Discover Your Strengths...Go Ahead, Assess Me

Marcus Buckingham = business book mega-CRUSH

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I believe I've mentioned before that I am indeed an assessment junkie.  My field is often under the HR umbrella in the corporate world and we assess, self-assess, behavior assess like crazy.  And I love it!  My most recent favorite thing is the StrengthsFinder material.  So it really probably started because of Marcus Buckingham, the books he wrote and the video he was in.  How can you not smile at him?  And his accent?  (Sigh.)

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Anyway, all kidding aside, I think that the StrengthsFinder assessment has helped so many people at my work.  To me, this stuff is a no-brainer; we are all different, need to focus on each other's strengths, blah, blah, blah.  But to others, a light bulb goes off.  So if you haven't checked out any of Buckingham's books or the other books written about StrengthsFinder...go.  Do it.  It will be well worth it, I promise. 

AND, need some help with your kids?  There is even a StrengthsExplorer for youth aged 10-14 and a StrengthsQuest for high school and college students.  And How Full is Your Bucket? has got to be one of the best kid books ever.

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I guess it's no surprise that one of my Top 5 Strengths is COMMUNICATION!

Whatcha Might Not Know...The Truth

<Whatcha Might Not Know are Wednesday posts that are just that...something quick that you may or may not know about me, my family, my neighborhood, my city, my world, etc.>

Last week I did a post with 9 Truths and a Lie.  Go back, read it first.  For real.  Or this won't be funny make sense.  Drumroll, please.

I did go to Disney with my entire family thanks to the generosity of my grandparents.  However, due to that generosity, I did not put up a fight over the childish t-shirt.  I wore it and even smiled for the picture.  So here's a picture of me in the hot-pink shirt that I still own in a box somewhere in my basement.  I blurred out my cousins so that they will not kill me for posting this picture.

And, yes, I did sing "Rudolph" in our production of Santa's Frosty Follies (a bonus picture for even following up) along with all of the other truths listed:

Top 10 Names for My iPad



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I'm loving my new iPad.  More than my children I'd like to admit.  I'll have another post soon about all of the fun time suckers things I am able to do with it.  In all honesty, it's probably saving me some time with multi-tasking, etc., but it is truly a TOY.  An indulgence.  But now I must name it, because every iPad needs a name, right?  No, I opted out of engraving it (because that just seemed weird), but I still think it needs a name.  I asked for suggestions on Facebook and here are a few of those (the first 5) along with my own additions (the last 5).

1. GAL 9000
2. "I'm sorry Dave.  That video requires Flash." (So apparently both #1 & #2 were references to 2001: A Space Odyssey which I only know because of Google.)
3. Paddy or Padtrick...due to me being Patricia?
4. Zsa Zsa von iPad
5. Elvis
6. Something from The Golden Girls.  Apparently it's cool.  A co-worker has an iTouch named Blanche Devereaux and a Blackberry named Estelle.  So, Dorothy? Bea? Rose? Betty?
7. Paddy-Cake.  Because Henry's latest accomplishment is clapping on command when you say "Henry, Patty Cake!"  And it's so cute, that if we incorporated "Paddy-Cake" into our conversation more at home, it would be worth it to see him light up and clap.
8. Stella's choices?  Boney, Stella, or Gnomey...what???  Lesson learned.  Don't ask your 4-year old to name the iPad.  Should have known better after living with "Baby Jesus".
9. i-Tampon or i-Kotex.  It comes up everytime you search Google about naming the iPad.
10. Better yet...Maxine.  Maxi for short.  Can't you hear the girls now at the airport arguing, "Give me back mommy's Maxi pad!"  Or asking, "Mom, can I play with your Maxi pad?"

Tough decision, suggestions?  Votes?  Do you name your electronics?  Fess up.

 



Do You Ever Live Kroger Trip to Kroger Trip?

So, not much happening at our house now that Stella's birthday is over.  Who am I kidding?  Not much happening tonight because we are exhausted.  But things are always on-the-go over here and I always seem to be preparing for the next thing...which in this case is a trip to Florida on Saturday morning.  Just me.  And the girls.  We're heading to Ft. Lauderdale to visit my dad for his 60th birthday.  The boys are going to stay home and kick-off the Tour de France all alone.

I pondered which of the many topics in my head to write about tonight, but there are dishes to be done and laundry to be folded...so I leave you with this instead:

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1. I think the above book is HILARIOUS.  And I particularly enjoy when it's read by Samuel L. Jackson (forward to 0:55 where he begins reading).  They couldn't have gotten a better voice.  I wish I could read this to Charlotte every night.  She is our latest bedtime staller.  It drives me crazy.  Because she sometimes wakes Henry while screaming for us.  Our latest tactic is to take her out of her room, walked her all the way to the basement, and then chat with her there.  (It's a rec room, people...not a dungeon!)  She still doesn't like being away from "sissy" and cooperates afterwards in order to stay in their room.  But, back to the book.  Apparently TONS of other parents relate to it as well since it is quickly a bestseller.   But now there is this article pointing out why the book is not funny.  I still think it's funny.  Because I'm living it in my head every night.  Must I say I would NEVER read this book to my children?  I wouldn't.
2. Here is something that I definitely disagree with: teaching toddlers how to pole dance.  Don't believe me?  Read it HERE.  A friend forwarded that article to me and couldn't believe I wouldn't jump on the chance to sign up the girls (ha!).  My reply: "Nah, they are too overbooked right now with swimming, soccer, and the sexting language classes." (double ha!)
3. Yuengling is apparently coming to Ohio in October - YIPPEE!  Now Andy and I can drink the beer we love when we are reading the above book to our children at bedtime after the pole dancing classes just mentioned.
4. This is the best I can come up with for a post when I'm living Kroger trip to Kroger trip.  See I am a grocery planner - I love the list, the coupons, the plan.  Lately, I'm out of my element.  Instead of one organized trip, I keep finding myself in Kroger or Walmart or Target every day picking up the ONE item I need for that moment/evening.  Living like this is driving me CRAZY.  However, I just started using Penultimate on my iPad for keeping my grocery list in a "notebook" and I love it.
5. And speaking of my iPad...just how cool is the ability to put all of your home DVDs on it!  We are using the software called WinX DVD Ripper Platinum with great success.  Loading up the iPad with a few Disney movies to hopefully keep the girls content on the plane. 

More on naming my iPad in tomorrow's post.  Any suggestions???  Night Ya'll...

The Simple Things: Stella's 4th Birthday

Cullen's Abc's - This Saturday's Shout-Out

I was rushing around the kitchen trying to get things ready for Stella's b-day party and also trying to decide on this Saturday's shout-out...what to do this week?  Then I got a Facebook message from a distant relative (both in location and connection).  She suggested I check out Cullen's Abc's on YouTube and on her actual website.  And I'm glad I did! 

How many times has your child come home from preschool or daycare humming a tune, trying to sing a song, and doing some sort of hand motion you weren't sure about?  Charlotte does this constantly now.  I try to decipher, but can't always get it right.  Cullen's Abc's has TONS of songs WITH HAND MOTIONS!  Go...check it out...now.  It should amuse your preschooler for HOURS.

Oh, there are also some other focuses on her YouTube channel.  Seems as though she is an actual preschool teacher in California.  Therefore, she has some great videos on activity ideas for your preschooler as well as Christian Songs and Children Stories. 

I am so glad I came across this.  I will say that it's definitely in "vlog" format.  So don't expect professional videos from a camera crew.  But that's what I love about it.  It's like being in front of a real preschool teacher and each video is short and sweet.  It's going to definitely be saved in my Favorites!

Stella Turn 4 Tomorrow!

Do

you

ever



find

yourself

wondering

just

how

on

earth

did

the

time

go

by

so

fast?

 

Embrace the Camera: Stella's Birthday, Part 1

This past weekend we went to Andy's parents' house

to celebrate Stella's upcoming 4th birthday. 

We even managed to get a photo with all of us in our party hats:

If you can't tell, her cake was a pink soccer ball!

I'm embracing the camera...

Whatcha Might Not Know...9 Truths and A Lie

<Whatcha Might Not Know are Wednesday posts that are just that...something quick that you may or may not know about me, my family, my neighborhood, my city, my world, etc.>

I returned from the dead a stomach bug this afternoon and headed to a work meeting about 30 minutes from my house trying to decide what to post today.  And then Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" came on the radio.  What station was I listening to??  Yikes.  Anyway, it was a sign that it was time for one of the posts I drafted quite awhile ago and have just been sitting on...9 Truths and A Lie.

First inspired by My 3 Little Birds and then by June & Bear, here's my own version.  I loved how My 3 Little Birds was inspired by an icebreaker.  HA!  Sadly, I've facilitated this icebreaker...3 Truths and A Lie.  So, can you guess my lie (hubby - you are not allowed to play)?  Answer will be revealed next Wednesday.

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1. When we lived in Birmingham, former "Bachelor" star Brooke Smith (shown above) was our news traffic lady. I trained for my very first 5K and so did she. We ended up running our first 5K together and cheering each other on the whole time. She was just what you would expect - a sweaty sweet southern girl.
2. In high school, we had a group called STAND (Students Taking Action Not Drugs) instead of SADD.  And I was a part of this group.  So maybe I was the leader of it.  We did a skit about drunk driving in front of the entire school to the song "Total Eclipse of the Heart".  It did not receive a standing ovation.
3. When I graduated from the 8th grade my grandparents took me to Europe with my aunt (5 years older than me) and a bus-load of elderly people.  It was actually pretty cool because we got to see nude beaches we got to see the places from the "Sound of Music" and sat through the Passion Play in Oberammergau.
4. I almost had my second child in a car.  On the highway.  But luckily made it to the ER of a hospital that doesn't even deliver babies.
5. I've declined an emerald ring for my 10th wedding anniversary in order to get a patterned stamped concrete walkway connecting our driveway to our backyard patio.
6. My grandparents took the entire family to Disney a couple of times.  There were 38 of us total (they had 7 kids and I have 20-something cousins).  The cousins had to wear Disney shirts that said "Thanks grandma and grandpa!" on a specific day - boys in blue and girls in hot pink.  And with our names on the back.  Oh, and I was in HIGH SCHOOL.  I absolutely refused to wear the shirt.  See I was the second-oldest cousin and completely embarrassed.  I caused a huge scene and my grandma even cried and called me ungrateful.
7. The first time I had AC and cable was when I moved to college.
8. In the 8th grade I sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" solo on stage with someone in an actual Rudolph costume dancing around me.  Great Christmas program that year, I'm telling ya.
9. I've met both the Slush Puppie King (at a family member's funeral) and Orville Redenbacher (in an airport).
10. While I was at Xavier, I was an R.A.  On the floor with the men's basketball team.  I got to know some of the guys really well.  I even kicked a few of them out of a lunch table once when they ignored our jackets saving the space.  They were extremely apologetic and my off-campus friends couldn't believe what I had done.

So, best guess??  Anyone??

Top 10 Thoughts While Sick In Bed

Seriously, I've been in bed all day with a stomach bug with a short escape to help Andy with dinner, baths, and bedtime.


Here are the Top 10 things that went through my head at some point today.


1. I'm never going to my husband's home town again...every trip someone gets sick.
2. Thank God for daycare. What on earth do SAHMs do with the kids when they are ill? There's no way I could have been responsible for anyone else today.
3. What does Ashley see in Bentley? And why on earth wasn't she shown his interview tapes?
4. When did Oprah end? Not sad yet here...because I still have 20 (yes, TWENTY, not TWO) episodes to catch up on that are DVR'd.
5. How did I forget to watch the last episode of Glee this season...another fun surprise on the DVR.
6. I DVR a LOT of shows.
7. Is Bentley really returning? I do not like this season...but now it's like a train wreck and I can't stop watching. I think I watched 4 episodes today.
8. Do my kids really have to come home tonight? In other words, do I really have to get out of bed? Do I have to be a mom today? I just want my mom.
9. Another trip to the bathroom? Really? Will I ever eat again?
10. Who has the best hubby in the world? ME.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Simple Things: Stella Loves Soccer

Pinterest & Blogging - This Saturday's Father's Day Shout-Out

Happy Father's Day weekend!  This year I must say, I put a really cute gift together for Andy from the kids.  Yesterday's blog post was about the gift from me...BEER.

Well, thanks to both Pinterest and the June & Bear blog, I put together the gift from the kiddos...a framed photo and a book to go along with it.  I saw the framed photo idea on Pinterest, but it originated HERE on Twinkle Toes.  And then I saw June & Bear's Father's Day Gift Book and altered that idea because I had a lot of photos left from the "D", "A", "D" project but I didn't have enough creativity time to do what she did.

Here are some shots of the inside of the book:

Question: What do you like to do with daddy?

Yes, Charlotte answered "Not hit...Not brush/pull daddy's hair".

Daddy's favorite food?  PIZZA!

Where do you like to go with daddy?

Charlotte: McDonald's to see the chickens, but not going to be scary

WHAT?

So if you are not on Pinterest or reading the great blogs that are out there,
then you are probably spending more valuable time with your family than I am

really missing out on some great ideas!