this may take a few minutes, if you have a large blog

I'd like to introduce you to my links (linx?) list. Who these people are, how they fit into my life and each others' lives (it gets tricky).

I don't know if these people still read my blogs (or, in some cases, if they've ever read them), but I read these on a regular basis. I also read a few others on a regular basis, but they're just not on my list...yet. It takes me a bit to get to it sometimes.

For those that need it, all mormon code words are in green and a star thingey that I can never say the technical term for (*) indicates a need for a back story. A glossary of terms follows the post.

cjane - Ahhh, cjane. As it happens, she and I live in the same neighborhood (not the same ward, but the same stake), which we didn't figure out until we had been blogging at each other for some time. We had some previous ties (she had worked with my brother and my sister-in-law, Noonderbar; I knew her sister, Nienie), and now have our own friendship, for which I am grateful; more accurately, we've known each other longer than we realized. She's married to the one and only pirate dogg, CK. She's a great writer and I love to hear whatever she has to say. She is my dear, dear friend.

chronicles of noonia - This is the most pathetic blog on my list, but it belongs to Noonderbar, so I keep it on the list. It has potential, but desperately needs to be updated. Noonderbar is my sister-in-law, mainly, since I don't think my brother writes (wrote) any of it. They're no longer in Madison, but are now in Cedar City.

compulsive writer - Never met her. She's friends with Lorien, though, who I know. She is, as far as I can tell, a compulsive writer, and I always look forward to her insightful comments.

darlybird - I've met Rachel twice, both blogger-lunch dates when she has been visiting from California. She personally knows other people on my list, but, like I said, I've only seen her twice. I hope to see her again. The times we were having our lunch dates, I really enjoyed what she had to say on a variety of topics.

downstage left - I met Emmie once for...twelve seconds. I saw more of her in the Joseph Smith movie than I did at lunch. But, lucky me, I'll get to see here again soon. Can't wait.

elpasorepresentyo - My nayvor, Ganzie, aka, La Yen. Lived next door for a short bit, but a very well-lived bit. I can't summarize our relationship here. She was in attendance at the birth of my youngest daughter; I was at the placement of hers, and also their family's sealing. That sort of explains it.

everyday i write the book - I have never met Kacy, and I rarely comment on her blog. I doubt she's ever read mine. Because this might be considered stalking, I've considered removing her blog from my list, but I can't bring myself to do it. It is just so, so funny. I do know people that know Kacy - the jolly porter and oh, judy!, so probably Lorien, too.

ignore the crazy - Bek lives elsewhere, and we've never met, but will next month. I've enjoyed our email correspondence. She and oh, judy! are very close friends. Bek has great stories about, and photos of, her kids on her blog.

jill of all trades - Cabesh lived exactly one block west for me for quite some time, and we had a lot in common regarding how lonely we felt in our neighborhood (go figure). We got to know each other when were were assigned to be visiting teaching companions last year, which assignment ensured her speedy move out of the ward*. She now lives in Stars Hollow, New Hampshire.

more caffeine, please - I really want to meet this fly chica. She has a little boy, a big boy, and a little big dog. She's had some great interactions with the people in my Our Fair City that I try to avoid, as she is their landlady. She is a friend of cjane's, and her best friend is married to steve happens.

nienie - When I first met Nienie, I was smitten. She's stylish and cool and really cool. I wish I knew her more. We had babies around the same time (her Claire and my Curly). She likes to have babies, and she's good at it. She's been living in New Jersey, but is now moving to (or maybe already in) Arizona. Her sister is cjane and her brother is the jolly porter.

oh, judy! - Oh, Judy, indeed! I love the Lisa Valentine. My first memory of her is when we were in the same ward, she pregnant with her first and directing the primary kids singing in sacrament meeting. Also, I saw her around that time in a Garren's show. I always wished to know her, and now I do - lucky me! She is so funny and sweet and beautiful and a very sincere friend. She's married to the jolly porter.

on bright street - I really like to read what Geo posts. I met her all-too-briefly at a lunch, but we, too, email each other. She's really so very sweet, and I enjoy getting to know more and more about her. She and I have friends in common - the June Audio folks - and Geo and I also share some shame in ancestry regarding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Queen Scarlett - This good lady takes being a mom very seriously. She has carefully documented her daughter's first, second, third and beyond, EVERYTHING. She's sassy and I enjoy our email correspondence. I've never met her, but we both know Cabesh.

steve happens - There was a recommendation on more caffeine, please's blog to read her best friend's husband's blog, and there's where we find steve. After reading a few of his posts, I realized that I actually first met steve almost ten years ago when he was Elder Babcock and I was Jenny Noonan. He's a clever ad-guy, a rock star, and is the owner of a very, very fancy suit.

swampbrat - The newest addition to my list, Tori and I used to live in the same apartment building. She and her kids moved in directly upstairs from my apartment, and a short time later, she married her soulmate, Sei. As she says, they went through a lot to find each other, and attending their sealing was one of my most favorite temple experiences ever. And, she's hot. Her sister is married to tirando barra.

the blog cabin - Abraham Lincoln, our nation's 16th President. I don't think he reads my blog. He's probably mad about my ancestor's involvement in that one time he got shot and died.

the burch tree - This belongs to my friend, Kerri Burch, who lives in Arizona. She grew up in the same town as my husband (Redlands, CA), and we were in the same ward together at Wymount, and her husband was my boss when I worked at Staples. We later lived in the same apartment complex south of campus, along with swampbrat and her family, and tirando barra and his family. She's a superwoman who excels at anything she pleases. I miss her and I wish we lived closer to each other.

the jet set - Uh, who doesn't know Carina? She repsonded to my Depeche Mode post and came with me to that concert. Turns out, she knew the jolly porter and title goes here when they all worked at B&N together, so she also knew oh, judy! and La Yen. She just...knows everyone.

the jolly porter - Chris is a funny. He's cjane's and nienie's brother, and oh, judy!'s husband. I remember him from when we were in a ward together, but I didn't actually meet him until I invited myself to his birthday party last summer.

the lo down - Lorien and I used to be in the same ward. She's a funny lady, a fantastic scientist, and a great mom - I love reading about the interactions between her and her children. Her husband is a famous Guy (heh-heh, get it?) - I even got his autograph last Christmas. She knows the jolly porter and crew, i think from high school.

tirando barra - JC and I used to live in the same apartment complex. He now lives in Kansas, and has a beautiful wife (swampbrat's sister) and two cute-but-in-a-tough-way boys, and baby #3 is on its way. He knows a lot about Mexico and computers, and he likes to be called Joan.

title goes here - The second most pathetic blog award goes to W. Not because of the content, but rather because of the LACK of content, as it it no longer December. I met Waldo when I was 15, at an EFY in Bloomington, Indiana. After keeping in touch and then losing it, we met up again at UVSC. He got married and moved away, and then we ended up being next-door neighbors. He is married to La Yen.

wendysue - We'll probably meet each other this summer. She has 3 little girls - like me! She grew up with oh, judy! in Nebraska and still lives there. I think she and I share a love of the classic brat pack movies - she always catches on to my Breakfast Club references.

People who should write a blog so that I can read it:
Beans
D
Sue
June Audio
CK
Tara
imsewfunny
Asay
Miss Courtney
anonymous coward (y bride)


Glossary of terms:

Ancestry: Not a mormon code word, but they do like their genealogy, don't they?!

Cedar City: A town in Southern Utah; there might be people that live there that aren't mormons.

Elder: The title of a male mormon missionary; not his name, but his title.

Garren's: A comedy troupe (not mormon) that may or may not be affiliated with Brigham Young University (mormon).

Sealing: An ordinance performed in a temple wherein a married couple's ties are not just "'till death do us part", but "for time and all eternity".

Stake: A group of wards.

Temple: A sacred place of mormon worship; certain sacred ordinances happen only in temples (see sealing.)

The Joseph Smith Movie: Nickname for the film Joseph Smith The Prophet of the Restoration, a film currently being shown at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, as well as various other mormon visitors' centers. You don't need to be a mormon to see it.

UVSC: Utah Valley State College. Nevermind, this isn't a mormon term.

Visiting Teaching Companions: As sisters in Zion, we all work together. I mean, two ladies assigned to visit other ladies in the congregation on a monthly basis and to generally oversee each others' well-being.

Ward: Name for a congregations of Mormons, and in Utah, it basically means you also live in the same neighborhood. I knew lots of these bloggers (Nienie; Oh, Judy! and the jolly porter; lorien; swampbrat; tirando barra; the burch tree) while living in the Provo 5th Ward.

Wymount: Refers to Wymount Terrace, one of the married student housing complexes at BYU; so named because of it's proximity to the "Y Mountain", or, *insert reproduction joke here*. You don't have to be a Mormon to live there...but I'd stay away, Mormon or not.

* : In the space of a year, I had 5 or 6 different visiting teaching companions because they kept moving out of the ward. I warned Cabesh, jokingly, when she and I were assigned together, that she'd be moving soon, and guess what happened.