JSUK Monday - It's Baaaaaackkkkk.

"Olly Olly Oxen Free" or "Alli Alli Outs In Free" or "What in the World are You Talking About"?

Did you know that in different areas of the country there are different variations of words that mean essentially the same thing? I'm sure you knew this. It is called dialect - or a regional language. Often times these words are discovered when one ventures out of their original hometown. This happened once for me at college.....we were discussing how to arrange the itty-bitty dorm rooms, and someone said, "let's put it kitty corner." Hmmmm.... "Do you mean catty corner?" Turns out we meant the same thing - just different terms being used....we of course polled almost everyone on the floor and found that the majority of people from the Chicago area referred to it as kitty-corner, whereas the mid-southern portion of Illinoisan's called it catty-corner. Interesting.

So, this weekend while my mom & Randy were visiting us, I randomly sang out, "Olly Olly Oxen Free." To which my mom chuckled, and said - you mean "Alli Alli Outs In Free." And Randy said, "no she doesn't!" And Dave had no idea... apparently that never made it to the kick-the-can or hide-and-seek games in Kansas. I'm estimating arrival in 2010. (hahahah... ONLY KIDDING!)

My mom took this opportunity to explain that it meant all outs are free to come in. It is typically used as a method to let the other players who are still out hiding know that the game is over, and it's okay to come back into home base.

And so the debate was born --- I agreed with Randy that I had heard it the other way, but that my mom's version actually made more sense. So, what did we do? We headed to the most reliable source on the internet - Wikipedia! (hint of mild sarcasm here)

Anyway - Wikipedia said the following:
The exact origin of the phrase is unknown, but etymologists suspect it is the childish corruption of the phrase "All Ye, All Ye All Come Free!" shouted by the British and American forces to the natives as they liberated France in World War II

The phrase can also be used to coordinate hidden players in the game kick the can, in which a group of children hide within a given radius and a seeker is left to guard a can filled with rocks. The seeker has to try to find the hiders without allowing them to sneak in and kick the can. In many areas the phrase used is "Ally Ally In Come Free" which is a way to tell all hidden that is time to start the game of trying to get in to the can without being caught.

SO - I guess we'll call this one a draw - and write it off to another instance of the old soda vs. pop debate.

If you know of any of these dialect inconsistencies, I'd love to hear them - OR your vote on either the Olly Olly Oxen Free or the Ally Ally Outs in Free debate.

Favorite Photo(s) Friday

Well - I couldn't choose just one picture, so I decided to pick one of Dave - that I know is a favorite for his family.... And one of me, that I know is a favorite in my family.

Here is Dave, I think a little over a year old - looking mischievous in the bathroom. On the back it says, "David doing what he does best - having fun!":


I think it is adorable, and very-telling.... even at a young age he had the ability to charm the girls, this one being his mom behind the camera. I think his siblings like this picture because it proves he isn't always the innocent one! Right Esther?

Here is the picture of me, taken most likely at the age of four. Sitting on a table in the screened in porch:

Now the story, according to my brother Joey, is that this is the day I received my first spanking. In fact, he says it is moments before. Apparently our dad had told me numerous times to not sit on the table, and apparently I kept getting back on the table. You can tell by the grin on my face, that I think it is very FUN sitting on the table. Probably because of the commotion being made, and the fact that the camera was out. If they ever fess up, it will probably come out that THEY were telling me to sit on the table...where would a 4 year old get an idea like that, anyway???

JSUK Monday - Commenting

JSUK - I am discontinuing JSUK Monday - but, only as a regular Monday appearance.... I'll still do it when I find interesting tidbits to share with you!! :)

Thanks for checking in! How about this, instructions on leaving a comment: See below where it says "X comments" X being a number between 0-infinity... do you see that? You click on that, and then type a message in the box, and you can click "anonymous" if you do not have an account, or would not like to have one. You can even leave it completely anonymous, and I will have to guess who might have left the message. (Please know, though, that I can delete your message if I find it hostile!) ;)

Favorite Photo Friday

Horseback Riding on our Honeymoon in St. Lucia. I had always wanted to go horseback riding on the beach...we had fun. The best part was that we were the only couple on our ride, AND the guide could have cared less how fast we went - so once we got to the beach we took off at galloping speeds. This is actually, the photo before the actual photo, but I like it as well - so I decided it deserved equal favortism.


And....the actual Favorite Photo Friday picture: (I admit the guy told us to hold hands, we didn't think of that on our own!) Why does my steed look so much smaller and unhealthy compared to Dave's?? Hmm... poor horsey.