Sooo Very Tired...

Today's word:

somnolent: (adjective) over-tired; desperately needing sleep [som-nuh-lint]

Don't forget to incorporate the new word into your working vocabulary. Write it in your journal. Slip it into your blog. Use it on your spouse for a really good reason to sleep in tomorrow. "Oh, Honey, the doctor says I suffer from excessive somnolence and need complete bed rest until noon!" I guarantee the more you process it, the more you'll remember it. This is one of my favorite words because it describes me most of the time. Personally, I like to use it in sentences such as, "I feel somnolent after a long day at work." Or, "I might get up and fix dinner, if I weren't so darn somnolent right now."

(Now we shall see my husband's ADD rubbing off on me) Somnolent reminds me of a definition poem I wrote as a junior in high school. I was up doing homework pretty late, and one of the assignments was a four-lined rhymed poem which had to define something... it was 1:30 in the morning, so I wrote mine "On Being Tired":

There's a dullness in the way I move.
My adrenaline ceases to flow.
Into bed I would have dove,
If I didn't move so slow.

Anyway, the root som is the same one you find in insomnia, Unisom, etc. You can change the word to a noun or an adverb by adding the appropriate endings (somnolence, somnolently) -- for those who like the whole "part of speech" thing.

Sorry for the long-windedness. At my house, writing is the most talking I can get in edgewise all day. :)

Warding off Alzheimer's

I heard somewhere that learning new words on a regular basis is good exercise for your brain. Good enough to help in fighting off Alzheimer's and other mind issues. Learning new vocabulary -- including new languages -- is a good way to make your mind stronger and more resilient. Another nice addition to that, I have found, is people tend to think you're more intelligent when you use big words (even when you're not). :) That probably makes some of you question whether I really am as intelligent as you originally thought, or if it is just my vocabulary talking, doesn't it? You may never know!

When I was a senior in high school, we had to write our senior wills. I thought it would be funny to put really big words in it, so I looked up a few. My first line read something like this: "I, Laura S -----, being of somnolent body, exiguous mind and incredibly expatiated vocabulary, do hereby bequeath the following to the following ...."

Yes, I would have thought I was a nerd too, if I hadn't fit in so well with the athletic crowd. According to Dave Ramsey's classifications, I would be a free spirit instead of a nerd. You are welcome to draw your own conclusions. ;)

Anyway, in an effort to help you exercise your own mind, I'm going to teach you some new words (I promise they'll be appropriate for class). This is an idea I got from a couple of my friends... Sense & Sensibility and The Potter and the Clay, so you can blame them.

We'll start with:

expatiate: (verb) to expand or enlarge

In order for you to really learn this word, it is critical you put it into your working vocabulary by USING it regularly... in your speech, in your writing, in your thoughts, etc. Things like, "It looks like we are going to need a few more things from the store. I had better expatiate my shopping list." Or "In order to fit everyone at the table for Thanksgiving dinner, I'll have to expatiate the table with the extra leaf." Even better -- "After Thanksgiving dinner, I had to expatiate the waist line of my pants, so I could breathe more easily."

Let your kids hear you use the new word enough they assimilate it into their own working vocabularies or at least know what you mean when you say it. There won't be a test at the end, but it'll be interesting to see how many people start picking up these words.

The Lighter Side

I get the sense my academic posts are too heavy for this blog, so I thought you might enjoy a few of the snapshots from QB's family birthday celebration this past weekend (especially some of those featuring her father). :)

Alphabet Challenge

This is a cool assignment I do with my freshmen every year (this year the 7th graders are doing it). I've done it as well, and I enjoy going back through and reading it every once in awhile.

Here are the directions:

1. You make a list of all the letters of the alphabet on a piece of paper.

2. For each letter of the alphabet, you brainstorm three or more words which can be proven autobiographical (i.e. names of places you've lived, visited, or want to go; names of people with whom you associate/to whom you are related; words which describe you or your life in some way; memories you have of events, people, places, things; etc.). The rule is anything you write about has to be autobiographical.

3. About once a week or so, write a one-page memoir about one of your words. Choose only one word from each letter list (the one you can write best about). Begin each by saying something along the lines of "A is for Alaska," or "S is for sisters". I had my students do a drop cap with the letter on their final drafts. It looks really cool all typed up!

4. Write one memoir for each letter of the alphabet.

When it is complete, you'll have a 26 page autobiography. If you're a scrapbooker, you can find photos to go with each memoir and create a beautiful portfolio. If you'd like to see mine, just ask! :)

One idea I've had is to adjust it for my own children. Have them either write or dictate a short paragraph or a couple of sentences about each letter, then draw or find pictures they can use to illustrate their autobiographies. It'd be interesting to see what they remember and think about their lives so far.

Memory Lane

I got this from Shawna. Looks like fun... just be nice to me. ;)

Here are the directions:

1. You comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, you re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I will assume you are playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

A Piece of Quiet

It was a Saturday evening. I had done the dumbest thing I have ever done in my teaching career and was paying the price for it. So I sat at my kitchen table, trying desperately to score a stack of about 150 position papers (almost all of which were plagiarized from the same three sources, I might add). I say "trying desperately" because I had NO desire whatsoever to be doing what I was doing.

I had been forced by the powers that be to inflict torture on myself via the aforementioned essay assignment. Foolishly, however, I made it into the semester final exam. Grades were due in just three days, and I had to grade them quickly.

First of all, grading essays is no picnic, regardless of the writing ability. But when you have to read essentially the same three essays 150 times -- and they weren't even that well written to begin with -- you get the strange, yet overwhelming desire to jab your red ink pen into your eye.

So there I sat at the kitchen table trying desperately to grade papers and to avoid my periodic involuntary attempts to put out my own eye. My two energetic and very boisterous children began to "play" in the living room about ten feet away from the table. This was more than I could handle. I stood up suddenly, slammed my hands down on the table and announced (or rather, bellowed), "I WANT PEACE - AND QUIET!!!"

My children were slightly taken aback at this outburst, but not really enough to move their game elsewhere. Instead, my son -- bless his heart -- sidled up to me slowly with his hand in his pocket. He pulled his hand out of his pocket wryly and handed me his fist. He said, "Mom, here is a piece of quiet. You can eat it... then, you can IGNORE us."

Laughing With Lou

Tonight my son and I had a "just me and him" night. Sis was at Grandma's, Baby was in bed, Dad was downstairs watching some kind of game; so me and Lou (a.k.a. LX) decided to watch "Robots" together. We popped some popcorn, grabbed some lemonade and headed upstairs to watch.

I don't know exactly why this happens, but every once in a great while I just need to laugh until I cry and can't breathe. The last time I did this was over a year ago -- August 22, 2007. I was pregnant, and it put me into labor (Hooray for a good laugh!). Usually these episodes come when I am home with my sisters and mother. I think it's stress reliever that can only happen when you're totally comfortable with whom you're with. Last time I was with my sister. This time I was with Lou.

I don't think Lou has ever seen me laugh so hard. We got to a certain part of the movie, and it just struck me so funny I started laughing. I laughed and laughed and laughed. My lungs hurt. I had tears streaming so furiously, they had made it all the way down my neck. I couldn't help myself... even after I didn't think it was funny anymore. I just kept laughing. I had to force myself to take deep breaths. It felt good.

My son loved it. He loves to make me laugh, and he had never experienced this joy to the extent he witnessed tonight. In fact, he thought it was so great, he kept wanting to go back to the part I thought was so funny. I actually had to threaten to leave the room to keep him from playing it over and over.

I love to laugh like that. Sometimes though (and I don't know if anyone else has experienced this), I end up crying. Not sure why, but after all that laughing, a sadness just sweeps over me, and I need to cry it out. Maybe it's because I spend a lot of time burying my disappointments and other stuff. Enough to make me think sometimes that I don't really emote anymore. I guess somehow my subconscious just knows when enough is enough, and it has to all come out at once. It starts with a good belly laugh that lasts and lasts until a person can hardly breathe... then the floodgates open, and ya just gotta cry. That's something I haven't done in a long time either. It'd feel good right about now.