The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly

I had intended to post pics from our weekend today, and share all of our Easter fun but alas, I forgot the camera at home. So that post will have to wait for later. In the meantime, I am stealing Mark's idea for a fun little survey to entertain and enlighten you this fine wintery, Spring day. If you like it, post one to yours!!

Things I'm Not Very Good At

Frosting cakes – I always jump the gun (too warm) or wait too long (too sticky) and always get crumbs in the frosting to where it looks like a crumby mess. What am I doing wrong?

Push ups – This is one of my fitness goals this year. I was once ridiculed and mocked by my Freshman gym teacher who asked me if I knew what a real push up was supposed to look like…too bad he’s not around to help pay my therapy bills. Anyway, I still have to push up from my knees and I let me head sag and my other end sticks up in the air. I definitely need better form and want to get to the point where I can do it from my toes.

Teaching Primary – This is also something that is one of my goals this year. It’s not that I completely suck at teaching primary. I’m just not as good as I thought I’d be and it’s a struggle. I have to work really hard at keeping the kids engaged and helping them to actually get something after the 45 minutes we spend together.

Remembering birthdays – I once made this a New Year’s resolution and by the 5th of January had already failed on my brother Jeff. I have great intentions of sending a card in the mail, or even sending off a quick email. These things are somehow impossible for my brain to negotiate. So, sorry if I’ve ever forgotten or neglected you on your special day…it’s not because I don’t love you.

Doing hair – I appreciate the luxury of paying a little bit more to get a quality cut and color. It’s really one of the only things I do to pamper myself. And they make my hair look fabulous, most of the time. The only problem is I can NEVER re-create what they do. I guess I just don’t have the appropriate tools, or products, or wrist-action to move the round brush properly while blow-drying sections of my hair. I just can’t do it. I’m struggling with my girls too. I can’t French braid, or do anything more fancy than a clip or ponytail. Occasionally I’ll curl their ends under or flip them out, but it doesn’t get much more complicated than that.

Things I Am Good At

“Freestyling” in the Kitchen – As Mark would call it; this action is when you are able to make a satisfying and delicious meal from items in the fridge and cupboards without a recipe. He’s always amazed at my ability to just kind of “whip something up” at the last minute.

Organization – Sometimes it borders on the verge of obsessive/compulsive disorder, but I do have a knack for everything having a place and having a place for every thing.

Name/Face Recognition – I can be watching a commercial for who-knows-what and spot and name the guy who played Brigham Young from the Work & the Glory in two seconds flat. I never forget names and faces from movies, TV shows, etc. and can recall them with alarmingly accurate precision and speed.

Editing – This has always been a skill that has served me well and probably one of my favorite things about my job (tech writer). I actually enjoy reading something with the specific task of looking for spelling and grammatical errors and fixing them, as well as re-working sentence structure, and suggesting alternative words.

Arranging knick-knacks and bric-a-brac – This is also a phrase coined by Mark. He refers to all my little decorations as such. In any case, I think I have a talent at making things look pretty together and arranging rooms, etc. I have always really enjoyed doing it. I can remember re-arranging my bedrooms as a kid, as well as decorating for every season and holiday at my Mother’s request. I got a Fisher Price Interior Design Kit for Christmas one year and wanted to become one as an adult…so much for that. Even if I don’t do it professionally, I can still love it as a hobby.