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Oh my. I am SO excited. I’m nervous, and my heart’s all a-flutter.
(It feels like the first day of school – anxiously awaiting meeting new people. Will they like me? Am I cool enough? Am I going to have any friends? Yeah, I seriously am a dork. A likable dork, though, right?)
It’s not the first day of school, but I am still full of nervous energy. It’s the Ultimate Blog Party, and it’s happening at a hip little site called 5 Minutes For Mom. It’s basically a virtual party – a way to meet other bloggers.
So, I have these teeny tiny little plans for one day having a great blog that people I don’t even know want to read. I know, I know… what aspiring blogger doesn’t want that? But still, there it is. And here’s my chance to actually meet some cool people around the blogosphere in addition to few faithful friends that actually read and comment here already (hi few and faithful friends! i love you guys!).
Well, I guess I should introduce myself, rather than blathering on like a total dork.
I’m Beth, aka Red. Here’s a photo of me to explain the name:
Get it? Good. I knew you were smart. And on the right is my honey. He’s so sweet. Those big brown eyes get me every time… *sigh*.
Here’s the lowdown on us. I guess you could read the ‘about’ page (which I want to re-write soon anyway), but here’s the quick and dirty version (Is that a bad saying? I tend to sometimes use bad sayings without actually knowing what they mean. I’m innocent, what can I say?!):
We met and fell in love in high school. I was 17, he was 18. We got married at 19 & 20. It was love, true love. We’re coming up on our 6th anniversary now, and have the world’s cutest baby. His name is Isaac.
Hubby is partway through his training to become a missionary pilot. I’m a SAHM. We are working towards a future as missionaries in Africa. We’ve already been short-term, and got the itch.
Or, more accurately, God called us.
And like Abraham in Genesis 12, we don’t want to settle where we are (ie. we don’t want to become complacent and say no when God is calling us to something kinda scary). We want to pack up and go wherever God is calling us, even if it sometimes sucks.
And that’s the truth.
Regarding this blog… to be perfectly honest, I’m still trying to discover my niche. Until I figure that out, you get to read my jumbled mess of thoughts in this whacked out thing they call motherhood.
I’d love to make some new blogging friends who are super-cool like me, so leave a comment and introduce yourself, whether you are participating in the Ultimate Blog Party or not. I can’t wait to meet you!
Yay for parties!
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P.S. Here are my top choices for UBP09 prizes:
USC 57 – Personalized Graphic Button Design
USC 47 – $25 Amazon gift certificate
USC 6 – $50 gift certificate to www.iseemyface.com
Or any of these would be great too: USC 61, 67, 73, 58, 49, 44, 23, 36, 30, 21, 20, 17, 16, 15, 3
If you’ve been reading my blog at all over the last few months, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been having a bit of an identity crisis. I’ve been changing the name of the blog oh, about a zillion times.
I just can’t settle on a name that I *LOVE*. You know, the Perfect Blog Title.
Even the current one is just mediocre. And mediocrity, my friends, is NOT ok with me. I’m an all or nothing type of person. (Actually, I think it sometimes prevents me from doing things, because I’m afraid I won’t measure up to my own high standards, so I just don’t bother trying). But that’s enough about my weird psychological quirks. The point is…
I can’t think of a blog title!
Arghhh! OK, that’s it… the next time I change it, it will be permanent. Forever and ever until I say otherwise. I have hope – inspiration will strike, I just need to have patience.
Stay tuned for greatness…
How do you like my title for this post? Oh, I guess you’re not really supposed to ask things like that out loud (or actually type them and hit “publish”). But that’s ok, it only serves to demonstrate my point. I am so awkwardly weirdly nice and reclusive.
OK, so I can’t remember how it happened, but a few months ago, I somehow stumbled into the world of blogging. There are a whole gaggle of bloggers out there in the bloggish world, with blogger ways and insider bloggish code words and bloggish jokes. Many of them are moms, and many of them are Christians. Many of them are good, no, excellent writers, and I find myself giggling out loud or getting a little teary as the post may demand (hey leave me alone, I’m 41 weeks preggo and entitled to be an emotional basket-case). I’m still discovering which ones are my favorites, and which ones I want to read regularly, and whether it’s even cool to read mom blogs regularly, and whether I really care if it’s cool or not.
Many of them (the bloggers) are also… um… “cool”. You know what I mean – picture grade school, and the “cool group”… and how you always knew you were so not one of them, but at times felt sorta close, but never really totally in… and at other times you felt like you were living on a different planet from the cool group, and they either barely knew you existed or else they watched you through their super-high-powered telescopes and just laughed at you whispering about you because of your way obvious uncoolness.
Or maybe you have no idea what I’m talking about because you were always in the cool group, but never even realized it, because you were so cool.
Umm.. anyway.
So I like writing too, and I think I’m good at it (although I think entertaining and edifying people through blog writing is probably a whole lot harder than getting A’s on my university papers on the metaphysics of theism, or the basis of social political philosophy). In fact, I’m pretty much terrified at the thought of putting my best writing duds on and laying it all out for my peers to read. (Peers is a really funny word to me. It consists of “pee” and the letters “r” and “s”. Sorry, I blame baby brain).
But I wanna do it anyway. I’m not promising to be good at it, in fact I’m not even promising to post consistently. But hey, I’m gonna try. As the sexy hubby says, “hon, who’s gonna argue with a 41 week pregnant woman?”.
Yay for blogging. I hope I can do it without worrying too much about what ya’ll are thinking. Seriously, it’s a human flaw of mine. I can’t think of a cleverly funny or wise ending to this post, so I’m just gonna go with “catch ya later”.
Yeah that works.
OK, bye.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/ThePriceOfAMom.aspx
This is awesome! Too bad that’s not what you actually get paid.
I’m sitting here in my living room listening to a really good singer on American Idol. It’s embarassing, but I kind of like that show. It’s entertaining. And my Nana and Grampa love it, they enjoy “seeing the kids’ personalities”. I don’t mention that as if it’s supposed to prove I’m not as big a dork as you might think, rather I just post it because I think it’s funny. I might well be the only one, but I guess you’d have to know my family.
I just finished doing the dishes, am about to fold the laundry, and I’m not falling asleep as I type. Oh, and I already made my lunch for tomorrow. Hurray for me.
No stretch marks (yet), no morning sickness, just a few other minor complaints that no one really wants to read about… I can hardly believe how uneventful my pregnancy has been thus far. Let’s pray it stays that way until birth day. The latest amazing thing is feeling the baby’s movements (as of yesterday). It’s incredible, really.
As I sit here, with the TV on for background noise (as I always do when Chris is out), twilight rapidly seeping into my house, and just enjoying a quiet night to myself, I realize that I’m content. And it’s a nice place to be. I’m thanking Jesus for the life he’s given me, and pray that I can be content even in the hard times too.
Yeah, so I like alot of things. I am a strange yet lovable person, and I just want to be the best version of me that God created me to be.
I like artistic things and music and colors and sunshine. The rain is also pretty amazing, but I like more sun than rain. A good summer thunderstorm with lightning and thunder when I’m snuggled on the couch with Chris is just amazing. But a sunny day in March after a long winter is equally delicious.
I love food alot. I love sushi, and dill pickles, and nachos and salsa. Actually pretty much all Mexican food. And turkey dinners. I look forward to those all year long.
I have an unexplained fear of revolving doors and avoid them at all costs. I think that’s weird. I also really love my friends and family. They are awesome. I haven’t always had close friends in my life, let alone a group of 6 of us that I call best friends. So blessed. And my family isn’t too bad either. haha.
Oh yeah, I love cleaning too, but yet my house isn’t spotless. Explain that one!
Scrapbooking is a favorite hobby, but I wish I were better/more dedicated at it. Same goes for photography. And painting. And drawing. And writing… and.. and…
I want to go back to school and get my masters someday. In between kids, after kids, ever… ? I don’t know. God knows.
Anyway, that’s enough of my talking about nothing. I guess I was bored or something. Good night!
Oh one more thing… ok like 3… I love babies and am having one of my own!!!!!!!! I love Jesus & seek Him daily, and I just love LOVE. Jesus’ love of his bride is the ultimate example for how I am supposed to love.
I’m becoming a closet sci-fi fan. In a small way, let me emphasize. It’s Chris’s fault. But still, I guess I (grudgingly) enjoy it. I’m watching Stargate Season 3 right now (last episode), and I have to say, it’s been entertaining. Not terribly violent, fairly good language and values, and no inappropriate sexual scenes. Kinda tame by today’s standards. The first season was terribly cheesy, but they’ve gotten better as we went on. I *cough* actually kind of like it. And the best part – fairly often there are significant moral and philosophical issues in episodes, such as personhood, the meaning of life, what is defined as “good”, and the importance of being a learner in culture.
Well, now I’ve admitted it. There’s no going back…
My January 11 Resolution (a new year’s resolution in disguise with approximately the same amount of motivation, much more intent, and way better reasoning than “the year just changed”).
I resolve to clean my house. Realllllly well and regularly. I’m talking wall-scrubbing, closet-weeding, window-washing, furniture-moving-and-dusting kind of cleaning.
I know, I know, all of you super-organized clean freaks out there are currently wrinkling your noses in righteous indignation exclaiming to your computer screens, “ewww… I would never allow my cleaning to fall behind”…
But I gotta admit – I am an expert at leading a very busy life and allowing those dedication-requiring cleaning jobs to fall by the wayside. So I resolve on this day of January 11 to make a cleaning schedule and stick to it. I like cleaning – it makes me happy – therefore this should be a snap. Furthermore, I resolve to use less and less chemical cleaners and more and more natural cleaners, eventually ridding my home of toxic cleaning chemicals altogether.
I’ll let you know next January 11 how the resolution goes.
Well, I think I have a case of “greener-grass-itis”. It’s inevitable, isn’t it? I just got back from a 2 week business trip to Kenya for meetings, and I actually had the nerve to think my life is uncool? Geez, what is wrong with me??
My life rocks. I love my husband more than I ever thought it was possible to love another human being (Jesus excluded, of course). I love my job, and consider myself to be the luckiest (or “most blessed” for those of you who only speak christianese) person for this time in my life. I have an amazing and cozy townhouse to live in, enough food to eat and then some, and hopes and dreams to keep me motivated.
Sure, the weather may be freezing (especially compared to Kenya), and life has a way of throwing curve balls at you sometimes (my sister), and there is so much garbage that goes on in the world. Nonetheless, I’m pretty sure everyone else’s grass is no greener than mine. I deliberately choose to be JOYFUL in ALL circumstances, placing my trust in God ALONE, and building PERSEVERANCE!
Merry Christmas everyone. Yeah, that’s right, I said it… MERRY CHRISTMAS. Not “happy holidays” or “season’s greetings”. Summer and spring and fall are seasons too, and Victoria day is also a holiday. IT’S NOT LOGICAL to celebrate the CHRISTMAS season without calling it CHRISTMAS. If you’re Jewish and celebrate Hannukah, then fine. Say “Happy Hannukah”. But don’t deny me the right to say “Merry Christmas” if you’re just some burnt-out, cynical, secular atheist who can’t face the facts and admit that there’s a God, and it’s HIS son’s birthday!
And that’s what’s in my head right now. Got more than you paid for, didn’t ya?
I’ve discovered a bit about myself lately by doing the Myers-Briggs Personality Type-Indicator. It says I am an INTP. This is one description I found on the web, and I certainly would agree that it is describing me to a “t” (whatever that means). It is eerily accurate (I’ve underlined the parts that especially resonated with me).
Another extremely good (perhaps even better, although longer) article/essay on the INTP personality type is found at this link: http://www.intp.org/intprofile.html.
This link says that only 1% of the population are INTP’s.
If that’s the case, it’s no wonder I feel so strange and misunderstood so often.
***
The Thinker
As an INTP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things rationally and logically. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.
INTPs live in the world of theoretical possibilities. They see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into. They live primarily inside their own minds, having the ability to analyze difficult problems, identify patterns, and come up with logical explanations. They seek clarity in everything, and are therefore driven to build knowledge. They are the “absent-minded professors”, who highly value intelligence and the ability to apply logic to theories to find solutions. They typically are so strongly driven to turn problems into logical explanations, that they live much of their lives within their own heads, and may not place as much importance or value on the external world. Their natural drive to turn theories into concrete understanding may turn into a feeling of personal responsibility to solve theoretical problems, and help society move towards a higher understanding.
INTPs value knowledge above all else. Their minds are constantly working to generate new theories, or to prove or disprove existing theories. They approach problems and theories with enthusiasm and skepticism, ignoring existing rules and opinions and defining their own approach to the resolution. They seek patterns and logical explanations for anything that interests them. They’re usually extremely bright, and able to be objectively critical in their analysis. They love new ideas, and become very excited over abstractions and theories. They love to discuss these concepts with others. They may seem “dreamy” and distant to others, because they spend a lot of time inside their minds musing over theories. They hate to work on routine things – they would much prefer to build complex theoretical solutions, and leave the implementation of the system to others. They are intensely interested in theory, and will put forth tremendous amounts of time and energy into finding a solution to a problem with has piqued their interest.
INTPs do not like to lead or control people. They’re very tolerant and flexible in most situations, unless one of their firmly held beliefs has been violated or challenged, in which case they may take a very rigid stance. The INTP is likely to be very shy when it comes to meeting new people. On the other hand, the INTP is very self-confident and gregarious around people they know well, or when discussing theories which they fully understand.
The INTP has no understanding or value for decisions made on the basis of personal subjectivity or feelings. They strive constantly to achieve logical conclusions to problems, and don’t understand the importance or relevance of applying subjective emotional considerations to decisions. For this reason, INTPs are usually not in-tune with how people are feeling, and are not naturally well-equiped to meet the emotional needs of others.
The INTP may have a problem with self-aggrandizement and social rebellion, which will interfere with their creative potential. Since their Feeling side is their least developed trait, the INTP may have difficulty giving the warmth and support that is sometimes necessary in intimate relationships. If the INTP doesn’t realize the value of attending to other people’s feelings, he or she may become overly critical and sarcastic with others. If the INTP is not able to find a place for themself which supports the use of their strongest abilities, they may become generally negative and cynical. If the INTP has not developed their Sensing side sufficiently, they may become unaware of their environment, and exhibit weakness in performing maintenance-type tasks, such as bill-paying and dressing appropriately.
For the INTP, it is extremely important that ideas and facts are expressed correctly and succinctly. They are likely to express themselves in what they believe to be absolute truths. Sometimes, their well thought-out understanding of an idea is not easily understandable by others, but the INTP is not naturally likely to tailor the truth so as to explain it in an understandable way to others. The INTP may be prone to abandoning a project once they have figured it out, moving on to the next thing. It’s important that the INTP place importance on expressing their developed theories in understandable ways. In the end, an amazing discovery means nothing if you are the only person who understands it.
The INTP is usually very independent, unconventional, and original. They are not likely to place much value on traditional goals such as popularity and security. They usually have complex characters, and may tend to be restless and temperamental. They are strongly ingenious, and have unconventional thought patterns which allows them to analyze ideas in new ways. Consequently, a lot of scientific breakthroughs in the world have been made by the INTP.
The INTP is at his best when he can work on his theories independently. When given an environment which supports his creative genius and possible eccentricity, the INTP can accomplish truly remarkable things. These are the pioneers of new thoughts in our society.
Red and Honey 