Zoos and Zebras. Yeah, I know—not very original.
It’s either that or Zilch. Or Zero. In which case this post would be done about now.
“Zoo” may not be very original, but it’s a pretty natural choice for me. Christopher (my youngest son) and I love going to zoos. He has always enjoyed zoos a little more than my other kids did, and I like taking pictures at the zoo.
Even though he’s on the verge of turning sixteen, Christopher has always been and ever remains my official Zoo Buddy. When we travel we try to squeeze in visits to any zoos we haven’t been to before, or even zoos we’ve already visited.
Some of the zoos we’ve been to are in Houston, Austin, Omaha, San Francisco, Denver, and of course the Amarillo Zoo. There might be more.
Sometimes I forget things.
In honor of the letter “Z” I will share only pictures that pertain to it. I’ll save the others for some other time.
You’re welcome.
There are more zoo creatures than you’d think with a name starting with Z. Lucky for you, I’m not going to go into all of them.
I will share three Z creature photos before I call it a night to get my own Zzzzzzzzzz’s:
A zeren, or Mongolian gazelle
A Zebra, of Course!
A Longfin pennant fish. But it looks like a zebra.
Ok, so that last one is a bit of a cheat. There really is a Zebra fish, but it isn’t nearly as pretty as this fish. I think the Longfin pennant fish is much more deserving of the Zebra name.
But that’s just me.
And that’s it for me with Z.
Congratulations to everyone who finished (or will finish) the A to Z Challenge, and virtual fist bump to all of you who gave it your best effort—even if you didn’t finish.
Now, I’m going to go catch up on some well deserved Zzzzzz’s. :)
Yeasayer: one with an optimistic and confident outlook on life
I’m not sure I knew this word existed before the A to Z Challenge. It is the opposite of naysayer, one who habitually expresses negative or pessimistic views.
I took a picture of a yeasayer before I knew it was a word:
If that little yellow bird doesn’t portray confidence and positivity, I don’t know what does. It reminds me of a little boy following his daddy around, thinking he’s just as big and can do everything his daddy can do.
I made a greeting card out of this photo, but it hasn’t been a big seller in my online greeting card store. I’ve never quite been able to come up with the perfect greeting card phrase to go with this picture.
This is what I did come up with:
This picture makes me think of courage and determination.
What do you think of when you look at it? What kind of greeting card would you turn it into?
I’d love for you all to give me ideas for a better greeting card phrase for this card. Anyone who suggests something I use will get a free card. This applies to any and ALL suggestions I use.
AND YAY! Only one post to go in the A to Z Challenge. I had some struggles but I persevered and am about to cross the finish line. Maybe even on time!
YES! Yay! Yahoo! Yippee! Yabba Dabba Do!
Sorry, got a little carried away. At least I’m being a yeasayer and not a naysayer. 
So far, the letter X has been the hardest letter for me in the A to Z Challenge. Coming up with an “X” topic was no easy task for a rule-follower like me.
There are only so many words that start with X and I don’t have much to say about most of them.
Then I ran across a few unusual X words that apply to yours truly:
- xanthippe: ill-tempered woman (about once a month)
- xenodocheionology: love of hotels (because if I’m in one, I’m away from the daily grind)
- xenodochial: hospitable; kindly to strangers (sometimes I embarrass my kids by laughing it up with total strangers)
- xenomorphic: having a form not its own (years ago I discovered that someone older and less fit traded butts with me)
So there ya go. Now I can tell my husband I’m even better than XXX-rated. I’m QUADRUPLE X-RATED.
Which makes me a quadruple X-rated quadragenarian.
He’ll be so thrilled. 
P.S. I’d be happy to downgrade to the XXX rating if the butt thief would kindly switch back with me.
