Ahhhhhh ...

What's In Your Name?

Source: iStock Photo

I've been carrying around this Wall Street Journal article scribbled on a scrap piece of paper for almost a week.

Dr. Chopp, Meet Congressman Weiner:

What's in a Name? For Some, an Identity to Live Up to -- or Down To

When I first read the headline ... yeah *rolls eyes* ... I thought, "No more Weiner! Please." I'd had just about enough of this guy's nonsense in the news. But I gave the writers a chance and read past the first couple of short paragraphs.

The article draws an interesting connection between occupations (some might say behavior, too) and people's names -- a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

As I read the names of an attorney ("Sue Yoo") and urologist ("Dr. Chopp"), I pondered my own. My-annoying-when-pronounced-in-English-name. Had I missed a "calling," some interesting career opportunity because I'd been too busy cringing every time I heard it?

"But Esmeralda ... it's so beautiful."

Yes, in Spanish, "Esmeralda," or "Emerald," rolls off the tongue. In English -- well -- it comes out like a fur ball. Like a malady in need of a cure.

Maybe I feel this way because every teacher I ever had from K-8 butchered it during roll-call. Or perhaps it's because the only other "Esmeraldas" I'd ever heard named were from film or TV, e.g. Samantha's nervous aunt on BEWITCHED, or the gypsy who got dragged up a tower by a hunchback.

Yup. All gems.

Trust me, there's a reason why the first time somebody called me "Ezzy," I latched on to it like a barnacle to the hull of ship.

If what this article suggests is true, should I have been a miner?  A gemologist? A museum curator or art collector? Hmmmmm ... what should somebody named after a precious stone do for their life's work?

In case you're wondering, I can't stand the sound of "Ezzy" in Spanish, either.

Are you in an occupation, or behave in a way that's "fitting" of your name?

Una Rosa de Mi Jardin. | A Rose From My Garden.

EL DÍA "E": Mi Palabra Favorita en Español

Decidi hacer algo un poco diferente para Spanish Friday esta semana. ¡Mi primer vlog!

Le doy las gracías a mi amiga Leslie Limon de Motherhood in Mexico por haber me mandado ayer los linqueros a El DÍA E. El Dia E es una fiesta mundial de todos los qué hablamos español qué cay el 18 de junio. ¡Qué celebración tan chevére!

Amo el español, el idioma de mi niñez con todo mi corazon. Es por eso qué la estoy estudiando y practicando.

Aquí les dejo mi palabra favorita en español. Solamente decirla me trae una sonrisa. Hasta ahoy aprendi qué se escribe con una "h" y no con una "o." ; )

Mi Palabra Favorita es ...

Tiene usted una palabra favorita en español?

I decided to do something a little different for my Spanish Friday this week. My first vlog!

A big thank you to Leslie Limon over at Motherhood in Mexico for having sent me the links to EL DÍA E, yesterday.

EL DÍA E is a global celebration for spanish-speakers that falls on June 18th. A celebration for my childhood language -- I can't think of anything cooler than that. Por favor visitenlos y miren los videos inspirantes qué se encuentran ahí.

I love Spanish, the language of my childhood, with all my heart. It's for that reason that I'm studying and practicing it.

Here I leave you with my favorite Spanish word. Simply saying it brings a smile to my face. It wasn't until today that I learned it's spelled with an "h" not an "o."

Video Translated

My favorite Spanish word is "ant."

The ant is a marvelous insect that can carry up to fifty times it's weight in its mouth. If a tiny ant can accomplish so much, what might we be able to accomplish ourselves?

"Ant."

JUST FOR FUN: Bruins Fans Coming Unglued, Last Night

My husband is buried in there!

What's Your Guilty Reading Pleasure?

Are there books that make you feel as though you're about to indulge in a slice of seven-layer chocolate cake?

The seventh installment in Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series, All Together Dead, was my guilty pleasure this week, without the calories. *big smiles*

These books, laden with dark humor, are Harris' quirky take on the Deep South, when vampires come out of their coffins -- literally -- to live alongside humans, after the invention of a synthetic blood called Trueblood.

The heroine of this series, Sookie, is a waitress and telepath who falls in love with one of these vampires in the first novel and soon discovers that "blood-suckers" aren't the only supernatural beings living among the blue-collar residents of Bon Temps, Louisiana.

Supernatural humor aside, discrimination is an issue that threads the series when vampires become the new underclass, which is ironic, seeing as Harris' vampires are "superior" in intellect and physical strength to humans.

Something that tickles my imagination when inside Sookie's head is what it might be like to be telepathic. Would I use that power? In the first six novels, Sookie despises her ability. She's constantly barraged by the intrusiveness of it, which explains her fondness for vampires: their brains are dead. It's not until this seventh installment that she discovers a positive application for her power.

Light, but thought-provoking reading for mature audiences, The Sookie Stackhouse Series is my chocolate cake, with a smidgeon of social justice thrown in for good measure. 

Tell me, what's your chocolate cake? : )

Sookie Stackhouse: Southern Vampire Series

(I have four to go!)

Dead Until Dark

Living Dead in Dallas

Club Dead

Dead to the World

Dead as a Doornail

Definitely Dead

All Together Dead

From Dead to Worse

Dead and Gone

Dead in the Family

Dead Reckoning

¡Vamos a la Playa! ... ¿ó No?

Ayer nos pasamos un día muy interesante. La escuela de mi niño planea cada fin de año un día en la playa. Nosotros nunca habíamos participado y estabamos bien animados. Invite una amiga, una de las otras mamas pensando qué juntas no nos podíamos perder (yo me pierdo bien facile!)

Bueno. Hasta con direcciónes y navegación electronica, nos perdimos por mas de una hora en el bosque a causa de un desvío en el camino. Anduvimos por unas carreteras tan desiertas qué me imaginaba qué un hombre desfilado de mascara y arrastrando una sierra de cadena iba brincar de atras de un arbol. o_O

Hacer las cosas peor, casi se nos acababa la gasolina (se me había olvidado llenar el tanque cuando salimos de la ciudad). Mensa.

Por fin, sí llegamos (con la ayuda de un angel), y solo con una hora para qué jugaran los chicos.

¿Creen qué casi a la hora se nubló el cielo y tuvimos que irnos antes qué comenzara a llover?

Qué suerte tuvimos.

No fue el día ideal, pero si fue una aventura. Tanto qué se quedo dormido mi niño a las seis de la noche.

Let's Go to The Beach ... Or Not?

We had an interesting day, yesterday. Our son's school plans a day at the beach at the end of every school year. We'd never participated in the past, so we were really excited. I invited one of the other mom's thinking that together, we wouldn't get lost (I get lost really easily!)

Well. Even with directions and a navigation system, we got lost for more than an hour in the forest because of a detour. We travelled roads so deserted that I imaged a masked man, dragging a chainsaw would jump out from behind a tree. o_O

To make matters worse, we were about to run out of gas (I'd forgotten to fill the tank when we left the city). Duh.

But we got there (with the help of an angel), and only with an hour for the boys to play.

Can you believe that almost to the hour, the sky clouded over and we had to leave before it started to rain?

It wasn't the ideal day, but it was an adventure. So much so that our son was asleep by six o'clock.

Bear Day at School

For other #wordlesswednesday entries, please click here. : )
¡Y para #miercolesmudo, aquí!!

Note: I hope you like the updated look for my blog!

Felt like I needed to personalize it a little. : )

Multicultural Familia™: Lessons From The Freedom Riders

My first post is up at Multicultural Familia. In it I share some of the lessons from history that I learned from watching the PBS documentary THE FREEDOM RIDERS. To read the post in its entirety, please follow this link.

I invite you to pop over and check-out the site! :)

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.

Una Receta de Aguacates con Tomates

¿Quien no ha tratado de copíar una receta qué al fin ha salido como un desastre? *levanta la dos manos*

Me atreví esta semana de hacer unas de las recetes qué he admirado por varías semanas en el blog de La Cocina de Leslie (Leslie Limon).

Sí no conocen a Leslie, por favor vayan y visitenla en su blog. Es una chica bien creativa de california qué decidío mudarse a mexico con su marido. Escribe de todas las aventuras de su familía en su otro blog Motherhood in Mexico.

Esta es la receta que hize:

La Cocina de Leslie: "There's More Than One Way To Slice An Avocado"

Escogí esta receta por los aguacates (¡los amo!). Como todas las otras recetas qué se encuentran en el blog de Leslie, esta solo requiere unos cuantos ingredientes. Fue por eso y por la simplicidad de las direcciónes qué me dieron las ganas de hacerla.

Lo unico que se me dificulto fue sacarles los canijos huesos a los aguacates. Fotos de los huesos rodando en el piso y de mis ojos llorando por qué se me olvido lavarme las manos despues de haber limpíado los chiles, no se encuentran. : )

Estoy orgullosa ... ¿Verdad que no me salío mal?

A Recipe with Avocados and Tomatoes

Who hasn't tried to copy a recipe only to have it come out like a disaster? *raises both hands*

This week, I attempted to make one of the recipes I've admired for several weeks at Leslie Limon's blog Leslie's Kitchen.

If you don't know Leslie please go over and visit her blog. She's a really creative chick from California who decided to move to Mexico with her husband. She writes about all her family's adventures at her other blog Motherhood in Mexico.

Following is the recipe I made:

La Cocina de Leslie: "There's More Than One Way To Slice An Avocado"

I picked this recipe because of the avocados (I love them). Like all the other recipes on Leslie's blog, this one only calls for a few ingredients. It was because of that and the simplicity of the directions that I got the urge to try it.

The only thing I had trouble with was taking the darn seeds out of the avocados. Pictures of the seeds rolling around on my floor and of my eyes watering because I forgot to wash my hands after having cleaned the chiles are not found here. : )

I'm proud ... it didn't come out bad, did it?

Is There a Connection Between Language and Personality?

Do we think and feel differently in different languages?

Am I Nuts?

For those of you who are bilingual (or multilingual), are you aware of a difference in how you express yourself, depending on the language you choose? For example, are you more playful, serious, careful or humorous, when writing in one language versus another?

I know it probably seems like an odd question, but I've started to wonder about the relationship between language and personality, since I started exercising "Esmeralda," the Spanish side of my brain.

In my case, I've noticed a few things. For example, the Spanish side of my brain is irreverent and playful. She wants to poke fun at things. Other times, her emotions cut deeper than anything she could express in English words. She wants to open her heart.

Something else ... this girl, Esmeralda, keeps wanting to push my pen places the English side wouldn't normally go. How's that?

It's as though my Spanish mind is set to the age of the little girl who allowed herself to get swallowed up by English, and so many other things. Sounds strange. I know. Whatever the explanation, I'm both intrigued and a little afraid by it. We'll see where Ezzy and Esmeralda go. : )

Do you think it's possible to think and feel differently in different languages? If so, how much of this difference do you think has to do with a language's cultural origin?