ah...the face of personality

Wells had to take a personality test for one of his English assignments. The description was so spot on, Kaitlyn decided needed to take it too to see if it could really be that accurate. Was it? you tell me. Can you tell which is whom?

ISFJ:
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.


ISFJs are methodical and accurate workers, often with very good memories and unexpected analytic abilities; they are also good with people in small-group or one-on-one situations because of their patient and genuinely sympathetic approach to dealing with others. They are capable of forming strong loyalties, but these are personal rather than institutional loyalties; if someone they've bonded with in this way leaves the company, the ISFJ will leave with them, if given the option.


While their work ethic is high on the ISFJ priority list, their families are the centers of their lives. ISFJs are extremely warm and demonstrative within the family circle--and often possessive of their loved ones, as well. Like most Is, ISFJs have a few, close friends. They are extremely loyal to these, and are ready to provide emotional and practical support at a moment's notice.


An adult ISFJ may drive a (later ashamed) friend or SO into a fit of temper over the ISFJ's unexplained moodiness, only afterwards to explain about a death in the family they "didn't want to burden anyone with." Those close to ISFJs should learn to watch for the warning signs in these situations and take the initiative themselves to uncover the problem.

ISTP: 

Like their fellow SPs, ISTPs are fundamentally Performers (note the capital 'P' :-)), but as Ts their areas of interest tend to be mechanical rather than artistic like those of ISFPs, and unlike most ESPs they do not present an impression of constant activity. On the contrary, they lie dormant, saving their energy until a project or an adventure worthy of their time comes along--and then they launch themselves at it.  


Communication tends to be a key issue, since they generally express themselves non-verbally. When they do actually verbalize, ISTPs are masters of the one-liner, often showing flashes of humor in the most tense situations; this can result in their being seen as thick-skinned or tasteless. 


Like most SPs, ISTPs may have trouble with rote and abstract classroom learning, which tend not to be good measures of their actual intelligence. They tend, sometimes with good reason, to be highly skeptical of its practical value, and often gravitate towards classes in industrial arts

my fave christmas moments

We had a bit of an unconventional Christmas (see previous post) but we still had fun! Here are my fave pics from that day.

 Uh....this is NOT the kind of bow I wanted! Yes, he moped for a couple of hours. UNTIL....

     
 We lived through our very own version of Indians and Aliens. Yes, that is Wells trying to use his bow and arrow against an alien nerf gun. I think the alien (ummm...Lee) won.




Kaitlyn wants to go to college with a "set" of dishes where not one piece matches another. I think her favorite was the goblet that says "Happy Birthday!"





The shirt says it all...accurately describes Kaitlyn's relationship with all things math. In case you can read it, "Dear Math, I'm not your therapist. Solve your own problems."

An last but definitely NOT least. 

My favorite gift, picture, people!! 

the lovely gingerbread house

Yes, I'm catching up a bit. :)

There was a gingerbread house kit one week in bountiful basket so I thought I would get one! I had never made one before so this was definitely an adventure. The royal icing was too dry, the house kept falling apart, and we HAD SO MUCH FUN!!!

 The finished product! You can tell we kinda has some stress but it was fun to make and fun to break and fun to eat. I think we'll do it again. Yup, definitely do it again.

 Kaitlyn's favorite part...the gummy bears making a snowman. Aren't they all just adorable?

The...uh...back door! Yes, the back door! That's what that is. Or, the door for polar bears.

the one that went before

So, I keep thinking back on how last year started. Jan 6 was hard, yesterday was hard...I'm sure to have more hard days as the year goes on. However, I am also remembering all the amazing conversations I had with my kids about grandparents, how I remember them, stories about things that happened, etc. With each death, the kids wanted to know more and more about "back when" and I loved to share what I remembered and they shared what they remembered. We have had a great time.

Then, there were some unexpected conversations about Grandpa Wells. The kids, of course, never knew him here on earth and they wanted to know what he was like, how he was with Grandma, what it was like to live so close to them, etc.

I told them quite a bit and we laughed. We got on google earth and looked at all the land Grandpa owned and that I had free run of when I was growing up. We dug out the video tape of Grandpa sitting in his brown chair and sharing stories. We laughed some more. Wow, how amazing that was! I was able to share my grandfather with my kids.

I am eternally thankful that dad has the foresight to make that video. I am really wishing now that I had one of the other three. I will remember them, my kids will remember them, but memories will fade and eventually disappear. I will take those memories and enjoy them while I have them but will think about how to share more of me and my life with my future (way in the future) family.

a glimpse of the future...and i LOVE it

So, I currently have the BEST schedule ever. There are still some rough times but I'm getting a glimpse of life without having to help with hours of homework. Here's a break down of my day.

5:15 am: alarm goes off and I'm up and at 'em (sometimes more enthusiastically than others)
6:00 am: at work with two hours before anyone bugs me
11:30 am: quick lunch then outside for a 2-2.5 mile walk.
3:00 pm: head for home. find out if the kids need any help with homework (lately the answer is NO!)
3:30 pm: taking georgie for a walk. getting those steps! think about what to make for dinner.
4:00 pm: run to store if needed and then catch up on facebook
4:30 pm: start dinner. get it most of the way done but not completely
5:00 pm: practice piano, do dishes, push through some laundry, blog, whatever needs to be done
6:00 pm: dinner and then clean up and then send the kids away to their activities
....the rest of the evening is MINE! Don't worry. I'm currently sewing on guard uniforms, then I have an afghan to finish, then a cross stitch project, and some reading, and some more sewing and...

I can't believe how fabulous my schedule is. I can finally see time when I can go for a bike ride, take some cello lessons, etc. etc. etc. :)

PS. increasing my steps and watching calories. Lost 11 pounds in 4 weeks, gained 5 over 2-week holiday, lost said 5, on the road to more! Yup...

my fave soup recipes

I love soup in the winter, don't you? I actually love soup all year round. In fact, when given a choice I will ALWAYS choose soup over a salad. I do have a couple of favorite soups that I love to make. I keep losing these recipes and have had a couple ask so I'm posting them here where I know I can always find them and hopefully you can as well!

Taco soup:
This recipe is really just a grab bag of what I have in my cupboard. Here is what I usually include: 1lb browned and drained ground beef, 3 cans kidney beans drained, 1 can black beans drained, 2 cans pinto beans drained, 2 cans corn undrained, 2 cans diced stewed italian style tomatoes undrained, 1 can diced green chilies (if you want a little kick), 2 packages taco seasoning, 1 package ranch dressing mix. Still in crock pot and heat thoroughly. This soup can sit in the crockpot all day if needed! Serve with chips, sour cream, cheese and whatever else makes you go "oh yeah!"


White chicken chili:
Another dump and go recipe but I love it! Here is what you do: 1 lb chicken diced and browned, 3 cans Great Northern White beans drained, 1 can chicken broth, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1.5 cups water, 1 can diced green chilis, 2 can Mexi corn drained, salt and pepper to taste. Put in the crockpot and simmer for as long as you need. Just before serving, stir in .5 cup canned milk (I usually just get a 5oz can) and 1.5 cups sour cream. Heat thoroughly. Serve with chips or whatever else your little heart desires.

Enjoy!

my new year's resolutions

This is going to be a monumental year for me and my family. I am excited to see what really happens! Here are some things I am going to work on.

1. Be a size 12.
2. Ride over 1,000 miles on my bike.
3. Ride at least three centuries (100 miles).
4. Get Wells graduated.
5. Get Wells on a mission!
6. Take my kids to Ireland for a week.
7. Beat Kaitlyn in our YW Medallion race.
8. Remodel the upstairs bathroom (and maybe the kitchen)
9. Buy a new mattress
10. Finish all of Pauline's skirts and shirts.

Ten is good to start with. I'll try to remember to give you a mid-year report.

our holidays

We have had some crazy fun times this holiday season. We have also done a whole lot of nothing!

For Thanksgiving we went to Mt. Pleasant to spend it with the Martineaus that were in town. We had a very delicious dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine! It was so warm, we sat on the porch and watched the dogs run around the front yard. Georgie can never quite keep up with Daisy but it is fun to see her try.

I then had a quick trip to San Antonio. It was very warm but really stressful for me as the day I left, my company laid off 20 people, 2 of which were from my team. I ended up walking around San Antonio for a couple of hours, just walking and walking. It was a very tough week for me. I cut my trip short so that I could be back in the office on Friday. I spent the entire day with my team planning how to do what we needed to do with fewer people and half the budget. I know we can do great things and have pulled out of a lot of the despair. We are doing better but still have so much to do! Oh well, that is just part of life and change.

After that yucky Friday, the kids and I went to the Wells family Christmas party! We had so much fun! The weather was a bit scary going down but not too bad. It gave Wells some experience driving in a snowstorm. I almost lost my mind, but it was good experience for him. Thanks everyone for the fun, food, and visits! We really did enjoy the weekend.

Next came getting ready for Christmas. We took our time getting the decorations up and really just took our time doing everything. We put a limit on the cost of presents this year and had fun trying to figure out how to get everything for everyone. What was different is that the kids actually put some thought and effort into gifts this year. They haven't done that for a while so it was really fun to watch. We realized that this might be our last Christmas together for a while, depending on when Wells goes on his mission, so we just really enjoyed it.

New Year's is now here and we, again, did nothing. The kids had fighter practice on Saturday and counted that as their party. I tried several times to get them to plan a party but they just didn't want to do it. I guess we are just a really low-key family! I'm not complaining much.

Well, that has us caught up. I'll post some pics as soon as I find my card reader. :)

And, my new year's resolution is to be a better blogger so stay tuned!

our third adult

Wells turned 18 this year! I can't believe it. He is looking forward to graduating and going on a mission. He is also kind of stressed because all the Martineaus are telling him how he is the only one to carry on the Martineau name....not sure why that is stressing him but it is. I'll have to find a way to tell them to back off.

Anyway, his birthday was a little unorthodox, even for us. When asked what he wanted for his birthday he said, "surprise me." When asked what he wanted for his cake he said, "surprise me." So, we surprised him!

He got a music/video player for his present. Then we went bowling and then we played laser tag (and yes, we went almost six weeks ago and I still have a bump on my elbow. We still had a lot of fun. Here are some pics of my young adult!



He wanted grilled cheese and applesauce for his birthday dinner so everything was pretty low key. We asked him several times if he was sure, yup this is what he wanted.

 He wanted us to surprise him with cake and ice cream (I think that was just his was of not making a decision). Here is the outside of his cake and we did get him plain old vanilla ice cream because we knew that was his favorite. We couldn't go with a plain old cake though!




See what I mean by no plain old cake? Using neon food coloring, his cake really made a splash! He was a bit surprised. We felt like we were eating play dough.














You know you are mature when you can warm your fingers using just the heat from the candles on your birthday cake.















And no girlfriends? really? we need to change that. :)

Welcome to adulthood Wells! I'm very proud of you.