they stole my idea.

They must read my blog. I am convinced. grrr, boston.com. I shake my fist at you.

Walleteer Wednesday (Week 5).

I've been waiting for suggest this number. In fact, I'm kind of surprised it wasn't suggested sooner. Anyway, here it is. Things you can purchase with $12.34 (a number chosen "for obvious reasons"):

• A "DEG Mouthpiece adapter for cornet and trumpet" (???!?):
  

• An unframed NBA all star game picture
  
  

• Really sketchy looking headphones from "Silk Vertical":

• A "Jellycat" stuffed animal:

• 14-Channel Car FM Transmitter and MP3 Player with USB Port and Remote

Oh, I almost forgot. For $12.34, you can also order the "Beef with Oyster Sauce" dish from the Palm Beach Hotel Restaurant in Jamaica. If you happen to be in Jamaica, that is.

*By the way, I'm out of numbers to post about! Leave more :)

On Idioms.

I've been meaning to blog about idioms for some time now. (No, enoch, not dumb people. "You idiom!") I think I've been thinking about it every day for the past... 2 or 3 weeks. Now, I have no idea what in fact I want to say about idioms... I just want to blog about them, hammer something out. So now that finals are over, I'm back on my feet. And since I've gotten everything squared away, here goes nothing.

Let's start from square one. What is an idiom?

id·i·om (noun),/ˈɪdiəm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[id-ee-uh m]: an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements.

Now, I'm not one to use many idioms in my daily speech. I do so only once in a blue moon. And when I do try to use one, it usually comes out kind of skewed. I never actually hit the nail on the head. You know, it's always a "close but no cigar" kind of situation.

OK, OK. Hold your horses. I really do have a point here.

Idioms are the kinds of things that you have to play by ear. You can't really force them, because then people start noticing. Can't pull the wool over anyone's eyes nowadays.

When you do use them, you've got to make sure you use them in the right context. And you just have to bank on the fact that someone knows what you're talking about. For example, this weekend, while hanging out with some friends, I said, "A stitch in time saves nine." They looked at me like I had two heads.

As I mentioned above, I'm not an authority on this matter. I probably won't try to correct you on your misuse of idioms, because that'd be like the pot calling the kettle black.

Lalalala...

Alright, fine. So maybe I don't have a real point. I should stop babbling. Clearly I'm beating a dead horse here (excuse the graphic nature of this one).

I'll just cut to the chase: Idioms are cool.

Marauding Monday: amazing animals.

Animals! pictures from snopes.

• A giant rabbit (3 feet, 17 lbs).

• A bird stealing quarters from a carwash (he's a smart one):

• A puppy born with a heart-shaped pattern on his coat:

• A black bear with her white cub:

• A horse with a prosthetic leg:

please pray!

Many of you know that I've recently (in the past year) become quite fond of the music of Steven Curtis Chapman. I've been following with his family's blogs in the past few weeks and am just amazed by their love for God and each other. Steven & wife MaryBeth have 6 children-- 3 biological and 3 adopted girls from China.

Their youngest daughter Maria (age 5) was struck and killed by an SUV last night. My heart is really aching for this family and I hope you'll join me in praying for them. If you click on the 2nd link, you can see Maria and her Dad doing dishes together (4/2/08 post).
---
*edit*

SCC wrote this song for friends who had lost a child. Thought it would be appropriate to share here:

"With Hope" - Steven Curtis Chapman

Marauding Monday: Random Facts

I know, I know. It's Tuesday. My b.

Some random facts for you, from randomfunfacts.com*:

• The only letter not appearing on the Periodic Table is the letter “J”.
  
  
• In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II was named an "Honorary Harlem Globetrotter"!
  
  
• Licking a stamp leads to the consumption of 1/10 of a calorie.
  
  
• TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
  
  
• Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.
  
  
• There are only four words in the common English language that end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
  
  
• Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
  

*Validity not guaranteed.

assist me.

Dear readers, I write to you with a humble request. It has come to my attention that the name of my blog ("just my musings...") has become painfully inadequate. Thus, I need a new one. The new appellation will then be followed by a new layout. I trust you, dear readers. Name my blog.