Collins English Dictionary – has the world gone mad?

Our language is changing every day, with a multitude of new “words” becoming part of popular speech on a daily basis. Now, I am exposed to popular culture just as regularly as the next person, and I must admit that some of these new “words” have found their way into my own speech. I do not, however, even try to kid myself that they might actually be legitimate vocabulary, to be acknowledged in any proper, scholarly form. As far as I am concerned, they are merely a means of lazily expressing oneself when one cannot be bothered to construct a proper sentence to convey one’s feelings. In particular, I refer to the recent addition of “meh”, a sound made popular by The Simpsons and now regularly used throughout a large portion of the English speaking world, to the Collins English Dictionary. It reminds me of the “Scrabble Dictionary” at my Nanna’s, which, while useful when you have crappy letters, is complete and utter rubbish. Whenever we struggle to compose a word from the seven letters provided, we start to get creative, asking ourselves “I wonder if that’s in the ‘stupid book’ (as we call it)”. Read More…

Rolling!

She finally did it. Yesterday, three days before being five months old, my little monkey rolled from her back to her tummy… and of course, I missed it. I had decided to give her some “tummy time” yesterday afternoon, so I laid out a sheet on the floor, and put her down between two lines of toys to keep her entertained (something to distract her away from the fact that she was no longer in my lap). She lay there for a good couple of minutes, pushing her torso & head up with her arms and having a good look around, before getting fed up and lying her head down for a bit of a “Mummy, you’ve got to be kidding me” style whinge. Fair enough. I didn’t really expect her to stay there for long, but she needs the practise. So anyway, I flipped her over onto her back, a position she’s much more familiar with, to buy myself a little computer time. Maybe a minute later, I turned to look at her, and she’s on her tummy again, looking around at her toys as if nothing had happened. She even fooled me for a minute, having only just seen her on her tummy. Then after one almighty double take, I realised what she’d done. Was I excited? Just a little bit. :) Between calling her father, texting her Nanna, and using the most high pitched congratulatory tone with her, I flipped her over again and waited, video camera at the ready, for her to do it again. I’m still waiting. Maybe I should try tempting her with Schmackos? Maybe not. Well, at least that works with Barkley anyway… Read More…

Health S.O.S - Calling All Recipes

A very good friend of mine has been told that for health reasons she must adhere to a particularly strict diet for the next twelve months. Now, of course, she will be obeying the good doctor’s orders, but I would dearly love to be able to assist her to make it through the twelve months without being entirely deprived of decent food! The problem is this: I am finding it very difficult to find recipes that exclude the key groups. She has been told to avoid anything with gluten, yeast, lactose, wheat, sugar and/or preservatives as they are interfering with both her iron and folate levels (and she is therefore anaemic). While I can find recipes that exclude some of these groups, I’m having trouble finding recipes that exclude all. I’m looking for any types of recipes – both treats and everyday meals. Can someone please assist? I would love to be able to help her out. Thank you!