My Four Letter Score

WOW. This test is like magic! I've heard/read references to this personality test for years, but I've never actually taken it until now. I'm in the midst of some pretty major life decisions and am scrambling to sort myself out with the help of the convinient therapist I have on speed dail (AKA, my mother). She sent me a link to a Values Test which left me puzzled and frustrated because many of my values are in direct opposition. For example, my top value is "Privacy" and the close second is "Concern for others Wellbeing". Meaning, I desire alone time and helping people simultaneously. Hard to do both. Anyway, after reading my sister's post (she's a Mastermind, and after reading the profile it fits her PERFECTLY) I had to try this test as well.

I am an INFJ. My title isn't as cool as Mastermind (which, it turns out Brian is a Mastermind, too. Hey Rebecca, you and Brian are true personality buddies!) I'm "The Counselor" but the description hits so close to home it's eerie.  Here's the link to the counselor description and another link, and here's the link to the test.

Summary Description
Beneath the quiet exterior, INFJs hold deep convictions about the weightier matters of life. Those who are activists -- INFJs gravitate toward such a role -- are there for the cause, not for personal glory or political power.
INFJs are champions of the oppressed and downtrodden. They often are found in the wake of an emergency, rescuing those who are in acute distress. INFJs may fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless. The concept of 'poetic justice' is appealing to the INFJ.
"There's something rotten in Denmark." Accurately suspicious about others' motives, INFJs are not easily led. These are the people that you can rarely fool any of the time. Though affable and sympathetic to most, INFJs are selective about their friends. Such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words.
INFJs have a knack for fluency in language and facility in communication. In addition, nonverbal sensitivity enables the INFJ to know and be known by others intimately.
Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJs frequently find their niche.

My favorite descriptions of my personality trait are from the first link.

**Not usually visible leaders, Counselors prefer to work intensely with those close to them, especially on a one-to-one basis, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes.

**Although they are happy working at jobs (such as writing) that require solitude and close attention, Counselors do quite well with individuals or groups of people, provided that the personal interactions are not superficial, and that they find some quiet, private time every now and then to recharge their batteries

**Not that Counselors are flighty or scattered; they value their integrity a great deal, but they have mysterious, intricately woven personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.  (Hahaha, that could explain some things...)

**Counselors are highly intuitive and can recognize another's emotions or intentions - good or evil - even before that person is aware of them. (Which might explain some of my trust issues and difficulty making solid, meaningful friendships.)

This is a really cool test, and it provided me with a lot of "oh, that makes sense" moments. Fun, thanks Rebecca for the link :)

Wondrous Words Wednesday

I've been enjoying reading this link up on my sister's blog here , so I figured I'd give it a try.

Hosted by Bermuda Onion

I am currently on a Shakespeare kick. I find the more I read him the more I understand and the more I enjoy his mastery of the english language. However, there are a plethora of words that I am unfamiliar with, or words of whose exact meanings I was unsure (being lazy and just guessing by context instead of looking them up). Here are my selections from "Twelfth Night."

zanies: "I protest I take these wise men that crow so at these set kind of Fools no better than the Fools' zanies."

(1) Subordinate fools in comedies whose function is to imitate the main comic character. (2) assistants, flatterers.

nonpariel: "O' such love/Could be but recompensed though you were crowned/The nonpareil of beauty."

Adjective- having no equal, peerless. Noun-A person or thing having no equal. It also means a small pellet of colored sugar for decorating candy, cake, and cookies and a flat, round, bite-sized piece of chocolate covered with this sugar.

consanquineous: "Am not I consanguineous? Am not I of her blood?"

of the same blood, related. (This word was actually self defining, but I thought it was neat and I hadn't heard it before so I figured I'd add it to the list.)

fustian: "A fustian riddle!"

pretentious, pompous

vouchsafed: "My matter hath no voice, lady, but to your own most pregnant and vouchsafed ear."

 willing, graciously attentive

The following are Shakespearing slang. I don't know if they count, but they might be fun to slip in to casual conversation to see who is paying attention.

sneck up: shut up. HA! Going to try this one out at work...

sheep-biter: dog. Derogatory slang used by Thomas Nash to describe a hypocritical Puritan.

Tulips and Braids!

I love my tulips! I am so excited that my bulb planting was successful :) They are the results of my first real garden. I've planted and messed around in my mom's gardens at home with interesting results (the phlox are still out of control phloxing last I checked, though a bit weedy) but this time the gardens are all mine in front of my own house. Somehow that makes them extra special. I planted tulips because they're big and bright and Brian's favorite flower. I planted these in October of last year while he was in Iraq, and I was a little nervous about his reaction because he's a bit OCD and a little protective of our yard. Me deciding on a whim to construct two gardens at the end of the driveway without his direct supervision was probably a little nerve wracking for him as well, BUT without further ado here are the pictures of my success.

These are around the mailbox.

   
   

These are on the other side of the driveway. Notice how there is only one yellow tulip? Yeah, Brian sprayed weedkiller around my beds. I tried to warn him that weedkiller is indescriminate but he promised me he had been carefull...well, only one of the bordering yellow tulips survived.

  

The other half of my post is on a hairdo I'm a little bit proud of. After scrolling through all the pinterest do's and thinking "I can do that" the creativity bug finally hit with a vengence one night before work. We have to wear ugly, boring uniforms on the ambulance, the pants are way to short and snap at the belly button and the shirts are plain grey polos which are way too big for me. Ugly, and uncomfortable. So last Saturday night I decided to dress my hair up a little bit. Basically I did three French Braids and then bundled the loose braids into a bunch on top. I added some sparkly clips for fun and called it a night. Viola! :)
   

 




 

   I think the upsidedown french braid might be a little crooked, but my normal perfectionist self cut me a little slack since braiding upside down means I have no visual clues to direction and being bent over upside down kinda throws off my orientation.  I still think it looks neat :)

  

Top view! Next time I think I'll be a little more exact with my bundling of braids on top, but I was running out of time before I had to leave for work and I wanted to be able to take pictures.

It took me half an hour-forty minutes to finish, parting my hair actually took the longest. It is really tough to evenly part your hair when it's long, and wet, and you can't see the back of your head. I have a much easier time parting other people's hair, but braiding other people's hair is actually harder than braiding my own. The upside down braid took the longest, I'm still working on getting comfortable braiding like that, it'll take a bit of practice, I was lucky this one turned out so well. 

 

Thats all for now! Oh, except since I last posted I've had two STEMI calls :) (heartattacks)  I never get tired of being able to help people.
 

Bathtime Bravery

Remus hates bath time. Hates it. The first time I put him in the tub and started pouring water via a cup over him off he got so scared he crapped himself. Literally. I had to take my partially soaked pup out, clean the tub, and try again. Double the trauma! I was steadfast in my determination to have a clean dog, though, and took steps to make it as easy and painless as possible. I tried feeding him treats (he refused to eat treats until the fourth or fifth bath, thats how much he hated/was scared of bathtime) I got an extendable shower hose to spray him instead of using a container to pour water. I talked to him, I petted him, I tried to wash him as quick as possible...with varying levels of success.

It's not just baths, my dog is the antithesis of a labrador. He doesn't just dislike water, he is terrified of it. Rivers, creeks, hose water, sprinklers...the only form of water he doesn't mind is puddles, and those only if it is already raining and the water puddles are so muddy I don't think he recognizes it as water. That said, my scardy dog faces bathtime bravely.

I don't have to trick him into the bathroom. I turn the water on, get the nozzle spraying, walk out to the kitchen, and walk him to the bathroom. I don't even need to put a leash on him. He always pauses before he gets into the tub and looks back at me with the saddest expression like "Do I really have to?" but then when I pat the side he dutifully climbs in. There is no fighting, no dragging, no cajoling or tricking. He knows it's coming, and he climbs in anyway. He gets treats during the bath, but he eats them like it is his job, like they bring him no enjoyment whatsoever. He doesn't whimper or whine, he has only attempted to escape once (although if he thinks I'm taking too long he does start to get as close to the outside edge as possible and lean against me to give me a hint) and he even knows not to shake the water off until he's allowed out of the tub. His tail is tucked so far under his body I have to peel it off to wash his belly. And yet he doesn't fuss, he doesn't wiggle, he is a miserable-but cooperative- martyr.

And then after, when I scrub his face with the towel (his absolute favorite part) he is SO HAPPY! It is like he's thinking "THIS IS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD! I AM OUT OF THE TUB!" And it never fails, no matter how many times I bathe him, it is right after he gets out (still soggy) that he is just hyper and bouncy and goofy and the happiest he can be. Reminds me that sometimes trials are worth it, if only because of how exciting it is to get to the other side. I just hope I can face my daily, weekly, monthly trials as bravely as Remus faces bathtime. :)

Remus Woes

Very different from my "It's OK Thursday" link up, instead of the "it's OK" from Remus, I'm going to list a few of his current woes.

"OH woe, ever since I chewed on that puzzle they keep me locked in the kitchen when I'm inside."
                

"Oh WOE, I'm locked in more than ever because they redid the yard after all the landscaping I had done. Ungrateful."
                      

"Oh woe, when I am outside they put me on that chain because I chew through everything else."
                          

"OH WOE! That chain is SCARY! I am going to just stand here and not move and whimper howl."
                     

"ohhh wooeee, she's using that buzzy thing and all my hair is falling off!"
             

"OH woe. This buzzing takes forever and I just can't...quite...eat that bug. WOE!"

He'll really be woeing in a bit because he still needs to be trimmed, bathed, and round two of shaving. (Yeah, his adult coat means first shave is pretty much bushwacking. Round two will tidy him up considerably). Poor, poor fuzzy.

Dreams

I have four types of dreams.

Good dreams- extremely rare. I can't remember the last time I had one of these.

Weird dreams- not good or bad, just, bizarre. By far my most common dream.

Grumpy dreams- they don't come even close to my nightmares, but they aren't any fun and I wake up grumpy.

Nightmares- I don't think these need an explanation.

So yesterday I had a dream that Brian as a dragon killed a kangaroo in some sort of hastily performed ritual, and then we performed cpr on the kangaroo even though we both knew it wouldn't work and then we left because there was an army after us. My dream reaction? I was sad that the kangaroo had to die, she was nice, but I understood why it had to be done.

I woke up very confused.

Anyone else have weird dreams?