Maddie is such a good girl (and so is Meg incidentally). I wrote the top line to Santa and when I picked it up this morning, she added the bottom line all by herself. :)

Today my brother is sober for three years. :)

i_hope_that
For many of us, the holidays can be kind of rough. If you're searching for a network of understanding friends, this ultra-nurturing community encourages you to express your heartfelt wishes and offer other members encouragement and acceptance. Not for the terminally snarky or emotionally-challenged, this is a good-spirited place to lend comfort and support.

diygifts
Feeling crafty? If you've got a few last folks on your holiday gift list, this is a great place to seed your creativity and generosity. You'll also discover wonderful DIY tips to decorate your home and entertain guests. Offering a no-frills-no-skills attitude that welcomes the cash-challenged and arts-phobic, you're sure to get ideas and make friends in the process.

cooking_club
A fun and friendly community dedicated to those who love to cook, whether you're a meat-and-potatoes type, an aspiring gourmand, and/or a vegan. In search of a brilliant dish to use up those weekly leftovers? Post your ingredients and you'll be whipping up a feast by dinner. You can also share favorite recipes. For Type A chefs, you can spice up your culinary repertoire with exciting cooking challenges.

( Heeeere we go! )

Whoot! Playoff Berth!

1. Who is the governor of South Dakota?

2. What film pits Matt Damon and Ed Norton against John Malkovich in a game of poker?

3. Fun with lyrics! Name the song and the band:
I knew right from the beginning
That you would end up winning
I knew right from the start
You'd put an arrow through my heart

4. In the book "Something Wicked This Way Comes", what device is used to make people older or younger?

5. If you could fight anybody at all, who would you want to fight?

( Heeeeere we go! )

stepstomarrow
When granddaughter, Jada, was born with leukemia, a donor-match was located and Jada made a miraculous recovery. In honor of her grandaughter's health, Jeanna has decided to walk across the country (in the dead of winter) to raise awareness and build support for the bone marrow registry (all that's required is a cheek swab). Follow Jeanna's remarkable journey as she travels the United States by foot.

1. Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra, and Bill Bixby starred in which 1968 musical action film?

2. Who is Racer X's brother?

3. What was the name of the Porsche 356 model produced between 1954 and 1958 and built to be both lightweight and economical?

4. What company was founded in Australia and originally named "MacRae Hosiery Manufacturers"?

5. What is the fastest thing you can do?

( Heeeeere we go! )

Get to know My Guests. Want to know who's checking you out? You can now view the 100 most recent, logged-in users who visited your journal during the past 30-day period with My Guests. For those who prefer to fly under the radar, you can update your My Guests privacy setting here.

Introducing My Stats. If you have a Paid or Permanent account, you can now see detailed reports on how many people are visiting your journal, friends pages, and entries (wherever they're posted on LiveJournal). You can also view data on comments and RSS requests. My Stats is only available to Paid and Permanent account holders, but you can upgrade anytime. (FYI, an annual subscription costs less than a large pizza with everything on it, PLUS it's rumored to make you lose weight in your sleep!) For additional details on this feature, read this article in paidmembers.

Get ready to check your vital statistics!. To begin, mouse over Journal in the upper nav bar and select My Stats from the dropdown menu (Horizon) or select My Stats under Journal in the side bar (Vertigo). If you're using another design scheme, you can visit My Stats directly. You'll find My Guests on the My Stats tool bar.

Happy holiday promotion!

Tweaks and Enhancements

1. The search is on: We've replaced our default search tool with one from Yandex, a leader in search engine technology. This means you'll get smarter, more granular results! To get started, enter your search terms and click the Go button to the left of the Find box on the upper right of the LiveJournal header. This will take you to the search landing page where you can further refine by Entries, Comments, People & communities, and FAQs. You can also access the search page directly.
2. Whitelisting: We've released a new option to help you moderate your busy communities more efficiently. If an entry contains a link to a whitelisted (i.e., trusted) site, it will be posted automatically without need for moderator approval. If a post contains a link that is not on the whitelist, you'll be prompted to approve. To access this option, please visit settings for any community you maintain and select the third option in the Community Moderation box (located in the lower left-hand corner). Click the enable link to custom-edit your community's whitelist, which has been prepopulated with trusted domains. You can manually add or delete URLs in the text box. Please note: If you're the maintainer of an unmoderated community, you may see the radio button for this setting checked, even though it's not active. This is a known issue. Please select whichever option you prefer and click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. If you're happy with your current settings, then no need to do anything!
3. TMI, dude: We've added some fun FREE sponsored vgifts! You can send up to 50 TMI vgifts to mutual friends (btw, you cannot send free vgifts to communities). If you're a Paid/Permanent user and you want to view sponsored gifts, click Show sponsored gifts on your homepage or visit the sponsored gift page. These vgifts will only be available through Wednesday, December 23rd.

You can view more awesome user content after the jump!

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Until next time, stay snug!

1. Fun with lyrics! Name the band and the song:
You know I work all day to get you money to buy you things
And it's worth it just to hear you say you're gonna give me everything
So why on earth should I moan, 'cause when I get you alone
You know I feel okay

2. What constant describes the amount of electrical charge per mole of electrons?

3. "Laverne and Shirley", "Mork and Mindy", and "Joanie Loves Chachi" were all spin-off series of which TV sitcom?

4. Who was allied with the three Earp brothers in their famous gun battle on 26 October 1881?

5. What's your favorite day of the year?

( Heeeere we go! )

Supernatural/House xover!!!
Let me repeat that...it's a Supernatural crossover with House.!!! Two great tastes that, suprisingly, taste great together. Seriously, spot on voices, Dean and House snarkfests galor, and a big, undead doggie.

My Brother's Keeper by ducks_in_a_row

Go, read, give love !!

It's time for a high-speed quizzing extravaganza! I know you've missed out on a lot of quiz consistency this past month, and that's a true shame. We'll make up for it right now, this week, with action-packed ADRENALINE!

The next four days will have four quizzes with four questions, one quiz a day. You have TWENTY-FOUR HOURS to take your best shot, because the answers will be up and running the next day. No time to snooze! The heat is on!

(I've been in Kenya for a little while, so I've got a lot of energy stored up for this. Let's go!)

1. Who are Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm?

2. British politician Edmund Burke supposedly referred to the press or journalism as what?

3. The musical pieces in the first third of Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'invenzione are commonly called what?

4. What weapon does Clint Eastwood's character use in the movie "Dirty Harry"?

5. You're only getting four presents for Christmas this year. What would you like them to be?

taste_buds
Holidays provide a built-in excuse for indulgent entertaining. This all-purpose foodie community covers everything from homemade hangover cures to dinner party menus. Need quick advice? Get five-minute snack suggestions, low-fat ingredient substitutes, and even measurement conversions. Delicious recipes garnished with humorous advice. Yum.

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.