Just in Time for 2011

New Year's Eve Eve I got a text message at 11pm from a fellow classmate: "All grades are posted!"

Insert nervous heart palpitations.  Did I think I failed? No. However, I am not one to assume when it comes to my grades.  Especially not after the curveball that was thrown at me two terms ago. A C after 100% on a midterm, final and two essays? How does THAT happen? It did and I didn't have the balls confidence to stand up for myself with the Dean. So that C remains on my transcript, forever. *Damn*

I certainly have kept grad school in mind this last phase of my undergrad career because I know that there is a great possibility that I will want to get into a decent school in a couple of years.  So I suppose that's where the nervousness was coming from. That's also where my pissed off-ness comes for the stupid C that I have!!! The only positive aspect of that is that was an elective and not a core class, whatever!

Anywho, my fingers were flying on my phone's keyboard trying to log into the secure WebAdvisor for my school. Such a pain on a phone, right?  Much to my happiness, I logged in to find two As for this term. Not one, but TWO! That gives me a grand total of twelve As, one B and one C for the last year and a half of my school.  Not too shabby, right? RIGHT!!!!

Insert pure happiness and satisfaction here. Thank GOD! I now can celebrate. And let me tell you, last night? We did. HA! This morning, dry toast and honeycrisp apples have been my BFFs!

By the way, I feel like I'm gloating about this... Please know that I am not.  I am not very great at very many things.  But school, I take pride in.  I am good at it and I love it. Well, we have a love/hate relationship... you know how that goes. HA! But, usually I am pretty hard on myself and don't let myself brag about much.  So, excuse this brag post and please don't think I am acting like I'm hot stuff! HA!

I hope everyone rang in the New Year safely (probably from your pillows, right?)  We have had gorgeous weather in the PNW this week and Brandon and I are about to take a long drive into the country to visit his grandparents that have a farm.  Brandon plans on shooting his new (old it was Grandpa's) shotgun and I plan on enjoying the crisp air and gorgeous view of Mt. Rainier out there. :) Sounds like a fine day, right?  Enjoy your Sunday everyone! I will be back tomorrow with this week's menu and a recap of how our menu this week went!

What's In a Personality Type?

A big part of my program at school revolves around the study of interpersonal communications.  I find it SO interesting as we clearly partake in these situations multiple times daily.  It seems like such a *duh* to me that we should all study them! Knowing ourselves and how we best communicate will only allow us to improve on all relationships in our lives.  Well, I should say... it will give us the tools to be able to improve those relationships.  Certainly, not everyone will use those tools! I have found myself profiling my family members and friends also which I have used in a good way. I suppose that could have a negative aspect too! Ha!

More than one of my classes has focused on different personality types and how they play into communciation styles, etc.  We have used the Meyers-Brigg test to indicated what each of us tend to lean towards.  I have taken this free test several different times and I always come up with the same answer....

ENFJ

Hmm... so what does that mean? Ha! 

E-  Extroverted
N- Intuative
F- Feeling
J- Judging

Here is a great summary of the ENFJ type:
Extraverted feeling types seek continuity through harmonious relationships and collective values. They excel at picking up on the tone of a situation and acting accordingly, adding warmth to a cool setting or turning sour into sweet. They naturally seek to know what people do well, what they enjoy, and where and how they work. They seem to have an infinite number of acquaintances from all walks of life and are always on the lookout for people in need and those who can help out. ENFJs weave and strengthen the collective fabric of social conventions and interactions. Inclusiveness is important and they are particularly sensitive to those who are excluded.

ENFJs focus on others, feeling a glow when those around them are happy, and troubled when something is amiss. They are natural cheerleaders, often expressing support, gratitude, and encouragement, and heaping praise onto those they appreciate. They take note of what is being done and what needs doing, offering their assistance wherever necessary.
ENFJs enjoy organizing group activities and tend to take their commitments seriously. In general, they are reliable and do not like to disappoint others. As team players and project leaders, they have a gift for rallying their players, focusing on what is being done right and each member's strengths. They are loyal and they expect loyalty. They carry conversations well, finding common ground with their speaker. They tend to find the correct and gracious way to respond in any given situation, no matter how tense or uncomfortable it is.

source

Of course, this description only notes the positive sides to an ENFJ and while I am not claiming that everything about my personality is great, there are definitely good things! :)  I can relate with almost all of this description.  One of my main disagreements is that I am usually not very gracious. Ha! I tend to open my mouth too much and sometimes in a not so nice manner.  But, I am aware and working on that!!!

So, if you made it to the bottom of this lengthy post... have you ever taken the MB test?  If not, go do it! It's interesting! If you have, what type are you and do you find that it describes you pretty well?  I'm interested to hear the feedback!

Beautiful May Days

May has proven to be gorgeous so far. Its days like we've had recently that make up for all of the rain and cloudy days in the PNW. Good thing the weather has been great because I feel like I'm slowly sinking in quicksand.

School has me completely overwhelmed. I've been enrolled (again!) for the last ten months and I only have six months left until I will have completed my BA in Organizational Leadership *cue the confused looks*. Some day I will elaborate more on what my degree is centered around. In a nutshell, it is the human side of businesses. The infrastructures of HR and how important they are in the big picture. I'm learning how to be a successful and effective leader wich will help me in literally every aspect of my life.

The problem with school is that I am on an accellerated timeline meaning I am finishing courses that would typically be completed within a semester in 8 weeks. Yowza.

Work doesn't stress me out, thankfully. Its just a time sucker. I will admit that bartending is definitely a means to an end and not something I enjoy much, but it is what it is. I love my days with baby E though. She's kind of a monster some times but it is just her curiosity and zest for ACTION! Ha! That child is wild! She's just over a year and not quite walking... we have a great time.

Then there is that thing we all know as "life.." both of our moms birthdays are in May, Mother's Day, my SIL's birthday and every other random thing that pops up. I feel like I can't keep up!

Then, last week we almost lost my Grandma. My Gram means SO much to me. I have lost four Grandparents and two parents... the thought of losing her made me almost have a breakdown. She was airlifted to Harborview which is the number one Trauma Center in ID, MT, WA and AK... I am so thankfulthat they got her there in time and she's now recovering. If I didn't believe in the power of prayer before last week... I certainly do now.

So, I am thankful for so many things in my life and I love my life. However, I'm going through a rough patch! I will make it through though! The beautiful day spent out on the lake in our boat today helped... :)

Happy Friday!

A Little About "Us"

I have followed some of the blogs on my list for well over a year. I began my blogging journey in 2007 and it's a habit I haven't kicked, thankfully. I'm not too good at that habit kickin' thing anyway. What I'm realizing is that while I've followed several blogs and know about their background, I need to fill in the gaps about our lives as this has been a one way road since I began reading blogs.

I'll give a short summary of our last seven years together.... SEVEN years. Woah! Seven is my lucky number so I think that is an omen (or something) that 2010 will be great for us! I will surly go more in depth on many of these things I am about to summarize!

Brandon and I are "Highschool Sweathearts." I've always hated that title, by the way. I feel like it has a very negative connotation to it. People assume we were the clingy overly dramatic couple that was on-again off-again throughout the years. Ok, or I assume that people assume that. Maybe my assumption is off. Never the less, I'm certain anyone who knows us well will tell you that we're anything but that. In fact, Brandon and my relationship is the easiest one I've experienced. I mean relationship in general, not solely romantic. I'm lucky to say that I suppose. Anyway, we've been together since February of 2003, our Junior year of high school.

We graduated in 2004 and both went to community colleges around our home town. Brandon played golf all through high school and received a scholarship to a nearby CC in Tacoma. I went to the closer CC here in Olympia. I finished my Associate's in December of 2006 and we made a BIG move to the desert on 1/1/07. Arizona was full of promises for us. A big University for myself and golf courses galore for Brandon -- seemed like it would be so perfect! However, there were several things that brought us back to the Pacific Northwest. Our families were the main reason, though. Money was a second contender! Turns out, it's really expensive to golf all of the time and out of state tuition is even more expensive! Ha! Not to mention that this girl was BORN to be in the PNW. 119 degrees is not my cup of tea. Ever. Period. While in Arizona we had some great times, met some great people and learned to be a bit more independent. Brandon proposed to me at a gorgeous hotel in Scottsdale on December 16, 2007. We moved home the first week in February of 2008. We bought our first house in June of 2008 and were married in August. **WHEW** We were busy for the first half of 2008!

The latter half of 2008 brought some great struggles within my family that have lasted through 2009. We lost my dear step dad in February of 2009 and I still can't believe he's gone today. I've began back in school to finish my BA and we both work at Brandon's family's business. We're both essentially bartenders but we both do a little bit of everything around the place. Brandon does managerial type things and I can be found either cleaning or bartending/serving. I have grown to love the place and enjoy my time spent there. I also care take for a 8 month old little girl. She's such a doll and I love spending time with her!

Over the years we have acquired four animals. We only have three of them currently. Our first baby was Libby. She's quite the cat! She has quite the attitude but is a very beautiful girl. Next was Jackson, found running on Lindsay Road in Mesa, Arizona. He's an 8 year old Border Collie with quite a history. After Jack was rescued I received my very favorite *boy* kitty for Christmas in 2007. Riley was the perfect tabby with white toes and he was as friendly as any kitty could be. The last addition really wasn't an addition for me, but was for Brandon. Rainie is my family's pet that found herself homeless after my step dad passed last February. She's a 14-16 year old (we adopted her so we're not sure of the age) chow/golden retriever mix. She's a pain. I love her and I heard Brandon tell her the same today. Unfortunately, she is old and that comes with quite a few challenges but she can't control her age anyway, right? Let's just say that I wish I owned stock in Bounty and it's not for cleaning up kitchen messes. However, she has gone through just as much grief as the rest of us this year and I'm happy to announce she hasn't had an accident in over two weeks! I am sad to end the pet segment of this post with the news that Riley has been missing for over two weeks. I miss him dearly... all of his family does. Libby spent all of last week checking each room for him, meowing constantly. She hasn't touched his food dish and hasn't left our sides for every moment that we're home. I miss my favorite *boy* kitty. I say that *boy* part so I don't hurt Libby's feelings. She knows she's my favorite *girl* kitty. :) Anyway, I can hope that Riles will come home... but the odds are that he's in Kitty Heaven now and his Mama misses him. :*(

Yes, I am a crazy pet owner. All of my animals have several nick names and I talk to them all of the time. They are my (our) life, that is for sure. Spoiled as ever. I am the type of person that cries when those danged ASPCA commercials come on. You know? The Sarah MacLaughlan ones? Sheesh.

Now that I'm full blown crying over my cat's disappearance, I better go for now. I know that was a lot of information crammed into one post. But, I figured I'd try to catch everyone up really quickly. For now, at least.

Have A Beautiful Week!