Lets Chat Vol. 6

FEELING// A real certified genuine ADULT. We bought bedroom furniture it doesn't get more adult than that (except the other 4028 things I do that make me an adult all day everyday). I mean this furniture didn't even come from craigslist so that should count for bonus points if we are keeping score! When it is all in an installed (not sitting in boxes on my front porch- that is a lie burglars)  and styled (HA!) I'll show yall the goods! 

LISTENING TO//READING//  I downloaded "Pretty Girls" on the recommendation of Kaitlyn, my book sensei, with out as much of a glance at the description because when sensei says to read it you read it. But now that I take a look at the summary I am PUMMMMMPED to get down and dirty with Claire and Lydia and all of their messed up character traits that make books so good! 

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WATCHING//  I pinky promise/ cross my heart and hope to die that reading 11-22-63 by Stephen King is on my list of summer projects (I mean the book is about a million pages long!) but in the mean time HAVE YOU STARTED WATCHING THE HULU VERSION??? Sucked me in. I didn't need a ton of convincing because I am a pretty big history nerd but IT IS SO GOOD. James Franco, who plays the main character Jake, it not nearly as creepy and James Franco-ish as he normally is! the episodes are a little lengthy, but so it the book. It is pick your poison apparently. I pick TV (well right now I do... see above) 

EATING// Nothing noteworthy but I did pin (and buy all the ingredients, but chose to eat popcorn because I am solo for the week) this! 

LOVING// : This article on Superbowl MVP and Fellow Aggie Von Miller, I plan on making my class read it at some point! These uber healthy and super tasty muffins, EUCALYPTUS AND SPEARMINT BATH AND BODY CANDLES -- I would DIE with out them also they are 12.50 this week.  

THINKING ABOUT//  Two things...

1. The 6+ hour solo drive I am dreading making to San Antonio tomorrow.  Seriously HOW did I drive 3-5 hours ONE WAY for 3+ years? MIND BOGGLING. 
2. Despite the helllllllla long drive (that will be filled with podcasts and Buccees beef jerky) I get to spend the weekend celebrating my grandmothers 90th birthday! That is almost of century of spit fire! More on her in the future! 

THANKFUL FOR// Family time! We have aunts and uncles and cousins galore coming in this weekend to celebrate my grandmother! I didn't grow up surrounded by family so I love it when we all can get in the same room together, especially for such a grand occasion as Mother Alice's 90th birthday!

Feel Free to follow all the family togetherness (and the subsequent locking myself in a bedroom to recharge -- see yesterdays post) on 

Instagram//Snapchat:mcs1126//Twitter//Facebook

Being an Ambivert

A few months ago I woke up to a Facebook notification from a former co-woker who had excitedly posted an article on my wall claiming that "we have a name!". The year before we had given our students a personality inventory and when we took the test my co-worker and I came back with the strangest results. In fact whenever I take a personality test, and I am a bit of a personality test junkie, I always get very strange results. I clicked on the link and as I read the article I got more and more excited I HAD A NAME! I HAD A CATEGORY I FIT IN. I am an Ambivert.

The Science of People defines Ambiverts as  "Someone who exhibits qualities of both introversion and extroversion."

Armed with this new information I started to really examine my life and the situations I find myself in and began to see a pattern-- Social structure. The more structured the event the more comfortable I am. Over the past few months I have really learned how to wrangle my Ambivert-ness to work FOR ME and not against me.


Be Prepared
As much as I want to have control over every social situation I walk into that is just not possible (lame, right?). My aim is to be as mentally prepared as possible when I walk into a social situation. In smaller social situations I try to find out who will be there, just knowing names of people even if I have never met them is mentally calming. In larger situations I often research the physical space and or the organization holding the event. For me the more information the better. Often times that leads to a little bit of facebook/instagram/google stalking, but for ambiverts the internet is a beautiful thing!


Ask for a Job
I am always the first to volunteer to help either before the event or after I get there, and it't not just because mama taught me to be polite (for the record, she did ). Having a job allows me to socialize on my own terms. If I feel of wave of introvert I can politely excuse myself under the guise of my job. If I am feeling comfortable and extroverted in the moment I can stand and socialize for a few minutes.

Know Your Quirks
One of the tendencies of a ambivert, or at least this ambivert, is to get really excited and over talk on a common subject/interest. Often times it comes off as being a "one upper" when in fact I am just trying to connect with someone. Knowing that this is a quirk of my personality has really allowed me to slow down and be more intentional with my words. Reese often slightly nudges me or shoots me a quick text if I am accidentally hogging the conversation.]


Know When To GO! 
As an ambivert I recharge by being alone. Somedays I can totally handle being around a ton of people and be "on" for hours upon hours, but I also know when to get myself out of a situation and recharge by myself for a few minutes. Once during a school conference I lied about having lunch plans and sat in my car for the entire hour and a half just to recharge.

Say YES!
Just because I am an ambivert doesn't mean I don't want to do things. In fact, it means I desperately want to do things and be social but I have a hard time initiating. Since I have discovered my ambivert-ness I have tried to say "YES!" to events that come my way. The simple act of saying yes and knowing how my personality works have drastically shaped the way I approach social situations.


Here is  a helpful article, quiz and a funny BuzzFeed listicle on being an Ambivert!

The Lost Personality Type

Quiz

21 Signs You Might be an Ambivert 

How NOT to refinish Furniture: An Anti-Tutorial

 Our coffee table has seen a few too many house parties sans coasters and a stain that didn't scream "Meg". With my Mardi Gras time off and my new found proactivity and high off of two previous successful tangos with stain and chalk paint I decided to refinish it. BAD IDEA.

Stain is the bane of my existence. Stripping stain is cruel and unusual punishment. Stain makes me want to drink wine.

Mistake One: Thinking stripping was an easy task.
It took me ALMOST ALL OF SEASON 6 of GILMORE GIRLS (Read about 6 hours) to get the dang original stain off. Also I think I have carpel tunnel now.

Mistake Two: Color 
I had previously stained a set of shelves and the top of our Kitchen table with minwax "Dark Walnut" and LOVED it. Which is weird because I DO NOT love (or even really like) stain. After I stained the beautifully stripped table with one coat of Dark Walnut stain I hated it which leads to mistake 3...

Mistake Three: Multiple Coats of Stain
DO NOT DO IT. I REPEAT, DO NOT PUT MULTIPLE COATS OF OIL BASED STAIN ON A PROJECT it will be sticky and it will make you turn to reddit for answers. Reddit people, I turned to the dark side for DIY help if that doesn't scream anti-tutorial I don't know what does.

Mistake Four: Chalk Paint over Sticky Stain
I will chalk this decision up to the paint fumes that had been lingering for three days in my apartment. Honestly, I was frustrated and impatient and just wanted this stupid project done so I threw a coat of I- am-so- popular- because- you-don't-have-to-sand-before-using-me-paint (aka chalk paint) on top of the sticky stain and basically watched the stain eat the chalk paint for lunch.


After toggling between chucking the table off the balcony or burning the apartment down I put on my big girl pants and stripped the table down again (see mistake 1!) and painted it correctly.

So to recap I ...
Stripped,
Stained,
Painted,
Stripped,
Painted/Stained,
Lost 4 days of my life and possibly my sanity.

Look at that evil sticky stain eating the paint! 

Lets Chat Vol. 5

Lets Chat// Vol 5 

FEELING// I HAVE NEVER LOVED LIVING IN SOUTH LOUISIANA MORE, we get an ENTIRE WEEK (+1 day) off or with out students for a Mardi Gras break. Pass the beads and king cake because Mardi Gras is my new favorite holiday! Although apparently this holiday isn't just parades and beads... I am going to check out some of the traditional Mardi Gras experiences tomorrow. I have absolutely NO IDEA what I am walking into... but i'll keep you posted. 

THINKING ABOUT//  Two things...

1. Redoing all of the wood furniture in our house over this break. Any redoing posts I need to check out before I tackle this... in an apartment (:/) ? 

2. My old dancers competed in their first competition of the season last week. I spent all day Saturday getting videos and pictures and texts. At first it made me sad but the more I thought about it the more excited I got the opportunity to hang with and coach such a great group of girls!

LISTENING TO// (whispers, again because the last time I did a lets chat it was also Justin Bieber) 

Justin Beiber's new single Love Yourself. Whatever I am 26goingon16... sue me 

READING// Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson

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WATCHING// Due to the advent of Hulu and Netflix  I haven't had regular cable in a few years so I am a TOUCH behind with the reality competition shows that hold such a dear place in my heart

Please enjoy this piece of 2004 with me. 

EATING// QUIONA FRIED "RICE" JUST DO IT, trust me. 

THANKFUL FOR// A BREAK!!!!!!!!!!! I submit that all teachers get a WHOLE WEEK of a break in February! 

LOVING// :This Dress (Thrive dress?), This Eyebrow Wax, This Shop, THIS ARTICLE!!! TEAM LOGAN FOR LYFEEE

When It Just Doesn't Click

I just knew it would all click when we got married.
I just knew it would all click when we got settled into our new apartment.
I just knew it would all click when I started my new job.
I just knew it would click when I got plugged into to a community.

But it didn't. It, whatever it is, didn't click. Honestly, it hasn't clicked quite yet.

I had convinced myself that moving was the magic pill that I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone. It was... for a hot second, but it didn't last long. When a community of wonderful, true, real people didn't materialize at my feet I kinda just gave up. I had rested the last few years on "when Reese and I get married" "when I live in a smaller city" "when I (insert excuse here)".

It was a tough pill to swallow. I decided the best course of action was to throw myself a pity party complete with hats, noise makers and food (poor food choices, actually). Which didn't help anything click-- including my belt. But I finally drew the line in the sand. I am the only one who can make it click.  The pity party ends now.

I'm back at it. I'm gonna make it click.