Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 74

Hi Team!

I am feeling great! While I did get very full at dinner for Thanksgiving, the first part of my meal was a huge salad, (a planned event to prevent more calorie filled eating) so I feel pretty good about my holiday eating. I did not have huge amounts of anything else. It was all very sensible. This is something my husband suggested last year and it worked so well that we have decided to make it a tradition to start the meal with a monster salad.

I slept very well last night, -thank you tryptophan (sp?)- and I drank more than enough fluids today. Even though I skipped walking in the mall this morning (cause I'm a chicken!) I went to Pike Place Market and Westlake shopping center with Coach Alex and her hubby, John today. We darted in and out of the crowds at the Market, exploring and having fun. I found a cool firefighter belt buckle for only 12.95 and bought it. Then we watched the Westlake tree lighting ceremony and fireworks before shopping around Westlake shopping center. I didn't know that one of the big shopping centers has snow at 6 pm every evening this time of year. Coach Alex brought me there to surprise me. It was really cool having theater snow falling all around. It is little sudsy snowflakes! It was beautiful. Anyway, all the walking we did from all of that according to Pete was 9,398 steps! YAY ME!! I'm 3 for 3 today.

Today was really an awesome day for me and a lot of fun.

I hope you all had an awesome, family filled thanksgiving.

Until next time, Stay safe!!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 73

Hi Team!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Pete and I took the day off! We think we deserve it.

Stay safe and THANK you for being there for me!!!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 72

Hi Team!

I was so tired I fell asleep reading a manuscript an online writer friend of mine sent me for review and therefore did not post my blog for Day 72 yesterday. I feel badly that I fell asleep reading it because I am enjoying her story. I met her on a fan fiction writing website but she has been published as a fiction author and I feel very honored that she asked me to review a manuscript she was considering submitting to her publisher. Anyway, that is my excuse. Please forgive me.

Today (by that I mean day 72) was a good day. It has been a long week, these last 7 days. The last 5 work days were extra long shifts, as I have mentioned and I have been very tired. Tuesday and Wednesday were really good days at work though. I have been in a very good mood -more sleep makes a difference =) I have laughed a lot and really had fun with my school age kids.

One of my boys is a firefighter's kid and because he knows my passion, he thinks he can get special privileges and allowances. I have to ride him extra hard to keep him in line because of it. He isn't a bad boy, just very active and unaware of the "enough is enough" boundary. Today we had blackbean soup, that the kids and I made together, for snack. After all the kids had been served I served the staff and I was fixing myself a bowl. This boy came over to me and wanted to "help". I had chopped cilantro, sour cream, sliced green onions and lime juice to top the soup with. He wanted to put the lime juice in, but had never used a plastic lime squirt bottle before. As he got ready to put some in my soup I directed him to point it downward towards the bowl more, but he was faster than I could give the directions and he ended up hosing ME with a lot of lime juice! Then, my startled expression and the expression and loud laughter of my assistant who was right next to me at the time, and my sharp calling of his name to get him to stop squeezing the lime caused him to laugh so hard that no sound would come out and he nearly fell down. Luckily for him I generally have a good sense of humor and was able to laugh about it. I had a big wet spot partly on and under my left breast on my smock and my lovely assistant informed me that it looked like I was lactating and leaking! And I had to wear the smock because my boss requires it. It was a little embarrassing. But I survived. The same boy cracked me up prior to that when I was serving snack to the kids. I was encouraging them to at least try the soup and the toppings for it. Many would try the soup but only a few would try all the toppings for it. Most kids don't seem to like green plantlike things any where near what they have on their plates or in their bowls. When it was his turn to be served he said, "I'll be brave and try everything because that's what firefighters do!" He can be a real pill sometimes, but he really is a cute kid!

Well, I am happy to report that over the last 5 work days, 3 of them were exercise days and thanks to encouragement from my wonderful awesome terrific team (that's you) I didn't skip any of my workouts even though I was very tired. In fact, for Day 72 Pete logged for me 11,367 steps! No wonder I was so tired when I got home. I drank at least 3 quarts of fluids, not counting my morning coffee. And I slept okay overnight too. That makes 3/3! Yay me!!

Not much else to report.

Thanks for cheering me on. I love my team!!

Stay safe.

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 71

Hi Team!

I am writing Day 71 early on the morning of day 72, sorry! I was trying to get a chapter ready to post on the site that I write at and time got away from me last night. I decided it was best to get to bed and catch up later.

I slept well last night and awoke refreshed! That is so rare that it is cause for celebration! YAY ME!!! Pete logged 7,035 steps for me today. Pete's doing a great job, isn't he? Maybe that was my problem all along... I just wasn't giving Pete enough encouragement! I drank plenty of fluids yesterday, at least 2 quarts over and above my one cup of coffee (12 oz) in the morning. I sure am a sucker for home brewed coffee with coffemate's gingerbread creamer!! I am stocking up on creamer and freezing it because I can only get it for two months in the year!

Well, there you have it. That is the day. Oh, one good thing to add. I get to back to Washougal over the New Year's 4 day weekend. My company will be closed Thur the 31st AND Fri the 1st. I was scheduled to work the closing shift on Wed. but my boss and the other Site Manager it would affect both agreed to let me switch to the opening shift. I'll be off at noon and can go to Washougal one day earlier! (Super big toothy grin!!)

Maybe this time while I'm there I'll make it to OMSI (Oregeon Museum of Science and Industry! My brother has a membership for his family and my husband has been promising me for 20 YEARS that we would go there. WHenever I remind him he always says, "Yeah, but I didn't say WHEN!)

Well, I have to get ready to go to work.

Stay Safe!!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 70

Hi Team!

Today was a good day despite the extra hours of kids at work! I met Coach Alex for my walk today, though I have decided on days that I have to work early we can cut one mile off of our walk. I still walked 12,404 steps today according to Pete! Thanks Pete for working so hard for me. :D

I slept fairly well and I even sneaked in a 20 min power nap today. Coach Alex caught me sleeping in the car awaiting her arrival for our walk! And I drank my fluids today, but admittedly, if I don't sleep well tonight it is my own fault! My secret pal gave me a 1 liter Cherry Pepsi last week. I was planning on drinking it on friday when I would have the whole weekend to sleep if needed. (well sort of anyway). BUt I didn't. I drank it today and it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! I have been really good about not drinking sodas. Last year I had a 44 0z cherry pepsi every day! Other than one 20 oz bottle in Washougal over my vacation just a week ago, I haven't had any since I was in Washougal over the summer! I've been a very good girl in that respect and once I cracked it open today, it was completely irresistable! Cherry Pepsi never tasted better!

Note to self: on the rare occasion Cherry Pepsi should be made available to me by myself or another party, keep the containers small!!!

What does that make me for the day, 2 1/2 for three? I'm being generous with myself here. :D

Well, it is a quarter to nine. If I wrap this up and finish up the other couple of things I want to do online I might be in bed by 9:30 or earlier!

Stay safe!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 69

Hi Team!

I am a little less zombie-ish. I got a bit of sleep this weekend but not enough yet. I hope this week will be better. I have not tried the PNT 200 that my childcare parent gave me yet. I might try it tonight.

I had my usual busy day for Sunday and only got in 2,888 steps. Pete did a good job today...THANKS PETE! I drank mostly iced tea and water today, but plenty of it. 3 for 3 again! YAY ME!!

This will be another tough week of extra long days as my afternoon shift will start two hours earlier each day while school age kids get out early for conferences. I am planning on still taking my walks with Coach Alex. (911R, if for no other reason than I don't want to let YOU down. You have been an amazing encouragement and cheerleader to me!)

I have to be brave this week. I purchased a Christmas sweatshirt from the fire department (available to ff families and the fire buff battalion) and I have to go to Station 9 and pick it up. Probably by myself. THis is a good thing. I HAVE to beat this crazy shyness! I am hoping to have time to go on Tuesday. If I don't, it won't be until after Thanksgiving.

Well, it is 20 to ten and I have a few things left to do before bed. I'm going to try and be in bed by 10. Thanks for continuing to cheer me on! I am a lucky woman! Make that a blessed woman!

Take care and stay safe!

Hotflash out.

Report From Ladder Company 40 Day 68

Hi Team!

I feel a little less zombie-like today. I tried something weird. I slept with my mp3 player! I have a very eclectic collection in it. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Abba, Martina McBride, Jim Brickman, Garth Brooks, Blackhawk, Trisha Yearwood, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Apollo 100, Kenny Rogers, REO Speedwagon, Boston, Chicago... you get the point. VERY eclectic. It is all stored on there at random. Last night when I went to bed I put my headphones on, turned on the music and went out like a light. I won't say that changes in the music never woke me up, because they did. But I went right back to sleep. And I woke up feeling, "REFRESHED", at least in comparison to how I have been feeling. I didn't use caffeine to function today! YAY ME!

I had a slow day though. I slept in a little, caught up some on my e-mail and other internet activities that I an still behind on due to my recent trip, I painted pottery for four hours, did a little grocery shopping and attended my 3rd Fire Buff Battalion meeting (YAY ME!). Pete logged only 2,273 steps today, and I would have to agree that it is likely to be accurate. I just finished my second quart of water. I am three for three today. Woo Hoo!

As promised in my Day 67 blog, I looked up the information on PNT 200, by Immunotec. The web page for the product (for anyone who is interested) is:

http://www.immunotec.com/IRL/Public/en/CAN/ShowItemDetails.wcp?&Item=0005900&Site=999999

Basically what I found out is that:

PNT 200 contains an active peptide from the milk protein casein. This unique ingredient has been studied to help naturally diminish the effects of both mental and physical stress in both human and animal studies. PNT 200 is believed to work by binding to GABA receptors in the brain. Substances that bind to these receptors send a message to the body to relax.

Medicinal ingredient per capsule:
Milk Protein Hydrolysate (cow's milk)112 mg

Non-medicinal ingredients:
Sodium caseinate and vegetable gelatin.

The child care parent of mine who recommended this product spoke very highly of it and said that she personally has recommended it to many nurses who now take it regularly and love it. She gave me two capsules try. I think I will try them. I will get back to you at a later date with my impression of them.

Now that all the business is out of the way, tonight was my third monthly Fire Buff Battalion meeting. It seems there has been a huge upset in the leadership. Our longest standing member, one of the club's original founders and the current secretary/treasurer resigned between last month's meeting (the third saturday of the month) and the end of October.

To put things briefly and diplomatically, the current President of our club, after trying to resolve issues through the proper chanels by involving someone from the International Fire Buff Associates (of which our club is an affiliated member)was given a crapload of paperwork from the last decade or more, all mixed up and in no discernable order. Bills, statements, legal documents, receipts, tax info, etc. are all mixed up. Nobody knows when our tax date is, what mess we might be in concerning our non-profit status, etc. (Though it is believed we are not in an irreparable state in that area). In addition, this recently resigned leader kept our canteen unit in his garage, (Covered storage) and plugged in, as is normal for emergency vehicles. Now it is being stored outdoors behind a locked fence at the local firefighter's union hall because it does not have a home. If the fire chief calls us in to do rehab and the vehicle is frozen over it will now take us much longer to respond! It is also the time of year that our firefighters receive service awards and our group is a part of that so there is a lot of work to be done concerning that while we are still trying to sort out the mess, and getting no help from the former person in the leadership position that left us this mess in the first place. Goody, Goody! I sure picked an interesting time to get involved! And until my background check comes back from the Fire Inspector, I cannot help or get involved other than attending meetings. I cannot even help them sort out the mess!! That former leader and his wife, who also resigned, were primary responders in the rehab canteen. We will still have to keep up without them and I can't even fill in because I am not official. Fewer people responding in the busy season is what that means. Can you see I am frustrated? Please pray for God's blessing on our club and that we would be able to meet our primary objective of taking good care of our local firefighters. THat is the purpose of our existance as a club. Pray that our tax exempt status would not be put in jeapardy and that all other problems would be quickly and efficiently resolved.

I am thinking that this could be very good for our club. New blood in the ranks. At nearly 41 years of age, I may be the youngest member! (well, if I WAS officially a member, anyway)

I did notice that the atmosphere was very different this meeting and much lighter and fun. We laughed a LOT! For those of you who have watched Emergency! on television, our meetings sound an awful lot like the banter in the day room at the fire station some times. There is a lot of good natured ribbing going on, some seriousness and some day to day humdrum stuff. But the comaraderie is also very similar to that of what you'd find in fire stations. It is all very cool to (almost) be a part of!

Our Christmas party will be held on December 4th and I am very excited to say that God has helped me get out of my prior commitment and I will be able to attend the party! My dad is coming with me! And maybe even my bro! (too bad hubby and son will be hunting and that they have no interest in this whatsoever.) I could tell the president's husband was disappointed that he would not be meeting my hubby.

While this recently rekindled passion in me was no surprise to me, it certainly seems to have blind sided my hubby. He still says silly things to me out of the blue. "I never knew you liked fire." Um... yeah... because that is what floats my boat. Not the job and challenge of firefighting, emergency medicine, the comaraderie of emergency personnel, the thrill of the fire engines racing lights and sires down the street, etc. Just fire.

In saying that, I don't mean it as a slam to my hubby. He's a wonderful man. He just truly does not understand this. He is trying to though, because he loves me. <3 He is at least supporting me on following my dream to the point of attending EMT school. He has talked about how he is excited that I want to better myself and our financial standings. Sadly Paramedicine is not a hugely high paying job. It is an extremely underpaid profession. It may be a step up for me though. Either way, God has taken amazing care of me, and has cleared each path so that I may pursue this dream of mine.

Okay, well, I feel like I am falling asleep at the computer. Good night everyone and stay safe!

Hotflash out.