Understand? Yeah, me neither!

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. Albert Einstein

This one makes me really think. I eventually get to the simple explanation but not without first taking the long route. :) I'm far too wordy and complicated for my own good...or for anyone else's! Because I'm a verbal processor I oftentimes find myself explaining something and it starts out complicated and by the time the person has asked questions and I have exhausted the phrase "long-winded" the most simple way to do it suddenly appears. So does this mean that I lack understanding about the thing/process/etc? Or does it mean I just don't have the verbal wherewithal to explain it in its "boiled down" form? I know what I mean and what I'm trying to say but verbally I can't get it across very well. So I don't know about this one - certainly that is true for some things but I don't know if it is true for all things. It's why I like to write much better than I like to speak. Writing gives me space to edit, process without putting anyone else through that pain, and get to the more simple explanation. (I know what you're thinking and yes, my wordy blogs are as simple as my heart and mind can come up with! Can you believe they were all much longer to begin with?!?) So I'm left thinking about this quote and examining the things I can't seem to explain simply. Is it because I don't understand them or because I can't shut up? :)

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April 5, 2015

The Feast of Firstfruits & Easter Go for Broke Day If it scares you this is the day to go for it no matter what. One Day Without Shoes Day Today is to raise global awareness for children’s health and education. Why shoes? Because shoes help protect from bacteria in the dirt, rusty nails, dirty needles and shoes enable feet to withstand the long distances most children in developing countries need to walk to get to school. Join TOMS One for One There is plenty of criticism out there for TOMS and its short term solutions. Critics don't even buy the "at least they are doing something" statement. However, you have to start somewhere. And every bit of awareness helps something go from short term to long term. We all have a part to play. Read a Road Map Day One of the many reasons I would stink at The Amazing Race is because I never did learn how to read a road map well. I remember doing worksheets and class lessons on maps and I was able to skate by ...

Butter someone up

There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment.

A dime a dozen

"It's said that in the year 1796, the first U.S. dimes were produced for circulation. Hence, it would make sense for this phrase to originate sometime after." Read more here . Today the phrase carries the meaning that something is cheap or without value if it can be lumped in with other similar or exactly-like things. It's more of an insult than anything.

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