What's In A Name?

I recently read an article about a woman who had decided to hire a professional naming expert, also known as a nameologist, to help her decide the right name for her soon-to-be born baby boy. She had become consumed with the naming of her second child and read in a newspaper that someone else had done it. So she forked out $200. Yeah.

At first I thought this was ridiculous - and I still do I would never pay someone to help me decide on a name for my child - but I didn't realize how important a persons name really is.

The nameologist this woman chose to work with was a woman named Maryanna Korwitts who claims to have combined her studies in psychology, numerology, and different naming traditions to develop "an intuitive system of going beyond the sight and sound of a name to feel its vibration and observe the energy it creates every time it is said, spelled, and even thought." Whoa. Pretty neat. The article also claimed that Korwitts said that she had noticed children with the same name tend to have similar personality traits.

On her website, Maryanna has a naming lab called "Name Agories" where you can type in your own name and receive a report on the strengths and weaknesses your name favors. I tried my name and it said that my name, Edith Ann, made me a romantic, an overindulger, and an optimist. Here is what it said on the site about each of those titles:

Romantic:
Bring on the hearts and flowers, send poetry and keep those candle-lit dinners coming. These are folks who believe in love at first sight, and believe that life isn't worth living without abundant supplies of love and caring. They often fall in love quickly and enjoy keeping the drama of romance in all they do. Some with a name in this Category are masters at the art of flirting, and others are experts at turning frowns into smiles in a split second. Needless to say, these are folks who must learn a healthy sense of self-worth and self-protectiveness on the way to making love work. But they will no doubt believe in fairy tales forever and a day.

Optimist:
The sun is always shining for those who wear this name. At least that is what they will want to believe. These are folks who see the best in others and situations, always mustering hope in even the darkest situation. There is a tendency here to look the other way when problems arise, so a conscious effort must be made to face the music no matter what the tune. But if you're looking for a lift, or want a compliment... just show up on one of these name bearer's doorsteps. Deep down, no matter what they say, these are people who want to believe the glass is always half full.

Overindulger:
When wearing this name it's tough to put on the brakes when it comes to any of life's pleasures. These name bearers could have difficulty with spending, overeating, addiction, substance abuse any type of boundary setting. They could also be adept at generating large amounts of fun and joy for themselves and everyone else around them. The adage here is, "if a little is good, more is better." The challenge is, to enjoy and yet stay happy, focused and balanced. This name category is also all about laughter, optimism, conversation and spontaneity although some choose the shy road in the midst of the light-hearted mood. Oh, and don't expect this name category to encourage over-indulgence in such things as organizing, cleaning or studying. These people prefer others to do the tedious paperwork.


I was slightly shocked because all of these descriptions fit me VERY well. Kind of fun! What does your name say about you??

So, next time you find out you are having a child. Put a little thought into the name you select.

By the way, according to this site if you decide to name your child "poop", then they will be a "potential overall winner" which means:

The names in this category provide a positive, complementary blend of qualities and characteristics, all of which can support balance in most areas of life.

Hmph.

And if you go with "butt crack" they will be a "traditionalist" and a "victim".

TIME's 50 Best Websites of 2009.

Time Magazine recently released their list of the 50 best websites of 2009. I've heard of most of them, but some were new, so I spent some time going through the list.

Here are a few of my new favorites:

WolframAlpha - You can "Enter your question or calculation,and WolframAlpha uses its built-in algorithms and a growing collection of data to compute the answer." So for example, you can enter a date and it will tell you al bunch of information about that date like the day (if you enter a year), things that have happened, what the weather was like that day... etc. You can enter the name of a city... even a calculation problem! It's pretty neat. I put in my birthday and found out I was born on a Saturday, that I am 31 years 4 months 18 days old, the sun rose at 5:38 am that morning, and there was a waxing cresent moon in the sky!! Whoa.

Academic Earth - Did you know you can now watch full video lectures on subjects like Advanced Placement (AP) Test Prep, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, History, Law, Literature, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Pre-Med, and Psychology. I mean, why even GO to college people?? (I'm totally just kidding about that). It is so cool though, the selection of things you can learn. I plan to start with literature and then maybe some pre-med.

Internet Archive - This site kind of scares me because it is so awesome!! They are basically backing up the internet! You can look at what a website used to look like using their wayback machine... Or watch one of almost 200,000 moving images, listen to live music archives, other forms of Audio, and read from over a million and a half texts. The website states, "The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public." How wonderful is that? Very! Want to watch an episode of Betty Boop?

Consumer Search - This is a website where the opinions of the top rated, and most qualified reviewers are gathered on pretty much anything you would ever want or think about buying. They rate and review products and let you know what is the best one! A very helpful thing if you are unsure about what is the best product to buy. They rate everything from cars to catfood to baby products... even chocolate! Now you know where I will be going before I buy that next electric toothbrush.

and finally,

Pandora and last.fm- I love music. I love FREE music even more. These websites will play only the music you like and suggest music that is similar to your indicated style and mood. If you like a song give it a thumbs up! Hate it... thumbs down it and it won't be played again. :ast.fm even recommends concerts that are in your area according to the music style you listen to. Very neat! There are other websites out there like this, but I like these sites the best.

There are several other sites I liked... check them out yourself when you have a couple hours to spare. The internet rocks!

Why Have Long Hair?

I've always had a similar hair-do most of my life. There have been times when I needed a new look and cut it short or dyed it a strange color. I think at one time in my life my hair was auburn. At another time I tried to make it strawberry blonde but it turned a silver-ish purple color instead. I had it bleached blonde once but when I went swimming it turned it green. And then there was that one time I died it dark brown, HATED IT, and then tried to bleach it back to a dirty blonde all by myself and my hair turned bleach blonde close to my scalp and a neon orange at the ends. THAT was scary day. I had to color it again and then grow that baby out and cut it off to get my nice hair back... I recommend NOT doing that unless you think it's attractive to look like you have hay growing out of your head.

SO the long hair has always been something that has worked for me. With short hair I look a little silly - due to my tiny head and my disproportionally sized chubby body.

With long hair, you can...

1. Wear curlers and fluff it so you have big hair and it takes a bit of the noticeableness off of your chub.
2. Do the "Long Hair Toss" in slow motion and feel beautiful - try this sometime when you are feeling blue, it does wonders to your ego.
3. You can curl it, straighten it, make waves in it, layer it, braid it, pony tail it, put it up in the clip, etc.
4. Most guys like long hair so you get noticed more - not that that is important.
5. If it's really long and you lose your top at a water park you can pull the "Darryl Hannah Mermaid" look.
6. But I think the main reason I want long hair is so someday I can do this...
   

...talk about getting noticed at a party.

Nothing To Wear

Remember all those times you thought you had nothing to wear?? You were looking in the wrong place! Try the drawer by the phone next time...

The Phonebook Dress

Creator Jolis Paons pleated, sewed and glued this entire dress by hand.

Unexpected Moment

Today at the store, while waiting in line to pay, I had a conversation about babies, teenagers, and politics with some Harley Davidson Biker Dudes. They were older, hairy, covered in chains, denim, and leather and smelled of leather and grease.

In any other situation I probably NEVER would have started up a conversation with them. Wherever I go with Mads people comment about her and it often leads to some form of verbal exchange.

Ya know what? They were two of the nicest men I have ever met and Madeline LOVED them. She's a great judge of character. Appearances are very often deceiving. Today was a good reminder of that for me.

On the other end of the spectrum... a very beautiful girl cut me off on the way home and then flipped me off. Hmph. Life is so funny.

Did You Know...

I was standing in my kitchen making myself and delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and as I was spreading the creamy peanut butter onto my piece of bread I thought...

"I wonder who first discovered that peanuts could be crushed and made creamy and spreadable like butter.... hmm?"

WikiAnswers says it was George Washington Carver. Another website says it was the Inca's, and another says peanut butter was invented and reinvented many times during history. Peanuts were known as early as 950 B.C. and originated in South America.

So Carver, I found while doing my research on peanut butter, discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. Among these were his recipes and improvements to/for: adhesives, axle grease, bleach, buttermilk, chili sauce, fuel briquettes, ink, instant coffee, linoleum, mayonnaise, meat tenderizer, metal polish, paper, plastic, pavement, shaving cream, shoe polish, synthetic rubber, talcum powder and wood stain. He was an interesting fella. He didn't believe he should get credit for any of his inventions because food was a gift from God. You can read more about him here.

I've always wanted to invent something amazing... something that would set me and my family up for life. It just takes the simplest thing... like the guy who invented breath rite nose strips. Those things are awesome and now that man is a millionaire. Truth is, most "inventions" have probably already been thought of before by many people... it just depends on who gets the patent and the right advertising.

So back to peanut butter... have you ever tried peanut butter on a graham cracker? It tastes just like those nutter butter cookies... so good.

I've recently discovered that my favorite jam/jelly is the seedless raspberry jam. It is SO good, and is meshes well with creamy peanut butter.

So now you've learned something, and who knows... maybe you will win it big on jeopardy because you read my blog today. You're welcome.

Unnecessary Knowledge

The past tense of the English word "dare" is "durst."
An Example: "But Father, he durst me to do it!"

Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as medicine.
Wow. My sister Heidi who smothers ketchup all over everything was onto something.

75% of people will believe any made up statistic.
So true.



Find these and more at http://www.unnecessaryknowledge.com/

My 5 Top Goals For The New Year

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions because I don't want to be disappointed with myself if I don't live up to them or complete them. I do have a lot of goals I want to accomplish this upcoming year, and a lot of things I want to become a more regular part of my daily routine. So I've decided to pick 5... just 5. I figure I can do 5.

1. Eat AT LEAST 3 vegetables a day, preferably 5. It is so hard for me to eat all my vegetables. We have a vegetable or two with dinner every night but I don't usually eat them during the day. To accomplish this goal, I may need to add a veggie or two to my breakfast. Usually for breakfast I have a large bowl of old fashioned homemade oatmeal with Splenda brown sugar, I can't believe it's not butter, some soy milk, and a dash of salt - it is soooo good. I am so excited to wake up in the morning so I can eat my oatmeal. It's strange really. Anyway - so I have oatmeal, toast, OJ, and my vitamins usually. Maybe I could add a celery stick or two or a wad of spinach to this delectable meal?

2. Start and finish Madeline's 1st year scrapbook. Before Madeline was born I purchased a really cute scrapbook and a bunch of nice paper and stickers and stuff so I could document Madeline's first year. At the moment, it, along with little memento's like Madeline's arm bands from the hospital, a snippet of her newborn hair, her footprints, etc. is all in a bag in her closet (no I did NOT keep the umbilical cord, eewwww). I will finish this thing and it will be glorious. So glorious, that when Madeline is older, all the other people who sit with her and look back at their baby days while she is looking at hers will be like, "Whoa man, your mom is so awesome for keeping all that stuff and making you such a cute and unbelievably organized and neat book to remember it all."

3. Exercise. This one is always on the list, isn't it ladies? I'm not going to set a number of days a week or a time per day... I just need to exercise... SOME form of exercise. Some days I feel like I am 80 and I am only 30. I have to do this! I really like how I feel when I am healthy and in shape... it is so much nicer than feeling like I need a walker. Somedays, I'll be sitting on the couch or something and Paul will say something and I feel like replying with a...
"eh sonny?"





4. Stop wasting so much food. We go shopping every week, and before every shopping trip we go through the fridge and throw out a ton of food. I am slightly (okay MAJORLY) disgusted with myself for this, considering there are millions of people who don't have any food at all. I usually look in the mirror at myself after emptying the fridge and spout vulgarities to my face for being such a waster. You are such a waster Edith! Stop it!!!





5. Be more patient with and nice to people. People in general, but specifically, my husband. He is such a sweet man and he does so much for me and Madeline... I need to be nicer to him. Why are we so mean to those we love the most anyway?









What are YOUR New Years (not something you are promising to do but would feel really great if you accomplished them) goals??