Word of the Day

I am someone who really enjoys learning; some might call me an "educatophile." Since I clearly just made this work up, I think my vocabulary might need some help. Getting some help from The Dictionary does not sound all that fun. But, an easy way way to do this is to subscribe to Merriam Webster's "Word of the Day". Here is an example for today's word:

trepid

The Word of the Day for December 29, 2008 is:

trepid • \TREP-id\ • adjective

: timorous, fearful

Example Sentence:

After dark, the less trepid among us would venture as far as the front porch of the empty house, where the smallest creak would send us screaming.

Did you know?

Don't be afraid to use "trepid." After all, it has been in the English language for more than 350 years -- longer, by 30 years, than its antonym "intrepid." "Trepid" (from Latin "trepidus," meaning "alarmed" or "agitated") isn't used as much as "intrepid," but it can be a good word at times. Bill Kaufman, for example, found a use for it in a May 7, 2000 Newsday article, in which an aquarium volunteer is "asked if she is perhaps a little trepid about swimming with sharks in a 12-foot deep, 120,000 gallon tank." (Her fearless reply: "Not really.") The more intrepid among you might even consider using "trepidate" for "to tremble with fear" and "trepidant," meaning "timid" or "trembling." These are uncommon words, granted, but they haven't breathed their last.

The great thing about this site is you can easily subscribe and they send a new word to your inbox everyday. It's like in the movie Clueless where Alicia Silverstone is decides to help people so she gives Brittany Murphy a makeover, asks her to read one non-school book a week and look up one vocabulary word a day to try use it in a sentence. I believe the word in the movie was "Sporadic." This is even better than looking it up yourself because you can just check your email in the morning and have a new word to use that day! All your office mates will think you are getting smarter all the time, which in reality, you actually are!

I think since I have been home more recently, due to the weather and lack of 9-5 job, I have been giving food more thought. I have been cooking and baking and even making my very own hot chocolate recipes! I try to be healthy and eat only things that are good for me, but sometimes I crave something that I feel may be a sneaky trick the Devil pulled in order to get us to drink his blood:


I swear, this stuff is like crack. They must put so many chemicals in here you don't even want to know. How do they get it to continually be mixed? If you make chocolate milk at home, and it sits around for a few minutes, the chocolate syrup inevitably ends up separating from the milk and you have to re-stir it to get it chocolatey again. Once in a while a craving hits me so hard it's all I can think about. A few months ago walking home from class I popped into a drugstore to buy one and all that was left was Strawberry milk. Who even likes that stuff? Why do they stock it? I have never met one person in my life who admits they drink it. And don't even get me started on the Banana milk. Anyway, this irritated me to no end and I had to go to 3 different CVS's in order to find one that still had the chocolate variety available. To manke things even worse than being addicted to chocolatey crap, I think they changed the recipe as the containers that have plastic wrap around the outside of the cap taste different then the other containers that only have a tinfoil wrapping over the mouth. Ugh! I can't even get my fix anymore. Oh well, I guess Fleur De Sel will have to make up for it.

Ever since I was little, my first love has always been chocolate ice cream. Especially Haagen-Dazs Chocolate - I just can't get enough of the stuff. I could eat it everyday and never get sick of it (and have almost done that in the past!) I love the creamy texture and delicious chocolate taste that other ice creams just can't get quite right. Honestly, if I was ever on death row I think my last meal would include an entire bucket of Haagen-Dazs Chocolate (the big one, no mamby pamby small one for me). While perusing the frozen section of the grocery store, I ran across a new flavor Haagen-Dazs was selling: Fleur De Sel


I thought to myself "Well, this sounds odd yet interesting" so I decided to give it a whirl. To my great surprise, this may be my new favorite ice cream of all time. I know!! It is caramel ice cream with swirls of caramel and chocolate covered caramel chunks surrounded by the ever-so-slight hint of salt. It is the exact right combination of all the flavors and even the salt doesn't taste weird in the ice cream. Haaggen-Dazs, I hate to say it, but you may have a lifelong Chocolate snob turned Fleur De Sel addict on your hands. What is the next flavor you will unwittingly unleash upon my tastebuds? We may not know for awhile, but keep 'em coming!

Christmas Shopping

As hard as I try to slow time down, it never seems to work and the holiday season is upon on us once again. In order to help with the inevitable shopping that accompanies the holidays, here is a great website with deals for retailer's online websites.

If you are thinking of making an online purchse, just go to this website and type in the retailer's website. Retailmenot.com will give you any coupons they know of (free shipping, extra $10 off, etc.) to help with your online purchase. And all free for the consumer. Geinus!

Slinky

So about once a week or once every two weeks I check out www.icanhascheezburger.com and see what adorable cat pictures with funny sayings they have up. This visit was an unusal one; this video made me almost pee my pants, so enjoy!

So clearly I have gone off topic for a few weeks and thought I should get back to the roots, aka cats and cheese (my favorite things!). I found this great website if you have any questions or concerns about your cat, but may not be able to run out to a bookstore or call your vet.

I had a problem with my kitty and her naturally nocturnal behavior. She would run and meow at all hours of the night and my husband was about done with her. Since it was creating some problems with our relationship, I did some internet research to see what I could find. The site really does have a wealth of information on cat behavior as well as tips and suggestions for food and traveling with a kitty. She has since calmed down and we are all much happier at night :)

BCBG Max Azria

There is no doubt about it, I love dresses. They are the most versatile and easiest outfits for women to wear. A dress is an entire outfit with one piece of clothing! Add some tights, and it's winter ready. Add some leggings or a pair of skinny pants and you become very hipster. Basically I love dresses and wish I could wear them everyday....

Welcome to BCBG - my new favorite dress store. I have had a few BCBG dresses over the years, but I have recently discovered they are my favorite. They have everything from fancy to casual and shoes and accessories to match. Yesterday, when i was hanging out with my favorite fashionista and her friend, our "stylist" for the day, I purchased this:



It is great! I tried it on with a few pairs of shoes (they all went with it) and a few purses (they allwent with it too!) The colors are perfect and it drapes just right. Now I just need an excuse to wear it.... BCBG I love you!

L'Occitane

My skin gets really dry especially in the winter. I have tried almost every lotion/cream out there all the way from the drugstore brands to the expensive ones, and I absolutely love L'Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream with Shea Butter. It leaves my skin really soft and hydrated, and makes putting makeup on that much smoother. It even has a nice soft scent that smells great before bedtime. I have to say, this face cream really makes me happy!

Stiletto Shoes

Anyone who has ever met me knows that I love shoes. I think it's all thanks to one Miss Carrie Bradshaw and her worship of the Manolo. Ever since I started watching SaTC, my appreciation of shoes has escalated to a level 3 threat... or what I like to call a Code Orange. Code Orange means that your closet if full to the brim of whatever item you love (albeit handbags, belts, scarves, etc.) but yet you still crave the newest and nicest styles of the season. Recently, on a walk up Madison Avenue, I ran across these glorious YSL pumps: 

Since I clearly don't live in a world where I can afford these shoes, I happened to see a pretty good imitation at Aldo:

Now, of course they aren't quite as fab, but they may make it into my next purchase scheme to overload my closet into a Code Red situation (so named because my husband's face turns red when he realizes I bought more shoes....)

Equinox Gym

For the first time since college, I have been frequenting a gym. I am not known for being a gym rat, in fact, it's so much better (and free) to run outside, right? True, but with winter coming up, that pretty much puts the kabosh on most outside activity. Cut to Equinox Gym, opening right across the street from my apartment.

OMG, this gym is awesome. It is 5 floors, fully stocked, completely clean, and has state of the art equipment. I haven't been to a gym in so long, I couldn't believe the treadmills had their own TV's! Apparently, this is common place now, but I had no idea. Since joining, I have gone everyday, and my husband has come along just as many times too. So far, I have been feeling better about working different muscle groups and getting some cardio worksouts in as well. As I've heard a million times in the media, working out makes you feel better, and so far it has certainly been keeping my spirits up.

Welcome!!!

Cats and Cheez.... things that makes me happy!

Whether it's your morning cup of coffee, a small token of affection, a shopping spree or a website that makes you laugh, in these dire global and financial times everyone needs a little pick me up now and again. The purpose of this blog is for people to list things that make them happy. I started off with the two things that I enjoy most... Cats and Cheez! Unfortunately, someone had alsready taken Cats and CheeSE, so we are using the abbreviated version. This site can really be useful for those of us that appreciate the little things in life, and wish other people do too!