Tag Archives: names

VPI Reveals List of Most Popular Pet Names for 2010

What did you name your pet? VPI Pet Insurance, a nationwide insurance company that specializes in pet health insurance, has come up with a list of the most popular pet names for 2010. The list is divided into two categories: most popular names for dogs, and most popular names for cats. They also have compiled a list of the wackiest pet names. VPI has some advice about how to choose a good name for your pet. Pick a name that is short and simple. This will make it easier for your pet to learn to recognize his or her name. … Continue reading →

Unique Baby Girl Names

Most parents want a unique name for their baby, one that will stand out from a crowd, or at least one that won’t have your child competing with five other kids with the same name. For our kids, we chose classic names that weren’t too popular at the time. Unfortunately, others must have had the same idea, since we keep coming across other little girls and boys with the same names. My youngest, Henry is the only exception, so far, although I have been told that the name is rising a bit in popularity due to Julia Roberts. Still, if … Continue reading →

A Breed By Any Other Name Is…

…perhaps a dog you once knew or are familiar with from a TV show or a movie. You might not know the breed name, but you identify it nonetheless. By some other name. Not in Kansas Anymore, ____ Take the case of Lollipop, a Cairn terrier. I had the pleasure of making Lollipop’s acquaintance on my morning walks when I went to my mom’s house last month. The first morning I met Lollipop, she and her mom, Martha Ann, were coming towards me on the path. Lollipop stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me, hunkered down, and was … Continue reading →

What’s in a Name?

Every parent knows the importance of finding the right name for a child. As a fiction writer I also know how important it is to find the right name for my characters. I’ve written a little about it here. The wrong name can completely destroy the illusion a writer is trying to create. Sometimes the reader brings their own ideas to a book. That can work for a writer or against them, as happened with a recent novel I started to read. The main character, who was not exactly like likeable, had the same name as my daughter. Try as … Continue reading →

Get Names Right

If business is really about relationships, those relationships start and end with names. First names, last names and correct spellings. While it might not mean the success or failure of a million dollar deal (or it just might), getting people’s names right can be a very big deal. So, what happens if you are not by nature great with remembering people’s names? I did not used to be as bumbling with names as I can be now. I like to think it is because I have lived long enough to know enough people that remembering their names is a bit … Continue reading →

Review of Artful Adoption Books: Three Names of Me

Yesterday I wrote about a children’s adoption book with beautiful artwork. Today I present another one. Three Names of Me is written by Mary Cummings in the voice of her Chinese-born daughter Ada. I would judge the writing to be for ages 6-12. The illustrations are done by Chinese-American illustrator Lin Wang, who combined watercolor and colored pencil to create a style she calls “ethereal realism”. Like the illustrations in Over Land and Sea, they appear realistic and detailed, yet at the same time soft. The use of light and blended backgrounds in Three Names of Me does produce a … Continue reading →

Taking Back Your “Maiden” Name

When I got divorced several years ago, I couldn’t decide what to do about the “last name” problem. While my divorce decree stated that I could take back my “maiden” name, I decided to keep the married last name while I was raising my kids since it seemed to make things easier. Plus, for most things, I had always used both of my names anyway. Now that my children are nearly grown and it doesn’t seem like such a big deal that our last names “match”—I think I am ready to start the process to drop that long-used “married name,” … Continue reading →

Collect Names and Prospects Using a Drawing

When it comes to finding a relatively inexpensive way to collect names and grow a database of prospects and interested individuals for your home business, there are few activities that can be as successful as a drawing. If you have public opportunities to meet and attract new people, holding a drawing for a free product or service can be a fabulous way to gather names of interested people. You can then follow up with these individuals in an attempt to cultivate them into customers. Even for those of you who do direct sales or visit with prospects on an individual … Continue reading →

What SHOULD Kids Call Their Parents & Grandparents?

I found myself in the midst of a discussion of belief systems and values the other days as a group of us discussed whether or not kids should call their parents and/or grandparents by their first names, whether “mom,” “mama” or “mommy” is best, and all sorts of versions on what are and are not appropriate monikers to exchange between parents and children. It seemed like the perfect sort of conversation to extend to all of us here… Some people have really strong feelings about whether children should or shouldn’t be able to call their parents by their first names. … Continue reading →

The Last Name Problem

For many single parent families—whether formed by choice, separation, divorce, or death—figuring out what to do about the last names of the children and the parent is a bit of a problem. If there is a re-marriage then the last name issue comes to the forefront again. Even though we now have increasing flexibility when it comes to what is considered “standard” and “acceptable” regarding last names, it still takes some thought and consideration for many single parent families. When I went through my divorce, I kept the last name I’d added during my marriage for ease. I definitely wrestled … Continue reading →