personality test follow up.

So did you do it? The personality test?

Here's the thing, the reason why I got so excited about that personality test, because it was so unlike many other ones I've seen. Like this example:



Like, the ones where everyone gets the same "fortune" or "horoscope" and each person says, "yeah, that is like me..."

I jumped on board, because Aaron and my conclusions were TOTALLY different---just like WE are. So, anyway, it was funny to note that, indeed, they really were "RIGHT ON" with a lot of personality traits that we each have.

And, a special thanks to one of my all time awesome-est friends, Em Hutch, for taking the test and feeling good that it confirmed that YES, she IS a good teacher (it's intuitive) and now she can have relief for all the grad school she's doing. Nice work. Love it.

p.s. the comment I made in the last post, "PLUS, they are legit and not your mom's crazy cousin with a poodle perm and long sparkly nails (Auntie Fran, I know what you're thinking... this person is made up)."
----there is NO Auntie Fran. I thought it was so funny when Aaron suggested I write that. So, I died laughing and wrote it---in case you thought I was cruel and mean to an Auntie Fran I had. I would NEVER tell someone they had a poodle perm. I might think it, but would never say it. :)

So, you want to know somethings about me, and then Aaron? Okay, sure. I'll tell.

My code was ESFJ (Caregiver, Guardian, Provider).

They love to talk with others, and will often strike up a conversation with strangers and chat pleasantly about any topic that comes to mind.

They are hurt by indifference and don't understand unkindness. (I've never understood why people are mean. Never. And, I don't forgive very easily when people are just plain jerks. It's true. I don't. So, beware if you've crossed me or my family/friends. hA!)

An ESFJ may be prone to being quite insecure, and focus all of their attention on pleasing others. (yes, people-pleaser. that's me. maybe why I used to get hives every time we went home to Utah. oops. that's lame. don't worry, I'm getting over it. The last few trips=NO HIVES! woot. woot.)


Aaron was an INTJ (The Scientist, Rational, the Mastermind). (by the way, he loves that he is called a "mastermind".)
Masterminds are head and shoulders above all the rest in contingency planning.

Masterminds are rare, comprising no more than, say, one percent of the population, and they are rarely encountered outside their office, factory, school, or laboratory.

The INTJ is driven to translate their ideas into a plan or system that is usually readily explainable, rather than to do a direct translation of their thoughts.

They dislike messiness and inefficiency, and anything that is muddled or unclear. (Oops, Sorry Aaron. Remember how you married an "artist"? Stinks for you.)

Decisions come easily to them; in fact, they can hardly rest until they have things settled and decided. But before they decide anything, they must do the research. Masterminds are highly theoretical, but they insist on looking at all available data before they embrace an idea, and they are suspicious of any statement that is based on shoddy research, or that is not checked against reality. (case and point? most recently? buying a new car. honestly, this boy NEVER stops looking at prices in EVERY major city in the U.S.A. trying to find THE best deal, THE best car for the money... every decision he makes is WELL researched. And, if I tell him something I've "heard" or "read" and he's not familiar with it, he wants me to name my source and then he checks it out. He loves it when I tell him (like in Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants), "It's true! I read it." "Where?" "In a magazine." ha. he loves that. Amen to this one!.)


The CONTRASTS:
Melissa: ESFJs are most comfortable with structured environments. They're not likely to enjoy having to do things which involve abstract, theoretical concepts, or impersonal analysis.

Aaron: INTJs focus their energy on observing the world, and generating ideas and possibilities. Their mind constantly gathers information and makes associations about it. They are tremendously insightful and usually are very quick to understand new ideas.


Melissa: ESFJs respect and believe in the laws and rules of authority, and believe that others should do so as well. They're traditional, and prefer to do things in the established way, rather than venturing into uncharted territory.

Aaron: Masterminds do not feel bound by established rules and procedures, and traditional authority does not impress them, nor do slogans or catchwords. (Am I not my mother's daughter? I'm all about catchwords and slogans! And, hello, I am a big rule follower.)



Melissa: Providers show a delightful fascination with news of their friends and neighbors. If we wish to know what's been going on in the local community, school, or church, they're happy to fill us in on all the details.
Providers are extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which makes them perhaps the most sympathetic of all the types, but which also leaves them somewhat self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of them. Loving and affectionate themselves, they need to be loved in return.

Aaron: INTJs spend a lot of time inside their own minds, and may have little interest in the other people's thoughts or feelings. Unless their Feeling side is developed, they may have problems giving other people the level of intimacy that is needed.

Indeed, the INTJ is not overly demonstrative of their affections, and is likely to not give as much praise or positive support as others may need or desire. That doesn't mean that he or she doesn't truly have affection or regard for others, they simply do not typically feel the need to express it.


Melissa: ESFJs are focused on reading other people. They have a strong need to be liked, and have a natural tendency to want to control their environment. (A little embarrassing, I'll admit. "a strong need to be liked..." that's awkward. But, I will attest to the wanting to "control [my] environment". That's why I always drive separate to functions or events---I always want to have a get-away. Amen. )

Aaron: INTJs are ambitious, self-confident, deliberate, long-range thinkers. (I love that mine says multiple times that I'm "self-conscious". That's rad for me.)


------so, I guess we're pretty different. But, luckily, it all works out.

Didn't Paula Abdul have it right when she said,
"I take--2 steps forward
I take--2 steps back
We come together
Cuz* opposites attract"

*true lyric spelling. thank you for inquiring.


Anyway, good times. It's been a cool thing for us. Like, for example, on Saturday when Aaron was driving me crazy with all the times he was checking online for car options in the middle of cleaning the kitchen, I wanted to yell, "TURN OFF THAT BLASTED COMPUTER! Just finish those dishes!"---but then I remembered reading about his personality..."insists on looking at all available data"---so I closed my mouth and shook my head.

He, of course, got around to FINISHING the dishes without me asking/reminding. So, all is well.

I understand him a little better and he understands me too.

Good times in the Wood house. Good times.

a different kind of check up.

Sometimes I get irked with "the system".

In case you think this post is going to be my soap box, well, it will. For a minute at least. And then, you can take some awesome advice and learn some great things. Like a mini college course. Pretend I'm the smart professor. PRETEND! (is it that hard?). Okay? Good enough preface? Great. So, we begin.

Why is there this weird stigma with people going to psychologists? I will confess, I've never been to one myself, but I've always wanted to go. I'm fascinated at the concept of a non-biased third-party interested (yes, b/c they are paid, but go with me) to listen to me talk, analyze it all, and give me advice. Hello? Is that not awesome, or what?

PLUS, they are legit and not your mom's crazy cousin with a poodle perm and long sparkly nails (Auntie Fran, I know what you're thinking... this person is made up).

I mean, why does no one raise their eye brows when you hear someone say, "Oh, I have to go to the doctor and get a physical..." or "I am having an eye exam..." but the second someone says, "Oh, I'm going to a psychologist today..." or "I'm having my emotions examined..." (okay, I know you've probably never heard someone say that last one, but you get my drift). Why does everyone get nervous? Why do they think you are weird? Maybe you are having, dare I say it, PROBLEMS? Who has those? Not me. Do you?

Are you picking up what I'm laying down? Anyway, I think it's lame. I think the stigma needs to change. I think it's healthy for people to analyze themselves and their situations--and then realize what your tendencies are, coping mechanisms, and other insightful information.

(yes, I found this via the world wide web. I wanted to add a picture so this post wasn't too "wordy". enjoy.
I gave it a little guffaw upon viewing.)

ENTER the activity that will change your life. True story, people. Aaron, of course, had taken this little personality test years ago. He's ahead of the curve, literally. Anyway, I'm sure all those years ago he asked me to take this little 72 question (fast) questionnaire. But, I probably didn't. Because I was young and lame like that. Now I'm a mature woman, mother of two, and eat trail mix without picking out only the M&M's---so it makes sense that I'd actually ACT on a good thing when I saw it.

Really, it only takes about 5 minutes to find out a million different things about you, your personality, and the way you do things. Here's the link: Click here. It's a PERSONALITY TEST. My sister, Becca, thought I should include that little tid-bit.

And no, no one is PAYING me to tell you about this. No one is asking me to REVIEW this for you. I'm just doing it because I'm nice and want to let my friends know. It's like you have your OWN MINI PSYCHOLOGIST in your pocket after you take this test and review the results.

Seriously. Aaron and I, literally, spent hours last night reading about ourselves (yes, we're vain like that) and kept saying over and over, "They NAILED it. That is you EXACTLY!"

***So, here's what you do.***
Go to that website (here it is again for you lazy ones who didn't think they needed to click on the link before) and take the test. I'm sure there are hundreds more like it, but this is the one we did and we were amazed at how true the results were.

**UPDATE, I think you should do the "keirsey" one SECOND and the "personality page" FIRST. read the next few lines and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Then, take the LETTERS that they give you and then do a GOOGLE search with those letters followed by the word "keirsey". The top search result is the one you should click on.

Then, if you want to read MORE about yourself, do ANOTHER GOOGLE search and enter in your same letters you received and then follow it up with the words "personality page". The top search result is the one you should click on.


Then read, read, read.

Then reel, reel, reel at how ridiculously crazy it all is that they get you. That someone has finally figured you out.

It's empowering. It's enlightening. And, I want every single person in our families to do it and then for them to let us know their "letters" so I can read more about them.

I think the best tool for creating lasting and HEALTHY relationships is by understanding one another. And, this is a great tool to do that. And, it's free. And, you don't have to get crazy looks from your friends and co-workers when you tell them that you're going to get your life looked at---or rather, a LIFE CHECK UP.
nice. I coined that. good one, melis.

So, do it. Tell your best friend to do it. Tell your family to do it. Your spouse. Your dog. Whomever.

Then, we'll re-convene here and find out what we learned.

Are you excited? I am too. Good luck.

August 2010 randoms + Lizzy comes to town!

Oh, August.  This is always a good month, because it just happens to be my BIRTHDAY MONTH!  What is bad about that?  Nothing. 
Enough of the chit-chat.  Roll the tapes...

A few of the kiddos in their matchy-matchy new reunion shirts.  And, we pretended it was CRAZY HAIR DAY at the Wood School of Life.  Tillie definitely wanted to participate, so I obliged.  Cal thought it would be cool, but since he is lacking HAIR, we couldn't go all out for him.  Better luck next year, buddy.

 

::: Lizzy decided it was time.  Time to come to visit.  She's been here so many times, it's crazy.  But, we always love a little lizzy time.  She had a few places she wanted to eat when she came.  Long Horn Cafe was one of them.  How could we refuse?  We love that place. 

can you feel the love?

can you feel it?

oh yes, we feel it.

 ::: Craft time with Aunty Lizzy.  We decided to JAZZ up some t-shirts.  Here are the fruits of our labors.

in a little bit of a daze.

wow. same outfit. same daze. different pose.

 

 

 

 

And the gold ribbon goes to:
MATILDA!  or so it seems...

she was really excited.  can't you tell?

 

there we go!  Normal self.

 

 

cue the pant-less wonder.  Sorry Calvin.  I am the laziest mom---EVER!

 Thanks for the fun trip, Liz-berty.  We love when you come to play!

::: Next up, Tillie has been in a major BEAUTY AND THE BEAST phase.  She loves that movie and can quote more lines than most children her age.  What do you do?  (limit movie time? we do. kind of.)  ANYWAY, she LOVES to throw on her tutu and dance with someone during the infamous ball room scene.  Aaron happened to come home at the perfect time that day.  He got to be her dance partner.  Pretty cute.

::: After Em and Lizzy's trips down, I had caught the organization bug.  I was ON FIYAAH!  Really, though.  Sometimes it is amazing how motivated I can be.  I found this tutorial on my friend, Hannah's blog.  A great solution for random bits and pieces of ribbon.  I learned, if you have more than 5 feet of ribbon, though, it's probably better to just keep it on the spool.  Trust me on this one. 

What did Tillie and Calvin do during my GREAT ORGANIZATION purge of August?  I had the GENIUS idea to lock her in her high chair with some play dough.  Calvin?  He slept.  Just like a good baby should.  :)  Good good.
Tillie is in love with play dough.  Here she is making some SNAKES!

 

Here Cal is being crazy.  When he's awake, he's crazy.  When he's asleep, he's peaceful.  Amazing how that works.

:::Tillie looked like a commercial or something.  Perfect smile.  Perfect bang trim (oh wait).  I can just imagine her saying "More Ovaltine Please!" or something equally creepy.  Made me laugh.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

::: The things I do for my kids.  Just kidding.  If Aaron were writing this, he'd say the things your mom does for herself.  :)  Once upon a time, I decided to participate in a play group.  Remember?  Well, I had this glamorous idea to do face painting for the girls.  I was SURE they'd love it and sing my praises forever more. 
But, they didn't.  Tillie was the ONLY one who wasn't afraid of me.  Nice.  I even did it on MYSELF first, so they could see how easy and painless it was.  They wouldn't budge.  But, Tillie did.  So, we looked cool.  Sad the other girls missed out on the fun. We were the CAT's pajamas.  Too bad the "Ears" I painted on myself look like creepy eye brows.  But, the kid looks good.  That's all that matters.

Let's get a closer look at that darling little kitty cat.

So, there you have it.  The missing pieces of August.  Boo-yah.

I know. I know.

So, I haven't been updating. I know. I know.
My oldest sister, Emily, just spent a lovely week here and we've been busy re-organizing (that's what happens A LOT here), painting furniture, having fun...

Oh, and did you know we went to Utah for the weekend a two weeks ago? Yes, my friends.

Real life has happened, thus BLOG life has been put on the back burner.

But I had to share this. Aaron sent me a link to this video, and I am just amazed. Yes, it kind of makes my stomach churn to see spiders and flies, but honestly, I was fascinated watching how a spider makes her web and how perfect it is! You will be amazed too.

Anyway, if you have a few minutes, feel free to watch. The hymn keeps running through my head, "For the beauty of the earth..." Man alive, pretty amazing stuff.

Birthday, Em comes to town, and WHITE paint.

So, I know many before me have said what amazing things a can of paint can do---but now, I'm a believer!  I remember when we were looking at houses a few years ago, I had a REALLY hard time looking at a house's potential when all I saw were disgusting rust colored/bright pukey green walls.  Lucky, for me, we found a great house with a good price WITH all white walls.  :) 

I'm a big fan of white walls and white furniture.  Always have been and I think I always will be.  It is clean.  It is bright.  It is fresh. 

Anyway, I had the idea in my head that I wanted to try painting our entertainment center & our armoire white, but I knew it'd be a big undertaking. 
So, I suggested that Aaron do it for my birthday. 
He loves me.  He's always needing gift ideas. 
Perfect. 

So, it was my birthday, and guess who was a featured speaker for EFY (Especially for Youth--a church youth camp) in SAN ANTONIO that very week?  Yes, that'd be my amazing sister, Emily.  Awesome.  She finished her session on my birthday, so we picked her up and hung out.  Here she is in the midst of teaching.  It was awesome.  She's such a great TEACHER!  If you know her and have sat in on her lessons, you'd totally agree.

 

Anyway, if you remember, what I wanted most for my birthday was my furniture painted, so we enlisted Emily's help.  :)  hA!  Ah, free labor.  We're lazy.  What can we say?  She was the ultimate champ in helping me get organized and finding supplies to help me put my life back in order (why do I always have to have people help me get life back in order?  hmmm... let's analyze that one later).

em bought tillie a new pop up book.  so darling.

 The before picture.  Why I didn't take one of the armoire, I don't know.  (the armoire was gifted to us from our dear Bishop's family when we moved.  we SCORED when we moved!)

my parents have had this entertainment center since forever.  Did they bring it home from Hong Kong?  It's been around for a LONG time.  They graciously let us take it Texas when we moved.

The painting process.  If you know about South Texas summers, you'll remember how STINKIN' HOT it gets.  It doesn't cool off in the night.  It just stays 100+ degrees.  So, we decided to not MELT and paint both pieces in our kitchen.  

Enough smiling!  Picture me in the background cracking the whip.  "Get to work!"

okay, I helped a little bit too.

Lots of fun painting.  Can't you see it in our faces?  The house was in SHAMBLES for a few days.  It was crazy.
Here we are doing a little reorganization for the paper supplies that would be in the armoire.  We bought some file boxes and cheery new file folders.  Em was such a big help!  Oh, and we decided to get hair cuts from my cute friend, Bre.  Here we are sporting our new hair styles.

Tillie and Aunty Em make a great pair.  They both love to read.  I think they both were in heaven.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun chatting and hanging out while Em was here.  Her birthday was two days before mine, so we cashed in on a ton of free birthday meals... including TWO birthday breakfasts from MiMi's.  Score.  Too bad we had the same waitress BOTH times.  She didn't think we were as cool as we did.  Oh well.

It was great.

Thanks, Em. 

Oh, and here is the fruit of our labors.  Why I haven't taken any of the armoire is beyond me.  

I'll do it soon.

Let's look at the before ONE more time, so you can remember ALL THAT BROWN.

 And the BIG REVEAL! 

So many pictures. So little time.

 

 

 

 

So, there you have it.  Sorry the lighting is a little weird in that room, but you get the drift (after I've showed you 6 pictures...).
Happy Birthday to ME!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I'm not too awesome with pictures, but here's a couple to celebrate Melissa's big day!This is tillie screaming happy birthday mom, with love from me and my play-do bracelets

Here's calvin gettin excited for the big day
Here's the two of us from 2004
Here's melissa doing some jumps!

And finally - It's melissa with the original poppin' of the collar

OK everybody!!!

Today is the day to honor miss MELISSA! 22 years ago she was born, August 4th is a special day in our house.

Melissa is AWESOME. She makes the kids laugh every day and she makes me happy every day. She is an awesome cook, she always has the kids doing great activities with each other, and she always has a way of making me feel like I'm the luckiest husband in the world.

Besides being the greatest wife I could ever imagine, she is an amazing storyteller as y'all know by the blog. Melissa is always singing with the kids and in turn, the are now singing back to her. Even little 7 month old Calvin has started singing.

It's funny to see how the kids take after melis... Matilda and Calvin can both be screamin/sad/tired in the car and all we have to do is turn on the radio and the kids start singing or go to sleep. Another way the kids take after mom is, you've probably noticed from the pictures, they are incredibly CUTE! Good work on that, mom!

Thanks for looking out for us and being mom and wife to us. Melissa , you could be doing any number of amazing things with your life. You could be a famous artist already with shows in galleries around the world, you could be a politician - (everyone who meets you loves you, <----- I'm glad calvin got that trait from you), you could be a graphic designer doing awesome logos at some great advertising firm, you could be a broadway star ( I know your singing voice and I know you dancing abilities), you could be a stand up comedian, you could be a counselor, you could be a movie star, you could be a model, you could be anything you want.

Calvin, Matilda, and I are all just way more than too lucky to imagine that you ARE ALL THOSE THINGS, and you are all those things for us in our house. Thanks for being everything and more. Love you always and forever....

from... your #1 fan ( I know people will argue me for the title...)

Family Reunion: Wood Style, August 2010

Aaron's little brother, Tyler, got home from his mission from North Carolina!  (WHOOP! there it is!)  In honor of his return, and in honor of the new tradition, we decided to have a REAL family reunion.  It was really great.  We stayed in a cabin in beautiful northern Utah and had a weekend of good old fashioned fun.

Here's what we did...  (aaron was in charge of the captions. can't wait to see what he wrote.)

i think this pinata was given the name ernest p. fluffyspurs... i think

garrett is a really good athlete... watch out  (he ended up knocking fluffyspurs's head clean off)

little girl cousins gettin' in on the act

taking a breather

we had to let the other guys have a turn after garrett's wrath, so we put his head on again as good as we could and hung the pinata again

caden getting ready for the bigs

create your own caption here... i got nothing

did someone say chocolate cake?!

adam must've just said a good one 

when you're the best of friends...

you're not even aware you're such a funny pair

having so much fun together

you're the best of friends... oh wait, i mean mom and son (but you can be friends)

calvin wearing a hat... and wearing it well

*The craft portion was our plan.  We brought the paint, Gma & Gpa Wood provided each family with colored t-shirts.  We all had a logo to work with (Wu-Tang Clan (who's that?) modified to say WOOD. Aaron's idea. I thought they turned out rad.).  Here we are busy at work...

 

 

 

 

I think this one speaks for itself

 

 

 

 

 

thanks for helping us set up the shot G!

 

 

 

 

 I thought these last few on the flight home were pretty funny.  We were lucky enough to get these front seats (what's the word, Aaron?  (here ya go melissa... BULKHEAD... but, there was no bulkhead, so we can call them row 4 seats)  ---when they were serving the First Class passengers their fancy delights, they did this.  Adding insult to injury.  Nice.

 

Ta Da!