Today I am contributing to the Cultivate Her blog. Below is a preview. You have to hop over there to read the whole thing…

When I was in school, I was kind of a “crammer.” You know…I’d wait until a few days before the test, try to jam everything I might possibly need to know into my brain, ace the test (this might or might not be an exaggeration), and then forget everything?

All this to say..I remember very few facts or formulas that we were taught in school. (Don’t ask me to list the state capitals, Presidents, or chemical elements. All those things went in one ear, hung out for awhile, but then flew out the other.)

But there is one formula I remember. And truth be known it has helped me out of a pinch or two.

I took this peer counseling class and they taught us a quick, but very helpful, formula for assertive communication (aka how to get your point across without offending friend and colleagues).

(click here to read more…)

I am going to Bonnaroo tomorrow afternoon with a friend. As we bantered back and forth about what we’d need for the weekend, she asked me if I was going to bring a “book bag.” I said, “a what?” wondering why in the world I would take a bag full of books to a music festival. I work for a publisher and love books but that just seems WEIRD. She quickly clarified that she meant a “backpack.” She just grew up some backwards place where they call “backpacks” “book bags.” She preceded to tell me that she calls a “trunk” a “boot” which threw me for a total loop.

"Backpack" or "Book bag"???

This confusing conversation got me thinking about how regionally people use different words to describe basic things. The most common would be the whole “soda”, “pop”, “Coke” thing. (Be sure to check out this map that spells out the most common name for soft drinks by county.) But here are some others that just make me giggle: (more…)