Easy as ABC

This post idea comes to you directly from Holly at Bloggity Ramblings, stolen from a number of sources, by the looks of things. Thanks Holly et al!

It’s a list!  It’s the ABC’s!  It’s all about MEEEEEE!!!!!!  My kind of thing for sure since I feel I’m an expert on the subject.  Feel free to copy the alphabet prompts and share yourself with your tribe.

A: Age – 66 and counting.  Next birthday is Friday the 13th in May.  My grandma started warning us at the age of 75 during every Christmas we were trying to celebrate that it could be her last.  I’m going to keep up this tradition starting soon.  She lived to be 99.

B: Biggest Fear – Deep water and being unable to breathe.  So drowning, in other words.  In a previous life I either did not survive the sinking of the Titanic, or I fell asleep in the bathtub.

C: Current Time – Well past noon.  I vow to finish this before the day ends.

D: Drink I Last Had – Coffee.  But before that I drank a big Starbucks tumbler of  Crystal Light (acai white peach papaya flavour) laced with a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, because it’s supposed to be good for many things, including lowering blood sugar.  I’m not recommending this concoction to anyone, because frankly it tastes even worse than incredibly bad wine.  Therefore it must be healthy and good for you of course, since all bad tasting things are.

E: Easiest Person to Talk to – My sister Ann.  I could tell her how happy I am to know that before we were born our souls chose to be sisters in this lifetime and she would not say I’m crazy.  Well, not out loud and to my face, anyway.

F: Favorite Song – Happy Birthday to you…..I know all the words and most of the tune.

G: Grossest Memory – It’s not all that gross, but it is funny.  My son wanted to have a collection of something and decided to save his toenail clippings.  Unlimited source and not a lot of thought or effort involved.  His passion for this hobby was thankfully short-lived.

H: Hometown – Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada, although I grew up on a nearby farm.

I: In Love With – Life.

J: Jealous Of – People who have more money than brains.  Although not so much the no brains part of that one.

K: Killed Someone?  Not yet.  Hopefully never.  Have watched a lot of murder mysteries and am not confident I could get away with it.

L: Longest Relationship –  Met W in March 1970 and married him in November 1971.  So that’s 46 years of wondering what the hell he’s going to do next.

M: Middle Name – Mae.  There’s a few of those in my family history.  It’s a good name.

N: Number of Siblings – three – one older brother, two younger sisters.

O: One Wish – Good health.  And if I can’t have that, acceptance of whatever life hands me, with grace and dignity.  Because foot stomping and howling is probably not the most attractive way to deal with shit.

P: Last Person You Called – Seriously it was probably a doctor’s office.

Q: Question You Are Always Asked – What the hell is wrong with you??  Haha…just kidding.  Is that your natural hair colour?  Because it is pretty much grey/white but with very dark hair at the back of my neck and my forehead.  Like anyone would do that on purpose.

R: Reason to Smile – I’m retired!  I could paint all day if I felt like it!

S: Song You Last Sang – Hotel California, but only in my head while trying to get to sleep.

T: Time You Woke Up – Yes, yes it is.

U: Underwear Colour – mostly black.  In fact almost everything I wear is black in my unsuccessful quest to become invisible.

V: Vacation Destination – I love to go home to Ontario to visit family.

W: Worst Habit – procrastination.

X: X-Rays You’ve Had – lower back, chest, teeth/jaw.  Then it’s on to MRI’s and CT Scans.  There are some doctors who know me inside out.

Y: Your Favorite Food – Salted peanuts.  It’s the first thing that popped in to my head.  We don’t have any in the house at the moment.  Damn.

Z: Zodiac Sign – Taurus.  Sign of the procrastinating peanut lover.

Okay, it’s your turn!

Terms of Endearment

Mental Floss (where knowledge junkies get their fix) has a page on Facebook from which I have shamelessly stolen this link because it’s SO worth sharing.  You need never run out of cutesy names for your spouse, children, pets, and best friends ever again.

1. “Mon chou”

French, meaning “my cabbage.”

2. “Schnuckiputzi”

German for “cutie pie.”

3. “Sötnos”

“Sweet nose” in Swedish.

4. “Meu Chuchuzinho”

Portuguese for “my little squash.”

5. “Moya Solnishka”

Russian for “my little sun.”

6. “Mijn Bolleke”

“My little round thing” in Flemish.

7. “Bogárkám”

Hungarian, meaning “my little bug.”

8. “Mi cielito”

“My little sky” in Spanish.

9. “Mijn poepie”

A quirky Dutch term for “my little poop.”

10. “Matakia mou”

Greek for “my little eyes.”

11. “Microbino mio”

“My little microbe” in Italian.

12. “Moosh bekhoradet”

“May a mouse eat you” in Persian.

13. “Mo Chuisle”

Irish for “my pulse.”

14. “Min guldklump”

Danish, meaning “my gold nugget.”

15. “Ma puce”

French for “my flea.”

Personally I am now questioning the sanity of the Persians and the Dutch.

Adding to the fun, here’s another link from Mental Floss with alternatives to saying a simple hello.

1) “What’s the craic?”

How they say “What’s up?” in Ireland. The craic (pronounced “crack”) is the news, gossip, latest goings-on, or the fun times to be planned.

2) “How hops it?”

Be classically cool with this late 19th-century slang for “How’s it going?”

3) “Ahoy”

Add a little jaunty excitement by getting into pirate mode.

4) [Hat tip]

Be the strong, silent type and forgo words entirely with an elegant tip of your hat.

5) “There he/she is!”

Make someone feel like the man or the woman of the hour.

6) “Ciao”

Feeling friendly and cosmopolitan? “Ciao” will set the mood. Add a kiss on each cheek for authenticity.

7) “S.P.D.S.V.B.E.E.V”

Want to write a letter with a classical Latin feel? Open with this abbreviation for Salute plurimam dicit. Si vales, bene est, ego valeo. “Many greetings. If you’re well, then that’s good, and I’m well too.”

8) “Salutations”

Show off your verbal dexterity with this gentleman’s greeting.

9) “Greetings”

Or keep it simple and use the word that means just what it says.

10) “Howdy”

Keep it casual, cowpoke, or get fancier with a full-on “Howdydo?”

11) “Aloha”

Bring a little mellow sunshine to your interactions by greeting the Hawaiian way.

12) “Namaste”

Start with a show of respect. This peaceful greeting comes from the Sanskrit for “I bow to you.”

13) “How’s tricks?”

You’ve got to smile when you dust off this gem from the 1920s.

14) “Breaker, breaker”

Open the conversation like a trucker on a CB radio.

15) “Well, look at you!”

Reminiscent of the sweet way your grandma used to express how impressed she was with you. Why not spread the love around with this opening?

And why not choose a random number from each list and combine the two??  It’s not like you have anything better to do on a Sunday, right?  Well maybe you do.  I don’t.

So –  How hops it, schnuckiputzi?  Microbino mio – well – just look at you!

The possibilities are truly mind-boggling. But that’s what Mental Floss is all about, boggles for the mind.  And there you go.  Don’t ever say I have never contributed to your brain scrambled weekend.