Cast of Characters

It has come to my attention that some of you reading this blog have come in a little late in the game. You've told me you're feeling a little lost and left out when it comes to all the nicknames I throw around. Normally, I'd just say stop your whining and get over it but for some reason I'm in a very generous mood today. So, I decided today's post would be dedicated to the cast of characters most commonly referenced here. I will provide links to past posts which should educate you all and make you feel more a part of things.

First of all, let's talk about Little Ocho. She's my daughter. She's blond and she's very good at it. Now, please don't go gettin all defensive and think I'm trying to insult blond people or question their intelligence. I'm not. I'm just saying that as stereotypical blonde's go, my girl is right on track to marry somebody from a boy-band and have her own reality show. Hence the reason some of my friends here call her "Little Jessica". In all honesty, she is a very beautiful girl but she's also a very good student and as sweet as pie. She's just not advancing in the common sense department the way we had hoped. When I started this blog she did not have a cute bloggy nickname. But Christmas 2007 would change all that. You can click here for all the details.

Next is Handiman. He's my husband and he's a homebuilder. He has, for the duration of our marriage, started many, many home renovation projects. He has completed about 3 of them. This, some might think, would make him "Handy" and for the most part they would be right. There's just one problem. He's been slightly accident prone his entire life and working with power tools only intensifies this problem. That's what put the "Handi" in Handiman. To learn more about him just click here.

You will often see me refer to "the entourage" when talking about my daughter. You can find the explanation here.

Members of the entourage, RubyDooby & Papa Gator are my in-laws. These are simply nicknames they've acquired from family and I thought they were pretty cute. I've never written a post specifically about them but you can get an idea of what they're all about by reading my account of our recent trip to San Francisco together. Just click here or here.

Another entourage member is Champ. She's my mom. Last night she went in to be tested for sleep apnea and I begged her to have the nurse take a picture so I could blog about it. I thought it would be both educational and funny as all get out to see her with wires sticking out of her head like Medusa but she begged to differ. You can find out more about Champ here.

The final entourage member is Sarge. He's my step-dad and I'm still working on his introductory post. He's got a story you wouldn't believe and quite frankly, I've got to do some fact checking with Champ before I post it all. As a teaser, I'll just say he's a distant relative of Davy Crockett, he's flown in Air Force One and he was present for the testing of the first atomic bomb. Yeah, he's kind of a cool dude.

You might occasionally see a reference to My Fruit Bowl. They are also known as My Peeps. They are my 8 closest friends. You can learn more than you ever wanted to know here and here.

From time to time I'll make mention my friend "The Chief". Her name is Gena and she's a big time fancy magazine editor who likes to name-drop and be seen in restaurants. I've never written a post specifically about her and believe me, I will be hearing about that! (Oh, don't mind me. I'm just jealous because she wears really cool clothes and knows Mandisa and Priscilla Shirer.)

Lastly, there is Rebekah. She is our youngest daughter who was born with Trisomy 13 2 1/2 years ago. She spent 6 sweet days with us before going home to find healing with Jesus. You can read a little of her story here and here and check this out if you're up for it.

As for me, I don't have a cute bloggy nickname yet. But I'm open for suggestions. If you are yearning to learn more about me you can click here, here, here and here for some riveting information.

Well, that's it for today's Livin The Wood Life Review. I hope it's made you all feel a little more enlightened and included. To be honest, all this linking has made me a little disoriented and dizzy.