Too Much Information

Warning 

** This may be too much information for 

the faint of heart (read - men). **

Ok, so here's my problem. My skin is ridiculously dry right now. I know that it's winter and everybody gets dry skin in the winter, but it is seriously driving me crazy. I basically bathe myself in everything from baby oil to coco butter to intensive moisturizing lotion, but nothing is helping. The humidity level in our house is pretty good (around 50%) so I don't think that adding an extra humidifier would make that much of a difference. That's why I'm coming to you. Does anyone have any foolproof remedies for dry winter skin? If so, let me know. I feel like I'm molting here... See TMI. 

Cute Baby or Man-Eating Worm?

Harper has the uncanny ability to sense when Rob and I are awake. Even though she sleeps in her crib, down the hall, with the door closed, she knows when we are awake. Be it 2am or 7am, if we roll over in bed or (heaven forbid) start talking softly to each other, she wakes up and alerts us (a nice way of putting it) that she wants to come hang out with us. It's really weird. I thought I was the only one that noticed it, but Rob confirmed my suspicions this morning. It makes me think of the movie Tremors (you know, the Kevin Bacon classic). If you haven't seen this movie, don't bother. Basically, a bunch of gigantic worms live in the ground underneath a small isolated town. Although the worms are blind, they can perceive the vibrations that the townspeople make when they drive or walk or do just about anything. Using the vibrations to locate the people, the worms terrorize and eat many of the townspeople until they ultimately meet their match (Kevin Bacon). Anyways, Harper's ability to perceive our micro-movements and whispers reminds me of these worms. I should tell you that I thought of this connection at 4 in the morning. It made more sense then. 

25 Things

So, everybody has been listing 25 random things about themselves on facebook. I thought I'd get in on the action, and since I really didn't have another topic in mind for today, I decided to post it on my blog instead of on facebook. Wow - really long run-on sentence. Sorry. 

1. I love candy. sweet tarts, jelly belly jelly beans, runts, nerds, sour straws... You name it, I like it. 

2. I hate the words pregnant, tasty, and tramp (as in "tramp on the gas"). I've kind of gotten over pregnant, but you will probably never hear me say the other two.

3. I got married in Las Vegas. We didn't elope and Elvis did not officiate.  

4. I don't have any hobbies.

5. My birthday, my husband's birthday, and my daughter's birthday are all in February. 

6. I have a thing about numbers. I only like even ones - 2 and 4 in particular.

7. I get in a bad mood when my house is messy and I prefer to clean when my husband isn't home. 

8. I am as stubborn as the day is long. 

9. I have a brown belt in kempo katate. I was nationally ranked at one time (like 20 years ago).

10. I like dark beer. The darker, the better.

11. I fell out of a willow tree on Mother's Day when I was 8. I had to be in the hospital for a week.

12. I got mono so bad in college that my doctors thought I had leukemia. 

13. I wanted to be named Jennifer when I was little. There were 3 Jennifers in my class. 

14. I bite my nails. 

15. I refuse to wear uncomfortable shoes.

16. I don't carry a purse. I keep a small wallet in my back pocket and my cell phone in my front pocket. Dragging along a diaper bag was a big adjustment for me. 

17. I miss my daughter when I put her to bed at night. 

18. Growing up, I had 3 imaginary friends that were rats. Their names were Copey (with a long O), Carrie, and Houdini. I also had an imaginary brother named Michael. 

19. I grew up on a farm. We had a horse, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, cats, and dogs. 

20. One time when I was very little (like 3) I got mad at my grandma and peed on her couch. 

21. I have never been able to accurately describe what my dad does for a living. 

22. I really want to get a tattoo. 

23. I hate green peppers, olives, and cucumbers.

24. Even though Harper sleeps through the night, I don't remember the last time I did. It's been at least a year, probably longer.

25. I really like writing this blog. Maybe I do have a hobby...

Know of Any Good Children's Books?

Harper really likes to read books. From a very young age (3 or 4 months) she cold turn the pages of her board books as I read them to her. Now she will pull books out of her toy box and bring them to me to read. Even though I don't read much myself, I have always had a sentimental attachment to books. I love to walk around in book stores and I love to buy books. I really want Harper to be a more veracious reader than I am, so I figure that I need to diligently cultivate her love of books. This brings me to the point of my post for today. I want to know what your favorite childhood books are. Harper has a birthday coming up and I can't think of a better present than expanding her library a little. So, come on. Help me out. Give me some good suggestions. I've listed a few of my favorite books below.

• The Little Prince - I'm pretty sure that the secrete to life is in this book.
  

• The Lorax - I like all Dr. Seuss books, but this may be my favorite. 
  

• Where the Sidewalk Ends - Just fun and great illustrations
  

• Charlotte's Web - The end is still a tear jerker for me.
  

• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh - When I was little, my imaginary friends were 3 rats  (a story for another day) so maybe that's why I like this one so much.
  

 

Nap Time

Harper is really good about going down for a nap. Occasionally there are some tears. Lately, the fussing has been replaced by playing. She has 2 toys in her crib - an alligator and a bear. Until recently, she hasn't paid a bit of attention to either one of them. But now...

Warning ** This video is not easy on the ears.

The Power of Testimonies

Rob went to Cincinnati this weekend and while he was there, he went to our old church. On the way home, he called me and told me that I just had to listen to the pod cast of the message. So I did. After Harper went to bed last night, I sat on the floor in my living room and had my heart ripped out and my face rocked off (all in a good way). If you want something to think about, click here. You can also find it on Vineyard Westside's podcasts on iTunes. It's long, but worth it. Make the time to listen. 

Helvetica

I watched a documentary last night about the history of Helvetica font. I know. Sounds riveting, right? Well, it actually was pretty interesting. Of course it talked about the basics - who originally came up with the font, where and when it originated, etc. But it also talked about how ubiquitously used Helvetica is and offered up some possibilities as to why that is. Did you know that Helvetica font is the official typeface of Target, American Airlines, Crate and Barrel, The New York City Transit Authority, The Chicago Transit Authority, Microsoft, Jeep, Panasonic, AT&T, most major airports, Sears, Gap, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Tupperware, and 3M just to name a few?

Here is what some graphic designers have to say about Helvetica:

• "Helvetica's message is this: you are going to get to your destination on time; your plane will not crash; your money is safe in our vault; we will not break the package; the paperwork has been filled in; everything is going to be OK."

• "It has a modern attitude which lines up with the aesthetic premises of the 1950s and 60s. Helvetica is a corporate typeface, but on the other hand it's the favorite of hairdressers and sandwich shops. It is the butter on the bread."

While there are many people who love Helvetica, there are also many who don't. Just do a google search and you will find hundreds of online forums devoted to pointing out why Helvetica will ultimately lead to the destruction of the world as we know it. Graphic designer and typographer Neville Brody states "When people choose Helvetica they want to fit in and look normal. They use Helvetica because they want to be a member of the efficiency club. They want to be a member of modernism. They want to be a member of no personality. It also says bland, unadventurous, unambitious."

The bottom line is that I like this documentary and I like Helvetica font. It made me consider something that I see everyday, but rarely ever think about. You can watch a clip of it here. If nothing else, go to the site so you can take a personality quiz that tells you what font you are. Me? I was Helvetica, of course.