Friday, June 18, 2010

Top 5 Things We've Learned This Week

5. The writing community is made of awesome. Okay, okay, we already knew this--but it was re-confirmed this week after all the support WriteOnCon received. We were seriously blown away.

4.  There is a hidden ingredient in the new Pretzel M&Ms. Crack.

3. Whenever I whip out my cell phone, I feel like Emma from DECEPTION. It's super old-school. And it won't charge unless you physically push the cord into the phone with a great deal of force. I'm eyeing the Droid, but am afraid of touch screens.

2. Apparently, we broke three super secret YA Rebel Rules in our guest vlog for them (which will be airing tomorrow). They seriously need to come up with an orientation packet for guest vloggers or something. If you're interested in hearing EXACTLY which rules we unknowingly broke, stop back on Monday for a behind the scenes look at our vlog.

1. My new favorite word is "slag." It's all Loretta's fault. I feel the need to work it into day-to-day conversation although I have the feeling that referring to the little girl that shoved my 3-year-old daughter at the playground as a "stupid slag" might be frowned upon.

Any lessons to share this week oh wise readers?

55 comments:

Wen Baragrey said...

Crikey, does slag mean the same thing in America as it does in England/Aussie/New Zealand? LOL :D

Anonymous said...

Yes, Wen, I was about to educate the ladies. Dunno what it means in England/Australia/NZ, but in Glasgow it's a verb meaning "to poke fun at, humorously and perhaps mercilessly."

Is that what you mean, gals? :)

Tabitha Bird said...

LOL Wendy! I agree. Slag is really not a nice word over here in Australia. :)

And sorry Simon, but slag here in Australia means the same as 'slut'. It is a 'free' woman, some one who sleeps around a bit.

Wen Baragrey said...

What Tabitha said! It's verrrrry rude over here!

Creepy Query Girl said...

hmn. 'Slag' sounds like a mash up of 'sloppy' and 'drag' and it could possibly work as a synonym for 'slung'. lik-'Her purse slagged over one shoulder'- HEY! A purse could be a 'slag bag'!! (Ok, next time just don't get me started with new words)

Christine Danek said...

I don't know anything about slag.
Pretzel M & M's are addicting.
This week--I realized that there is no hotline (for support or maybe arrest) for abused parents of 2 year olds. I mentioned this on Jen from unedited's blog.
I have bruises on my legs that have just appeared out no where and I may have a black eye since my little guy threw his sippy cup at me. He then laughed after the incident.
Seriously, tortured moms need a hotline for this.

Amy said...

Slag does sound like an awesome insult. I learned to use skeeze at a fairly young age, thanks to my aunt. Needless to say, it doesn't go over all that great when applied to third grade teachers. :)

Also --hey, it's so pretty here! Love the new theme.

Matthew MacNish said...

I always thought slag had something to do with forging metal, but I think LiLa is talking about the slang term here.

My own lesson learned this week is: back up your work. Early and often. Apparently there is an app/web service called dropbox which is really properly among writers.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I learned when the six year old insists that invisible moth bit him to just agree...

Have a great weekend, ladies.

Jonathon Arntson said...

I learned nothing this week, beside a lot of things.

Katie Anderson said...

I am with u on those pretzel m&ms! I've had two packs already this week.
Slag is an awesome word and I think I might steal it. Sorry.
And I'm scared to learn what rules were broken. Gulp. Will tune in Monday :)
have a great weekend!

Anne Gallagher said...

I like "stupid slag" and would so use it on the child who plays with my daughter. But not to her mother's face of course. Yeah, I can be evil like that.

Stina said...

Never heard of slag as a slang before. We (as in Canada) have adopted tons of stuff from the UK, but obviously not that. We steal our slangs from you guys, LiLa. Well, not actually you two, but you know what I mean. ;)

Can't wait to see the vlog and see what rules the you two trouble makers broke. :D

Have a great weekend!

Talli Roland said...

What the heck are pretzel M&Ms?

Oh yes, slag. A very common term used A LOT (by the students, not by me!)when I was teaching at a comprehensive school outside of London.

Summer Frey said...

Everything I know about slag I know from Scrubs. :-) What a great word!

Courtney Barr - The Southern Princess said...

LOVE this list and that um I learned a great deal more about the word SLAG from the comments...interesting...very interesting...;o)

Have a lovely weekend!
Visit My Kingdom Anytime

Corey Schwartz said...

Slag? I love it! I am a Britophile. Will start using immediately!

Tahereh said...

THE SECRET INGREDIENT IN ALL GREAT THINGS IS CRACK.

*twitchy eye*

Sara Raasch said...

Your phone is an antique! Why would you want to trade it in for something NEW? Bleck. New is so overrated.

Anonymous said...

I'm in the market for a rotary cell-phone. Been sorting thru a lot of slag in my search.

Hayley Lovell said...

My phone is old too, I've had it since seventh grade (when I shared it with my lovely siblings) and still love it. But as for something I learned? My mind is no longer the sponge it used to be and I now have to study for finals, it makes me very sad.

Renae said...

I think your on to something with the M&M's...I've had to hide mine from my kids. Bad mommy I know!

And my three year old could so take care of the three year old slag on your playground. She's a little spitfire! I love that word!

Shannon Messenger said...

Ha! Leave it to you guys to break a rule that even a group called 'rebels' feels the need to enforce. :)

I've learned that agents open to queries have it TOUGH--and I've learned to never get impatient waiting for an email response from anyone.

JennyMac said...

Will have to borrow 'slag' for sure.

I just say dbag or douchy now. Could use an upgrade. lol.

Love the new blog couture.

Krispy said...

My phone is pretty old too. I've had it for 5 years, and I'm surprised it still works as well as it does (especially after I stood out in the rain at a football game with it, eck).

What I learned this week: Pho is THE BEST comfort food when you're feeling like 30% to your usual 95-100%.

Tere Kirkland said...

I just started using the Samsung Instinct (through Sprint) and I love the touch screen. Virtual keyboard kicks ass. It's also got this great notes function I use to record ideas when I don't have a notebook.

JEM said...

WHY HAVE I NOT FOUND THESE MAGICAL M&M'S ARE THEY GUARDED BY LEPRECHAUNS?

Also, you can call the girl a stupid cow. I'll do it for you. "Stupid cow." You're welcome.

Jessica said...

Don't be afraid of a touch screen. I love mine. It has a "lock" on it to keep you from accidentally touching it and setting something off while it is in your purse/pocket.

Jill Kemerer said...

I LOVE the new look of your blog! Gorgeous! And why are 3-year-olds so mean one minute and adorable the next?

Unknown said...

Regarding #1: I know a way to fix that playground bully; get up early and grease the monkey bars. Then just sit back and watch the magic happen. We'll see who shoves who now ...

Melissa Hurst said...

I must get some of those M & M's!

This week, I've learned that Dr. Pepper will keep me awake enough after midnight to meet my newly self-imposed writing goals.

Lindsay said...

Okay, these M&M's sound yummy. I need to try them.

This week, I've realised caffine after about lunchtime may help me get some writing done, but it keeps me awake till 3am.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Slag as I know it is basically the same as a slut in the U.S. I first heard from English television so that's how I always took it...so yeah, not a great word, but it does make me giggle. My girlfriends and I use it for fun.

-Lauren

Kristi Faith said...

It's okay, I bet that little girl was a slag. :0)

K. M. Walton said...

Love the new blog look! Who cares if you broke vlog rules - you two are trailblazers I tell you. Slag is a mighty fine word and anyone who shoves your daughter IS a slag, regardless of age.

That is all.

Stasia said...

Totally jazzed about Write On Con! BTW, I'm afraid of touch screens, too :)

Southpaw said...

Well, I just learn what slag was. I also learned the secret ingredient in a pretzel M&Ms.

Jemi Fraser said...

Well - I learned more about slag than I thought possible! :)

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Slag is officially my new favorite word.

Wait. Did you already say that?

Jinx.

Wait. What does it mean again?

It doesn't matter. It's an awesome word.

But wait. Can I use it in public? It sounds like shorthand for a super lag, like when you fly to Korea from New York, you get super jet lag? Man, I am so slagged. Hm. Please inform ASAP. I have a great line using slag to tell my minister.

Hayley Lovell said...

I just picked up a bag of pretzel M&Ms and they are AMAZING!!!!!!!

Little Ms J said...

I'm so proud of you guys and all your little business ventures. Ok, big ventures. And, I seriously need to try these freaking M&M's.

Lisa Gail Green said...

Slag huh? I kind of like that too... Uh oh. Could be dangerous. Do you think it would work better for 7 year olds than 3 year olds? Nah. Probably not.

Christine Fonseca said...

Hmm...lessons learned? Here you go...1) Slag is the best word ever!; 2) LOVE LOVE LOVE my new cell phone...an HTC Hero (android market) SO AMAZING!; 3) Change is just hard sometimes!

Have an amazing weekend you two. Can not wait for the vlog.

* said...

Checking out WriteOnCon just now. Looks like fun/good/sweet writerly stuff.

PS: Have you had the mint M&Ms? They are made of crack, too, I think. Completely 100% addicting.

Ann Marie Wraight said...

OK - so if we agree that the slang meaning of SLAG is a female free with her sexual favours...where on EARTH did you come across this !!?*#?! word??? I hope that nobody actually dared refer to either of you...?
*GASP!*

...oh - and what is it about the word that you like so much?

Ann Marie Wraight said...

btw - Simon.
To slag (someone) off has indeed the meaning you described when used as a phrasal verb BUT I believe that the ladies were referring to the noun...

Hee hee you kidder you - as if you didn't know that!!!
:)

storyqueen said...

Storyqueen's To Do list:

1. Buy pretzel M & M s

2. Call someone a slag.

That, my girls, has the makings of a perfect weekend.

Shelley

Loretta Nyhan said...

I think I might need to find you a new word!

Holli True said...

LOL! Slag!! I love it!

Slamdunk said...

Thanks for expanding my vocabulary with "slag." I have had to intervene a few times in the past month at playgrounds with unruly kids wanting to hit one of our twins.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I learned that hornets are very agressive and don't like being woken up! Their stings feel like a needle sticking in you for a LONG time. I also learned that 4 benadryl will knock me off my bleep...

And now I know not to say anyone is a slag...YIKES!

rae said...

I totally agree about the pretzel M&Ms. They're so good they're wrong.

Nishant said...

Slag is officially my new favorite word.
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Susan Kaye Quinn said...

OK, I'm an engineer so when I hear "slag" I think "waste left over from smelting iron ore." I'm fairly certain that's not what you mean. :) So, I went to Urban Dictionary, and WHOA. Definitely not playground verbage. LOL!

I hope you'll stop by my blog tomorrow - I have an announcement (yay!) and a CONTEST! :)

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

lol about the phone and deception. i still need to read it

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