I am a stickler for spelling and HATE it when people use the wrong word or misspell (especially in e-mails, where one can use a spellchecker).  So I am going to compile a list of the most annoying ones.  If you have one or more to contribute, add a comment.  (And I am desperately afraid of making a typo in this blog that will make me look like a hypocrite, so please be kind if you notice one and let me know so I can correct it.)

 

These are in no particular order, just as I think of them (except 1 and 2):

 

1.  You're/your - The former means "you are"; the latter is a possessive.  If you don't know which to use, say the sentence out loud with the words "you are" instead.  If it has the meaning you want, you can use "you're".  If it doesn't, "your" is probably correct.

 

2.  It's/its - The former means "it is"; the latter is possessive.  Use the same exercise as 1 if you're (i.e., you are) not sure which is right.

 

3.  "Anyways" - This is not a word.  What you want to say is "anyway".

4.  Frustrated - This is NOT pronounced "fustrated".  Notice there is an "r" after the "f".  I always find it ironic that people mis-saying this word (and I know more than one!) are actually making me frustrated by their mis-saying it.  It's worse than saying "supposebly", which I hear much more infrequently (except in jest) and hence is not officially on this list.

5.  Often - I hate that it seems to have become acceptable to pronounce the "t" in this word.  I hate even more that the "alternate" pronunciation is even in my American Heritage Dictionary!  I reject that totally.

6.  "Thank you" is two words, not one and not hyphenated.   Thank you to everyone who spells it correctly.  Same rule for "no one."

7.  The apostrophe - This punctuation mark should be used only in contractions (e.g., "you are" to "you're") and in possessive nouns (not including pronouns like "its").  Just because a word ends in "s" doesn't mean it merits an apostrophe.  This especially bugs me when used with last names.  For example, don't write "The Johnson's asked us over for dinner."  There should be NO apostrophe in that sentence.  And if you write "We went to dinner at the Johnsons'," notice the last name is plural, so the apostrophe comes after the name because there is an understood "house" at the end of the sentence.  Sounds complicated, but it's really not.  Caveat:  An apostrophe can also be used when writing plurals of letters, numbers and acronymns (e.g., to say there are 2 e's in the word "there").

8.  Every day/everyday - Should not always be written as one word.  If you want to use it as an adjective meaning "ordinary" (e.g., "these are my everyday clothes"), then the compound word is correct, but other uses should be two words (e.g., "I go to the gym every day").  Well, not me, but some weirdos out there do...  Same rule for other words commonly used with "every" and "any" (e.g., "time").

9.  Familiar - Notice there is only one "r" in this word, and it's at the end.  It is not FARMiliar, so don't pronounce it that way!

10.  Etc. - This is an abbreviation for "et cetera" which means "and so forth".  Notice there's a "t" in there.  Please don't pronounce it "EKsetera."

11.  Vice Versa - Notice the spelling of the first word.  There is no "a" at the end, so it should not be pronounced "Vice-a Versa"!

12.  Sherbet - There is only one "r", so please don't say "bert" at the end.  Here's how you can remember:  It's an anglicized version of "sorbet", which doesn't have an "r" in the last syllable either, and I've never heard IT mispronounced.

13.  Drowned - This is the past tense of the word "drown".  There is no such word as "drowneded".

14.  "I couldn't care less":  If you say "I could care less," that's probably not what you really mean...think about it.

 

15.  Across - No "T" at the end, don't say one!

 

16.  Espresso - I am so disappointed in Sayid on "Lost"--he pronounced it "EXpresso" in the February 14 episode, which inspired this entry.  (BTW, it is so weird to hear Naveen Andrews speak in his "real" voice--he has the same accent as Supernanny.)

 

17.  Athlete - NOT pronounced "Ath-A-lete".  I heard John Krasinski say it that way once and was WAY disappointed--he's an Ivy League graduate (is Brown Ivy League?)!

 

18.  Mischievous - NOT pronounced "Mis-CHEEV-ee-ous"

 

19.  Height - there's no "h" on the end; it's not "heighth."  Think "height and weight," not "heighth and width."

 

20.  "Y'all" - it's a contraction of "You all"; therefore, the apostrophe should go before "all", not "ya'll".  What would that even be a contraction for??

 

21.  "Should've" - This is the contraction for "should have."  Although it audibly sounds similar, it is NOT spelled "should of."  Those two words together don't even really make any sense!

 

22.  "Iced tea" - I can tell the quality of a restaurant or other eating establishment by the way they spell this on their menu.  I see it spelled "ice tea" so often that I'm beginning to wonder if that might be an alternate correct spelling.  But then I shake myself back to my senses and resume my annoyance.  There's hot tea, and then there's the cold version of that.  How do you make it cold?  You put ice in it or "ice it" if you will.  Therefore, the tea has been "iced" and is now "iced tea."  (No offense to Ice-T.  He can spell it however he wants.)

 

P.S.  Don't forget to read the wonderful comments by my intelligent friends below--they add much to this discussion.

 

P.P.S.  If you have more than one "P.S." in a letter or whatnot, you add "P's", not "S's".  "P.S." means "post script" ("after the writing"), so the second one would be P.P.S. ("after the stuff that comes after the original writing"), and so on.

I know it's been a while....we just got back from a week in Montana for a get-together of my mother-in-law's siblings.  We went through Glacier National Park and saw not only some nice scenery (which doesn't sustain my interest for extended periods of time), but also some real live wild animals!  Mountain goats (including a cute baby), big-horned sheep, bears and moose!  Also the cute little piglet in my new profile picture and also some calves.  (Not all in the same place!  The latter were at a Hudderite colony--a religious group similar to Amish to simplify it but not do it justice.)

 

We should HOPEFULLY close on our new house next week (pray that we do!), then put in new flooring (carpet and laminate)--the former residents totally trashed the existing carpet.  It's disgusting!  Luckily the rest of the place is pretty much livable.  Then we have to move in before leaving for my XXth (you guess the ) high school reunion.  And then it's our anniversary the week after we come back.

 

So you see what I mean about August being busy!  I'll try to write more in-depth later for those of you who take interest in our goings-on.  BTW, thanks also to those who sent birthday greetings.

 

Oh, and thanks to all of you who continue to pray for and inquire about our sweet little Chloe.  She is doing well, all told.  She is still very wobbly from the anti-seizure medicine (which is a common side effect).  We boarded her at the vet while in Montana, and I think being confined for so long may have made her ataxia (back limb weakness) a little worse--she's having a hard time standing up on her back legs.  But she's a tough little cookie and still SUPER cute!  She even slept in the bed with me last night for a while, which she NEVER wants to do anymore.  She missed me that much I guess.  It made me feel VERY loved.

 

A bientot...

 

P.S.  Oh my goodness, I just found a re-run of the Puppy Bowl airing on Animal Planet RIGHT NOW!  (See my Feb. 3 blog if you don't know what that is.)

I just added a couple of videos and some photos of cute dogs at my work.  I will update these periodically with the dogs I love most or that are the funniest.  Enjoy!

 

p.s.  I will write a new "regular" blog sometime soon...

It’s been a while....I was sick for almost a month with the nastiest cold/flu/whatever is going around.  A lot of people I know up here have/had it.  YUCK!

 

So....the big news is that I got a job!  I started working part-time yesterday (just for fun) at All Pets Boarding Resort, which is a dog/cat kennel/day care owned by a great couple from our church.  It all happened very fast--I was going to go visit the place just because I like dogs, but then on Sunday the wife told me they might have a job opening.  Jathan and I went on Monday morning to check it out and I filled out an application, I got hired on Tuesday, and started working Wednesday!  It’s only about 2 miles from our house, so I only have a 3 minute (if there’s a red light) commute.  That is SOOO awesome!!  The only downside is that I have to wake up at 6:00 a.m. to be there by 7:00.  I’m going to be working 15 hours a week or so.  It has been my dream job to work with dogs, and it has finally come true!!!  I have to do things like clean kennels and stuff, but it is not bad at all, except I have to be careful not to hurt my back more.  The doggies are SOOOOO cute and sweet.  The cutest so far are a Tibetan Terrier (like a shorter-haired Old English Sheepdog, with a bubblegum-colored nose) and a 4-month old Lhasa Apso (a little muppet!).  They haven’t been too busy lately, but they have a capacity of 50 dogs and 40 cats (they have separate workers for the cattery).

 

We had a Love & Respect marriage conference (which happens to be a book we read last year in our LIFE Group) at church last weekend which Jathan and I did a lot of work for (I did the centerpieces, which were our leftover wedding decorations), bought stuff for and put together giftbags for each couple, etc., etc.  It was an exhausting weekend!

 

Jathan and I went exploring the area last week on his day off.  We drove to the Foresthill Bridge, which is about 20 minutes from our house.  We walked all the way across and back--it’s huge!  Then we drove around near there.  There is a tiny town near here called "Cool"--weird, huh?  We had lunch at a deli there.  We also found a little lake with a dam and boat launch area.  There are tons of biking and hiking trails and stuff around here.  Someday we’ll get around to some of those...

 

A silly, but kind of sad, little thing happened with Chloe on Monday.  At around 6:00 p.m., our next door neighbor (a nice older lady whom we’d never actually met) came to the door and said our dog was barking at her front door.  I had to go get her.  Chloe got mixed up which house was hers!!  :(  Poor little monkey.  I hope there’s not such a thing as doggie Alzheimer’s Disease.  I think she also may be losing her sight--if she’s away from me for a little while, she sometimes seems not to recognize me unless I come kind of close.  But she doesn’t seem to mind my new job too much....I change clothes and wash off before I pet her when I get home from work (one situation in which her deafness helps--she doesn’t hear me come in, so I can sneak around until I’m ready).

 

Anybody else been watching "Lost"?  Pretty interesting with all the time travel stuff...

 

The book I’m currently reading for book club (below) is pretty funny.  It’s about the author’s childhood in a small town.  Here’s a sample hilarious (to me anyway) passage:

That last part cracks me up every time I read it!!  She’s so indignant.  Am I sick or what? 

 

Well, that’s enough for now...if you live in L.A., hope to see you sometime between March 25-30!

And new episodes of "The Office" will start on April 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thank you, God! 

If you happen to read this on Super Bowl Sunday and have Animal Planet, turn to that channel right now and watch the RIDICULOUS Puppy Bowl that they are airing.  It is beyond cute!  The half-time show was kittens!  Who will the winner be?  All I know is it will be too cute to call!  :)  Click here to see more about Puppy Bowl IV.  (P.S.  That Pedigree commercial with the dog in the kennel wanting to be adopted and David Duchovny's voiceover?  They play it every commercial break.  I can't even watch it or I'll start crying.)

 

So why the title of this blog?  It's because I volunteered (well, I'll get paid $60) to work at a polling place for this Tuesday's primary election.  I went to training last Tuesday.  I'd say over 90% of the workers are over age 60 (not a surprise).  There are a LOT of rules and procedures to know, and I got a thick binder to read up on them all, but there is someone in charge that can help (whew!).   One thing I do not understand is why they don't check voters' ID's in California.  Like that would infringe on someone's privacy?  We know their name and address anyway.  With all the security measures they take, this one would seem fairly reasonble.  Anyway....get out there and VOTE!

 

I read on my hometown paper's website yesterday that Al Franken was in my hometown on Friday to meet voters.  My mom and her husband went to hear him, and she said he seemed smart (which was already my thought) but they didn't talk to him.  It would have been cool to meet him, being an old-school SNL fan.  Forget the political stuff.

 

We're going over to our pastor's house to watch the Super Bowl and then have our usual Sunday night small group leaders' meeting.  So I now have bible study-type things on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  So I'm keeping plenty busy with that, along with everything else.

 

I'm still feeling sick and have had a wicked sore throat the last few days.  I thought I would lose my voice but it didn't get that bad.  Close though.  I slept a lot this past week.  I am NOT happy that I have to be at the polling place at 6:00 A.M. on Tuesday.  I don't even remember the last time I was up that early. 

 

Oh, who else is happy that "Lost" is back??  Something new to watch during the WGA strike.  They'd better not keep airing it on Thursday nights though, or I will be very upset that my two current faves are on at the same time!  [Minor spoiler alert:]  I was hoping Charlie wouldn't really have died.  He was our favorite castaway.  I was happy when I saw his name in the opening credits (same anytime Ian Somerhalder's name shows up).  Maybe he'll come back often to "visit" his mates.  I saw an interview with Harold Perrineau the other day, and he said Michael and Walt are both coming back--yea!!  Ah, the simple joy I get from watching a TV show.  Jathan and I had been watching the Season 1-3 DVD's to refresh ourselves on the story.  We didn't get quite through all of S3.  There are TONS of Easter Eggs on those DVD's though.  I love that stuff.

 

Well, I think I'll go continue organizing my digital photos (one of the many projects I was looking forward to doing while I'm not working).

 

Remember to check out the Puppy Bowl.  It is AMAZINGLY cute!

 

p.s.  I HATE those stupid recorded phone solicitations wanting you to vote for whatever.  Just got one from Mitt Romney.  That's a minus for you, Mitt!

"Life is not whatnot."

 

That's a quote from one of my favorite movies of all time, "Sixteen Candles."  Ah, the good old '80's. 

 

Anyway....

 

Chloe is so cute right now!  (When isn't she?)

 

 

I don't know why she lays on just the floor...maybe the carpet's softer to her with her fur to cushion it than for us.  I got her a new bed, which she seems to like, but it is a little small.

 

The one thing "good" about her losing her hearing is that I can "sneak up" on her better to take pictures like this.  :)

 

I started getting a sore throat yesterday, so now I think I'm officially sick.  :(  I thought maybe I was going to avoid catching it from Jathan, but I guess it was just delayed a couple weeks.

 

It is SO stormy up here!  The wind and rain is CRAZY bad!  On the news they said it was like 40 mph; they closed part of I-5.  I woke up this morning to find that part of the fence in our backyard had fallen down, other parts fell later, and most of the rest is leaning over.  Same for the surrounding neighbors who all have the same type of fence.  I e-mailed pictures to our landlord. 

 

Although it sucks, at least we are only renting and don't have to deal with fixing it!  I met 2 sets of neighbors this morning under the gruesome circumstances (they're all nice though).  I have had to change clothes twice already today because I get so wet going outside.   Poor Chloe doesn't want to go out to go potty!

 

Jathan has been sick for a few days, so he stayed home from work.  We're in the middle of watching "Entourage" on DVD.  Just finished the first half of Season 3.  This show is so great.  It makes me homesick for L.A. though.  They have a lot of scenes in Beverly Hills, near my old office.  And they used the Museum of Television & Radio as an agency office.  But I saw right through their little charade.    Kevin Dillon's character is my favorite, but Jeremy Piven is brilliant of course, as he is in everything he does.  There is a LOT of swearing, some weed smoking, and occasional flesh-baring, but not as much as I thought there might be given the subject of the show.  Viewer discretion advised.

 

There was one episode where the guys made a big deal about having to drive to the Valley during a heat wave.  Why does everyone over the hill hate the 818?  It's not so bad!  A lot of cool people live there.  But I was not opposed to secession when it was being considered. 

 

That's it for now....I'm posting more stuff for sale on half.com, one of many projects that had been piling up pre-move.  I love getting things like that done!

 

Bye.

 

 

Well, if you've been trying to read my blog but getting nothing but wingdings, hopefully I have discovered the problem and will be able to share my super exciting life with all the world! 

 

Happy 2008, and stay tuned for more...maybe.  I have NOT made a resolution to keep up with it, as I will likely fail.  But hope springs eternal.  :)