NPD

For some reason some very, very difficult people have been placed in my path. So much that I have even subscribed to the Dealing with Difficult People blog for help. I have been researching mental illnesses and personality disorders and have noticed that most of the people who are "difficult" seem to all fall under Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Here is some info from www.mayoclinic.com:
Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by dramatic, emotional behavior, in the same category as antisocial and borderline personality disorders.

Narcissistic personality disorder symptoms may include:

· Believing that you're better than others

· Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness

· Exaggerating your achievements or talents

· Expecting constant praise and admiration

· Believing that you're special and acting accordingly

· Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings

· Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans

· Taking advantage of others

· Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior

· Being jealous of others

· Believing that others are jealous of you

· Trouble keeping healthy relationships

· Setting unrealistic goals

· Being easily hurt and rejected

· Having a fragile self-esteem

· Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional

Although some features of narcissistic personality disorder may seem like having confidence or strong self-esteem, it's not the same. Narcissistic personality disorder crosses the border of healthy confidence and self-esteem into thinking so highly of yourself that you put yourself on a pedestal. In contrast, people who have healthy confidence and self-esteem don't value themselves more than they value others.

When you have narcissistic personality disorder, you may come across as conceited, boastful or pretentious. You often monopolize conversations. You may belittle or look down on people you perceive as inferior. You may have a sense of entitlement. And when you don't receive the special treatment to which you feel entitled, you may become very impatient or angry. You may insist on having "the best" of everything — the best car, athletic club, medical care or social circles, for instance.

But underneath all this behavior often lies a fragile self-esteem. You have trouble handling anything that may be perceived as criticism. You may have a sense of secret shame and humiliation. And in order to make yourself feel better, you may react with rage or contempt and efforts to belittle the other person to make yourself appear better.

When to see a doctor
When you have narcissistic personality disorder, you may not want to think that anything could be wrong — doing so wouldn't fit with your self-image of power and perfection. But by definition, narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of your life, such as relationships, work, school or your financial affairs. You may be generally unhappy and confused by a mix of seemingly contradictory emotions. Others may not enjoy being around you, and you may find your relationships unfulfilling.


So will I ever be good enough for these people? NO! But, I don't care anymore. If I offend them, oh well. At least I finally know that I am NOT the one with the problem. I am awesome, my kiddo is amazing, and my fiance is wonderful, and I deserve all the good things that happen to me. I will never again self-sabotage because of YOU!

Screw you you dang narcissistic people!!! Please move along and find someone else to make miserable!!! I believe I have learned my lesson from this little exercise.

5 Question Friday 4/2/10

1. Do you sing out loud in the car when you're driving?

Yes but only if I am alone!!

2. What would you never be caught doing?

Listening to Miley Cyrus ( which I sing loudly to in the car).

3. Will you go #2 in a public restroom?

If I absolutely have to. If not I will hold it.

4. Have you ever broken a bone?

Only my middle finger on my left hand. I think it was my freshman year in high school, and I was playing basketball in gym.  That people, is why I don't play sports!!

5. Do you prefer cooking or baking?

I prefer Zigs cooking!!! I would rather bake.

Card Making Class

The date is confirmed!!!!

My Class will be on April 17, 2010 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Its at future Foundations Family Center.
Space is limited so please sign up as soon as possible to reserve your spot!

Please NO kids, unless they are a paying member of the class.

You can sign up by emailing me, calling me, clicking attend on the right side of this page, or stop on by my facebook page!

Retreats!!

I am getting excited for the Spring Sweet ReTreat!





I went to this retreat in September and I had a blast! Charlene really knows how to plan one heck of a scrapbooking retreat!




So I have been looking through sketches trying to come up with a plan. This retreat is pretty easy to pack for considering I can pretty much take every supply I own like I did last year. While that is great, I was so overwhelmed when I actually sat down to scrap because I had nothing planned. I ended up cranking out about 12 pages, but some were not my best work. So that brings me back to the plan. In addition to this retreat, I get to go to Idaho this June to Scrap with Destanie. She is doing her first retreat and the best part, well second best because the best part is getting to meet her and some of the other forum ladies from AC Bailey Designs, is it is FREE! All I had to pay for was airfare to get there and that was a lot cheaper than I expected. Thanks CheapOAir!! So, again, back to the plan. I was thinking that since I will have all this uninterrupted time, I can use it to get Colin's Scrapbook up to date. I figure I can take about 3 or 4 sketches and use them through the whole book since I can make each one look different. (Thanks Close To My Heart) I saw a scrapbook done like this and you would never know she used the same 2!!!!! yes 2 sketches in her entire album. So that is my plan, and I hope I get some time this weekend to get everything organized and into my crop bag. Anyone have any suggestions on how to pack only 50 lbs of scrapbooking stuff to take on a plane??? That will be my next problem!




By the way, I have an update on my classes.

It looks like it will be scheduled for April 17, 2010 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at Future Foundations Family Center. I have not gotten this confirmed, so this is still a tentative date. I will have a limited class size, so if you have not already told me you would like to attend, please let me know!! I should have the confirmed date and time by the end of this week. If you are on my mailing list, or follow me, or if you are on my Facebook page You will know as soon as I do!

I made Tiramisu!!! It is my favorite dessert. Yes...even above chocolate!

 No really!!! Me...from scratch...I even had to substitute a couple of things and it still came out pretty good! I got the recipe from a 400 calorie meal cookbook i picked up at the checkstand at the store.

So here is the recipe. I'll explain what I had to do different and what I will do different to to make this better!



3 large egg whites, at room temp.
2/3 cup of sugar
3 Tbsp cold water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 mascarpone cheese (if you can't find this cheese, mix 1 small tub sour cream with 1 small tub of high quality cream cheese, then mix with one pound of ricotta cheese. Mix with mixer or food processor until well blended)
1/2 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
4 oz Neufchatel cheese at room temp.
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup strong espresso (I used instant coffee...Don't Do  This!!! It tastes OK but not great and I can tell the difference.)
22 lady fingers (I used a frozen pound cake Sara Lee possibly...Can't remember. I sliced the pound cake thin and got about 20 pieces.)
1 tsp Hershey's Special dark cocoa powder (Hint: if you buy this brand new, don't take the protective covering under the lid. I poked holes in it to make it a shaker!)

1.) Bring about 2" of water to a simmer in a medium pot or double boiler. Combine egg whites, sugar, water, and cream of tartar in medium heat-proof bowl that will fit over pot or in top of double boiler. Place bowl over pot or double boiler. Beat 4 minutes using electric mixer on low speed. Increase speed to high and beat 4 more minutes, or until very thick. Remove bowl from pot. Beat 4 more minutes, or until mixture is very light and fluffy.(If you have a small double boiler, then I would suggest using a metal bowl instead. I borrowed one and I was afraid to scratch it so I used one of those drink mixer things to mix it and I now have small burn marks all down the left side of my face because it kept splashing.)

2.) Place mascarpone, yogurt, Neufchatel, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat until creamy. Add 1 cup of the egg-white mixture and beat until smooth. Fold in remaining egg-white mixture.

3.) Pour espresso into shallow bowl. Dip 7 lady fingers in espresso (Don't let them soak in the espresso...the lady fingers or pound cake will crumble) and arrange at bottom of 2 1/2-quart square baking dish. Top with one-third of the mascarpone mixture. repeat twice, ending with mascarpone. Dust with cocoa powder. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 3 days before serving.

12 servings, 230 cal, 6 g pro, 25 g carb, 0 g fiber, 12 g fat, 100 mg sodium


It did come out good, but I over soaked some of the pound cake pieces, and like I said they do not taste that great since I used instant coffee.

I will let you know what it tasted like when I tweak it a little!!

5 Question Friday!

1. Did you pass your driver's test on the first try?


Yes I did. But I took it in my dads car and when the DMV lady went to get in the passenger side the door handle came off in her hand!! So maybe she felt guilty...






2. What is your most embarrassing moment?


You know I was just thinking of this just this very morning. I really don't have any embarrassing moments. There are lots of things that are embarrassing when I think about it, but I didn't think they were embarrassing at the time.






3. What TV show would you like to be on- Oprah, Biggest Loser, or What Not to Wear?


Definitely Biggest Loser and What not to Wear. I don't really care too much for Oprah. Ellen maybe!






4. Would you ever get plastic surgery and what kind?


I would love to get the fat sucked out of my face, neck, stomach, and thighs


and have it put in my boobs.





5. What are your favorite jeans to wear?


Anything that fits and is comfortable. I really don't care about brands. I have gotten a couple of pairs of jeans from Kohls that I love! Couldn't even tell you the brand.




http://fivecrookedhalos.blogspot.com/

Close To My Heart

It has been a very long time since I last posted!! Since then I have become a consultant for Close To My Heart. In the next couple of weeks I will be doing my first (of many hopefully) card class. I am so excited about it! The sample cards are totally simple but I think they turned out great! More details to follow....