Weird Word Wednesday

caipirinha

noun  cai·pi·ri·nha  \ˌkī-pə-ˈrēn-yə\

Definition of caipirinha

Popularity: Bottom 30% of words

:  a cocktail consisting of lime, sugar, and rum

Origin of caipirinha

Brazilian Portuguese, from caipira backwoodsman, rustic

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Me, a Tee-ball coach? Yeah, that’s what I said

I never would have thought I’d end up coaching Tee-ball. It was the last thing I thought I’d be doing. But here I am. Coach Kelley. I did it reluctantly to help my dad, who only volunteered to manage the Tee-ball team because none of the other parents would. And he is a great grandfather. With all the experience I had as a softball player, I have the knowledge to teach, but trying to work with a group of four to six-year-olds is like trying to herd cats. No, I take that back. I think herding cats might be easier. At least for someone like me who never had any children, only the four-legged kind.

So, I dusted off my old mitt and bought a couple of new sports bras and dragged myself to the ball field, thinking it would be a chore I would have to endure for a few weeks. But these kids surprised me. It’s turning out to be a fun experience watching them so enthusiastic about playing ball. And it’s rewarding to give something back to the community and help shape some future baseball or softball players. There are three girls on the team, which I like to see, and they are really trying hard. A couple of them are already hitting the ball better than some of the boys. LOL

Now I look forward to Tee-ball practice. This old fart is actually enjoying herself. 

Quote from The Wolf Queen:

“Gods, woman. You are the most stubborn female I have ever met.”

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

Otherworldly tales steeped in myth and magic

Weird Word Wednesday

cahow

noun  ca·how  \kə-ˈhau̇\

Definition of cahow

Popularity: Bottom 10% of words

:  a dark-colored petrel (Pterodroma cahow) formerly abundant in Bermuda but now nearly extinct

Origin of cahow

imitative

First Known Use: 1615

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Downsizing is harder than it seems

We made the decision to downsize last year. Well, my husband wanted to do this more than I did, but after dragging my feet, I decided it was the right thing to do. That didn’t make it any easier for me. We went from a 3-bedroom house to a 2-bedroom duplex. Even after having four garage sales, we still had too much stuff. Physically, this was the hardest move for both of us. That might be because we are a lot older now, but it’s not easy trying to fit everything into a smaller place. Whenever we moved in the past, it was always to a larger home. I think the hardest part was spending a year sorting and cleaning out all my stuff. The process was so time-consuming and stressful. It’s difficult deciding what to get rid of and what to keep.

However… I’m discovering that I didn’t really need all of those things I had and there are many creative ways to organize a smaller home. Pinterest has been a great help with people sharing so many great ideas. We are quickly adapting to our new place. After a year of cleaning out stuff, hosting garage sales (when you start recognizing the people shopping in your garage, you’ve had too many), and finally moving, I’m looking forward to new beginnings and moving on with my life.

The view from our new home.

Quote from The Wolf Queen:

“Tantaus, you Cyclopean idiot,” Niren said, “can you not see Lycaon is infatuated with the girl?”

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

Otherworldly tales steeped in myth and magic

Weird Word Wednesday

cahoot

noun  ca·hoot  \kə-ˈhüt\

Definition of cahoot

Popularity: Bottom 50% of words

:  partnership, league —usually used in plural

Origin of cahoot

perhaps from French cahute cabin, hut

First Known Use: 1829

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Monday Musings: Arizona Sunsets #16

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Tabby's Nocturnal Nights: Ever wonder what it's like to be a wolf?

Tabby's Nocturnal Nights: Ever wonder what it's like to be a wolf?: Wouldn’t it feel great to be in the body of a wolf? I’ve always wondered what it would be like. Alas, I don’t have that extraordinary abili...

Weird Word Wednesday

cadastre

noun  ca·das·tre  \kə-ˈdas-tər\

Definition of cadastre

Popularity: Bottom 30% of words

:  an official register of the quantity, value, and ownership of real estate used in apportioning taxes

Origin of cadastre

French, from Italian catastro, from Old Italian catastico, from Late Greek katastichon notebook, from Greek kata by + stichos row, line — more at cata-, distich

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Monday Musings: Arizona Cloud Formations #17

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Weird Word Wednesday

cabal

noun  ca·bal  \kə-ˈbäl, -ˈbal\

Simple Definition of cabal

Popularity: Top 30% of words

: a small group of people who work together secretly

Full Definition of cabal

1

:  the artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government); also :  a group engaged in such artifices and intrigues

2

:  club, group

See cabal defined for English-language learners

See cabal defined for kids

Examples of cabal

a cabal plotting to overthrow the government

Origin of cabal

French cabale cabala, intrigue, cabal, from Medieval Latin cabbala cabala, from Late Hebrew qabbālāh, literally, received (lore)

First Known Use: 1614

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Monday Musings: Arizona Sunsets #15

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Weird Word Wednesday

bwana

      noun bwa·na \ˈbwä-nə\

Definition of BWANA

:  master, boss

Origin of BWANA

Swahili, from Arabic abūna our father

First Known Use: 1875

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Monday Musings: Arizona Cloud Formations #16

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Weird Word Wednesday

bubble memory

      noun

Definition of BUBBLE MEMORY

:  a computer memory that uses magnetic bubbles to store information

First Known Use of BUBBLE MEMORY

1969

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Monday Musings: Arizona Sunsets #14

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Weird Word Wednesday

bubble chamber

      noun

Definition of BUBBLE CHAMBER

:  a chamber of superheated liquid in which the path of an ionizing particle is made visible by a string of vapor bubbles

First Known Use of BUBBLE CHAMBER

1953

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

Monday Musings: Letting Go and De-cluttering

We (my husband and I) are downsizing and moving into a smaller home. It seems like no big deal, right? Except that I have trouble letting go of material things. It took me years to get over my first truck after I sold it, and I didn’t start to finally get rid of clothes I couldn’t possibly wear now until this move. If we weren’t moving, I’d still be hanging on to them. I had panic attacks over things I sold at a recent garage sale, stuff I don’t use or need any longer. Worthless stuff.

I think these are signs of hoarding. I’d laugh but it’s not really funny and kind of alarming. Reality can affect you that way.

I’m learning to let go. It’s a slow process, but I don’t want to be the strange lady who dies in her house and can’t be found beneath her pile of stuff that fell and buried her. That would be funny except it actually happened to someone. Not kidding. Seeing that story on the news was a huge wake-up call for me.

I’m learning that de-cluttering is improving my creativity. My mind is “de-cluttering.” It’s weird, but I don’t feel so weighed down. I feel free. Wow. I should have done this a long time ago.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Guest Blogger: Kelley Heckart – How I Created My Anti-Hero

http://kate-hill.com/compellingbeastsblog/2016/01/24/guest-blogger-kelley-heckart-how-i-created-my-anti-hero/

Weird Word Wednesday

bubble and squeak

      noun

: a meal of potatoes, cabbage, and sometimes meat mixed together and fried

Full Definition of BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

:  a British dish consisting of usually leftover potatoes, greens (as cabbage), and sometimes meat fried together

First Known Use of BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

circa 1785

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

Monday Musings: Wind, my nemesis in the desert

I don’t like the wind. Other areas have bad weather like blizzards or below zero temperatures, but here in the Arizona desert, we have wind. Harsh, biting, gusting, unrelenting wind.

Wind trashes my yard and swimming pool.

Wind yanks the car door out of my hand and I dent the car door next to me.

Wind snatches papers out of my hand and makes me look ridiculous as I chase them while the wind keeps blowing them down the street.

Wind ruins my hairstyle.

Wind blows trashcans and other debris into the road.

I hate wind.

In the book, A Witch’s Guide to Faery Folk, the ones associated with wind/air are particularly nasty. One example is the Spriggans of England and Cornwall, where they are believed to be bodyguards for the Unseelie Court. They are described as “dangerously malevolent.” They can command destructive winds at their will. Contact is not advised. Hmm, I wonder if these little demons often travel to Arizona.

My least favorite days are the windy ones. You learn really fast here in the desert not to leave anything outside that might blow away. And that’s usually after something blows away, something big that you couldn’t possibly imagine losing in a wind gust not produced by a tornado. Wind is tricky that way. Stay away, you wind spirits. Find someone else to torment.

Did I mention I hate wind?

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com        

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent