Owen was named for his mother's family surname

Have you ever wondered about name origins? I know for my blog, I thought about it for a long time but could never decide on just the right name, until one day my daughter told me I was a fabulous grandmother. Right then and there I had the name, Fabgrandma.

As for my given name, Karen, I have always wondered if I was named for someone or if my parents just picked that name out of book, or if they just liked the name. Karen is of Greek origin and means “pure” and “dear”. It can also be spelled Karin, Karyn, Karren, Carin, Caren, Caryn, and a myriad of other ways, but I think the way I spell it is the most common.

I have had a running joke with my grown children every time one of them has told me of an impending new grandchild, that they will have to name their child after me if it was a girl. I never really expected any of them to do that, but when my youngest granddaughter, Amelia, was born on my birthday in 2010, she was given my middle name, Gayle,  for her “second” middle name. I was overcome with happiness when my son told me about that! Gayle is of English origin, and can be either a girls or boys name. It literally means “festive party”. Imagine that, I am a pure and festive party! hahaha!

My grandson, Michael, was given Zane as his middle name. He was born in Texas, and my son told me that he didn’t want to call him Tex, but did want him to have a name associated with the western United States, so he named him after Zane Grey, the author. And my youngest grandson, Owen James, was named for his mother’s family name, Owen, and Fabgrandpa’s first name, James.

And last but not least, a name story I tell often is this one: My son was two years old when his sister, Rebecca Jean, was born. When she was about two weeks old, we went grocery shopping with my mother. My sister and one of her friends were also in the car. My sister’s friend asked my son what his sister’s name was, and he replied “Rejecca Bean.”  That name stuck, and she is still called by that nickname almost 39 years later.

What is the origin of your name? Do you have any name stories to share from your family?

We choose to stay at USA RV Park because they give discounts to veterans

While I’m getting ready to go on our road trip, I’m also trying to think of ways to save money along the way. The biggest expense we will have of course, is the fuel for the truck. With the price of diesel continuing to go up, I am getting a little worried about the budget.

The second biggest expense for a trip like this is the campground fees. I know some people will stop in a  parking lot overnight, but we never do. For one thing, we don’t have a generator for electricity. And another thing is, we try to support local campgrounds along the way so they will be able to stay in business. I know we are just one tiny family but we do feel it is important to patronize these businesses when we can.

Sometimes if a campground or other business has a website, we can look for discount voucher codes to use before we get there. Even a five or ten percent discount can add up over a ten day trip. Sometimes we can find restaurant discounts as well. This time, I am looking at eating more meals in the RV. Sandwiches are easy to make at a rest stop, and if I cook sausage or bacon the night before it is easily reheated in a pan somewhere in a parking lot. It sure beats paying more than $25 for the two of us to eat breakfast!

What are you doing these days to stay within your budget? When you travel, do you look for discounts and coupons to use for lodging, meals, and sightseeing places?

When I came home from Washington, D.C. recently, there was a bouquet of flowers sitting on the kitchen counter for me. Fabgrandpa had missed me so much that he wanted to make sure I knew he was happy to see me. I’m glad I took a picture of them, because I go back and look at it almost every day. That simple gesture of him buying me flowers still makes me feel happy! [Read more...]