Why You Say It - book review

 

Why You Say It - The Fascinating Stories Behind over 600 Everyday Words and Phrases

Webb Garrison

(provided by Thomas Nelson Publishers as a part of BookSneeze)

I'm always interested in word and phrase origins - kinda reminds me of the old Paul Harvey radio bit "The Rest of the Story." This book lives up to its title by giving background information on many common words and phrases. Knowing the back story makes it more fun to pull out unusual words and phrases - and helps in completing cross-word puzzles! Anyone who is a trivia buff, enjoys the ability to make off-beat, inane or obscure references would love this book. Organized in groups like "Names and Games," "Why Don't Folk Say Precisely What They Mean" and "Action is the Name of the Game" there are definitely a wide range of definitions. 

Like any other encyclopedic book, the reader can't necessarily validate the information, but what is presented is at least interesting and somewhat plausible. Unless you are trying to get to sleep, it is probably not something that you will sit down and read cover-to-cover. But definitely a fun book to keep on the bookshelf and be able to pull out from time to time.
 

Vacation

The last week of July, the whole family loaded up and left the unrelenting heat of Texas for the cool of the New Mexico mountains.  We went to Ruidoso this year - an easy one-day drive from Abilene. 

Our first day was Sunday.  We enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast at Cornerstone Bakery before heading to church. Definitely would recommend anyone visiting the Ruidoso area to stop off here for breakfast. Huge, yummy cinnamon rolls, unique french toast, large portions.  Since we had a big breakfast a bit later than usual, we weren't quite hungry yet after church. So, we shopped!  There were several large antique stores all together and we explored for a bit and found a few treasures to adorn the walls of Bogie's.  Then it was time to find lunch.....

......Disco Taco is one of those places that you might be a bit hesitant to try from the outside. But Phillip is pretty fearless and helps the rest of us along. So, we dove off the cliff.....caught the breeze and flew! It was a very tasty lunch - tortas, chicken burrito, and Disco Taco plate were all very very yummy.

Monday we decided to shop along the "drag."  Lots of fun stores, more treasures for the walls of Bogie's, stops to pose on a carousel horse and look at the water in a fountain.

Tuesday, we drove up to Inn of the Mountain Gods.  Phillip and I both played a little blackjack - and both of us walked out with less money than we walked in.  But it was fun - and my first time to gamble in a casino!  Of course, Emily wasn't allowed in the casino, so she and Grandpa/Pearlie wandered around the hotel while we were playing. 

Another fun fountain, but Emily was not interested in posing for a picture.  We drove over to Cloudcroft, found a park to eat lunch and play for a bit. 

after our fun at the park, we shopped in town before driving back to the cabin.  Tuesday night we headed out of town to the Flying J Ranch for a chuckwagon supper and show. It was fun - Emily was a little punch drunk because it was past her bedtime, so it was really fun to watch her enjoy the music and dance/head-bang!


Wednesday we went to Seeping Springs trout farm - the easy way to fish! Daddy and Phillip caught 5 fish (one had to go back in) and we enjoyed rainbow trout for lunch!

Wednesday evening we got a treat .... a huge group of deer wandered and lingered right around our cabin grazing along.

Thursday we drove up to Monjeau Lookout. Unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy, so we didn't spend as much time as we might have otherwise.  Still a phenomenal view - even on a cloudy day.

Thursday night we had another treat of watching deer feed around our cabin.  We took lots of pictures -- but it is really more of the same, so I won't bore you with them.

Friday we went to the horse track....but we were too early for any races, so we just moved on.  Spent some time at another playground (some of these pics are actually from earlier in the week, but they are good) and then it was time to start packing up to come home.

On Saturday we loaded up and headed back to Texas. 53 degrees when we left. 100 degrees when we got back to my parent's house.  Ugh.

Is it time for vacation again, yet?

Friendship

The past two weeks, I've been blessed to be able to spend time with a few of my sweet friends. As Sarah left today, she left a card for me that really expresses why the quality of these friendships are so special to me.  Thankfully, I'm very blessed to have also several more friends than just those pictured above to whom the following applies.

the ebb and flow of friendship

there are times
in our lives
when we are so busy
we don't have a chance
to connect,
but there's a rhythm
to our friendship
that's as deep
and as sure
as the sea.


A rhythm
of listening
and sharing,
of knowing
and belonging,
of reaching out,
and reconnecting.


I love being able to pick up
right where we left off.
I love the natural rhythm
of our friendship.

Such sweet friends. So nice to just be able to pick up where we left off - no matter the length of time.  Love you girls....you all know who you are.

Thrift store find

On my way back to work today from an appointment, I detoured for a moment into the Central Dallas Ministries Thrift Store. I've seen it several times on my way to and from donating blood, but it was never at a time that they were open or I had time to stop. I wasn't really looking for anything or expecting to find anything, but it never hurts to look.

Well, of course, I did find a treasure. Look at this fun cabinet!! It was a steal and is nice solid wood. It does need a little cleaning up - and will probably get a coat of paint at some point. At the moment it is living in my kitchen and will provide overflow storage for large canisters, pitchers, etc......we'll see if it stays there.

Spring Reading Thing 2010 Wrapup

Being the first day of summer, it is time now for the Spring Reading Thing wrap-up. My original post (here) outlines the few books I had on my list.

I made it through most all my books and then a few more. I'm still working on Why You Say It by Webb Garrison (one of my Book Sneeze reviews). I am still a big fan of Sandra Brown - good thing she is a prolific writer!

The most meaningful book I read this season was the Five Love Languages for Singles by Gary Chapman. I had heard of the original Five Love Languages book, but hadn't ever read it. This had the same determination quiz, but the stories and recommendations were geared towards singles. Taking the quiz reiterated what I've known for a while about what my love languages are and my parents both took the quiz while I had the book at my house. That enabled us to have a good conversation about how our family operates. More communication is always a good thing!

Catching up

So, last weekend I was home for Emily's birthday party. Heather did a great wrap-up post with lots of fun pictures. Rather than duplicate her post, I'll just send you over there.

Heather, Phillip & Emily are moving to Abilene this week. So, after the fun birthday weekend, I headed back to their house to help pack. What I actually did was play with and distract Emily while Heather packed in the mornings and then we packed together while Emily napped in the afternoons. It was fairly exhausting, but I'm so glad that I was able to take the time and do it. I know Heather is feeling much calmer about these last couple of days because she isn't frantically trying to get it all thrown in boxes! Their stuff will be in storage for most of the summer while they stay with my parents before their house is available, so I also brought some stuff back to store temporarily at my house.

Nothing else too exciting going on here.....it's a busy work week coming up.

Memorial Day

I enjoyed a full house over Memorial Day weekend.....we shopped and played all weekend long. Here are some snaps:


E's birthday is coming up this week, so when we went to Toys R Us for some present shopping, she got her crown and "buhv" (balloon).

























Lots of throwing balls and climbing up and down the deck in the back yard. She had so much fun!!























































Grandpa and Emily share a floor picnic snack!

Saturday project

Built a cedar planter today. Still need to get dirt and flowers.

Sunday project #2

Yummmmmy ice cream!

Sunday project #1

Part two.....

Sunday project #1

Part one...

Emily's news

Which means I'm gonna be an aunt again!!! So excited....

Spring Saturday

For the past few weeks, I'd hear about something, mark it in my mental list of things to do and then move on. When I finally started writing all those "somethings" down, they were all happening today! So, I made a list and headed out (after sleeping in, of course!)

1. First on the agenda - early voting at the Civic Center. I'm going to be with my family next weekend and wanted to make sure my vote would make it in.
2. Heights Recreation Center to pick up my 2 free rolls of blue recycling bags from the city (anyone need some? I still had 3 or 4 unopened bags from before!) and buy a box of trash bags.
3. bank
4. local high school band fundraiser garage sale - saw a cute snowman salt/pepper set with a spoon rest. alas, they wanted more for it than I wanted to spend.
5. church youth fundraiser garage sale - score! new end table for $10 (Ethan Allen in great condition!)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. A few Saturdays ago, I scored a Scrabble game (it's our family's newest obsession) at a garage sale for 50 cents. Amazingly, it was only missing 2 letters!! One of my favorite stores, Junkadoodle, usually has a bowl full of Scrabble tiles and tile racks. I went last Sunday and they were completely out of letters! Ugh - apparently someone else came in and literally cleaned them out. The guy told me that Betty Ann was out that weekend stocking up on new stuff and would probably come home with a new stash. So, I called last night to make sure that she had success. A quick trip and 45 cents later (for two letters and one tile rack), my Scrabble game is complete!
7. Leisurely driving through neighborhoods on the hunt for more garage sales. Found a few, but nothing interesting worth bringing home.
8. A stop at Lowe's to try and think about finding some flowers to plant in my front flowerbeds left me completely overwhelmed! So, no plants today. I've sent off a note asking for help from my high school huddle leaders who own a landscaping company in Abilene.
   
9. Last stop was the Cottonwood Art Festival. I have discovered that I really love buying interesting and unique things when I can get them direct from the artisan. Last year I got a funky handblown glass bowl. This year, a fun metal flower sculpture!
   
   
   
   
   

Whew.....and then of course, there are the typical weekend chores....laundry, dishes, etc. I'll sit down to read or watch a movie here in a little bit.....maybe!

Egg basket

Photo of my egg basket find from the weekend.

Aldi

So, I had my first shopping experience at Aldi today. I didn't really know what to expect, but had seen commericials about new stores opening up in North Texas and heard about their great deals. I went in with a decent list - everything needed to make my Aunt Neva's chicken pot pie, plus a few other items.

I've started doing some price comparisons (something my mom and sister have been doing for years) and had comps for Wal-Mart for at least some staple items. Aldi does beat the Wal-Mart price on most everything. The hard part is it is a small store and the selection very limited. Plus it is almost exclusively off-brand. Nothing wrong with that. Just different from the big grocery stores. And they only take cash or debit (non Visa/MC debit). Which since I don't use much cash, would make it necessary to plan ahead.

I found out the cash only thing as I was walking in the store. Good thing my mom taught me how to keep a running tab as I'm shopping to make sure I know what the finally tally will be. Not that I normally do that, but I can. So, I evaluated the amount of cash in my wallet and set out to see how much of my list I could get checked off.

Here was the damage:

1 lb fresh strawberries = 0.99
1 lb bag frozen peas = 0.95
1 lb bag frozen corn = 0.95
quart chicken stock = 1.29
gallon skim milk = 1.79
quart half & half = 1.99
green bell peppers (3) = 1.79
bag yellow onions = 2.69
garlic cloves (3) = 0.89
3 lb frozen boneless chicken breast = 5.49
2 lb carrots = 0.99
4 lb sugar = 1.79
5 lb flour = 1.19
5 lb potatoes = 1.49

Grand total = $24.28

Every.single.thing on my list. Plus, paying with cash made me stick to my list. I *KNOW* I would have spent more at Kroger, because I would have just tossed anything that looked good into my basket.

A couple of other interesting notes....you have to pay a deposit of a quarter to use a basket (they are locked together and you get the quarter back out when you return the basket and lock it back in) and you have to bag your own groceries. You have to bring your own bags or they do have reusable bags for sale or you can pay 0.10 cents each for plastic bags.

Don't know for sure how often I will do my grocery shopping at Aldi. It is on my way home from work, so I might just use it for the quick little runs, but I'm also giving up on the perks of my credit card by paying with cash up front at the store, rather than just paying off the credit card bill in full.

Oh, and before I made it to Aldi this morning? Found a vintage egg basket at an estate sale for $1.50 that I plan to use for those onions in my pantry (been looking for one for a while). Also picked up a Scrabble game for my house (50 cents) and Scrabble Junior for Emily ($1.00) at garage sale. Now each household in my family has a Scrabble game we can whip out anytime!

Bon Jovi

Sunday night I had the privilege to use a couple of my company's tickets to go see Bon Jovi in concert. A co-worker seated next to me brought her big camera and took the following photos. Greatness!!

It was a very fun evening with my friend Beth helping her to celebrate finishing her PhD.