There might not be anything more frightening then when I find myself doing old lady things. I might nag Ben to wear a hat to keep his ears warm before he goes out or I might find myself washing and reusing Ziploc bags. When it really gets bad, I might find myself eyeing an I-love-my-cat-themed t-shirt or using words like precious or salve. This week, I decided that I needed a humidifier in my bedroom.

Yes, the humidifier, the appliance of nurseries and nursing homes. The machine that continuously adds moisture and lameness to any room.

But let me have my say for a moment: winters are dry here. In the city, in our apartment in winter, the air makes it feel like my skin is tissue paper and my lungs are filled with packing peanuts. Every morning I wake up feeing like someone has plastered my throat.

And then I read about the benefits and reasons for humidifiers. Turns out, it’s not the cold temperatures that cause seasonal respiratory problems and an increase in colds, it’s the lack of humidity that dries out your mucous membranes and hurts your immune system. Not to mention that dry air dehydrates you, causing dry skin, lips, and hair. Dry air will actually age you. Who’s the old lady now?

For all of those reasons, I started shopping for humidifiers online. The problems I kept running into tended to be 1) price 2) quality 3) size 4) maintenance and 5) appearance. I didn’t want a huge bulky thing, I didn’t want to spend money I don’t have, and I didn’t want to have to replace and expensive filter every two months. Also, although I knew it shouldn’t be that important, I didn’t want my room to look like a 90-year-old lady or an allergy-riddled nerd lived there.

That’s when I found the line of Crane Adorable Humidifiers. Not only were they, as advertised, adorable, but all of the online reviews were overwhelmingly positive. They were small, easy to fill, quiet, dependable, and inexpensive. Sure, it looks kind of like a baby shower gift and one could say that my room now looks like it houses a toddler who reads a lot of Cormac McCarthy. But one could also say that my room now has a totally awesome penguin in it. A penguin that keeps me healthy and hydrated.

The final test, of course, was Ben, who also happens to sleep in our bedroom. After teasing me relentlessly for the two days after my purchase but before its arrive, I caught him smiling a bit when we turned it on for the first time and the stream of moisture started pouring out of his little beak.

You can look at the other adorable animals available here… I’m also partial to the elephant and panda.