"Here are the answers, but if you want to know the questions you have to reply and promise you will do the meme too." The answers should all be lj friends of yours.

1. lauredhel 

2. chi_editrix 

3. Seriously, no one.

4. slave2tehtink 

5. oddprofessor 

6. szielins 

7. tiltmom 

8. x_h00ine 

9. chi_editrix 

10. ratphooey , sconstant , blognak , pasketti  among others

11. rednekkid 

12. youxu 

13. frivolity 

14. rednekkid 

15. mr_booze 

16. pasketti 

17. harpfox10 

18. mr_booze 

19. brooklynite 

20. lignamorren 

21. iayork 

22. tigtog 

23. chi_editrix , because she used to be

24. hmmmm

25. frivolity 

26. ajb47 

27. ratphooey 

28. jupiter9 , because I think we could both respect the other person’s desire to just read a book.

29. ajb47  (but we need a babysitter)

30. It’s okay, most of the time.

And she wants everyone to know that Evan is definitely NOT five.

and asked me if I was ready to set time aside for another family wedding.

For those keeping score, I have three siblings.  My two younger sisters got married this within four months of each other (Bethany in May, Selena in September).  For a moment, I flashed on the joke that we would find out my brother was serious about someone when he called to say he was already married.  Oh, and the baby just turned a year old.

But no, it's not my brother.

It's my grandfather.  He's engaged to his former sister-in-law Eileen, who was married long ago to his brother Darryl (who passed away about 30 years ago) and who had an interim husband in between. 

Abigail lost her first tooth yesterday.  She wrote a letter to the tooth fairy and put both it and the tooth (the latter wrapped in a tissue) into an envelope left under her pillow.  This morning, she woke up to find a thank you note from the tooth fairy and two dollars.  (Better Off Dead segue:  Two dollars!!!  I want my two dollars!!!)  With no prompting whatsoever, she gave one of the dollars to her brother and later we went out to Target so they could figure out how to spend their loot.  She got a little notebook, he got some Reese cups (which he then shared with her, without prompting).


( So here's where the allowance issue comes in... )

Courtesy of ratphooey 

She gave me the letter B.

Comment and I'll give you a letter; then you have to list ten things you LOVE that begin with that letter. Post this in your journal and give out some letters of your own.

1.  Bethany, my sister.  I still remember the day my parents brought her home -- she had a fine brush of red hair and let me hold her hand.  I remember when she was 9 months old and hospitalized for bronchitis.  She had been an ebullient baby, but lay in the bed so quiet and unmoving.  My Mom stayed with her, sleeping on one of those vinyl lounge chairs.  I can't even imagine how my mother must have felt, how terrified she was.

2.  Beanie, my other sister.  Okay, her real name is Selena, but Beanie was her nickname.  I've written about her elsewhere.  She was small and thin and frail looking, and she was my first baby.

3.  Butterwicks.  What can I say?

4.  Baby feet, baby bellies, the napes of baby necks, baby smell (well, not baby poop smell).

5.  Burn Notice -- my favorite silly show, with an extra bonus of Bruce Campbell.

6.  Bruschetta.  Yum.

7.  Books.

8.  Bad movies.  Such as Beastmaster, one of my long-time faves.

9.  Black Labs.  (Yeah, I'm fond of the recently acquired Certified Pre-Owned yellow Lab, too.)

10.  Bread, fresh-baked.  Sourdough, wheat, baguettes.  Whatever, it's all good.

More pictures here.

Create your own visitor map!

I'm on the third day of a self-declared five-day holiday weekend -- taking advantage of a relative lull at work, I stayed home on Friday, and I'm also taking Tuesday so that we I can accompany Abigail to her First Day of School! and then be there to pick her up afterwards.  We're figuring it might help to have another adult present to wrestle Evan out of the building when he figures out he doesn't get to stay.

My brother Yancey arrived yesterday afternoon (later than predicted, which led to a lot of "Why isn't Uncle Yancey here yet?  He's taking FOR-EVVVV-ERRRR!").  Dinner was a thrown-together stir fry consisting of Whatever Is In the Pantry/Refrigerator.  Turned out quite tasty.

First comment from Evan this morning:  "Did Uncle Yancey go home last night?"

Having him here to entertain the kids has made it possible for me to get a good start on a task I've been putting off for a couple of months now -- the biannual toy storing/cleaning.  The toybox downstairs was piled so full of stuff the lid was straight up.  Now, I've finished the downstairs toys, have a trash bag full of broken things that can't, in all good conscience, be freecycled to anyone, and a stack of things that can be.  For those, I've already sent an email to a woman with two small kids who was a very quick pickup on the Little Tikes coloring table we freecycled a couple of weeks ago.  (Abigail had outgrown it -- when she had to hunch over to color, and fold her legs back around the chair, I realized she was too tall.  We replaced it with this and let the kids pick out their own chairs in red and grape.)  I've lost all patience with people who say they want something, as if they're calling dibs on things, and then decide later they don't -- I now try to find someone who I know is a reliable pickup, once they say they want something.  Whatever this woman doesn't want, I'll bite the bullet and list.  After I finish going through the toys that are upstairs.

On the menu tonight:  Venison sausage burgers.

Is anyone else watching Primeval (showing at my house on BBC America)?

Your result for The Hockey Role Test...

The Stay-At-Home Defenseman

20% Playmaker, 30% Goal-scorer, 60% Stay-at-home, 20% Rusher and 40% Goalie!

Take The Hockey Role Test at HelloQuizzy

Via alice_q:

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

NFPS - The Guru

Nature, Foreground, Big Picture, and Shape

You perceive the world with particular attention to nature. You focus on what's in front of you (the foreground) and how that fits into the larger picture. You are also particularly drawn towards the shapes around you. Because of the value you place on nature, you tend to find comfort in more subdued settings and find energy in solitude. You like to deal directly with whatever comes your way without dealing with speculating possibilities or outcomes you can't control. You are in tune with all that is around you and understand your life as part of a larger whole. You prefer a structured environment within which to live and you like things to be predictable.

The Perception Personality Types:

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy

we're ready for tomorrow.

Just not inclined to post much.

Via

alice_q

The rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The questions:
1. What is your first name? Rebecca
2. What is your favorite food? Strawberries
3. What high school did you go to? John's Creek
4. What is your favorite color? Yellow
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Stephen Colbert
6. Favorite drink? Ice water
7. Dream vacation? Ireland
8. Favorite dessert? Tiramisu
9. What you wanted to be when you grow up? Content
10. What do you love most in life? My kids
11. One Word to describe you? Anxious
12. Your flickr name? This one didn't turn up any pictures at all, so I'm just going to insert a picture of my actual kids.

My motion has been filed, my documents have been reviewed.  I have to hurry down now to try to get out of town as soon as possible.  I tried to call home, but only got an answering machine instead of  

ajb47

Hmmm, definitely not able to take the trains home.  All of 30th Street Station is closed, and the area is cordoned off for several blocks around it.  From a senior partner's corner office on the west side of the building, I can see all the flashing lights -- about five minutes ago, there was some sort of explosion, and there's now a black cloud of smoke rising up above the station.

There are scores of people moving east from the station on the streets below, but they don't seem to be running -- shuffling, more like.  It looks like there might be some fighting breaking out.  

Maybe I should go downstairs and catch a cab now at the corner of 18th & Cherry, before the crowds get this far.

BLITEOTW.

I wouldn't have come in at all during this beautiful summer day, but there were at least two things I needed to get done: finalizing a motion for filing, and reviewing some documents to put into a witness file for a deposition next week. Almost done with both of them, so I'll probably be able to light out early...

Heard that the trains might be shutting down, though. I heard something on the radio about an Amtrak train coming in from DC with a bunch of sick passengers, and they might not be letting anyone go through 30th Street Station. If I could only get through these docs, I could actually e-file the motion from home, from my sunny back deck. (Note to chi_editrix: I don't care if my house isn't a boat, I still call it a deck.) 

BLITEOTW

The trial period for finalizing Sarah's adoption was only supposed to be three, but with my sister getting married and then scheduling difficulties, it took a while for us to get around setting a day/time for our volunteer coordinator to come back out, do a final check, get the balance of the payment, and then declare us officially a two-dog family again. This required some quick emergency cleaning, to make at least the ground floor of the house remotely presentable. Because ... well... Chez Butterwick is less than a model of cleanliness and order at the best of times. And this was NOT the best of times.

After that, we needed to find a way to keep the kids otherwise occupied, so the cleaning up would not be all for nought (naught? knaught? knought? I'm too lazy to google to clear up the brain-glitch on the spelling of that) until Tami arrived. So AJ set up the 12-ft diameter/36 inch Intex pool that he picked up earlier in the week (just in time for the rainstorms to arrive). It took about 4.5 hours to fill completely, but we let the kids in when it was about half full -- otherwise, I think their impatience would have driven them mad. They had to take a break for a while when Tami arrived (some chocolate puddin' consoled them), and then right back in after that. Barring rain, it looks like AJ's got a sure way to keep the kids entertained this summer.

For dinner, he grilled hotdogs for the kids and some barbecue chicken breasts for us to have sandwiches. With some fresh fruit and typical summer sides (cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans), it was a perfect meal. Ice cream sandwiches for dessert. All very summery, a great close to a great day.

From  chi_editrix by way of lignamorren by way of Viv.

SCATTERGORIES… It’s harder than it looks!

When you are done, send it on to everyone who likes games, including to the person who sent it to you. Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following… They have to be real places, names, things…nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

I have a similar problem as

chi_editrix

lignamorren