This weekend, to help cheer up the cold winter, my friends Sharon, Kendra and I decided to have a mama/kid sleepover! We figured it would be like taking a trip together but without having to leave town.
So, one afternoon, we all piled into Kendra's house uptown (her husband was on a work trip). As we arrived armed with travel cribs, backpacks and rowdy kiddos, she joked, "This is either going to be the best idea we've ever had or a total disaster."
After playing and exploring the neighborhood, that evening we made pizzas. Kendra's awesome tip: Buy fresh dough from your local pizza place! Smart, right? It was easy, cheap and tasted great.
The kids each made mini pizzas with sauce and cheese...
And we made some for the mamas, including one with cheese and grilled red onions. Delicious.
(Eeks! Those cheeks!)
But the highlight was the Nintendo Wii dancing game that Sharon brought. Have you played it? You try to do the same moves as the dancers on screen, and the game somehow tracks you to see how well you do.
Nailed it.
Here are the kiddos rocking out. They did it for HOURS while the mamas talked and ate cookies in the kitchen (and sometimes peeked in).
The next morning we had bagels and bacon. It was so much fun; I can't believe we had never thought of it before! We could really relax and hang out without having to rush home for naps and bedtimes. The only catch is that we got approximately zero hours of sleep that night:) But it was worth it.

Would you do this? Do you already have grown-up sleepovers? Or travel with friends? I'm so into it!

What are you up to this weekend? Last night we saw the incredible movie Her. Have you seen it yet? The color palette was exquisite—everything was dusty pink, orange or red—and the story was so compelling. (As the NYTimes review said, she's just a voice, "but oh what a voice.") We really loved it. Also, thanks for all your fun comments this week—it's so nice to be back! Hope you have a good weekend, and here are a few great posts from around the web...

Kate Middleton is just as awkward as the rest of us.

This twitter account made me laugh.

LOVE the color of these boots.

What it's like to be a contestant on The Bachelor. (Answer: Crazy.)

Are you Type A? I'm busted.

What a gorgeous dress from the Golden Globes.

Seinfeld and George were spotted at Tom's restaurant!

Kids winning at hide and seek.

(And why children cover their eyes when hiding.)

The prettiest pink lips.

My mom gave me this book for Christmas and I'm excited to dive in.

If you want to keep your New Year's Resolutions, rephrase them as a question.

What it's like to be a parent, according to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Directors reveal: The toughest scene I wrote.

A few people asked about how to handle winter blues. Here are seven ideas, and apparently taking Vitamin D really helps too!

(Images from the movie Her, via Diana)

What kind of accent do you have? While growing up in Michigan, my brother, sister and I picked up slight Michigan accents. We'd say things like "maahm" instead of "mom," and "caehr" instead of "car," and "Bab" instead of "Bob." After living in New York for twelve years, I've basically lost it, but sometimes when I drink too much wine, it can randomly bust out again. Yes, Michigan!

George Mason University collects speech samples from around the world, and everyone has to read this paragraph: "Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store: Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob. We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids. She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station."

Have you taken the fascinating dialect quiz that has spread like wildfire online? What answer did you get? (It pinpointed that I was from Michigan.) And in the video above, actress Amy Walker does 24 different accents (some are better than others). The California one made me laugh out loud.

What kind of accent do you have?

P.S. What British people say versus what they really mean, and Toby in conversation.

(Speech archive found by the brilliant Kottke)

This past fall, when I was feeling bummed out, Alex and I started a tradition to try to cheer me up...

When we would lie down in bed at night, we each had to say:
* two things you're grateful for overall
* two little things you enjoyed that day
* one reason why you're glad you're married to the other person

It was so nice to end the day with this little chat, and we would tell each other anecdotes and compliments that we might not have otherwise. And it really was a pick-me-up! Even though I'm (thankfully) starting to feel better now, we're planning to keep it up.
Do you do anything like this? Gratitude journals are supposed to be awesome. (Here are six surprising tips about how to keep one.)

P.S. Encouragement and the no-complaining challenge.

(Photos from our friend's cabin a while back)

How gorgeous is this engraved locket? I don't wear much jewelry, but Alex gave me a locket for Christmas, and I really love it. He put family photos inside, and it feels surprisingly heartwarming to wear it all day. Have you ever worn a locket?

Lately I'm grateful for:

Sunday afternoons at the dog park.

A loving cohort who cares for one another and drives each other crazy.

Friends named Mary.

Having friends with extra beds in the NRV when I'm too tired to drive back to Roanoke.

A husband who claimed to me last night that he is "capitalist by trade, socialist by heart."

Visits from mom and sister.



A pleasantly sweet cooperating teacher to spend this semester learning from.

Dirty pawprints on my sheets.



Free geography swag from fellow teachers.

Brothers who finally read books I took them months ago.

A dad with a little friend in his belly and the opportunity to show off my nursing skills this weekend.

Pictures like this that make me giddy.

Dulce et Decorum Est

                Wilfred Owen

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.