What Have You Read Lately?

Ever since I can remember, my favorite activity has been reading. I can't imagine my life without books, my constant companions. Whenever I start to talk about books with people, someone will inevitablely ask me, "What do you like to read?" I always feel put on the spot and suddenly can't recall a single book I've ever read. I probably read more fiction than nonfiction, but I really enjoy them both.

It's probably easier to think of what I don't like to read. I haven't read a lot of science fiction, and what I have read I haven't really enjoyed. A friend who loves science fiction told me, "It's because you're not reading the right science fiction." This is entirely possible. I should look into that.

One genre I really don't care for is fantasy. I'm just not the kind of person who likes to become immersed in other worlds with quirky creatures and quests and spells and that sort of thing. I fear I will offend some of you, but I can't stand JRR Tolkein and those Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books. I got halfway through The Hobbit and I wanted to throw the book across the room.

So what do I like, then? I'm just going to start listing books (in no particular order) that have made a particular impression on me, and maybe it will paint a picture of the type of book I like:

• 
  
  Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
• 
  
  The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
• 
  
  A Mouthful of Air by Anthony Burgess
• 
  
  She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
• 
  
  Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• 
  
  City of Joy by Dominique LaPierre
• 
  
  Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
• 
  
  The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
• 
  
  The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
• 
  
  Tim by Colleen McCullough
• 
  
  The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
• 
  
  Adam Bede by George Eliot
• 
  
  A Room With a View by EM Forster
• 
  
  All the Jane Austen books
• 
  
  Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• 
  
  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• 
  
  Sophie's Choice by William Styron
• 
  
  Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
• 
  
  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• 
  
  Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
• 
  
  The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• 
  
  Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All by Allan Gurganus
• 
  
  Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
• 
  
  The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
• 
  
  Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
• 
  
  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
• 
  
  The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• 
  
  All of Pat Conroy's books
• 
  
  The Collector by John Fowles
• 
  
  Cat's Eye and Alias Grace (and others) by Margaret Atwood
• 
  
  The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker
• 
  
  The "Little House" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Well, it seems I like a wide variety of books. I hope you try one of the books I've listed here. If you don't, that's fine too. The important thing is to read, read, and then read some more. Your English will improve tremendously, and you'll have some adventures along the way.

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Vocabulary

• 
  
  inevitable: something that is sure to happen 
• 
  
  put on the spot: feeling pressure to speak or do something quickly
• 
  
  possible: able to be done
• 
  
  immersed: fully involved in some activity or interest
• 
  
  quirky: unusual, especially in an appealing way
• 
  
  offend: to cause someone to be hurt, angry, or upset over something said or done
• 
  
  tremendously: in a very large or great manner 

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Vocabulary Practice

1. 
   
   I don't want to __________ her by not eating any, but I don't care for her blueberry pie.
2. 
   
   A ___________ large tree fell in my mother's front yard.
3. 
   
   I love the feeling of being so ____________ in a project that I forget to eat.
4. 
   
   The children's TV show Yo Gabba Gabba is a bit _____________ but somehow I like it.
5. 
   
   Once my eyes start closing while I read late at night, it's ____________ that I'll fall asleep.
6. 
   
   Andrew felt ____________ when his coworker asked him if he was coming to her party.
7. 
   
   Sometimes it doesn't seem ____________, but I know I will find a job someday.

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Grammar Point

Direct Quotes

When you want to show that something you've written is an exact quote from a person, you need to put the words they said within quotation marks. The first letter of the quoted phrase is a capital, and any end marks (period, question mark, exclamation point) go before the ending quotes. Look at these examples from my blog entry:

• 
  
  Whenever I start to talk about books with people, someone will inevitablely ask me, "What do you like to read?"
• 
  
  A friend who loves science fiction told me, "It's because you're not reading the right science fiction."

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Grammar Practice

Put quotation marks in the correct places in the following sentences:

1. 
   
   The crossing guard yelled, Stop! to the children.
2. 
   
   Bess asked her friend, Do you have the keys?
3. 
   
   When the hairdresser took out the scissors, I said, Please don't cut off too much hair.
4. 
   
   The librarian told the teenagers, Please keep the noise down.
5. 
   
   Elizabeth asked the bus driver, Which stop is nearest to the park?

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Come Visit My Booklist!

Because I'm well-known among my friends and family for being a constant reader, people used to always ask me, "What should I read?" I had such a hard time recalling the titles and authors that I decided to keep a list of all the books I read. I began the original list in a notebook in 1992--no synopses, no reviews, no comments. In 2002, for the tenth anniversary of the list, I converted it to a website (though I still keep a hard copy of the ongoing list):

http://claudsbooklist.webs.com/

For the launch of the website, I added a rating system. I think I have about 430 books on the list at this point. I'd love it if you visited my website and sent it to your book-loving friends and family. Happy reading!

Six Material Things That Consistently Make Me Happy

Do you ever feel like you can't escape advertising? It's everywhere. Companies seem to always be on the lookout for new places to position their ads. I try to talk to my 4-year-old son John about advertising and not believing everything he sees and hears on commercials. In general, I'm a nonconsumer. I hate stuff. I dream of empty shelves and bare rooms. I can't stand shopping and I don't care about labels or status. However, there are a few products or items that I love--things that really do what they're supposed to and hence make me happy.

Here is my list of Six Material Things That Consistently Make Me Happy (in no particular order):

1. 
   
   My Eyelash Curler: I have terrible eyelashes. They are short and thin and stick straight. My mother's eyelashes are the same way. I don't wear a lot of makeup, but one thing I like is looking like I have eyelashes. I've been using an eyelash curler (and mascara) ever since high school. People who don't have eyelash problems tend to tease me about my devotion to the eyelash curler until I show them a demonstration: one eye "curled" and one eye not. The difference is dramatic.
2. 
   
   Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil: I almost don't want to write about this, because I want it to be a secret. Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil is this delightful, light oil that you can either pour into a bath or smooth on your skin after a shower. It feels lovely going on, moisturizes your skin, and doesn't feel greasy afterward. However, the greatest thing about this product is the smell. When you wear this oil you smell like you just got back from the beach. In my opinion, it's better than any perfume I've ever encountered. When I put this on my skin and smell the amazing fragrance, I'm instantly in a good mood.
3. 
   
   The LEGO Brick Separator: In a previous post I mentioned how my two boys are very into building with LEGO blocks these days. I recently discovered that there is a new LEGO store in the Roosevelt Field Mall, so I popped in to see what they had. It was a wonderland of LEGO. I bought the boys a few new blocks and some wheels, but the greatest thing I found was the Brick Separator. It's an actual tool that you use (instead of your teeth) to take apart the stubborn blocks. It looks something like a bottle opener. You just place the end of this tool on the LEGO that's stuck, gently bend it upward, and it pops right off. Is it one of life's necessities? No. But it fits in the LEGO bucket, costs only $2.99, and keeps trachea-sized LEGO blocks out of my kids' mouths. That's enough for me!
4. 
   
   The Tupperware Orange Peeling Tool: For people like me, with very short, weak fingernails, peeling an orange is no easy task. Have you ever seen Tupperware's orange peeler? It's very exciting. It's basically a long plastic stick that has a sharp, hooked point at one end. What you do is take an orange in one hand, hold the peeling tool in the other hand, and carve a vertical groove down the side of the entire orange with the hooked end of the tool. Make similar vertical grooves all around the orange, about an inch apart. Then you can easily peel it with your fingers. Again, this may not be a necessity, but it works so well that I had to put it on the list.
5. 
   
   Avon Moisture Effective Eye Makeup Remover: When I first started wearing makeup in high school, a friend introduced me to this creamy eye makeup remover from Avon. It worked great, didn't bother my eyes, and was very inexpensive. Twenty-five years later, Avon still sells it and it's still the best. And if you buy it at the right time, you can get it for 99 cents a bottle. Can you beat that?
6. 
   
   
   The Penny Arcade Coin Machine at TD Bank: Don't get me wrong: I love rolling coins. There's something very satisfying about having a giant jar of coins, sitting down with the wrappers and something I've been wanting to watch on TV, and organizing it all into nice, solid, rolled tubes. The drudgery comes when I have to bring them to the bank. I can never seem to get there during their open hours, so the rolled coins sit in a bag for weeks and weeks. However, that phase of my life is over due to the coin machine at TD Bank. Anyone can use it, not just people who have an accout there. You walk over the machine, make a guess as to how much money you have (the machine asks you to do this), dump your coins into a metal tray, push a few buttons, and out pops a receipt showing how much money you put in. You bring it over to the bank teller and get your cash. There are no fees at all. It's that easy. Enjoy!

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Vocabulary

• escape: to get away from something or somewhere 
• can't stand: do not like 
• devotion: a feeling of strong love or loyalty 
• delightful: very pleasant
• greasy: covered with grease or oil 
• popped in: went for a short visit 
• stubborn: refusing to change your ideas or stop doing something 
• grooves: long, narrow cuts or low areas in a surface 
• inexpensive: doesn't cost a lot of money 
• drudgery: boring, difficult, or unpleasant work

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Vocabulary Practice

1. After I went to the bank, I ____________ for a quick visit at my mother's house.
2. The children rode over the cement before it was dry, so it had deep ____________ from bicycle wheels.
3. Ella has a strong ___________ toward her religion.
4. Gardening is a _______________ way to spend a spring morning.
5. Henry was happy to find an ______________ booklight that was sturdy and worked well.
6. Most people think balancing a checkbook is __________, but I enjoy it.
7. Michael is so ___________ that he refuses to even consider doing his banking on line.
8. Sometimes the dishes still have a ___________ feeling to them when they come out of the dishwasher.
9. I really ____________ grocery shopping; to me, it's the worst chore there is.
10. It's nice to ____________ from everyday life once in a while.

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Grammar Point
Using an Apostrophe to Show Ownership

When should you use an apostrophe? There are some special cases, but usually we use an apostrophe for two reasons:

1. To show ownership (used with an s)
2. To form contractions, which is how show that letters have been removed

We've already covered contractions in another blog entry, so today I'll cover using an apostrophe to show ownership. In the entry above, here are some examples of this usage:

• my mother's eyelashes
• life's necessities
• Tupperware's orange peeler

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Grammar Practice

In the following examples, add the missing apostrophes. There should be one in each sentence.

1. The lions cubs slept next to her in the shade.
2. That cars tire looks flat.
3. I want to read more of that authors books.
4. The presidents speech was quite interesting.
5. Jims father is coming to stay for two weeks.

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1000 Awesome Things

I recently came across this wonderful blog (and then sought out the accompanying book) by Neil Pasricha. He writes about one awesome thing every day. Some examples are finding money you forgot about in your pocket, that smooth feeling on your teeth after you get your braces off, and bakery air. Take a look and prepare to be happy:
http://1000awesomethings.com/

Ten Fun Things to Do With the Dictionary

1. 
   
   Roulette: Close your eyes. Open the book to any page and randomly place your finger wherever it lands. Open your eyes but only read the word, not the definition. See if you know what the word means. If you don't, see if you can figure it out. If you do this with a friend, your friend can give you a hint to help you guess the definition.
2. 
   
   
   Definitions Only: This activity can only be done with two or more people. One person chooses any word in the dictionary. It should be a word that is pretty well known. That person reads only the definition to the other people in the group. The other people have to guess what word is being described. It's funny to see how many common words are hard to identify this way. When I was in high school, my father and I used to play this game most nights after dinner, while we were sitting at the table and had just finished our meals. It's one of my very special memories.
   
   
3. 
   
   
   Spelling Bee: Get with a partner and take turns asking each other how to spell words from the dictionary. One point is given for each correct word. Each player gets to continue as long as he or she keeps spelling words correctly.
   
   
4. 
   
   
   Party Game: Have you ever heard of the dictionary party game? You'll need a at least 4 players, a dictionary, paper, and pens. One person is chosen to be the reader/writer. That person chooses a very unfamiliar word from the dictionary and writes it on a piece of paper and shows it to the rest of the players. Each of the other players writes down their own definition of the word on a piece of paper. Generally, no one will know what the word means, so the definitions will be made up. Try to write your fake definition in the formal style of a real dictionary definition. The person who is the reader/writer will also copy the real dictionary definition of the word onto a piece of paper. The reader collects the papers and reads all of the definitions aloud, including the real one. The other players must vote for which definition they think is the real one. The person whose fake definition gets the most votes wins that round. The person to the left of the reader/writer now gets that job and the process is repeated. At the end of the game, whoever has the most points wins. It's a lot of fun!
   
   
5. 
   
   
   Browse! One of the greatest things to do with the dictionary is just browse. Let yourself wander through the pages and see what you find. Look at the illustrations. Look for words that you've never seen before. Find words that you love to say aloud, even if you don't understand what they mean. But beware, because you can easily get lost in the pages this way. You may even miss an episode of American Idol! (Look up sarcasm in the dictionary.)
   
   
6. 
   
   
   Go to http://www.m-w.com/. This online version of the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate dictionary is terrific. Each word has an audio clip associated with it, so you can hear how the word is pronounced. But one of the greatest things about this site is the Learner's Dictionary. Click on ESL in the horizontal blue bar toward the top of the home page and you'll be taken to the Learner's Dictionary area. This dictionary was especially created for English learners. You'll find many more pictures and sample sentences than in the main dictionary section. Look for the section with exercises for perfect English pronunciation. You can even create your own dictionary on the site; you can collect the words you look up so you can practice them in the future. 
   
   
7. 
   
   
   Strange Words: Have a contest with a friend. Set a timer for 5 minutes, and see how many strange or crazy words you can find. Vote on who found the best word and see how many times you can use it in conversation that day.
   
   
8. 
   
   
   See What Else Is in There: Dictionaries have a lot more inside them than just words and definitions. Look in your dictionary and see what else you can find. You may see pictures of flags from all the world's countries, a guide to the money used in different nations, maps, and more. 
   
   
9. 
   
   
   Story Time: Choose five words randomly by opening up to different pages and putting your finger on any word. Write these five words and their definitions on a piece of paper. Using all of the words, write a short story. Don't try to use perfect form or even make sense. Just have fun trying to connect the words somehow, and see what you can come up with.
   
   
10. 
    
    
    Index Card Bank: Each time you need to look up a word, write it on an index card. Store your cards in a ziploc bag and keep them with you at all times. When you're in a doctor's waiting room or on line at the supermarket, you can take out your words and review them while you wait.

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Vocabulary

• 
  
  
  hint: a small piece of information that can help you do something or guess an answer more easily
• 
  
  
  common: done by many people 
• 
  
  
  memories: thoughts about events that happened in the past
• 
  
  
  take turns: when two people do something one after the other, sharing the activity
• 
  
  
  unfamiliar: not often seen, heard, or experienced
• 
  
  
  fake: not real
• 
  
  
  browse: look at many things to see if something is interesting to you
• 
  
  
  illustrations: pictures that go along with words or a story
• 
  
  
  horizontal: positioned from side to side rather than up and down
• 
  
  
  contest: an event that people try to win by doing something better than others
• 
  
  
  conversation: talking between two or more people
• 
  
  
  review: carefully look over something you've done

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Vocabulary Practice

1. 
   
   
   The teacher told the students to draw a _______________ line at the top of the page.
2. 
   
   
   When I have time, I love to ______________ through the shelves of the bookstore.
3. 
   
   
   My 2-year-old son is just learning to _________________ with his brother when they play.
4. 
   
   
   Tina was so excited when she realized she had won the dance ____________.
5. 
   
   
   It's nice to have _____________ of wonderful trips to exciting places.
6. 
   
   
   I get many compliments on my diamond earrings, but they're actually _________ ones that I bought for $12 at Macy's.
7. 
   
   
   It's very ____________ to have a fear of spiders.
8. 
   
   
   You should ______________ your exam for mistakes before you give it to the teacher.
9. 
   
   
   When you're in an _______________ neighborhood, it can be difficult to find your way around.
10. 
    
    
    If you don't know what to write about, your teacher can give you some writing ______________.
11. 
    
    
    The colorful __________________ in children's books are so much fun to look at.
12. 
    
    
    My friend has trouble starting a __________________ with someone she doesn't already know.

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Grammar Point

Adverbs

What is an adverb? An adverb is a word that can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. An adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers questions such as "how," "when," "where," and "how much." Many adverbs do not end in -ly, but a lot of them do. We're just going to focus on the ones that DO end in -ly today. Here are some sentences from my blog entry that contain -ly adverbs in red type (after each sentence I'll show you why the red word is an adverb):

• 
  
  
  Open the book to any page and randomly place your finger wherever it lands.

(How am I placing my finger? Randomly.)

• 
  
  
  Each player gets to continue as long as he or she keeps spelling words correctly.

(How is he or she spelling words? Correctly.)

• 
  
  
  But beware, because you can easily get lost in the pages this way.

(How can you get lost? Easily)

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Grammar Practice

Go to this website http://www.stickyball.net/grammar/107.html and complete the worksheet on adverbs. You have to fill in each blank with an -ly adjective that makes sense. Email me your answers and I will give you feedback. Have fun!

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A New Kind of Dictionary for Visual Learners

Do you learn vocabulary better if you see a picture of something rather than just read words to describe it? If you click on "Visual" in the horizontal blue toolbar on the www.m-w.com homepage, you'll find their Visual Dictionary.

Words are divided into 15 categories: Food & Kitchen, Clothing & Articles, Animal Kingdom, and 12 others. When you go to a category, you'll find many links to words that have been illustrated in the dictionary. For example, if I click on the category Earth, I'll find several subcategories. If I then click on Geology, I get a list of the words I can see illustrated. I clicked on the word "lake" and pictures of six different kinds of lakes: volcanic lake, oxbow lake, glacial lake, tectonic lake, artificial lake, and oasis.

They even have a fun Game of the Week that challenges you to name all the parts of a picture. This week's picture is a cash register:

http://visual.merriam-webster.com/games_game-week.php

I didn't even know that the parts of a cash register have names.

Try the Visual Dictionary to see if it helps you with the words you want to learn.

Simon Says...

Have you ever played the game Simon Says? If not, this is how you play: One person is chosen to be Simon, the leader of the game. Simon stands in front of the rest of the players, facing them. Simon gives the players directions. If he says, "Simon says..." before the direction, then the other players have to do it. If he doesn't, then they must do nothing.

For example, if the leader says, "Simon says put your hands on your head," then the players must put their hands on their heads. If he says, "Put your hands on your head," then they do nothing. Simon can be tricky, though, and try to get you to do the wrong thing. Any player who does the wrong thing is eliminated. The last person standing after everyone else has been eliminated is the winner. And that's the whole game.

I love Simon Says. It's a great game. It's so easy to learn, and it's usually quick to play too. If you get eliminated early in the game you don't have to wait too long until another game starts. Children play it at school and on the playground, but adults can have fun with it as well. There are even professional Simon Says callers who lead games at sports events, universities, and corporate meetings. Some of these Simon Says games are played with hundreds and even thousands of participants. I've played in two of these large-scale games: one at a company-wide picnic and one at a counselor orientation meeting for a camp I once worked at. And I'm proud to say that I won both of them. At the company picnic I won a water bottle, yet at the camp meeting I brought home a real trophy! I always boast to my family and friends about my natural Simon Says talent, but in truth, I always win because I know the secret: Just do what Simon says to do. That's it! It's a foolproof method!

Even if you're not playing for trophies, Simon Says is a perfect game for practicing your English skills with friends. You have to think quickly in order to perform the action Simon calls out before he moves on to the next one. Simon can adjust the speed of his directions to make the game easier or harder for English learners at different levels. It may feel silly at first, but give it a try. You'll learn some English and have a great time.
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Vocabulary

• directions: steps to tell you how to do something or go somewhere
• eliminated: removed from the game
• playground: outdoor area where children play
• corporate: relating to a business
• participants: people involved in an activity
• orientation: a meeting in which people in an unfamiliar situation get used to their new environment
• trophy: a small statue you receive for winning a game or competition
• talent: a special ability to do something easily and well
• foolproof: guaranteed not to fail
• perform: to carry out an action

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Grammar Practice

1. When I went to college, the school had an ____________ session for freshmen the week before classes started.
2. Sandra ___________ sugar from her diet but still needed to cut down on how much salt she ate.
3. Children usually love to go on the swings at the _____________.
4. If you work in a ____________ environment, you have to dress in a professional manner.
5. Jamie's mother put the _________ she won at the softball tournament on the mantel for everyone to see.
6. All the ____________ in the competition went home with a prize at the end of the day.
7. Because I often get lost, I always seem to be stopping and asking for _____________.
8. The boy playing second base seemed to have a natural __________ for baseball.
9. My niece will __________ a solo at her dance recital tomorrow night.
10. A ___________ way to check your subtraction is to do addition in reverse.

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Grammar Point
Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, or independent clauses (clauses that can stand alone) together. Watch this classic video clip from Schoolhouse Rock to learn a bit about conjunctions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkO87mkgcNo

The coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. Remember, the mnemonic for this is FANBOYS.

In my blog entry above, I use many coordinating conjunctions. Here are some examples with the coordinating conjunctions in red type:

• It's so easy to learn, and it's usually quick to play too.
• Children play it at school and on the playground, but adults can have fun with it as well.
• At the company picnic I won a water bottle, yet at the camp meeting I brought home a real trophy!

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Grammar Practice
Write a paragraph of your own about a favorite game you play now or played when you were younger. Use at least three different coordinating conjunctions. Remember FANBOYS!
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Simon Says Look at This!
This link shows a Simon Says game from the 2007 Disney Channel Games. It looks like a lot of fun, doesn't it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMg5pGxcEJk

Hair

In class, we watched a video of another ESL class working on their writing skills. The teacher, Jeff Anderson, started his students off with a line from a book, "My hair wakes up stupid." The class in the video uses this quote as inspiration for their writing.

I decided to use the same line to start off my blog entry today. How does my hair wake up? I think my hair goes to bed, wakes up, and lives the entire day...rebellious! It never does what I want it to do. When I want it to be curly, my hair droops into straightness. When I'm trying for the straight look, it bounces and bends itself into curls as soon as it thinks I'm not looking. My hair can't even get itself together as a group and decide how it wants to be on any given day. The front and underside parts can be quite straight while at the very same moment the top and back are crazily curled. This is not a good look!

I've had long hair for most of my life. In 1990 a friend and I decided to get a permanent. I figured that a perm would tame my hair and force it to do what I wanted instead of what IT wanted. I thought I would walk out of the salon with lovely corkscrew-shaped ringlets. It turned out to be one of the worst ideas I've ever had. It was awful. It looked as if I'd stuck my finger into a light socket. And there was a big chunk of hair on the right side of my head that was now super straight and fried. All I could do was cry and wait until it grew.

Once it had grown a bit, I got it all the frizzy bits cut off. It was the only time in my life that I had short hair, and I didn't like it. It didn't feel like "me." But I started working in a new office just after I'd gotten my hair cut off. One day I happened to mention something to my new office friends about my long hair. They were all surprised to hear that I had had long hair my entire life. One girl said to me, "I just can't picture you with long hair. You're such a short-hair person." This was fascinating to me because I knew that of course I was NOT a short-hair person. Everyone else who had known me for years and years knew that the short hair was just a temporary situation; they thought of me as a long-hair person. This experience really made me think about perception. Other people can have a view of you that you may not expect or understand, based on what they see at the moment.

Some days, though, my hair wakes up pretty happy. It seems to have the same agenda as I do, and it mostly cooperates with me when I get ready for the day. I try to remember what I did on a day like this in order to repeat it, but this strategy usually fails.

The best days, however, are when my hair wakes up scared. Then it behaves like a small child who wants a lollipop. When do these scared days occur? The day I'm planning a trip to the hair salon, of course. This phenomenon is well-known to women. If you schedule a haircut, you will undoubtedly wake up on the day of the appointment with great hair. People will give you compliments all day, and you'll say, "What? This looks good? I'm getting it cut today." You may be tempted to cancel your appointment because your hair seems to have changed and suddenly looks fabulous. Don't do it! Your hair is playing a trick on you because it doesn't want to get cut off. It's planning on relaxing and looking bad again as soon as it knows the threat of a cut is removed. If you cancel your appointment, it will look awful when you try to style your hair the next day. Then you'll be stuck with it for 2 weeks until the next appointment is available. Hair should NOT be trusted!
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Vocabulary

• inspiration: something having the power to encourage or move a person
• rebellious: going against authority
• salon: a stylish business establishment or shop
• frizzy: tightly curled and fuzzy
• fascinating: extremely interesting or charming
• agenda: list of things to be considered or done
• strategy: a careful plan or method
• undoubtedly: surely
• cancel: call off
• threat: something intended to cause evil, injury, or damage

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Vocabulary Practice

1. The organizer of the conference sent an ____________ of events to the attendees.
2. I found the movie My Dinner With Andre to be __________, while many people thought it was boring.
3. When you stay up way past your bedtime, the next day you will _____________ feel tired and draggy.
4. If a skunk feels you are a __________ to him, he may spray you.
5. It's such a nice treat to go to the hair _____________ and get pampered for a day.
6. In order to avoid __________ hair, I spray on a little hairspray and smooth it down.
7. Gina had to __________ her doctor's appointment when her car had a flat tire.
8. Kyle is a good student, but he has a ____________ side that caused him to get his nose pierced.
9. My ___________ for avoiding long lines at the grocery store is to shop at 11:00 pm.
10. If you're running a long race, great music can be an ____________ to continue.

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Grammar Point
Adjectives

Adjectives are words that are used to describe nouns or pronouns. They are words that tell us color, size, shape, texture, number, appearance, and many other categories. They can help create a picture for the reader. In the sentence that Jeff Anderson gives his students to start them off on their writing, the word "stupid" is an adjective because it describes the speaker's hair:

My hair wakes up stupid.

We could change the adjective and change the meaning of the sentence.

My hair wakes up flat.
My hair wakes up curly.
My hair wakes up angry.
My hair wakes up blond.

In my blog entry above, I use many adjectives. Can you find any? I'll list several of them here:

rebellious
straight
curled
good
long
lovely
worst
fabulous
scared
temporary

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Grammar Practice

In the sentences below, find the adjectives. Each sentence has only one. The answers are below sentence #5.

1. The princess wore a silver gown to the dance.
2. When did you get that huge dog?
3. Five trees fell during the hurricane.
4. I love to go swimming in a warm pool.
5. Do you enjoy spicy food?

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Answers: 1 silver, 2 huge, 3 five, 4 warm, 5 spicy

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Cultural Link
If you're interesting in trying out different hairstyles before going to the salon, check out this virtual hairstyle website: http://www.thehairstyler.com/virtual-hairstyler You can upload a photo of yourself and see how hundreds of different styles would look on you. Have fun!