took me aback. (I won't even get into the Heaven thing...) I know when my Mom is gone, I will miss those mostly-one-sided calls, but I expect I'll look back at them and wish she'd let me get in a few more words.

My Mom is not really all that self-centered; she just thinks I need all that small talk. Does she know that I didn't receive her talking gene? Or that maybe I'd like to discuss the latest book I'm reading, tell her about my new Crocs shoes I think she'd find very comfy too or tell her about my latest eBay activity? I will butt in on a future call to get all that said, but I don't know how to kindly steer the conversation away from topics which bore me.

We do talk politics on occasion - usually enjoyable unless she's on top of some latest conspiracy theory kick. Religion? Nope - we don't agree there at all, though she still prays for me.

BTW - just cause a parent drives you crazy on occasion doesn't mean you don't care. I'm sure I drive my daughter nuts on a regular basis too, but I know I'm important to her.


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