Tuesday, March 17, 2009

I am cookoo for cocoa puffs...


I don't think that I have mentioned that I love reading blogs and I especially love Ree Drummond's blog, aka the pioneer woman, and wish that I had 1/1000 of her writing ability. Check out her site at http://thepioneerwoman.com/ and then religiously check her site everyday, but check early because I generally check out her blog at night and I always miss her awesome contests. You will suddenly think you should move to the country and raise cattle and ride horses (even though you are terrified of large animals and truely believe that a horse could actually bite off your head).



So tonight as I was reading the pioneer woman's blog I noticed that she had received a Weblog Award. (Actually she won 3 "bloggies" including Weblog of the Year.) This inspired me to look up the other blogs that won bloggies this year because I just cannot get enough of blogs. It makes me worried that I was a stalker in a previous life. Luckily in this life, due in part to the miracle that is modern technology, I can be a socially acceptable cyberstalker...in fact society encourages my cyberstalking addiction by paying those with blogs money because I am cyberstalking them...Daria was right- it is a sick sad world out there... and I am reaping all the benefits.



This post does have some sort of purpose other than me scaring people with talk of stalking. And I am getting to it right now. While indulging in my cyberstalking, I ran across Cake Wrecks blog at http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ . This seems like a fun blog, but I was more intrigued by a link to Kellog's Corn Pops website that was linked on the blog (because every good cyberstalker will tell you that the next best stalking target is just a click away). You must go to the corn pops website. This site is manic and fantastic. It brings true joy to my heart. It almost makes me want to eat corn pops instead of cyberstalking. Check it out and be prepared...actually there is no way to be prepared, you just have to see this for yourself! Go to http://www.cornpops.com/ . And don't say I didn't warn you.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

A Friend Is...

I didn't really have anything to post, but I have been thinking a lot about the concept of friendship. I can't believe how many people have touched my life for the better. It reminds me of a Charlie Brown book we had which described what a friend is... This is my version...


A friend is someone who laughs with you...
A friend is someone who sits with you when you are feeling sick or listens to you when you are feeling down...

A friend is someone who likes the same things you like and will go with you to see that vampire movie...again...
A friend is someone who doesn't give up on you...
A friend is someone you just enjoy hanging with...

Thursday, January 22, 2009

My trip...

This week I got to be part of an amazing moment in history. This was my view:

We got up early in the morning and migrated en masse to the capitol, like ants to the picnic...



Where's Waldo?...Can you pick me out of this crowd?

What about this one?


Good wishes reigned.

44th President!

(But only the 43rd man to have the office. Also, 0 women. FYI, Chief Justice Roberts did a 2nd swearing in on Wednesday because he mixed up the words of the oath.)

Out with the old...
In with the new...



I love America!
I love the possibilities in America!
I love that America changes and keeps surprising me!

And...Really I didn't make it to Washington this week even though I wanted to be there, but.... "We The People" sure showed up in person and in spirit...



And so did the world:

In Africa...



In Iraq...

In Asia...

I blatantly stole these photos from this website:

You should check it out.


Monday, January 19, 2009

True Honesty

My sister and her friends made this gingerbread house:


This is true honesty! No pretense whatsoever.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Quote of the Day

Nature is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished.


- Francis Bacon

When your lesson plan goes to h-e-double-hockey-sticks in Sunday School do you go to H*%*?

I have been teaching Gospel Doctrine for the past 8 months and it has been a great experience for me. The Book of Mormon was fantastic to teach, but now we are into the Doctrine and Covenants. This is a little scarier for me. I feel much more comfortable with the BoM over the D&C. So today was my first D&C lesson...

I had a plan...

I thought it was good....

I thought I was ready to teach profound truths (or let the spirit teach profound truths)...

And then...

It all went to heck!!!!!!!

I can't even pinpoint when this happened. Generally I will have the lesson in my head and then I can add or subtract as needed depending on people's responses. This has been working great for about 7 months, but today it just didn't happen.

*sigh*

Oh well. Next time.........

Sunday, January 4, 2009

I See Red and the Duty Fulfiller

Last night I was with a fun group of people and we did personality tests. We did the color test and once again I am a red with a strong showing of blue. I keep thinking that if I take the test enough I will no longer be the dreaded "red," but it just keeps happening. So I am not going to fight it anymore...I am a red personality and I like it.

We also took the Myers-Briggs test which assigns you certain letters based on different aspects of your personality. I ended up having a tie between the ISTJ and ISFJ...but, after reading the two descriptions, I am definitely an ISTJ aka the "Duty Fulfiller." It was spooky how dead on this one is in describing me. But once again I can't seem to catch a break on these personality tests. I want to come out as the laidback, cool personality, but I keep being the power hungry or duty obsessed person. I guess I just have to embrace the ISTJ in me as well.

For any who are interested, see below...

Portrait of an ISTJ - Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging(Introverted Sensing with Extraverted Thinking)

As an ISTJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things rationally and logically.

ISTJs are quiet and reserved individuals who are interested in security and peaceful living. They have a strongly-felt internal sense of duty, which lends them a serious air and the motivation to follow through on tasks. Organized and methodical in their approach, they can generally succeed at any task which they undertake.

ISTJs are very loyal, faithful, and dependable. They place great importance on honesty and integrity. They are "good citizens" who can be depended on to do the right thing for their families and communities. While they generally take things very seriously, they also usually have an offbeat sense of humor and can be a lot of fun - especially at family or work-related gatherings.

ISTJs tend to believe in laws and traditions, and expect the same from others. They're not comfortable with breaking laws or going against the rules. If they are able to see a good reason for stepping outside of the established mode of doing things, the ISTJ will support that effort. However, ISTJs more often tend to believe that things should be done according to procedures and plans. If an ISTJ has not developed their Intuitive side sufficiently, they may become overly obsessed with structure, and insist on doing everything "by the book".

The ISTJ is extremely dependable on following through with things which he or she has promised. For this reason, they sometimes get more and more work piled on them. Because the ISTJ has such a strong sense of duty, they may have a difficult time saying "no" when they are given more work than they can reasonably handle. For this reason, the ISTJ often works long hours, and may be unwittingly taken advantage of.

The ISTJ will work for long periods of time and put tremendous amounts of energy into doing any task which they see as important to fulfilling a goal. However, they will resist putting energy into things which don't make sense to them, or for which they can't see a practical application. They prefer to work alone, but work well in teams when the situation demands it. They like to be accountable for their actions, and enjoy being in positions of authority. The ISTJ has little use for theory or abstract thinking, unless the practical application is clear.

ISTJs have tremendous respect for facts. They hold a tremendous store of facts within themselves, which they have gathered through their Sensing preference. They may have difficulty understanding a theory or idea which is different from their own perspective. However, if they are shown the importance or relevance of the idea to someone who they respect or care about, the idea becomes a fact, which the ISTJ will internalize and support. Once the ISTJ supports a cause or idea, he or she will stop at no lengths to ensure that they are doing their duty of giving support where support is needed.

The ISTJ is not naturally in tune with their own feelings and the feelings of others. They may have difficulty picking up on emotional needs immediately, as they are presented. Being perfectionists themselves, they have a tendency to take other people's efforts for granted, like they take their own efforts for granted. They need to remember to pat people on the back once in a while.

ISTJs are likely to be uncomfortable expressing affection and emotion to others. However, their strong sense of duty and the ability to see what needs to be done in any situation usually allows them to overcome their natural reservations, and they are usually quite supporting and caring individuals with the people that they love. Once the ISTJ realizes the emotional needs of those who are close to them, they put forth effort to meet those needs.

The ISTJ is extremely faithful and loyal. Traditional and family-minded, they will put forth great amounts of effort at making their homes and families running smoothly. They are responsible parents, taking their parenting roles seriously. They are usually good and generous providers to their families. They care deeply about those close to them, although they usually are not comfortable with expressing their love. The ISTJ is likely to express their affection through actions, rather than through words.

ISTJs have an excellent ability to take any task and define it, organize it, plan it, and implement it through to completion. They are very hard workers, who do not allow obstacles to get in the way of performing their duties. They do not usually give themselves enough credit for their achievements, seeing their accomplishments simply as the natural fulfillment of their obligations.
ISTJs usually have a great sense of space and function, and artistic appreciation. Their homes are likely to be tastefully furnished and immaculately maintained. They are acutely aware of their senses, and want to be in surroundings which fit their need for structure, order, and beauty.

Under stress, ISTJs may fall into "catastrophe mode", where they see nothing but all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. They will berate themselves for things which they should have done differently, or duties which they failed to perform. They will lose their ability to see things calmly and reasonably, and will depress themselves with their visions of doom.

In general, the ISTJ has a tremendous amount of potential. Capable, logical, reasonable, and effective individuals with a deeply driven desire to promote security and peaceful living, the ISTJ has what it takes to be highly effective at achieving their chosen goals - whatever they may be.

Jungian functional preference ordering:
Dominant: Introverted Sensing
Auxiliary: Extraverted Thinking
Tertiary: Introverted Feeling
Inferior: Extraverted Intuition