Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Tuesday's Top Ten [My Talents]

There are a few things I really enjoy doing, I guess I'll call them talents...
1. Decorating. I think I have an eye to dress up a room. I enjoy putting together colors, fabric, furniture arrangement, and decor items. I debated for a long time on whether or not to do this for a living, for now it's just a hobby.

2. I've been tootin' around on the clarinet for 20+ years. I still get it out occasionally and forget how much I enjoy playing an instrument. I'm not a Benny Goodman, but I'm not squeaky either. I simply love anything involving music, like harmonizing (just don't give me the lead). I'm also not all that talented at reading sheet music (I can do it, but it takes me longer than the average joe). 

3. Crafting. I love turning junk into something, or nothing into something. Give me popsicle sticks, ribbon, scissors, a hot glue gun and I'll give you something worth hanging on your wall. (Haha, I'm exaggerating a little, but I am pretty good with a hot glue gun.)

4. Doodling. Sometimes I enjoy picking up a pen or pencil and doodling to my hearts content. I do not consider myself an artist, but I do enjoy coloring up a blank piece of paper. I even have a Pinterest board for that: I just doodled.

5. Writing. My favorite classes all through school were the english courses where I'd diagram sentences, compose creative writing pieces, read and respond to whatever I read, any journaling activities, writing research papers (okay, call me a nerd)... so this "blogging business" is one of my favorite activities.

6. Shooting a basketball. Eye on the target. Elbow in. Keep your balance. Follow through. SWISH! Shooting a basketball is like riding a bike, I never forget how awesome "SWISH!" sounds. Just don't ask me to dribble.

7. Planning Parties. I enjoy eating, socializing, playing games, dressing up, decorating... putting it all together for one big shindig is fun, fun, fun. In fact, I'm in charge of baby and wedding showers for our church and I write about them here. I've gotten pretty good at throwing a baby shower on a tight budget: How to Throw a Baby/Bridal Shower for $75 or Less! I have a board for that too: Party Planner.

8. Teaching. I have a masters degree in curriculum and instruction, but I grew up forcing my siblings to play school. I was always the teacher. It's something I always knew I wanted to do, and I'm confident in my knowledge of the profession and my ability to teach a room full of students. 

9. Shopping. I find treasures for super cheap. I'm pretty good at eyeballing the good stuff. There's only a handful of items in my closet (like my running shoes) that I paid more than $10 for. Seriously. I scour the clearance racks, promo codes, coupons, and thrift stores like it's my job. And I LOVE doing it.

10. Stretching. I know it's a weird "talent", but I'm being serious. I have to know how to stretch well after my back injury in college when I experienced the pain of two slipped discs. If it wasn't for exercise and stretching muscles all the way from my neck, shoulders, mid-lower back, butt, hammys and quads, calves and feet I'd be visiting the chiropractor weekly. Stretching has done wonders in preventing further injuries. When I was a track and field coach my athletes knew this was something I was knowledgable in and always came to me for help. One of the best parts of that job was designing workouts and pre-workouts to help multi-event athletes - stretching was a BIG part of it. I loved researching it, reading about it, implementing it, testing it and after all that I believe in active stretching before exercise and static stretching post workout. As a result I can boast in very few muscle injuries.

On that note, I'm also very good at researching. That's come from my english/language arts background and my love for history. It's hard to do any of the above (like being a good teacher, or stretching, or planning a party on a budget) without a bit of digging.

I feel like I did a lot of bragging on myself. I'm not trying to be prideful, just simply sharing what I'm passionate about because I've worked hard to acquire the knowledge or the how-to on each of the items listed. Most importantly I must recognize the fact that God has given me each of these skills and my goal in life is to glorify Him in all that I do.

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