'Tis the Season

It's Garage Sale Season again! This was proven today by the mad rush of people up and down Mulberry Avenue during the annual neighborhood sale. The girls rushed to a neighbor's sale and quickly found toys to assemble in their "babysitting bags."

They have their first babysitting gig tomorrow night! I can remember the days of trying to find babysitters, and now they are babysitting? Doesn't seem right. Their clients are, however, getting 3 sitters for the price of one. Of course, I'm not really sure what that means...what is the going rate for babysitters these days, anyways?

So they're very excited, and luckily, they'll only be a few houses away, so if all else fails they can call me.

Back to the theme previously stated, I was thinking about hosting my own garage sale, but I opted out. Instead, I did hold a "private sale" and it was with a touch of sadness that I parted with many of Case's size 6 month clothes. If that surgery I had didn't work, I'll be regretting this....again.

Looks to be a beautiful cool weekend and I'm hoping to get in a nice LONG run on Mother's Day...about 2 hours is what I'm shooting for. I have to find out where the public drinking fountains are located in this town, though, so I don't have to carry a water bottle.

Latest Headlines

Here's a glimpse of some of the latest headlines in the paper:

Culver wants to charge for review of records

Culver signs 1-cent sales tax into law

Camping fee increased


Those were just in yesterday's paper, and it seemed to me that fees and taxes only seem to be increasing. What about the working man? Aren't Democrats supposed to be looking out for the middle class? I think secretly, they're trying to keep us down. If we're down, we can't object. In fact, if we "get" something from the government, then why should we disagree with them? Well, here's some news...not everyone "gets" from the government. Guess that's what's burning me....

If you read the INTJ personality blog, then you know I'm still right.

Can People Change?

For some time now, I've been thinking about my type-A personality or the Myers-Brigg version, called the INTJ. Introverted-iNtuitive-Thinker-Judgmental. And occasionally I find myself "out of body" when I've scolded a child, usually Brooke, for something that's really stupid - like eating candy in the living room....I set up that rule, which is stupid, for the reason that I didn't want ants and more importantly, that I would be saved a step in cleaning sticky off the couch.

In the scheme of things, who really cares?

So, anyways, during these "out of body" experiences, I think, "Jeez lady, that's not a very nice way to talk to your daughter." And then I'm back in me, and I blow it off, because I think I'm right.

Well, I'm wrong.

How can I change? Is it possible for a type A to cross over to the lazze-faire type B? Wouldn't that be nice? Not to have any cares? Not to feel the pressure of crossing things off a to-do list - for that matter, to even create a to do list in the first place!

Oh, there comes my sarcasm again. Apparently that's a weakness for INTJ's. I told you I've been reading up.

In fact, there are several weaknesses of INTJers....check it out:

INTJs

• May be unaware (and sometimes uncaring) of how they come across to others I'm actually becoming more aware thanks to those "out of body" experiences
• May quickly dismiss input from others without really considering it
• May apply their judgment more often towards others, rather than towards themselves That has me written all over it!
• With their ability to see an issue from many sides, they may always find others at fault for problems in their own lives I try not to blame others, though. Really, I try to take ownership for my faults. I think that has to do with becoming a Christian, which has taught me to look at my sins and seek forgiveness.
• May look at external ideas and people with the primary purpose of finding fault Can you say Democrat? Ok, I admit it. I do this often.
• May take pride in their ability to be critical and find fault in people and things Yep. I once took a test for a friend who was getting his masters in counseling, and I think I told him something like, "And what's wrong with that?" I really thought it was ok to be hyper-critical of others.
• May have unrealistic and/or unreasonable expectations of others Yes! That's partially what drove me out of teaching! But I never thought of those expectations as being unrealistic. Maybe being able to write in complete sentences and pass an open book science exam was too unrealistic for a 13-year-old.
• May be intolerant of weaknesses in others Again - this one has my name written all over it!
• May believe that they're always right Aren't I?
• May be cuttingly derisive and sarcastic towards others If you haven't had to opportunity to read any of my other posts, you probably wouldn't pick up on that from me...:)
• May have an intense and quick temper I actually think I'm a slow-to-boil kind of person.
• May hold grudges, and have difficulty forgiving people Again, I think having Christ in my life has actually helped me with this, although I'm not as quick as He was in forgiving me.
• May be wishy-washy and unsure how to act in situations that require quick decision making Indecisive...that's me. That's also Haley.
• May have difficulty communicating their thoughts and feelings to others You usually have an idea of what I'm thinking. Feeling? Now there's something for me to think about.
• May see so many tangents everywhere that they can't stay focused on the bottom line or the big picture Another way to describe that is easily sidetracked. Yes. Me.

One thing I learned while doing a bit of research on this is that it's supposed to be good for INTJers to journal. Maybe that's what sort of led me to this Blogging thing. Even if no one reads it or responds, it has been kind of fun. It's given me a chance to think throughout the day things like, "That would be good to blog about!"

So respond if you like. I will try not to be explosive or too judgmental - I am working on that!

More Progress on the 3rd floor

Haley Demonstrates How to Hang Sheetrock

More Progress is Being Made!

We're only a few weeks away from having guests come and the goal is to have the room partially done, so kids can have a place to possibly spend the night. Dan has been working non-stop in all of his spare time and has done so much! We're all very excited about being able to use the room in its future state.

Meaningless - Meaningful?

I haven't been inspired to write for a few days now. I guess I have Blogger's Block, formerly known as Writer's Block.

I was thinking about writing about the weather! That's how uninspired I have been. Take today, for example. It was blizzard-like this morning at Brooke's soccer game, minus the snow. We were freezing. Now, as I write, it's nearly 70 degrees out, sunny, with a nice breeze. How bizzare.

I think my "funk" started a few days ago when I was thinking about the mundaness (is that a word?) of life...at least the mundane tasks I have set before me. I wouldn't trade them, mind you, for a real job with a real paycheck, but nevertheless, it was seeming to me that my tasks were quite meaningless.

Take laundry, for example. There are still divorced socks from months ago waiting for a suitable mate in a pile on my dryer. And just when I have the last load folded and put away, here come the clothes from today. Or the pajamas from last night. Or the towels from the showers. Or the burp rags from the baby. Or the... See what I mean?

I could go on with the list of mundane tasks, like cleaning, cooking, running, even schooling. But I won't. Because I've come to the same conclusion as a wise king who wrote several books many centuries ago: What's it all matter? Everything really is quite meaningless. Generations before us aren't really all that different from the generations to come. But in the end, to be content with the job that lies before us is all we can ask for. And, really, I am content. Are you? Sure, I think sometimes "Is this all there is?" And it possibly is. So, why not just enjoy it?! Another great philosopher of our day - I think Bob Marley - said it best, "Don't worry. Be happy."

Now, that's what I'm talking about!

Clarification

Ok, so I probably came off as a Ron Paul Wannabee in that last post, and that's not exactly what I was trying to do. It occurred to me as I was ranting, that I would probably have to explain the tongue-in-cheek post regarding Linda Steele for President.

There were several points I was trying to make. Obviously, it's ridiculous for me to "run for president." Espeically when it seems to me that there are at least 2 people out there in a certain political party who are attempting to run for it already without the full endorsement of their party (i.e. Obama and Rodham-Clinton). I was trying to be slightly sarcastic with the idea that I could actually run for president.

However, I do believe that we do not need any new programs. If anything, we citizens should call for an audit of the federal government accounts. If we're expected to pay our bills and spend within our means, can't we hold our own government to the same expectations? New programs only cost more - what's wrong with eliminating ineffective ones or at least revamping them?

So, for those of you who were concerned I'd gone off the deep end, worry no more.

I Have An Announcement to Make

I'm running for President!

Yes, around 3:30 am this morning, I was inspired to run for President of the United States of America. This will be a shoestring campaign, mind you, so you won't see me on commercials or be receiving mail from me. Please just use the blank line on your ballot to write in my name (Linda Steele - don't forget that last 'e' or your vote won't count).

Here's my platform:

Let's get rid of all the government programs that waste money. In fact, let's eliminate wasteful programs altogether.

Let's allow individual states to have control. For example, let's eliminate the US Dept of Education. Do we really need the federal government involved in education when the states have sense enough to educate their citizens? I mean Iowa is going above and beyond the call from the feds and is providing preschool for all 4 year olds....not to mention free health care for kids under 18.

And, here's my campaign promise (don't you have to have one of those if you're running?): NO NEW PROGRAMS!

Pretty simple don't you think? Of course, at 3:30 am it was actually much clearer than right now. But if you're so inclined to agree with me, please show me your support - Linda Steele for President. Thank you.