I confess...

I totally forgot about blogging today. I was having too much fun.

We started the day with Princess H's dance class. It only lasts 45 minutes, but I require some time to recover after watching all those two-year-olds prance around in tutus.

The kids and I spent the afternoon preparing for Mimo's annual Yankee Trader Gift Spectacular. I know there's some football game going on, but make no mistake -- tonight, Camp Mimo was The Place To Be.

If You're A Fan of Karma or Fiancées, You'll Love These.

**Disclaimer: the following is either directly or indirectly perjured from matadornetwork.com.**

I possess a deep and abiding love of the English language, but it can sometimes fall short of that encapsulating word that you pine for. Sometimes, other lexicons must be consulted if you hope to capture that perfectly descriptive word. Enter matadornetwork.com. The folks there have compiled a list of epically untranslatable words. Some of my favorites:

1. Toska

Russian – Vladmir Nabokov describes it best: “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.”

How Russian can you get? I mean, seriously.

2. Mamihlapinatapei

Yagan (indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego) – “the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start” (Altalang.com)

3. Jayus

Indonesian – “A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh” (Altalang.com)

          5. Litost

Czech – The closest definition is a state of agony and torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery. 

7. Tartle

Scottish – The act of hestitating while introducing someone because you’ve forgotten their name. (Altalang.com)

11. Schadenfreude

German – refers to the feeling of pleasure derived by seeing another’s misfortune.

Of course it's German. 

15. Tingo

Pascuense (Easter Island) – “the act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.” (Altalang.com)

 17. L’appel du vide

French – used to describe the instinctive urge to jump from high places.

Lord have mercy!

It's Four's Birthday!!!

I am so excited that 19 years ago I got a little sister. I thought she was pretty awesome then, but I had no idea how lucky I actually was. Happy Birthday to one of the loveliest ladies I know!

PS I think it's raaawther fitting that this is our 100th post!

Home...

I thought nothing could compare to the original version of this song, but this cover is truly delightful.

Up The Mountain And Down The Hill

So... For Christmas, the Y Man got a ski day.  He was very excited about this.  What I didn't totally realize is that he expected this ski day to be with yours truly.  Now my father was a great skier and he taught me to be an alright skier.  But the last time I went skiing was 7 years ago at Copper Mountain in some of the coldest weather of the season.  I got frost bite and I felt like -- well --- let's just say I felt real' bad.  SO I have not been quite as pumped as Y man about this ski trip.  We have about 30lbs of ski, boot and pole in the back seat of my little camry and despite my reservations, I think we are going.  So say a little prayer for me and I'll try to give you an update and let you know how it goes!

From Tiny and The Princess

We are all excited and forward-looking, but before we close the books on 2010, Princess H and Tiny wanted to share a couple highlights from the year past. Because when you haven't been around very long, a year is a really big deal!

Princess H's Top 5 for 2010

1. Learning to walk, run, jump AND dance! Her first ballet class started today -- hard to believe that just a year ago she was a quadruped!!

2. Skype/video chat. If you haven't chatted with the Princess, and you want to, message me. Seriously.

3. Talking. All the time.

4. Having a little brother! Yes, it took her a while to warm up to the kid, but there is no question that Tiny has become her Favorite Thing in the entire world. It warms my heart.

5. Bunking up at Camp Mimo. Living with Mimo and assorted other familial housemates isn't just the highlight of the Princess' year. I'm pretty sure it's the highlight of her LIFE. She has her chubby little fingers crossed that our house remains in a state of perpetual renovation and we stay here forever.

Tiny's Top 5 (ever)

1. Being born. Obvi.

2. Boobs. Mostly mine, but he'll grab any that are handy.

3. His own feet. He loves them, but only for entertainment.

4. Visiting family in Utah and Colorado, and being incredibly charming to pretty much everyone, everywhere.

5. His big sister. It was a toss-up between Princess H and yogurt, but the Princess won out in the end. Because she is awesome.

All this excitement left the kids quite worn out.

They are celebrating the New Year by falling asleep in unusual places.

Les bons amis du temps passé

I had the delightful good fortune this last week of reconnecting with an old friend. We were in the same grad program at Oxford, and haven't seen each other since. Thanks to the miracle that is Facebook, she looked me up when work brought her to town, and we passed a lovely evening reminiscing and catching up on the last decade. (DECADE!). Apparently we're living parallel lives: I made a couple babies with my dashingly handsome, Republican husband; she made a couple films with her Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated boyfriend....

It was so very nice to catch up, and also a little bittersweet. During this annual time of introspection, I can't help but reflect on all the people who have been dear to me during different chapters of my life. What an embarrassment of (human) riches! And how sad that I am not great about keeping in touch with all those amazing, inspiring superstars. If any of you are reading this, you should know -- it's not just you. I don't send holiday cards to anyone.

I'm not sure what this New Year will bring, but I hope it includes many more happy reconnections. Cheers!