Nilla-isms

Well, hello all :). I decided to wait until after my class to post. You never know when there will be some excitement in class. So, I got to meet with the professor and she is so super-nice in person and outside of class. Which makes me feel really bad about how much I dislike her teaching and her class. So, I have a semi-new topic and I have about 4 weeks to get the thing done again. Hopefully I will be more successful this time.

So last night I went to Institute. Irony of ironies (given the extensive descriptions of some of my recent dreams in yesterday's post), we talked about dreams and the Book of Daniel. We covered pretty much all of Daniel (though, because time ran out, we didn't get as in-depth toward the end as we were in the beginning). What is interesting to me is that the prophecies and visions in Daniel span over 3000 years... He saw things pertaining to the fall of the Babylonian Empire 500 years before Christ, but then he also saw things pertaining to the last days. That's pretty awesome, if you ask me. Have I mentioned before that I love Institute :)? I really enjoy how much I learn there.

So, in the interest of the popularity of my new poll of supper versus dinner (and all the commentary that has gone along with it on this blog post), I decided to add some Nilla-isms for you. Of course, some of these are actually -isms from my family as a whole. They are just how things were said. But some of them I did all by myself :).

• Nissan (pronounced as though it rhymes with "Miss Anne") -- okay, so this is always how my family pronounced that type of car. We owned a Nissan Patrol for a few years in Panama. I see nothing wrong with this pronunciation, since, in the English language, the "i" never makes the "ee" sound. And I don't care what the Japanese commercials say... :). If it was "Neesahn," it would be spelled that way ;).
• upstairs/downstairs house -- okay, so not the most educated-sounding description of a two-story house. But isn't it much more illustrative of what the house is? I mean, if you're describing a house with two floors to a child, wouldn't it help the child picture it better if he or she heard the term "upstairs/downstairs"??? Otherwise they might picture two books! (And no, it doesn't matter that the first time I used this term, I was speaking to an adult, Julie) :).
• dish up -- this means to put food on your plate. I have no other explanation. It was always said in my parents' house. It continues to be a part of my vocabulary.
• build a puzzle -- yep, BUILD. I have no problem with this, do you? This was another phrase we used (a lot) in my family. I never knew it was so funny until Julie laughed at me for it. And every time she hears me say it, she corrects me. But isn't it so much easier to say "build a puzzle" than "put together a puzzle"? :)

Okay, honestly, there are probably others. But that's all I've got. But I invite you to remind me of some if you think of any I've said in the past. And I invite you to leave comments with your own -isms. Because, just like with dinner vs. supper, a lot of things are cultural or just simply what we grew up with ;). Oh, but please nobody admit to using "mash" as in "mash a button". That's just wrong on all fronts ;).

Oh, and by the way... "Eet's a rrrrace ... and [we're] weenning!"

Oh yeah, and so I have a burning question.... I can't seem to remember the answer... Do any of you remember the name of the event that is usually held the night before a wedding when the wedding party practices for the upcoming wedding?? It's usually held in the evening and there's usually food there. I just can't seem to remember the name of it!!! Please help me figure it out by leaving me a comment.