Word of the Day #40: cogent

co·gent [koh-juhnt]
–adjective
1.convincing or believable by virtue of forcible, clear, or incisive presentation; telling.
2.to the point; relevant; pertinent.

Word of the Day #39: loquacious

lo⋅qua⋅cious
loh-kwey-shuh s
–adjective
1. talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous: a loquacious dinner guest.
2. characterized by excessive talk; wordy: easily the most loquacious play of the season.

Word of the Day #38: propinquity

We haven't had one of these in a long time.

propinquity
[proh-ping-kwi-tee]

–noun 1. nearness in place; proximity.
2. nearness of relation; kinship.
3. affinity of nature; similarity.
4. nearness in time.

I got this in an email today.

Word of the day #37: draconian

Dra·co·ni·an
/dreɪˈkoʊniən, drə-/ Pronunciation Key - [drey-koh-nee-uhn, druh-] –adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Draco or his code of laws.
2. (often lowercase) rigorous; unusually severe or cruel: Draconian forms of punishment.

This is one of my director's favourite words. I love it :)

Word of the day #36: petulant

pet·u·lant

Audio Help /ˈpɛtʃələnt/ [pech-uh-luhnt]
–adjective
moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, esp. over some trifling annoyance: a petulant toss of the head.

[Origin: 1590–1600; < L petulant- (s. of petulāns) impudent, akin to petere to seek, head for] —Related forms
pet·u·lant·ly, adverb
—Synonyms irritable, peevish, fretful, pettish, touchy.

I used this in a sentence the other day and then realized that I didn't know if it was really the right word. I looked it up and it was *perfect*.

"Her attitude is petulant. Don't let it bother you."

Yeah me! My vocabulary is better than I though! LOL

Word of the day #35: gingival

So I sent an email to our computer tech. The text was supposed to read

"an individual" instead I typed
"an gingival"

Or something like that. Spell check either let it through or changed it to that word. So I'm talking to the tech today and he's thinking that it's a name. He's trying to pronounce it and I'm like "how do you spell that?" Then I find the email in question and read the context and realize that he's spent time looking for my spelling error!!! Apparently, it's a real word though:

gin·gi·val
Pronunciation Key - [jin-jahy-vuhl, jin-juh-]
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to the gums.

yi yi yi!

Word of the day #27: meme

Ashley tagged me to do a "book meme". I think I've done it before but I don't even know what a "meme" is. So, I looked it up:

meme /mim/ –noun
a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.

So, I still can't say that I really get it but I'll do the exercise anyways.

Here is what you have to do:
You have to open the book you’re currently reading on page 161 and read the fifth sentence on the page, then think of 5 bloggers to tag with.

I am currently reading the oh so edifying "Cordina's Royal Family: Bennet & Camilla" by Nora Roberts. The fifth sentence of page 161 reads: "We can't always choose what we feel, but there are other choices."

There. Now, I tag anyone who knows what "meme" is and can properly explain it to me LOL

~Heidi

Word of the day #33: chicanery

chi·can·er·y /ʃɪˈkeɪnəri, tʃɪ-/ Pronunciation Key - [shi-key-nuh-ree, chi-]
–noun, plural -er·ies.

1. trickery or deception by quibbling or sophistry: He resorted to the worst flattery and chicanery to win the job.
2. a quibble or subterfuge used to trick, deceive, or evade.

My boss used this word today in a letter. Pretty nifty!

~Heidi

Word of the day #33: in situ

in si·tu /ɪn ˈsaɪtu, -tyu, ˈsi-; Lat. ɪn ˈsɪtu/ Pronunciation Key - [in sahy-too, -tyoo, see-; Lat. in sit-oo]
1. situated in the original, natural, or existing place or position: The archaeologists were able to date the vase because it was found in situ.
2. Medicine/Medical.
a. in place or position; undisturbed.
b. in a localized state or condition: carcinoma in situ.

Word of the day #32: plein air

plein air

plein air /ˈpleɪn ˈɛər; Fr. plɛ ˈnɛr/
Pronunciation[pleyn air; Fr. ple ner]
–noun 1. the open air, esp. the daylight of outdoors.
2. Fine Arts. the quality of light and atmosphere out of doors, esp. this quality as rendered in painting.

As part of one of the local summer festivals, there will be a "plein air" art competition. Local artists will be onsite during the festival painting and afterwards their work will be displayed and possibly made available for sale. I wasn't familiar with this term before yesterday's meeting.

~Heidi

Word of the day #31: peccadillo

pec·ca·dil·lo /ˌpɛkəˈdɪloʊ/ Pronunciation Key [pek-uh-dil-oh]
–noun, plural -loes, -los. a very minor or slight sin or offense; a trifling fault.

Cool word! One of my co-workers used it today. I like it :)
~Heidi

Word of the day #30: sardonic

sar·don·ic /sɑrˈdɒnɪk/
–adjective characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering: a sardonic grin.

This was used twice on CMT tonight. I love it!
~Heidi

Word of the day #29: vitae

Wow. I haven't done a "word of the day" since October!!! I need to get back on top of expanding my vocabulary :)

vi·ta (vī'tə, vē'-) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. vi·tae (vī'tē, vē'tī)

A curriculum vitae.
A short account of a person's life.


cur·ric·u·lum vi·tae
Pronunciation Key - [kuh-rik-yuh-luhm vahy-tee, vee-tahy; Lat. koor-rik-oo-loom wee-tahy]
1. Also called vita, vitae. a brief biographical résumé of one's career and training, as prepared by a person applying for a job.
2. (italics) Latin. the course of one's life or career.

I just got one of these from someone and I had to look up this term. I've never heard of a vitae before. Very neat.

~Heidi

Word of the day #28: anticipation

an‧tic‧i‧pa‧tion Pronunciation Key [an-tis-uh-pey-shuhn]

–noun 1. the act of anticipating or the state of being anticipated.
2. realization in advance; foretaste.
3. expectation or hope.
4. previous notion; slight previous impression.
5. intuition, foreknowledge, or prescience.

As much as I enjoy surprises, I think I enjoy the anticpiation of an event more. Anyone who knows me in real life or has read my blog for any period of time should recognize this. I love looking forward to things. To travel, to concerts, to meeting up with friends. I love being there and experiencing the event and the I love following it up by telling people about my experiences and scrapbooking them. I live in the moment but I also live in the future and in the past and I am okay with that.

My time in DC on Sunday, September 24th was an excellent example of this. One of the reasons I made a point of going to the DC Retreat was because it was that close to downtown DC, an area I have always wanted to see. I may be Canadian born and bred but we get A LOT of Amerincan influence up here. In our news casts and publications, pop culture, history etc. To me the White House is way more recognizable then 24 Sussex Drive (I'm not even sure if it has a proper name) and the Capitol building more familiar then the Parliment. Therefore seeing them was a pretty big deal.

My fearless tour guide Nancy, is a DC native. Jill accompanied us as did Nancy's two oldest children, Samantha and Michael. It was a whirl wind trip. I've been referring to it as "My Amazing Race in DC" but "a photo scavenger hunt" would also apply. We saw basically every monument and office building of interetst in the downtown DC area. Because Nancy is familiar with the area she was pointing stuff out left and right. Everytime she pointed something out I'd take a picture. I'm going to ask her to go through and tell me what I actually have pictures of!

Speaking of pictures. I hope this works. Erin gave me permission (and assistance) to upload my pictures to the DC Retreat Shutterfly site. I took A LOT of pictures. Most of them are here. I intend to order them directly from this site. I’m killing two birds with one stone which is why I didn’t bother weeding it down to just the very best. Hopefully you don’t get really bored viewing them. I will post corresponding blog entries to go with each album and try to reference the photos in my entries.

Here is the link: clicky Start with the "agent713-DC" photos. Those have my DC Retreat Photos and the DC photo scanvenger hunt :)

Now, back to the story.

Even driving INTO DC was fascinating. Nancy lives in Fairfax County, Virginia. One of my favourite TV shows is "NCIS" and it all takes place in that same area. We drove in on Route 66 which follows one branch of the "Metro" line. Michael is fascinated by trains and kept up a running commentary of the status of the track (above ground, below, etc.) Our first stop was the Iwo Jimo Memorial which is right beside (or is it in?) Arlington National Cemetary. The Iwo Jimo Memorial is HUGE. Next we drove past the Pentagon...a few times ;) (It took Nancy a little while to figure out which road she wanted). At one point we stopped at a park on the riverbank and looked across the Potomac to the Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington Memorials.

We took the Arlington Memorial Bridge (I think) across to DC. There we got a few different shots of the Jefferson Memorial and then Nancy dropped Jill and I off a the brand new World War II Memorial. It is about mid point on the "mall" and very impressive. Just past it you can see the Lincoln Memorial and directly behind is the soaring Washington Monument.

From there we drove up and actually found a parking spot not too far from the capitol building. We walked up the mall until we were just on the other side of the fountain in front of the capitol building. It was drizzling a little bit but still muggy. Michael had fun chasing the birds and in typical little boy fashion, the bigger the area, the louder he got :) I didn’t mind it though. He made me realize that it’s been awhile since I’ve hung out with small energetic boys!

The Capitol Building is quite impressive. It’s all white and quite large. I am familiar with the dome style architecture from the Canadian Legislative buildings though so it didn’t wow me as much as it could have.

From the Capitol Building, with the help of Nancy’s on board navigation system and her husband on the cell phone we managed to find the Supreme Court Building. THAT was impressive. For some reason I hadn’t been able to summon a mental picture of it so when we finally found it tucked behind the Capitol Building it was awesome. The tall pillars and the stone carvings are impressive.

From there we continued the driving tour of DC. We saw the Canadian Embassy, the Navy Memorial and many, many other buildings that I need Nancy to identify for me.

Our next stop was at the White House. Nancy and the kids waited in the car while Jill and I ran through Lafayette Park and got a few pictures. Nancy ended up getting a parking spot so we were able to spend more time there. The police presence was really strong and there was a requisite protest going on but other then that it wasn’t all that busy. The White House looked exactly like I’d expected, except with more trees around. It seems that on tv and in the movies it looks a lot bigger and more accessible. In person you are very aware of the tall gates and the trees that block it from view.

We walked down to see where the press corps are stationed and another very impressive grey building who’s name escapes me right now.

Next we went around to see the front of the White House. Because Pennsylvania Avenue is closed to traffic and they are doing construction, we didn’t get very close which was fine.

From there, much to Michaels delight, we headed back to Virginia. We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s. My first time there. I had the smoky mountain chicken and garlic potatoes. Yummy! We dropped Jill off at the hotel and I was in bed at Nancy’s by just past 9. The early night was needed and felt really good.

Wow! I’m done this entry. I’m amazed. :P

~Heidi

Word of the day #27: inexorable

in‧ex‧o‧ra‧ble 
–adjective 1. unyielding; unalterable: inexorable truth; inexorable justice.
2. not to be persuaded, moved, or affected by prayers or entreaties: an inexorable creditor.

Word of the day #26: retrenchment

re·trench·ment ( P ) Pronunciation Key (r-trnchmnt)
n.
A cutting down or back; reduction.
A curtailment of expenses.
The cutting away of superfluous tissue.
n 1: entrenchment consisting of an additional interior fortification to prolong the defense 2: the reduction of expenditures in order to become financial stable [syn: curtailment, downsizing]

Word of the day #25: drayage

It's been awhile since I posted a word of the day. Today's requires two definitions.
~Heidi

dray•age P Pronunciation Key (dr-a-i-j)
n.
1. Transport by dray.
A charge for transport by dray.

dray P Pronunciation Key (dr-ay )
n.
A low, heavy cart without sides, used for haulage.

tr.v. drayed, dray•ing, drays
To haul by means of a low, heavy sideless cart.
2. [Middle English draie, sledge, cart, from Old English dragan, to draw.]

Word of the Day #24: bespoke

be·spoke ( P ) Pronunciation Key (b-spk)
v.
Past tense and a past participle of bespeak.

adj.
Custom-made. Said especially of clothes.
Making or selling custom-made clothes: a bespoke tailor.

Word of the Day #23: islet

is·let ( P ) Pronunciation Key (lt)
n.
A very small island: rocky islets off the coast.

I didn't know they had a seperate name. Cool!
~Heidi

Word of the Day #22: kern

kern ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kûrn) Printing n.
The portion of a typeface that projects beyond the body or shank of a character.tr.v. kerned, kern·ing, kerns
To provide (type) with a kern.
To adjust space between (characters) in typeset text.

kerning
The process of reducing the spacing between certainpairs of letters to improve their appearance. When a fontis created, each character is given a width that includessome space around it so that the letters don't run into eachother when displayed or printed. This can be thought of as aninvisible box around each character. Some pairs of characterssuch as A and V, look better if the boxes overlap slightly,bringing the characters closer together (but still not touching).