Today I want to talk about the use of an apostrophe. Apostrophes are tricky little suckers; sometimes they indicate that a word is possesive (i.e., Larry's truck), and sometimes they indicate that the word is a contraction (i.e., "don't" for "do not.")
However, an apostrophe never (never, never, never!) indicates that a word is plural. For example, if you sign your Christmas cards, "Love, the Smith's," you have written an incomplete sentence, because that one little apostrophe is saying that the Smiths are possessive of something and you have not specified what that something is (Love, the Smith's cat? Love, the Smith's chimney sweep?)
To make "Smith" plural (as in, more than one Smith) you would just add an 'S': Love, the Smiths.
The misuse of apostrophes in advertisements and billboards tend to drive grammarians insane: Lots of Movie's to Choose From! All You Can Eat Rib's! I would love to go around to all of the grammatically incorrect signs of the world and correct them, but alas, I would probably be arrested...and thrown into an insane asylum.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Going Pantry Divin': The Quest to Conquer Our Restaurant Addiction
This week, I have been trying to conduct an experiment: eat only the food we have in the house. This includes no going out to eat, and no running to the grocery store to pick up items for dinner. I have to admit that this has been an unusually difficult task. First of all, I LOVE GOING OUT TO EAT. I just do. I don't know what it is about dining out; the atmosphere, being able to choose from lots of different options, being waiting on; all of these things contribute to my love of restaurants. Besides, when I don't have to cook, the food somehow just tastes so much better :)
Aaron loves dining out, as well, and he loves food just as much as I do (if not more!). So, one of us has to be strong at all times to be able to conquer our restaurant addiction. However, in the past, we have both given in to temptation and ended the night with Chicken Express, Chick-fil-a, Sonic, a Chinese buffet, or (if we were feeling a little crazy) even splurging on Cheddars or Chili's.
I also just love to go grocery shopping. Well, I love shopping in general, but I feel that grocery shopping in particular is a necessity, so I generally don't feel bad about doing it. But too many trips during the week leads to major money spending, so I've tried to make do with what we have in the pantry and freezer already.
Breakfast and lunch have been easy enough; I always have either cereal or oatmeal, anyway, for breakfast and don't tend to deviate from those two options. And, instead of running to Subway or Blue Baker for lunch, I just made sammies for Aaron and I at home. Dinner has been a different story.
Sometimes I like cooking; sometimes I just plain don't feel like it. All of the leftover food from camping at the Frio this last weekend made it easy to survive off of hot dogs and hamburgers all weekend and leading into Monday. However, as the camp-food supplies dwindled, I tried to make myself cook several things to last through the week. I made a batch of whole-wheat pumpkin muffins for snacks Monday night and made turkey meatloaf Tuesday night, which made for pretty good meatloaf sandwiches for dinner last night.
I did splurge on Starbucks last night after Aaron and I both had pretty long, tough days. But I feel that if we cut out ALL indulgences, then life would become pretty ho-hum. (Yup, I just said ho-hum.) Am I just trying to find an excuse? Possibly. But, seriously, we've done pretty good so far, so I don't feel too bad about a Starbucks run.
In the past, I've tried this, and even though the experiment usually always ended in failure, I have become better at improvising in the kitchen. I've made my own spaghetti sauce, made a sort of chicken-tomato-pasta dish that came out pretty damn good, made my own alfredo sauce, and pounded up a package of Ritz crackers for bread crumbs. I mean, I'm not the MacGyver of cooking or anything, but I've become pretty good at finding substitutions for ingredients I don't have.
But anyway, the reason I'm writing this is because I'm having a restaurant craving and I'm trying to remind myself why I shouldn't give in, lol. Hopefully, if the devil on my shoulder finally convinces me to suggest to Aaron that we should eat out tonight, he will have the strength to tell me no. If not...well, I guess we'll be having Panda Express for dinner :)
Aaron loves dining out, as well, and he loves food just as much as I do (if not more!). So, one of us has to be strong at all times to be able to conquer our restaurant addiction. However, in the past, we have both given in to temptation and ended the night with Chicken Express, Chick-fil-a, Sonic, a Chinese buffet, or (if we were feeling a little crazy) even splurging on Cheddars or Chili's.
I also just love to go grocery shopping. Well, I love shopping in general, but I feel that grocery shopping in particular is a necessity, so I generally don't feel bad about doing it. But too many trips during the week leads to major money spending, so I've tried to make do with what we have in the pantry and freezer already.
Breakfast and lunch have been easy enough; I always have either cereal or oatmeal, anyway, for breakfast and don't tend to deviate from those two options. And, instead of running to Subway or Blue Baker for lunch, I just made sammies for Aaron and I at home. Dinner has been a different story.
Sometimes I like cooking; sometimes I just plain don't feel like it. All of the leftover food from camping at the Frio this last weekend made it easy to survive off of hot dogs and hamburgers all weekend and leading into Monday. However, as the camp-food supplies dwindled, I tried to make myself cook several things to last through the week. I made a batch of whole-wheat pumpkin muffins for snacks Monday night and made turkey meatloaf Tuesday night, which made for pretty good meatloaf sandwiches for dinner last night.
I did splurge on Starbucks last night after Aaron and I both had pretty long, tough days. But I feel that if we cut out ALL indulgences, then life would become pretty ho-hum. (Yup, I just said ho-hum.) Am I just trying to find an excuse? Possibly. But, seriously, we've done pretty good so far, so I don't feel too bad about a Starbucks run.
In the past, I've tried this, and even though the experiment usually always ended in failure, I have become better at improvising in the kitchen. I've made my own spaghetti sauce, made a sort of chicken-tomato-pasta dish that came out pretty damn good, made my own alfredo sauce, and pounded up a package of Ritz crackers for bread crumbs. I mean, I'm not the MacGyver of cooking or anything, but I've become pretty good at finding substitutions for ingredients I don't have.
But anyway, the reason I'm writing this is because I'm having a restaurant craving and I'm trying to remind myself why I shouldn't give in, lol. Hopefully, if the devil on my shoulder finally convinces me to suggest to Aaron that we should eat out tonight, he will have the strength to tell me no. If not...well, I guess we'll be having Panda Express for dinner :)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Top 10 Peeves Dogs Have With Humans
This was featured in the "Dog Crazy" newsletter I receive from petplace.com. It was so cute I had to share!
Top 10 Peeves Dogs Have With Humans
1. Blaming your farts on me..... not funny... not funny at all!!!
2. Yelling at me for barking. I'M A FRIGGIN' DOG.
3. Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is this anyway?
4. Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose. Stop it!
5. Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff up when you're not home.
6. The sleight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! Whoooo oooooooo what a proud moment for the top of the food chain!
7. Taking me to the vet for "the big snip," then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back!
8. Getting upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry, but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet.
9. Dog sweaters. Hello??? Haven't you noticed the fur?
10. How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look, we both know the truth. You're just jealous.
Top 10 Peeves Dogs Have With Humans
1. Blaming your farts on me..... not funny... not funny at all!!!
2. Yelling at me for barking. I'M A FRIGGIN' DOG.
3. Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is this anyway?
4. Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose. Stop it!
5. Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff up when you're not home.
6. The sleight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! Whoooo oooooooo what a proud moment for the top of the food chain!
7. Taking me to the vet for "the big snip," then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back!
8. Getting upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry, but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet.
9. Dog sweaters. Hello??? Haven't you noticed the fur?
10. How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look, we both know the truth. You're just jealous.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Annoying Grammar Mistakes 2
Welcome to another edition of "Annoying Grammar Mistakes."
I'd like to start off by saying that I am fully aware that many grammar rules are pointless and, especially for non-native speakers, sometimes utterly stupid. When an ESL student comes into the Writing Center for tutoring and asks why a certain grammar rule is the way it is, the most common answer I give is, "that's just the way it is." I would really hate to have to learn English as a second language because, honestly, there are some really difficult things to learn.
For example, there are words that sound similar but have very different meanings:
1. Accept vs. Except
Dictionary.com defintions: Accept means "to take or receive" or "to agree or consent to." Except means "with the exclusion of" or "otherwise than."
*I accept your challenge. I accept your payment.
*Your paper is good except for the conclusion. I would like to go to England except I don't have enough money.
2. Expense vs. Expanse
Dictionary.com definitions: Expense is "a cost or charge." Expanse is "an uninterrupted space or area; a wide extent of anything."
*My monthly expenses are quite a burden. The expense of the hotel was too much for my budget.
*We crossed the great expanse of land to reach our destination.
*The explorers crossed the vast expanse of the ocean to reach America.
3. Affect vs. Effect
Affect usually is used as a verb and means "to influence" or "to change." Effect
is usually used as a noun and means "a result." (Taken from Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.)
*The rain affected my driving. The rain affected my plans to go to the river.
*The rain had no effect on my driving. The rain had no effect on my plans to go
to the river.
Then, there are words that are spelled completely different from how they sound.
Shouldn't "enough" be "enuf" or "through" be "thru"? I've actually put a lot of thought into this (sadly enough! or...enuf :). Shouldn't words be spelled the way they sound? And why so many different forms of (essentially) the same word? Such as:
*To, Too, Two
-To can have many meanings, but it commonly means "toward a point, person, place, or thing, implied or understood." I.e., "We went to the store."
-Too means "also." I.e., "Ross wanted to go to the store, too."
-Two is a number
*Your, You're
-Your is the possesive form of "you" ("We're going to your house.")
-You're means "you are."
*There, Their, They're
-There is a place ("We're there, now," "We went there," "He stopped there in the book.")
-Their is a possesive form of "they"; usually used as an adjective ("Their house," "We're going to their campsite.")
-They're means "they are"
*Capital, Capitol
-Capital refers to a city ("Austin is the capital of Texas" or "the barbeque capital of the world"), an uppercase letter, or wealth.
-A capitol is a building.
*Complement, Compliment
-Things that go together complement each other ("This sauce complements the steak.")
-A compliment is praise ("Lucy complimented Sarah's dress.")
In conclusion, it's really hard to learn the English language because of all of our silly rules. We have to remember how difficult it is to learn English and be more patient with non-native speakers...even for us grammar gurus who wince at any and all grammatical errors.
Last tidbit: Grammatical error on the front of A&M's Writing Center Newsletter: "The C's have arrived!"
Can you catch the error??? :D
I'd like to start off by saying that I am fully aware that many grammar rules are pointless and, especially for non-native speakers, sometimes utterly stupid. When an ESL student comes into the Writing Center for tutoring and asks why a certain grammar rule is the way it is, the most common answer I give is, "that's just the way it is." I would really hate to have to learn English as a second language because, honestly, there are some really difficult things to learn.
For example, there are words that sound similar but have very different meanings:
1. Accept vs. Except
Dictionary.com defintions: Accept means "to take or receive" or "to agree or consent to." Except means "with the exclusion of" or "otherwise than."
*I accept your challenge. I accept your payment.
*Your paper is good except for the conclusion. I would like to go to England except I don't have enough money.
2. Expense vs. Expanse
Dictionary.com definitions: Expense is "a cost or charge." Expanse is "an uninterrupted space or area; a wide extent of anything."
*My monthly expenses are quite a burden. The expense of the hotel was too much for my budget.
*We crossed the great expanse of land to reach our destination.
*The explorers crossed the vast expanse of the ocean to reach America.
3. Affect vs. Effect
Affect usually is used as a verb and means "to influence" or "to change." Effect
is usually used as a noun and means "a result." (Taken from Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.)
*The rain affected my driving. The rain affected my plans to go to the river.
*The rain had no effect on my driving. The rain had no effect on my plans to go
to the river.
Then, there are words that are spelled completely different from how they sound.
Shouldn't "enough" be "enuf" or "through" be "thru"? I've actually put a lot of thought into this (sadly enough! or...enuf :). Shouldn't words be spelled the way they sound? And why so many different forms of (essentially) the same word? Such as:
*To, Too, Two
-To can have many meanings, but it commonly means "toward a point, person, place, or thing, implied or understood." I.e., "We went to the store."
-Too means "also." I.e., "Ross wanted to go to the store, too."
-Two is a number
*Your, You're
-Your is the possesive form of "you" ("We're going to your house.")
-You're means "you are."
*There, Their, They're
-There is a place ("We're there, now," "We went there," "He stopped there in the book.")
-Their is a possesive form of "they"; usually used as an adjective ("Their house," "We're going to their campsite.")
-They're means "they are"
*Capital, Capitol
-Capital refers to a city ("Austin is the capital of Texas" or "the barbeque capital of the world"), an uppercase letter, or wealth.
-A capitol is a building.
*Complement, Compliment
-Things that go together complement each other ("This sauce complements the steak.")
-A compliment is praise ("Lucy complimented Sarah's dress.")
In conclusion, it's really hard to learn the English language because of all of our silly rules. We have to remember how difficult it is to learn English and be more patient with non-native speakers...even for us grammar gurus who wince at any and all grammatical errors.
Last tidbit: Grammatical error on the front of A&M's Writing Center Newsletter: "The C's have arrived!"
Can you catch the error??? :D
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
"Money, it's a gas..."
Today I want to talk about money. Money, Money, Money, Money, Money. You see, before I graduated from college and was still living in the land of being-a-student-supported-by-parents, I had no worries. No worries at all--the bills would always be paid on time with no chance of the lights ever being shut off.
Oh, how times have changed! For the last few weeks I have been pondering different ways to save money. This pondering led me to the internet, where I found other poor people like myself trying to save money. Some websites I enjoy include:
dealseekingmom.com
moneysavingmom.com
krazycouponlady.com
ilovefreethings.com
mypetsavings.com
I still don't understand the concept of "coupon stacking" or how to go about doing it (I think it has something to do with having multiple coupons for the same item, but I'm really not sure), but I have become obsessed with ordering free samples!
I've also become obsessed with coupons. I refuse to do anything without a damn coupon, including getting an oil change, getting my hair cut, etc. I've come to the point where I hate paying full price on anything! I also really love free things. If you offer me something for free, I will most definitely take it! I've received a newspaper subscription, dog food, a spa facial, and a dog "pawdicure" for free thus far by collecting coupons and in some cases, just being in the right place at the right time.
Another website I recently found is swagbucks.com. At SwagBucks, you earn (you guessed it!) swag bucks (basically online money) to use in their online store for actual stuff. It's a really cool concept but I am far from having enough swag bucks to actually buy anything.
I've also been trying to figure out different ways to make money without having to get another actual job. I've been wanting to do some freelance writing work, but am not sure how to get started. I signed up with a website, elance.com, which is a website for freelance work...but I'm still not sure how to actually go about GETTING the work.
Something else I'd like to get back into is selling stuff on eBay. I did that for a bit when I still lived in Houston and was able to make quite a bit of extra pocket cash. But...I don't know what to sell now! At the time, I had a few high-priced items to sell and they did fairly well, but now I don't really own anything that I think would make too much money. I have an autographed Nolan Ryan baseball, but I lost the certificate of authenticity a long time ago, and I've heard that it's hard to sell an autographed item without that certificate.
Anyway, those are the things that have been going through my head the last few days. If you're reading this, how do you go about saving money or making extra money?
Oh, how times have changed! For the last few weeks I have been pondering different ways to save money. This pondering led me to the internet, where I found other poor people like myself trying to save money. Some websites I enjoy include:
dealseekingmom.com
moneysavingmom.com
krazycouponlady.com
ilovefreethings.com
mypetsavings.com
I still don't understand the concept of "coupon stacking" or how to go about doing it (I think it has something to do with having multiple coupons for the same item, but I'm really not sure), but I have become obsessed with ordering free samples!
I've also become obsessed with coupons. I refuse to do anything without a damn coupon, including getting an oil change, getting my hair cut, etc. I've come to the point where I hate paying full price on anything! I also really love free things. If you offer me something for free, I will most definitely take it! I've received a newspaper subscription, dog food, a spa facial, and a dog "pawdicure" for free thus far by collecting coupons and in some cases, just being in the right place at the right time.
Another website I recently found is swagbucks.com. At SwagBucks, you earn (you guessed it!) swag bucks (basically online money) to use in their online store for actual stuff. It's a really cool concept but I am far from having enough swag bucks to actually buy anything.
I've also been trying to figure out different ways to make money without having to get another actual job. I've been wanting to do some freelance writing work, but am not sure how to get started. I signed up with a website, elance.com, which is a website for freelance work...but I'm still not sure how to actually go about GETTING the work.
Something else I'd like to get back into is selling stuff on eBay. I did that for a bit when I still lived in Houston and was able to make quite a bit of extra pocket cash. But...I don't know what to sell now! At the time, I had a few high-priced items to sell and they did fairly well, but now I don't really own anything that I think would make too much money. I have an autographed Nolan Ryan baseball, but I lost the certificate of authenticity a long time ago, and I've heard that it's hard to sell an autographed item without that certificate.
Anyway, those are the things that have been going through my head the last few days. If you're reading this, how do you go about saving money or making extra money?
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Annoying Grammar Mistakes
I decided that I wanted to take this blog in a different direction. I would like to start using it as an outlet for what I love best - writing.
So, I'm starting a new segment, entitled "Annoying Grammar Mistakes." No, I am not claiming to know EVERYTHING about grammar...but there are just a few mistakes that really grind my gears :)
#1) The use of the word "I's"
Example: "We are going to Arnold and I's house," or, "This is Lance and I's spatula."
This is a very common mistake, because it sounds proper. However, "I's" is not really a word. You would not say, "We are going to I's house." You would say, "We are going to MY house."
Therefore...the proper way to fix the examples above would be something like, "We are going to Arnold's and my house." Kind of wordy, but it's grammatically correct.
So, I'm starting a new segment, entitled "Annoying Grammar Mistakes." No, I am not claiming to know EVERYTHING about grammar...but there are just a few mistakes that really grind my gears :)
#1) The use of the word "I's"
Example: "We are going to Arnold and I's house," or, "This is Lance and I's spatula."
This is a very common mistake, because it sounds proper. However, "I's" is not really a word. You would not say, "We are going to I's house." You would say, "We are going to MY house."
Therefore...the proper way to fix the examples above would be something like, "We are going to Arnold's and my house." Kind of wordy, but it's grammatically correct.
Monday, June 7, 2010
I love my dog.
"He's just a dog."
I cannot stand it when people tell me this. That my precious puppy is "just a dog." No, he is NOT "just a dog"; he is MY dog, and I will take care of him to the best of my ability.
It is not fair to assume that b/c Rasta is a dog, he can be treated badly. I won't leave him tethered in the yard; I won't keep him cooped up in his kennel for more than 5 hours at a time; I won't feed him crap food; I won't physically or emotional abuse him when he's "being bad," because I remember that he is still a puppy and still full of endless energy.
Yes, I will buy him toys; I will take him to the vet when he needs it rather than spend money on myself; I will leave the fan on for him instead of turning it off to save electricity. I will bathe him, cut his fingernails, brush his teeth, buy him "dentasticks," and love on him all I want because he is MY DOG to take care of how I WANT.
I did not get a dog to play with for awhile and then abandon. With me, he has a forever home.
I have always had a passion for animals. As a kid, I was always appalled at how anyone could experience "the thrill of the kill" in hunting. I remember being made fun of for being so sensitive towards animals.
I understand that meat is a huge part of our diets. I would be lying if I said that I have managed to become a vegetarian. I have tried in the past, but am ultimately a carnivore. This does not mean that I have the heart to go out and kill the animals myself. I would not be able to find joy in such a "sport." I don't understand how others can find joy in it, either.
The only way I find hunting acceptable is if the hunting is kept to a minimum (i.e., hunting regulations on how many animals can legally be killed per season) and if the animal is used completely for its meat and hide. Poaching makes me absolutely SICK.
Still, I don't understand the "fun" of hunting, or like I said earlier, "the thrill of the kill." I don't understand the satisfaction with killing another living being.
My passion for animal rights increased greatly when I adopted Rasta. I have bonded so incredibly with this animal that I cannot comprehend how anyone could ever hurt, abuse, abandon, or downright mistreat an animal. They are living, breathing creatures that feel physical and emotional pain.
I love my dog.
I cannot stand it when people tell me this. That my precious puppy is "just a dog." No, he is NOT "just a dog"; he is MY dog, and I will take care of him to the best of my ability.
It is not fair to assume that b/c Rasta is a dog, he can be treated badly. I won't leave him tethered in the yard; I won't keep him cooped up in his kennel for more than 5 hours at a time; I won't feed him crap food; I won't physically or emotional abuse him when he's "being bad," because I remember that he is still a puppy and still full of endless energy.
Yes, I will buy him toys; I will take him to the vet when he needs it rather than spend money on myself; I will leave the fan on for him instead of turning it off to save electricity. I will bathe him, cut his fingernails, brush his teeth, buy him "dentasticks," and love on him all I want because he is MY DOG to take care of how I WANT.
I did not get a dog to play with for awhile and then abandon. With me, he has a forever home.
I have always had a passion for animals. As a kid, I was always appalled at how anyone could experience "the thrill of the kill" in hunting. I remember being made fun of for being so sensitive towards animals.
I understand that meat is a huge part of our diets. I would be lying if I said that I have managed to become a vegetarian. I have tried in the past, but am ultimately a carnivore. This does not mean that I have the heart to go out and kill the animals myself. I would not be able to find joy in such a "sport." I don't understand how others can find joy in it, either.
The only way I find hunting acceptable is if the hunting is kept to a minimum (i.e., hunting regulations on how many animals can legally be killed per season) and if the animal is used completely for its meat and hide. Poaching makes me absolutely SICK.
Still, I don't understand the "fun" of hunting, or like I said earlier, "the thrill of the kill." I don't understand the satisfaction with killing another living being.
My passion for animal rights increased greatly when I adopted Rasta. I have bonded so incredibly with this animal that I cannot comprehend how anyone could ever hurt, abuse, abandon, or downright mistreat an animal. They are living, breathing creatures that feel physical and emotional pain.
I love my dog.
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