Lesley Rotchford’s piece on Baby Mania in January’s Cosmo is on the stands now…included are two Julia quotes – one on the state of pregnancy and the other on pregnancy fashion. Lesley tackles a broad swath here (think of it as Cosmos Pregnancy Primer!) and does a fabulous job…

The end of the year is always ripe with juicy lists from the year behind us. This one from NPR is a fun and obvious reminder of how much baby and pregnancy has been on our lips in 2006! Many thanks to Alex Smithline, super-litdude for making sure this one hit my radar!

Banned: Irresistible, Over-Used Words of 2006

All Things Considered, January 1, 2007 · It’s that time of year again, when Lake Superior State University releases its annual List of Words and Phrases Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. The school in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has compiled the list every year since 1976.

As LSSU’s John Shibley tells NPR’s Melissa Block, words like “truthiness” and “awesome” made the list this time.

Best Left Unsaid?
Out of more than 4,500 nominations, these words were chosen for banishment by the school’s committee:

GITMO
COMBINED CELEBRITY NAMES (c.f. Brangelina, TomKat)
AWESOME
GONE/WENT MISSING
PWN or PWNED
NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS
WE’RE PREGNANT
UNDOCUMENTED ALIEN
ARMED ROBBERY/DRUG DEAL GONE BAD
TRUTHINESS
ASK YOUR DOCTOR
CHIPOTLE
i-ANYTHING
SEARCH
HEALTHY FOOD
BOASTS