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Showing posts from January, 2012

Word Wednesday: New Year's Double Bonus Day

Happy 2012! Enjoy two new words for the price of one to kickstart a new year of dedicated blogging!  First up: PORTENTOUS por·ten·tous adj \pȯr-ˈten-təs\ 1 : of, relating to, or constituting a portent portentous foreshadowing, hints of sinister and violent mysteries — Francine Prose> 2 : eliciting amazement or wonder : prodigious 3 a : being a grave or serious matter < portentous decisions> b : self-consciously solemn or important : pompous < portentous declamation unsalted by the least trace of humor — W. H. Pritchard> c : ponderously excessive portentous phrases — R. M. Coles> — por·ten·tous·ly adverb — por·ten·tous·ness noun Use this word in a sentence!  The dead bird in the middle of the yard was portentous of much doom .  The extra weight I am carrying in my thighs is portentous of a rigorous New Year's exercise program. This word is also associated with the word PORTENT, which is synonymous with omen, or sign. Some might believe that

Happy New Year or, My New House

In November 2011 something significant happened in mine and my beloved's life. The lease on our rental house ended and we were faced with the choice of whether to renew for another year (a huge commitment in the world of rentals) or to move out. The prospect of apartment/rental house hunting was less than palatable. Staying another year in the interminably cold house were currently inhabiting was downright frightening. So we reached a conclusion: we must purchase a house of our very own. I immediately panicked. Now, I had no trouble agreeing to get married. No qualms about expanding our little menagerie to include a cat. No issues with buying a car. But the idea of committing to thirty years in a mortgage and to literally tens of thousands of dollars in debt left me cold. Never mind that people do it every day. Never mind that we wouldn't be paying any more per month than we were currently paying in rent and would essentially be paying rent to ourselves, I was dry of throat