Manic Monday Carnival

Welcome!

This is the very first Carnival I've ever hosted, so keep that in mind if things end up going horribly, terribly wrong.
Try not to worry about that for right now, though.

Go ahead and help yourself to the snacks I've provided. There are Doritos, mini egg rolls with dipping sauce, pizza rolls, chocolate covered cherries, dark chocolate truffles, blueberry pie, lemon bars, and wild berry dream cake. For the health-conscious amongst us, I've provided fresh sweet red apples, watermelon, and a tray of vegetables with some french onion dip and some spinach dip.

All set? If enough people show up, maybe we'll send out for pizza.
Find a cozy spot to sit down and make yourself comfy.

Here we go!

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First, we have Marilyn, over at More Random Than Average. She decided to submit her "Rip" post. This post made me laugh out loud, because it taught me what the letters "R.I.P." really stand for. Note: This post was written by Marilyn's dog, Mini. (Clearly, Marilyn does an excellent job of home-schooling everyone in her family, pets included.)
Click here to read Marilyn's post!

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Next, there's Barb, over at Will Think 4 Wine! She's decided to share the post she wrote when the theme was "Under". Lots of things happen under the sun, and some of it isn't always worthwhile. On the other hand, sometimes you get things to actually grow in your garden, like when her dad got a lovely batch of green beans.
Click here to read Barb's post!

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Morgen, our usual Manic Monday host over at It's A Blog Eat Blog World, submitted this post from the week when "lick" was the theme. It never fails to amuse me when Morgen tells this story. He grew up between "Big Bone Lick" and "Beaver Lick", Kentucky. Oh, yes he did. :) Read the post and he will tell you alllll about it.
Click here to read Morgen's post!

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Then, we have Mary (also known as "The Teach"), over at Work Of The Poet. She chose to submit her "pride" post. She didn't stick to just one meaning of the word; instead the post is full of variety. Want to see what Bono looked like back in 1984? How much do you know about Jane Austen's most famous novel? Go take a look!
Click here to read Mary's post!

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Bitter Betty at The Winter Of Our Discontent has decided to share her "night" post! It's all about M. Night Shyamalan! I have to admit, I wasn't all that familiar with his work (other than The Village). But after reading her post, I'm interested in checking out some more of his movies. Especially Lady In The Water.
Click here to read Bitter Betty's post!


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Now we'll pause for a brief intermission while I announce the arrival of a freshly-baked pumpkin pie, as well as a batch of BBQ meatballs and some crab-stuffed mushrooms. Oh, look, there seems to be a double chocolate layer cake as well!
Ok... everyone fill up your plates and then settle down while we continue the carnival.

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Next, we've got Jamie, at Duward Discussion! She chose "play" as her theme to share with us. We get a mini-lesson on Shakespeare that explains the meaning of the phrase "The play's the thing!" And there's also a nice commentary on how the realm of theater can sometimes mirror real life as well.
Click here to read Jamie's post!

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Our next carnival participant is Tiel Aisha Ansari, from Knocking From Inside. She has a lovely post from the week when the theme was "one thousand". She has a really good fiction story here, about a mirror that broke into a thousand pieces. And each piece talks. This is really an excellent story. I especially love the ending.
Click here to read Tiel Aisha Ansari's post!

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Hey, look, it's Travis from Trav's Thoughts! He also picked "one thousand" as his theme. I love this post because it has some wonderful poetry Travis wrote. It's beautiful and bittersweet at the same time. And there are pictures to match each stanza. I'm glad he picked this post for the carnival. :)
Click here to read Travis's post!

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And then there's Tish, also known as Crazy Working Mom. She just had a baby recently, so she's gotta be extra busy. Yet she still took the time to send in her contribution to the carnival. She chose her "iron" post. I honestly had no idea how to "season" a cast iron skillet, nor did I know you should never clean it with soap and water! Silly me! :)
Click here to read Tish's post!

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Hey, who ate all the pizza rolls?
Where did the plates go?
Will someone please pass the Doritos?
You, over there, please don't feed spinach dip to the cats. They'll just throw it up later.
Anyway, back to the carnival...

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Instead of sending a post she wrote herself, Ivana decided to send one written by another blogger instead. She wanted to include Sarge Charlie's "quake" post. Sarge explains that when 70,000 pounds of bombs are dropped from an airplane, it really makes the earth quake! He also mentions being in an earthquake in 1970, which just happens to be the year I was born. (I'm sure it was just a coincidence).
Click here to read Sarge Charlie's post!

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Now it's time for Desert Songbird, who chose to share the post she did for the "faith" theme. Here we've got a lovely mini-story about a lady who goes to a bar and orders a "stoli and cranberry"... and finds something she wasn't expecting.
Click here to read Desert Songbird's post!

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Next there's Neila, from Blog That Mommy! She picked the post from "play" week. This is quite an eye-opener. At least it was for me. Those of you with kids may find this post brings flashbacks (or uncontrolled twitching). It's all about a hideous tantrum her kids decided to have in the store one day. Loud, screaming, throwing themselves onto the floor... OMG.
Click here to read Neila's post!
Note: This reminds me of a story my mom tells about my childhood. Apparently one day when I was very young I had a tantrum in a store. She spanked my butt right then and there. No ifs, ands, or buts (Ha! butts! Get it?) Anyway, she said that was the last tantrum I ever had in a store. I had learned my lesson. I don't remember that day in the store at all, so obviously it didn't scar me for life. I just like to hear mom tell the story. She tells it really well. :)

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Wait, I totally almost forgot to include my OWN contribution to the carnival. I guess one of my favorites I've done here at the Jannaverse is this post I did back on October 15, 2007, when the theme word was "bat". Here I share all I know about sports. It, uh, might not all be accurate, and I might have made some of it up. Maybe.
Click here to read my post!

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Last-minute entry: Head on over to "Mother's Got A Dot Com" for this post which deals with the "one thousand" theme. Guess who lived a thousand years ago? That's right! Vikings! Check out this post to learn a bit about those blond-haired guys with the round shields and cool-looking ships.
Click here to read the post at Mother's Got A Dot Com!

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I hope you enjoyed the carnival. Hopefully you found the posts delightful, the food tasty, and the company pleasant.
Please ignore any cat hair you might have found on the furniture.
Oh, and if you need to use the bathroom, it's down the hallway. Second door to your left.
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