April 2015 – ❧Defining Ways❧

Z is for …. Zeke #AtoZchallenge2015

Published on April 30, 2015April 22, 2015 by mariacatalinaegan9 Comments

WE MADE IT TO Z! Thanks for all your visits and comments it has been such fun. I have one child a son, his name is Austin which means MAJESTIC and as a small child he loved the Disney movie A BUG’s LIFE . I think he identified with ZEKE, that he was the kind of kid whose intentions were always good, but the perceived result by those around him, especially teachers, were not as successful.

English Meaning:
The name Zeke is an English baby name. In English the meaning of the name Zeke is: Abbreviation of Ezekiel.

Hebrew Meaning:
The name Zeke is a Hebrew baby name. In Hebrew the meaning of the name Zeke is: God strengthens, or may God strengthen.

Do you identify your child/children to any Disney character? Or perhaps yourself?

Y is for YOLANDA

Published on April 29, 2015April 22, 2015 by mariacatalinaeganLeave a comment

I am one of eight children, as you can imagine growing up my mom with eight kids was busy and did not have too many friends, she did as we got older and she had the time. She had a friend I found fascinating and welcomed with joy when she dropped by. YOLANDA , she was a very pretty woman. She would have been a good model for Rubens, she was overweight and carried it with elegance.

She always brought a delicious cake; bought I don’t think she was a baker… and one of her arms had a very large number of gold bracelets, they were like a wrist to elbow manacle and she had had them for so many years that her arm was thin (just under the bracelets), which were removed every few months to have professionally cleaned.

Meaning & History

From the medieval French name Yolande, which was possibly a form of the name Violante, which was itself a derivative of Latin viola “violet”. Alternatively it could be of Germanic origin.This name was borne by a 12th-century empress of the Latin Empire in Constantinople, who was originally from Flanders. It was also used by her descendants in the royal families of Hungary (spelled Jolánta) and Spain (sometimes spelled Violante). The Blessed Yolanda of Poland was a daughter of Béla IV of Hungary who married a Polish duke. Another notable bearer was a 13th-century countess of Vianden in Luxembourg who joined a convent against her parents’ wishes, later becoming the subject of medieval legend.

X is for XIMENA

Published on April 28, 2015April 28, 2015 by mariacatalinaegan1 Comment

XIMENA

I love my name Maria Catalina, but when I was a kid I use to ponder if my name were not Catalina what would be a cool name to have? I toyed with a few but always came back to a very cool name with an X …XIMENA it means to hear or listen, if accepted as a Spanish form of the name SIMONE… I am a talker, so I can only conclude Ximena would not have been the right name for me.

Ximena \x(i)-me-na\ as a girl’s name. Possibly a variant of Xenia, or an archaic Spanish form of Simone.
Read more at

W is for WANDA

Published on April 27, 2015April 22, 2015 by mariacatalinaegan6 Comments

In the course of marketing my work in cyberspace, I have made many friends. My friend WANDA is one I treasure immensely, she is from Pretoria, South Africa and has managed to unite so many writers and readers throughout the world. She runs a group aptly called Wanda’s amazing Amazon reviewers (WaAr) in which she has made a huge difference in many of our lives. She writes as well, with great passion, feeling and depth, How could I choose anything else for W?

I enjoy working with Wanda as much as our fun private chats, she is a true friend, one for whom I have felt happiness and sadness, laughed with and had very deep conversations with, she is a fantastic editor and will not mince words when criticism is needed… not a Vandal or a Wanderer as the name seems to suggest.

Wanda

… as a girl’s name is pronounced WAHN-dah. It is of Slavic origin, and the meaning of Wanda is “the tribe of the Vandals”. The Vandals (or Wendlas) were an ancient Slavonic tribe whose destructive behavior led to the modern term “vandalism”. Also possibly (Old German) “wanderer“.
Read more …

Have you made special Cyber connections that you know are so much more than social media?

V is for VIRGINIA

Published on April 25, 2015April 29, 2015 by mariacatalinaeganLeave a comment

My next door neighbor as a child was Mrs. Gamble (VIRGINIA ) she had the most amazing book collection, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys so many all wonderful, this was Mexico City and her books were in English. She was my private library and when I returned a book, she made me a banana split, have never tasted one that good ever… and discussed the books with me, I was lucky, her daughter Cathy a few years older was State side at a boarding school… This lady was one of the biggest most wonderful gifts from the UNIVERSE in my childhood. She gave me a passion for reading and an understanding of characters and storyline no school or teacher ever did.

I started reading so fast that she had me take 3 and four books at a time, I also learned a lot about Minnesota, the family was probably originally from that state. Her husband Bill was an executive with the Ford Foundation in Mexico City. In this life I have had many lovely neighbors, but none that have impacted me the way Mrs. Gamble did… a fairy Godmother of sorts . I also had a great AUNT GINNY I so loved, her middle name AUSTIN is my son’s name.

Virginia \v(i)-rgi-nia, vir–ginia\ as a girl’s name is pronounced vir-JIN-yah. It is of Latin origin, and the meaning of Virginia is “maiden“. The name was originally spelled Verginia, and was the feminine form of an ancient Roman clan name Verginius. With time, its spelling changed due to its association with the Latin term “virgo”, meaning “maiden”. This meaning has been used for the name ever since. Popular in America since the mid 19th century; the first child born in America was Virginia Dare, in 1597. The state of Virginia was named as homage to the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I. Author Virginia Woolf; tennis player Virginia Wade.

Virginia has 37 variant forms: Geena, Geenia, Geenya, Genia, Genya, Gigi, Gina, Ginella, Ginelle, Ginger, Gingia, Ginia, Ginnee, Ginni, Ginnie, Ginny, Ginya, Jenell, Jenella, Jenelle, Jinia, Jinjer, Jinnie, Jinny, Verginia, Verginya, Virge, Virgena, Virgene, Virge, Virgenya, Virgie, Virgina, Virgine, Virginie, Virginnia and Virgy

U is for Ulla

Published on April 24, 2015April 15, 2015 by mariacatalinaeganLeave a comment

I was married before, for five years and those were spent in my first husband’s country, Sweden, his mother’s name is Ulla and she baked the most delicious cookies. A couple of years ago I reconnected with Lars through cyberspace and I was very glad to know that she is still alive and well at 90+ . Before researching the name I was always under the impression that Ulrika meant “Little Ulla” but not according to what I found on-line. The name though all agree means “will, determination”.

Ulla is a feminine given name. It is short for Ursula in German-speaking countries and Ulrika in Scandinavian countries. As of 31 December 2011, there were 61,043 females named Ulla in Sweden, with the name being most popular during the 1930s and 40s, and as of 7 June 2010, there were 25,959 females named Ulla in Finland, most born between 1940-1979.

T is for Thomas

Published on April 23, 2015April 15, 2015 by mariacatalinaegan2 Comments

I have been married for 24 years and as such I can only have one favorite T name. Tom is the love of my life and it is such a joy and an honor to wake by his side everyday . So the meaning of the name Thomas is Twin (I did not have to look that one up) but I did just for you! Of the famous bearing the name Thomas mentioned below Mr. Edison was actually a friend of my husbands maternal great grandfather,

Meaning & History

Greek form of the Aramaic name תָּאוֹמָא (Ta’oma’) which meant “twin”. In the New Testament this is the name of the apostle who initially doubts the resurrected Jesus. According to tradition hewas martyred in India. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world.In England the name was introduced by the Normans and became very popular due to Saint Thomas Becket, a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury and martyr. Another notable saint by this name was the 13th-century Italian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931).

S is for Sara or Sarah

Published on April 22, 2015April 15, 2015 by mariacatalinaeganLeave a comment

I have many friends bearing the name Sara or Sarah all from a wide variety of backgrounds and countries. What can I say I never met a Sara I did not click with! Some people believe in the frequency of names, and in order not to be insulting I will abstain from any names that usually signal me to steer clear… but Sarah is a name that beckons me to get to know a person.

In the old Sanskrit word sâra (सार), which can be glossed as “essence”, “core”, or “speckled” and Sarah (Hebrew); biblical: originally called Sarai, Sarah shared an adventurous nomadic life with her husband Abraham.

Writing this post has made me want to write a few letters (yes I still do snail mail here and there) , make a few calls and e-mail… .

R is for Renée

Published on April 21, 2015April 15, 2015 by mariacatalinaegan2 Comments

The meaning of the name Renée: Reborn, I love the name as that or Renata and I like it because I am very much into reincarnation. Traditionally the name Renée has more of a Christian idea of reborn connotation. Renée is the female form of René, with the extra –e making it feminine. Renée is the French form of the late Roman name Renatus and the meaning is reborn or born again.

I use the concept of past lives through the character Bill in THE BRIDGE OF DEATHS I used real past life regressions, not my own to complimenting traditional research .

French philosopher and Mathematician René Descartes is my favorite René in History. Who is your Favorite Philosopher?

Q is for QUENTIN

Published on April 20, 2015April 11, 2015 by mariacatalinaeganLeave a comment

Quentin means fifth and in Spanish there is a saying ” No hay quinto malo” there is no such thing as a bad fifth, so in larger families the fifth born is indeed considered one of great fortune. The most famous Quentin is surely filmmaker Quentin Tarantino . I am not great at super violent films, so I have missed several of his.

Do you have a favorite Quentin Tarantino movie? I am such a WW II history buff that Inglorious Bastards is my favorite, and as I said, I have chosen not to see many of his films.