Personality test results

I took a little personality test on this site (click the thingy above). Of course, I pretty much knew this info already. :)

This info (below) is really what shocked me. It's way beyond accurate. I read this stuff & literally my jaw dropped. Whoa...this fits me to a "T"!

"ISFJs are characterized above all by their desire to serve others, their "need to be needed." In extreme cases, this need is so strong that standard give-and-take relationships are deeply unsatisfying to them; however, most ISFJs find more than enough with which to occupy themselves within the framework of a normal life."

"modest, not confrontational, easily hurt, observer, prone to crying, not spontaneous"

"ISFJs have a rich inner world that is not usually obvious to observers. They constantly take in information about people and situations that is personally important to them, and store it away. This tremendous store of information is usually startlingly accurate, because the ISFJ has an exceptional memory about things that are important to their value systems. It would not be uncommon for the ISFJ to remember a particular facial expression or conversation in precise detail years after..."

"At work, ISFJs contribute loyal, sympathetic, consistent, and considerate service to others. They are know for their kindness and for their willingness to go to any length to help those in need. They take the practical needs of people into account when they do their work, and their strong follow-through skills allow them to carry out organizational goals. They do at least what is expected to them and oftentimes more, without attracting attention to themselves. They are painstaking and responsible with detail and routine, and feel it is important to have the right things in the right places at the right times."

"The primary desire of the Protector SJ is to be of service to others, but here "service" means not so much furnishing others with the necessities of life, as guarding others against life's pitfalls and perils, that is, seeing to their safety and security."

Remember those 4 dead deer?

Between them, my dad & his friend ground just over 100 lbs of meat. We gave them some, but still ended up with 75+ pounds of ground meat in our freezer. When you add that to the (about?) 10 pounds we still have from the last deer, that adds up to a lot of ground meat! I am tickled. That means 85 meals that I don't have to buy the meat for. That's 85 times that I get to save paying $1-2 per pound for ground meat. That's a savings of (approx) $127.50! Wow.

(and this is not even anywhere close to all of it....I only took a picture of a few million of the bags)

It's happening.

This morning, I stood in the bathroom getting ready to put on my make up. I pulled my hair back in a headband & put on my SPF-laden moisturizer first & then my foundation. I put on my eyeliner, eyeshadow & then mascara. That's when it happened. I was holding my little hand mirror to see my eyelashes because, after all, my eyes just aren't what they used to be. No more standing 3 ft. from the mirror & actually hitting my LASHES with the mascara wand. I've got to either have my little hand mirror or I have to lean across the counter to get inches from the big mirror. Anyway, I was putting on my mascara when I saw it. A little hair. Not up in my hairline or in my eyebrows. At first I thought it was a hair falling into my eyes from the hairline so I brushed it out of the way. When it fell down a second time, I pulled against it & realized that.....OH MY GOSH...it was connected to the MIDDLE OF MY FOREHEAD!!

When did this happen? Since when am I old enough to have hair growing in all sorts of weird places? About 5 years ago, in my late 20s, I discovered the womanly joy of having to use a (ahem...) facial hair remover cream. Thank God I sell Avon & can buy it from myself without having to hand it to the checkout lady at the drugstore who will immediately eyeball my upper lip to see why I'm buying such a product. But when did I start growing hairs in the MIDDLE OF MY FOREHEAD? Good Lord...the next thing ya know, I'll be plucking chin hairs or using my husband's ear & nose hair trimmer.

I realize that I'm aging. I really am at peace with my age. It's just a number & doesn't bother me. I don't mind getting these nice little lines around my eyes. It doesn't bother me too much that my nephew---the one that was born when I was 11 years old-- is now old enough to be married & expecting his first child. I don't mind that I have to wear my glasses when I drive & that my sight is getting progressively worse. I'm not really shocked that I can't sleep on the living room floor anymore without regretting it afterward. The whole idea of "getting older" doesn't really phase me.

But really... forehead hairs were NOT on my list of things that I expected. Sagging & drooping, wrinkles & gray hair.....but FOREHEAD hairs? yikes! No one warned me about that!

Jan 5-6

On Monday morning, Larry had a medical procedure. No big deal, they didn't find any problems, all is well. But the after-effects of anesthesia on this big teddy bear of a man I married were quite humorous! I won't go into all the details here, but trust me... Larry is a funny drunk!

When we got home, there was a package on the porch containing a book I ordered a couple weeks ago. I was so excited to get it & read a good portion of it last night. It is called 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny. It's a book of funny (& some sweet or inspirational) stories written by this teacher, Phillip Done. For any teacher in your life, this is a great gift. He/she will love it! I don't teach 3rd grade, but the things he talks about aren't specific to one grade level or another. He talks about the types of teachers & classrooms (the Shock, the Hospital, the Piler, the Chi, the Natural & the Model Home) and I've already pegged most of the teachers at my school. And just so ya know...if you read this book, I am so Mrs. Wilson. ha ha! Don't hate me for it. :) You can get it cheap here.

Today was my first day back at work after a nearly 3 week long break. Wow. That's a long time to be off work. It was great, though. Today was a good first day back. The kids were ready to be back in school and I was tickled to see all their little sweet faces. We started the Winter unit, learning about winter weather this week. Next week, it's winter animals (polar bears, penguins, etc). Today we made Koolaid & ice paintings. Sprinkle the Koolaid powder on paper & rub ice over it. It smells fruity, makes a cool picture....and oh, by the way....stains your hands like crazy! ha ha! I'm hoping that by sometime next week my fingers won't still be purple.

I'm sleepy so I'm going to go crash now & read some more of my book. Have a good one!

4 Dead Deer

There's something special about seeing my kids' faces light up & giggles abound when this pulled up in front of my house today. Are we country folks or what?

Sincerely...we were excited. 4 deer means that I won't be buying ground meat for a longgggggg while! Thank you, Parkers!!

Saturday, Jan 3

On Christmas Eve, Samuel started complaining off & on of a sore throat. He was coughing occasionally at night, but then again, so was Sarah. I put the humidifier in both of their bedrooms at night & dosed them up w/ cough medicine & Motrin when they needed it. And that was that.

Slowly, Sarah's cough tapered off & went away altogether, but Samuel continued to complain of a sore throat. On Wednesday, when Larry got up to go to work, Samuel was already up & in the living room watching TV (this is NOT out of the ordinary for our little man...he wakes up with the chickens!). Larry took one look at his limp-as-a-dishrag appearance & came to wake me up. He said that he felt like Samuel had gotten worse all the sudden. He had that "look" of a sick kid. I took him to the doctor that morning & sure enough, he had a ton of fluid on both ears. The doc said he was surprised that he could hear us at all with all the fluid in there. While his ears technically weren't infected, given his history of (TONS OF) infections, the doc went ahead & wrote me a Rx. Considering that the next day was a holiday ---and I think we all know that a kid who's "almost" sick will inevitably become very much sick on a holiday when all the doc's offices are closed & the only option is to visit the mucho expensive ER--- I went ahead & filled the Rx and began giving it to him. Since then, he has had ups & downs. He seems perfectly fine one minute, playing & running & being your average typical crazy boy....and then he falls apart the next. Tonight I was looking at his eardrums & his left one is bulging. Gosh I hope these antibiotics kick in & kill off the yuck quick. I'm giving him Motrin too (for the pain) & if his eardrum still looks yucky tomorrow, I'm adding an antihistimine to it, too....gotta get that fluid dried up! He goes back to school Monday morning. I don't want him to feel yucky then.

On New Year's Day, we went to Larry's hometown to have a traditional New Year's lunch with his family. Honestly, it was the first time I've ever done the whole black eyed peas & cabbage thing...and it wasn't too bad after all. I kinda expected it to be gross, but Mammaw passed the test again with her awesome country cookin'. We also had sweet potatoes & cornbread. yum!

Savannah went out of town to visit her girlfriends on Wednesday. We just picked her up today. It's always such sweet fun to see the way she & these girls interact as we leave after a visit. You see, they moved away the summer after they were all in 1st grade. Remember...she's in 7th grade now, so it's been a long time since they left. Beginning about a year after they moved, she began going for a visit in the summer. Over the years, those visits have stretched out to Spring Breaks, Christmas holidays, summer & just about any other extended school break that they can fit a visit into. It's hard to believe that these girls are still so close & love each other so much after all these years of living in different towns, but they are. Today when we left them, their mom told Savannah that they are hoping to book a month-long visit this summer. ha ha! They love having her there & she loves going...but they may have to start charging rent for her visits. :)

As the holiday break winds to an end, I'm sad. It's always this way after a break from work/school. I love my mornings of sleeping a little later, hanging out in my pajamas all morning, having time to cook breakfasts that are just too time-consuming during the school days. But alas, it is that time. Monday morning will mark our first morning back after nearly 3 weeks off! But I'm not TOO worried. I'll only be at work for 2 weeks til I get another long weekend....and Spring Break is right around the corner....

January 1st, 2009

Someone sent me this in an email & I saw it posted on a friend's blog today. I love the questions, so I'm going to share it with you here!

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
I went to Moberly, MO to meet Bethany in person for the first time. :) (Notice I said "for the first time"? I'd love to go back!) We also had our first Stay-cation! It was awesome!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I made any, so it wasn't any trouble keeping them. ha ha!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes...Alyssa had her sweet baby Julianna and there were a few new babies at church this year. But most of my closest girlfriends have either finished having babies or they haven't started yet. Total opposite ends of the spectrum, I know....but I love it. I can celebrate w/ the new mommies and compare notes w/ the others.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No one who was super close, but I have "felt" the deaths of so many...friends of friends, family members of friends, etc. So many prayers for dying children & adults were lifted this year.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just this one that I live in! :)

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Gosh, I don't know. I feel pretty blessed already.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
early May 2008, on a Sunday morning before we went to church -- Sarah asked Jesus into her heart (can't remember the exact date at the moment, but it was a great day!)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Being voted "Teacher of the Year" in May was pretty awesome, but SO far beyond that was completing another year as my husband's wife and my children's mom. I consider my family to be my biggest mission field & having made it through another year with great joy & blessing is a such a sweet variety of success.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Hmm...I don't know. I mean, I always wish I'd spend more time on the important things & less time on the silly stuff, so maybe time management?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
nothing major

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Gas & groceries throughout all the months when gas was nearly $4/gallon! ha ha!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sister & brother in law's. They accepted a 2nd foster child into their home this year...and we're all so glad they did!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
No one personally, but I could name a few politicians & celebrities!

14. Where did most of your money go?
See #11! ha!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My trip to Missouri in August. I probably drove Bethany nuts for a month in advance of my arrival. With a daily e-card & countdown on myspace, she was probably just hoping that the trip would come & go and be over with ASAP. ha ha!

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Rachel Lampa-- Blessed

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? about the same, unfortunately
c) richer or poorer? about the same

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
exercised, eaten better, spent more time with family

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
wasting time

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Scroll back a few days in the archives. :)

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Every day...with my husband!

22. What was your favorite TV program?
HGTV's House Hunters

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
no

24. What was the best book you read?
Karen Kingsbury's "Sunset"

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
"One of these Days" by FFH (love that song!)

26. What did you want and get?
a massage gift certificate (got it for Christmas!)

27. What did you want and not get?
tee hee...the list is long, but it's all stuff that I don't NEED.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
can't remember

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 33 in November. The family took me out to eat. I got to watch Samuel attempt to eat crab legs...which was hysterical.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Gosh, I don't know. It was a really great year. Maybe a vast fortune falling in my lap?

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
quite casual most of the time

32. What kept you sane?
a loving relationship with God, prayer, good music, my precious husband, naps on the weekend, bubble baths with a good book

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Sarah Palin was awesome to watch this year!

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The Presidential election

35. Who did you miss?
friends & family who have passed away

36. Who was the best new person you met?
all my new online buddies

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Count your blessings every day. Look around you & recognize the little joys of life; there are more than you may realize. Laugh every day.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
same song I mentioned above (Rachel Lampa--Blessed)

Verse 1: I may never climb a mountain so I can see the world from there
I may never ride the waves and taste the salty ocean air
Or build a bridge, that would last a hundred years
But no matter where the road leads
One thing is always clear

Chorus:
I am blessed, I am blessed
From when I rise up in the morning
Til I lay my head to rest
I feel You near me
You sooth me when I'm weary
Oh Lord, for all the worst and all the best
I am blessed

Verse 2:
All along the road less traveled, I have crawled and I have run
I have wandered through the wind and rain until I found the sun
The watching eyes asked me why, I walked this narrow way
I will gladly give the reason
For the hope I have today

(chorus)

Bridge:
You've given me joy
You've given me love
You give me strength when I want to give up
You came from Heaven to rescue my soul
This is the reason I knowI know

(chorus)