Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 104

Hi Team!

I discovered that if my niece happens to be home when I want to use it, I can get limited internet access so here is a surprise post.

I did not sleep well last night, which is not surprisingly.  I was too excited about getting to come to "Brother's Town" and I was switching from afternoon shift to morning shift.  4 hours was the most I got, but I awoke feeling ready to go, surprisingly.  Any way that puts me down 1.  I did drink 2 1/2 quarts today and Pete logged 9,987 steps between rounds of Tarzan today.  At least I am 2 for 3!

Today has been somewhat of a disappointment nonetheless.  I left work at 12:15 as scheduled to head to "Brother's Town".  It is a three hour drive to my brother's fire station from home.  At exactly 1 1/2 hours into the drive I received a call on my cell phone.  It was my assistant.  She informed me that I left my fire coat at work.  As she told me that the realization hit that even worse than going to "Brother's Town" without my prized coat, when there is snow on the ground there, is the fact that my cash for the trip was in the inside left pocket.  And I was too far into the trip to turn around.  SIGH!  Thankfully my assistant is awesome and very trustworthy so she agreed to take my coat with her when she was off shift and to bring it by my house so my husband can retain custody of it.  NONI ROCKS!  I love my staff!  But the next disappointment came soon after.  Wednesday night is drill night for "Brother's Town" Fire and Rescue and I was looking forward to it.  I have pictures from the November Burn to Learn event that I wanted to share with a couple of the guys I met during that trip and I wanted to talk to someone about a donation I was offered by a Snapple representative for "Brother's Town" Fire and Rescue's rehab unit.  Unfortunately, my sister-in-law had some errands to run and forgot it was drill night so she did not get back to the house before my brother had to leave for the meeting.  I could not go because that left  1 year old Bella and 3 year old Joe and their older but not old enough brother John in need of supervision.  SIGH again.  I was planning to leave as soon as she arrived home and meet my brother at the station where drill is held but my sister in law got delayed further and did not arrive home until 8:20, drill was scheduled to be over at 9:00.  And it takes a little while to drive there.  So I didn't go at all.  Sigh.  I survived  but I was disappointed.  On the bright side though, my brother said it was another meeting night rather than drills and that it was more boring than usual.  He said it was a good time to miss out.

And on another good note, we did get a run tonight.  At around 11:15 pm we got called out on an alarm at a residence.  We took off in the dark with lights, no siren because of the time, and headed for the call.  Yay!  A real call!  Turns out it got cancelled before we arrived.  A total BS call, which is actually good because nobody was hurt and nobody's property was damaged and we got to go for a drive with flashing lights.  OK, kind of fun but kind of boring too.  I want to watch the guys work.  But I don't wish harm to anyone so I can live with this.  Already it is more action than I usually see when I visit.  LOL =)

Thanks for reading.  You are all such a great support to me.

Stay safe! 

Hotflash out.

Flashpointz 12/30 Do not read until 12/31 or 1/1 =)

Happy New Year!! (I know it isn't the first, but  you know I'll be away from the computer then and I didn't want to miss out on saying it!!

Stay Safe!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 -Day 103

Hi Team!

Short post tonight. It is 11 pm and I still have to pack a few more things. I leave right after work for Washougal tomorrow! YAY ME!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time to go play with my brother's family and play in the fire station =D

I drank 2 quarts of water and iced tea today. (Barely, I was too busy to stop and think about drinking) and I logged 12,103 steps with Pete after a really good night's sleep! YAY ME!!!! 3 for 3 =D

I'll be away from the computer until Sunday late or Monday. I promise to catch up the blog when I get back and share any adventures I might have. (Hopefully I WILL have some!)

Stay safe and I'll blog at you soon!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 -Day 102

Hi Team!

As you may have noticed, I added the Jango jukebox to my page. This will allow you to listen to some music that I enjoy while you read my posts. The jukebox should appear to the left of the posts and I've noticed the whole thing doesn't show, but enough of it does that you can operate it. In the lower left corner are two buttons, the larger one pauses the music so you don't have to listen to it, if that is your preference. The smaller one is an arrow and you can use it to advance to the next song, clicking it multiple times as a means of scrolling through them. Just below the buttons it will show you the title of the song and the artist. Let me know what you think of this gadget. Do you like it? Do you hate it, or does it not matter one way or the other to you? It seems to always start with the same song, but there is a good variety of songs to choose from if you scroll through.

I don't have a lot to say today. I'm trying to get to bed soon but here is the daily report.

Pete logged 10,115 steps for me today. YAY ME! I drank no less than 3 quarts of herbal tea and water (YES plain WATER) today. And I got plenty of sleep last night. 3 for 3 YAY ME!

Also, in the last two days, 3 different people have commented that my chin is getting pointy! NOT ROUND, pointy! It is still pretty round but there is a definite difference from 102 days ago! It is so encouraging when people point out changes that they notice.

Thanks for reading and encouraging.

Stay safe!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 -Day 101

Hi Team!

It is Sunday! I get to go back to work tomorrow. Four days off was wonderful. I'll work three more then have four more off. I could get used to a job like that. LOL

I did sleep well last night, but I still felt awful this morning so I did not go to church. I slept in. I did get out to quiz practice in the afternoon though. I've also rediscovered that if I don't resist taking Midol I feel a whole lot better. Not great, but a whole lot better.

I have had two quarts of herbal tea today and I have just started another 20 oz. glass of gatorade. I have no idea how many steps I took today because Pete reset himself when I leaned against a counter. I am guessing I was around 3,000 + steps, about average for a Sunday. I am also getting ready to go to bed. In the morning I have to meet Coach Alex a bit earlier than usual because we are going to change things up and walk at the South Hill mall in Puyallup (pronounced "pyoo al up") instead of at the Tacoma mall that is much closer. I am three for three today. YAY ME!

I have to admit. Even though I still feel pretty crummy right now, I am starting to get excited about my upcoming trip to Brother's Town! I love to go play at my brother's fire station! (of course that isn't blatantly obvious to everyone who reads this blog.) My brother is so good to me. He remembers the passion and excitement he had before he got to start really living his dream of being a firefighter and he both feeds and obliges that for me. He lets me play, but he is an excellent teacher. If there is something for me to learn while I play he is patient and encouraging and lets me learn it hands on. I bet the young rookies really like working with him.

Usually when I go to see my brother there is something specific that I want to learn about. This time, I have no idea what to ask him to teach me. Of course, I don't have to learn anything specific. I could just go and hang out. I love to do that too. My brother loves to spoil me. He reminds me so much of Daddy. I am very proud of the man he has grown up to be. LOL I say that and he is 37 years old! (Sorry bro.)

My sister-in-law is an amazing woman, mother and friend. I love her so much and she is so generous in giving of her self, her time and in giving up some of her precious time with her husband so that I can have it. And she spoils me rotten when I visit. She buys special treats and surprises me with them. I always try to do something special for her while I'm there too. Usually it is that I bring as much food with me as possible and plan/prep the meals so she doesn't have to. I don't know how my brother found such an amazing woman but I am so glad for him that he did! (How many women would let their husband buy a fire engine? -and smile about it?)

My nieces and nephews are pretty amazing too. Genny has become a young woman. I cannot believe how grown up she is now. It seems like yesterday she was a baby. And just day before yesterday when she wasn't even born yet and my brother and sister-in-law were babysitting my son and thinking maybe they didn't ever want kids! LOL

Jimmy is an amazing piano player. He composes beautiful music and plays so incredibly well. I love listening to him play.

Johnny is the chef. He loves to cook. He is also the lover of the family. He gives incredible hugs!

Mark is the scientist. He always has to know how things work and what if...? He has had many moments of "Grrrrrrrrrr" when it is discovered what mischief he has inadvertently caused with his experiments.

Joe is just crazy! He's fearless and fun. And very stubborn! You gotta love him.

Then there's Belle's. (Gabriella) She is such a sweet princess. She is a happy baby and so affectionate. She does happy dances! It is very cute to watch.

I always hate to leave when it is time to come home. Even though a house that has that many children can feel like utter chaos, I just feel so relaxed and at home when I am there!

Well, I had better end this now. Stay safe!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 -Day 100

Hi Team!

Welcome Laurence, AKA Fireball, my newest team member!!  I am very glad you have joined my team.

It's Day 100!!!!!!!  YAY ME!!!! 

I am very excited that I have been climbing this ladder for 100 days now.  I have made good progress, though I wish I had the self discipline to have done more.  I know that can only come from within and I will just have to give more to get more.  I'm not talking about weight loss, that is coming at an appropriate pace for long term success.  But I could be working a lot harder on the fitness end and I should be doing more to get the sleep issues under control.  These comments are not me kicking myself either.  Just honest observations.  As I've said before, honesty in this blog is a must for it to be useful in reaching my dreams.

Today I did not put Pete back to work.  I felt like #&;%(!!  Sometimes being a woman is not all wine and roses!  Every month, I suffer!  Sometimes it is so bad I can barely do the things I HAVE to do.  Thankfully, this month, the worst of it hit during my days off.  Today I felt like I got run over by the tiller.  In addition, even though I drank my fluids yesterday, today I got a bit dehydrated.  Funny how fast that happens when your body is used to getting fluids and you miss most of them for the first half of the day.  I felt so crummy that I have slept most of the day.  When I awoke from a three hour nap at about 4:15 this afternoon, I felt like I hadn't had anything to drink in a month.  My head hurt and I felt weak.  I knew I needed to rehydrate so I made myself some gatorade.  I hate that stuff, but it works!  Two 20 once glasses later I feel a whole lot better.  The Midol helped too. 

So, I did get plenty of sleep both last night and today.  That is 1 for three.
I did get my fluids, even though the first half of the day wasn't so good, I have now made up for it.  I am at about 2 1/2 quarts of herbal tea and gatorade.  That is 2 for three.  I'm not going to make it in the exercise department so 2 for three is my final score for the day.

Well, tomorrow I hope will be a better day.  And I am looking forward to what the next 100 days of climbing will bring.  Thanks so much for all of your support.  Your words of encouragement and occasional kicks in the posterior are a big help to me.

Until we blog again, stay safe!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 99

Hi Team!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Here is wishing all of you and your loved ones a joyous Christmas and holiday season! May the Lord bless you richly with friends, a sense of purpose, good health, provisions for your needs ,the opportunity to count your blessings, the ability to serve others and a sense of happiness.

Thank you to all of you for encouraging me and for sharing yourself with me.

Pete and I declared today an official day off! We will be back on task tomorrow.

Stay safe.

Hotflash out.