Category - All About Me

It’s been a pensive kind of week.  It started when a 12 year old boy on base lost his battle with brain cancer.  I didn’t know him or his family, but I couldn’t help but be affected.  How could anyone not?  And since I’ve been there at the brink of insurmountable despair and grief…well, it causes one to be introspective.

And the weather took a turn for the warmer.  I think I have that Seasonal Affective Disorder, except its summer that gets me.  Summer bums me out and makes me want to hide away, so the warmer temps this week made me tired and listless.

Now I’m sitting here listening to the rain.  Not even half an hour ago it was falling gently, so I opened up our sliding glass door to hear it better.  Now it’s picked up quite a bit  -  it’s the rain bands of Tropical Storm Hannah here to drench our lawns and swell the Potomac. I’m hoping it doesn’t get too nasty today, but that depends on whether Hannah turns west or east of us.

Anyway, I realized that  I haven’t been my normal talkative self at all this week.  I’m sure that things will be back to normal any day now.

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In celebration of Labor Day – here’s all you ever wanted to know about my labors.  If you feel the urge to push, er…share your labor stories, head on over to Rocks In My Dryer and read the instructions, then post your link in the Mr. Linky at the end of her post.

How long were your labors?

Boo: 7 hours, pushed 20 minutes
Pumpkin Girl: 3 hours, pushed twice
Becca:  1 hour 18 minutes, pushed 5 minutes
Bip: 1 hour, pushed about 3 times

I know, I know.  Go ahead and hate me.

How did you know you were in labor?

My water broke each time.

Where did you deliver?

1.  Civilian hospital in Texas
2.  Military hospital in Maryland
3.  Military hospital in Korea
4.  Really cool midwifery center in Virginia

Drugs?

Only with the first, who was an induction.

C-section?

No, thank God!

Who delivered?

Doctors for the first three and a midwife for number 4.

If you want to play along with this meme, just cut and paste the questions into your own blog, and leave your link here: Laborious.

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Hat tip to KC for a link to prayers for each specific Meyers-Brigg’s personality.  Turns out, that’s the blog of none other than John Holzman of Sonlight Curriculum.  A wonderful company and a very nice man.  (I had the chance to exchange emails with him and he couldn’t have been more gracious and understanding.) If you don’t know which Meyers-Briggs personality you are, he has a link at the end of his post for a quick test to take.

This week I am an ISFJ – Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging.  I say “this week” because my type changes according to my mood.  The very first time I took the test, it was the real paper and pen version that was analyzed and returned to me a day or two later.  Most of the test had questions that started off – “Would you rather x or y?”  Well, I answered how I’d rather be, instead of how I really am.  For example, in a party situation what I really do is keep to myself and wonder when we can go home.  What I’d rather do is walk in, start talking to people I don’t know and circulate around easily.  It’s the difference between an extrovert and an introvert.   I am an introvert.  I’d rather be an extrovert.

Philip was surprised when I came home and told him my type.  We looked over the test together and I realized how I misunderstood the question.  The next time I took the test I was correctly labeled as in introvert.

Anyway, I followed a couple of links after taking the test today and found this description of me:  ISFJ Profile

It was kind of scary in its accuracy.  I liked this paragraph:

[ISFJs] prove over and over that they can be relied on for their loyalty and unstinting, high-quality work, those around them often take them for granted–even take advantage of them. Admittedly, the problem is sometimes aggravated by the ISFJs themselves; for instance, they are notoriously bad at delegating (“If you want it done right, do it yourself”).

And this one:

They are capable of forming strong loyalties, but these are personal rather than institutional loyalties; if someone they’ve bonded with in this way leaves the company, the ISFJ will leave with them, if given the option.

This one had me laughing out loud.  It’s me all over:

ISFJs have a few, close friends. They are extremely loyal to these, and are ready to provide emotional and practical support at a moment’s notice. (However, like most Fs they hate confrontation; if you get into a fight, don’t expect them to jump in after you. You can count on them, however, run and get the nearest authority figure.)

But the best part was the list of potential careers:

Traditional careers for an ISFJ include: teaching, social work, most religious work, nursing, medicine (general practice only), clerical and and secretarial work of any kind, and some kinds of administrative careers.

Now tell me that’s not what I do every single day.

As for the prayer for my personality type…

“Lord, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right.”

AMEN.

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I hate summer storms. Let’s be perfectly clear about this. I hate them. I know there is a whole group of people out there who love them. They love the way the rain refreshes the earth and breaks up the humidity while the gentle roll of thunder can be heard in the distance. Children grab rain boots and umbrellas and splash in puddles. Mom puts up her feet on the porch and reads a book. Yeah, I like those storms, too, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about severe thunderstorms. The kind that cause watches and warnings to be issued. The kind which are capable of producing strong winds, hail and tornadoes. Tornadoes terrify me. I live in a house with no basement, that is rumored to have no foundation and whose only interior room is a 3 foot by 3 foot bathroom.

The threat of severe weather puts my stomach into knots. I fret and pace and monitor the weather channel. I become crabby and tense. I may even round up shoes, my purse and some blankets and put them in the hallway next to bathroom in case we need to take cover. I try to talk myself back from the edge, telling myself that while our area does get frequent, often daily, severe thunderstorms that may cause some damage, and that tornadoes are possible, they are very rare here. And the one or two that have touched down in the DC Metro area have been small and short. Mostly. In the 5 total years we’ve lived here, we have not once ever gone to an actual tornado warning. But still, I worry.

Our forecast will hold the possibility of thunderstorms almost every day until the mid-Fall. It’s hard for me to relax and make plans to be away from the house, knowing that at any moment the weather is going to go to hell in a hand-basket. Yes, these are anxious days for me. Time to lay in a supply of chocolate.

note: As soon as I finished this blog post, the weather alert on my computer informed me that we are now under a tornado watch until 8 pm.  That’s 7 hours for me to worry about.  Lovely.

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It seems like a good Catholic girl, with 4 children, the youngest of which is getting a bit old to be called the “baby”, cannot knit a pair of baby booties without everyone thinking that another baby is on the way.

Sorry, the only thing being knit is the booties.  One of my good friends from Korea is expecting a grandson in June and the booties are for him.

Thanks for the laugh, though.  I didn’t see that one coming.

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I’m sick.

No, not because I’ve got some kind of notebook obsession or too much yarn or a whole room full of rubber stamping and scrapbooking supplies.  I’m honestly sick.

I was getting over my cold and was feeling better when I got hit with chills and stomach pains on Wednesday night.  By Thursday morning I was having cold sweats just trying to sit at the computer and read my favorite homeschooling boards.  I knew I wasn’t going to make the Brownie meeting.  I slept all day.  I ate a piece of toast.  I tried to stay hydrated.

Today…a little better.  I had a bowl of cereal.  We managed to catch up on school work.  But now I’m seriously regretting that bowl of cereal.  Blech.

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Q: Can you share a neat Advent activity or craft with us?

For a Advent activity or craft – well, I like these stars from Dawn. We’ll be making those this year. Another quick and easy one is this little angel I made for the Jesse Tree Swap. They look cute tied to packages or hanging from a garland on your mantle.

You need 30 mm jingle bells, a spool of gold cord, a spool of thin gold ribbon, a spool of wide, white organdy ribbon, a spool of gold beads, a spool of lace and some wood balls with or without a hole through them. I found it all at Michael’s, but ran out of lace and went to a closer fabric store for more. I like the lace I got at the fabric store MUCH better. It had a finished edge, which caused the lace the form a circle almost by itself. Make the extra trip and get that kind of lace. You’ll also need regular and mini glue dots.

Start with the body. Cut a piece of lace that will go around the bell for a dress. If you’re making more than one, get some paper and mark your measurements. Don’t bother with a ruler, just mark the length and label it. Use a glue dots to stick on the lace.

Cut a length of gold cord for a hanger. Record your measurement. Thread the cord through the tab on top of the bell and tie. Try to stick the knot and end into the bell if you can. If not, don’t worry. Don’t go nuts with it. If your wooden ball has a hole through it, thread the non-knot end of the cord through the hole, make another knot right on top of the ball. Make sure you make an extra long cord to do this. If your ball doesn’t have a hole, just use a glue dot to stick it to the top of the bell.

Cut a small piece of gold ribbon and tie it in a bow. Use a glue dot to stick it on the front of the angel’s dress. You remembered to mark your measurement, right?

Cut a piece of organdy ribbon and tie into a bow. Use a glue dot to stick it to the back of the angel. Cut a piece of the gold beads to make a halo. A mini glue dot will stick it on just fine. I like to put it back on the head a bit so it’s just sticking up.

That’s it, you’re done. You can use colored pencils or paint to put a face on if you want, but they are cute as is. If you’re making a lot of these, use the measurements you recorded to cut all the ribbons at once and make them in an assembly line.

You can actually buy kits for these through Oriental Trading Company, but their shipping takes forever, unless you’re willing to pay a whole lot more. Might as well just get the supplies yourself. I made 29 angels from the supplies I had and I could have made more.

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