Wordless Wednesday: Dinner!!!

Six Question Saturdays: It's Not Unusual...

I'm trying to figure out where all of the readers come from on here. 12 views today alone, but it won't show where they're coming from. Show yourselves!!!!!!

Taking this from Aleisha and adding one more question to it, cause I'm tired. Yes, it was Regents week at school, but my brain is fried after working on my SLOs (student learning objectives...where we attempt to predict what our students will get on the end of the year 85 question multiple choice and short answer exam based off of how well they did on a 20 multiple choice question test at the "beginning" (AKA December) of the year.) 16 pages later, it's done, and let's just hope it gets approved so I don't have to rewrite it all. Cause yeah...teachers should be graded out of 100% with these kind of things...we're totally 100% responsible for how well our students learn. *please note extreme sarcasm*

1. What’s the most surprising or unusual thing to be found in your wallet, purse, or backpack?

I love when I find money in credit union envelopes that I didn't know I had...but that's not really unusual. Umm...I still have sand from Egypt in the purse I used there.

2. What’s the most surprising or unusual thing to be found on your computer’s hard drive?

Some of the music that I have is really surprising...

3. What’s the most interesting thing hanging on your walls?

In my room? I have a papyrus painting from Egypt, a Snow White painting, a Degas painting, and two paintings done by Surapa the elephant at the Buffalo Zoo.

4. What’s the most uncharacteristic thing in your fridge?

Uncharacteristic? Meaning that it doesn't belong in the fridge under normal circumstances? Candles and aloe vera gel.

5. What’s something you’ve done in the past year that you thought was going to be awful but turned out pretty good?

Working at the Science Museum...I wasn't sure how much I would like it, but now I volunteer there every once in a while during the year and hope to go back there to work during the summer months again. The group that I got to work with is awesome!

6. What's something that you're thinking of doing now that is unusual for you?

I'm contemplating joining up on Match.com...seriously. I'm through with POF.com and other free sites, because they seem more like for hookups that I'm not looking for. I'm wanting something serious, and wondering if a paid site is more along that speed. But at the same time, I don't want to pay that much for nothing to come of it, you know?

Wordless Wednesday: Depressed Cat or Whatever

Six Question Saturdays: Myers-Briggs Results

In lieu of answering six questions, I instead answered about 30 to figure out what personality type I have according to Myers-Briggs. I'm pretty rare...awesome!

INFJ: The Protector

(Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging OR Introverted Intuition with Extraverted Feeling)

http://www.personalitypage.com/html/INFJ.html

INFJs are gentle, caring, complex, and highly intuitive individuals. Artistic and creative, they live in a world full of hidden meanings and possibilities. Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the most rare of all the types.

You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener with almost infinite patience. You have complex feelings, and you take great care to express them.

In love, you see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships when they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation.

At work, you stay motivated and happy...as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

How you see yourself: Hardworking, Ethical, and Helpful

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, Weak, and Unstable

Typically have the following traits:

Intuitively understand people and situations

Idealistic

Highly principled

Complex and deep

Natural leaders

Sensitive and compassionate towards people

Service-oriented

Future-oriented

Value deep, authentic relationships

Reserved about expressing their true selves

Dislike dealing with details unless they enhance or promote their vision

Constantly seeking meaning and purpose in everything

Creative and visionary

Intense and tightly-wound

Can work logically and rationally

Orderly and systematic

Use their intuition to understand the goal and work backwards from it

Extreme dislike of conflict and criticism

Extremely insightful, seeing things that are not obvious to others

Have difficulty fitting into our society because they don't fully know or understand how they come across to others 

All I have to say is...yup, yup, yup. That is me.

Wordless Wednesday: My First Ever Banana Boat!

Six Question Saturdays: Randomness

Random today...

1. If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?

Bali and the rest of Indonesia. I want to see the jungles, the crystal clear water, the temples, and all the rest of it!


2. What ability or skill do you wish you had?

Hmm...it would be nice to tell whether people are lying to me or not. That way, I could pick out the fake people and kick them to the side.


3. What was the last thing you drank?

Well, I'm currently drinking a glass of water. But if we're looking for past tense, it would have to be a Tim Hortons caramel latte.


4. What was your least favorite subject in school?

This all depended...I never was a fan of math, until I reached calculus and it just made sense. I hated required reading in English class, but I love to read so I don't really dislike English. I did hate economics and chemistry...let's go with those two.


5. What's the biggest problem facing the world in your opinion?

People's lack of taking responsibility for their actions. Everyone wants to play the blame game, and it does nothing but constantly have it be a circle of fake guilt. Nothing actually gets done then.


6. What is your dream car?

I think that Aston Martins are absolutely awesome...though I'll never be able to afford one. Rolls Royces scream greatness too. My dad had one, and he was great. Again, they're another kind of car that I will never be able to afford. I'd love to have a Mercedes Benz someday though, and that might eventually in many years be possible.

Wordless Wednesdays: Rainbow Cake

Yup...I made it...rainbow cake for mom's birthday, gluten free. You can find recipes on Pinterest...

Six Question Saturdays: Worst Is Far Away

1. What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve done in the past six months?

Hmmm...that goes back to July? I can't really think of anything adventurous that I've done in that time. Am I really that dull? Geez...Umm...it was an adventure driving across New York state by myself, stopping in little places, staying overnight in Syracuse by myself. Yeah, that's what we're going to count for this!

2. What recently could qualify as a happy accident?

Getting a second job at the end of December. I'm finished with training for it, and will probably start up with it next week. Not sure how happy it is though, only time will tell.

3. When did you last experience Buyer’s Remorse?

I experience it every time I get a movie from Redbox that turns out to be awful...all over 79 cents. I've been debating with myself over at least eight months about whether to get myself a Nook Glowlight or to just stick with my Sony eReader that I've had for a couple years...afraid that if I get it, I'll have buyer's remorse. Same thing with a Vera Bradley purse...

4. In what way do people keep underestimating you?

People always seem amazed when I tell them that I'm a teacher. I don't know why. Sure, I never thought I would become one while growing up, but now that I'm doing it, I love it and I'm good at it. Once people see me in action explaining a complicated science concept in a simple easy to understand way, they realize this, but it seems that until then, they look at me like I'm a lunatic or something.

5. What have you got in your pocket?

Absolutely nothing. I'm wearing fleece lounge capris, so no pockets. I don't usually keep things in my pockets too much, because I forget to take it out before they go to the wash.

6. What are you happy to have left behind in 2012?

Bad vibes about myself and my body image. 2013 is going to be the year that I reach my goals...I can feel it!

Wordless Wednesdays: Alaskan Lights

I'm A Construction Zone!

So in getting started with the new year, I downloaded a new app on my trusty iPhone. MyFitnessPal. It's free (amazing cause it seems like such a great site) and keeps track of what I eat and how much I exercise. I guess this is important to me because my clothes have gotten looser, but the scale has not budged at all...which is to be honest, a bit frustrating. I know that it shouldn't matter, because I'm losing inches, but women focus on the scale and that magical number. My goal is to lose 30 pounds...who knows if it will happen or if my body will let it. I'm noticing that celiac seems to pick a weight with you and doesn't want to let you move much from it, but we'll give this a go.

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Let's take a view at Marie's weight journey over the years, shall we?

I started out as a skinny child. As in, there were no tights that fit properly, because they would all bunch up at my ankles. I was a string bean until puberty struck, which led to hips and a bit of a belly, but still nothing awful or anything. I'd say that I was happy with my figure until college...

Freshmen 15 + Parents' Divorce = Freshmen 50

 

Okay, so it's a old photo. I think I was 6 here? But the side shot gives you a clue at how itty bitty I was. I was even short for my age for a little while, not that you'd know that now that I'm 5' 10". Not to mention, you've got to love the late 80s outfits...my mom was a huge fan of putting us in turtlenecks.

High school, sophomore year...still thin...can't complain. Yup, that's me with my violin. I was damn good, won competitions. Wish I could say that I still play, but honestly I've not picked it up in a couple years now.

College, senior year...not too awful I guess, but definitely a butt and thighs. I was starting to feel like a house and uncomfortable in my skin. (I do have to say though, I have a really hard butt. My violin teacher in middle and high school used to call me "Buns of Steel" and it's kind of true. No matter how big I get, my butt stays really solid. I guess I have dancing for all of those years to thank for it?)

This is a few years later, maybe 2007? I had just come back from living in NYC for almost a year, and it wasn't too bad. I was fully in control of everything that I ate, and I tried to be a bit healthy here and there. Plus, I got a ton of exercise in with walking around the city, and my apartment was on the 10th floor with a rarely working elevator.

Don't tell my mom that she's in this blog too, ok? This was a couple months before I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and I was pretty blown up like a balloon...of fat. Trust me, you don't want to see the bottom half.

This is me this most recent summer...2012. Pretty awful if you ask me. This is what I am when I look in the mirror...and I'm not happy with it.

It's all about gaining confidence to be honest. I don't want to be the big girl, or "oh well she's big boned, that's all." I want to feel "just right." I do think I'm pretty, so it's not that. I don't even ever expect to be thin...just healthier and not labeled as being "obese" in my medical record chart. (Yup, saw that when I was in the hospital for my gallbladder right before being diagnosed with CD. Let me tell you, that hurt!)

Gym more often, cutting back on my sugar intake (I don't eat much really, but my sugar intake is insane I've noticed with this awesome app.) Drinking more water and eating out less. I just want to feel better in my own skin.

So here's to 2013 being that year. I'm a construction zone!