Onomatopoeia

Yep, big word for the day and means a word that sounds like itself. (Basically.) Examples include, bang, pow, tick, oink, meow, clack and lots more.



Here's the link to Dictionary.com so you can hear it pronounced and find out what it means.

And here's a link to Wikipedia with some cool info about onomatpoeia.

New Old Stuff...

Yesterday my youngest daughter and I moved my desk from the garage into a corner in the living room. It's been in the garage ever since we moved here in December of 2011 and I've really  missed it.

See, this house is a bit smaller than our last place and there really wasn't room for it. I've been using the kitchen table for a desk but that really hasn't been working for me. For some reason, I just don't feel like a writer sitting at the table. Maybe it's 'cause I've always had my desk.

I even thought about getting a new, smaller desk but there's just something about this desk that I love. Maybe it's 'cause it is really wood instead of some particle board thing. Maybe it's because I've had it for so long...close to 25 years.

Or maybe it's the size. This thing is huge. And weighs about 900 pounds (Not really but try moving it and you'll think so.) The main area is 3'x6' and has a smaller L attached to it that's 2'x3'. Plenty of room to spread out plus have my computer and printer close by.

Anyway, I have my desk again. And, I'm happy. Which leads me to the point of this post...

What makes you feel like a writer? Do you feel more like a writer at certain places, wearing certain clothes, or at writer events?

I'd love to hear from you so comment and let's chat.

Flowers

I love spring.  Especially all the flowers and plants.  I even bought a small greenhouse this year so I could start buying plants early. There's just something about spring that compels me to get out and play in the dirt.

 Here's what it looked like a couple weeks ago. Since then I've added 5 Oleander plants, several cacti, a couple tomato plants. In the red pot is a giant elephant ear bulb I'm eagerly waiting to sprout.




                                         I even have lettuce, red leaf and green.

I have two strawberry plants that are blooming.

                                                                                     Snapdragons...







I've added a couple more since I took these pix and will have to share them later. 

And while I didn't buy this one, I really thought it was cool.

I saw this at a "home and ranch" store Saturday and really, really wanted it. I just knew if I brought it home something horrid would happen to it.


So, what's your favorite flowers?

Ergo...

Definition: Hence, therefore...

Synonyms: accordingly, consequently, so, thus, wherefore

She drives like a maniac ergo I'm not surprised she totaled her vehicle.


As a writer I like words. I've decided ergo is my word for the week and will try to use it as often as possible.

What about you? Do you use new words often? Got a special word you like a lot?

DUH...

Got things that need to be done?

Here's a nifty little system for getting things accomplished I discovered several years back. I'd forgotten about it over the past several moves and all the things happening in life so for those who have seen this before, hopefully you'll enjoy the reminder. And, for those of you who haven't, give it a try, see how it works for you.

D - Do it first.  Don't wait around, do it and get it over with. 

U - Understand it might not be fun.

H - Hurray! Now celebrate, you did it!


Don't you just hate ending the day knowing you didn't get the things that needed to be done taken care of? I do. I'll lay awake berating myself for not getting everything accomplished, feel guilty and be miserable.  When I apply D, I don't have that problem. The important things are done and I can move one to the things I want to do without all the guilt.

The "U" reminds me I might not enjoy some things. But the satisfaction of marking things off the to-do list sure is nice.

And we need to remember to celebrate. We need to celebrate our accomplishments. And not just the big things.

So, what do you think? Will DUH work for you?

I'd love to take credit for DUH but that goes to Margie Lawson.

Comma, Comma, Comma...

That's right, commas. I really dislike 'em. Seems I never have enough. And the ones I do are in the wrong spot most of the time.  (I debated about putting a comma after do in the last sentence but decided not to.)

I figure I'm not the only one with comma issues so here's a few links that may help.
  

Basic Rules of Commas in Writing

10 Simple Rules for Using Commas

5 Simple Comma Rules to Live By

Grammar Girl

Bloons TD 5

Time for another confession... I enjoy killing bloons! 

Bloons TD 5 is a tower defense game, meaning you set towers along a course to defend whatever needs to be defended.  In BTD5, you want to keep the bloons from getting to the end of the course.

You do this with different monkey towers, each with different abilities. There's the simple, dart-throwing monkey, the ninja monkey and many others to choose from. Each with different upgrades.

I'm at level 55 now. I've beaten most of the levels on easy and medium...except the advanced and extreme levels. I'll go for hard later. It's a way to let the brain relax for a few minutes and de-stress.

You can give it a try here or on Kongregate where I play. Just don't get addicted. :-)

All Right or Alright

Today is the first day of the A to Z Blogging Challenge which was started by Arlee Bird.  This is my third year to take part so a big THANKS for coming up with such a great idea and sharing it with us. Y'all can check out Arlee's blog here. Now to this year's first post.

Confession time... 

I use alright a lot. And while it's alright with me, it may not be all right with those who use proper grammar. Several sources say it's a  misspelling of all right and probably stems from already and altogether, which are all right.

So...is it all right to use alright? Again, some sources say sure, some say nope. My critique group lets me use it in dialogue but make me change it the rest of the time. My advice, check with your editor. The English language is always evolving so it may become all right sooner or later.

Here's Grammar Girl's take on it. 

What about you? Do you use alright or all right?

X, Y and Z

Due to a nasty case of flu or some other horrid virus I've missed blogging the last couple days.  So, today I'm doing a three-fer.

X, Y and Z sorta go together, don't you think? Like hot cocoa, fuzzy slippers and cold mornings.

Or, hot summer days, cold lemonade and homemade ice cream.  Perfect!

Here's some other famous, or not so famous threesomes. 

The Three Stooges - Moe, Larry and Curly  Did you know Shemp was an original stooge?

Charlie's Angels - Remember when just about all the girls had hair like Farrah?

Pep Boys - Manny, Moe and Jack - I used to tease hubby if we had three boys, that was what I was naming them. He wasn't amused. :-)

Three's Company - Janet, Chrissy and Jack

What's your favorite threesome?

W is for...Water

Water, water, everywhere and all the boards did shrink.

Water, water, everywhere nor any drop to drink...

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

With the record flooding going on in Iquitos, Peru lately, it reminded me of a poem I'd read long ago. Well...it reminded me of the above lines from the poem. 

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner was written by an English poet named Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797-98.  It's his longest work and was published in 1798.

It's a really cool poem about the adventures/misfortunes of a sailor. He stops a guy on the way to a wedding and tells him the story. The voyage starts well...

"The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared,
Merrily did we drop
Below the kirk, below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top.

The sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea."

Then things go bad...

"And now the storm-blast came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong:
He struck with his o'er taking wings,
And chased us south along.

The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound!

Finally an albatross comes along and leads them out into clear sailing again.  But...the sailor kills it with his crossbow.  Then things really get bad...that's where the water, water every where line comes in...so the others sailors tie the dead bird around his neck...

You'll have to read the rest to find out what happens but it's something you'll enjoy I think.  He's a link.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

V is for...Virus

I think I have the flu. Aches, fever, chills, cough, congestion and general icky feeling. Got some meds, gatorade and am going to bed.  Hope y'all feel better than I.

U is for...Unforgettable

Ever read a book or watched a movie that you couldn't forget:  One in which the characters remained with you long after you finished, or one that you revisited ever so often cause you just couldn't forget the story?

Or what about a book where you actually forget the character is fictional? (Shhhh...we won't tell them they aren't real.)

As a writer, that's what we want.  We want you to love our characters as much as we do.  And believe me, we really love 'em.

Here's some of my unforgettable books...in no particular order.

Black Beauty & The Black Stallion series- I went through a "horse" phase as a kid and read anything horse related.

I also went through a dog phase.  I loved the original Lassie, Come Home and the Big Red series.

Les Miserables - My 11th grade English teacher suggested this book along with several others that I really loved.  That was the year I actually read Animal Farm for fun. Don Quixote, Canterbury Tales and even Shakespeare.

Most stories by Edgar Allen Poe - I LOVE Poe.  The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, The Raven, just to name a few.

What about Harry Potter?  How can we ever forget him and his friends?

And one I'll never forget cause of the ending.  Gone with the Wind.  I was sick the day I watched the movie.  I'd heard as long as I could remember I needed to see the  movie and read the book.  After spending hours on the couch the movie ended with Scarlett standing in the field say "I'll never be hungry again."  All I know is it's a good thing I was sick that day and I'd not wasted my time  for that ending. :-)

What about you?  What' books or movies have stuck with you over the years?

T is for... Samson

That's right, Samson. 

Samson is a Siberian tiger in my short story Tyger, Tyger.  Did you know tiger footprints are just as individual as fingerprints? I learned a lot about tigers while doing the research for this story.  More than I'll ever need to know but I really enjoyed writing this one.

You can read Tyger, Tyger in my short story collection, Six Pack of Murder and find out if Samson is the bad guy or innocent victim. The electronic download (Kindle & Nook) is only .99 and includes 5 other short stories along with the first chapter of my upcoming novel Dark Descent, which is due to be released in June. Here's the Amazon link.

Happy reading...

S is for...Survival Bracelets

As I mentioned the other day, I'll be going to Peru in January.  It's quite an expensive trip plus I'll be needing to get other stuff done such as a passport, malaria meds and jungle gear since we'll be going up the Amazon River into the jungle for over a week.

One of the things I'm doing to raise the needed funds, is to make and sell Parachute Cord Survival Bracelets. They are called Survival Bracelets because if needed, you can unravel these and have yards and yards of seriously tough cord. Lots of hikers, outdoorsy folks wear them. I've even seen stories from people who have actually unraveled them and gotten out of emergency situations with them. 

I love these and wear one most of the time.  I have an assortment of colors so I can coordinate with whatever I'm wearing or the mood I'm in.

 Here's some pictures... 
                                                                                                                 

The top one is a desert camo...different shades of brown.  Next is a camo green.  Third is a red, white and blue with a kinda silver edging.

Next is a purple and white with the same silver edging.  I like purple. :-)

The darker one is black edging over a mixed green It's green with different shades of green and a bit of silver.  I love this one.

And lastly, a rainbow colored one.  This one goes with just about everything and would be good for kids.

Top one here is yellows and oranges.

Here's that green again with a silver edge.

A better view of the desert camo and a couple of the others.  There were too many to make one picture.

I've also done a couple as dog collars.  This is that orange/yellow and one in the purple.  The rings are gold or silver.  I really like these cause they are tough enough for most dogs.

These are a smaller braid.  Kinda a beaded X pattern.  The orange/black one is actually what my daughter uses for her cat's collar.

These are a bit more feminine I guess.

 These are some of the colors I have available but I can get others if you want something special.

I made a bracelet from Mom out of the Pink blend with a silver edge.  She's a cancer survivor so I thought it appropriate. I'd have posted a pix of it but don't have one.  Sigh...

The color under the red/blue/silver is black/gray blend that is very nice.

Bracelets are $ 10.00 but that includes shipping.

If you'd like a slip collar for your dog, let me know the length and I'll quote you a price.  I can also do matching leashes.

Color desired

I'd like Special Order Info

R is for...Rangers

The Texas Rangers, that is.  Not those guys...the baseball team. :-)

I've always liked baseball.  I remember watching the World Series back when the Cincinnati Reds were playing with Pete Rose and Daryl Strawberry.  Mom and I watched the whole series that year.  I don't remember who they played against but it's a good Mom and me memory.

Since we moved to Longview a little over a year ago, we've gotten back into baseball again.  It really helps that our church has several Ranger fans and that ever so often they all go to the game together. In fact, we'll be going on the Saturday before Mother's Day. 

I love attending a live game.  There's just something about being in the stands, that has to be experienced. I encourage each of you to head to the stadium when you get the chance.  And you don't have to pay a lot, get the cheap seats.  The view is still great and you don't have to worry about your face ending up on the television.

So...  all you baseball fans out there... who do you cheer for?

 Found this and just had to share.  It's a bonus picture today. :-)

Q is for...Quotes

I love quotes.  At least some anyway.  I have my favorite writerly quotes such as...

"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass."  ~ Anton Chekhov

and,

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter - it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning".  ~Mark Twain

and, 

"A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author."  ~G.K. Chesterton

And I have a couple favorite day to day quotes such as...

“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” ~ Laurel Thatcher Ulrich,

and,

"Nothing is to be feared but fear itself". ~ Francis Bacon (That's right, he said it long time before FDR.)

and, 

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. ”  ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

 

What about you, got any favorite quotes you'd like to share with us? 

P is for... Peru

***  WARNING - Religious post about to happen.  IF this might offend you, then read no further  ***

Last year, my pastor became involved in The Amazon Project through Youth Frameworks.  It's a really cool project and has really grown over the last six or eight months.  He's been to Peru and up the Amazon River several times now and God is working in a mighty way there.  I don't know all the details but they are teaching and reaching the people for the Lord.  My pastor is actually teaching seminary classes for the people there.  It's so cool because he is fluent in Spanish and goes to Mexico each month for a couple days to teach in a seminary there.  He teaches Greek in Spanish.  My poor brain would be so confused.

But anyway...in conversation I mentioned that I wanted to go to Peru and help out. And guess what...I'll be going in January of next year.  I'm so excited. I'm already planning what to take, what I need to do and get done before then. For example...passport.  Gotta have one. :-)

And...Spanish.  I really want to be able to speak to the people there in their language.  Now, years ago in school I took two years of Spanish and was very good at it but over the last 20 plus years, I haven't used it so it's been filed away in the brain, way back in a dark corner where no one ever goes.  But, the last couple weeks I've been studying and it's coming back.  I've always loved the Spanish language and I'm excited to be relearning and using it.

Back to Peru, though. Right now, they are having record flooding.  This is the building used for seminary classes. As you can tell, it's in water.  Not long ago the water was coming in the door ( about 12-18 inches off the ground). Last I heard about a week ago, water was up to the windows and still rising.  (Probably 3 foot off the ground.)  It floods every year in Peru but this year it's really bad.  Whole villages have packed up and moved to higher ground.  Farms are being wiped out and people's lives are being uprooted. Here's a link to an article about the flooding in Iquitos. As you can see from the pictures, it's serious.

So, I'm asking y'all to pray for the people of Peru, especially those affected by the flooding.  Pray for those making the trips to Peru and the work they are doing.  I also ask that you pray for me as I prepare to go myself. 

Lastly, I know things are tight financially, but if you have a few spare dollars...or even pennies...and want to support a worthy cause, check out Youth Frameworks.  They do a great work.  Or, in an effort to raise funds for my trip, (it's not cheap) I'm selling handmade Paracord Survival Bracelets.  I'll be posting pictures in a couple days (on "S") of the colors I have available and the details to purchase/donate.  Until then, you can contact me at jeanlauzier @  gmail.com. Just remove the spaces. :-) Oh, I'm also making dog collars too. They look really cool.

O is for...

Oklahoma...where the wind comes sweeping down the plain...  One day I'd like to see the musical.  The closest I've come so far is one of the "muppets" on Sesame Street singing "Aaaaaaklahoma"  then "Eeeeeklahoma" then "Iiiiiiiklahoma".  Each time the "director said "CUT!" he'd change to the next vowel in line.  When it got time to do "O" they called lunch time so they never finished the skit.  Sad that I still remember that and it was probably 20 years ago that I saw it.

It's also for "Open wide and say ahhhhhh."  I have a friend who had to go to the dentist today.  I really dislike dentists.  When I was young, I spent lots of time with my dentist.  I never got my eye teeth and have a small gap between my front two teeth.  The dentist wanted to pull all my top teeth and replant them, closing the gap.  Thankfully I was too young at the time and by the time I was old enough, we'd moved.  I still have my gap and try to avoid dentists as much as possible.

Lastly, O is for  onions.  I don't like onions.  Mom says I used green onions (scallions) to teeth on as a very young child but I don't believe her. :-)

What about you, got any favorite "O" things?

N is for.... NUTELLA!!!

Yeap, I'm shouting Nutella.  But really, Nutella is a word you say kinda low, with reverence.  Say it with me...Nutella. Is there anything better on warm toast?  And what about straight from the jar while waiting for the toast to get ready?  Nutella on cupcakes...perfect! Nutella on brownies...perfect!

Caramel Nutella Crumb Bars anyone? I haven't tried 'em yet but they look good enough to eat the picture.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies...bet they'd be great with cold milk. (You have to be member of website to see the 'how to' part of recipe but I'm sure you can figure it out if you don't want to join.  It's free and they have lots more Nutella recipes so might be worth the minute it takes to join.)

Spicy Bacon with Nutella...I'll probably pass on this but for all you bacon loving, Nutella lovers out there...

Cinnamon Nutella Hot Cocoa...makes me wish it was cold.

Bella Nutella is pure Nutella food porn.  I think I gained 15 pounds just gazing at the pictures. From cookies to cakes, pies to tortes, puddings and even drinks, this is the place to swoon. I've got it bookmarked for later drooling. :-)

Another thing that goes perfectly with Nutella is my Six Pack of Murder. You can get Six Pack at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, White Bird Publications or I'll be happy to send you an autographed copy, just email me for the details.

And lastly...

M is for ... Monsters Inc.

This is my absolute favorite animated movie. I just love everything about it...except Randall. :-) I love how the characters grow and change over the course of the show. And I just love how the bad guy is someone unexpected. No matter how many times I've seen this, I still watch it whenever I come across it on the television. I also have it on dvd. :-)

Now, I never had problems with monsters in my closet as a kid but after watching this, I kinda wish I had. Maybe I'd have thought of writing this and would be raking in the money it's making.

Another thing I love is 2319!!!  Who would have ever considered that monsters were as afraid of us as we are of them? I like to randomly shout 2319 while in Walmart...it drives my kids nuts. :-)

If you haven't seen Monsters Inc., then I'm going to challenge you to find a copy and have a movie night with your family.  You'll love it...and so will they.