Notes From the Cornfield.....

Jung Typology Test

2010-04-08T19:18:00.003-05:00

So I have been in an introspective mood lately. Being locked up in the house during a cold winter will do that to a person I have learned. Job hunting can also do that.

A friend of mine sent me a link to this quiz. It it supposed to tell me my ideal career.

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

Apparently I am an INFJ - An Idealist - Counselor

A description from the following site http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=3&c=counselor says.....

Counselors have an exceptionally strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others, and find great personal fulfillment interacting with people, nurturing their personal development, guiding them to realize their human potential. Although they are happy working at jobs (such as writing) that require solitude and close attention, Counselors do quite well with individuals or groups of people, provided that the personal interactions are not superficial, and that they find some quiet, private time every now and then to recharge their batteries. Counselors are both kind and positive in their handling of others; they are great listeners and seem naturally interested in helping people with their personal problems. Not usually visible leaders, Counselors prefer to work intensely with those close to them, especially on a one-to-one basis, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes.

Counselors are scarce, little more than one percent of the population, and can be hard to get to know, since they tend not to share their innermost thoughts or their powerful emotional reactions except with their loved ones. They are highly private people, with an unusually rich, complicated inner life. Friends or colleagues who have known them for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that Counselors are flighty or scattered; they value their integrity a great deal, but they have mysterious, intricately woven personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.
Counselors tend to work effectively in organizations. They value staff harmony and make every effort to help an organization run smoothly and pleasantly. They understand and use human systems creatively, and are good at consulting and cooperating with others. As employees or employers, Counselors are concerned with people's feelings and are able to act as a barometer of the feelings within the organization.

Blessed with vivid imaginations, Counselors are often seen as the most poetical of all the types, and in fact they use a lot of poetic imagery in their everyday language. Their great talent for language-both written and spoken-is usually directed toward communicating with people in a personalized way. Counselors are highly intuitive and can recognize another's emotions or intentions - good or evil - even before that person is aware of them. Counselors themselves can seldom tell how they came to read others' feelings so keenly. This extreme sensitivity to others could very well be the basis of the Counselor's remarkable ability to experience a whole array of psychic phenomena.

Ideal fields for my personality are Social Work, Education, Librarian, Law, Psychology/Counseling, Design or Science....

The Counselor (INFJ) can be found in the field of education as a professor , teacher, counselor, or educational consultant. Sometimes they feel a strong calling toward the religious life as clergy, nun, or director of religious education. Social service jobs, such as social worker, social scientist, or mediator can fit their needs. Some Counselors work in human services, marketing, or as a job analyst. Others are drawn to the arts as a novelist, designer, or artist.

Interesting...all fields I have had an interest in or already worked in...... I kinda dig the Nun part...now that's a new one for me :)

Is it me? Perhaps....I guess we are never really the best judges of these things....

Spring is here......

2010-04-06T14:43:00.002-05:00

I have returned from hibernation.....

Spring
by Bill Vartnaw

Spring & for all the craziness

& death, I find I’m still in love

with, among others, myself

O, adventurers would find

me boring as they venture up their mountain

I’m nowhere near their trail, still

spring courses through me

like a fifth cup of coffee

in an hour

I walk monoxide sidewalks,

searching for something in the windows to redeem

my idle habits—mere objects

have never held me for long, unless

they have meaning to engage my wit,

otherwise they’re just someone else’s elevators

going up to a price tag

I’m not willing to pay. The traffic

(& yours truly)

always has had a mind of its own that honks

when it thinks it’s right

Do I ignore responsibility? We can think we do

Everything that is done to/by/for us…

Well, we can choose the moon. It enters

our lives on such a regular basis

we nearly take it

for “granite”?

Then, one night

much like any other, except it’s this night

under this deepening blue sky

with all its bright twinkling thisses

The… moon

appears—

big & pale

crescent yellow,

just above the hill—

reflecting off electric skyscraper windows…

Everything I feel tells me:

Honk! what is distance

when Spring is coursing through

Times flies....

2009-11-25T16:06:00.003-06:00

Not a post since summer.....what has had me so busy.....we bought a house....need I say more?

Hopefully things have settled enough and I will return to posting....

Three Year Anniversary

2009-06-08T18:28:00.002-05:00

“A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.”

Richard Bach

I love you Tu

Iowa summer bring it on!

2009-05-22T15:25:00.003-05:00

Before living here I had never appreciated the green before so much in my life.

It is as if every year the slate is wiped clean and a new world of possibility blooms....

The search for inspiration

2009-05-21T15:25:00.004-05:00

I have been on the hunt lately for hobbies.....quilting is one....then knitting....yoga...and of course I plan to get involved in theater again eventually......but not sure what I want to do in that at the moment...

I am now working a job from home that allows me a flexible schedule so I have time to become more involved in something....just not sure what. I have strong craving lately to get back to my roots. Maybe it's moving to Iowa where there is so much history surrounding me...glorious old buildings from the 1800s, lovely old homes, and just more of an interest in history in general. There are people here who's families have been here since the state was new...I met a woman who has lived in a home her family built in the 1800's. There is something very solid here in that. Miami always seems to be a city in transition. People come and go, buildings go up, down and back up. The Miami of my childhood is long gone. Heck the Miami of 5 years ago is long gone. Things move in lightening speed there...

Growing up in Miami history pretty much dated back to the 1920s ...everyone in Miami these days seem to be from someplace else...if not themselves than maybe a generation or two away. My own love Danny is a first generation Cuban-American. He says moving here to Iowa has gotten be back to my "white people" roots. He said in Miami I was different and here I look like everyone else. lol I must say it did take some getting used too. I have never been around this many pale skinned natural blonds or blue eyes in my life. I had a professor in college who always told me I never seemed like I belonged in Miami.

So just what are my roots? Well on my fathers side we have been here since the Mayflower, no kidding, the actual Mayflower. My grandmother is actually a member of the Mayflower Society and Daughters of the American Revolution. (DAR). On my mothers side... her grandmother was from Germany, her father also goes way back... at least to the Revolution maybe further... so DAR on both sides.

I am a double DAR baby :)

Years ago I played a character in a Tennessee William's play who had a line how she had just come back from a DAR meeting.... I always thought to myself....one day maybe I will actually join.

The day has come... I am finally living someplace where there are three chapters in my back yard...my grandmother sent me all the genealogy information.

So I think finally I will give it a whirl... back to my roots....back home....where I belong...

Either that or I have finally officially become a Williams heroine....

A return

2009-05-19T15:00:00.002-05:00

"But I need a place where I can shout and weep. I have to be a Spanish savage at some time of the day. I record here the hysteria life causes in me. The overflow of an undisciplined extravagance. To hell with taste and art, with all contractions and polishings. Here I shout, I dance, I weep, I gnash my teeth, I go mad -- all by myself, in bad English, in chaos. It will keep me sane for the world and for art."

Anais Nin

Here we go........

2008-12-18T16:26:00.005-06:00

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 12 PM CST FRIDAY.

SNOW WILL BEGIN TONIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY MORNING.

SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES AND POSSIBLY MIXED WITH SLEET...WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT BEFORE ENDING FRIDAY MORNING. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 7 TO 10 INCHES ARE EXPECTED WITH THE STORM. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE. A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. HEAVY AMOUNTS OF SNOW AND SLEET WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY DANGEROUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. TRAVEL ONLY IN AN EMERGENCY AND TAKE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT.

Some scenes of Iowa Christmas

2008-12-17T02:12:00.009-06:00

Some lovely scenes from the Tannenbaum Forest in the Amana Colonies. http://www.amanacolonies.com/

An annual festival, dozens of decorated live Christmas trees fill the 100 year old Festhalle Barn. There is also all the usual shopping, food, and German craftmanship, it was so pretty to see everything decorated for the holidays and a lovely fresh coat of snow.

We went last weekend...even saw Santa ;)

All I ever needed to know

2008-11-19T01:38:00.002-06:00

The question: What have I really learned about life since my childhood?

The answer: Nothing.

The fact of the matter is that higher education has not affected life as we live it ( just what we will be making when we finally join the work force). Everything worth knowing we have known since we were five... We learned it in kindergarten.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.

Play Fair.

Don’t hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life – Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.

Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die.

So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned – the biggest word of all – LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm.

Think what a better world it would be if we all – the whole world – had cookies and milk at about three o’clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap.

Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

-Robert Fulghum

Football Hero part 2

2008-11-17T12:50:00.001-06:00

Ah fate....the game was started... but then halted midway due to weather.
Will be finished up this week.

Football Hero

2008-11-13T02:17:00.004-06:00

When I was in high school I never liked the "jocks." I was always more into the artsy drama boys, the intellectuals, or the geeks with a rebel side. I always liked the quirky boys. In some ways I still do. I never looked twice at the football team back then. I was much too "enlightened" for that traditional form of Americana.

Now I have a wonderful man in my life who somehow has a way of embodying all my favorite things in a man, he is geeky with an edge, artsy with sense, intellectual, and a conservative rebel. He is also the "jock" and loves playing just about anything....and he is good too. Sports are now a part of my life and he has taken his company team to the finals in football this season. Later today, I will be on the sidelines cheering him on in the championship game.

After all these years...I am finally dating the quarterback!

Weekend

2008-11-11T13:50:00.003-06:00

Danny and I spent a lovely weekend watching football, cruising craft/harvest festivals, looking at houses, and sitting by the fire at the local coffee house.

The snow never fully arrived but the temps were in the 20s.

Why is it hot chocolate always tastes extra special when its so very cold outside?

Things I have learned living in Iowa

2008-11-07T12:12:00.004-06:00

Danny and I grew up in Miami. To us seasons and weather was mildly hot, kinda hot, really hot, horrid humid, rainy, or a hurricane. That's all you needed to know really.... up here it's a whole new white wintry world. Before living here I thought snow was snow. It fell and then it melted. I had heard the Eskimos had a hundred words to describe the white stuff...but I had no idea until living here just how right that is. And not just snow, winter weather in general. To share my new found expert knowledge from our record snow fall last winter....and since first real snow is expected this week...(we had light flurries last week)..some things I have learned about winter in Iowa. (Thanks to the NOAA website).

Snow Flurries: Light snow falling for short durations. No accumulation or light dusting is all that is expected.

Snow Showers: Snow falling at varying intensities for brief periods of time. Some accumulation is possible.

Snow Squalls: Brief, intense snow showers accompanied by strong, gusty winds. Accumulation may be significant. Snow squalls are best known in the Great Lakes region.

Blowing Snow: Wind-driven snow that reduces visibility and causes significant drifting. Blowing snow may be snow that is falling and/or loose snow on the ground picked up by the wind.

Sleet: Rain drops that freeze into ice pellets before reaching the ground. Sleet usually bounces when hitting a surface and does not stick to objects. However, it can accumulate like snow and cause a hazard to motorists.

Freezing Rain: Rain that falls onto a surface with a temperature below freezing. This causes it to freeze to surfaces, such as trees, cars, and roads, forming a coating or glaze of ice. Even small accumulations of ice can cause a significant hazard.

Ice Storms: Ice storms result when freezing rain accumulates to at least 1/4 inch or more. The rain freezes on contact with the ground or objects near the surface. As the rain freezes, ice accumulates on roads, tree limbs, power lines, etc., creating dangerous driving conditions and potential power outages.

Winter Storm Warning: Issued when a combination of heavy snow, heavy freezing rain, or heavy sleet is expected. Winter Storm Warnings are usually issued six to 24 hours before the event is expected to begin.

Winter Storm Watch: Alerts the public to the possibility of a blizzard, heavy snow, freezing rain, or heavy sleet. Winter Storm Watches are usually issued 12 to 36 hours before the beginning of a Winter Storm.

Winter Storm Outlook: Issued prior to a Winter Storm Watch. The Outlook is given when forecasters believe winter storm conditions are possible and are usually issued 48 to 60 hours in advance of a winter storm.

Blizzard Warning: Issued for sustained or gusty winds of 35 mph or more, and falling or blowing snow creating visibilities at or below 1/4 mile; these conditions should persist for at least three hours.

Lake Effect Snow Warning: Issued when lake effect snow is expected to occur. A Lake Effect Snow Advisory also cautions for the possibility of snow.

Wind Chill:The calculation of temperature that takes into consideration the effects of wind and temperature on the human body. This is not the actual air temperature, but what it "feels like" to the average person. Helps to tell the difference between actual air temperature and perceived temperature, and the amount of time until frostbite occurs.

Wind Chill Warning: Issued when wind chill temperatures are expected to be less than 34 degrees below zero.

Wind Chill Advisory: Issued when wind chill temperatures are expected to be between 20 below and 34 degrees below zero.

Winter Weather Advisories: Issued for accumulations of snow, freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and sleet which will cause significant inconvenience and moderately dangerous conditions.

Dense Fog Advisory: Issued when fog will reduce visibility to 1/8 mile or less over a widespread area.

Of course once the white stuff falls there are dozens of terms to describe that as well....dusting, powder, packed, light, accumulated, hard, wet, dry, blowing, drifts, slush, etc etc etc...

I won't even get started on all the accessories it takes to live in snow...that would be a post in itself.

It's so much more than just pretty white stuff!

Welcome to winter everyone one ;)

As I was walking today...

2008-11-06T00:28:00.007-06:00

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
1916

Brand New Day

2008-11-05T00:11:00.006-06:00

Everybody look around
'Cause there's a reason to rejoice you see
Everybody come out
And let's commence to singing joyfully
Everybody look up
And feel the hope that we've been waiting for

Everybody's glad
Because our silent fear and dread is gone
Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully
Just look about
You owe it to yourself to check it out
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?

Everybody be glad
Because the sun is shining just for us
Everybody wake up
Into the morning into happiness

Hello world
It's like a different way of living now
And thank you world
We always knew that we'd be free somehow
In harmony
And show the world that we've got liberty

It's such a change
For us to live so independently
Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully
Just look about
You owe it to yourself to check it out
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?

Everybody be glad
Because the sun is shining just for us
Everybody wake up
Into the morning into happiness
Hello world
It's like a different way of living now
And thank you world
We always knew that we'd be free somehow
In harmony
And show the world that we've got liberty

It's such a change
For us to live so independently
Freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully
Just look about
You owe it to yourself to check it out
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?
Can't you feel a brand new day?

From the Musical
The Wiz

Civic Duty!

2008-11-04T15:24:00.004-06:00

Danny and I voted today!

We may have opposite political ideas sometimes but we walked hand and hand into the polls to do our civic duty in our new home state.

It was a proud day.

People like the way dreams have of sticking to the soul

2008-11-04T04:03:00.006-06:00

Corner of the Sky

From the Musical PIPPIN

Everything has its season
Everything has its time
Show me a reason and I'll soon show you a rhyme
Cats fit on the windowsill
Children fit in the snow
Why do I feel I don't fit in anywhere I go?

Rivers belong where they can ramble
Eagles belong where they can fly
I've got to be where my spirit can run free
Got to find my corner of the sky

Every man has his daydreams
Every man has his goal
People like the way dreams have
Of sticking to the soul
Thunderclouds have their lightning
Nightingales have their song
And don't you see I want my life to be
Something more than long....

Rivers belong where they can ramble
Eagles belong where they can fly
I've got to be where my spirit can run free
Got to find my corner of the sky

So many men seem destined
To settle for something small
But I won't rest until I know I'll have it all
So don't ask where I'm going
Just listen when I'm gone
And far away you'll hear me singing
Softly to the dawn:

Rivers belong where they can ramble
Eagles belong where they can fly
I've got to be where my spirit can run free
Got to find my corner of the sky

Flood 2008

2008-06-29T18:41:00.000-05:00

Spring is here and love is in the air...

2008-05-30T16:55:00.003-05:00

Love Changes Everything

From the Musical
Aspects of Love
Music: Andrew Lloyd Weber
Lyrics: Don Black and Charles Hart

Love, love changes everything:
Hands and faces, earth and sky.
Love, love changes everything:
How you live and how you die.

Love can make the summer fly
Or a night seem like a lifetime.
Yes love, love changes everything
Now I tremble at your name.

Nothing in the world
Will ever be the same.

Love, love changes everything:
Days are longer, words mean more.
Love, love changes everything:
Pain is deeper than before.

Love will turn your world around
And that world will last forever.
Yes love, love changes everything,
Brings you glory, brings you shame.

Nothing in the world
Will ever be the same.

Off into the world we go,
Planning futures, shaping years.
Love bursts in and suddenly,
All our wisdom disappears.

Love makes fools of everyone:
All the rules we make are broken.
Yes love, love changes everyone.
Live or perish in its flame.

Love will never never
Let you be the same.
Love will never never
Let you be the same.

Click the pause button on the MP3 Player below to hush the Beatles before you play this Video. You can hear the wonderful Michael Ball and others sing this song.

2008-02-04T18:18:00.000-06:00

One year ago today I left the warmth of sunny Florida and headed north to Iowa....

As you can imagine....my sanity was questioned......but sometimes you just have to follow your heart.... open your mind... and see where life takes you....

Enjoy the ride!

Testing Testing

2008-02-02T03:05:00.000-06:00

1, 2, 3

This thing on?