I used to have a different user name but remember a few months ago when GW just deleted a bunch of us for some reason - well the only way I could re-register was to use part of my e-mail address. So there it is.

And Breezy - must be a regional thing. You didn't have to explain to me how to pronounce your name. I was actually surprised that you had to explain it.

Lynn

It's the title of a medieval poem, and it's been one of my e-mail addies these many years. :)

My dad used to call me Lola B when I was a kid (my real name is Laura). But when I joined Garden web I didn't know if I could put a space in the middle of my user name so I ended up with lolab.

***sigh***

This is definitely a fun thread!

When my son was younger he was really into Pokemon and I liked the one character "Ninetales" (a fox with 9 tails) but believe it or not, it was taken!

I decided to mix two Pokemon characters together; Spinda and Skarmory and that's how my name was born. I don't even know how to pronounce it....is the emphasis on the "spin" or the "ory' part??? I guess it doesn't even matter does it?

Hey Petra, you wouldn't have a sister named Kirsti who did gymnastics and lived in upstate new york in the 70's did you? Petra is an unusual name....thought I'd ask....=)

Wendy, the "when" example doesn't help us southerners, because we pronounce that word the same as the word "win." The short "e" and "i" sounds are often pronounced the same in the south, especially when they are followed by a nasal sound, such as "m" or "n" ("pen" and "pin" are pronounced the same, too). As a reading specialist, I am forever working to help kids and teachers pronounce those two sounds differently, if only for the purposes of reading and spelling the words. I grew up in the south, myself, so I have the same difficulty and have to work hard to detect the difference and even harder to say them differently.

Hey, LouisianaPurchase, neaux tigers allowed in these parts! Seriously, though, the most fun I've ever had at an away game was at LSU. You people know how to tailgate better than anyone! :)

Thanks for the explanation, MarthaVila. Your name always had me wondering. Coincidentally, I know you'll be thrilled to learn that Bob Vila is a Florida Gator! :)

We have two black mini schnauzers and when my DH opens the door says either...'do I have puppies here?' or 'do I see two black noses?' I preferred using the name puppeez.

I love old houses, duh!

Actually I always wanted an old house and lived in a spacious modern home that I hated (too big, sterile and cold!). Once I ditched ex-DH, I bought myself my first old house and have become completely obsessed with updating while maintaining her integrity. Obsessed I say!! So, it's a love - hate- obsessed relationship between this gal and her old house.

So many users with the word "pup" in their name. Love it! :)

My nickname is "Mug " (as in mother, not someone who steals your purse, LOL). Anyway, besides kids, I have a wonderful poodle who is constantly by my side. Hence the name.

Like the other redhead on this board, the first part is pretty self-explanatory. I'm not really sure where "deluxe" came from . . . I don't know if it's ironic, or aspirational!

Hello, all. I haven't posted anything in a while, but thought I'd drop back in with an explanation here. The "mn" is simply because I'm in Minnesota (waving to Florantha).

My name is Regina, and some family members call me Reg. Many years ago, my sister had an email spellcheck that was never happy with Reg, and repeatedly insisted that she had meant to write "erg." Eventually she gave in and began her messages with "Hi, Erg."

I never gave much thought to how mnerg would sound, possible silent m and all. Next time I'll go for something more euphonious.

(I didn't even know you could still find circus peanuts!)

I've always been a huge dog lover and in the past volunteered at an animal rescue. I like to think I'm a proponent of responsible animal breeding. Hey mnerg-I'm from MN too!

What I think is interesting about the usernames is sometimes you can't tell the gender and through this I'm realizing people I thought were men are really women!

Rhome410 - I would have had no idea that is what your name meant, although now that you explain it, it is very obvious. Did the rest of you know she had 8 kids? Wow. And I can barely handle my two.

I am ready to abandon mine given the current negative attention associated with it, especially in Florida. But my name isn't actually "Kaycee" or any variation thereof. Its just my initials and I am in Florida (Orlando, actually). Not very creative, I'm afraid.

At home mom with a gaggle of kids. Mine and foster. I am pretty involved with school and activities to make there world fun and productive.I just got appointed as president and am trying to embrace my post. Caring for kids is a passion of mine. Making things pretty and neat is the other. Counterintuitive? Yes, often. Being a stay-home mom gives me a lot of time to think of new projects. Gardenweb, somedays, is the only adult interaction I get!

I wish I had chosen a different username, because it makes it difficult finding my own messages in GW (everybody dreams of kitchens it seems), but, for the last year I have had the tune to

I am dreaming of a white kitchen....

stack in my head...

Being a beach lover from way back, when I first tried to get a screen name, in 1995!, from AOL, I went through all the usual "beachy" names, but they were all taken. Sandesurf was the first one they allowed me to use, and it's just stuck. I spelled it with an "e" because it's the first letter in my name (Elena).

Mine is boring too, and quite obvious. We live half the year in Montana and half in the Pacific NW. Oh well, even if the screen name is boring, our lives certainly aren't, and I'd rather have it that way than the reverse!

I'm in the "Boring" crowd, too ;) Mine is my initials and the state that I live in.

regina_phelange, the first time I saw your name pop up I died laughing. There is another GWer that has a a Beastie Boys lyric as their login that struck me as genius also (of course, my feeble brain can't think of the name right now).

Mine is just part of my name. My mother always told me she picked it out so I could drop my last name and go by this when I "become famous." That's yet to happen :)

@ Spinory: Sorry to disappoint you, I am from The Netherlands originally and now live in southern Spain. No NY connection at all.

Amela is what my Dad called me when he was in a very good mood. Amazing how much we all have in common, linked by our user names. I'm a UF Gator, living in CA, love CP and had a Peep birthday cake for years living in the South and my very favorite movie is Princess Bride. PN to Brenjun, I miss my Dad, too.

Mine is due to a lack of imagination. I like to garden (flowers) and I live in CO.

I also love circus peanuts, but have not had any in years--and not sure I want them if they have pork gelatin (although nobody would ever think they were a health food even without that tidbit). I've never liked peeps, but leave mini marshmellows out to slightly harden before munching.

Such a fun thread! I get to vote on circus peanuts (you're either a hell yes or a hell no, and I'ma yes!), wink at my children for watching lots of Peter Pan (whan-dee), and admit that my screen name hails from exactly where I am in life. No great mystery :)

Between work and a return to school, I've read more than I post. This has been one of the most fun and interesting threads.

Beekeeperswife - all of that honey from only ONE hive - that's seems like so much.

My screenname is ae2ga because my name is Angela Evette and I am moving from SoCal to Decatur, GA. It's kind of weird to live here when my house is there. Another year, and I'm out of here for good.

I'm definitely no, a thousand times no on the circus peanuts, but if you want to talk mounds...

Easy one... I know I'm going to get there sometime!

OT waving to the other Minnesotians. Hope you've avoided storm damage. Enjoy today. Prepare for heat coming soon to a kitchen near you.

hsw_sc - I love me some beastie boys ;)!

I was born a farmgirl in Kentucky. And you can take the girl off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the girl. Therefore.
Lynn

My name has sort of a two-fold meaning. It was one of my nicknames in HS (decades ago) and it came about because my Biology teacher could never pronounce my name correctly (always said it with a long "i" instead of an "e" sound) and some of the kids changed it to Vitamins. The name stuck for several years and I would get called by it whenever I came home from college. I hated it at the time (and still don't want to be called it IRL)!

The other meaning of the name, however, is in honor of my dear Mother who passed away last year at the age of 95. Though Mom virtually never took prescription medications, she took just about every vitamin and supplement known to man. She had a favorite health food store from the late 40's onward and just about single-handedly kept the guy in business. At 95 Mom's Blood Pressure, heart, and cholesterol were better than most 40-50 year-olds, and her memory was sharp as a tack. Was it the vitamins? Who knows? Perhaps it was really the chocolate (one of her biggest weaknesses)!! A favorite quote from her -- "Anything that tastes as good as chocolate must have something good for you in it."

As for Circus peanuts -- no way! It's real, live peanuts for me -- one of my biggest weaknesses. (I make my husband hide them from me, otherwise I will eat a whole bag in one evening.)

farmgirlinky....I always thought that is was farm girl inky, thinking maybe inky was a nickname. I had no idea it was in Kentucky.

Holligator mentioned not knowing how to get from the "i" sound to the "e" sound using the word "when" for us southerners. I mentioned above I actually figured it out from "when". I got there by trying to think of any words I knew that started with "w" using the "e" sound. It started with "where" and got me to "when". It is true what someone said uptop about the words ending in "m" or "n". I have never thought of all of this until this thread.

It is like how Canadians say "house". I love it, but for the life of me cannot make my mouth form the "ou" the way Canadians do.

It's amazing how our regions develop our pronunciations and mouth memory (I am sure that is not the correct phrase). People talk about accents all of the time, but I never really hear people speaking about how your mouth forms to pronounce words based on your locale. Unless this is your profession like holligator.

Oh yeah, Holligator if you are ever crazy enough to come back for a game give me a shout out and we will definately hook up. Yase, tailgating here is absolutely the best, but I have had to learn how to control myself. I cannot focus on the game as is required of myself when my tailgating is out of control.

In fact, it was the Florida game in 2003 that ended my tailgating Extreme career. We lost simply b/c I wasn't prepared mentally and I had on the wrong underwear (but that is a different story and probably too much information!)

Ae2ga--Mounds? No, no...almond joy! Now we're talkin'! ;)

Holligator--interesting point about the pronunication of the vowels. I've been to the south twice, but was probably too hot and melty to hear how my name was being pronounced!

SouthernBelle--Rhome is amazing. Not only does she have 8 kids, but she also home schools, cooks and bakes everything, is planning two DD's summer weddings, and she blogs!

-Windy
(LOL!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Rhome's blog

Some of these threads are bringing a joyful tear to my eye and some are causing me to LMAO!

Tandem: My husband and I have a tandem bicycle and even tackled a self-guided of Sicily several years ago.

Cha: We live in Chattanooga, TN.

Shout out to peach32 and NewSouthernBelle!

Thanks for the cheering on, Breezy, but it's my life that is amazing,-- I am just a very normal, but very blessed person who gets to get up and live it everyday.

I seem to read people's names based on how I glance at it the first time, no matter how quickly or incorrectly. I will make pronouncable 'names' out of a string of letters, or do things like see "Farmgirlinky" and read it as Farm Girl Linky. Like LouisianaPurchase, but I added letters. There used to be a frequent poster name vwhippiechick, and I always read her name "VW Wippy chick."

I seem to almost always miss state abbreviations... as I read flowers_n_co as Flowers & company, and Mnerg as M'nurge.

LOL!! Sometimes Rhome and I are the same (rather than using the same reasoning to disagree). :) Even though I know to read more carefully, when the names go by I also think "Farm girl linky" and "VW whippy chick". :) And Sabjimata turns into Sabjaminta, for no good reason that I can think of. Though I always get Mountain Road Redux. :)

I don't have any interesting or touching story on mine, and if you don't have the right background it'll just make you say, "huh?" anyway. One person actually did get it (wouldn't expect more), but I think it also depends on the age of your eyes and quality of your screen. They're three lower case L's, not numeral 1's, though if you're thinking that one of the should be, you would necessarily be wrong...

I always think of farmgirlinky as farm girl linky too!

My husband brought me home some circus peanuts, because I mentioned this thread and how I've never tried them before.

They must be an acquired taste. Would anyone like to acquire my hardly touched bag of circus peanuts?

Mine is dumb. Can I change it? Lol. Joy just popped into my head when it was time to pick a name. I think I went for joyjoy (like Ren and Stimpy) but it was taken, so I added a third.

Ooops. Typo. That's "if you're thinking one of them should be, you wouldn't necessarily be wrong." I think my keyboard needs a new battery...

babushka was the name of my first cat that i adopted. i did not know what the word meant, just loved saying the word and the way it sounded. found out after i named him babushka meant grandmother in russian, LOL, never told him that!

he has since gone to cat heaven but i still love that dear boy. i now have a brother / sister duo shelter kitties and love them just as much. amazing how we can miss a loved one but open up the heart and love again.

Continuing the pet theme, my cat's name is Sochi. My family has always named my/our pets after geographic places (Tibet, Java, Quito, Petra) and Sochi is the name of a resort town on the Black Sea coast in Russia, and site of the next winter Olympics! My dear old Sochi is 17 now and moving slower, but as lovable and beautiful as ever.

I guess mine is pretty obvious ... I'm Zac's Daddy! We adopted a beautiful baby boy just over 2 years ago and he is truly the greatest thing to have ever happened to me. He's totally amazing and I look forward to passing on my love of cooking to him -- or at least making sure he can feed himself as he grows!

I love the pet pictures! Now THAT would be a great thread if everyone posted pictures of their animals.

How I felt when I signed up, and still do. At least I know what TKO means :') Here's mine.

Add me to the boring category - my name is Rachel and I live in Michigan (but grew up in Atlanta).

In the past I was even more boring - first initial last name. My last name is unusual so I could get away with this, but I realized I may not want to include my uncommon last name in an online forum!

I've enjoyed reading this thread!

Sombreuil is an antique white rose. I'm a white guy who professionally works with old things; houses, musical instruments. (And I'm thorny) As for the Mongrel part, I like the juxtaposition, and that mutts are oft underestimated while being more hardy than purebreds. I also like french words with the -euil suffix and how nobody has a clue how to pronounce the word.
In my mind it's a jarring word-picture, and a semi-rhyming pronunciation. And if it comes across as strange, all the better.
Casey

Rhome...I always thought VW's name was whippy chick as well and until you explained your name several years ago I though it was pronounced Rome.

Plllog...Your name has always thrown me. I thought it was lowercase l's until the other day someone wrote it as ones and then I thought I had been wrong all of these years. I still for the life of me have no idea what it means a post awhile back led me to believe it had something to do with technology.

I have always thought lukkirish was lurk ish.

Most of us must have eyes that play tricks on us. In fact, I generally do not read the liturgy at church or sing out loud b/c I always have the letters and/or words completely turned around. By the end, I am sure people question my ability to read!

Since they announce the locations of Olympics so many years in advance, I think it's a good idea to choose these names for pets.

Pyeongchang!

david ro . wun . 1 .

I have been a professional color consultant for over 25 years. I've become known to my clients as the Color Lady.

Guess what I collect?