The Oxford Dictionary of Meg

It occured to me that I have some new readers/followers of my blog (welcome, ladies!), and it might be helpful to post a dictionary of words in my blog or other communications.

Without further ado, I present the Oxford Dictionary of Meg.

Burnham Short for Burnham-on-Crouch, or "Burn-Your-Crotch," as Heather originally read it. Burnham is a teeny, tiny town in Essex County, about an hour's train ride east of London. The Crouch is the river that runs through it. I lived in Burnham from August 2004 to August 2005, teaching music at a high school there.

A Chance For Bliss The coolest not-for-profit animal sanctuary EVER! A Chance For Bliss is a wonderful little farm in Penryn, CA, where my mom volunteers every other Monday, grooming horses. I go with her when I can, which is why I spend a lot of my three-day weekends at Mom and Dad's house.

Chico Cute little town in Northern California, home to California State University, Chico. I spent five years there, earning a music ed. degree.

Chorale That would be Stockton Chorale, which I joined in September. We are currently tackling Brahms' German Requiem, which is challenging and loads of fun.

Folsom/Flossem My hometown. Home of Folsom Lake, Folsom Dam, and yes, Folsom Prison, which I could see from my bedroom growing up. My bus used to pick up the kids who lived on the grounds, and we had to have a guard search as we left.

Furring Purries Kitties purr, and they're furry. They're furring purries! I usually say this in a nonsense voice, while cuddling with one or both of my babies.

Gah! My watered-down version of saying, "God!" As in, "God! What were you thinking?!"

Good grief Made famous by Good Ol' Charlie Brown, I, the lifelong Snoopy fan, adopted this as another watered down way to react to students when I'm frustrated.

Grey's As in Grey's Anatomy, which I unabashedly love.

Harley Dude My rambunctious, obnoxious, utterly adorable kitten, adopted from a local shelter in December. Named for his loud purr. He is also known as Little Dude.

Kindergato A baby cat who is going through Kittygarten (see below). Mostly used on Mom's Bella and Duchess when they were babies.

Kittygarten The first year of a cat's life, their kittenhood, they go through Kittygarten, learning to be productive adult cats.

LPB Abbreviation for Little Pink Blog, which is, of course, what you are reading right now. Who really needs a little black dress when you've got a little pink blog?

Millennium Joy More commonly known as Millie, this is my nine-year-old calico-tabby. I adore her.

Oy vey A Yiddish expression of dismay or exasperation. Though I am not Jewish, I use oy vey a lot, especially at school, when "What the F***?!?" is inappropriate.

Potato Ahh, the wonderful potato. One of the best things to eat on the planet. Potato soup? I swoon.

Purrvert A kitten who routinely climbs into my laundry basket, sticks his paw down my blouse, or flashes his "bits."

Rosie Also known as Rosie Pro, this is my 2003 Mazda Protege. Yes, I named my car.

Scrazy Once, in a bout of tipsy instant messaging with Heather, I started typing, "That's crazy!" while thinking, "That's scary!" The end result was "scrazy." I actually had my concert choir using it last year, too.

Sweet Spot Coined by my awesome mom, the Sweet Spot is the spot on the back of the sofa that is warmed up by a reading lamp. The kitties LOVE the Sweet Spot, and it is the subject of many cat-related posts.

Teenies What I call my preschool, kindergarten, first and second grade students. 'Cause they're teeny.

Tweenies What I call my middle school students, because they're "tweenagers."

You're Kidding, Right? HS My former place of employ. I spent two years working there, teaching choir. I was miserable.