Idnit?

During our annual New Year's Eve celebration, a conscientious friend pointed out the fact that, sometimes, I ain't talk so good. Valid point, illustrated by my use of the garbled response, "Idnit?" (see: "Isn't it?") I guess that kind of vocabulary just comes with the Midwest territory.

Even if I ain't talk so good, I can at least try to write properly from time to time. I'm not a particularly mentally sharp person, but I would like to participate in more activities that dust the cobwebs off my frontal cortex. For my birthday I received a gift card to the mecca of readerly capitalism, Barnes & Noble. Husband spotted a word game he'd heard a co-worker speak of, called "Bananagrams." Scrabble-like letters come encased in a pouch shaped like, you guessed it, a banana. The players work independently to make their own personal crossword puzzle, rearranging the letters until all are used, the first person to finish being the winner. It has simple rules and is surprisingly fun! I would recommend the game to anyone! (Can I sound any more like a commercial?) Buy it today!

Look it up

I just thought you all should know that I think this blog is really working for its intended purpose: helping me to stretch my vocabulary and compositional muscles. I feel my creative-writing prowess returning slowly (if there ever was any prowess to begin with...). Yesterday, I used both the words "effusion" and "proclivities" in casual correspondence. Granted, I spelled "proclivities" wrong, and I'm not convinced I used the words correctly, but, hey, give me a break, I'm trying, okay?

If I accomplish nothing else with this blog, I hope I use at least one word that is archaic or complicated enough to make you look it up. Whenever I asked my mother a question, she never failed to bust out the "look it up" phrase while pointing to our trusty World Book Encyclopedia. I unleash upon you my years of pent-up frustration of "Don't make it complicated; I don't want to look it up; just tell me already!"