Musings on language...

I know I am not the first person to comment on this but, please people! Start saying "you're welcome" again! As most of you know, I am a language teacher (Spanish) as well as an erstwhile writer so you will understand my annoyance and some obsession. It drives me nuts that the response to "thank you" these days is nearly always, "No problem". It would seem that saying "thank you" to someone presupposes that the person being thanked is somehow "put out" or bothered by providing the thanker with whatever item or service and requires an implied apology. Not true! Saying "you're welcome" is a gracious way of acknowledging the person's thanks while at the same time expressing that it is a pleasure to provide said item or service.
Also, note to all you 30 and unders... Lose the word "suck". It is tired, overused, coarse and unbecoming. As to an alternative... well, be creative but civil.
So, I am henceforth smugly and pretentiously calling myself "Mr. Grammar Guy". Why? Because Dave Barry already uses "Mr. Language Person".

Here's how frustrating a little miscommunication can be! Last night Carlie was at our house changing Ellena'a diaper and had run our of wet wipes. She had already asked Rachel to get her a napkin, which she did. Then she asked Rachel for another and Rachel asked, "Wet?" and Carlie repeated the request. Again Rachel said, "Wet?" By now Carlie was tired of Rachel's poor hearing! We all got a good laugh from it.

Since Scott has been on his mission in Oklahoma City (he returns home to Tucson January 10th!)Rachel has been driving the Nissan Pathfinder. some time ago I spelled out "www.duewesttrio.com" in white vinyl letters on its rear window. The License plate also reads, "DUWEST3". So as Rachel was stopped at a light an older woman pulled up beside her, rolled down her window, gave Rachel the "thumbs up" and said, "Yeah, Due West Trio! Great music!". Rachel just smiled.

new hat!

We got Ellena's hat in the mail today from Aunt Tina. As soon as I got it out of the envelope, she wanted to see it. She didn't want me to put it on her since she wasn't done playing with it.
Love love love it Tina!

it's always time to eat

We are a bit behind on our daily pictures of Ellena. Wendy says she is really busy, so I will post a few. My comments will not be quite as funny, but bear with me.
Whenever anyone eats anything, Ellena thinks it is time for her to eat too. These pictures were taken yesterday morning, showing Daddy and Ellena sharing a blueberry muffin.

We (I) Are (am) The Champion(s)

Today at school we had the Fall Sports Assembly. The student council voted to ask me and Cathy Patterson, the Ag teacher to do "The Singing Bee" for the student body. They chose Beatles songs (heh, heh, heh). Cathy's was "Hard Day's Night" and she did really well, stayed in key, etc. My song was "Can't Buy Me Love". Yeah, I nailed it (one of my kids said he couldn't tell when the song stopped!). Then they did the hand over the head to let the audience cheer volume determine the winner. What can I say? It sounded like a 747 taking off (all modesty aside). They even gave me a "loving cup" trophy. It was fun AND it was Beatles songs!

A Month of Ellena- December 7th (or) Shrouded in RED.

We didn't have the heart to tell her that it wasn't a real molotov cocktail. She was just so adorable trying to land it in a cracked passenger-side window and yelling, "Our ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions!"

A Month of Ellena- Day 6

Trevor has trained her to not respond to any external stimuli until the commercial break.

A month of Ellena- December 5th

A real Angel. EH? EH (pronounced A...get it?!?!)

A Month of Ellena, December 4th

Through several rudamentary hand signs and simple phrases, Carlie has been able to communicate to Ellena that her brains will spew forth through her mouth if she does not constantly keep her finger in the cavity next to her front tooth. Poor Ellena's unrealized dream to be a concert pianist will remain just that. She'll be resigned to playing "Little Indian Lance" with her one free hand.

A Month of Ellena-December 3rd (or) "The police protected you and there were courts of law. And you didn't need a friend like me."

Bonasera, Bonasera. What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully?

Accent

Last night a lady from our apartment complex was having an "Open House" Mary Kay party and invited us to stop by. Her name is Gigi, and she is eastern Indian. After saying less than 20 words to her, she asked me, in her thick Indian accent, where my accent was from. ?? I told her I was from here. About 15 minutes later, she asked me if I really grew up here since I had such a beautiful way of speaking. The way I made my words, she said, was beautiful, and she was convinced I lived somewhere where I would pick up an accent.
Who knew?

And..... cue the music..... we started our own blog! Check us out at: http://tucsonthompsons.blogspot.com/

A Month of Ellena, December 2nd

Day 2- Ellena shows her instinctive ability to retrieve her stored provisions in the winter months. An impressive specimen, indeed.

A month of Ellena. December 1st

Carlie has a bad habit of NEVER TAKING PICTURES of baby Ellena, so in an effort to help her step up her frequency of photographing and posting, I've decided to sponsor "A Month of Ellena", where you can visit for a new picture of Ellena every day this month! Here she is, ringing in the holiday season with a well placed piece of trimming.

Feel free to comment if you have a request for a specific type of picture. I'd like to see her in reindeer antlers. Anyone? Anyone?