We live in a house and have neighbors who live in the basement. They are the sweetest family! He is from Argentina and she is from Mexico. And while Oscar speaks a little English, Nancy doesn't speak any.
We love their little son Jonathan (yawn-a-ton as they call him).
Today was his baptism and we found out Mexicans know how to PARTY!!!
I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A BIG PINATA IN MY LIFE
They wrapped kids with TP
The adults played musical chairs
There was amazing hispanic food and tons of decorations and they invited over 50 people!!! Everyone was so nice and very few spoke any English so it felt like we were in another country...and we were the minority!
We spent most of the time hanging out with the kids.
Dan's favorite sight today was to see him jump off the cement patio and belly-flop into the grass and dirt of the back yard wearing his completely white 3-piece baptism tux!
The party was complete with Barney, Baby-Bop, and BJ who sang "I love you, you love me" and all the kids danced to spanish music---chipmunk style! I do have to admit, the macarena sounded pretty funny sung in a high-pitched chipmunk voice!
What a fun evening! Danny made the greatest observation...when he does something nice for me (an adult) it lasts a long time with me appreciating it. When you do something as nice as a 8 hour party for a 3 year old complete with everything they could want...it lasts only momentarily.
Just after the party, we hear screaming and stomping feet like we've never before heard from little Jonathan. :)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Priorities...
Last week Dan and I sat down and made some goals. These included for me:
Personal scripture study daily
Bedtime 10:30
Work out 6 days this week
Work 40 hours and get 30 leads this week
I'm making goals again for next week...and I realized were my priorities are APPARENTLY.
I worked out 6 days this week and worked 40 hours and got 30 leads.
However I failed on bedtime and personal study.
Just thought I'd make record for my kids to remember --- maybe it will make them feel a little human like when my Dad told me he fell asleep typing a paper and missed classes in college. Seriously. That was comforting.
Kids, your parents weren't always perfect ;)
Personal scripture study daily
Bedtime 10:30
Work out 6 days this week
Work 40 hours and get 30 leads this week
I'm making goals again for next week...and I realized were my priorities are APPARENTLY.
I worked out 6 days this week and worked 40 hours and got 30 leads.
However I failed on bedtime and personal study.
Just thought I'd make record for my kids to remember --- maybe it will make them feel a little human like when my Dad told me he fell asleep typing a paper and missed classes in college. Seriously. That was comforting.
Kids, your parents weren't always perfect ;)
Friday, April 8, 2011
Chameleon
My father taught me about being a chameleon.
Being a chameleon means that you adapt to whoever is around you.
I began practicing on dates.
If the date was a sports fan, I was a sports fan. If they loved travel, we spent most the date talking about traveling. If they were spiritual, our discussions were gospel-based. If they were the life of the party personality and everything was about being fun and spontaneous, we threw oranges out of their jeep going 70 mph.
You see, being a chameleon means that you are still your own person but you are so varied in your interests that you converse with everyone.
And you match them.
If they want to speak very slowly, you speak very slowly etc.
This skill has served me well as I begin my career in Real Estate. I have so much fun because when someone walks through the model door I immediately have a challenge.
I first guess what personality-type they are. Are they an owl (to the facts person), or a bull who wants to be in control.
Then I let them lead the conversation. And if a guy is super gruff, you simply remark to his wife "wow, he's not cutting me any slack!" Because he WANTS to feel in control; he WANTS to be gruff!
And if they ask you all the facts, you answer them straightforwardly.
And if their only interest in the home is the movie they saw last Friday, you talk about that.
It is so fun to me.
I love matching people.
It is truly a skill you can develop.
And I've learned that people really often like their same type of personality (e.g. analytical owls like the people who answer their 27 questions they've been asking every builder in the state) so it's fun to try and mirror them and connect with them no matter who they are.
Being a chameleon means that you adapt to whoever is around you.
I began practicing on dates.
If the date was a sports fan, I was a sports fan. If they loved travel, we spent most the date talking about traveling. If they were spiritual, our discussions were gospel-based. If they were the life of the party personality and everything was about being fun and spontaneous, we threw oranges out of their jeep going 70 mph.
You see, being a chameleon means that you are still your own person but you are so varied in your interests that you converse with everyone.
And you match them.
If they want to speak very slowly, you speak very slowly etc.
This skill has served me well as I begin my career in Real Estate. I have so much fun because when someone walks through the model door I immediately have a challenge.
I first guess what personality-type they are. Are they an owl (to the facts person), or a bull who wants to be in control.
Then I let them lead the conversation. And if a guy is super gruff, you simply remark to his wife "wow, he's not cutting me any slack!" Because he WANTS to feel in control; he WANTS to be gruff!
And if they ask you all the facts, you answer them straightforwardly.
And if their only interest in the home is the movie they saw last Friday, you talk about that.
It is so fun to me.
I love matching people.
It is truly a skill you can develop.
And I've learned that people really often like their same type of personality (e.g. analytical owls like the people who answer their 27 questions they've been asking every builder in the state) so it's fun to try and mirror them and connect with them no matter who they are.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
What I learn in training.
I am blessed to have one of the best trainers in the entire world! I love going to work because it is continually a growing process where I realized more about myself, come to appreciate other people, and cultivate this compelling desire to help others do what is truly best for them.
Tonight I learned a lesson about organization. However, this lesson has been building for months.
I have observed Steven, my trainer, and how he is incredibly organized with prioritizing his time. This doesn't mean that his desk is always picked up, but the more important "life" type of organization.
I have been trying very hard to not work sporadically -- trying not to fall into my typical trap. Instead of taking a couple days off of work and life and completing everything on my to-do list I'm trying to accomplish a few things each day, beginning with the most important.
You see, I am a person who tends to jump into things. Whatever I am doing at that moment becomes all-consuming and I feel that I should devote my entire life to that task.
This is inconvenient.
I play the guitar and think that's what I'll do every night for the next month.
Or paint and think I should immediately change my major to art.
I mean to blog for 5 minutes and I post 15 blogs at once and then don't post for 3 weeks (It's true, check the posts).
So while making this transition I observed a client (let's call her Sandra --- though I've seen many cases identical to this one) who is thinking of buying a home. Her credit could be amazing but truly, she wasn't organized. Some bills came to her parents home and she didn't get them quickly enough. She accumulated collections and though they could easily have been paid off, the collectors then continue counting the debts after they are paid. And she has a low low credit score so she can't qualify for a house.
It's amazing to me that this person could have never had a single collection and could have avoided the mess had they been organized.
And yet, I see myself in similar situations! I was notified a week ago that I was missing a class for graduation. I now have to petition it! So stupid because it could have been easily taken care of had I been organized.
SIDE NOTE
I also hate missing out on ANYTHING.
--I wanted to go on the high school choir trip not because I'd love LA or Disneyland but because I didn't want to miss out on all the inside jokes.
--When I was young my parents made me a check off list because I would come out of bed a ridiculous amount -- I didn't want to miss anything!
Danny and I observed that I usually go to bed a few hours later than I would choose to and it's because I have this drive to do everything or I'll miss out! I can't sleep --- things are still going on in the world!
Even today I can't take a nap because I can't miss out on anything that's going on.
--I used to go to the spontaneous dance party though I would have rather been home painting or reading because I thought I'd miss out.
Tonight I learned a lesson about organization. However, this lesson has been building for months.
I have observed Steven, my trainer, and how he is incredibly organized with prioritizing his time. This doesn't mean that his desk is always picked up, but the more important "life" type of organization.
I have been trying very hard to not work sporadically -- trying not to fall into my typical trap. Instead of taking a couple days off of work and life and completing everything on my to-do list I'm trying to accomplish a few things each day, beginning with the most important.
You see, I am a person who tends to jump into things. Whatever I am doing at that moment becomes all-consuming and I feel that I should devote my entire life to that task.
This is inconvenient.
I play the guitar and think that's what I'll do every night for the next month.
Or paint and think I should immediately change my major to art.
I mean to blog for 5 minutes and I post 15 blogs at once and then don't post for 3 weeks (It's true, check the posts).
So while making this transition I observed a client (let's call her Sandra --- though I've seen many cases identical to this one) who is thinking of buying a home. Her credit could be amazing but truly, she wasn't organized. Some bills came to her parents home and she didn't get them quickly enough. She accumulated collections and though they could easily have been paid off, the collectors then continue counting the debts after they are paid. And she has a low low credit score so she can't qualify for a house.
It's amazing to me that this person could have never had a single collection and could have avoided the mess had they been organized.
And yet, I see myself in similar situations! I was notified a week ago that I was missing a class for graduation. I now have to petition it! So stupid because it could have been easily taken care of had I been organized.
SIDE NOTE
I also hate missing out on ANYTHING.
--I wanted to go on the high school choir trip not because I'd love LA or Disneyland but because I didn't want to miss out on all the inside jokes.
--When I was young my parents made me a check off list because I would come out of bed a ridiculous amount -- I didn't want to miss anything!
Danny and I observed that I usually go to bed a few hours later than I would choose to and it's because I have this drive to do everything or I'll miss out! I can't sleep --- things are still going on in the world!
Even today I can't take a nap because I can't miss out on anything that's going on.
--I used to go to the spontaneous dance party though I would have rather been home painting or reading because I thought I'd miss out.
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