Yes Kat! Congratulations do seem in order, thus far at any rate, and may it be so to your desired end.

Good point Dave. When the relation of the words in the list is not clear (in your example monotone vs two-tone) the comma and the conjunction delineate the nature of the relationship. But, such is not always the case! And where there is much diversity as in your further example, the use of the semi-colon does the job much better than the comma (in my humble opinion).

A living language is always in a state of flux and grammar and usage are bound to shift. The spoken word is much more dynamic than the written word which is invariably slower to change but change it does.