Thoughts on Proper Spelling

I read this article today on my local news website titled ” Google reveals ‘most mispelled’ word in Mass” I was intrigued because I was almost 100% positive that it was going to be something stupid like beautiful or jewelry. Words that are easy to mispell if you do not pay attention.  I looked at the word that is most mispelled in Massachusetts and that word is…..

License. Ok, you got me there Google. I am not going to lie, in a rush I have spelled license wrong probably about 50% of the time. It is such a simple word and when you sound out the word you would think it sounds like lie-sense or lie-scents. Anyways, I could see why many people would get that word wrong.

Now I am intrigued what others words people often mispell in other states. Here are some good ones.

  1. Maine and Michigan: Pneumonia
  2. New Hampshire- Diarrrhea- this one gets me too.
  3. Vermont- Europe?- Really?
  4. Pennsylvania: Sauerkraut
  5. Rhode Island: Liar
  6. New Jersey: Twelve
  7. Wisconsin: Wisconsin- this one I don’t get. You need to move to a different state if you can’t spell your own state name.

I do love how two states often mispelled the “Mary Poppins” reference:                 Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Kudos to those states.

(source: Google trends)

I am perplexed by some of the words that are misspelled in different states. Why is a word like people so difficult to spell in Hawaii, or what is so difficult about the word nanny? It is because everyone is so reliant on spell check.  Learning to spell without the use of technology is important. Spelling helps us to learn how to read and how to comprehend what we are reading. How to understand the relationship of a letter and the sounds it makes. It helps build the foundation for our literacy skills. When we mispell or use shorthands in texts,or in everyday life we are changing the rules of communication.  I have had someone text me with the shorthand ur. Now in my mind, that would mean 1 of 2 things. Either your, or you’re. Both words are very different.  We would have to examine our communications more clearly to determine meaning and context.  Do you think spelling without spell check is important? What are your thoughts?

Anyways,sorry for the ramble. It was just fascinating to look at the data from the map and to think about the importance of spelling/grammar.  I will leave you with that little nugget of information for the day.

Good day

-KD

Tuesday Thoughts.

It hasn’t even been a week, and I am already sick and tired of being unemployed. Wait… What? How can that be?  A misconception I have heard about my generation ( I am on the millenial side) is that we are lazy and hate working.  I am far from this stereotype. Obviously, I need a job to get by and pay the bills and to support my various needs/addictions.  More importantly, I need a job for sanity purposes.

Having a job is great for my mental health. Yes, jobs can impact our mental health in a some way, shape, or form. For me, working provides me with a way to keep my mind occupied. When I was at work, I was not thinking of all the other things going on in my life. I was just focused on everything that was happening that day/week, I was focused on the kids and I was surrounded by my collegues everyday. I don’t have this right now. I am alone with my dog, and my thoughts.  None of my friends are around because they are working. Friends/ my hubby would tell me to go out and do things on your own. The problem with that is I hate doing things alone.  The thought of going somewhere new and unfamiliar scares the crap out of me.  Also, in some way shape or form it requires money.  I don’t have that either.

The scariest part of being unemployed is the job hunt. You have to pretty much make yourself a walking advertisement. You have to invest in yourself and sell your self to potential employers.  Some one like myself for instance, might have difficulty with something like this because of the  the fear of what comes next. Finding a job is like dating. When you find someone you like you go out of your way to impress them in hopes that potentially this person might not reject you. Only to have to repeat the process over again.  On the other hand, you can just sit there and hold out in hopes that something better many come along.  Either way, the process is lame and daunting and can chip away at your ego.

I am sure I will find something soon.  Until that time comes, I have to find a productive hobby or maybe even a side job just to help keep myself preoccupied.  Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

-KD

 

 

 

An Ode to Dunkin Donuts

If you would have told me 15 years ago that as an adult I was going to be obsessed with coffee I would have laughed in your face. I never understood how and why people were obsessed with it. My parents drank coffee in the morning and at night after dinner. My dad always drank his coffee black, and my mom always had hers with evaporated milk and sugar. Coffee never appealed to me.

My addiction to all things coffee began when I was 20.  I had dropped out of college and decided  that I would much rather have a job. This job required me to get up every morning at 5:30. I needed something to perk me up in the morning, and Mountain Dew was not cutting it. I decided on my way to work to grab a coffee at the nearest Dunks.

Living in Massachusetts, Dunkin Donuts is a staple. They are everywhere. One day I decided to stop and try a medium iced french vanilla coffee.  It was delicious. From there on out, I am addicted. In 11 years, I have had an ice coffee every single day from Dunkin Donuts (except those days were we get horrible snow storms) and I have never turned back. I go to the same Dunkin’s all of the time. Over time, you learn about the employees and their coffee making habits. Some employees make an excellent cup of coffee and once in a while you will have an employee who is clueless. Over time those employees go or stay and they get better with orders.  Dunkin Donuts is always changing but their coffee remains a constant.  If I drink coffee from like Honey Dew or McDonalds or Starbucks I feel like I am cheating on a loved one. Don’t get me wrong, I love these chains.  However, Dunkin Donuts will always be my go to.

As I sit here and sip on my large iced caramel mocha regular.  I can’t help but thank Dunkin Donuts for my love of coffee.

-KD

A Tasty Treat

One thing you are going to learn about me is that I love food. I love weird things.  Well last week my husband and his friend went to go get ice cream. They stumbled upon this nice little ice cream stand on a main road. Not thinking anything of it they stopped for a tasty treat. My husband got a Reese’s Sundae. He told me that night all about his tasty treat. I was a little jealous. I love ice cream. Well then he dropped a bomb on me, this place had a Captain Crunch Sundae. I was intrigued.  I had to try this  Sundae.

This brings me to today. I was watching Netflix with the hubby and I told him I had a craving for ice cream. He suggested that we go get Captain Crunch Sundaes.

Now the idea of putting cereal and ice cream together is  nothing new for me. In college, we had an ice cream station with soft serve and we also had a cereal bar for the students who enjoyed eating Brinner.  (Breakfast for dinner). I used to put cereal in my ice cream. For example some great combinations included chocolate ice cream and Coco Puffs, or vanilla ice cream and Trix cereal. It was amazing and the possibilities were endless.

Anywho, back to the Captain Crunch Sundae. I got a regular sized sundae. This included two scoops of vanilla ice cream,  chocoloate syrup, marshmallow whipped cream, crushed Captain Crunch and Captain Crunch pieces. My first bite and I was in heaven. The Captain Crunch complimented the ice cream perfectly and it was just the perfect amount of cereal in the sundae. It was delicious and I ate the whole thing. I have no shame or regrets about it either.

What was so shocking to me, is that this regular old generic run of the mill ice cream stand actually had really good ice cream. Usually when it comes to great food or tasty treats, those kind of places are where you can find the best things.

 

-KD

Review: Portland Pie Co.

Yesterday was my dear friends birthday and we decided to celebrate her by going out to a pizza chain called Portland Pie Co.  From what I have been told, Portland Pie co. can mainly be found in Maine, and New Hampshire and they serve delicious gourmet pizza.  Many people I know who have eaten there have raved about how great their pizza is. So my husband and I decided to try this place out with our friends for my friend’s birthday and see for ourselves just how great this place is.

We took the drive up to Nashua. It is on Canal St. Upon our first arrival the place was not busy at all. I would have expected for a Friday night that the place would have been happening. However, my friend explained to me that they have a big carry out service.  We walked in to the restaurant which was nice, not overly fancy. We sat with our friends. Our waitress came over and took my drink order. I ordered a mojito and my husband but in for an order of bread sticks and calamari.  As we sat chatting about twenty minutes went by before our drinks came out.  This is a long time, considering the place was not very busy. Our cheesy bread sticks came out and for 6.95 you got what you paid for. The dough was a basil dough and it was delicious and the combination of cheese on top made it perfect.  Our waitress asked if we were ready to order and we were. We decided as a party of five to split three 10-inch pizzas. We got a BBQ pulled pork pizza with a basil crust, their County Pizza (which is mashed potato based) with their garlic dough  and their BBQ chicken pizza(Habormaster) with beer dough.  After we put in the order for our food the calmari came out. I was not impressed with their calamari. It was very chewy and it was supposed to be breaded but the breading fell off most of it.  I would say for the 11.99 for the calamari was not worth it. After about 15 minutes our pizzas came out.  Finally, the moment I had been waiting for.

Portland Pie Co’s Pizza’s were amazing. The dough and the crust was the perfect and the ingredients in each of the pizzas gave the pizza a great taste. The first one i tried was the Harbormaster. The Harbormaster consists of Red sauce, sliced chicken smothered in bbq sauce, carmalized onions aand smoked bacon woven into their three chese blend. It was like a party in my mouth.  Next I tried the County Pizza. The County is described as Mashed potatoes topped with caramelized onions, bacon, and cheddar cheese and the top was garnished with sour cream and scallions. This pizza was also really good. The mashed potatoes and the garlic crust was a great combination together.  My only complaint was the amount of sour cream, it was a little much. But still really delicious.  I saved the best for last, The Pulled Pork Pizza was to die for.  It is described as: Pulled Pork, tomato, red onion, shredded parmesean and or three cheese blend on a garlic and oil base. Finished with a drizzle of chipoltle BBQ sauce and fresh cilantro.  Yup. This my friends was the winning pizza of the evening. It was simply amazing.

The only downside to our experience at Portland Pie Co. was our server. She would disappear for a while and it took her about 30 minutes to finally cash us out. If the resturant was busy, I would be more sympathetic. However, it really wasn’t busy at all.

I would definetly recommend anyone in the New Hampshire, Maine area looking for some good gourmet Pizza, to give Portland Pie Co a chance. It is on the pricier side, but it is worth it. I can’t wait to go back.

-Kelly

 

It’s a rainy day…

Spring in Massachusetts this year has kind of been dull.  Now that I am currently unemployed, I have a lot of free time on my hands. I would really love to take Lady out for a nice walk,  however the weather is just not good enough.  One of my favorite things to do on a rainy day like today is read. One thing you are going to learn about me is that I love to read. Reading takes me away from what is really going on and lets me focus my energy into living in another world. I don’t know if this makes sense? It makes sense to me at least.  So what am I reading today?

 

Image result for me talk pretty one day cover picture

Me Talk Pretty One Day is a collection of essays penned by David Sedaris. I knew this was going to be a great read because in some of his essays he talks about his family more specifically his dad and his sisters. One of his sisters Amy Sedaris is also famous. “Strangers with Candy” anyone?? Anyways, I am really enjoying his funny stories. From his experiences with drugs, to his experiences as a college professor. This is really a great read on a day like today.

-KD

 

Life may seem like it is over…

A few days ago, the inevitable hit me. I was pulled into an office with my HR director and my principal at my current job and I was told I was being terminated.  I could not believe it. I felt like my whole wold was crashing down on me. What would I do about fiances? How would I pay my mortgage or my car payment? I could kiss the life I once had good bye. As a teacher, my job didn’t pay horribly, but it did not pay well either. I could live a comfortable life. All of these things were running through my head. I wanted to yell, scream and cry. Instead, I did this best that I could do. I thanked both individuals for their time, and I thanked them for the opportunity. I walked out of that office with my head held high. I was sad to leave behind such a great career and great co-workers.  When I told everyone about what happened that day they all rushed to my side to comfort me. It was as if a someone had died.  It was if a piece of me had died along with the job. I sat at home that night with my hubby and in my mind the situation just kept replaying in my head and the more I thought about it, the more I realized instead of sulking and being depressed over it. I need to move on and think about what am I going to do next. One of the items on my list, was to start blogging and see where this adventure will take me.