That's Elmo's world!

Thanks, T!

Your Score: Elmo

You scored 64% Organization, 65% abstract, and 74% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables.

First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.

Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.

Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.

You are mostly organized, more abstract, and more extroverted.

Most people either love or hate Elmo. I hope you love Elmo, because that's who you are.

You are both somewhat organized. You have a good idea where you put things and you probably keep your place reasonably clean. You aren't totally obsessed with neatness though. Elmo has the same basic approach. His place is pretty tidy, but he doesn't spend all of his time cleaning it up.


You both are abstract thinkers. You definitely are not afraid to take chances in life. You only live once. You may notice others around you playing it safe, but you are more concerned with not compromising your desires, and getting everything you can out of life. This is a very romantic approach to life, but hopefully you are also grounded enough to get by. Elmo's whole life is based on fantasy and his imagination. In the beginning he was a regular character, but now he spends most of his time in this fantasy world.


You are both extroverts. Elmo likes to talk talk talk. He'll talk with people, goldfish, tables, whatever. Without interaction with others he gets very sad. You definitely enjoy the company of others, and you don't have problems meeting new people... in fact you probably look forward to it. You are willing to take charge when necessary or work as part of a team.

The other possible characters are

Oscar the Grouch

Big Bird

Cookie Monster

Ernie

Snuffleupagus

Kermit the Frog

Grover

The Count

Guy Smiley

Bert

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Praise God, all creatures great and small

God's creatures are interacting with us here in full force lately. There's the opossum Scott saw in the backyard Friday night, the cats that roam the neighborhood constantly, the large spider spinning its web above our outside porch light, the bees which have built their hive under the kids' outside toy chest and now this.

Tonight Scott went outside to take the trash down to the curb. There was a lot of it because of the baby's birthday party yesterday. He took his Maglight with him, which is sort of unusual for him. It's a good thing he did because on the path back to the overflowing trash can was a critter with a big black bushy tail and a white stripe. He would not have seen it until he was getting sprayed if it were not for the light. He came back in the front of the house then looked out the back door and saw one of our neighborhood cats waiting his turn at the feast.

One can only imagine the expletives racing through the dear man's head. For a solid 20 minutes he heard rummaging around outside. When all was quiet we went outside to clean up the mess. It was not as bad as we thought it was, or as it could have been (especially given that the entire platter of cheeseburgers that met an untimely demise on the concrete patio yesterday afternoon was in that can. Skunk must've smelled it, but couldn't find it.) It was cleaned up in a jiffy.

The amazing thing is, we live in a pretty urban area. As I remarked on the way back inside the house, it's not like we live in Sussex County!

I Rock? No, you rock and you know that! -Chick Hicks

I'd like to thank Jesus, the academy, Homefront Corp., and of course my best girl, Aimee, who gave me this wonderful award. And where would I be without my DH, who tolerates my internet usage only because he's on as often as me since we got the wireless network. I promise to post more often. I think I can guarantee three posts a week. At least until CCD starts.

And now, some more girls who rock:

Penni at Martha, Martha rocks! She's soulful and generous and has been known to quote David Bowie in her posts.

Barb at SFO Mom rocks! I haven't known a Franciscan with this much soul since Fr. Stan! She plays the guitar and sings at Mass, she's an awesome mom, and makes great pierogies.

Karen at Gem of the Ocean rocks! I just "met" Karen from San Diego. Her dry wit keeps her blog posts super funny and she loves musical theatre. What's not to love?

"Musings"

clearly, the most overused word in blogdom.

What I am reading

I truly fell in love with Jasper Fforde's writing when I picked up "The Big Over Easy" on sale at a bookstore. It is a mystery: Was Humpty Dumpty's death an accident, or was it (dunh dunh dunh)...murder?

I was an English major in college and I am the mother of small children so his slightly warped take on nursery rhymes was refreshing. Detective Jack Spratt of the Nursery Crimes Division, assited by Officer Mary Mary, delves into Mr. Dumpty's sordid past. Parts of it made me laugh right out loud. And I did not see the ending coming. Excellent book. Lent it to Aimee (Did you get the chance to read it?).

There is new nursery crimes book out : "The Fourth Bear." Got to get my hands on that one too.

Right now, I'm reading "The Eyre Affair." Our heroine, Thursday Next, is on the job investigating the disappearance of Jane Eyre from the novel by Charlotte Bronte. This is the first of four books in the Thursday Next series. I think I'm hooked.

What I love most about these books are the literary references. Fforde's writing is funny (in a dry, did-I-really-just-read-that and laugh out loud kind of way) and I am thoroughly enjoying every moment of this book.

God don't make no junk

School is starting in less than a month. This causes very mixed emotions for me. I'm alternately: "YAY! the kids are going back to school. Get them out of our hair!!!" and "Ugh. I have to endure parent meetings and lunch duty."

See, I'm not in the "In Crowd." You know the moms: they sit in the parking lot with their Dunkin Donuts coffee after drop off; they chair various committees and sit on the PTA board; they have the prinicpal's ear (Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse).

I go to parent meetings and get there a little before the meeting begins, searching the crowd to see if there is someone I know whom I can sit with. If not, I sit on the sides or in the back, trying to keep a low profile. "In Crowd" moms are friendly, mostly, but they don't talk to me, and I think that many of them think things about me that may not necessarily be very nice. Maybe I come across as standoffish, as stuck up.

I am fully aware that this problem is mostly a problem of my own making. It may not really come across here, but I am a pretty shy person. I am loved and lovable, but I have never felt like people would like me. Growing up I was the weird kid. You know the girl in grade school whose hair and clothes were never quite right? The one who came to school and went home without talking to other kids very much? That was me. And that little girl is still inside, even though my hair and my clothes are much nicer now, I have a fabulous husband and gorgeous, smart children.

Also compounding this problem of mine is that I work for the parish where my kids go to school. I'm the Religious Ed Coordinator and communication about sacrament policies and parent meetings come from my office. I sometimes have to tell people what they don't want to hear. I sometimes have to say "no" to people in the "In Crowd." I think some people think that I am "holier than thou" because of my job and because of my shyness. I have felt a real shift in people's attitudes toward me as we've talked and gotten to know each other a little bit. There is definitely a thawing, like "Gosh, she's not the snot I thought she was!"

And the poor people I am friends with! I stick to them like glue during these meetings and dismissal times because I feel comfortable with them. I hope that I am not annoying!

So, what is a shy mom to do? I don't really have the time to sit on boards and chair committees, but I could probably help out here or there with things: work a table at the Christmas Bazaar, work an hour at the book fair. I can be more outgoing, more "smiley" around school. I can also change my attitude toward the "In Crowd" moms. They are individual women who have their imperfections, too. That they are loved and lovable as well.

I can tell the weird kid inside to settle down and relax. She has to understand that the people who don't like her don't know her. She has to understand that God loves the weird kids and the kids in the "In Crowd" the same, that He wants us to love one another as He loves us. She needs to know that she cannot control how others perceive her. All she can do is try to love others, especially those who make her feel sad inside, and be herself: the wonderful weird little kid that God made her.

Tina Turner rocks so hard

I am watching Tina on PBS right now. She is so awesome. She's doing "Proud Mary" right now. Good grief, she's awesome. She's dancing circles around her backup dancers. Wow. I hope I'm that vital at her age.

Feast of St. Dominic

Happy feast day to my Dominican friends:
Fra. Lawrence Lew
The Cloistered Dominican Nuns in Summit
Joe, the Dominican Inquirer
Tom at Disputations



Find out more about St. Dominic here.

Prayer to St. Dominic

God of Truth you gave your church a new light in the life and preaching of our Father Dominic. Give us the help we need to support our preaching by holy and simple lives. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.