Wednesday, May 8, 2019

911


Hey all. 

I've been working on a plan for a while to get back to blogging here (as well as over on Filthy Casket Book Reviews) but some serious health issues have slowed things down. My hope is to get a post up this week just kind of talking about what's been going on medically, and outline some business goals - I'm not able to do landscaping right now, so a few months ago I decided to start a small (tiny) business selling bookmarks, paintings, prints, decor, furniture, etc. Fun stuff! But more on that later. 

Two nights ago I was rushed to the emergency room (lights and sirens, VIP treatment!) with fears of sepsis (again). Luckily I had called early enough and we were able to get my fever to break and my heart rate and blood pressure move closer to my normal range and I turned out to not need surgery or a long stay, so I was pretty happy with that... but not too happy with the unclear diagnosis. Basically we just know I have a whole host of serious abdominal issues. It was a super fun way to spend my 28th birthday.....

About an hour ago I started to feel very sick. Similar symptoms to what I felt the other day, except worse. And for the last hour things have gotten worse. Rapidly. Severe abdominal pain, fever, nausea, coughing up blood, pounding headache, chills, shakiness, sky high heart rate, bad blood pressure... you get it. 

I don't think I've ever said this before, but... I actually very badly want to go to the hospital. 

The problem is that there are other urgent things I need to take care of - namely financial stuff. Since I'm hoping to get to the hospital I can't really go over everything right now, but the most urgent problem right now is money for prescription copays. I personally have several medications I haven't been able to take in days (almost two weeks for one of my antidepressants, actually...) because the copays are just too high (the two-weeker is $58, for instance). And let's not even discuss my grandma's medication... her breathing medicine has a copay of $354. Don't try to tell me that shit isn't criminal. 

Anyway. I also managed to screw my grandparents over with a fairly common mistake. A couple weeks ago I had an appointment and they let me use their card to pay the $120 copay. Well. It just now came out of their account. And overdrew it. And got them a nice automatic fine from their bank. 

I think it's probably a lot of fun having me as their granddaughter. 

I can't sit here and outline my business plan right now, or talk about how sick I've gotten and how uncertain my future is with the latest prognosis I've been given, or how I'm juggling emotions ranging from fury to hilarity. I'm at the point where right now I'm actually afraid that if I don't get my ass to a hospital pronto, things won't end well. I felt the need to post this first because, well, things are bad. Really bad. And if I end up in the hospital I can't help my grandparents at all. So for now I'll just say that I/we could really, really use the help. I appreciate it more than I can say. Thank you all so much for the help you've already given. Here's the paypal link:

paypal.me/charlotteshealth



And if you could, please send up a few prayers. <3 

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Alliterative Baby Names: A-H


It's been so long since I've written a post, I've almost forgotten how to do it. Oops! 

Over the last year I've written quite a bit, but almost entirely in an actual, physical notebook. Weird, I know. My plan is to write on here more this year. More personal posts, but also fun stuff, like, ahem... names?! Yes. Good. In the next few days I want to get some goals and resolutions up here, as well as bookish stuff. It's been so long since I've written anything about books, and I made the colossal mistake of not keeping a solid list of the books I read in 2018. 

So - more posts to come. But I thought I'd start with a fun one, first. To get my momentum going! :) 

Y'all know I'm a massive fan of all things name-related. And a lot of you do, too - the name posts are among the most popular on this site! With that in mind, a few months ago my friend (hey Liz, wassup?!) talked about how it might be fun to do name-game type of posts; challenges like "come up with matchy nature names for twins" or "come up with two names using characters in your favorite book" - that kind of stuff. (And if you find this as fun as I do, you should check out Swistle, Sancta Nomina, and Appellation Mountain! All three sites receive letters from expectant parents and offer advice on baby names, whether it's trying to find a name that sounds great with the siblings' names, or looking for names related to a specific holiday, or offering solutions to parents trying to name a baby after a family member with a less-than-ideal name.) 

Anyway! First game up is alliteration! Some folks avoid repeating initials, but I think there's something charming about alliterative names. Sometimes they just sound fantastic - it's also nice because, to my ear anyway, alliterative names give you the opportunity to merge two different styles. Buzz and Benjamin? Very different names - it'd be startling to meet brothers named Benjamin and Buzz. But put those names together, into a first and middle name? It suddenly works; I suppose the letters tying into each other will do that for a name. Alliteration can build bridges, it can work for any style, for any parents seeking any vibe. Some of these names have a Catholic flair, some have more of a (very slight) hipster vibe. Some have both. (Plus, a lot of old, vintage names are being used by parents of all ages and lifestyles.) And unisex names can work, too! (For names that I think fit particularly well into those categories, I'll mark them by using those colors!) To me, this can often be a really good solution if one parent likes boyish names for a daughter and the other likes frilly names - or if one likes a soft, worldly name for a son and the other prefers a harder, "strong" name. 

And truly, I think alliterative names are often just plain delightful to read and to say aloud.

So, that brings us to... a list of possible alliterative names for each letter of the alphabet! Today's list is A-H. I-O and P-Z will be posted over the next couple of days.  

A: Girl Names

Agatha Anne
Amalia Adelaide
Alice Antonia
Anastasia Adair 
Azelie Anne
Agnes Adele
Anna Aliz
Adeline Avery
Ava Abigail
Astrid Adelaide 

A: Boy Names

Adrian Augustine
Albert Ambrose
Arthur Abraham
Anthony Alistair
Anthony Aldo 
Andre Atticus
Alfred Aquinas
Arlo Alexander

B: Girl Names

Bronwen Briella
Beatrix Blair
Bernadette Bloom
Bridget Belphoebe 
Belen Blythe 
Beryl Brianne
Bo Beatrice
Bridget Bellamy 

B: Boy Names

Bennett Bryce
Barnaby Bram
Benedict Baz
Bruno Boyd
Benjamin Buzz
Beckett Blase
Basil Bernard
Bellamy Bruce

C: Girl Names

Caroline Claire
Catherine Cosima
Clara Clementine 
Cecily Cate
Constance Colette
Charlotte Claire 
Caris Cordelia
Cecilia Clare
Cleo Chiara
Cara Cornelia
Calliope Clair 
Catherine Cosette
Cora Christine
Cowen Clarice
Coralie Cate

C: Boy Names

Christopher Clark
Charles Cooper
Caleb Cassius 
Clement Cuthbert*
Christopher Cuthbert
Crosby Cole
Conrad Cornelius
Christopher Cowen
Cornelius Conrad
Cedric Cyprus
Cosmo Carrington 
Cary Calloway
Christopher Cosimo

D: Girl Names

Della Diane
Darcy Doreen
Daphne Dolores 
Darcy Delphine
Dara Delphine
Dorcas Diana 
Dorothy Day 

D: Boy Names

Daniel Dimitri
Desmond Diego
Damian Drew
Donovan Dax
David Dashiell
Dominic Dean
Dale Davis

E: Girl Names

Elizabeth Elwell
Evangeline Elle
Eleanor Eliza
Edith Ellery
Em Eloise
Elowen Elizabeth
Elisabeth Evangeline
Edith Evangelina
Eliza Elm
Elodie Emilia
Eleanor Elspeth
Esther Evangeline
Erin Esmeralda
Etta Elisabeth
Edie Estrella 
Everly Elizabeth
Evelyn Elizabeth
Emma Estelle 
Elizabeth Eve

E: Boy Names

Eric Ezekiel
Edward Elijah
Errol Elijah
Elliot Edmund
Eli Ephraim
Enzo Elijah
Everett Eli
Emerson Echo
Erwin Ezekiel
Enzo Elias
Elwyn Everett 
Edwin Emmanuel
Emmanuel Edward

F: Girl Names

Felicity Faye
Frances Felicity
Freya Faustine
Flannery Faye
Fiona Faye
Frances Fern
Finley Francine
Frankie Fiona
Florence Fiona
Flora Felicity

F: Boy Names

Frederick Fitzgerald
Francis Felix
Francis Finnegan
Franklin Flavio
Forest Ferdinand

G: Girl Names

Gemma Gianna
Gemma Genevieve
Georgia Grace
Gloria Gwen
Gwen Guadalupe
Greta Georgette
Gia Geraldine
Gabrielle Gwen
Gemma Grace

G: Boy Names

George Gerard
Gabriel Gilbert
Gregory Giles
Gideon George
Gus Grover
Gino Giuseppe
Gideon Good
Gil Gideon
Garrett Gregory
Gregory Gilbert
Gavin Gabriel 
Grayson George
Graham Gilbert
Garrett Gunther
George Gibson

H: Girl Names

Harriet Hildegard
Helen Henrietta
Harriet Harper
Helena Happy
Hazel Helaine 
Helga Henrietta
Hollis Harriet
Heidi Helena
Hattie Hildegard 
Holly Hester 
Hero Helene
Hillary Harper
Haley Helaine
Harley Heloise 
Hadley Harper

H: Boy Names

Hal Harrison
Henry Huck
Henry Harper
Henry Hunter
Hugo Harrison
Henry Hamish
Hector Hudson
Harry Hawthorne
Harvey Howard
Harvey Herbert
Harvey Hamish
Harrison Heath
Harold Hayes
Hugo Harper
Harley Hector
Hadley Hamish

And that's all for the A-H list... though I'm sure I missed some! I think my personal favorites here are Agatha Anne, Agnes Adele, Albert Ambrose, Bridget Bellamy, Barnaby Bram, Basil Bernard, Clara Clementine, Cecily Cate, Conrad Cornelius, Darcy Delphine, Desmond Diego, Eleanor Eliza, Edwin Emmanuel, Florence Fiona, Felicity Faye, Francis Felix, Gwen Guadalupe, Gregory Gilbert, Gideon George, Harriet Hildegard, Harvey Hamish, and Henry Harper.    

*While making this list I remembered that Cuthbert is a literary name via Anne of Green Gables and now I am obsessed.