working out

People who say that they really enjoy working out make me sick! I feel like the are lying or possibly not telling the whole truth. In my opinion, the feeling after you've worked out is the best. While I'm working out I'm thinking about when it can be over :)

Busy Days

Things are moving pretty quickly lately. My new job is busy to an extreme extent! My days fly by and before I know it I'm getting ready for bed. Surprisingly the past two weeks I've actually managed to go to the gym. I think it has given me the extra energy I need, not to mention a major stress reliever. I'm hoping to get back into shape soon, but we'll see if I can keep this up!

Last week working out was so embarrassing! I was running on the treadmill and my ipod fell off. So I thought oh I'll just jump off after it, that will be faster than stopping the treadmill. So I barely made it of with out falling over and as I was being propelled off there were loud clanking noises from my feet hitting the ground. But I made it! I then picked up my ipod and made the quick decision to jump back on the treadmill. Well I guess I thought it would be challenging but of course I thought I could move quickly enough. I hoped on and was even able to get a second step on the belt and then I started to go down..... I quickly grasped the handles next to me and caught myself just in time. The loud clamoring of my feet and hands as I desperately tried to get to speed was really embarrassing. The gym was full that day and everyone heard and saw my strange show. The guy next to me even asked if I was okay, my only response was "I guess I should have stopped it first." I only missed a couple of steps and bruised 1 knee. I technically didn't fall down, but I guess since my knee touched the ground it doesn't count as a clear landing. Not to mention the mortification factor. All in all it was a perfect example of how an ordinary day in the life of Danielle can escalate to an extraordinary day! ha ha! I am the biggest klutz I know! The best part is I get to see everyone that was in the gym all the time since I am now going regularly! Ha!

Yesterday it snowed pretty hard it reminded me of Michigan for a few hours... and then it all melted :(

James bought a ticket to CA to go for a pre-view trip! He'll be heading out at the end of the month and will be in CA for a week. We'll let you know more news on that later.

Other than that things are kind of quietly busy.

We'll see what this weekend has in store. In the meantime I'll try not to jump onto moving things for awhile!

New York, Christmas, and New Years Pictures are Here!!!

I forgot to mention that on Dec. 15th James and I and some of our friends took a day trip to NYC! It was incredibly cold! But it was a lot of fun we went to some interesting places, namely the indian restaurant that is decked out with lights from all kinds of holidays. I believe in one of the pictures it even says "happy halloween!" it was a riot! So have a look at our trip and notice the fun faces of the people around us!



For Christmas we went to Michigan for 3 short days and then flew home to VA on Christmas day. Being in my home town for Christmas is always so wonderful. My family was all there and I was able to spend a lot of time with them. We were all able to go to the traditional Christmas Eve service at the church I grew up in. When my family goes on Christmas Eve we take up a whole pre row!!! We also had a new addition to our Christmas festivities. My cousin Cathy is engaged and her fiancee Matt was able to come celebrate with us. When we came home on Christmas Eve the dogs had a party of their own and tore up all the toilett paper. Shredding it around the house like confetti! Of course James and I got some wonderful presents from both sides of our families this year too! On Christmas day we flew back to VA to spend it with James' family. That was really fun too! James' dad and sister had a present wrapping contest. Teralyn was announced the winner by the judging panel of Grandma Babers. James' Grandmas had just had knee surgery on both knees and was walking around all over the place. Despite the pain of healing I think she is feeling so much better. Christmas night James and I crashed, exhausted in a good way!



New Years was a blast! My parents came from MI to drive us our presents so we wouldn't have to ship them, and to spend New Year's Eve with us. It was so much fun. James and I got a tent for Christmas so after my parents got here we assemebled the tent in our 1 bedroom apartment. Well... the tent was actually very large! It took up our whole living area but it is so COOL!!! Not to mention it was a fun experience setting it up. Now James and I can really go camping in our new tent! I was able to show my parents where I've been working this past year, and we went exploring to some monuments that they hadn't seen before. For New Year's Eve mom and I made pizzas from scratch! It was fun and easier than I had thought. The only problem was the fire alarm went off 5 times that night... go figure!!! James parents joined us for New Year's Eve and it was fun! We played games, chatted and ate pizza and fondu. We really enjoyed having our parents over and the games made us laugh even after everyone went to bed! It was a really fun holiday and I was so blessed that my parents came to visit, I LOVE having them near. I'm counting down the days until the cruise in April that my Dad is giving everyone. Yay! Well have fun looking at the pics!

New Year New Job Title

Well I can now say that due to the longer appeal process with the MBC Uptown campus, my team has been dispersed with other jobs/roles within the church while awaiting the appeal process. I was previously the campus administrator for MBC Uptown while continuing to help with FL Arlington, now I am still working for MBC Uptown at a smaller capacity and in the mean time I have been given the opportunity to be the events coordinator for adult ministries at our church. I will no longer be working with Frontline Arlington which is sad, and I'm bummed to not be devoting as much of my time to the Uptown campus. But this is a new challenge for me with the events coordinating position and I'm ready to give it my best shot! :) The first major event is our women's conference which is coming up in Feb. This is likely be a 1,000 -2,000 person event. I am coming in mid-planning so right now I'm just getting a handle on what this kind of a conference looks like and assisting where I can. It's a whole new world to me! Not to mention a whole new ministry and staff team. I have a lot to learn, I'm hoping I will catch on quickly and learn the ins and outs of the ministry as quickly as possible. So this is another change for me but I truly believe that the Lord is going to grow and prune me in this process as well. Please continue to pray for the MBC Uptown campus, the appeal process, and for our volunteers who we are leaning on to keep up our outreach ministry and continue reaching the District for Christ.

On other news, James and I had a great Christmas and New Year's Eve. Though it was very busy it was so wonderful to be with my family. I miss them already! I'll post pictures later. James is looking to take a preview trip to CA in Feb. so we are searching for cheap prices on plane tickets. I know he is looking forward to seeing what's out there for him and what God's plan is for us. Well, I'm sleepy and off to bed.... write more later!

My Personality - Myers Briggs Test

So today I took the Myers Briggs Personality Type Test twice from two different sources...both had the same result.

It was pretty interesting, I found it explained a lot....

I am an INFJ which in the terms of the test is

"INFJs, making up an estimated 1% of all people, are the most rare type (males even more so). They are introspective, caring, sensitive, gentle and complex people that strive for peace and derive satisfaction from helping others. INFJs are highly intuitive, empathetic and dedicated listeners. These traits tend to act as a "tell me what's wrong" sign on their forehead, hence the nicknames Confidant, Counselor or Empath. INFJs are intensely private and deeply committed to their beliefs."

Here are some websites that explain it a little better....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INFJ

http://www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/infj/

These were some funny/interesting commentaries I found on the INFJ personality....

"Under extreme stress, fatigue or illness, the INFJ's shadow may appear - to be preoccupied about unimportant details and doing things that have no meaning"

"People who have known an INFJ for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that INFJs are inconsistent; they are very consistent and value integrity. But they have convoluted, complex personalities which sometimes puzzle even them."

"INFJ- creative, smart, focus on fantasy more than reality, attracted to sad things, fears doing the wrong thing, observer, avoidant, fears drawing attention to self, anxious, cautious, somewhat easily frightened, easily offended, private, easily hurt, socially uncomfortable, emotionally moody, does not like to be looked at, fearful, perfectionist, can sabotage self, can be wounded at the core, values solitude, guarded, does not like crowds, organized, second guesses self, more likely to support marijuana legalization, focuses on peoples hidden motives, prone to crying, not competitive, prone to feelings of loneliness, not spontaneous, prone to sadness, longs for a stabilizing relationship, fears rejection in relationships, frequently worried, can feel victimized, prone to intimidation, lower energy, strict with self"

I also found out that one of the worst professions for me would be " a race car driver".... I had no idea this was even a choice of a profession?!!! Ha!