Timelies. I hope today is going better than yesterday for everyone. Aimee' your friends are in my thoughts. I'm so sorry for their loss.

Suzi, I hope CJ learns his lesson this time and it's a long time before you have to be the mean mom again.

Hugs and hairpats to everyone dealing with retail hell, work tribulations and family woes.

Today's Kara exchange:
Kara: Do you 'member when I was 'dopted?
Me: You weren't adopted! I had you for my very own.
Kara: And that's why you're going to 'dopt another baby when I die!
Me: You're not going to die!
Kara: That's right! I'm going to live forever and ever!
Me: Well, for a very, very long time; until you're very old.
Kara: Oh. Okay.

I try to tell them that I'd much rather have the earth move than a giant funnel cloud chasing me, but the Midwestern fear of the ground shaking is quite ingrained.

That's the way I feel about it. I'm a native Californian. Big earthquakes are pretty rare. Big tornadoes happen with regularity every damned season. When I went to Swedish language camp in MN and saw the sky turn GREEN, I had childhood Wizard of Oz horror flashbacks.

I guess it's what you're used to.

OMG. That was hysterical. We did a Yankee Swap with the Christmas presents. I'm surprised that didn't last forever!

Good afternoon! Cass, sorry about your grandma. My grandfather broke his hip earlier this year and is on this third bout of cancer. It's so, so hard.

Kara is so funny, Deena. Scary. But funny.

I felt the earth move under my feet once. It wasn't that freaky until the skies started tumbling, a-tumbling down.

All over, all over, all over, all over!

but the Midwestern fear of the ground shaking is quite ingrained.

And utterly baffling to me. I grew up terrified of tornadoes, and ready to move far the fuck away from them. How people who live with them could be prepared to keep them over the unknowns of earthquakes is beyond me.

Besides, their certainty in the immovability of their own ground is sorely misplaced.

I'll stick with terrorists, thanks.

She is a little disturbing at times. I'm constantly fascinated by the connections her brain makes.

SA, Cass, I'm sorry about both your grandparents. I hope for the best for them both.

Is Yankee Swap when each person takes a number and then everyone picks a present in order and some stealing of presents can take place? I've done that a million times but I never knew it had a name. I love this board.