Nope, I didn’t spell “word” wrong. The new spelling hails from a brand-spanking new site dedicated to coining creative new words…er, I mean werds.

I found out about Addictionary through the SCBWI discussion forum. Their recent holiday contest garnered some hilarious results. Here they are, compliments of SCBWI poster, WriterKat. Fun stuff!

“The Addictionary wrapped its Holidaze 2007 Lingo Contest. The winner got an Apple iPhone. Pretty good deal for a bit of werd-smithing! What’s your werd?

There were a bunch (see them all here); but the top 10 Addictionary.org Holidaze 2007 werds are:

10. Jinglebills (n) – The large credit card bills that come in right after the Christmas shopping season

9. Santa cause (n) – A Christmas gift in which a donation to a charitable cause is given in the recipient’s name

8. eggsnog (n) – A person who has had too much eggnog and wants to kiss anyone and everyone

7. wrapalanche (n) – The mountain of discarded wrapping paper and ribbons on Christmas morning

6. mistleshmoe (n) – The office drone who lurks in the doorway at holiday parties looking to get lucky

5. sprawlidays (n) – The festive occasion when the male members of a family become one with the living room couch

4. Clicksmas (n) – The act of doing all holiday planning, shopping and/or socializing online

3. Excessmas (n) – 1) The act of striving to achieve that “special holiday feeling” through excessive holiday spending 3) Too much holiday decoration. 4) Too much holiday celebration with food and/or adult beverages

2. tannenbomb (n) – The explosion of lights and ornaments hitting the floor after the cat attempts to climb the Christmas tree

And the winner of The Addictionary Holidaze’07 Lingo contest, submitted by New Yorker, Walter Quinn:

1. Auld Lanxiety (n) – The angst one feels every December 31 upon the realization that one didn’t keep any of last year’s resolutions.

If a better or funnier alternative definition occurs to you, you can go to the werd and submit it. “

Far away from Hundred Acre Woods, amidst all the revel and holiday parties, there was a little gathering. This surprise performance stands out as a highlight for us. Kai, my very shy daughter, came out of her shell just long enough to sing a cute holiday song.

DJ Ronnie of Kings & Queens Entertainment rewarded her with a Winnie-the-Pooh bear. Bay Area peeps, take note. Ronnie’s new dj and karaoke service is top notch!

These blurry, highly-pixalated images are movie stills snagged off a homespun DVD (I bumped up their size in photoshop)–so please pardon the quality. You can actually see and hear the action online through quicktime. Check out the fun here. Happy holidays!

Hey, I made a virtual snowflake! I went to one of the best online artsy crafty sites around–it’s fun and relaxing, sophisticated yet simple to use. It allows redo’s, previews, downloading and saving as a photoshop or .eps file. My snowflake was modified in photoshop using the gradient tool (in the background layer) which I tweaked with the sponge filter.

Create your own snowflake here.

Love things that sparkle? I know I’m not the only one who does. The holidays bring out the sparkle bug in all of us. Think of all the people who flock to view those overly-decorated blinking homes on display during the holidays. On a recent trip to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, we (my family and I) saw a gigantic whirligig sculpture from a distance–a landmark for The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM).

Trekking toward the whirligig, we came upon a mirrored tree marvel (top photo). It was comprised of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of mosaic mirrors with colored plastic and glass embellishments along its trunk, base and “branches.” Hanging delicately off the tree branches were dangly mirrors of assorted shapes and sizes which caught the afternoon sun at the perfect angle, setting off a mini light show that bounced and danced off the sidewalk, the street and us!

We entered the museum, turbo-charged for more delightful discoveries. (AVAM is incredible. A must-see next time you’re in the Baltimore-Washington DC area.)

Check out the cool up-close, lovely details. The name of the sculptor TBA (as soon as I find out).

Here’s to home-grown shiny and festive. Promise not to send PETA after my father-in-law? Paul grew up hunting the wilds of Chesapeake Bay (pre-suburbia) and this deer head, a gift from his brother, hangs in the family room. Paul’s decorating-diva spirit definitely got the best of the deer–the lights, beer cans and a blinking doodad on its nose–so not Martha Stewart!

Paul strung up even more colored lights along with his hand-crafted contraption of pine cones and beer cans placed on a retro beer-tab chain hung along the walls and ceilings of the room. Can you imagine him on reality TV: Straight Former Hunter-Chemist with a “Queer Eye?” Not! Well, at least, he can express bright, shiny and festive!