The shy introvert.

One of my main goals during this past week of vacation was to wake up early enough to watch "The Today Show." This is on until 11:00 AM each morning, so waking up early enough wasn't really a struggle (but finding time away from my painting project was rather difficult). Anyway, I managed to watch a segment describing the characteristics of shy people and introverts and found this incredibly interesting. This is what I learned:

On being shy: Shyness is a physical, uncontrollable, chemical "problem." Often, shy people are uncomfortable in group settings and, when in such settings, have a variety of nervous/anxious symptoms (such as blushing, sweating, stuttering, racing pulse, etc.).

On being introverted: Introverts tend to need a lot of time to themselves to "re-charge," as The Today Show stated. It was also implied that introverts are pretty boring...

Well, surprise, surprise!, I am both shy and introverted. Lucky me.

The shyness thing: This really is troublesome for me. For example, if I am asked to simply introduce myself (and there is more than two people in the room), holy freaking crap load. I swear if I were wearing an extra padded bra, cami, sweater, and a winter coat, you could still see my heart pounding through my chest. Not to mention the gallon of blood that instantly rushes straight to my face and my hands that get clammy in half a second. I don't understand why this happens to me and I freaking hate it.

Also, me in a group setting? I might as well not even be there. I rarely say two words, because inevitably, all eyes will be on me (and as I described above, that doesn't go well).

My introvertedness: Basically, after talking to or being around any number of people for more than a couple hours at a time, you can bet your bottom dollar that I am just aching to be by myself for a while. It's so tiresome sometimes to be engaged with someone (smiling/laughing at stupid jokes, making stupid jokes, stressing about whether or not there is a giant booger hanging out of my nose, attempting to sound interested in football/baseball/basketball) and I can only handle so much at a time. And, I really do feel like I need time, at least once a day, to regroup, make lists, relax (mentally), stare at my Mint account, and have kindergarten-style quiet time.

Dating an extrovert who is incredibly outgoing is interesting, to say the least. He has a hard time understanding why I don't want to be introduced to twenty different people each time we go out and why I don't talk to any of his friends because "they all love you," he says. That last part I find incredibly hard to believe--how the heck could they "love" me if I've said three words two them my entire life (he tends to exaggerate quite a bit)? I'd also like to add how I feel terrible if/when my shyness comes off as bitchiness...I swear I'm not trying to at all--it's just another tragic effect of shyness.

In addition, he can't stand when I just need to be alone for a while to get out of my "mood" that was caused by nothing, except for having too little time to myself; he takes it personally and always thinks he's done something wrong, even when I tell him otherwise.

AHHHH! I just realized it's currently 1:05 AM. This post must come to an abrupt end--I have one heck of a long, stimulating day full of lots of football talk ahead of me :)

Good night!

Wordless Wednessday: spoiled

The dinner he cooked me on Thursday...

The cryptic message he left me on Friday...

The flower her gave me on Sunday...

 All in a weekend's work :)

Hello again!

I'm back! I have been the busiest bee as of late! This is what I've been up to:

MOVING: I have officially been a resident of Cedar Falls for ten days now.

This is the note my dear mother left me on the day I moved out (it was a Friday and she was at work). My nickname is Penelope, nobody knows why. My mom's phrase (every time one of her kids walks out the door) is, "Drive careful, buckle up, stay with angels, miss me, love you." She altered her phrase this time, though--probably because she added the "don't text" part and then lost her train of thought...anyway, my mom is so cute.

Okay, I'm not a diva, I swear. I'm exaggerating about the mac and cheese part. But just a little (mac and cheese really is my favorite meal of all time). BUT, the point of this picture was to show the cute text from my mom on August 9th (the day I moved out).

PAINTING: I started painting my enormous closet/dressing room/spare bedroom the day I moved in and it's STILL not done. So far, I've painted the trim, the ceiling, and covered all of the nail holes. I'm hoping to finally get the walls painted this weekend. Here is the before picture:

I can't wait to show you the after. If it's what I envision in my head, it's going to be beautiful!

TRAVELING: My most recent schedule has me set to travel (overnight) for the next two and a half months (with the exception of one week where I have a 20 minute commute and another where I have a 45 minute commute, each way). This is almost a quarter of the year. So, after learning of my schedule and having a minor emotional breakdown about it, last week I finally decided this was the last straw. I can't be happy living in a hotel.

HANGING WITH THE FAM-BAM: Last week, my Uncle Kris and Aunt Krista (who live in California) happened to be visiting my grandma in Algona while I happened to be working in Emmetsburg, just 25 miles away. So, being the nice family they are, they came to visit and gamble with me in Emmetsburg! I won thirty-nine big ones at the black jack table and my grandma lost two tiny ones at the slots.

Then, this weekend I went to the state fair with my sister, brother-in-law, aunt and uncle, grandma, and mom. I, along with Abby and Dave, were informed that our friend was in a weight-lifting competition that started at 7 AM. So, I woke up at 4 AM, left Cedar Falls at 4:45 AM, and made it to Des Moines in time for the competition THAT STARTED AT 9:30 AM (and our friend didn't lift until 10:30 AM). It wasn't all that big of a deal, though, because we managed to find an open beer stand and a bag of donuts by 8 AM. What a day!

I had to pull over (somewhere between Huxley and Zearing) to take this picture. No editing was done on this baby--that's Iowa at its finest.

Nothing like a $10 beer at 8AM on a Saturday morning.

The man of the day!

My Aunt Krista and grandma enjoying a respite from the sun.

Me and my Uncle Kris showing off our prideful cheeks.

RUNNING THROUGH CORN FIELDS: I spent one evening at a bonfire with a few friends from high school. We played drinking games, drank when we lost, drank when we won, played the guitar (sadly, I couldn't join in), and tried our best to hide and scare one another in the corn field. It was a rather good night.

Best picture of the night, if that tells you anything.

MORE: I've also had another baby day, a night out with co-workers, a trip to Adventureland, a day of wedding dress shopping (not for me), and a night out in Des Moines, but all that requires at least another hour of blogging and me finding my camera (which I hope is just lost, not stolen :/), so the "more" won't be discussed until a later date. Which, thanks to the week of vacation I have coming up, should hopefully be soon. I've missed this blogging thing.

Ta ta for now!

Wordless Wednesday: if things don't change, this is my home for the next two and a half months. i'd prefer not to get used to this.