Artist, Handicrafter, Teacher & Entrepreneur. Proud Navy Veteran, 20+ years with the VA, currently working on my Innovation and Leadership degree at SOU.
I am an extrovert. I am a talker and I enjoy being around people. I am always striking up a conversation with strangers while in line at the bank or supermarket. I smile and nod at people when passing them in the street or in the hallways. In school, I always sat at the front of the classroom, and never had a problem participating. Because of this, I was teased and called the Teacher’s Pet.
There are a lot of perks to being an extrovert. I find it extremely easy to meet new people. I even ended up getting a promotion because of it. I was commuting on the train to work and started chatting with another passenger who happened to worked at the same VA Hospital I did, though she was in another department. We became friends and one day she told me about a job that was coming open soon. She even gave me pointers that helped me get the job. I never would have known about it if I hadn’t talked to her that day.
Although I enjoy being with people, sometimes I need alone time to recharge. And I don’t always need to be talking with someone, or be up their butt all the time. I am content to just be in the same room with them. Though I usually do talk a lot, LOL.
Extroverts come in all flavors. Some of us are shy, some love to read, and some are very artistically inclined. I came across this really interesting article on psychologyjunky.com about the different types of extroverts. Click here if you are interested in learning more, or even finding out your own personality type.
ENFP: Extroversion, iNtuition, Feeling, and Perceiving
I am an ENFP, which stands for Extroversion, iNtuition, Feeling, and Perceiving. ENFPs are team players, insightful, innovative, adaptable and think outside the box. We are creative, a jack-of-all-trades, and we excel in those things that interest us. But we sometimes stress out too much, overthinking things, and can be disorganized and messy. This seems to describe me pretty well. What about you?
Daydreams are fantasies you have while awake that distract you from reality. Most people daydream when they are bored. I sometimes daydream on purpose, just to see where my thoughts take me.
Most people equate daydreaming with laziness or a lack of focus, but studies show that daydreamers are intelligent, creative, and have more efficient brains. When I am talking, my brain is going a mile a minute. My family thinks I am so random!
Some people look at me in amazement and wonder how I came up with something. But I can always explain the link between my thoughts, kind of like that gameshow, Chain Reaction, where you start with Crochet and end up with Goat.
I think daydreaming is a good thing. It’s fun and lets you think about all the possibilities life has to offer. It is great for problem solving and stress relief. Sometimes, when you take your mind off the problem, your subconscious will take over and come up with the solution for you.
I have been creating art and handicrafting for as long as I can remember. The earliest thing I remember making was in 3rd grade. It was a little monster made out of clay that was painted and fired. We each took a ball of clay and stuck our thumbs into them to make a bowl shape, then we decorated them to look like cute little monsters. After that, I was hooked.
My parents were very creative, too. My Mom was an amazing seamstress. She sewed clothing for us and I remember my Barbie dolls being the best dressed dolls around. She also crocheted and she taught me to knit. My Dad was the artist. He was a photographer and painter. He even painted his own backdrops for his photography studio. So, you see, creativity is in my genes.
Everyone in our family has blue eyes. All my aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, siblings and children. Everyone except for my one nephew, who has brown eyes. We jokingly call him our changeling!
Our blue eyes are very striking, too. Some people call them electric blue. I call mine “mood ring eyes” because they change color depending on what I am wearing. They don’t actually change color, they just reflect the color of my clothing or even my eye makeup. I often get asked if I am wearing colored contact lenses.
picture by Brett Hayward
Some interesting facts about blue eyes:
Only about 8 percent of the world’s population have blue eyes and they are typically people from nationalities found near the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe.
There is no blue pigment in blue irises. Blue eyes have less melanin than brown eyes and get their color the same way water and the sky does — they scatter light so that more blue light reflects back out.
All blue-eyed people may have a common ancestor. According to researchers at the University of Copenhagen, a genetic mutation in a single individual that lived in Europe between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago led to the development of blue eyes, and is therefore the likely cause of the eye color of all blue-eyed people alive today.
This is a scrapbook page I did for my ABC Book of Me. I am definitely an Ancestor Detective. Doing genealogy is like solving a mystery. You start with just a few facts, you search for clues, then you evaluate the evidence you find.
Ancestry.com is my hero and I am not getting paid to say so. My parents had both passed away before I was ten years old, so I didn’t know much about my family. I started my family tree with only my Mom and Dad, my Dad’s parents and siblings, and my four cousins. I didn’t know much about my Mom’s side of the family at all, and nothing beyond my paternal grandparents. But it can be done. As of today, I now have over 4300 people in my tree and have even met some of my long lost relatives.
So far, I haven’t found any criminals, pirates, or other scoundrels. But I have found a lot of pioneers and patriots. I have tracked several of my lines going back to Revolutionary War veterans and some of my Pruyne ancestors were early settlers in the colony of New Amsterdam, which later became New York state.
Proud Veterans
As a veteran myself, I was very happy to find my family has a long history of military service. I served in the Navy during Operation Desert Storm, my parents were both in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. I have ancestors who served in WWI, and WWII, fought for the Union during the Civil War and several ancestors who fought in the Revolution. And the tradition continues as my nephew is currently serving in the Army.
Well, as I said in the last post, I have resolved to post at least once a week, and since there are 26 weeks left in this year, and 26 letters in the alphabet, I decided to start a new challenge called the ABCs of Me.
I came across this idea while scrapbooking and thought it was interesting. Each day, take a different letter of the alphabet and pick an adjective that describes you that starts with that letter, then post it on your blog.
Some letters are harder than others. The easiest way I found to do this is to google “adjectives that start with the letter ___” and then see which one describes you best.
Are you up for the challenge? Here are my simple rules.
Write a blog post for each letter. It can be as long or as short as you wish. It’s up to you.
I prefer to do them in alphabetical order, but it isn’t required. Just try to do as many of the letters as possible. Can you get them all?
Have fun. Add pictures, videos, songs, poems, whatever you like. It’s your blog.
Leave me a comment below, along with a link to your initial blog post.
Again, I want this to be fun. No judgements. If you comment on someone’s post, please be kind. Alright, let’s go!
Just Kidding! Well sort of. Today is my birthday and I have now completed 55 revolutions around the sun, so it is the beginning of a new year for me. And what does everyone do for the New Year? Make New Years resolutions! I officially resolve to post here at least once per week for the rest of this year.
Where do I start? Well, there are 26 weeks left in this year and 26 letters of the alphabet, so I think posting the ABCs of Me would be perfect. You simply take each letter of the alphabet, pick an adjective that starts with that letter and write about how it describes you. Easy Peasy!
Feel free to join me in this fun challenge! I am going to be doing mine in alphabetical order, but that is not a requirement. You might find it easier to write out the letters and choose all the adjectives first. I did an internet search for “adjectives that start with a” and so on, and then picked the ones that I felt described me the most. You can also take one adjective and look for a synonym that starts with a different letter. The letter X is a hard one, so many people use words that have the letter X in them, like eXasperating or eXhausted.
Then you can write a sentence, write a poem, tell a story, use a photo, or a combination. Just have fun with it. I know I will.
If I Were On a Deserted Island, What Would I Want to Have With Me?
water, food, shelter, fire, clothing
There are many people that are preppers and the motto of the Boy Scouts is “Be Prepared”. At the bare minimum, we need water, food, shelter, fire and clothing in order to survive. In this day and age, we are seldom very far from civilization and the ability to get our basic needs met.
Survivor TV Show
I used to watch the TV show, Survivor. The contestants were not allowed to bring anything with them but basically the clothes on their backs, and had to find items to help them survive through the first few days until they could win items like food, or blankets. Some would try to smuggle things in, but they usually got caught.
Remember the TV Show, Lost? That was one of my favorites. The people were on a flight from Sidney to Los Angeles when their plane crashed on a mysterious island. They were lucky that they could find some of the luggage and use the items for survival. And they had each other to depend on.
Another show I loved was Survivorman with Les Straud. He would be dumped in various locations with only his trusty multi-tool and very minimal items. He would show how to use what you could find in the environment in order to survivor. One episode showed him running out of gas on a trip through a snowy wilderness. He cannibalized the pickup truck, and showed how you could use everything in the truck, like the seat covers, the wiring, etc., to ensure your survival.
Well, I hope I never get lost or find myself on a deserted island. But, if I do, here are some things I would want to have with me. Some of these things are easily carried on you with minimal effort. Hopefully, I was on a boat that got shipwrecked or run ashore, instead of a plane. Some things, like a knife, would never be allowed on a plane, but are likely to be on a boat.
A Metal Drinking Bottle. This could be used to boil water and store it. It could also be used to cook in, in a pinch.
A Lighter or a Flint and Striker. Fire is essential for warmth and safety from predators. It is good for light, to cook food, and to boil water.
A Multi-Tool (like Les Straud). These are kind of like a grown-up version of the Swiss Army Knife.
A Combination Mirror, Whistle and Compass. This is a nice little tool that would come in handy to signal possible rescuers and help you navigate your environment. They usually have a waterproof container for matches and tinder, and a lanyard to hang it around your neck.
A Solar Charger for My Cell Phone. Depending on where I am stranded, I may have cell service, but if not, I could still use it for entertainment purposes. I have downloaded e-books, music, and some games that don’t require a wi-fi connection.
An Emergency Blanket. These little silver blankets are pocket sized and can keep you from losing your body heat, or maybe be made into a light weight shelter from the rain, though they aren’t very sturdy.
A Mini First Aid Kit. This would have at least some bandaids, alcohol pads, neosporin, tylenol, and imodium. Being lost is stressful enough without having a headache or diarrhea! These items could fit in an altoids tin.
Clothing. The best pants to be lost in are the kind that have zippers in the legs so they convert to shorts. The same thing with a jacket that has sleeves that zip off. You could be cooler during the day, but have more coverage so you are warmer at night. And sturdy shoes. I would hate to be lost wearing only flip-flops!
A bandana. These are very useful. They can be used to carry items if you tie up the corners and hang it from a stick (like the hobos had in old pictures). They can be used to strain water, to cool your neck, or as a mask if its smoky or debris is flying around in a storm.
A Paracord Bracelet. I have a friend who is an Army veteran and he wears one wherever he goes. Maybe I should get one, too.
A Big Hunting Knife. A knife could be used for many things, too. Cutting small branches to make shelter, cutting kindling for your fire, as well as hunting and protection. If it has a sturdy enough handle, it can be a makeshift hammer.
There are tons of emergency survival tools. You can spend a ton of money trying to get the best and to try to prepare for every emergency. But the things I listed above would hold me over in a pinch and hopefully ensure I lived long enough for someone to come rescue me.
When I think of superpowers, I always think of the superheroes, like Superman, Wonderwoman, Thor, etc. But we can’t forget the supervillains! Every superhero seems to have a nemesis.
I think the best superpower would be the ability to Teleport anywhere or even any time. The world is a huge place and travel takes a lot of time. Teleporting would certainly save a lot of time and money, and no more intrusive searches by the TSA!
Now the question is, would I use my superpower for good or evil? Would I just use it in order to get someplace in an instant, or would I use it to get into places that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to, like a vault, and steal diamonds and gold?
I would like to think that I would never use my superpower for evil, but I have to admit, it sure would be tempting.
If I Could Time-Travel, When and Where Would I Go?
I am a huge sci-fi fan, so this question has crossed my mind on numerous occasions. Some of my favorite books, movies and TV shows involve time travel: 12 Monkeys, Back to the Future, Continuum, Outlander, Quantum Leap, Sliders, The Terminator, Time Cop, Timeless, Timeline, and Travellers. But, setting aside all thought of time paradoxes, or whether I could change the past or not, I think it would be so cool to observe some of the iconic events throughout history. Kind of like a time tourist. It would certainly let you solve some of the mysteries, like how the pyramids were built, or what happened to the colony at Roanoke.
Personally, though, I would like to see how my ancestors lived. I think it would be so interesting to see their houses, the clothes they wore, what they did for a living, and what they did in their leisure time. I think my day to day life is kind of boring, and they probably did, too. But I would still like to know. I wonder if my descendants would feel they same about me?
HootOwl Handicrafts 