Z is for : Zabeth ♥

Elisabeth is my (younger) sister and from the moment I first set eyes on this tiny bundle  Mom and Dad brought home from the hospital, way back when,
she has been my Zabeth. 

Some call her Zab, and she has been known to call herself “The_Zab” but in my heart ♥, she is my Zabeth and will always be.  She is the most wonderful sister anyone can have and here are a few reasons why:

♥Attentive and Artistic           

♥Beautiful and Brave

♥Charismatic and Clever
♥Determined and Dedicated

♥Energetic and Eager
♥Folle ; as in, les Nicol sont....,  and  Fascinating

♥Gorgeous, inside and out, and Great

♥Hilarious and Humorous
♥Intelligent and Interesting

♥Joyful and Just Dance 3 expert

♥Kooky  J and Kind

♥Loving and Lively
♥Marvelous and Magnificent
♥Natural  and Necessary
♥Original and Outgoing
♥Paléo diet aficionada, and Pleasant

♥Québecoise and Quick
♥Remarkable and Responsible

♥Smart and Sharp

♥Tenacious and Terrific

♥Understanding and Unique 

♥Vivacious and Valuable

♥Wonderful  and Wacky J

♥  

♥Young and Youthful  

♥Zany J and Zealous

Thank you so muchZabeth , my incredible Sis-Wa, for accompanying me through this A to Z Challenge adventure.  Along with our excellent brother,  this has been a tremendous bonding time ~ I think ~ for the 3 of us and I will always cherish this April 2012, if only for that reason. 
I will love you always... until heaven, then Forever ♥

Better Be a Little “S” than a Little Less  J

Y is for: Yabba Dabba Doo!

                                  

How does Fred’s catchphrase grab you? Conveys warm and fuzzy memories to me, it does.  Hope it brings at least a smile to you!  Beats “I’m excited”  by a thousand miles, doesn’t it?  I’ve always dreamt of sliding down my diplodocus’ neck at quitting time!  I ain't no yellow belly!

And how about…. Yakety Yak? http://youtu.be/-cHB3Rbz1OI 
Yes,  Peanut Gallery!   The song where you reply:   “Don’t talk back!” 
I know, I know, they don’t make songs like that anymore!  – me says, and that's a sad thing.   I’ve always loved songs with a message, a fun message like this one!  I'm sure  you can bring a horse to water
but can you make it drink?   
I don’t know, ask the teenager who listened to the song!  Did he do his chores?  You’ve never had it so good, I say, having someone sing you your duties rather than yell them out.   

Yakety yak and yada yada  go hand in hand... I can just see the eyes rolling! 

Today was brought to us courtesy of the letter “Y”.  Yesssssss!  She  loves you Ya, Ya, Ya ♫♪

Better Be a Little “S” than a Little Less.

X is for: The Letter “X”

What a great letter!  A treasure to behold when you play Scrabble AND have a triple point spot to drop it on -  8 points! 

I seriously thought of blogging about xenophile or xenophobe – Well, Peanut Gallery?  Do you love strangers or not?

What I decided would be more fun is to talk about so many trade names that have names ending in “X”.   A lot of those brand names have stuck and become household names:  Javex,  Xerox, Kleenex, Windex, Tampax and it’s BFF, Kotex!  Pyrex? Blistex  ? 

 What about Timex     and it’s high class sibling Rolex?   And how many of us  ladies  still  think “Cutex” when we need nail polish remover? 

The moral of this story is:  the marketing peoples of these companies sure were on the right track.  They create words and managed to get us to adopt them because they are so catchy.  “Kleenex” is what shows on my list whether I plan to purchase Scotties, Puffs or store brand tissues.    What does that mean?

Them ....., ......Me           

Signing off now, have had enough of this "x" business!  Too complex for my cortex!    I'm off to the cineplex.   Must not forget to perplex my ex in the next duplex and flex the convex annex!  

Better Be a Little “S” than a Little Less!

W is for: Walla Walla Bing Bang!

A song of that name was recorded by Ross Bagdasarian Sr, in 1958 and by Alvin & The Chipmunks two years later (according to good ole’ Wiki).  The song is about the advice a witch doctor gives to a man in love.  I find it wise and wacky, weird, winsome, warm and wicked, wild, wordy,  absolutely wonderful and worth listening to!   

What more can I say? It’s a winner!  You would think the novelty  would wear off after a while, but when it’s all said and done, what’s eating you will actually win you over and keep you wide awake.   Why the dickens would this be so popular, you ask from the Peanut Gallery?  Winging it  waxes lyrical.  It definitely shows the writer knew his way out of a paper bag!  You might say it’s water under the bridge  or water over the dam but I won’t let it wear off.   I bet you that witch doctor could walk AND chew gum at the same time!   So much for walking the line and much better than waking up on the wrong side of the bed.                                                  

I’d rather dance into the wee small hours of the night, because when push comes to shove and  when the going gets tough, the tough get going and the witch doctor takes me out to go boogie-woogie!  

Signing off and without further ado, wanna hear this wonder of wonders?       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFspt9fRvoo

♫♫♪  uh eh uh ah ah

ting tang Walla walla, bing bang

uh eh uh ah ah  ♪♫

ting tang Walla walla bing bang...

♪♫ uh eh uh ah ah

ting tang Walla walla ,bing bang

uh eh uh ah ah ♪♫♪♫

ting tang Walla walla bing bang

Better Be a Little “S” than a Little Less!  J

V is for: "in Vino Veritas"

Wow, only 8 months left and it will be Christmas Day!  Yesssss!  I can’t wait!   Do you believe me?  No?? 

Well, it’s true that I have not been drinking wine as I write this; you might consider pouring me a glass if you believe in what the creator of today's highlighted latin expression meant by it.  A Greek poet named Alcaeus was adamant that the Germanic peoples were smart for drinking wine while holding council meetings because they believed no one could lie effectively after a few!  According to infallible Wikipedia, this was around 620 BC !   and look at this:  in China, their saying goes: “After wine blurts truthful speech” and the Babylonian Talmud reports:   “In came wine, out went a secret.”       Ok, that gets my attention!

I have sadly witnessed something of the sort myself, a few times too many ,  and you know, it’s mostly not pretty!  I am of the philosophy that if you can only tell the truth after imbibing, you’re certainly not the type of person I’m going out for dinner and drinks with!       

Truth is good, I am certainly not refuting that, however not when it is blurted out after drinking one glass too many  and using an inversely proportional quantity of brain cells in the process of divulging the fact in question. 

The truth will set you free?  Not in this case, i'm afraid!  In this instance, it will probably dig you a nice big hole to crawl into once your hangover is in full bloom and you realize you’ve completed enough acrobatics to fit your foot in your mouth and make a total fool of yourself! 

Signing off with the second part of this expression, often ignored:  “In vino veritas, in aqua sanitas”, translated as the following:  “In wine there is truth, in water there is health” .  There's something to be said about that: Healthier relationships, that's for sure!

Salut!

Better Be a Little “S” than a Little Less!  

U is for: Until the cows come home!

I certainly  would not want to upset the applecart and go through the ups and downs of the upper crust… that would be an uphill battle!   I like to keep up to snuff and up-to-date and very seldom will you find me up to no good, hence, am rarely up the creek without a paddle.     (yes, Peanut Gallery - that is THE real expression)  

Until today, it’s like I’ve been under a spell, in unchartered territory, and I’ve had it up to here with all your undying affection that has gotten me nothing but unmentionable underwear, an ugly ukulele,   and umpteen unwanted unchecked utopian dreams!   Ugh!

“Upsy-daisy”, I utter to my stumbling uncle, unsure of his step as he is trying to usurp the powers of the guard dog and get to the front door first.  Ultimately, he upended the upholstered unit and upset his ulcer, after utilizing his unopened umbrella  to unwrap the unique ultraviolet lamp. His urge to use the urinal went unnoticed and he had to unfortunately idle away the hours and hang on, unaided and unspent, unable to unload and very uncomfortable.  

Signing off now:  I’m climbing up the walls because I am so uneasy to be under the gun, to go under the knife.  It’s all up in the air and up for grabs at this point.  Until then…  the cows will come and go and eventually, make their way home!   

Better Be a Little “S” than a Little Less !

T is for: This and That

I was tempted to try a remake on an old favorite:

T'was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving,

however, thought you’d see right through that and cite me for plagiarism.  So I changed my mind!  However, here goes another tall tale: 

TWICE UPON A TIME , there were three tiny turtles: 

Timothy, Tony and Tommy. 

They always talked a mile a minute and seemed to be part of a task force to continually tear a strip off of Tamara and Tabitha who lived three doors down, in the townhouse with the turrets. 

For that reason, the terrible tenants wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, and were worried that this was only the tip of the iceberg . Even though time heals all wounds, they weren’t ready to tie the knot; 
 “Talk to the hand”,        they muttered as
teeny-weeny Tony tried to tick them off  for the third time.

As for me, tongue-tied  but thoroughly tempted to top it all off, I’ve decided to touch base with my inner self, not that I’m the topsy-turvy kind, more like touchy-feely,  if you ask me , and throw caution to the wind.

Now that the ball is back in my court (tennis court), I’ve got an excuse to give you the third degree because of your three-martini lunches      and if third time’s a charm, I’d like to throw the book at you and watch you turn into a pumpkin!  This is not a matter of tickling someone’s fancy; we run a tight ship here.  But we do have to tie up loose ends because you are not the top banana     you think you are.  That’ll be the day! That’s the way life is!  That’s the way the cookie crumbles and the ball bounces!

Signing off now, it’s still touch-and-go.  I’m tuckered out and have had enough of this turf war.  No, I’m not turning tricks! My poor grandma would turn in her grave if that was true!  I’m just turning the corner  and finally feel like I can turn the page and turn a new leaf.    Two wrongs don’t make a right; and as much as two’s company and three’s a crowd, two can play that game and if I throw in my two cents, you’ll find out that this twist of fate, absolutely takes the cake. THE END. 

Better Be a Little "S" than a Little Less !    

S is for: Sweet!

Same old story, however this time, it's with my favorite letter in the whole wide world to research.  Way Sweet!

I’ve been scoping it out, but barely scratching the surface.  As I scratch my head, don’t want to have to scrape the bottom of the barrel,      I’ll make a go at it, by the seat of my pants!

I do see the light; nothing is set in stone and I am far from being set in my ways. So, let’s  shake on it, and shake a leg as I must shape up or ship out, decide to sink or swim or whether to shoot first and ask questions later  without shooting off at the mouth! 

Thank goodness for shortcuts   and that no one has me on a short leash because of my short fuse.  I mean, it’s always a shot in the dark because I’m no shrinking violet and always a good shoulder to cry on.

Forget it with the sick jokes!  You’re a sick puppy and if you sign on the dotted line,                you’ll become a sitting duck and end up six feet under; I guess it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other, a slam dunk    , no worse than a slap on the wrist.  Better than sleeping with the fishes!  One slip up and you’ll slip through the cracks!

Don’t get caught sleeping at the switch,   you slob!  Slowly but surely, I’m sure you’ll find a way to save the day and/or  seize the day without scaring the pants off of me or screaming bloody murder!

To save face, I’ll stand still  and  say goodbye.   Scratch that, instead, I’ll say Sayonara.

Better Be a Little "S" than a Little Less !                                        

R is for: Rise and Shine!

Every morning, I begin a new happy life because I have decided that whatever happened the day before is now part of the past and there is not one little thing I can do about it.  So, it’s a fresh start for me every day.

                                                     

            

Now, at the end of some days, I really feel like I’ve been ridden hard and put away wet but with the right attitude, I get over it before I fall asleep.  I could raise a stink, I could rattle someone’s cage but I choose to raise the bar and rise from the ashes  instead,  because Rome was not built in a day and a candid reality check is beneficial once in a blue moon.  I mean, who needs to re-invent the wheel  every day?

                                         

You all know by now how much I love RED!   Well, did you know that a red letter day is a day of special significance?   I knew it!  J   So I roll out the red carpet and close my eyes to the red flags because you could never catch me red-handed at presenting you a red herring to distract you from the red light district  as we both know that’s not the kind of person I am!  I’m the real McCoy, there’s no two ways about it!  Let’s cut the red tape and get down to the facts!  

It doesn’t take rocket science to know that offering someone a round of applause  goes a lot further than running them ragged.  They might just run scared and get run over!   

But let me run something by you: I’d like to run for office and since it’s the rush hour, I need to rustle up some road apples to throw at my opponent.  Hurry up, I’m running out of steam!

Signing off, not wanting to rub salt in the wound; I’m letting you know the rumor mill is at it again… Since I raised the stakes, and am wearing my rose colored glasses, reports are running rampant 
that I’m reaching for the stars!                 

I’ve got news for you:   It’s the real deal.  Read my lips!  Read ‘em and weep!

Riding into the sunset...

Better Be a Little “S” than a Little Less !   

Q is for: Mind your P’s and Q’s – Part Deux

                  

OK!  Yesterday we talked about P’s and Q’s therefore today, we will talk about Q’s and P’s!!!      

Here is some more info on quarts and pints I found online: 

Read more: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-pint-and-quart-and-vs-liters/#ixzz1sXHbzmnM

You must remember one thing.
A quart is one fourth of a gallon and is double of a pint.
Thus 2 pints =1 quart

However, when it comes to pint, the imperial (British) pint
is more than the US pint.  This is because an imperial pint contains 20 fluid ounces while a US pint contains only 16 fluid ounces.  So if you are a British sitting in a US pub, do not be surprised by the size of a pint of beer as it would be less than what you get in your country.

Also remember the the imperial pint is 20% more than the US pint.  A quart is one fourth of a gallon, whether you are in UK or US.  The difference in volume may be there, but the relation between a quart and pint remains the same in both countries which is that a quart is double in volume to a pint.

Now that I know more about this subject than I ever intended to, I come to a conclusion:  I really want to be a Canadian sitting in a British pub but I am totally flummoxed because I would now have to convert the whole caboodle into litres and if I consume even one pint, I won't be able to count anymore!  I'll stick to good old H2O I think !  
 

I also surmise that if I follow the above calculation, 2 Please equal 1 Thank You and they would be just a little more effused in Britain than in the US.  Always remember that no matter where you vacation, one P is never enough because half of a Q is not adequate for any instance I can think of.  A full Q is the minimum required (or 2 P's) and I guess the more P's you make use of, the Q's just keep following until no one knows who started this politeness fest nor what it is about anyhow!  

Signing off before I lose my mind again and have to ask for help from the local mental people... I could certainly tell them a story that would earn me a long vacation there!  I wonder if they could help me with my "R" blog?

Better Be a Little "S" than a Little Less!!!    

Au Revoir??  See you tomoRRow??

P is for: Mind your P’s and Q’s – Part 1

The above is a versatile expression that can mean quite a few things; here goes, from good old Wikipedia (what in the world did we do before Wikipedia???)

·        One source of "mind your Ps and Qs" comes from  early printing presses . Printers placed  individual letters on a frame to print a page of text. Those two letters were reversed, making it easy to mistake lowercase ps and qs in setting the type.

               Ok, p and q are mirror image letters,  aren’t they?  
                   Allright, i get it!

•      Another origin comes from English pubs and taverns of the seventeenth century. Bartenders would keep a watch on the alcohol consumption of the patrons; keeping an eye on the Pints and Quarts that were consumed. As a reminder to the patrons, the bartender would recommend they "mind their Ps and Qs".

Isn’t that the best?  I love learning about origins of expressions!  But, that’s not it!!

·       The one I  like best is about minding your manners!!  P’s rhymes with “Please” and Q’s rhymes with “Thank you’s”. and apparently, it has been an effective way of reminding children about Please and Thank you's!  Whatever it takes, it’s worth it, I say !   

I still remember to this day, from 34 years ago, waking up my 2 year-old little man at 10pm before I went to bed, to take him “potty” so the night would be dry.   He followed me, did his thing, and as I tucked him back in to his warm blankies, he burped!  So, the great mom that I am, I said… “What do you say?”  and he answered:  “Thank you”.   I am still laughing to this day of how silly I had been  and how wonderful he was and still is. 

Signing off for tonight and working on tomorrow’s Part 2!

Better Be a Little “S” than a Little Less !