Madison did her first science project today. Most of you are probably thinking. . . First graders have science projects?? That's a comment I hear frequently about Madison's projects. Most first graders don't have science projects, but due to the nature of the mixed levels in a Montessori classroom she gets to participate in educational opportunities that would traditionally be reserved for older grades. I think it's a great thing to expose them as young as possible. Her teacher is fair in his expectations and evaluations. He does not expect out of the first graders what he expects out of his third graders (but sometimes I do).

Anyhow, Madison NAILED her project. I was so proud of her and I could see her pride beaming accross her face as she realized what a success she had. The entire class and the teacher were very excited at her results and insisted on an encore performance, which Madison gladly obliged. Check out the pics.

Who am I? I found this personality evaluation unbelievably accurate. It's long, and thorough, but they nailed all my strengths, weaknesses, quirks, etc.

How You Approach Life
Wherever you go, you do the right thing. You have an uncanny sense of what is right and what is wrong in this world, and you side with the good-guys every time. People recognize this in you, which is why they might often come to you for advice. People don't see you as judgmental. How could they when you tend to look at an issue from so many sides? Not everybody has the tolerance, or interest, in fairness that you do. But then, not everybody is as motivated as you are to please others.

When it comes to pleasing people, you are a pro. Your balance of insight, kindness and understanding of situations around you is much more developed than most. You are probably a good sympathizer and empathizer, and that adds to your wisdom. You are curious and interested in your immediate environment and you are concerned with how you fit into the world at large. Trouble and unrest on the other side of the planet might as well be in your backyard. You are unusually sensitive to understanding people's plight — even when they come from a completely different background. When it comes right down to it, you're a caregiver — whether you know it or not. Maybe you tend to people's immediate problems, or perhaps you work on a larger scale — pushing ideas, or supporting good causes. Either way, you look out for people.

Though sometimes you might feel under-appreciated for your efforts, you rarely embark on a cause for the glory of it. Still, you do appreciate when people applaud your efforts, or admit that they admire your work ethic and dedication. Even if you don't hear it through your modesty, people tend to trust you, and respect your opinion when it most counts. On a subconscious level, this must have translated into your high-level of confidence about who you are and what you stand for.

As thoughtful as you are, there's still a more spontaneous, adventure-seeking side of you. That combined with your ever-present curiosity leads to a particularly high energy level that people both envy, and want to have around them.

You are warm, giving, knowing, and patient. You go after your goals, but not at the expense of others. Even when you have to step on a few toes to get things done, people have a hard time getting frustrated by you. That's probably because your intentions are usually honorable and you emit very natural, positive feelings. Not to mention, you are unusually reliable and responsible.


Your areas of greatest vulnerability
You are driven to do a good job and take pride in your responsibilities. This brings you lots of satisfaction — not to mention the admiration of others. But do you ever find that you push yourself too hard? With so much confidence and such a strong sense of self, you may find yourself determined to finish a task so you don't let others down. The problem comes in when you feel responsible for situations that may be out of your control. This happens to everyone, but for you, this has a different kind of impact. Be your best: It may help to remember that it's okay to let others down once in a while, to let things go sometimes. You needn't worry that this will become a pattern for you, or that you'll lose your values or sense of pride. Your core competence and responsibility are very deep, solid qualities that you can trust. And knowing this can help you begin to give yourself a break occasionally.

You have relatively high self-esteem and are very conscientious. You tend to be someone others rely on since you're responsible, dependable, and dutiful. You are also probably pretty efficient — you hate to waste time. You like to go about life with a positive attitude — both about yourself and the world around you.

You're known intellectually as a careful, deliberating thinker. In terms of entertainment, you gravitate toward media that is romantic, happy, and inspiring — avoiding the more dark, edgy or sad subjects. Lastly, you probably have interests in a wide variety of things including cooking, eating out, nutrition, travel, sports, recreation, fitness, health and traditional religion.
You are the rare being who wants nothing more than to have a positive effect on the world. Not only are you are driven to make the world smooth and efficient so that everyone can live in harmony, but you actively look for ways you can make this dream a reality. Occasionally, this dream can manifest out a fear that if you don't take care of the problems of the world, nobody will. You may have a lack of faith that things will not be okay unless you intervene.

You have a thirst for highly stimulating experiences. You gravitate towards unpredictable situations and you thrive in those environments. You’d would rather improvise than live by a strict calendar that adds structure to your daily life. You seek out ever-evolving experiences because you tend to find consistent routines boring and unstimulating.

You also like to explore intellectually, which is why you tend to enjoy abstract thinking. With everything you do, you enjoy the challenge of new situations.

How Others See You
People see you as down to earth with a free spirit. You convey your genuineness to others with your ability to focus on what counts — you are not easily swayed by superficial things. You also don't act in fake ways to “get ahead” or to look better than others. People notice that about you and appreciate it. People intuitively trust you with their secrets. They can see that you are not judgmental, and that appeals to many. You are open and free, yet grounded in the things that really matter.

Communication Style
When communicating with others, you are both confident and calm — a powerfully appealing combination. Your even demeanor means it's rare for you to become upset or overwhelmed. In fact, you're likely to act as a neutralizing force when things get really intense. When you're approached aggressively, you're unlikely to react defensively. It is important for you to stay sensitive and realize that what might appear irrational in others may just be the manifestation of their own self-doubt. Use your strength to have compassion for others.

Your Romantic Life
You have high standards for love, believing in one love that outshines the others. To you, successful romance has two aspects: an emotional connection based on mutual care, and doing things together that you and your partner both love. You're happy with someone who enjoys the unexpected as much as you do. You'll both be excited at the prospect of situations with an unknown outcome. You and your well-suited mate enjoy high quality conversation and fulfilling experiences together. You are deep, sincere and willing to take emotional risks. You succeed in romance when you use your intuition and intelligence to choose someone whose compatibility with you goes deeper than the surface.

You At Your Best
You would love it if every day were full of play and freedom. When you can indulge your creativity, zest for fun and knack for expressing yourself, you're at most definitely at your best. For balance in your life, however, it's important for you to build in times of peace, quiet and recovery. Left to your own instincts, you can become overstimulated at times, and exhausted by exploring all of your interests. So give yourself the gift of some downtime. That'll set you up to be really present when you follow your passions for exploration and fun.

Achieving Success
You don't need possessions and status to prove your self-worth. So what does ambition mean to you? As long as you're pleased with what you are doing, there's no need to strive for more. With this combination of traits, you're beautifully suited to finding work that is personally fulfilling and of service to others. You're fortunate to not have self-esteem tied up with external success, so ask yourself what you want to accomplish with all that talent — and then enjoy the process.
What Really Motivates You
Motivation for you is simple: doing the right thing. You have a crystal clear sense of your values — and you settle for nothing less than acting with the utmost integrity. You love to help others, prevent problems and, in general, be the responsible party. You are intensely motivated by your wish to always be part of the solution and to vigorously avoid ever contributing to the problem.
Conflict
You value issues that go beneath the surface so you're not likely to get caught up in petty conflicts. When you do find yourself in conflict with people, it's likely to be people you're truly close to and with whom you're emotionally engaged. The topic of the conflict tends to be something fairly complex and definitely profound and challenging. Your insight and calm help you get through these situations with minimal drama. The only drawback there is that sometimes people mistake your cool demeanor for not caring about the issue. Your challenge is to communicate that getting upset isn't the only way to thoughtfully address a difficult issue.

Getting Unstuck in Your Life
For you, being stuck in your life is not likely to mean stuck in self-doubt or self-defeating patterns. You're more likely to get stuck on a whirring treadmill of activities, ideas and adventures. Although you're often admired for your energy and gusto for living, the downside is that you can exhaust yourself and miss out on some of life's subtler pleasures. Another possible pitfall is that those around you — your friends, your sweetheart, your friends and family — don't naturally run at the same non-stop pace. This means that sometimes you wind up dragging them along on your sprint through life. Your challenge is to slow down, take some time for reflection and recovery. Just remember that you can always step off that treadmill. And when you do, you'll see everything from a new perspective.

Quick Post . . .

New job is going GREAT. I'm really starting to dig in here and things are meshing well. . . better than well. . . GREAT! Attended our annual conference in Orlando and was very well received by EVERYONE in the industry. It's like they were waiting for me. Let's check out the new girl. I felt so special :)

Madison has less than three weeks of first grade left. She came home with her first 100% on a spelling test! We were both very excited. She has stopped biting her nails and they've grown enough that I took her for a real manicure. She felt so grown up!

I'm going home (Miami) for a visit for Mother's Day weekend and Madison is coming too. We are thrilled and can't wait to get down there. I was just there for a short weekend last week, but wasn't able to take Maddie with me on that trip. Here's a picture of me floating in the Florida Keys. Check out those shoulder muscles :)




One final note, and prayer request. My physician thinks I may have basal cell carcinoma. It's the most common type of skin cancer. My insurance would not allow him to biopsy it, so he's made me a dermatology appt. for 5/18 where I suspect they will want to cut me and send a piece of me to some lab somewhere. Pray that I don't cry like a baby for whatever procedures they decide to put me through, and pray that it's all benign! I have a friend going with me to hold my hand, as we all know what a wimp I am when it comes to needles, knives, scissors, and the like in doctors' offices.

That's it folks. Life has been good. House has been messy. Bellies have been full.

Love you all.