Sunday, May 22, 2011

Aiming For "Best:"

Good, better, best.
Do not rest
Until your good is your better
And your better is your best.

I was reminded of that poem today when I went to church - not saying that I'm on the WRONG track, per se, but everyone can stand room for improvement. Today was one of those days that I got to have a slight reality check & realize some areas that I really need to work on & get back on track on in my life. So, during Sacrament meeting I went over For The Strength of Youth & marked it, read it, and set goals & commitments.

Now, it has been said that sharing your goals helps you keep them. So, here they are:
  • Focus on & prioritize giving a full tithe & fast offering
  • Pray morning & night daily (I struggle to remember to pray in the mornings)
  • Read the scriptures for at least 10 minutes a day.
  • Continue Indexing! Try to do a batch a week, possibly.
  • Be organized & clean (both with workspace/bedroom, & clean & nice in appearance)
    • Cleanliness is close to Godliness
  • D&C 90:24
Timed Goals:

1 Week:
  • Find another job for during the day
  • Have the above listed behaviors put into play
  • Limit FB usage so that I am using my time in a more frugal manner.
1 Month:
  • Have a figured out budgeting plan & be following it
  • Find a source of income for all of my needs (Insurance, Orthodontics, Rent, etc)
  • Have a savings plan
  • Consider deactivating FB account if you are still struggling with wasting time on it.
  • Evaluate goals & adjust if needed.
1 Year:
  • Have enough money to return to school.
  • Continue evaluating goals & adjusting if needed on a monthly basis.
2 Years:
  • Prepare for a mission if you are not pursuing a relationship.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Dating Seminar

For FHE on Monday, my Stake held a dating seminar. It was AMAZING!!! :) The speaker was witty, connective, easy going, and sweet. She also knew her stuff - when she demonstrated, I felt a part of me inside going, "Sheesh. She's SMOOTH! I wish I could do that half as well as she can..." Maybe if I practice...

Basically, what we learned was some key psychology things on guys & girls, how to flirt, how to get a guy to ask for your number, how to turn someone down, and how to make sure we're dating rather than hanging out. We also learned how to seem confident & attractive to the other person, read body language to tell if they are interested or not, how to get out of the "friend zone" and become a gal instead of a pal, and how to not come across in a way that will scare the other person off. They also covered how to get the guy you are interested in to feel like he is competing for & pursuing you (see guy psychology #4 below) rather than you chasing after them.


Without too much elaboration, I think I can safely say that this advice works. As for what I have learned so far, here are the notes I have from the seminar:

Guy Psychology:
1. Men seek out relationships that make them feel trusted and respected.
2. Men develop love through sacrifice.
3. Men are largely logical about their relationships and commitments; thus, they do not commit easily to things they have not invested in over a period of time.
4. Men are driven to succeed, face challenges, compete, and conquer.
5. Men like women who like themselves.
6. Men love to be heroes.
7. Men like being appreciated.
8. Men like femininity.
9. Men like women who have opinions and assert their needs.
10. Men pursue women who are approachable and appear to be available.
11. Good men want sex with a woman who feels good about having sex with them and will wait until marriage.
12. Men need to be needed.
13. Men are repelled by criticism, nagging, and whining.
14. A man experiences anxiety in every conversation a woman initiates until she tells him what she wants him to do.
15. Men bond more through talking about things and doing activities than they do through talking about people, problems, feelings, or ideas.
16. Men adore women who give them love, attention, and affection.
17. Men are often willing to talk openly and honestly when they feel it will help them or another person to do so.

Girl Psychology:
1. Women thrive when they feel safe & secure.
2. Women develop love through sacrifice, but need men to communicate their needs if that sacrifice is to be helpful rather than hurtful and overresponsible.
3. Women often take a man's words very seriously, get excited, assume commitment, and then get hurt when he pulls away due to the added pressure.
4. Women are insecure about their bodies and fear competition from other women.
5. Women are attracted to strength and confidence. (Some women misunderstand this attraction and fall for men that are controlling, manipulative, arrogant & egotistical - make sure you understand the difference!)
6. Women are turned off by men who are too nice.
7. Women often fall in love with friends.
8. Women like to be pursued and to feel wanted.
9. Women enjoy touch, kissing, and affection but feel vulnerable and prone to shame after sexual contact.
10. Women want men who hold off sexually - it makes them feel respected and wanted rather than feeling like an object.
11. Women want immediate relationships, but trust and value slowly progressing relationships.
12. Women long to feel adored.
13. Women are repelled by moping, brooding, and the silent treatment.
14. Women worry - they need to know they are not alone in dealing with the problems of the relationship.
15. Women who don't trust and respect their men fall out of love, especially if there is no communication.
16. Women like gifts, surprises, reasonable spontaneity, and excitement - the extra effort makes them feel special (just make sure you don't try this too early - otherwise you are "too nice" and it turns them off)
17. Women would rather have open and honest communication about misdeeds than to be protected from the truth.

I will not give the best of me to those who don't invest in me.

Also, 8 Be-Effective Facts for dating:
1. Your situation does not define your value.
2. Confidence matters; fake it 'til you make it.
3. You're not failing in dating and relationships; your technique is failing you.
4. The more you practice, the better you get.
5. Faith works.
6. To be successful, you must recognize and invest in what you want.
7. The more deeply you sacrifice, the more deeply you love.
8. If he/she doesn't respond, someone else will.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Coupon for a Free Tank of Gas!

I usually don't post things like this, but this worked for me, so I thought I'd pass it along.

There is a coupon that you can use (issued by the federal government) and take it to any gas station for a... get this...

FREE TANK OF GAS!!!

I have seen these coupons around, but until recently never took advantage of them. If you have one, use it now before it loses value and it's too late!

Scroll down to see the coupon...

































PS. I can't take credit for this. It was an awesome internet fruitcake that I saw in another blog, and I thought I'd share a laugh. The ridiculous thing is that's pretty much  way too close to the truth! :P

Sunday, May 1, 2011

A Fairytale Skeptic

First off, I'd like to say that I do NOT own these photos. I found them on Google for the purpose of this blog. I do not claim ownership rights to these. All credit goes to the amazing artists out there. If I am violating any copy right usage, please let me know and I will remove the photo in question.

That being said, back to my post.

Fairytales - Always a happy ending, and what we all secretly wish for.
However, whenever I allow myself to think about a fairytale a little more thoroughly, something seems off, like it doesn't quite work. As sweet, charming, and romantic as they are, they don't ring true. Somehow I don't feel like what they have is completely.... real.

Every girl secretly wishes to be a princess, to find their prince charming and be swept off their feet by a doting (even worshiping, in some of these stories), handsome man, then live happily ever after in his arms. I'm not going to lie, I am completely a hopeless romantic that constantly dreams of having my own fairytale story. But what the princesses have just doesn't seem really... lasting to me.

For example, can we touch upon my first issue?

1. They haven't known each other long enough to REALLY love each other! 

Like in Snow White, where she literally meets the guy one day randomly. They sing one song together, flirt a little bit, and all of a sudden they are true loves?? Um, question!! How many of you have ever flirted with a guy? Everyone has. With MANY guys. This poor princess just hasn't gotten out enough. One flirt episode and a song is NOT enough to build a marriage off of.

Enchanted uses satire in their movie, pointing out this flaw in the lines that most people laugh at:

Giselle: Oh, it's you.
Prince Edward: Yes, it's me. And you are?
Giselle: Giselle.
Prince Edward: Oh, Giselle! We shall be married in the morning!

The character Robert addresses that issue later in the movie as well, though in a more blunt manner than the satire used in the opening of the movie.

Robert: So, what's the deal with this prince of yours? How long you been together?
Giselle: [wistfully] Oh, about a day.
Robert: You mean it feels like a day because you're so in love.
Giselle: No, it's been a day.
Robert: You're kidding me. A day? One day?
Giselle: Yes. And tomorrow it will be two days.
Robert: You're joking.
Giselle: No. I'm not.
Robert: Yeah, you are.
Giselle: But I'm not.
Robert: You're gonna marry somebody after a day? Because you fell in love with him?
Giselle: Yes. [grins] Yes! What about you? How long have you known your Nancy?
Robert: Uh, five years.
Giselle: And you haven't proposed?
Robert: Well, no, I...
Giselle: Well no wonder she's angry.
Robert: Well... You know most normal people get to know each other before they get married. They date.
Giselle: Date?
Robert: Yeah, you know. Date.
[Giselle shakes her head not understanding]
Robert: You go someplace special, like a restaurant, or a movie, or museum, or you just hang out and you talk.
Giselle: What do you talk about?
Robert: About each other. About yourself. About your interests, your likes your dislikes, you talk.
Giselle: Oh, you have such strange ideas about love.


2. DRAMATIC character changes because they fell in love don't last.

 I'm sorry, but those don't last. Once the honeymoon stage in a relationship wears off, so does the "change." Unless they REALLY work consistently on the change, and its made more gradually (or made from a traumatic event or something) it's not going to last.

So, for my example:
Prince Naveen; flighty, gold digging, opportunist. He goes through an entire personality change. That doesn't just happen JUST because you fell in love. And if it does... it won't last. There won't always be fireworks in a relationship, and when they fade...

I'm sorry, but the "change" was way to SUDDEN to last. They haven't known each other for long enough. If you really think about how long they were together, it wasn't that long.