Happy New Year!

Many readers of this blog will be celebrating the New Year on a different date, but for me the calendar year is ending tomorrow.
2011 has been memorable! I started a wonderful new job and have gotten to work with amazing and truly generous people. I traveled more than any other year, and was fortunate to have a new book published. Good health and good fortune accompanied me through the months, and when I reflect on the year, my sense is one of deepest gratitude! Other people have taken care of me and shared their love and wisdom, and they are the real reason I will remember 2011 with great appreciation.
I hope that your year, however you measure it, has been a great one, and that the days ahead of you are marked by the things you value and enjoy...

Time will tell

Time will tell means that we will know the result of something after some time passes. I suppose this expression has a little skepticism attached to it, in the sense that the person who says it may doubt the results of the thing in question. Here's an example:

You: I think the new program to reduce costs will be really successful. What do you think?

Your coworker: Well, it sounds good, but I'm not sure it will work... Time will tell.

Turn over a new leaf

To turn over a new leaf means to change something about yourself or your life. Here are a few examples:

He must have turned over a new leaf; he used to frown all the time and now he's always smiling!

I've decided to turn over a new leaf and start taking yoga classes.

A lot of people decide to turn over a new leaf on January 1.

Read a children's book

One of the three kings brought a very nice book the other day: Otto, El Oso de Libro.

This book is great! And in these days before Christmas, I see a lot of children's books in bookshops, and some of them are wonderful. So I was very happy to receive a book in Spanish, with marvelous illustrations! I could read it very easily and I learned some new words too!

So, why not read a children's or young person's book in English? You probably read a lot of them in your native language, and I bet you learned a lot of words and expressions as you went along... So, don't be shy! Pick out a great book like Where the Wild Things Are, or something by Dr. Seuss, and start some delightful reading!

See the light at the end of the tunnel

A tunnel is a dark place you have to pass through to arrive somewhere.
To see the light at the end of the tunnel is to begin to see the end of a difficult situation or period. Here are a few examples:
After working continuously for the past three months, we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
You'll feel better when you see the light at the end of the tunnel!
The worst part of a project is when you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

See you later, alligator!

Okay, maybe I didn't get quite enough sleep last night.

Or maybe I'm just in a good mood after Spanish class with the incomparable María.

In any case, I can't resist posting this expression.

We say this to kids when we're saying goodbye. Here's an example:

You: See you later, alligator!

Your seven-year-old: In a while, crocodile!

Try it. I guarantee at least one of you will smile!

This post is dedicated to my dad, who always makes me smile!

Long time, no see!

If you haven't seen a person for a long time, you can say "long time, no see!"
You could also say this ironically, if you have just seen the person.
This expression is very informal.

To not see the forest for the trees

To not see the forest for the trees means that you don't see the big picture because you're too focused on the details. So this expression means to lose perspective.
Does this ever happen to you? I suppose that many of us have jobs or other responsibilities that demand some attention to detail, which can result in not seeing the forest for the trees. Certainly we can see other people losing perspective, in sports, politics, etc., and making mistakes they might have avoided. What's the risk of not seeing the forest for the trees? I guess the most serious risk is forgetting what's really important. Getting caught up in the details can make it more difficult to remember the real reason that we're doing something.
What do you think?

Interview on rob mclennan's blog

rob mclennan has very kindly posted an interview with me on his blog. What impresses me most about his reviews and interviews is the care he takes in making links, which gives the posts a huge amount of added interest.
Thank you so much, rob!!!

To be seeing someone

If you're seeing someone, it means that you're dating. It may mean more or less involvement, depending on the situation, but it always means that you're spending time with the person in a romantic way. Here are a couple of examples:

Him: Would you like to have dinner with me on Saturday?
Her: Um, actually, I'm seeing someone.
Him: Oh.
*******
Her: He seemed pretty disappointed when I told him I was seeing someone.
Her friend: Yeah, I bet he was. But are you really serious about Felix?
Her: Well, we've been seeing each other for a while now, but I'm not sure...
*******
As you can see, we usually encounter this phrasal verb in the continuous, and we don't usually use it in the future. So we would say "He was surprised that she was seeing someone," to express a situation in the past.

Expression: See the world through rose-colored glasses

If you see the world through rose-colored glasses, it means that you always see things in a positive way.
You could also see a person this way, or a situation.
Although many people think that it's good to see things through rose-colored glasses, others argue that it's unrealistic to see everything this way all the time.
What do you think?

(This image is by Salvador Dali.)

Funny

Funny is an adjective which has two primary meanings. It can describe something or someone which makes you laugh. It can also mean strange or unusual, in other words, peculiar. So sometimes we have to clarify which meaning is intended. Here's a conversation to illustrate this kind of situation:
You: A funny thing happened to me yesterday...
Me: Funny ha-ha or funny peculiar?
You: Funny peculiar...
"Funny ha-ha" refers to the kind of funny which makes you laugh, and this is a common question to clarify the situation.
This post is dedicated to Anna and Aida, who can sometimes be funny ha-ha, but are never funny peculiar.

Foolish

Foolish is an adjective, and it has the following meanings:
1: lacking in sense, judgment, or discretion
2a : absurd, ridiculous 2b : marked by a loss of composure
3: insignificant, unimportant
Here are a few examples, which you could match with the meanings above:
He was wearing a foolish grin.
She's been taking foolish risks.
Those clothes make her look foolish.
She must feel foolish wearing those clothes.
I never thought you'd be foolish enough to believe him.

It's worth noting, though, that for some people, being foolish is not a bad thing. Steve Jobs famously says at the end of his Stanford commencement address: "Stay hungry, stay foolish." Here he means that people should keep taking risks, even if other people think they're lacking in judgment.
In the Tarot deck, The Fool represents innocence and a sense of adventure, and often signifies the beginning of a journey.
In the song, These Foolish Things, the idea is that insignificant things remind the speaker of her lover. Here's a version sung by Ella Fitzgerald:

I think it's safe to say that acting foolish is commonly associated with being in love, or being very engaged with something, or having a great passion for something. Inventors have often been considered foolish, until their inventions were found to be useful or important. Creative people are sometimes seen as foolish, because others may not understand their obsessions and therefore find them very impractical.
What do you think? Is being foolish only negative, or could it have some positive possibilities?

Finally, the noun of this adjective is foolishness, and the adverb is foolishly.