Old pictures

My mother-in-law-to-be wanted some pictures of me growing up to use at our reception back east. I will share a few amusing ones I found.

You can see my love of chocolate goes waaaaaay back. I can spot a box of See's Candies a mile away. There must have been Bordeauxs in that box! And yes, I took it behind the chair so I could eat in peace. I sure hope See's ships to New Jersey.

Kids now days have iPods. Yep, this is a genuine record player. We used to trek to the library at least once a week to stock up on books, records and cassettes. Thank you mom!! I loved to listen to books being read to me. Still do, although the technology has changed a bit.

And finally, 5 generations! I insisted on including SugarPlum in the picture.

THE STORY OF THE CANDY CANE

I found this really interesting. Click on the link, and scroll to the top of the post.


A place to journal: THE STORY OF THE CANDY CANE

Here are the pictures that didn't make it into the last post.

I'm still here

No, I haven't fallen off the planet. I just got back from spending a week in NJ. What a learning experience. It was cold (note to self: need more long underwear)! I spent some time with WKs friends, getting to know them, observing their social structure. I observed that they are extremely competitive about everything! It was a little amusing to watch until I realized I was going to be in the middle of it come January. I found out that WK hosts football on Sunday afternoons/evenings during the winter. Apparently no one else has HD, so they all come to his house. He spent quite a while trying to convince me that HD was the greatest thing ever. I finally saw the difference, but I think he was disappointed that I wasn't more enthusiastic. AND I learned that we get back from our honeymoon (and driving a UHaul 3000 miles) the night before Superbowl. Oh yes. Opened up a whole can 'o worms. I suppose all these adjustments are part of getting married. After living on my own, and not really answering to anybody, it's going to be hard making joint plans/decisions now. Lord, give me strength, patience and a submissive spirit.

They threw me a personal shower! It was really fun. I was blown away by how many people showed up when they really don't know me all that well. I got nightgowns galore, and lots of pretty sundries. Erika hosted a beautiful party. She used my wedding colors, and had a competition for bringing the best wrapped present. She used them as part of the decor. Very cool idea- looked great, and was a fun game for guests. WK's mother won... she had a pic of WK at age 8 or so in a little frame as part of her decoration. Here is Erika and Kate, both in the wedding.

We had a design snaffoo with Kate's dress. Jane didn't think there would be enough fabric for the skirt. So I redesigned it to look more like mine, and bought more lace. It got a whole lot more complicated than it needed to be, but I wasn't sewing it. By the time I left it was coming along well. I just have to duplicate it now on the other little girls dress. And yes, 36 more days to the wedding and this is my progress to date on my dress. ACK! I have been so busy with all the other planning/preparations that the dress got put on hold. After conference Keren!! I'll actually have whole days to come and work on it!

Sorry this dumb thing won't let me add pictures. Grrr. Pics will come later I guess.

Moving

I am utterly exhausted. I have been trying to pack up my apartment, while working 50 hrs a week, and juggling wedding preparations, and oh! family, trying to spend time with them. Laundry is piling up, friends have been neglected. Sleep? What is that?

This weekend I am moving out of my apartment that is close to work, and moving back in with my mother and sis for the next 2 months till the wedding. Half my stuff is still at my mom's anyway, I'm just consolidating,,, and saving money on rent. I'm glad that it will give me some more time w/mom and sis before I leave too. I have been able to part out most of my furniture that I wasn't going to take with me. That will save some garage space for now. It's all the little stuff that takes forever to pack in boxes. Who knew I could accumulate so much stuff? I am finding papers and things from years ago that wasn't even important then. Some of it is fun to run across though. I found my Special Box! Mom covered a cardboard box with contact paper, and that's where we saved all the things that were important to us as kids. It's fun and interesting to look back on what was so important to me then.

WK arrives on Thurs! Just in time to help me move! Wahoo.

Close Call

I think I may have prevented a rape, or something worse today. I am ashamed to say I was really annoyed with the call before we knew what actually happened. I took a call from a male I'll call Jack. He said his friend Jill had called him on his cell and said someone was in her house. Great. He has absolutely no information. Immediately I get annoyed. WHY do people call their family and friends when they are in trouble and not the police - the ones that can actually help them? It is beyond frustrating to be talking to Aunt Suzy in Wisconsin about a domestic assault in progress in our city. Relatives don't have answers to the questions that are imperative to our response to the situation. Grrrrrr. Call 911, THEN your friends people! But I will soon eat my words,,, keep reading.

He informed me that he was going over there to see if she was ok. I asked him what he planned to do if he found someone in the house and he said he didn't know. Well, maybe you should wait outside and let the police handle it, I suggested. (Another pet peeve: Joe Citizen thinking he is the Lone Ranger. So instead of one person in danger, now we have 2 to rescue, or they get in a fight with the suspect or end up antagonizing the suspect and making it worse.) I asked that he stay in his car, and we would send officers over. At least he knew her address, so I put a burglary in progress call for service in and we would send someone out to check on her.

I hung up with him and called the house number that Jack had for Jill. No answer. I was about to hang up, and thought.. she is probably home and she doesn't want to answer the phone for whatever reason, so I will leave her a message telling her that the police were notified and if she was ok and got freaked out by a cat or something maybe she would call us back and say she was ok... and I could cancel the call out. So I did, I left a message, more out of annoyance I am ashamed to say, rather than actual concern for her. "This is ** police department, if you are there Jill pick up the phone. [pause] If you don't answer we will send police to your house to check on you to make sure you are ok."

I called Jack back, tell him there is no answer. THEN he tells me that she was actually calling from a cell phone. I try that number too, no answer, left same message. Meanwhile, we had a burglary just occurred in a not-so-nice part of town. The loss- 6 guns. The caller said she heard her back door slam when she came in the front door. So yes, some yahoo is running down the street in a bad neighborhood carrying 6 loaded weapons. Due to manpower issues ( a whole post in itself) officers responded to that call before my damsel in distress call.

Ten minutes go by, amid answering other 911 calls, and I try to call Jill back. This time she answers, crying. Crap. I told her it was the police and asked what was going on. She stated that as she was getting out of the shower a male came up behind her, took her towel and wrapped it around her head and neck. He drug her backwards into the living room with the towel and threw her on the ground. At that precise moment, my voice was audible on the answering machine saying that we were going to send police to the house since she didn't answer the phone. He took that as his cue to leave, and bailed out the back door. Her dog apparently got a good piece of him because there was a blood trail leading to the back fence. 2 points for Fido. As I'm trying to get a description of the suspect I hear a voice in the background. Oh yes, Sir Jack is trying to ask her the same thing so that he can go hunt him down himself. Fantastic. Needless to say, officers were diverted from the burglary to this call, but she had only a generic description of the suspect.

Yes, he got away. Could it have been a lot worse? Absolutely, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I didn't believe her. I was so hung up on not being able to have contact with her/the actual victim and get to ask all the routine questions we are trained to ask and make my call neat and detailed, that I completely missed the point that she might actually be in real trouble. Sure, I followed protocol and everything was done 'by the book', but my conscience pricked me. We get so used to people crying wolf over the silliest little things that when an actual crime occurs, it's hard to believe them. Scary. That was a wake up call. Lot of good it does me now that I'm leaving, but maybe someone can learn from it!

Btw, we puzzled over the time frame for awhile. Apparently she grabbed her cell of a table as she was being dragged, hit send, and it called the last person she talked to... Jack. All she had time to say was that someone was in her house, before the suspect hung up the phone. Egg on my face.

One too many

Maybe it was because of the holiday, or we were overdue for our 'full moon' night, but we just had 5 DUI arrests in 2 hours. Weird.

Preparations and Sadness

There never seems to be enough hours in the day, or days in the week. On my days off I have been scrambling around trying to get errands done, of which there seems to be a never ending list. Its hard to get things done when I sleep in, because I can't seem to get to sleep before 2 am because of my wacky schedule. Its really frustrating, I drag around tired all the time, all the while thinking of all the things I have to get done. It would be a lot easier if I could make my phone calls at 1 am. What's up with everyone sleeping during the night?

And yes, it finally hit me this week. I am moving 3000 miles away from my entire family. Ouch. It's worse at night when I'm trying to fall asleep, and I just lay there and think. I need a switch so I can turn off my brain at night. Its really depressing. I tear up just thinking about it. Our family has always been close. I will miss them so much it hurts. It feels like I'm dying, or everyone else is- like I'm starting to grieve the loss of my family. I moved my end date at work up a week, so I can spend so more time with family around the holidays and go to Burbank Confrnce. My mom and I scrap every now and then, but I will miss her terribly. She is always there to talk to. My sister and I have grown closer in the past few years. She blows me away with how smart she is, and yet she seems so quiet and unassuming. I worry about her a lot, that she takes too much on, and that I wish I could spare her knowing about all the horrible things out in the world. I will miss our trips together, and just getting to hang out, talk and do things together. It kills me to think of leaving my nephews too. Little C just lights up a room when he walks in with his big cheesy grin. I'll miss him calling me "Do" and "Nan" every other minute. His enthusiasm is infectious- it's so much fun to see him learn new words and concepts. I've grown closer to R lately, and she has been fun to talk to. I'll miss having my brother to talk to, he always seems like the one who has it all together. I like his sense of humor, I'll miss hearing him laugh. My grandparents too... I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't get to see my grandparents at least once a week. When mom had her accident, they moved into our house to look after us. They have taught me a lot over the years, and I enjoy their company. They have been a huge part of my life and I will miss them dearly. I know I can always pick up the phone, and family will always be family... but it's not the same. I'm missing out on the lives of the people who mean the world to me. What if something happens to one of them and I'm not there? What if they don't call me? Will I be forgotten when I'm gone?

Family Picture

Here is the latest family picture!!

They are doing very well, thank you all for your prayers.

"...Know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge... him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think...

unto Him be glory." Eph 3:19-21

Police Comments

The following comments were taken off actual police car videos around the country.

"Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them a while."

"If you take your hands off the car, I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

"If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

"Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? Because that's the speed of the bullet that will be chasing you."

"You don't know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?"

"Yes, sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I'm the shift supervisor?"

"Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."

"Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy and corn dogs and step in monkey poop."

"Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."

"In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."

"How big were those 'Just two beers' you say you had?"

"No sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we can."

"I'm glad to hear that Chief (of Police) Hawker is a personal friend of yours. So you know someone who can post your bail."

...AND THE WINNER IS

"You didn't think we gave pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't. Sign here."

Resignation

It's official. I handed in my letter of resignation for my department. My last day isn't until Dec. 30th, but still.... it was really depressing to have to hand that in. I really like working here, granted sometimes they drive me crazy, but I'm going to miss all the excitement. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so I'm not sure how I'm going to cope! Maybe in a year or so I'll look for another dispatching job, I think I'll be going thru withdrawal.

I was thinking I may try working for a temp agency right after I move, just because I have at least 4 major events that I need to fly back to CA for: Mom's wedding, Do's graduation, Sara's baby, Amy's wedding. I don't think any full time job is going to give me that much time off. Anyone have experience with temp work? What can I expect? I can't imagine the work is too demanding if they are only planning to keep the employee temporarily. I can answer phones, type fast and think on my feet, how hard could it be?

Esperanza fire

For those of us that grew up here major wildland fires are commonplace. It's Southern California. It's hot and dry, and we are in a valley surrounded by hills covered in (usually) dead brush. We are accustomed to seeing large smoke headers throughout the summer. For those of us that were former volunteers, it makes your heart race and makes you really miss the fire line. However, when a fire turns deadly, which is rare, it makes your heart sink, and you feel a knot in your stomach. The fire dept still seems like family, and any loss of life is tragic. They haven't released any names yet, and hopefully I don't know any of them. I am out at work and can't see much beyond the mountains but mom says its miserable at her house. It's raining ash and you can hardly see in front of you. Some have left the valley because it is too hard to breathe. Its been a long time since we had one this bad.

The Esperanza fire started earlier today, and by 1600 hrs it was at 10,000+ acres, claimed 4 lives, and is suspected to be caused by arson. Our local paper / www.pe.com has good coverage and photos, its free to register. For those of you that are aware of the beetle problem in Idyllwild, this fire is dangerously close and poses a major threat. The trees have been dying off at an alarming rate for the past few years, and if a fire makes it up there it will be disasterous.

Our agency sent one engine to the fire, but the fatalities were from the US Forest Service. Please pray for the families of the firefighters.

This photo was taken in Lamb Canyon.

For incident information: http://appsweb.co.riverside.ca.us/firepio/process?action=viewIncidents

Short Break

WK and I just got back from a short trip up to San Fran and Napa. I say just got back, but it seems like ages ago. We stayed with P&L Wilhelm and had a nice visit with them. P just went through hernia surgery and he is doing well.
The first day we drove into San Fran (I know... why??). After finding a place to park off Embarcadero, we sure weren't going to move the car again, so we wandered around on the waterfront, then took a tour of Alcatraz. Its pretting interesting, but not something you would see twice. Then we just strolled around some more, and ate dinner at Bubba Gumps on Pier 39. Its a restaurant with a Forest Gump theme, which is cute if you have seen the movie, and a little strange if you haven't. The food is pretty good though. My sister and I went to the one in New Orleans, and it was the same. WK and I had fun just wandering around and talking. After 6, (because we got a discount off the $30 parking fee) we drove the scenic route through the city. It had been gorgeous all day, so dusk was beautiful too. The P of FA just glowed in the waning sun, and the GGBridge was spectacular. Its hard to take pics with a digital camera from a moving vehicle. And it was too cold to get out every time I wanted to take a picture.

Napa

Continuation of Short Break post.....

The following day, after fighting morning traffic, we drove up through Napa Valley. Another gorgeous day. We stopped for a few wine tastings and had lunch at the Rutherford Grill. I found some dessert wine at the Beaulieu Vineyard winery that I absolutely loved. Its a Muscat wine that is about 18% alcohol and loaded with sugar. WK about died,, he doesn't really care for sweet stuff. Even being the sugar fiend that I am, I can only stand about a tablespoon full, but it's yummy. I'm trying to think of desserts I could use it in... BV winery also had the best Cabernet. We were told Rutherford had the best Cab and explained the importance of about 30 different variables on the outcome of the wine. We politely nodded in agreement, having no clue what they were talking about, but not wanting to look like poor uneducated commoners. However, at the end of the day we agreed that theirs did taste the best. The scenery was stunning. The leaves on the vines were changing colors and the fields of green and yellow were accented by touches of bright red and orange. We stopped at the Andretti winery, and ended up at Domain Chandon for a tour and tasting. Poor WK, he was such a trooper - the whole place was pink. They were releasing a new Rose' wine and hosting a breast cancer charity event that night. So it looked like something pink had exploded. They were handing out roses, and the paths were strewn with rose petals. All the staff were in pink, and pink balloon bouquets were everywhere. The actual winery was on a hillside and the architecture was really cool. They had designed it to blend with the landscape, and the building was modeled after wine barrels. Chandon primarily produces sparkling wines (it's not champagne unless it comes from Champagne, France we were informed) so the designer made the interior lights look like bubbles rising to the ceiling.

More pictures

I don't know how to make one of those cool slideshows like SAJ, so you will have to manually scroll down to see them all. I know.. unbelievable in this day and age. Both Mom and Baby are well!

More details...

This silly program won't let me do more than 3 pics at a time. So here are some more!




This is the view from their window. Very picturesque, but see the helicopter? The landing pad is on the roof right above them, so it gets a little loud, and feels like a mini earthquake each time it lands. They told R she would have to stay 24-48 hours depending on how things go. So she may be going home tomorrow (Friday) evening or so.

He's HERE!!

Jacob Aaron

was born this morning around 10:30 am.
--- 6 lbs 9 oz. 18 inches ---

Both Mom, Dad and baby are doing well. Big brother noticed, but he had new toys that were more interesting.

He has lots of dark hair, and has a very sophisticated little nose. He has been very quiet, which Mommy appreciates, Waterboy said he has only cried about 4 times today. He is a very content little guy!

Busy bee

I have been terrible about updating! I have been so busy with wedding planning, working, training, worrying about nephew to be, etc. Tonight is my last shift for a week or so! Woohoo! WK gets here in a few hours, and we are going to San Fran for a brief vaca. He's never been, and wants to see Napa too, so off we go! He is a big steak fan, so I'm hoping we can stop at Harris Ranch on the way up--best steaks on this coast! I love to travel, and there is always more to see or learn. Love it. I'm a bit of a power tourist - I try to cram as much as I possibly can into the trip so I dont miss anything. This requires extensive planing ahead of time, but then I know I will see everything I want to see, and we don't go wandering around aimlessly or spend money we didn't need to. Yes. I have issues. There is just so much to see out there! Poor WK, I'll have to tone it down a bit and let him relax a little. He is going golfing this afternoon with Waterboy tho. I hope my bro can relax a bit too. I've been worried about him. He's got a lot on his shoulders right now, and I know he's worried about R and Jacob.

2 more hours til I'm out of here! Then somehow I have to stay awake to be at the airport at 11...

Baby update

Sis-in-law and baby are still hanging in there! She has been confined to bed/chair rest for the past several weeks, but is required to go to Loma Linda twice a week for tests to moniter Jacob. They hook up a moniter that makes his heartbeat audible and tracks it on a moniter. It was quite funny actually. No sooner did the nurse find him and strap down the moniter over where he was, than he would move! You could hear him swishing around in there, little stinker. He did that a few times, I got a kick out of it :) His little heartbeat was really fast too, was amazing to hear. Poor R is getting tired though. He is very active, and apparently has a very long body too. A fist to the bladder, a foot into the ribs, I can't imagine its very comfortable or either party. R is supposed to keep taking the meds to stave off labor until the 20th. They also gave her 2 shots to help with the babys growth. This hospital is the best around, so I know their in good hands... but still we worry.

Little buddy knows something is up. He has been especially hyper lately, almost manic sometimes.. he is so cheerful that it's not immediately apparent but you can tell he knows something isnt right. He was at the hospital (the "big building" to him) with Grandma J waiting for R to finish her test, and SJ said that they needed to go "check on mommy, and make sure she is ok". Boy did he pick up on that! So then he kept saying it, "go check on mommy, see if mommy ok". When he was at grt-grandmas with mom, he had to keep cking to see if grandpa was still there. Then he would hang out with him for a while, then go running inside to make sure grandma was still there too. Kids arent dumb. He knows somethings up, poor guy. I hate that he is worried. This is why people are crazy if they think kids dont sense tension or trauma in a family. They pick up on everything, they may not understand exactly what the problem is, but they feel the emotions and the energy that are generated.

Please keep praying for their family, and that R and Jacob had hang tight for another few weeks!

Missing

To my fellow dispatchers: We were looking for the race code for middle easterners, and were really surprised not to find one. The closest we came was 'other', but maybe our book is just outdated. Anyone able to find one? If not, what does that say about us? Did NCIC think we would never need to use it?