Personality Test Results

I thought this was SPOT ON, so figured I'd share it:

"Research has found that the Big Five personality traits are significantly related to Jungian Typology (e.g. the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). This is a popular alternative personality framework regularly used for personal development, in which Types are used rather than Traits. Based on your Big Five trait scores, your estimated Type is shown below (if you have already taken a Jungian Typology test and got a different result, this can be changed from the More Options section).

ENFP

Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving

ENFPs are initiators of change, keenly perceptive of possibilities. They energize and stimulate others through their contagious enthusiasm. They prefer the start-up phase of a project or relationship, and are tireless in the pursuit of new-found interests. ENFPs are able to anticipate the needs of others and to offer them needed help and appreciation. They bring zest, joy, liveliness, and a zany sense of fun to all aspects of their lives. They are at their best in situations that are fluid and changing, and that allow them to express their creativity and use their charisma. They tend to idealize people, and can be disappointed when reality fails to fulfill their expectations. They are easily frustrated if a project requires a great deal of follow-up or attention to detail."

Totally thinking positive thoughts!

I just realized how down that motivational letter was, but I had written it to myself on paper awhile back and just had the chance to type and blog it yesterday at Starbucks.

Anyway, I'm thinking super positive thoughts lately and have been all smiles for days!   I love the holidays, the cheer... not the excessive length of time it takes to get ANYWHERE because traffic is ridonkulous, but I have great kids, great friends, people like me, the world is awesome!

Hope you all have a safe journey to where you need to go and that no matter what life brings you, you keep your chin up, chew on some happy cud and rock the positive vibes!

Happy Holidays, you fantastic people you!!!

Motivotional Note to Myself

Dear Self,

Why do you do this to yourself?  Why can't you just
take everything at face value and ignore the things that
threaten to cause you grief or heartache?  Can't you see
that the world may seem like a big scary place full of
self-serving assholes who can't see anything beyond their
own reflections in the pain in your eyes?  You are genuine
and you care.  You are deep and you are worthy! 
Don't let the little bumps in the road get you down!  Don't
let the wolves eat you alive.  Take charge of your own life
and ignore the people who do not wish you the best. 
Your heart is big, but your brain is bigger.  Lead with logic
and everything else will fall into place.

Love always,

Cara

Short Story: Beauty & The Beast (An Internal Story of Conflict)

The Beast was one of those guys that thought he knew everything.  He refused to listen to anyone and just went with his gut on every major and minor life decision.  When it came to girls, he had a wall up and refused to let them in because it would be unbeastly of him.  The other beasts were much easier to hang out with than the female species.  Beasts are beasts and there is no drama, no heartache, no game playing, just beasts being beasts.


In reality, The Beast did not know much outside of the edges of his bitter soul.  He had been hardened by a previous pointless mistake and it had blinded him to the reality of goodness in the world.  He could no longer see the sun through the clouds and a smile was something that just occurred as a reciprocation of politeness.  He knew little outside the four walls of his own private hell.


Then he met Beauty.  Her soul was pure, her smile was genuine.  Some would say her only fault was being too nice.  (Well, that and her feet- she inherited the hideous feet gene.)  In her niceness, she failed to see evil.  She failed to consider the fact that the world wasn't always sunshine and roses all day long.  With her unwaivering smile, she set out to make the world a happier place, one person at a time.


One day Beauty met The Beast.  It was a chance meeting that was completely unplanned.  Beauty was in a state of mind of passing out daisies and rainbows to those around her.  The Beast was despondent.  Beauty felt her heart opening in sympathy and had decided to make it her mission to make The Beast whole again.  She invested her time, she devoted a small piece of her soul, she felt The Beast begin to crack and his smile start to radiate a little bit of truth.  She was hopeful that she could repair his shattered being.  But in her eagerness, she lost sight of her reason for being, her purpose in life- to share her generosity, warmth and kindness to everyone, not just one person.  She needed an intervention, but she didn't listen to those that told her The Beast was bad news.


After weeks of trying to bandage The Beast's hopeless soul, Beauty was entangled in a cloud of undulated happiness, having thought she had succeeded.


But she had failed.  The Beast, like a deer in the headlights of a freight train carrying lead and bullets, put the wall back up.  Beauty ran right into it.  She smacked her face so hard it left her dizzy, spinning, shocked.  For once, her smile faded and the world wasn't so rosey.  The bright hues around the objects in front of her were losing their luster.  What had happened?  Had she failed?  Her world no longer was what she had thought it was.  She, who had devoted her life to bringing joy to herself and ALL those around her, had done the ultimate disgrace to her being and fallen for The Beast, only to be blindsided by his dark heart.


Beauty wandered the forest of emotion that was wracking her body and her being.  Questions filled her head.  Was she not good enough to deserve affection from The Beast?  Why did she care?  Why had she failed to keep her promise to herself to stay true to her mission and not focus solely on one entity?


Beauty was crushed, but refused to let it ruin her.  She refocused her energy on all the positive things life still had to offer.  There were many people out there that still needed smiles.  She knew that The Beast still needed joy in his life, but she was no longer going to let him steal all of her radiance.  She was going to put a band-aid on the part of her heart that he had chipped away at and continue to bring sunshine into a world threatened by so much darkness.  Eventually the world became so enamored of Beauty's mission that the good people at Nobel decided to make a new honor- The Nobel Prize for Good Tidings.  Beauty was the first recipient.  She continues to wear a smile everywhere she goes...


And The Beast?  His tale does not end so pleasantly.  He is fortunate in that he still has a little Beauty in his life, but has since realized that being blackhearted is not what he really wants out of life.  He ventured on a roller coaster of skanks and misery that left him 50, thrice divorced and lonely.  

THE END

Freaking Awesome Monopoly Streets and Nintendo Wii Twitter Giveaway!!!

Monopoly is like the most classic game ever.  I remember countless days, evenings, mornings, nights, playing with my brother... and losing every time.  Now, I'm not saying he cheated, but I never even came close to winning.  So, since I have always cheated if I were the banker.  But I digress.

EA/Hasbro has recently released Monopoly Streets.  In this new game the world of Monopoly comes to life through a living, breathing city that you can build, own, and monopolize.

Game Info

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, the world of Monopoly comes to life through a living, breathing city that you can build, own, and monopolize. MONOPOLY STREETS has everything you love about the board game, presented as a street level tour of Mr. Monopoly’s fully animated world.

Engage in a head-to-head race to evolve the surrounding city, accumulate the most wealth, and own it all!

Play against your friends live and online on Xbox 360 and PS3! Fresh takes on classic features such as property auctions, add new excitement to the classic play.

From the cheap motels on Baltic Avenue to the luxurious Boardwalk suites, there is excitement around every corner in this remade classic.

The game also includes multiple boards to play on. Along with the MONOPOLY city, there is also Landmark city which features famous landmarks from around the world. Here you can buy swanky properties from Europe to Asia and everywhere in between! It also features a variety of "classic" boards for you to enjoy. These allow you to play on traditional boards with edgy new twists.

You also have extensive options to create special House Rules in MONOPOLY Streets. Change the tax rates on special spaces, edit the rules for buying and mortgaging properties, make Free Parking a cash holder and more!

Customize it to be as close to the special rules you and your family have stuck to for years.

MONOPOLY Streets is created at EA Salt Lake (EASL) and published by Electronic Arts. It is a digital translation of the popular board game by Hasbro.

Family Time Factor: Very fun and enjoyable for the whole family!!  Not something young kids would understand, but definitely fun for probably ages 8 to death.  Great family night play!

MOTR Grade: A


GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

EA and Rocket XL have been generous enough to offer a grand prize of a Nintento Wii and copy of Monopoly streets to one lucky winner!  Ten runners up will receive a copy of the game.  Giveaway is only through Twitter.  You can comment below, but winner will be chosen from Twitter posts.  Giveaway ends Friday at noon central.  Open to US residents only.

To enter:

Copy and paste the following post and Tweet it.  That's it!  Winners will be chosen randomly.  Make sure you post exactly to be qualified.

RT for a chance to win a Nintendo Wii and Monopoly Streets from @hamsterkitten http://bit.ly/eTpjGr #monopolystreets

Old El Paso Family Taco Night Giveaway!!! ***CLOSED***

If your family already loves tacos, why not put family taco night on the calendar at least once a month? With a variety of seasonings and other complementary products, Old El Paso offers everything you need for fun nights with the family.

To satisfy your Mexican style cravings, the Old El Paso® line up of products includes chilies, dinner kits, dips and sides, enchilada sauce, refried beans, seasoning mixes, shells, taco sauce and salsa. The Old El Paso taco seasoning mix selection includes flavors like Burrito, Cheesy Taco, Chili, Fajita, Taco, Mild Taco and even a seasoning with 40% less sodium.

For a fun twist on taco night, be sure to try one of the delicious recipes below.

Easy Fish Tacos

Old El Paso® taco shells, seasoning mix and taco sauce and battered fish fillets make quick work out of Mexican fare.

Tarantula Tacos

Having a Halloween party? Gather the kids and make spook-tacular tacos.


And to keep your family laughing at the dinner table, have some fun with El TacodorTM, the world´s only family taco night game. With El Tacodor, your family can share a special night at home by challenging one another to quick fire trivia, wordplay and pantomime. Visit www.ElTacodor.com today to download instructions, a score card, and a challenge sheet for even more fun on family taco night!

Visit Old El Paso for news and great tips, recipes and more. Take a minute to share family fiesta photos and videos from family taco nights on the El Tacodor Family Spotlight!


GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Old El Paso is providing one lucky reader with a "family taco night" prize pack which includes a packet of Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, a Cactus Chip & Dip Serving dish, a set of 3 Fiesta Chili Pepper serving dishes and a $10 gift card to purchase your taco fixings.

To enter:

1) Tell me your favorite family night activity.
2) Tell me your favorite taco toppings.

Winner will be announced December 31st at noon central time.





Disclosure: the coupon, information, and prize package for giveaway were all provided by Old El Paso through MyBlogSpark.)

Who's More Annoying- Men or Women?

I was listening to the radio this morning when I was driving home.  They were talking about a recent survey that asked women what the most annoying things were that men did.  Here were the top 3:

1) Passing gas, burping or making any other kind of yucky function.

I totally concur on this one.  Yes, it's natural and everyone does it, but not everyone makes it public knowledge.  I will never understand why people think fart jokes are funny- ew.

2) Adjusting themselves.

Now, I can understand the necessity to do this once in awhile, but there are guys that you will see do it quite often.  Why not just wear pants and underwear that fit?  Is it a habit?  Are you just trying to make us look there?  Either way, excessive is outrageous.

3) Selective hearing.

Okay, this one doesn't bother me THAT much, but yet it does.  LOL.  I will admit that I appear to not be listening quite often.  I have a problem doing one thing at a time and sitting still and listening is not something I'm capable of.  However, my recall on the things discussed is quite good.  Now, having to repeat something to a guy on multiple occasions because he doesn't listen... that bothers me.  And then when they say that it's because I usually don't say anything important... well, that's just asking to be slaughtered.


Well, what do you think?  Girls, do you concur?  Guys, is this inaccurate?  What is it about women that you find annoying?  I'm sure I can think of a couple things, like talking incessantly and getting upset about little things.  Lots of the "girly" things annoy me too.

Cher: The Film Collection REVIEW

So Cher has been an icon longer than I've been on earth. So this lady must have some mega-talent because she has recently starred in Burlesque and that movie looks hella good! (I will definitely be seeing it.)

But apparently she has a lot more films in her repertoire- and now you get to experience them all! This new collection of DVDs features the following films:

Good Times
Chastity
Silkwood
Moonstruck
Mermaids
Tea With Mussolini

Now, I was only familiar with Moonstruck and Mermaids, which Mermaids has always been a classic in my book and I just loooooove the acting jobs that everyone did. I would like to think that is the kind of mom I would be... *giggle*

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing this collection because I love watching new movies. I'll admit that the earlier stuff was a little boring to me, but the last four were ones that I could see myself watching again. (Did I mention that I love Mermaids?)

If you are stumped for a Christmas gift for someone and you know they are fans of Cher, you will blow their minds with this collection!

Family Time Factor: Don't recommend watching this with children. I'd say 14 and up. Some are good date night movies!

MOTR Grade: B

Despicable Me DVD Review

CHRISTMAS GIFT ALERT!!

So at first few glances of previews for this movie being released in theaters, I was not very impressed.  I didn't expect much from it, but thought it would be fun to take my kids to.  Well, turns out I liked it better than they did!  I found myself laughing quite a bit and quickly decided this needed to be a movie in my children's collection, whether they watched it or not.

This is a cute story about an "evil" inventor who has decided to steal the moon.  (He has some deep rooted mommy/daddy issues.)  In order to carry out his plan, he has realized that he needs to be able to seem somewhat normal and less villainous.  So, he finds the perfect cover as a dad and adopts three little orphan girls.  Little does he realizes all the challenges and rewards involved!

What I liked about this movie was the humor and the moral.  Sometimes we have to think about who we are really doing things in life for- is it ourselves or for some deep rooted reason that we refuse to admit?  And isn't there a little good buried somewhere in all of us?

Family Time Factor:  Personally I think this can be enjoyed by all ages as a date movie, family time or entertain the kids situation.

MOTR Grade: A-

Despicable Me is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray!!!

Marry Me starring Lucy Liu premieres on Lifetime Dec. 12!!!

I am a Lifetime movie junkie.  Watching sappy stories about love gone awry and then new love springing eternal makes me weep.  Stalkers, road rage, you name it, Lifetime has it!

Marry Me stars Lucy Liu and is about Rae, a woman who has given up on the idea of finding true love, only to have the man of her dreams... and her ex propose!  And Rae wants a dream relationship.  A man who is in love and in love with the idea in love, who only has eyes for her, who is reliable, stable, sensible... at least, that's what she has always told herself she wanted!

Rae is surrounded by interesting people, including her zany adoptive mother (Annie Potts), Immy, a ward of the state and her nosy coworkers and family. 


I was pleasantly surprised by this movie!  It is a 2 part mini-series and it held my interest the entire time!  I laughed, I was jealous, I was envious, I resented Rae, I became bitter.... um, I mean, what a wonderful love story!  Albeit predictable, I still wanted to watch it right up until the end!  The casting was PERFECT!!!  I have to point out that I especially appreciated when Immy (played by Vanessa Marano) made a quib about their relationship being like the "Gilmore Girls" because INDEED I REMEMBERED that she played Luke's daughter in the final seasons of "Gilmore Girls."  Well played, writers!!

Anyway, this premieres on Dec. 12 and is a two night event ending Dec. 13, airing at 9pm ET/PT both nights.  Awesome to watch alone or cuddling on the couch with a guy who isn't afraid to admit he watches Lifetime!

MOTR Grade: A-

Back in the Saddle

Okay, so it's been a really long time since I've blogged, let alone anything personal.  So, I aim to remedy that.  I have some giveaways that I need to get posted ASAP and I need to have my blog stop looking like a giant billboard.

So forgive my vanishing act.  First, I left my husband in September.  And apparently since this is the 1920s and women aren't allowed to make decisions like that, it upset a great many people who have decided to be completely unsupportive and have disappeared from my life.  Well, that's fine.  I only want to surround myself with people who love me and realize that life is worth living, not going through like a zombie.  I was shocked when a couple weeks ago I watched the movie Eat Pray Love.  It was EXACTLY how I feel/felt.

Then, the other reason I was MIA was because I was in the local theater production of The Curious Savage.  It was the first time I had auditioned and I got a part!  It was one of the best experiences I've had in probably a decade.  The other two were the birth of my children.

I will blog more later, but I just wanted to keep everyone posted.  And I'm sure I'm going to get a lecture on putting my personal life on the internet, but considering no one even knows my name, I'm pretty okay with it.  Keep checking back and feel free to email or comment!  I love hearing from people!