A picture post

It seems I very rarely post pictures on here anymore, but I have a few to share today.

First of all, I got several birthday cards, and I loved all of them. But there were two I wanted to share.

My best friend from high school is an artist, and she always sends these amazing hand-drawn cards. I think this one might be my favorite she's drawn for me:

And then this was sent to me by my parents. I thought it was pretty funny and kind of perfect. The inside says: Older and wiser, baby. Older and wiser.

While I didn't make it to my sister's for my niece's first birthday, through the wonder of Skype, I got to participate in the family party. This was just before she decided she didn't like getting her hands dirty with icing and cake.

On Saturday, I went over to a friend's house to bake and decorate cookies. We made a lot of cookies!

The friend that hosted us is an artist if you can tell by this tray of cookies.

I also went to a church Christmas party on Sunday night and then spent Sunday catching up on grading. And I couldn't get a picture because it was dark, but I came home from the grocery store on Sunday to find two huge deer just chilling in my front yard.

INF...What?

Back in high school, I took the Myers-Briggs test at school as part of preparing for college or deciding what I should do with my life, or something like that. But considering I had known since I was 11 that I wanted to be a journalist and already knew my top school, I paid very little attention to my results and couldn’t tell you what I was then.

But I’ve made some friends in my town that love Myers-Briggs, and at almost every social gathering, the conversation ultimately turns to personality types. After listening on the sideline several times, I decided I was going to have to retake the test and figure out what I am. I can now say that I am an INFP (although borderline P/J). In English, that’s introvert (I), intuitive (N), feeling (F) and perceiving (P).
 
As I’ve spent more time talking about it with friends and reading about my personality type on my own, I’ve learned a lot more about the way I think, why I do things a certain way and why I clash with certain personalities.
 
As an INFP, I am an idealist. I am sensitive to others, tend to make decisions based on what I know intuitively and not logic, and need time alone to recharge. I can be a perfectionist in some ways because I get an idea in my head and that’s what I have to do.
 
I figured my personality type also expressed itself in the kitchen, and I found this “Recipe for Pumpkin Soup” that describes how the different personality types cook.
 
I am somewhere between intuitive and feeling on this scale. I do like to start with a recipe, but I start making it up when I don’t have what I need or decide I don’t like something that is called for. I do usually multitask in the kitchen, and if what I’m making involves other people, what they like and how they feel about food definitely impacts my decisions.
 
I like to please people, so all of the things that I make are tried and true recipes that I know everyone will eat. A New York Times article categorizes cooking personalities a little differently. In this one, I clearly fall into the “giving” category:

• Giving: Friendly, well-liked and enthusiastic, giving cooks seldom experiment, love baking and like to serve tried-and-true family favorites, although that sometimes means serving less healthful foods.

I think this pretty sums up my cooking philosophy. I like to cook when it involves other people, and I stick to the things I know how to make and know people will like. But that doesn’t really help me with this project. What I need to be is this one:

• Healthy: Optimistic, book-loving, nature enthusiasts, healthy cooks experiment with fish, fresh produce and herbs. Health comes first, even if it means sometimes sacrificing taste.

So what’s your cooking personality? Or Myers-Briggs?