Vocabulary Challenge #5

Here it is again, "100 Words Every High School graduate Should Know".  Last Vocabulary Challenge left us with #40 - Incontrovertible : impossible to deny or disprove.

Are you up for the next ten?

41) Inculcate
42) Infrastructure
43) Interpolate
44) Irony
45) Jejune
46) Kinetic
47) Kowtow
48) Laissez faire
49) Lexicon
50) Loquacious

Again, with some of the words I could narrow down the meaning but don't think I could just throw them in a sentence without actually looking up the definition.  I love using this challenge as a reminder that we should always keep learning, refreshing, & stimulating our minds.

How did you do with this round of vocabulary words?

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Vocabulary Challenge #4

It's the beginning of the month and that means another round of Vocabulary Challenge, thanks to Vocabulary.com!  Last round left off with GAMETE, let's see the next 10 words...

31) Gauche
32) Gerrymander
33) Hegemony
34) Hemoglobin
35) Homogeneous
36) Hubris
37) Hypotenuse
38) Impeach
39) Incognito
40) Incontrovertible

Gerrymander, hypotenuse... are you sure we really learned this in high school, ha-ha?
 

How did you do?  I give myself a C+

Vicious Vitamin

Besides eating healthy and exercising, we all know vitamins are extremely important.  I myself take quite a few, and I have my daughter also taking vitamins (an old post delves more in to the vitamin topic).  When it comes to myself, I'm generally not picky when it comes to the brand, I tend to buy store brand purely because of the price difference.  The last time I was in The States I was sure to hit up Walmart to buy things we can get here, but are just cheaper there.  One of which being Centrum, I was a huge fan of this particular brand when I lived in Florida.  But as I stood at Walmart my frugal side took over and said, why not just buy Walmart brand, I used to use Equate products regularly.  And since the purchase I have regretted buying their multi-vitamin.  (Equate Women's One Daily, to be exact.)  Why, it makes me puke if I don't have a full stomach!  I know taking aspirin or ibuprofen on a empty stomach can make you sick, but also a vitamin?  I had to find out the hard way while on vacation, and sadly enough it took multiple times before I put 2 & 2 together.  I guess I pinned the restless stomach on food in The States and even travel anxiety (was travelling internationally with just my toddler)... turned out to be the vitamin.  Since making the realization I do my best to take my vitamins right after lunch (this is recommended for a lot of vitamins).  But there are still times when I didn't eat enough or remembered the multi-vitamin just a bit too late and it hits me.  I feel the warmth sweep over me and the nausea coming on (similar to low blood sugar) and there is nothing I can do but wait it out.  My husband thinks I'm crazy and said I should just throw the bottle out and buy something that suites me better, but I'm stubborn and want my money's worth.  (I'm shaking my head at my own trait, right now.)  Out of curiosity, do any of you have problems with certain multi-vitamins?

Vocabulary Challenge #3

It's been a while, but here is round 3 of the vocabulary challenge!  Here are the following 10 words that everyone should have learned in high school, according to the Vocabulary.com list :

21) Equinox
22) Euro
23) Evanescent
24) Expurgate
25) Facetious
26) Fatuous
27) Feckless
28) Fiduciary
29) Filibuster
30) Gamete

Well, as usual, there were a couple words that I know I've heard but personally have never used (I'm blushing a little).  But I must say, at least these words look familiar, unlike many of the ones from round 1!  How did you do?  Did you know the meaning of the words?

Music Moments #4

Music can influence peoples lives, and activities.  We use music to inspire us, to make us happy, to make us remember, to make us dance, the list goes on and on.  In previous Music Moments posts, I was sure to let you know what was playing around our house at that time, or even what I was using to motivate myself during exercise.  This post is similar, but I'm not going to delve into the tunes filling our heads at this moment.  This post is about a small phase I went through a couple months back, I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed just saying it was unusual for me.  Here goes, I went through a short country music phase, there I said it.  For those who know me, well, they know country music isn't really my thing, as a teen I would cringe when I heard it.  But now as an adult I am a lot more open and occasionally I actually hear songs I like when I give them a chance.  Now, in most of my Music Moments posts I'll mention what I am listening to while writing, whether writing a blog post or a fictional story you can basically say I write most days of the week.  This is actually how I stumbled into this country music phase.  I was working on a love story (all of my stories are love stories, but not your typical mushy romance novels) and one of the main characters happened to be southern.  So to put myself in the right mood, I decided to get my hands on some country music.  Obviously since I don't listen to country I have no idea what is considered good these days, but I do know what was considered good years ago.  Don't laugh, because I ended up with the strangest combination... Johnny Cash, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, & Garth Brooks.  But it worked, it helped me to put myself creatively and imaginatively in a southern town with thick accents all around, helping the story feel more realistic.  Then I ended up planning a trip, back in March, to visit my grandmother in Tennessee, so this sort-of continued the country phase.  Luckily, because there are limited radio stations an hour outside of Nashville.  Turns out country music is different these days, it almost leans more towards pop than drawn out sad ballads.  There were even a few songs I could bounce my head to, but I must say I have no idea who the artist was and I probably never will.  For now, the country phase is finished, I'm on to the next story (I have a lot of unfinished stories) and this one needs dubstep and not country. 

(For those of you who do thoroughly enjoy country music, like my grandmother, I'm not putting it down, so please don't misunderstand me.  Whether I enjoy it or not doesn't mean I do not appreciate the talent.)

Other Bloggers #2

Just like me there are many men, women, and teens sitting behind their computers typing away.  All providing something different... a heartfelt story, a journey through hard times, an exercise plan, cooking tips, decorating ideas, stories of travel, photography appreciation... the list goes on and on.  It's amazing to me at times how this world of blogging becomes so intertwined and how we cross paths with people from all over the world.  For some of you connecting and getting your blog out there is easy and for others you might be wondering if anyone is reading at all.  I found one of the best ways to get connected is through a blog with energy and full of fun ideas, like blog hops.  And I happen to know of one : Sincerely, Paula. 

Maybe you've stumbled across her blog in the past, maybe this is the first you've heard of it, but no matter what it's worth checking out.  There's something for everyone when it comes to finding blogs you're interested in or just promoting your own blog.  She has two main blog hops, "Wordless Wednesday Blog Party" & "No Rules Weekend Blog Party".  These blog parties attract an array of bloggers... personally I've gained quite a few new followers this way and linked up to blogs I might not have found on my own.  Who knows, maybe one will get mentioned next round!  If you enjoy my blog love, be sure to check out the first "Other Bloggers".

Music Moments #3

My life is full of music moments, certain activities almost require that there is music involved.  For me those main moments are while driving, exercising, and writing.  But throughout the day music also fills our house, especially when my husbands home, his iPhone is always bolting out the latest tunes.  And when he's not home, well, there's a lot of kids music... Barney is a favorite with my tot!

 

What's the number one album blasting through our house at the moment :
 

It's Mumford & Sons latest album, Babel.  They can do no wrong!  I thought their last album couldn't be topped, but now there's Babel.  I'm sure you've all heard I Will Wait playing on the radio.  The banjo and mandolin keep your head bobbing and the songs are catchy and hard to get out of your head.  There's a great mixture between upbeat songs and slow ballads, all of which worth listening to.  And what's even better, it's music I can listen to with my toddler around and not worry about her repeating vulgar words or hearing adult only content.

 

What's playing in my car (o.k., my husbands car that I borrow occasionally) :
 

I have to admit, I still haven't taken Fun or Lana Del Rey off the USB stick.  But I also added Green Day's newest album, Uno.  When I added this album it reminded of how much I enjoyed their 1994 album Dookie.  It was one of those albums that accompanied my early teenage years.  As soon as I added it to my car playlist I realized I still remember all of the words.  The mind is a funny thing, I can't tell you what I did last weekend but I know all the words to Basket Case and When I Come Around 10 yrs later!

 

What's playing while I exercise :
 

Somehow I missed out on a genre of music called Dubstep.  When I finally realized I was interested in it, I coined my own term, techno-hip-hop.  My husband was embarrassed for me and after I said it to friends for the umpteenth time, he told me it was actually called Dubstep.  Immediately I hopped on the computer and looked around for a popular artist in this genre, and I found Datsik.  I wouldn't say this music is for everyone, but wow does it get you pumped up.  Something you need while working off the fat on the elliptical machine.  And on one of the rare occasions I ended up in a bar after 2AM, they were blasting this music and the crowd couldn't get enough.  I could have danced the rest of the night away (except I'm 31 yrs old and I knew the next day my toddler would come home from grandma's!)  I'm sure there are other great Dubstep artists out there, so if you know any, please let me know.

 

What's playing while I write :
 

Well, right now Mumford & Sons, but lately the Queen of the Damned soundtrack.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Queen of the Damned, it was a great vampire movie from 2002.  It also had a worthy rock music soundtrack.  Not just any rock, great music created with the help of Jonathan Davis from Korn!  I was working on a mythological story and the music was perfect to play in the background.  Once I played the album a couple times it dawned on me that I could also use it while exercising.  You can't compare it to Dubstep, except it does get your blood flowing... and... you really have to enjoy this type of music to get into it (I imagine a lot of people my age and over cringe at the sound of either!)

Well, that's it for this time... who knows what I'll be listening to next!  Do you have any suggestions?

Vocabulary Challenge #2

I promised you a follow-up post to the Vocabulary Challenge, so here are the following 10 from the list :

(Quick reminder, these are words that apparently every high school graduate should know!)

11) Chromosome
12) Churlish
13) Circumlocution
14) Circumnavigate
15) Deciduous
16) Deleterious
17) Diffident
18) Enervate
19) Enfranchise
20) Epiphany

How familiar are you with the above words?  I am proud to say this round went much better for me!!!

Other Bloggers

I follow plenty of blogs, each one bringing something different to the table.  And occasionally during my day one of these blogs pops into mind.  One I follow is called Herding Cats, and she has a series of posts called Taphophile Tragics.  In other words she finds cemeteries and gravestones interesting and writes about them.  I thought she had given up on writing the back stories of these long gone people but it turns out she just started a blog specifically about them, called Beneath Thy Feet.  I happen to live near a really old cemetery; I pass it going to the park, taking my daughter to school, letting the dog out, etc., and as I peek over the brick walls my thoughts occasionally trail back to her blog.  Now I have no intentions of researching the gravestones or taking her ideas, but I did happen to take a lot of photos there the other day.  So here's to you Nicola Carpenter, thanks for maintaining such an interesting blog.
 

Who knows, your blog may be the next inspiration for one of my posts!  Keep an eye out for a follow up post.

Vocabulary Challenge (#1)

According to Vocabulary.com there are 100 words every high school graduate should know.  I've been out of school for over a decade now, so I thought I'd challenge myself and see how much I managed to retain.  I'll start out with 10, and follow-up on this post again.

Do you know the definitions of the following words :

  1) Abjure
  2) Abrogate
  3) Abstemious
  4) Acumen
  5) Antebellum
  6) Auspicious
  7) Belie
  8) Bellicose
  9) Bowdlerize
10) Chicanery

I admit, I'm a bit embarrassed... I call myself a writer and yet a few of these words I've never heard before and a few I recognize but have no idea what the definition is!! 
What about you?

Music Moments #2

Here's another follow-up post!  It's not that I'm out of things to talk about I just wanted to share some great albums with you. 

What's playing in the background as I work on my blog and books?  I keep switching because I can't decide which album I like better.  There's stiff competition between Fun. - Some Nights & Lana Del Rey - Born To Die.  They're not exactly the type of music I have always listened to, who knew I liked Indie Pop; my husband says it's because I'm getting older so the music I listen to isn't as intense.  Maybe he's right, or maybe I haven't heard any rap or rock albums that really interest me lately.  Well, except for Jay-Z & Kanye West's album - Watch the Throne.  Needless to say there are some great songs on the above albums, besides their main singles you should listen to Carry On & National Anthem.

What's playing while I'm exercising.  Rihanna's 4th & 5th albums, Rated R & Loud.  I still can't believe how many popular songs/albums she has pumped out over the years, she's on #6 now.  She makes great music for dancing and exercising.  My daughter also loves her music, unfortunately she's not allowed to watch any of the videos because of their intensity.  Actually there are few videos my daughter is allowed to watch, most of them are quite disturbing these days.  Sometimes my husband and I flip on the music channel (not MTV because they don't even play music) and after a few videos we look over at each other questioning what we were just exposed to.  We're not prude, it's just most videos these days are strange, they'll do anything to get a rise out of you.  (Seriously I'm not getting old.)

What's playing in the house that my daughter enjoys?  Right now thanks to American Idol she's enjoying Creedence Clearwater Revival.  We just play a best hits albums and she thoroughly enjoys it.  Even at 2 yrs old she can appreciate real music and instruments.  And since the entire family loves oldies, you'll also occasionally hear the Forrest Gump soundtrack, and if it's just the girls even the Dirty Dancing soundtrack.  I think movie soundtracks are a great place to find a good compilation of music.  Plus you get the added benefit of having great movie scenes pop into mind when you hear the songs, it's an all around fun experience.  Since American Idol had such strong contenders this season, we are also eagerly awaiting albums from Joshua Ledet & Phillip Phillips.

I hope all of you have background music in your lives.  Whether singing along in your car, bopping around your living room, or just kicking back and taking it in, everyone should have music moments.

Music Moments

In my house music is very common, and my daughter has grown to enjoy music as much as us.  We like to crank it up after my husband gets home from work and dance around the living room, great family music moments!   

One album we are all enjoying at the moment is Mumford & Sons (they're a British folk rock band). It seems to be the running background music of our lives over the past two weeks. It's funny how you can like an album so much you will listen to it repeatedly. I remember at one time thinking Kings of Leon would never get taken out of rotation, but eventually they all get replaced. As of now Mumford & Sons is taking their slot on our playlists.  Then there is always Adele, she's great, I think everyone can appreciate her talent.  She's also someone we can listen to with the entire family or individually.  I'll often turn on one of the above albums while I'm writing, they're soothing, don't distract, and have a lot of emotion to them.  From what I understand Adele has become quite popular in The States but I'm not sure about Mumford & Sons... so for the ones of you who have never heard of these albums you really should give them a chance.  Now if I'm not listening to mellow British music, I'm listening to American rap, I love it! 

I love any music that will get me dancing but there's something special about rap. I wish I could say I outgrew it as a teenager but I didn't. I also wish I could say there are a lot of great rap albums out today, but I can't.  Other than dancing to it, I really enjoy exercising to it.  It's peppy enough to get me moving, yet has this aggression to it to keep me motivated on the crosstrainer.  The past couple of weeks I have either listened to Flo-rida or Nicki Minaj while exercising.  My husband also appreciates rap but he can't stand Flo-rida; he's more of an Eminem type.  And Nicki Minaj just makes fun rap, she's a little eccentric and that definitely reflects in her album.  I'm sure you've read this and lost a bit of respect for me, but you have to understand I enjoy a variety of music.  Before driving lessons I like to listen to Andrea Bocelli, and while growing up I almost played out my Phantom of the Opera cassette tape.  And I enjoy Metallica as much as I enjoy The Beach Boys!  I hope you all have music moments throughout your day!