Once a Week Campaign

I just invented this. Please join me in Once a Week! Send a letter to your state representative once a week about whatever issue you're interested in. 

Dear Congressman Labrador, 

I'm a teacher in the Boise area and wanted to let you know of an amazing tools teachers use when collaborating. The reason I want to share them with you is to inspire an atmosphere of compromise in our congress. I know I am just one person but I know of many people that are hoping the partisan bickering will end. 

I think the way we're treating the word "compromise" is incorrect. We, as republicans or democrats, seem to see the word compromise and think, "Compromise my values. Compromise my beliefs. Compromise who I am." With this mindset, anything other that what is on our own agenda is hogwash. We should view compromise as a a form of consensus instead. 

When collaborating with other teachers, often times, we don't all have the same agendas. Some ideas that will work for one teacher don't work for another. One tool we have used is called the "Continuum of Consensus." Here are the levels of the continuum:

1. All can embrace

2. All can endorse

3. All can live with it.

4. All can agree not to sabotage.

5. Majority Rules

Notice, our current system is the lowest level of the continuum! I think this is where all our anger arises when congress is in gridlock. We put forth measures that only one side agrees with. I think if we use the continuum as a guide while discussing and composing legislation to be passed to come up with bills that fall at least on levels 1 - 3 for everyone, that we could actually accomplish something in government. When bills arrive at the house and senate they're already at a point where some can embrace, some can endorse and some can live with. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope to see my country and government getting along. 

Sincerely, 

Andrea Schofield

The Real Cost of Owning a Home vol. 1

As of Thursday August 18, 2011 at 4:30 pm, we are happy home owners! We are ecstatic to move into our quaint 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home over the next few days. Our move will entail transporting all our belongings from my grandma's garage to ours...about 8 houses down. 9 houses down from ours is where we've been living for the past 3 weeks, my parents house. That's right...4 generations in one neighborhood. It the talk of our subdivision. The youngest generation just arrived on July 28, 2011 at 5:13 pm. Pictures to come. Anyways...with interest rates and home prices so low, we decided to jump on our opportunity to buy a house. Our monthly payment is reasonable, being about $200 more that what we were paying in rent. But what is the real cost of owning a home? Lawn mowers, tools, appliances, cleaning products, paint, shovels... So here is volume 1. 1 day into owning a home --

Used refrigerator: $325 ($387 with tax and delivery)
Door knobs: $45
Squeegie: $5
Carpet deoderizer: $4
Wall putty: $5
Razors: $2
Pro Carpet Cleaning: $190

Sub Total: $638
Cumulative Total: $638

to be continued...

Dresser for Little Guy - BEFORE

My husband and I bought this ugly dresser from the Boise Bench Commission for 50 dollars. This is a picture of it after I sanded it down, prepping it for some paint. I sanded it with my dad's Makita sander once with 60 grit, then once with 120 grit sand paper. I love the smoothness of the wood after the second sanding...I couldn't stop touching it! I was tempted to just put some lacquer on it and call it good because I thought the wood looked pretty, but there were some inconsistencies in my sanding that would make it look weird...so I painted! I'll post pictures of the painted product once I do the second coat.

Hero

David A. Wells
1939 - 2009

Whitey Chunk

Drum roll...I finally finished a knitting project!!! My mom blazes through knitted sweaters, socks and hats like nobody's business but this simple chunky white scarf took me..err...4 years! I used big white yarn with big orange needles. Sorry it's not specific but I'm a knitting novice. Next I'm going to make a sweet hat...hopefully I'll get to wear it before my 25th birthday! ;)

Political Activism + Glenn Beck!!

I heard Glenn Beck for the first time when I was 16 or 17 years old. I was driving. I listened and liked his standards. I liked what he had to say. His tour has come through Boise for the last couple years and have seen him three times. Tonight I got to meet him!! It was great. I was sad I didn't have anything profound or funny to say to him, but was glad for the chance to shake his hand, take a picture and have him autograph his new book, The Christmas Sweater. He has, since I heard him the first time, inspired me to find my own political voice and opinion. It's a hard journey trying to understand "the Issues" and what my opinion is supposed to be on them. Its close to impossible to form opinions by listening to the news, no matter how unbiased it may be or to individually analyze every political issue and form an opinion. I've also realized just recently that my opinion isn't very strong simply because its based on the opinions of others. My opinion has been like a faxed photocopy of a fax. It's not based on something firm and solid. I've started reading a book called The 5000 Year Leap. It has essentially broken down the Constitution into the 28 Great Ideas that Changed the World. Its makes a case for the success of our country being stemmed from the almost forgotten document our Founding Fathers engineered: The Constitution. It's goal is to present the Constitution in a way even I can understand. Maybe understanding what our country was initially founded upon will help me understand where it needs to go.

Bella and Lucy

Our dog of 9 months Lucy, has really needed a friend while everyone else in the house is away. She's a beautiful, rambunctious Chocolate Lab. Yesterday after making the trek to the Idaho Humane Society, we came home with Bella. She is a sophisticated, stunning Siberian/Malamute. We love her. She's not as crazy playful as Lucy, but I think she's warming up to the idea of fetch and being tackled by my little sister. We almost couldn't believe that such a gorgeous dog was cooped up in the cramped dog kennel...there are so many amazing dogs there, we're always sad when we can't adopt all of them. Consider this my PSA for the Humane Society...there a life long friends waiting to be loved but more importantly they are waiting to love you :)