Power Tactics That Harm

            I was in a relationship once where I gave all of my power away.  He was a master at mind games that included guilt trips and he would confuse me in ways that I ended up feeling like I was the crazy one.  He kept me isolated from my friends and family and criticized me so often that I went from being a powerful women to someone with no self worth.  He would build me up only to take me down in his next breath.  I have no idea how this even happened.  I had always been a confident female with many friends.  He somehow got passed all of that and destroyed me.  I was with him for 3 years.  I supported us while he spent his days having fun and probably sleeping with other women.

            I had several friends and family members try to save me.  I ended up pushing them away and defending him.  I didn’t want to see what I had allowed to happen to me.  I finally ended it after meeting a lady, who is still one of my best friends today, who hung out with me and my partner for only a few hours.  We went to the bathroom of the bar and she looked at me and said, “What are you doing with this guy?”  I don’t know why I heard her and not all of my other friends and family, but this is just how it worked out.  I ended it with him that night.  It was very hard to do, but I did it.  It took a long time to build back my self confidence and remember my worth.  I am grateful for this horrible learning experience and if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change a thing.  That experience helped to make who I am today.  I am now a very strong, independent, successful woman, who has a wonderful husband that is everything the former man was not!

http://speakoutloud.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/tactics-power-and-control.pdf

In The Workplace

          Appropriate self-disclosure at work and how to deal with passive-aggressive co-workers

 

         This can be a tricky situation.  I think that it is good to get to know the people you work with and to let them know a little about you.  It helps to build trusting relationships, but you really have to know when enough is enough.  I do not disclose everything about me, just enough to build a trusting relationship with my co-workers.  They would know that I am married.  They would hear a lot about my fabulous dog and maybe about some of the adventures we go on.  But I would not disclose anything more personal than that. 

            I tend to just not care about gossip and try to ignore it as much as possible and stay out of it.  If someone is acting in a passive-aggressive manner to me, I usually just call them out on it.  I have not had much trouble with this with my co-workers, but have had some issues with passive-aggressive boss’.  I try to just go to work to do my job and I really try to not get involved with gossip or hanging with co-workers outside of work.  

PHOTOS: Nine Awesomely Passive-Aggressive Notes from Seattle

http://soar.wichita.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10057/1162/t07035.pdf?sequence=1

This is me blog

I chose these photos because I think they represent STRENGTH, which is my best feature!  I make an effort every day to maintain strength in every aspect of my life.  I keep my mind strong by practicing meditation, reading, and continuing to learn as much as I can.  I keep my body strong by being as active as I possibly can.  I keep my spirit strong by taking care of my self, by eating well, being active, and taking time to do the things that make me feel good.  By doing all of this, I have been able to make it through all the bad times as well as the good.  It helps me to be available to others who may need me.

Breaking Bread With Strangers

 

Homemade Salsa Recipe

Homemade Tortilla Chips Recipe

 

Homemade Guacamole Recipe

 

         When I am asked to bring in food to share in a class, I almost always bring Homemade Tortilla Chips, with Fresh Guacamole and Fresh Salsa.  I choose to bring this because it is one of my favorite snacks of all times and because it is a snack that does not really require utensils.  It can be scooped on to a small plate or eaten directly from the bowls, depending on how those who are sharing it feel about germs!  No double dipping, of course!  It is also really impressive!  I have found that most people have never made their own chips, guac, and salsa from scratch.  They are used to eating it at restaurants or buying it pre-made at a grocery store, which can be good, but it is never as good as using fresh ingredients at home. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello It's Me Blog

Break?  What break?  I spent the few weeks we had off between the Spring and Summer semesters working on our new store.  Receiving inventory, merchandising, accounting, building a website, and now I am working on building an online store!  I am exhausted, but I am also so excited to see our store grow.

 I use electronic media almost constantly.  I recently moved across the country, to New Hampshire, so I have been using email, Facebook, and Skype to keep in touch with my close friends and family.  I have also been spending quite a bit of time on the cell phone. 

I am now working to utilize electronic media to help our business.  I have created a Facebook page and have started  a blog on our site.  I set up a blog for the very first time for a couple of my classes last semester and am so glad that I was required to do so.  I am sure that I will have one for personal use, as well as one for the store, for much time to come.

Our family, sitting around the fire, at our wedding, last October.

Final Presentation

Final Presentation for English 102 on Prezi

To see this project in a bigger screen, on prezi.com click this link:
http://prezi.com/eu2gdvmzsvpo/final-presentation-for-english-102/

Blog Post #14: Technology!

I have found that I prefer to take my classes online because they offer so much flexibility.  I am not just a student, I am also a wife, a business owner, and care taker for my elderly grandmother, so the ability to work on assignments when is convenient for me is really important.  I had never taken an English class online before and found that it was a big challenge for me.  I am not very fond of writing and the timing of this class was rough due to all that was going on in my life, but as the class is coming to a close, I am so proud that I pushed through.  My biggest challenge was making the time to produce quality work.  I would not have been able to take this class had it not been online, but I think I would have done much better if I had taken it in a classroom setting.  Most classes have been extremely easy for me online, but since I struggle with English, I was not disciplined enough to keep up with the work.

Learning how to create and maintain a blog was the most beneficial to me.  I am going to create one for our business where we can document all of our adventures and things going on at the store.  I am even considering creating one for me.  I am not much of a writer and never would have thought that I would ever have a blog, but now that I have moved away from Arizona, I think that a blog will be the perfect way to continue to share my life with my friends and family.  My husband is an actual writer, but lacks most technological skills, so he is also very excited to have a blog himself.  I am going to create and maintain it for him and he will have a place to share what he writes.

7 things you should know about...Personal Learning Environments