It is Sunday, so I am overdue for "Some things" from the week (technically last week now, I guess). Last week, I felt like I had to narrow down my list, and this week I felt like I had to really think about what I wanted to say here. I guess I will have weeks like that.
First, I will start with...
1. Something I love...
A few years ago, after one of my best friends had her first baby, I was searching for a special gift for her. As I shared in my last "Some things" post, I really like to get special gifts for the people who are special to me. At a summer festival, my husband and I met a very talented artist. Her name is Jennifer Float, and she sells her work online as well as at art shows and events. We bought our friends a picture with owls. I can't remember the exact quote on the painting...it might have said..."And then there were three," or something like that. I just remember it was beautiful and adorable. Jen's paintings usually incorporate sheet music (apparently she inherited a lot of old sheet music), and she uses it in her pieces. Her whimsical paintings often include a lyric from a song or a poem. The summer after we had our baby, we purchased a painting of three little birds that included a lyric from Bob Marley's Three Little Birds, "Don't worry about a thing...every little thing will be alright." Last summer, we purchased another painting of a bike (my husband LOVES bikes). At the time, there wasn't a lyric on the paining, but Jen asked us what we would like. I couldn't think of anything, and she instantly came up with a quote by Erin Hanson:
There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask, "What if I fall?"
Oh, but my darling,
What if you fly?
When she said this, my eyes welled up with tears. It was perfect. We love the painting. We love the lyric. We love that it was personalized just for us. The painting hangs in our playroom, and it is one of my favorite things that we own. It is the picture I chose for this post.
2. Something I am reading now...
I finished reading Talking as Fas as I Can, which I HIGHLY recommend. This was such an enjoyable and insightful read. I am always sad when a good book ends, but it also inspires me to start a new book. I decided that I wanted to read Big Magic and The Happiness Project AGAIN. (So technically, I guess, I am not reading a new book, but I am reading, and that makes me happy.) I am reading The Happiness Project to inspire me to keep up my own happiness project, and I am reading Big Magic to inspire me to create. Big Magic might just be my all time favorite book ever. My soul needed me to read it again.
3. Something I want to read...
After having a couple of challenging weeks with my almost two-year-old, I think it is time that I start to read up on parenting techniques that work. In The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin talks about a book that she swears by, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk. I also same across this recommendation in a blog post on A Cup of Jo. Up until now, I have had it pretty easy, and as I am challenged as a parent, I really want to try to handle things better than I have been. A bonus would be getting my toddler to stop throwing food across the room and to quit trying to eat her socks.
4. Something I learned...
A very kind friend gave me two bottles of wine for my birthday. One bottle was Cava wine. Over the last year, I have really become a sparkling wine drinker. Red wine was always my jam, but after my pregnancy, I just haven't enjoyed red wine like I used to pre-pregnancy. Prosecco has been my go to sparkling wine, but, I really enjoyed this Cava.
5. Something I want to learn...
I would really like to learn and understand the difference between Champagne, Prosecco, and Cava. I know that Champagne comes from the Champagne region of France, Prosecco is from Italy, and Cava is from Spain, but what are the other differences? I also realize I could answer this question with one simple Google search, but could I learn to tell the difference between these wines by taste? That will probably take a lot of taste testing and practice. I for one am willing to devote the time to research this question. Oh the sacrifices, I make...
6. Something else I want to learn...
I need to learn how to format my blogs so that spaces show up on all platforms. On Blogger, the spaces between paragraphs are fine. On Bloglovin, they often disappear. I think I also need to learn how to get only a portion of my blog to show up on Bloglovin along with the link that says something like "Read more." This could solve my formatting problems. How do people do this, anyway?
7. Something I did this week...
I actually took a bath. I don't think I have soaked in the tub in over a decade. I have been a shower person forever, but for my birthday, I craved a relaxing bath with a candle, a book, and a glass of wine. I finally did this yesterday, and let me tell you, this is so good for the mind and the body. Let's hope I don't wait another 10 years to do this again.
8. Something I am curious about...
I am a sucker for personality tests. I find personality types very intriguing. Are they real? Do we all fit in in one personality type category? Are our personalities fixed? Can they change over time?
My biggest problem with these tests is that my results often change. I am not sure if I am the one changing or if I am I just not answering the personality tests honestly enough - or if I am just accidentally answering them incorrectly. I struggle with selecting what is actually true and what I think is true and what I want to be true. Some items are so obvious to me, but others are less obvious. Clearly, I need to do a better job at getting to know myself. Last week, I took the 16 Personalities Test, and my results said that I am an INFP-T. This test calls this the Mediator personality type. I took the test again today for good measure, and I did get the same results. One day, I want to sit down and review the questions that I find challenging for me to answer. I agree with some aspects of the INFP-T personality type, but not all. For instance, do I always look for the good in people? Sometimes, I think I do. Other times, I find myself not caring for certain people. Sometimes, after getting to know people, I realize that I actually really do like them after all. Maybe my way of looking for the good in people is by giving myself the chance to get to know them inspite of my first impressions.
I am curious about how correct these tests are, and as I said before, whether we can change our personalities. Will my new habits change my personality at all? Or will I forever be an INFP-T? Perhaps I am most curious about whether I am actually an INFP-T? Do I know myself as well as I think I do? I am curious...
My biggest problem with these tests is that my results often change. I am not sure if I am the one changing or if I am I just not answering the personality tests honestly enough - or if I am just accidentally answering them incorrectly. I struggle with selecting what is actually true and what I think is true and what I want to be true. Some items are so obvious to me, but others are less obvious. Clearly, I need to do a better job at getting to know myself. Last week, I took the 16 Personalities Test, and my results said that I am an INFP-T. This test calls this the Mediator personality type. I took the test again today for good measure, and I did get the same results. One day, I want to sit down and review the questions that I find challenging for me to answer. I agree with some aspects of the INFP-T personality type, but not all. For instance, do I always look for the good in people? Sometimes, I think I do. Other times, I find myself not caring for certain people. Sometimes, after getting to know people, I realize that I actually really do like them after all. Maybe my way of looking for the good in people is by giving myself the chance to get to know them inspite of my first impressions.
I am curious about how correct these tests are, and as I said before, whether we can change our personalities. Will my new habits change my personality at all? Or will I forever be an INFP-T? Perhaps I am most curious about whether I am actually an INFP-T? Do I know myself as well as I think I do? I am curious...
Curiously,
Beth
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