My All-Time Favorite

I don't want you guys to think I'm the loquacious one, so I'm going to make a decided effort to avoid expatiating this entry. However, today we are looking at my all-time favorite word, so I can't help but be a little excited about it.

Today's word:
asinine: (adjective) ridiculously stupid [ass-uh-nine]. *Sorry, it's the only way I could get the correct pronunciation across.*

Examples: It is frustrating when I'm leading a deep class discussion, and a student suddenly raises her hand to ask an asinine question like "Can I get a drink?" I mean, seriously.... You can see we're in the middle of something here! Then there are those times when I'm trying to impart some very crucial information to my husband (I'm sure no one but me has experienced this), and he chooses that exact moment to make a completely asinine comment. So I say, "I'd appreciate it if you would keep your asinine outbursts to yourself."

We aren't allowed to use the word "stupid" at our house, but there is no rule against "asinine." I may change my mind when I actually hear it come out of one of my children's mouths, but until then I shall scream it from the mountaintops! It's just the BEST WORD EVER!

You Make a Difference to Me

Once you get out of school, it becomes more of a complex issue to make new friends. Actually, moving to a new town can be one of the loneliest prospects as an adult. When you're still in school, it's not as difficult. There are built-in opportunities to meet people, which makes it much easier. I am certain that the degree of difficulty and loneliness is compounded even further when you are a stay-at-home mom moving into a new town. I haven't experienced that, but my job involves working exclusively with teenagers, so I have experienced a lack of opportunity to meet other adults in a new place to some degree.

When I first graduated from college and moved to my husband's home town, I was lonely. He had all his childhood friends around. I had no one. The ladies in the church were not willing to put forth any effort for me -- they already had their circles of friends. I'm on the shy-er side, so I'm not the easiest person to get to know. I like to think I'm worth the effort though. :)

When we moved to our city of current residence, the only thing that changed was my husband wasn't on his old stomping grounds anymore either. We attended a church for about three years, and didn't really connect with anyone there. Then we went through a family crisis, and I realized no one at that church cared about me or my family (kind of a bad feeling). I started to try out other churches, hoping for a good fit. It took a couple of different places, but it was worth it.

It has been exactly six years. I feel connected to a group of people; I feel like I am liked (at least a little); and I feel like someone thought I was important enough to make an effort for. I just want to tell you -- my friends -- You have made a difference for me. I was a stranger, and you invited me in. My family was in crisis, and you accepted us anyway. Thank you.

I posted a youtube video bar in the margin I think is well worth your time. It's the top thumbnail. You never know what people are going through when you encounter them. Let them know they are worth the effort.

Guess Who I'm Thinking Of

Today's word:

loquacious: (adjective) excessively talkative [low-kway-shus]

Personally, I like the definition "having diarrhea of the mouth", but you can take your pick. Someone at my house can easily be described as loquacious... a little hint: it's not me; although, I do suffer from it chronically, if you know what I mean. ;) No, seriously.

Anyway, on to the examples: My children inherited their loquacious genes from their father. My students often get extra work, because they are so loquacious.

Parts of speech people, please note that a lot of adjectives can be made into adverbs simply by adding 'ly'. Kind of like what I just did to the word simple. Nouns can be made by adding the appropriate noun ending (i.e. tion, sion, ity, and ness). In this case (and I have no idea what the rule is on how it's decided), you add 'ness'. :)

Happy assimilating!

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.