Feel Good Friday

Here are a couple things that make me happy today.

1. It's a Harper's moon tonight. If you forget what a Harper's moon is, click here. In fact, it's a very special Harper's moon tonight. It will be the biggest, brightest full moon of the year. It will seem 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a normal full moon do to the elliptical orbit of the moon around the earth. You can read more about that here.

2. Venus Williams ruffled some feathers at the Australian Open the other day when she wore this outfit. She designed it herself - including the flesh-colored undergarment. I think it's funny. Yes, I am about 10 years old.

The One and Only Thing I'll Probably Post About Haiti

I know I'm way behind on commenting on the earthquake. Until now, I didn't really feel like I had anything to add to the conversation. I still don't have much to add, but I read an interesting story online yesterday. It was about how ESPN fired Paul Shirley for a blog article that he wrote about Haiti. You can read the controversial article here. You should read it. It's thought provoking. It will probably make some of you mad. I can understand that. I disagree with some of the things he said too. However, I think he makes two interesting points (-points that I then expanded in my own head. Much of what is written below is my commentary, not what he actually said in his article. Just so we're clear.)

The first is about how we can't just throw money at problems like this. Haiti is going to require transformation changes to every aspect of it's existence in order to move forward. Haiti has bigger(?) problems than the devastation caused by the earthquake. Morally, spiritually, economically, relationally, educationally, environmentally, you name it, Haiti needs help with it. What I take away from this is how are we (the rest of the world, the Church, etc.) going to help the people of Haiti make the transformational changes in these areas. Money up front helps. But, in the long run, the whole philosophy of their culture is going to have to change in order to make any measurable improvements to their well being. How can we (I) help with that?

The second thing that resonated with me is that we need to focus a lot of attention/prayer on the children of Haiti. Kidnapping and human trafficking can abound in situations where the infrastructure has completely collapsed and parents are separated from their kids. While the earthquake brought destruction and death, the result of a child being kidnapped and sold into slavery is the real hell on earth in my opinion. Click here to learn more about the problem and how you can help (I realize that this site allows you to make a donation and that I just said we need to do more than just give money. I'm ok with the contradiction.)

Of Batteries and Babies

It's been an eventful last 2 days.

To begin, my car wouldn't start after work on Monday. My battery was dead. I must have bumped an overhead light getting Harper out of the car and it was on all day and drained the battery. Not really a big deal in and of itself. However, I stayed later than I usually do at work and only had 20 minutes to get over to Harper's baby school before it closed. Not the best time frame to try to find someone to jump your car. Luckily, one of my co-workers had jumper cables. But, when we went to connect the cables, we couldn't find the battery in my car. I know it sounds silly, but it's true. To my credit, there were some complicating factors such as a dark parking garage and the fact that I was stressed about getting to baby school in time. And, the battery in my car is not in an obvious place. Here, see for yourself. This isn't a picture of my car, but it's the same model and year. Can you find the battery (in the dark and under stress)?

It's not obvious, is it? It's hiding under the nondescript black cover thing in the very back.

In the process of looking for the battery, I accidently broke off a corner of the engine cover thing. Rob was not happy.

Anyway, we finally got the car started (which took several attempts - making us think that it may be a more serious problem than just the battery. But I said a prayer on the last attempt and it started.). Needless to say, I was a little late to pick Harper up. But I called them when I discovered that my car was dead to let them know I was probably gong to be late and they were fine with it (I love Harper's baby school).

The next bit of excitement came when I picked Harper up. Her teacher told me that she was running a temperature. She started getting some congestion on Sunday, but it wasn't anything serious. Just typical baby school induced crud. But by Monday night, she had a fever of 102. So, yesterday, I took her to the doctor and stayed home with her the rest of the day. No ear infection and her lungs are clear. Just a virus of some sort. Good news, all things considered. She's a little better today, but still not well enough to go back to school. Our friends, Laurie and Ed, volunteered to hang out with her so that I could go to work. So awesome. Harper loves them and I know she will have a good day.

The morals of this story are:

1. pray on the first attempt, not the last one

2. try to be more gentle with engine covers to avoid your husband's wrath

3. be thankful for friends who like your kid almost as much as you do and who are willing to hang out with her even when she's sick

The end.

Monday Morning Conversation

Harper and I had this conversation this morning. It's pretty typical of most of our conversations these days - ie. singing, removing of socks and shoes, and cookies are usually involved.

Hot Pockets

Earlier this week, I made the horrible decision to eat Hot Pockets for lunch. Never again will I repeat this mistake. However, the silver lining was that my friend reminded me of this hilarious bit that Jim Gaffigan does about Hot Pockets.

Conjoined Banana Twins

Last night Harper and I wanted a snack. So, I decided to cut up a banana. On the outside, this banana looked like all the other bananas except that maybe it was a little bigger. But, when I cut into it, I realized that we had something special! It was a conjoined twin banana - 2 bananas that were fused together! I knew it was a conjoined twin because it had 2 seed clusters (I have no idea if that's what you call them, but it works). I took a picture to show you!

I went online and found that twin bananas are fairly common. Here are some more pronounced examples.

Pretty cool! I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for more conjoined fruit and vegetables. I know. I have such an exciting life. You're jealous, aren't you?

Following Directions

Recently, I realized that I drink very little liquid of any kind throughout the day. I usually have a Coke first thing in the morning, but other than that, not so much. So, I bought a new water bottle in the hopes that it would inspire me to drink more water throughout the day. This is the kind I got. I like it. It's BPA free and it doesn't leak and it's pretty (and it was on sale big time at Target).

This morning, I decided to fill my water bottle up with Coke Zero instead of water. The directions that came with the water bottle said not to do this (yes, I read the directions for a water bottle). They said that because the bottle seals, if you put pop (or soda for those of you who don't speak Yankee) in it, pressure could build up and bad things could happen. I chose not to listen to the directions and did it anyway. The directions were correct.

Rise and Shine

Sometimes, you just don't want to get out of bed. Sleeping in must be an innate desire rather that a learned one - which is good news for those of us that like to sleep in. It's not our fault. It's in our genes.

Also, for those of you who think it's a good idea to just let your grandkids come up with a name to call you, take a lesson from Harper. The name she came up with for my mom is Da-Dom. Not something sweet like Nanna. Da-Dom. I don't know if it's going to stick or not, but so far it has.

Bullet List Monday

I don't know why I like to do bullet lists on Monday mornings. It's probably because my brain is functioning at about 30% and I can only process short snippets of information. So here goes...

• I think John Mayer's music is brilliant. However, I'm not very fond of him as a person. Well, I guess I should say that I'm not fond of his public persona because I obviously don't know him personally. Sometimes I have a hard time reconciling this. Does anybody know what I'm talking about.

• My daughter takes her shoes and socks off 3 seconds after we get in the car - every time we get in the car. I love this new pattern. I'm being sarcastic.
• MLK Jr. got it right.

Book Sneeze

I recently found out about a very cool program. It's called BookSneeze. Basically, this company will send bloggers free books to review in exchange for the blogger posting a review of the book on his or her blog. You pick out a book, they send it to you for free, and all you have to do is read it and tell people what you think. Did I mention it's free?

The first book that I requested is called The Selfless Gene. It's about the quest to reconcile science with God. Totally up my alley. Look for my review in the next few weeks (I'm a slow reader, remember?).

This is a great program. Any of you who have blogs should sign up - which you can conveniently do here.

Proverbs

So...I've been reading through the book of Proverbs lately. One of the churches in our neck of the woods has challenged everyone to read one chapter of Proverbs every day for the month of January. 31 chapters in 31 days. I'll be honest. Proverbs never really excited me all that much before. Don't get me wrong. There are some catchy life lessons in there, but it always seemed like more of a bathroom book (sorry if that offends anyone) than one of the better books of the Bible. However, as I read through Proverbs, my opinion of it is definitely changing.

I'm only on chapter 13, but God is really using this challenge to do some heart surgery on me. I am being confronted with things that I don't really like to acknowledge about myself like how I struggle with being prideful and self important. It's also giving me a new appreciation for just how valuable wisdom is. I know a lot of stuff. But, I have a long way to go in the wisdom department.

I would encourage everyone to start reading through Proverbs. Start today. It's well worth it. If you want to follow along with the Crosspoint 31 day challenge, they have a blog where they post daily thoughts about each chapter. Some good conversation happens in the comment section of that blog. Check it out. All the cool kids are doing it.

Last Night and Today

A couple totally unrelated things for today:

1. M&Ms make my child crazy. It's not the ingestion of the M&Ms but the managing of them that turns her into a lunatic. She has shed many a tear over who gets to hold the bag and how many are in the bag. Last night she got mad at me for saying the word M&M. Apparently, she was the only person allowed to say it. I wish I would have had the video camera rolling as she spun around with fire in her eyes and shook her finger at me while yelling "No Mommy!"

2. I am profoundly out of shape. I went to the gym last night and really pushed myself on the treadmill. It wasn't horrible, but I know I have a long way to go if I want to run this 10K in May. On a positive note, I got new running shoes. I actually went to a running store and got fitted. They make a huge difference. This is the kind I got. Love them.

3. This is what I am doing at work today. I dissect out these tiny blood vessels from a mouse and then thread them onto these ultra tiny hollow glass tubes that are surrounded by liquid. Then I tie them on with threads that have been unwound from a surgical suture - these are the threads that make up a suture (a whole suture would be way too thick). Then I add chemicals to make the blood vessels contract and relax. All of this work has to be done under powerful dissecting microscopes. I have steady hands and I'm pretty good at manipulating very small things. I haven't found a use for this skill outside of work, but I'm sure one day it will come in handy.

Water Bug

Harper had her first official swimming lesson on Saturday morning. Besides the fact that she was cold (it was an indoor pool but she was still cold), she did exceptionally well and we both had a lot of fun. Harper has always been a water bug.

We took this picture the first time Harper ever went swimming. She was just over 3 months old.

This one was taken in Florida when she was 6 months old.

We have 5 more weeks of lessons to look forward to. Look out Michael Phelps. Here she comes.

When The Science Hits The Fan - Smart Octopus

Octopuses are smart. Yes, octopuses is the correct plural form of the word octopus. Look it up. Anyway, octopuses are much smarter than any other invertebrate. The have been shown to have short and long-term memory, can differentiate between different shapes and patterns, have the ability to learn from observing something, and they have also been known to play. Pretty good for something that doesn't have a backbone. But, what is even more impressive is that recently several veined octopuses (Amphioctopus marginatus) were filmed using tools. These octopuses will dig up discared coconut shells, clean them out, drag them considerable distances, and then use them for shelter. Watch.

Pretty cool.

Snow Emergency

38 of the 41 counties in Middle Tennessee canceled school today. This is a picture of my back yard taken at approximately 7am this morning.

Yep. It's definitely a white out. Maybe tomorrow, my university will close and Harper and I can do some sled riding. Good thing we stocked up on bread and milk this weekend. Who knows when/if we will be able to get to the store again.

Computers, Challenges, and Dead Deer

I'm liking the random thoughts/bullet point format of my posts this week. So, I'm going to keep it going today.

• Sometimes it takes me more than one try (like 2 or 3) to correctly identify and fill in the letters on word verification things. I'm not a computer. I swear.

• I successfully completed day 2 of my 10K training. I stepped it up a notch last night. I'm a little sore today. Part of that is due to the fact that I need to get some new running shoes. But the other part is because I am not used to challenging myself physically (or otherwise). Last night as I was running, I was trying to remember the last time I challenged myself in any area of my life. Sadly, it was probably 5 years ago when Rob convinced me it would be a good idea to do an 80 mile bike ride with him. I say sadly because it's been 5 years since I have really done anything that has made me uncomfortable - that has been outside of my comfort zone. This needs to change. The 10K race will be a good physical challenge. Now I need to find things to stretch other areas of my life.
• Rob is working 3rd shift for the month of January. It's going to be an adjustment for all of us. His first night was eventful. It included drugs, guns, and a dead deer in the back of the police cruiser. That's all I can say about that.

How I'm Wired

A couple thoughts for today:

I did my first training run (I use that word lightly) last night. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. But, I'm going to stick with it. I can do this. I may not like it, but I can do it.

Secondly, I heard this song on Sunday and it's been in my head ever since.

I've heard it many times before, but this time, it really pierced my heart. Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to eternity

These lines hit me like a ton of bricks. These are all things I've been praying for and here they are in a nice little chorus.

I have always had a thing for music. In middle and high school, I would sit in my room for hours reading through the song lyrics and liner notes of all of my cds. I never quite understood why I was so obsessive about music. I figured that it was because I started playing music at a young age and I had just grown into a music snob of sorts. But over the last few years, I've started listening to more worship music and it has become clear to me that God uses music to get through to me. He can tell me things over and over again, but when I hear it in a song, for some reason, I just receive it better. It gets downloaded directly to my heart. So, now I know why I've always been obsessive about music. I was made to. It's how I'm wired. Can any of you relate?

Monday Morning Update

Well, it's Monday and we're back from our vacation which means back to work for me and back to baby school for Harper. All things considered, we had a pretty good morning - meaning no major meltdowns from either one of us. I don't really have a proper post for today, just some things that are on my mind this morning. Here goes.

• Yesterday, I committed to running a 10K with my friend Allison. I am not a runner. I think running is silly. Furthermore, I don't really like to ride in a car for 10K, much less run it. I'm pretty sure I can do this, but I'm also pretty sure I'm not going to like it. I'm going to the gym tonight to start training on the treadmill.
• While I was in Florida, I read this book. It was really good. Here's a synopsis: God and sex go together. You can’t separate the two because this physical world is intimately linked to deeper spiritual realities. And so, in order to make sense of sexuality, at some point you have to talk about God. With beauty and unusual insight, Sex God explores this connection. Yeah, it's a book about sex and God but it's also about what it means to be fully human. It talks about how we really miss out on the life that God intends for us because of how we make connections with some things and choose not to connect with other things. This is a book about sex, but as I read it, I thought about just about every other aspect of my life. I would encourage you to read it. I think I need to re-read it.

• It was snowing when I walked outside to start my car this morning. I like the snow. It makes the 17 degree temperature slightly more enjoyable.

Harper Vs. The Orange

We are leaving sunny Florida today. But before we leave, Harper wanted to pick a fight with an orange.

Do You Believe This Is The Same Kid?

I love comparing different pictures of Harper. I'm totally amazed at how much she changes in such short periods of time. I guess I shouldn't be all that amazed. I am a developmental biologist. I should understand these things. But as a parent, I am nothing short of amazed.

Harper 6 months old

Harper 14 months old

Harper 22 months old