ESTJ

Best ex-roommate in the world posted a blog about the Myers Briggs Personality Test. My father is a huge fan of this test and probably knows more about the different types then any human being should. Given the fact that these two people often read this here blog I thought I might provide them with something they would enjoy. So here are the results of the online test I took:

ESTJ

• very expressed extrovert
• slightly expressed sensing personality
• moderately expressed thinking personality
• very expressed judging personality

1. They do not hesitate to give their stamp of approval, nor do they withhold their directions or suggestions for improvement.
2. They are generous with their time and energy, and very often belong to a variety of groups, supporting them through steady attendance, but also taking a vocal leadership role.
3. They thrive on order and continuity. Being extroverted, their focus involves organization of people, which translates into supervision. While ENTJs enjoy organizing and mobilizing people according to their own theories and tactically based agendas, ESTJs are content to enforce "the rules," often dictated by tradition or handed down from a higher authority.
4. ESTJs are joiners. They seek out like-minded companions in clubs, civic groups, churches and other service organizations. The need for belonging is woven into the fiber of SJs.
5. The family likewise is a central focus for ESTJs, and attendance at such events as weddings, funerals and family reunions is obligatory.
6. Holidays, birthdays and other annual celebrations are remembered and observed often religiously by this type.
7. They love to provide and to receive good service.
8. ESTJs promote the work ethic. Power, position and prestige should be worked for and earned.
9. The ESTJ is outspoken, a person of principles, which are readily expressed. The ESTJ is not afraid to stand up for what she believes is right even in the face of overwhelming odds. ESTJs are able to make the tough calls.

Now comes the fun part, the career indicator.

• Management (obviously)
• Management in business or education (does health education count?)
• Stock broker (my parents dream!)
• Accounting (what I studied in undergrad)
• Occupations attracting ESTJs include teaching, coaching, banking, political office, and management at all levels.

I know I have taken this a few times before and I can't exactly remember what I was before but I am pretty sure I was the E and the J. And now you know a little bit more about me!

Fun with Google Analytics

Thanks to my friends over at Fun with the Turners I have been using Google Analytics. Don't know what that is? It's a program that Google offers to help you keep track of where the people who visit your site come from and how they interact with your site. So today I offer to you a list of what people are searching for to bring up my blog:

• hot fatties
• scrapbooking jobs
• black ceiling church sanctuary
• no one knows it's my birthday
• christmas house rich luster

I think that alone proves that Google Analytics is worth its weight in gold. Don't you?

Scones

It appears as though I pulled a muscle in my back sometime on Saturday. So the majority of today has been spent propped up in my bed trying to get through some of the books I have been wanting to read. After a few advil and realizing that it was now 3 o'clock and I had yet to actually get out of bed, I decided to find a way to use up the rest of the heavy cream from Friday's fondue. What better way then to make the perfect snack to go with a hot afternoon drink.

This recipe comes from Donna Hay's cookbook Modern Classics 2. It says that it makes 12 but I made 12 when I only used 3/4 the amount of recipe (I was limited by my cream) so it may make more, depending on the size of your cookie cutter/glass.

Scones
Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk 2 1/2 cups of cream until soft peaks form. Add 3 cups flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder and 2 tablespoons caster sugar, stirring to combine. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and press out until 1 inch thick. Using a circular cookie cutter (or a small glass), cut the dough into rounds, brush the tops with milk and then place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden and puffed. Makes 12.

Fondue

Friday night I invited one of my friends over for a girls night in. On the menu, cheese and chocolate fondue. The perfect meal for a night of catching up.

Below are the simple and delicious recipes that we used:

Cheese Fondue

• Clove of garlic
• 1 1/2 cup wine
• 4 cups Swiss cheese(almost 1 pound)
• 1 cup Gruyere (almost 1/4 pound)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• pepper to taste

Cut garlic clove in half and rub over the bottom of a medium saucepan. Add wine and warm over low heat.

While wine is warming combine flour, nutmeg, and pepper in a small bowl. Coat cubes of cheese in flour mixture. When wine is warm slowly add cheese, blending with a wire whisk, until fully meted and bubbly. Pour into fondue pot and enjoy!

Ideas for dipping: carrots, broccoli, bread, apples, etc.

Chocolate Fondue

• Dark Chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Pour heavy cream into a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat. Slowly add pieces of dark chocolate until sauce begins to thicken. (You should be able to see the bottom of the pan for a couple of seconds after moving the spatula through the sauce.) Pour into fondue pot and enjoy!

Ideas for dipping: marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, apple, pound cake, bread, pretzels etc.

Vegetable Omelet

After bugging my friend over at Damn Delicious about the fact that she hasn't posted since December I felt that I would avoid the backlash by posting something myself.

I made this omelet a few weeks ago (don't worry I ate it promptly) as a way to jumpstart the morning and clean out the fridge. Plus I had just spent the week telling patient after patient that they needed to include more vegetables in their diet and that it was easy and quick to do so. **Word to the wise- be careful what you preach because, if you are like me, you end up forcing yourself to practice it as well. How else are my patients going to believe me?!**


There isn't really a "recipe" for this but basically I sauteed diced vegetables (broccoli, carrots, and shallots) in a little bit of salad dressing over medium heat until soft and then placed them inside a two egg, one egg yolk omelet.

Easy to make, a great way to increase your vegetable intake and delicious to consume on a sunday morning. How are you going to add vegetables to your day?

Cray-zee!

After a fabulous weekend away I am finding this week completely crazy. Some signs that this is a hectic week:

• There's a path of sweaters, coats, socks, work papers, and shoes from my front door to my bedroom.
• The contents of my fridge: butter, 2 eggs, salad dressing, soy milk and lemon juice.
• I went to work a half an hour early this morning, worked through lunch and left 15 minutes late.
• I have a pile of five books, 2 magazines, 8 articles, and my taxes staring at me from my desk.

Hopefully after teaching my nutrition class on Saturday morning things will calm down a little and I'll be able to organize myself. Maybe?

Second Snow

It's SNOWING!!!! I thought that after my first snow it would be a little anticlimactic to see the amazing white stuff falling from the sky for a second but boy was I wrong. It's just as exciting if not even more exciting. The city just looks so gorgeous and there's a different feeling in the air and oh how I LOVE it!



The forecast said between 1 and 3 inches today and by the looks of my car we are probably past the 1 inch mark right now. I'm just so happy that it's sticking and that there are huge snowflakes falling and that it's not turning into freezing rain or rain, although who knows what the afternoon will bring.

Alright, I suppose I should finish my lunch and head back to the clinic for the afternoon. Although I am guessing that the snow will keep some of my patients away this afternoon. Their thoughts, "Nutrition isn't life threatening, it's snowing outside, I'll just go another time." And who can blame them?!


**Addendum: Snow isn't fun when it turns to rain. Have you ever walked underneath a tree whose branches are lined with snow when it's raining? After today I personally would not recommend it.

Celebration

Today's a big day for many reasons, but the one I want to share with you is the fact that on Friday I counseled my 100th patient.

100 patients!!!!

Can you believe it?! Because I sure can't. On the one hand it's hard to believe I have talked to that many people in 7 weeks, but then on the other hand it's hard to believe that I have only talked to that many people in 7 weeks. I wonder how many I'll counsel in the next seven weeks . . . .

TGIT!

If thursday is the new friday then TGIT! I was dreading today all week but honestly it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.

Knowing that I had a completely booked schedule of patients today (12!) I arrived at work a half an hour early this morning. What I didn't realize is that I would have more energy by getting up at 6:30 instead of 7:15 (like normal). Maybe it's due to my REM patterns or maybe it's just the excitement of knowing that I had a lot to do today. Regardless the morning flew by. One no show followed by four counseling sessions and I felt like I was on a roll. What was better was that I even had time to get my charting from the morning done before I headed home for a quick lunch.

Sidenote: I really cherish the fact that I can stop at home for lunch. To spend an hour in the comfort of my home as a midday escape is priceless. And now that I think about it, probably one of the ways in which I cope with the demands of my job. I honestly count my blessings everyday that I have this luxury. It's also something that is a big argument for never moving from my current apartment.

After lunch I was sure that things were going to get crazy but luckily I had quite a few no shows which seemed to balance out the craziness. Four counseling sessions and three no shows allowed me time to get my charting done before five, assess five of my patients for tomorrow morning and spend time with the tech support guy setting up my new computer.

Did you read that? I finally got my new laptop today!!!! Besides being paid, getting the laptop was the highlight of the day. Not only is it lighter then the laptop-made-of-lead that I have been lugging around for the past 7 weeks but it runs faster and has all the new nifty features a computer should have. Oh how my life is going to get easier. Even more so now that I have pandora.com to keep me entertained as I catch up on charting or get ahead assessing patients. Speaking of which I was so focused on getting things done I ended up staying a half hour late today to prep for tomorrow without even noticing.

I know I complain about work to some of you, but honestly I really have to count my blessings for where I am right now. I guess I forgot when I was dreading today that slow days are boring and I strive off of busy days, it's when I can remain focused and get the most done. So, happy thursday!

Quite Possibly the Coolest Thing, Ever.

Thanks to soul-friend I have finally found quite possibly the coolest thing to hit the internet since youtube. Well at least in my humble opinion.

www.pandora.com

Check it out!

It's What You Do With Your Time That Counts

You wake up in the morning, and lo! your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours of the magic tissue of the universe of your life. No one can take it from you. No one receives either more or less than you receive. Waste your infinitely precious commodity as much as you will, and the supply will never be withheld from you. Moreover, you cannot draw on the future. Impossible to get into debt. You can only waste the passing moment. You cannot waste tomorrow; it is kept for you.

~Arnold Bennett

Welcome to 2008

Welcome to 2008 and welcome to winter. Not "winter" like we have in California where you drive to the snow when you want to, complain about "cold" 40F evenings and enjoy the occasional 60F days. But real winter, as in today's high was 31F. Welcome.

Home-made Applesauce

In the spirit of the New Year it was out with the old and in with the new in my kitchen this afternoon. The old - a couple of apples that have taken up residency in the fruit bowl this week. The new - homemade applesauce to take to work for lunch this week.

Super simple to make, simply peel the apples (bonus if you can keep the skin in one long peel), slice them up, add a squirt of lemon juice (or vitamin C to prevent browning) and boil until soft. Mash with a fork, cool and store in the refrigerator.