jomygoodness

when I grow up...

I was reading an article for business women, and one of the to-do's on the checklist said to know your 5 strengths.  My list consisted of: being creative, personable, professional, organized, and inspirational.  Well, I thought I would put my list to the test by taking a "Strength Finder Test".  Because I haven't purchased Marcus Buckingham's book Now, Discover Your Strengths yet, I had to take a free version here, which I suppose will do for now {or at least until I get Buckingham's book}.

Anyway, I took this test that had 240 questions, and JMG! when I got my results, I was surprised, yet more than satisfied with my results.  My results for my "signature strengths" are: {1} leadership, {2} creativity, {3} fairness, {4} social intelligence, and {5}hope.  {Click on the screenshot below to see the "definitions" of each strength.}

I can't believe how close I was to my 5 strengths.  I stepped away with 2 conclusions.  First, I proved that I know myself a lot better than I thought.  Secondly, I think know now that I'm definitely in the right line of work!  =)  What are your top five strengths?  You can take the free test I did, and let me know.

P.S.  Do you know want to know what my last strength was {out of the 24}?  Modesty + humility!  Go figure!

101 in 1,001 - Yeah, I started my own

I decided to start my own 101 in 1,001... call me a bandwagoner, but I think I will feel oh-so accomplished afterwards!  It took me a while to figure out what to put on my list, and honestly, I'm not sure how happy I am with it.  I didn't want things that were super-easy, super-lame, or plain-old unnecessary... so, just a heads up, it's all of the above!

Taxes + California

I know I shouldn't be expecting more from this state, since the news has mentions California's budget deficit DAILY, but I thought I would let off a little steam by showing this:

{Because it's tiny, click on the screenshot to see the full view.}  Nevertheless, isn't this pathetic?

Seriously needing a Pick Me Up...

Yesterday wasn't such a good day for me.  I don't know what it is, but I think I ended it rather bummed.  I was working all day, so I didn't get a chance to hear the sad news about the 7-person murder-suicide.  Such a horrific story... and for some reason, it really took a toll on me.  I sat there reading articles about it, not because I'm fascinated with this type of stuff, but because I cannot fathom what could be going through your mind when you're contemplating {let alone going through the motions of} killing your child{ren}.  I couldn't bear it, and I was disgusted at how many callous + cruel people there are out there, who do not have an ounce of sympathy for this family, the extended family they've left behind {+ friends}, and the many people out there who are having the same crises in their lives.

Anyway, because this is a "goodness" blog, versus a ranting + raving blog, I decided I should find some positive inspiration.  What would make me happy?  There's always shopping + wedding magazines... but I went to my good friend, Joy's blog.  Yup.  I know I've posted about her before, way back when, but I truly adore her work.  She's an amazing photographer... extremely artistic, a natural, + never ceases to amaze me.

If you haven't checked it out yet, what are you waiting for?  It seriously got my mind off all the negative stuff in this world, + I got swept away in the beauty of her work!  It's taken me an hour to write this blog, since I keep going back to Joy's... and I keep getting distracted.  Love it!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  I'm sooooo sorry, but I have been so busy with so many projects & Joel starting a new school.  Plus, with Christmas barely behind us, I have had Joel busy writing Thank You notes to all those people who gave him something during this holiday season... which reminds me of a post {& photos} I have of him back in August on the old PaperBreezy blog.

Here it is again:

Please & thank you... a few of Joel's first words... {his first word was "hi" at 3 months old}. Anyway, because it was his birthday last month, he got lots of presents {mostly cash, which mommy likes}. Manners are important, so I decided to design some thank you cards that matched with his birthday theme. Check out his concentration on writing J.O.E.L! It's never too young to teach kids to show their gratitude.

**Here is Joel hard at work. I told you he was concentrating! Watch out Michael Jordan!

*He had to write his name 30 times!

More "rockin" stationery & thank you cards to be launched soon! This is just a preview!