Hygge.



Do you know the Danish word, 'hygge'? There is no one word that translates exactly in English. It's kind of like a combination of 'cozy', 'intimate', 'yummy', ' fun'--all rolled into one. (fyi: for some reason I cannot get rid of the italics. I'm not meaning to write in italics, but I can't shut it off.)

Back to hygge: it's a GREAT word and one that should definitely be incorporated into the English language the way that the French word, 'clique' is. IKEA actually did an advertising campaign in the U.S. a few years ago using 'hygge'. (Hey, I have no idea why, but italics is suddenly turned off... go figure.) You can use the word as an adjective: "thanks for a very hyggelig time together yesterday" or a verb " it was so hyggelig!" or even as a noun " that was pure hygge." Great, irreplaceably concise word.

Anyways--since we've arrived we have just 'hygged.' After 2 long but surprisingly peaceful flights (LAX-NY, NY-CPH), then a train from CPH to Aarhus ( total travel time of ca. 24 hours), we were met by the sweet, friendly faces of Christina, Gitte and Marian. We arrived ' home' at Marians house only to be greeted by Lone and her two sweet little girls, Danica and Madeline (' Maddie'), as well as an amazing garden lunch. Freshly baked bread (Lone), Danish pastry (Gitte=the devil), all the good Danish lunch items, white wine, beer, juice, etc. (Marian & Christina). It was SOOOO hyggeligt. And so good to be together with dearly missed friends! After lunch we went on a refreshing walk in the forest, showered, and off to bed!


Marian carrying a basket of goodies out to the garden


Marian's backyard The fest



Christina--cute and cheery in Marian's very cool kitchen


Gitte--darling, as ever Sweet Lone and Maddie


My darling husband and Audrey (playing with one of many things the Holts brought for her to borrow while we're here. God bless them!)

By the way, for those of you who prayed: THANK YOU. Audrey coped exceedingly well with the travel. Her very good nature, combined with divine intercession, made for a very smooth trip. She slept decently on the plane rides and was such a trooper. Not one single meltdown. At most some very understandable fussing--being only 10 1/2 hours behind in her sleep, poor thing! Despite the extreme fatigue, she looked as if she was enjoying the whole thing as one big adventure! Everywhere we went and every time she saw new places or people, she looked happy and excited.

Last night, she and Mike headed to bed at 6pm (me at 8pm) and slept all the way until noon today, with just a few wakings to nurse and get a fresh nappy. AMAZING!!!!!!!! Today, she's had 2 restorative naps and went down for the night at 7:45pm (hopefully!) After a day of rest and hanging out at a cafe this afternoon, Marian is now making us dinner.


On our way to a walk in the forest... Danica in the sandbox

We are already being spoiled. In addition to giving us her bedroom, Marian and Lone had gotten all kinds of things ready for Audrey: crib, blankets, all kinds of exciting toys, etc. Eric (hero of the day!) even flew by with a few diapers because, nerds that we are, for all that we packed, we were actually down to just one diaper left. And seeing as how it was a holiday here in Denmark, all the stores were closed.

Weather is great--mid 70's. Supposed to rain this week, but we'll see....

Love to all on the other side of the world...

Leavin...on a jet plane


This is Nyhavn--one of many cool places to hang out in Copenhagen.

Well, today we leave our house for a red-eye out of here tomorrow morning. The house is under mega surveillance--and we are headed to Copenhagen.

From the International Terminal we'll take a train all the way to Aarhus (lovely public transport, eh?) where our friends Marian and Gitte will fetch us--and our barrage of baggage. To those who pray: please pray that Audrey the rest she needs on this trip!

Hopefully, we'll be able to post a few times during our trip, but who knows?...stay tuned.

This canal runs through the center of Aarhus and is lined with cafés, shops and restaurants.



This a view of the same canal from the other end. Very interesting juxtaposition of old & new architecture...



For more about Aarhus (where Brandi lived) see www.visitaarhus.com A very cool city indeed. For more about Denmark, visit

Rhubarb: the unsung fruit

Rhubarb has gotten a bad wrap. Granted, it's sour--but that's nothing that a little raw-cane sugar can't fix.

Rhubarb shows up just when we're all sick and tired of apples, pears, grapes and oranges but summer peaches and plums still aren't ready (if you buy these too early in the season you will notice: no fragrance. And no fragrance = no taste. Try it with any fruit (including tomatoes) and you will find this to be true.) Early strawberries worth eating are starting to rear their heads and they make the perfect partner with rhubarb. It's a springtime taste that is not to be surpassed!

What can you make with rhubarb? These are just a few of my faves:

• Rhubarb & strawberry preserves
• Rhubarb coffee cake with cinnamon crumble topping
• Rhubarb cobbler (with your typical oatmeal, cinnamon, brown sugar & butter topping)
• Rhubarb trifle
• Rhubarb sauce (as in applesauce-sauce. So easy: just boil your cut rhubarb with some raw cane sugar and a few peeled, chopped pears to sweeten, until all are tender. Puree and serve. yummy!)
• Rhubarb upside down cake (just like a pineapple one)
• Rhubarb cheesecake

Audrey's gotten her first rhubarb-sauce (as described above) and LOVES it.

Audrey loves Cumbia

...played it in the car today and she totally digs it.

Ode to Brunch



I agree with Kelly: Brunch is the best of all worlds.

It's sweet and savory. It's everything you want...and nothing you don't because you pick what's on the menu! What other time of day can you eat waffles and chicken crêpes on the same plate? It's coffee--and champagne separated by only one gulp. It's morning--but not too early. The best of the afternoon, without the heat or fatigue.

Brunch, brunch, we love you. You are our favorite meal.

Add good company to the mix and it's perfectly delightful. Thanks for brunch, dad!

Rooster's & Wheelie Karma



Most of you will not find it all surprising that we've been hearing a rooster cock-a-doodle-dooing every morning this week, out here in Oak-Hills-billly. Nonetheless, we were pretty taken aback when we first heard it. It is, after all, a brand-new housing tract.

At first, we looked at each other in dismay thinking, 'GREAT--goats are soon to follow.' But you know, the rooster is already growing on us. It's a cheery 'good morning' sound that makes me feel like I live someplace exotic, like the Provencal countryside. Unlike the sound of dirt-bike riders racing up and down my street, which adds no charm to life WHATSOEVER.

As long as I don't actually see my rooster neighbor, or he doesn't start making babies, he can stay.

P.S. Schadenfreude. Are we evil?

Please vote (via 'post remarks' below) for whether or not we are officially evil, based on the following scenario from real-life:

The aforementioned dirt bike riders drive us CRAZY with how OBLIVIOUS and INCONSIDERATE they are, revving their engines loudly up and down the street. Despite the fact that it is ILLEGAL (to ride on streets) and that they can roll/drive around in the dirt to their hearts' content in the desert located just 1 minute away, they feel the need to peel down my quiet residential street--waking up our sleeping baby...and the dead.

As mentioned, it's ILLEGAL. However, before calling the cops to make a report, we always try to talk to the person, appealing to their sense of decency. Usually, we tell them that they probably have no idea how extremely loud it is, that it's dangerous because there are lots of children playing outside, that our baby wakes up every time they screech by...oh- and did they realize that it's ILLEGAL?

So back to the evil part. There's this one 30-year old guy around the corner who does it all the time--rides up and down the streets--over and over again, revs his engine, does wheelies (spellcheck likes this version of the word). Our attempts at neighborly decency were met with: "Honey, this is what I do for a living, I'm not gonna stop." Me: "So you don't care AT ALL about anyone but yourself? You don't care that it's dangerous, illegal and highly disruptive to the peace of this neighborhood?" Wheelie-popping-jerk: "Nope."

Yesterday, Mike found out from a neighbor that this "professional" completely BIT THE DUST right outside Audrey's window a few days ago. Apparently, he was popping a wheelie, biffed it SO HARD that he had to be taken away by an ambulance. Ok, we cannot hide our ...Schadenfreude (once again, the perfect word.) Are we evil? Vote now...

Schadenfreude (pronounced: shahd-n-froi-duh): "malicious joy in the misfortune of others" (from German.)

"Touch and be touched"


Product Review: Nivea Smooth Sensation
Cheesy slogan aside, this new lotion from Nivea is the bomb. A long-time supporter of Nivea cream, this new version is deeply moisturizing, silky and not at all greasy. You gotta try it.

36: Part II, Reunion @ IHOP



Mike's parents had the fun idea to surprise him by inviting a few of his good friends from high school to a brief reunion at IHOP. Thinking that he was just out to eat with his parents, wife and baby, he certainly was surprised to see faces from the past meander over to our table.







A fun blast from the past!

36: Part I, Disneyland



So the first thing Mike wanted to do after turning 36? "I wanna go to Disneyland!" Neither of us had been in a while, but 500 bucks later we were in! (Holy-toledo they rake it. When's the last time you rented a locker at DL? Well don't waste your time rummaging for quarters like we did. No siiiiiirrrrrrrrreeeeeeeee: $7 for the smallest locker.)

Mike was wished a 'happy birthday' by 26 Disney Cast Members and sung to at a restaurant (he was wearing a button they gave him at the ticket counter.) Apparently, Galaga has always been his game so we had to hit this machine when we saw it!



Only one minor disturbance when a man behind us in line at House of Horrors told Mike that the coke he was drinking would dissolve nails. (To which Mike patiently replied: "Well it's a good thing I don't have any nails inside me then!") The guy then proceeded to tell us that if we wanted to look as good as he does at 68 years old, we'd better lay off all meat, sugar and dairy. (To which I replied: "yeah, dairy would be hard for me." Says the guy: "Dairy is just pus." Mike about spit out his coke and said, "excuse me?" "Pus," says the guy again. People in front of us turned around to glare. "What about mothers milk? That's the healthiest food on earth," I challenge. "Oh no" says healthy home-pops. " You gotta ween kids off that stuff as soon as possible." He then gestures proudly to the pretty young woman standing beside him and says, "and this isn't my daughter either."

As he continues to preach Mike's ear off, I attempted to make chit-chat with the woman (who looked about 25), "So...how did you two meet?" To which she replies in very broken English, "Don't speak English. Am Russian." Mystery solved. Poor girl.

Other than that, a wonderful time was had by all.

To our favorite guy, on his birthday.



Dear Daddy,

For your birthday, I've compiled a Letterman-style list of Top 10 reasons why you're the best daddy in the whole wide world:

10.) You let me scratch your eyes out with my razor-sharp nails and constantly make your sunglasses filthy.

9.) You feed me at just the right speed--not too fast; not too slow.

8.) You hug and kiss me all the time.

7.) You hug and kiss mommy all the time.



6.) You're really patient. With me, mommy--and everyone, in general.



5.)You work really hard to take care of us but always make time to just be together (hereunder playing fun stuff and letting me repeatedly knock over your block buildings).

4.) You give the best baths--absolutely on par with any world-class spa that I've ever been to.

3.) You've gone to almost every single doctor's appointment that I've ever had.

2.) You care about the stuff that really matters in life and sacrifice to make priorities realities. (Like giving up TV)

2.) You're really strong and athletic and you run fast. I hope you'll teach me some sports stuff someday. (Oops! Was there already a #2? Oh well, I'm like mommy: can't limit it to just 10; and I can't count yet anyhow.)

And the #1 reason that you're the best daddy in the whole wide world:
You are really funny. You're even willing to sacrifice your dignity by dancing with us to Gwen Stefani songs like 'If I were a rich girl' and 'Hollaback girl.'

Love Yours Truly,
Brandi and Audrey

'Wowser'- Use it.

So I subscribe to the Webster 'word of the day.' How cool is it to discover one single concise word that you've been missing all your life? Here are two recent ones:

Wowser: an obtrusively puritanical person.
Example (Webster's) : "I'm no wowser, but I draw the line at abusive, foul-mouthed drunks."
* An interesting tidbit: Apparently, the word originated in Australia, spread to New Zealand and eventually ended up in England (probably via WWI troops) where American author/editor H.L Menken heard it. Menken loved the word and used it frequently back in the United States. Despite his efforts, it never caught on. Well the word 'network' didn't exist back when Menken was alive and he'd never met Kelly, Denise or Brandi who, I am convinced, will carry on his work and, without a doubt, succeed in spreading the power of 'wowser.'

Another good one from last week:

Johnny Barleycorn: Liquor personified
Example (mine): "Audrey may enjoy a Newcastle here and again, but she's no John Barleycorn."

Fonzie jumps the shark tank


For those who may be wondering at the name of our blog: 'Fonzie jumps the shark tank' was Mike's brilliant, albeit random suggestion after the disappointing discovery that 'Morecowbell' was taken.

Also unbeknownst to most people (including myself), 'Jumping the Shark' has become a meaningful metaphor. (Click on 'Jumping the Shark' to read more on this subject so that you too can include it in your vocab.)