Thursday, May 27, 2021

A WORD ABOUT WORDS

 

I love words!  I fell in love with them from the moment I learned to read, “Run, Dick, run!  Run, Jane, run.”  Oh, how I loved DICK AND JANE and my first grade teacher who taught me to read...Miss Roberta Champion.


I love to read words...I love to write words...I love to learn new and interesting words.  And one of my favorite parts of learning Language Arts in school was FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.  Remember:  hyperbole, similes, metaphor, and (the really weird one) onomatopoeia....and yes, I had to look up how to spell that one!!! 

 


Today, however, I learned a new one...I had never heard this word before...


PARAPROSDOKIAN

 

In case it’s new for you too, here is the definition:

 

figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected. 

 

They are often humorous and so are popular among comedians.  From what I’ve read, Winston Churchill was a huge fan and often came up with some of his own.

MAXINE is a great example...who doesn't love Maxine???




 

For your entertainment, I present just a few more...

 

*Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.

*I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.

*Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.       (so true!!)


*Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wisdom is not using one in a fruit salad. 

*I’m supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one.     (I’m beginning to understand this!!!) 

*If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.

 

 

Another figure of speech I have always liked are...

 

OXYMORONS

 

An oxymoron is a figure of speech which contains words that seem contradictory to one another. This incongruity can be accidental or deliberate, as in cases of humor.

 

* Of course I can keep secrets. It’s the people I tell them to that can’t keep them. - Anthony Haden-Guest

* You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap. - Dolly Parton

 


* I distinctly remember forgetting that. - Clara Barton   (I can definitely identify with this one!)

* I can resist everything but temptation. - Oscar Wilde

 

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS...oh how I love words.

In a TED presentation titled THE GIFT OF WORDS, Javed Akhtar talked about “words as magical tools that carry meaning.”  He also talked about how we seem to be losing our power to use words....often using “emojis” or abbreviations for words...

         IDK – I don’t know

         TYVM – Thank you very much

         OMG – Oh my goodness

Akhtar even suggested that we may lose some of our vocabulary altogether.

         (Words) reflect your culture, your traditions, your inheritance, your cultural wealth accumulated over generations, all of that is carried forward with words. If you cut a man off from some words, you cut him off from a culture, a history. This is exactly what is happening with us today“.

 


I love to see words, I love to hear words, I love to write words...but sadly we are losing at least to some degree our ability to communicate.  How often have you been to a restaurant recently and watched as couples sat texting on their phones rather than talking with their spouse or date or whomever they were with?  Just so sad.


I pray I never lose my love of words and that all of us never forget the power of both the spoken and written word.


WORDS HAVE POWER.

THE RIGHT WORDS CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, May 10, 2021

I'M OBSESSED!!!!

 



with PINTEREST (also chocolate, shoes, etc., etc.).  At the moment I have 194 boards with 23,087 pins.  I know...ridiculous!!!!  If you don’t know about PINTEREST (you really should), here is a link to my boards:  CHERI'S PINTEREST

Before I learned about PINTEREST, I would scour magazines for inspirational pictures and articles or I’d print out ideas I found on the internet.  Although I “sort of” miss cutting & pasting (which brought back memories of my days in primary school), I found that PINTEREST is soooo much easier and quicker.

 


I “pin” everything from recipes to scripture art to crafts to makeup tips to....well, you get the picture!   PINTEREST definitely gives my “organizational skills” a warm & fuzzy feeling:)  I know I will never use all 23,087 ideas that I’ve saved...not unless I get really busy and live to be as old as Methuselah, but you never know when I might need one of those “pins”!!! 

 


I thought for this post I would share some of the things I’ve found as I surf through the internet (another thing I’m “almost” obsessed with). 

From my BAKING & FROSTING TIPS Board:

 


A Handy Chart

A Great Tip

 

From my BODACIOUS BEVERAGES Board:

25 Best Milkshakes in the World (who wouldn’t love this?)

Yummy Yummy I've Got Love in My Tummy

 

From my CLEANING TIPS Board:



Anything to Make Cleaning Easier!

From my GARDENING WITH CONTAINERS Board:



I Love Coleus

 

From my GIFTS GALORE Board:



From my HEALTH, WELLNESS, & WEIGHT LOSS Board:


From my HOME DECORATING DELIGHTS Board:


I Want a Coffee Bar

 

From my HOME DECORATING DIYS Board:

 


From my ORGANIZING MY STUFF Board:


I Loooovvvveee Organizing

 

I also have LOTS of HOLIDAY ideas and TONS of RECIPES.  So check them out.


And if you have never used PINTEREST, be forewarned...it can be FUN and ADDICTIVE:) 


PS:  Can anyone tell me why all of a sudden I am getting lots of SPAM comments????  It has never been a problem for me before.  VERY aggravating!!!