Mar 28, 2011  •  In Baby, Claire, Motherhood, Parenting, Personal

Preserving Naps and Bedtime

I wish my daughter was one of those babies that can sleep anywhere. I wish she were a naturally good sleeper. But she is neither of those things, as she is a highly sensitive child who is always so transfixed by the world around her that she needs to be in a dark, quiet room free from stimuli (and in her own, comfy crib) in order to fall asleep and sleep well.

And I am pretty certain that this isn’t something that you can “train” a baby to do. I am a firm believer that every baby — every person — is different, and as a result, some are naturally more sensitive sleepers than others.

Take my sister and I, for instance. When we lived in Korea our house was attached to a manufacturing factory. I can’t recall exactly what they made, but I do remember that it was constantly noisy with machines running all the time.

Having grown up in such an environment I should be able to sleep through anything, right? Wrong. I have been an extremely light sleeper ever since I can remember and can’t sleep well anywhere aside from my own bed.

In contrast, my sister can sleep through natural disasters. Seriously. She almost slept through a fire in our building when we were little. She was sleeping even as the fireman carried her down the fire escape!


I’m surprised my sister is not sleeping in this photo.
(Yes, that’s me in the background, rocking the red bikini.)

Before I became a mom I swore to myself that I would not be one of those parents who lugged their ill-behaved kids around everywhere, annoying patrons of restaurants, theaters, airplanes, etc with my children’s incessant crying.

Heck, even as a parent now I still refuse to fly with Claire unless it’s absolutely necessary (and if such a thing exists, I would happily pay more to fly on a child-free flight if I were traveling without my children).

And because Claire cannot sleep well outside the house — and because she becomes a cranky mess when she does not sleep well — I am, for the moment, tied to the house and to my daughter’s sleeping schedule.

I have a 2-hour window of opportunity between the moment she gets up to the time she should be sleeping next to run errands, go to the grocery store, etc. And keep in mind that I would still need to change her and feed her during this time, which usually takes about 30 minutes.

Claire also needs to be down for the night between the hours of 6 and 7pm.

So between her naps and her bedtime, there remains very little opportunity for this mommy to have a social life.

Which is perfectly fine with me. After all, I was the one who signed up to be a parent.

The problem arises when we have to cater to other people’s schedules. When there are family events. When there are birthday parties. When there are friends visiting from out of town. Because, you see, these all almost always require us to be out of the house for more than a couple of hours at a time, and/or they run past Claire’s bedtime.


Claire is a giggly, happy baby WHEN she sleeps well.

Why don’t we just bring her out? Like I said, some babies are just fine out in the adult world. My daughter is not…at least not yet. Not only would I feel bad for the other people who would be exposed to a crying baby, my own stress levels would rise too and I would need to make an early exit after apologizing profusely.

Why don’t I just leave her with a babysitter? J has issues leaving our six-month-old daughter, dog, and our household in the care of people we do not know very well. And while we have family members who can watch the baby, they have lives too and can’t always be expected to drop everything to babysit.

I feel bad refusing invitations. I feel bad making people come to us, rather us to them, so that Claire’s naps and bedtime will not be ruined. And I feel bed ducking out early out of the few events that I do attend.

I’m sure some people are reading this and thinking that I’m being too neurotic. And I’m sure that some of those people include parents too. But apparently I am not alone. Reading threads like:

reminds me that I am not alone.

Surely at least one of my readers feel similarly?

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Mar 27, 2011  •  In Art/Design, Entertainment, Funny, Movies, Science, Web

Two Videos and a Winner

Or, this is what happens when I’m too tired to properly blog.

The first video, via Gizmodo, reveals how NASA Photoshops Hubble’s images. According to HubbleSite:

Hubble images are made, not born. Images must be woven together from the incoming data from the cameras, cleaned up and given colors that bring out features that eyes would otherwise miss. In this video from HubbleSite, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope, a Hubble-imaged galaxy comes together on the screen at super-fast speed.

The actual processing that is documented in the video took over 10 hours. And as I have always suspected, the color is added and assigned by scientists as they see fit.

The second video is more lighthearted and humorous. Created by Rooster Teeth, it is a spoof trailer for the (still yet) fictional movie based on the popular mobile game Angry Birds.

Or, as The Next Web puts it, it’s what Angry Birds: The Movie would look like if Michael Bay directed it. Enjoy!

Lastly, here is the winner of the $20 gift card for Shutterfly. Drum roll please…

It is Courtney, who said,

I do share your philosophy about only entering give-aways you can actually use.

That said, I would definitely use this!

Congratulations! I will be contacting you shortly with the details of your win!

Geek in Heels, out. Zzzzzzz…..

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Mar 26, 2011  •  In Art/Design, Books, Personal

New Deluxe Penguin Classics

So I had no idea that the iconic publisher Penguin had started a series called Graphic Penguin Classics which takes popular and classic novels and redesigns the covers, illustrated by today’s hottest graphic artists. (You can get a better look at the covers at this Flickr Set.)

This is yet another lesson that reminds you that you learn new things every day. Even when you’re thirty and overtired and have baby drool stains on all your clothes.

Anyway, how much do you love the new designs? I mean, don’t get me wrong — IMHO, nothing beats the classic Penguin book covers (did you know that you can get them in postcard format?), but sometimes a redesign can help you notice things you haven’t before, and/or see things in a whole new light. I’m especially digging the new cover for The Communist Manifesto, illustrated by Patrice Killoffer.

Today, Flavorwire featured two new additions to the Graphic Penguin Classic series, as well as three new covers from a new series titled “Penguin Threads,” which looks to be this year’s answer to the publishing house’s 75th Anniversary Penguin Ink collection.

Which one do you like best? I’m loving the cartoonish feel of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I knew that I recognized the style when I read that the illustrator, Ivan Brunetti, has created many covers for The New Yorker.

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Mar 25, 2011  •  In Blogging, Personal, Web

Giveaways

Ahh, giveaways. I know for a fact that the net is full of people who trawl sites just for giveaways and contests, as well as those who manage to enter single drawings numerous times under various pseudonyms without getting caught.

Because who doesn’t like free stuff?

And as much as the blog is great on its own, I’m sure that one of the reasons The Pioneer Woman is so popular is because she’s always hosting FABULOUS giveaways.

Hosting a giveaway is also one of the quickest ways to draw new readers to your site. Not all visitors will stick around, but I’ve found that I’ve always snagged at least a few new loyal readers from hosting giveaways. And I’m sure that this is one of the reasons I am always seeing great giveaways on the sites I read regularly.

That being said, I don’t always enter giveaways myself.

Why? Unless it is a product/service that I really, really want or need, I won’t do it lest I ruin the chances for someone else who really wants to win.

Does that make sense?

I know that some of my fellow bloggers want as many people as possible to enter their giveaways to: (1) make it more fun, and (2) show that they have a good readership.

But even then I won’t enter unless I really want to win that product/service because I know that there’s someone out there who must want it more (and in my eyes, is more deserving to win).

Do you enter as many giveaways as possible?

Does anyone else share my philosophy on giveaways?

With that out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff.

I recently received a $20 gift card to Shutterfly* that I have no use for — so I figured why not give it to one of my readers?

To enter the giveaway, just do one or two or all of the following (each will grant you a separate entry):

  1. Comment on this post
  2. Tweet: I just entered to win a $20 gift card to Shutterfly.com via @geekinheels and you can too! http://bit.ly/eueDGP
  3. “Like” this post using the Facebook “Like” button at the bottom of the post

The giveaway will close at 9pm EST on Sunday, March 27. I will announce the winner on this blog.

And stay tuned for another giveaway next week…this one I’m pretty excited about, because I use the product myself and love it! It’s on my must-have list of items for babies!

*The gift card is good for a one-time $20 credit towards a purchase of $20 or more (excluding shipping, handling and taxes) at www.shutterfly.com.

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Mar 25, 2011  •  In Infographics, Information

Interactive Map of Average Breast Cup Size by Country

You can’t say that you didn’t see this one coming.

Last week I linked to an Interactive Map of Average Penis Length by Country. And today I present its female counterpart (click on map to view):

Once again the data is not too surprising. I was a bit taken back by the average U.S. breast cup size (which is a D, just in case you’re too lazy to click over), but it makes sense considering the country’s high obesity rate.

I should also say that this post is not meant to poke fun at, or objectify the sexes. I believe that both maps are neat representations of questions I’m sure everyone has wondered at one point in their lives. So please, don’t take offense (ahem, commenter “MISANDRY”) as I am but a purveyor of trivial data.  🙂

Via Geekologie.

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Mar 24, 2011  •  In Entertainment, Funny, Movies

“The Life Aquatic” Told in 60 Seconds [Also, in Clay]

The Life Aquatic is my favorite Wes Anderson movie, so I can’t not share this awesome claymation spoof remake. I only wish the creators had used the fantastic soundtrack from the original, but I guess there’s only so much you could fit into 60 seconds.  🙂

Via Geek Tyrant.

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Mar 23, 2011  •  In Asian, Food, Personal, Recipes, Web

The 31st Way to Upgrade Your Ramen

Yesterday, the foodie site Serious Eats wrote about the 30+ Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Instant Noodles. And while I certainly wouldn’t call every method “easy” (just reading about the Ramepherd’s Pie gave me a headache), nor did all the modifications actually look that tasty in this blogger’s opinion (Ramacos and Ramac & Cheese look…interesting), I was glad to see the American public be exposed to all the different ways to enjoy the ubiquitous Asian treat.

Besides, J has been adding additional meat, vegetables, sauces, etc to his ramen ever since he first learned to boil a pot of water, while I have been using the Instant Snack method of enjoying your ramen ever since I can remember (I remember actually thinking that I had invented this method of eating ramen, and excitedly telling all my friends about it).

That being said, I was surprised to see one VERY simple upgrade not be mentioned in the slideshow or its accompanying article. Then I realized that it is another trick that my mother discovered on her own while experimenting in the kitchen…

Just as your ramen starts to boil in the pot, add some crushed/minced garlic and a bit of sesame oil.

That’s it. It’s probably easier than any of the other upgrades in the Serious Eats list, but you won’t believe the difference in flavor it makes!

And the best part is that it can be combined with practically anything else to give your bowl of noodles that extra oomph.

Try it the next time you prepare your favorite package of ramen. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.  🙂

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Mar 22, 2011  •  In Art/Design, Funny, Geek, Personal

Historically Hardcore

Artist Jenny Burrows and her copywriter friend Matt Kappler created these mock ads during school for inclusion in their portfolio…and it went viral.

The posters initially had the Smithsonian name and logo at the bottom, but the museum, who was none too pleased with the attention, asked for the association to be removed. (I personally don’t quite understand why the museum chose to do this — I think it’s great publicity that would only help draw in younger generations.)

Check out the rest of the story on Jenny’s blog. I sincerely hope that she gets a chance to create more of these “Historically Hardcore” ads in the near future!

Via My Modern Metropolis.

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Mar 22, 2011  •  In Entertainment, Funny

“How I Met Your Mother” Russian Remake

This is just too hilariously awesome not to share. Fans of CBS’s How I Met Your Mother will undoubtedly be able to easily identify each character and scene as I have. And as Best Week Ever states, “Russian versions of TV shows look a whole lot like porn parody versions of TV shows, but with way less sex and way more Russian.”

Enjoy!

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Mar 22, 2011  •  In Beauty, Korean, Personal

When “Healthy” Equals “Fat”

I myself have not been to Korea in a while, but I have plenty of friends and family members who visit regularly, and can confirm the fact that Korean girls hardly ever participate in sports, and would rather go on extreme diets than exercise to lose weight.

In fact, aside from low-intensity workouts and stretches, Korean girls are discouraged from exercise in fear that they will become too muscular, and thus be called “fat.”

Yes, you read that correctly. In Korea, having defined muscles = fat.

And if you can believe it, the direct translation of the word “healthy” — 건강하다 — actually has negative connotations. Because when someone tells you that you “look healthy,” it really means that you “look bulky.” Or, in the minds of image-conscious Korean girls, “you’re fat.”

I’ve always dismissed this phenomenon as another less-than-ideal quirk that is specific to my native country. However, when I saw the below clip from Arirang TV (an international, English-language network in Korea…probably the most popular of its kind) I became livid. Take a look:

Just the title of the segment is enough to draw ire: “A twist in figures! The beautiful stars with healthy lower bodies.” 😕

In the clip, reporters and so-called experts analyze the bodies of popular Korean celebrities who have thin upper bodies and “healthy,” muscular lower bodies. They clearly believe that having a “healthy” lower body is a flaw, and even go as far as to suggest outfits that would minimize the look of muscular legs as well as yoga poses that would help slim down the offending appendages.

What’s even more disturbing is that South Korea already has the lowest obesity rates in OECD.

Nevermind the fact that most Korean meals are half the size of those in the US, or that Koreans as a whole are much less sedentary than Americans due to the way their mass transit system is organized.

Because when you take into consideration “news” segments such as these, the proliferation of “thin is best” messages that permeate all Korean media, the image-conscious society and the unhealthy methods Korean girls employ to lose weight and look good (evidenced by the thriving diet pills/supplements industry and high rates of plastic surgery), one can’t help but wonder how healthy these thin girls are.

As a matter of fact, news of girls fainting on the subway, or of celebrities being admitted to hospitals as a result of their malnourished bodies — while sad — are not rare in Korea.

And jaw-shaving surgeries and calf-reduction surgeries, which go beyond liposuction to actually transform your bone and muscle structure, have become so popular in Korea that women fly in from all over the world to get it done in a country where not only do the doctors have the most experience performing such surgeries, but it is also quite inexpensive compared to similar procedures in other nations.

I personally think that the celebrities in the video who are criticized for having “healthy” lower bodies look great. Never would it have occurred to me that their legs are too muscular.

And the “before” legs in the picture above? I would actually love to have those legs.

But then again, I grew up in the U.S., where defined muscles are actually considered attractive.

Via The Grand Narrative.

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