Cookie Capers Part !

Over 1000 cookies made... delivered to 55+ stations... over 300 miles drive by 3 teams.... Reactions from our firefighters.. PRICELESS!

*Details and pictures to follow :)

Today is the Day!

COOKIE BAKING DAY!!! That's right folks.. today Operation Christmas Cookie Capers is underway! I have been baking since about 9am. As of this blog I have about 17-18 dozen cookies made. My goal is 50 dozen... Whew! They are the easier "drop" cookies like chocolate chip, oatmeal chocolate chip, peanut butter, and chocolate with reeses pieces. I also have dough made for sugar cookies and a ginger spice cookie. Those will be cut out with cookie cutters so they will be a touch more time consuming. Then off to the family baking at Jim and Jessica's tonight. Tomorrow I am heading down to work for all of us to decorate the cookies and put them all together for the stations.

Staci, Ashley and I spent yesterday planning out our routes to all of our stations. Last count was 50-55 stations. Holy Smokes!! I am SOOO excited though. I plan on taking pictures at all the stations. I know the people at the stations will love the cookies. My ECC counterparts are also at home baking their little hearts out.

I will be the first to admit I have nearly bitten off more than I can chew this holiday season. Between MASSIVE cookie baking, homemade christmas gifts, a baby shower last month, baking a baby shower cake and a birthday cake at the start of next month, treat bags for everyone at work, and christmas shopping.. I have just about lost my mind. When you look at that list it can be overwhelming. Isn't this what Christmas and the Holidays are all about though? Doing things for other people. Knowing the smiles and joy these things will bring to other people makes it all worth it. I love the holidays.

Advice

Being single during the holidays is sometimes sad. There's the stockings hung on the wall.. all grouped together in their little families.. except your lonely little stocking at the bottom all by itself. A house full of people and fun then returning home to complete silence. Defening silence that never seems to go away. Making dinner for one every night. Day-dreaming about a nice guy kissing you under mistletoe. Decorating your tree alone. No date to the office christmas party (again.. third yr running). Watching couples snuggled up in a horse drawn carriage rolling down the street. As if these things don't grate on your emotions enough, you have the constant advice pouring just enough salt in the wounds to make it burn a little more.

It never ceases to amaze me how quick people are to give such advice. The lastest was " you need to get married". Hmmmm... Now why didn't I think of that? As much as I appreciate everyone's care and concern I also dread it. Most people don't realize that on a daily basis (for real) I am given advice about my dating life. Here are some of my favorite examples:
"You should get out more"
"You need to date someone"
" Do one of those house exchanges like on 'The Holiday'.. maybe you will meet a guy"
" Join a theater group"
"Meet someone at church"
"You should have a baby"
OH the list goes on forever. I am also asked why I am (or not) doing these things. I really have no answer for any of you. There is no "magical" way to meet someone. I meet lots of people every day. What people don't get is that it wears on me. More than anyone really knows. Trust me.. I am fully aware of my dating situation. It has been a little over 7 (long) years since my last relationship. There have been prospects but usually one of these excuses comes out:
"Im too busy to date"
"I like you but I don't want to date you"
"we're going in two different directions"
"im too old for you"
"im too young for you"
"i dont date people I work with" etc etc etc...

I by no means feel like my life is horrible just because I am not dating someone. Quite the opposite actually. I have the most incredible family in the world. I am so blessed. I hold my nieces and nephews and I am overflowing with love. Nothing can beat the feeling of a child calling out your name and running to you with open arms. Coffee and pedicures with my sister in laws are priceless moments. Joking around and getting picked on by my brothers is a way of life and i love it. I hope that never stops. My parents will always see me as their little girl eventhough I am grown. I love that. I have a best friend who is a sister, a confidant. Her husband and precious children are family. Sometimes I lose sight of all this. The advice gets me down and makes me dwell and think on what I don't have in my life. I want to be thankful for what I do have every day and be encouraged that God knows the plans he has for me.. for hope and a future.

So I may be single once again this holiday season but I am rich in family and friends. There are great guys out there and one of them will sweep me off my feet one day. Until then I agree with Carrie Underwood's new song: "The Boys I Meet" . Click on the song title and enjoy.

I like to share

I decided to make a smoothie for dinner while I was at work the other night. I got kind of full so I just set the cup aside to wash before I went home. As the next dispatcher walked up to me to do a cross over, I stood up and grabbed my cup.

In one quick move my smoothie cup slipped out of my hand, poured the smoothie down my shirt, onto my pants..hit the floor. It made lots of splatters on the floor, cabinets, drawers, chairs... and much to my horror... the other dispatchers pants and shoes. It was everywhere!

I grabbed a mass amount of paper towels and attempted to clean up my mess. It is amazing how far it all splattered. The command center smelled fruity fresh for hours. And the other dispatcher.. what can I say.. I like to share :)

I Love Lucy

This Thanksgiving took a few unexpected turns to say the least.

I have been totally on edge for the last few weeks knowing my BFF was due to have her little girl any day. Around 2:30am on Thanksgiving morning my phone finally rang with the upbeat tune of "Life is a Highway" and I jumped up like a pop tart fresh from the toaster. Now.. for those of you who know me there is absolutely no "jumping" out of bed in the mornings where I am concerned. My old roommate, Valerie, used to spring forth from her bed when her Rooster alarm clock went off EVERY morning while we lived together. It drove me crazy. (Love you Val).

I quickly got stuff together and high-tailed it to the hospital. Jess and Andrew got there a few minutes before I did. I couldn't believe I was there! I missed the birth of her other two and I was elated that I would be there this time.

It was a long morning full of walking the hallway with Jess. I think we had some of the best bonding time during our walks to and fro. I was constantly thanking God for the memories we were building at that moment. For weeks I had been telling her that I would be right by her side to be strong and hold her hand. During contractions Andrew or I would stand behind her and rub her back and let her work through the pain.

Towards the end I started to crumble a little. I couldn't handle seeing her in so much pain. It was ripping my heart out. At one point I almost stepped out of the room because it was almost too much for me to watch. Instead I just gave her my hand as silent tears rolled down my face.

When it came time for her to push I looked like a tourist with a still camera in my left hand, a video camera in my right hand and another still camera around my neck. I am surprised the pictures didn't come out blurry because I was shaking so much. Lord only knows what the video is like... it may just be of the ceiling. Sorry guys! Yet the whole time I stood strong for my friend telling her I could see her baby's head and that she was almost here.

I again had tears in my eyes when the doctor put this little girl on my friends chest. I stood there thinking how precious and priceless this moment was. How I will never think of November 27th the same. I will always remember watching my amazing friend deliver her baby girl. There are no words to describe what an incredible job Jessica did. Andrew was incredible too. He stood like a rock by her side the whole time, whispering in her ear how much her loved her and that she was doing great. Even now thinking of those moments makes me a little choked up. I will wait a lifetime to have love like that.

I love this little one so much. She may not be blood related but her and her brothers are just as much my niece and nephews as Alissa, Justen and Peyton are! So it is my pleasure to show off my newest "niece" Lucy Eden LaTour:

Thankful

Each year I try to sit back on or around Thanksgiving and think about all that I am thankful for. A few days ago a dear friend of mine lost his father. It was a very unexpected death and my heart is so sad for him. He's an amazing person and I hate to see him going through such a tough thing. In light of those circumstances, everything has been put into perspective for me... more so than usual.

Every day I try to tell atleast one person how thankful I am that they are part of my life. I've been trying to get better about telling people I love them. Sometimes the words "i love you" can seem so scary depending on who you are saying them to. The truth is, I love every single person that is in my life. I love them with all of my heart and soul. I hope you all know that. I enjoy doing things for people because it is a physical/tangible way to show someone I care.

I would like to list everything I am thankful for but that would make this the longest blog ever! What I ask of you this Thanksgiving is that you take a moment and tell atleast one person you love them. You never know what tomorrow holds. And to my friend.. I love you more than you know and you are in my prayers. Stay strong.

I've been swooped..

There I was standing in the plastic storage bin aisle of Target, minding my own business, when I was swooped. I was trying to decide which under-the-bed storage bin to purchase when I noticed the exact same ones I already have at home. Perfect! they will match. So I pick one up to verify dimensons.

All of a sudden this woman rushes down the aisle with her son tagging along. She bends down to look at the lids and says to her son "Yep Johnny* , these are the right ones". In one swift move she swoops down and grabs ALL of the lids on the shelf and took off. Not a single lid, speck of dust, chipped piece of plastic was left. Seriously??? Who does that? Clearly I was looking at the same storage bin that she was! What good is a storage bin without a lid? I was super annoyed at this point. I checked all of the other lids and not one of them was the right size. Thankfully someone that worked there was close by and they were able to find a lid for me. People never cease to amaze me.

In a place like Target it is hard to stay annoyed or angry. There's always some type of shiny object to distract you from the storage lid snatchers. Oh please, oh please, oh please, people of Ramona.... vote to have Target come to town! Think how many jobs a shopping center woud provide for the community. Plus if people are already out and about shopping in town they are likely to cruise main street, grab lunch, maybe buy some stuff from the locals. Oh a girl can dream. I'm trying not to get my hopes up about it. Heck.. who am I fooling? they are already up!

* Names were changed to protect the innocent (or cuz I couldnt remember his name).

ER!

OK I know.. 3 blogs in one night.. I am out of control! I just had to share my OMG moment of the night. So here I am watching ER and this girl pops up on the screen.. "OMG Its Emily Rose"!! I went to college with her at Vanguard. Isn't that just insane? She was an amazing actress in college and I knew she would do great things. And she was always the nicest person. Her, my other friend Shannon, myself and a couple roommates used to have "dance parties" in our rooms. Just dance around like big nerds to music and crack up laughing. I haven't talked to her in years but I am so proud of her! This is the last season of ER but what a foot in the door! Check her out.. she's the blonde on the right. She also landed a role on Brothers and Sisters .......

I attached her bio to her name. Check it out.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

"Truvy:What are you colors?

Shelby:Blush and bashfull!

M'Lynn:Her colors are pink and pink.

Shelby:My colors are blush and bashfull

M'Lynn: That sanctuary looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto-Bismol

Shelby: I like Pink. Pink is my signature color."

The above exchange between ladies from "Steel Magnolias" seems so fitting for the baby shower we just had for Jessica. The day went better than I had ever expected. Jessica does so much for others and she deserved the absolute best. By-golly I think we pulled it off this time! I was blessed to have help from her mom and sister in laws. The deal was to plan it and not tell jess any of the details... but frankly.. that is impossible for me. We've been best friends for 13 yrs now. She is literally the other half of my brain! I HAVE to call her and bounce ideas off of her, have her listen as I talk through an idea. I think she was still surprised with what she saw.

The day was perfect. Even the part where I made up a game. I had a basic idea about what I wanted to do for the game but hadn't figured out the logistics. So about 5 minutes before we started I thought of the idea. The teams got so into it they thought of team names that incorporated the baby shower theme!!! We had the "Sugar Mamas" " Sugar Babies" and "Spice Girls". I loved it.

Sometimes I get ideas in my head but have a hard time executing them. Fortunately they turn out better that I expect(usually). The cupcakes were not at all what I had wanted to do but they were adorable. I have gotten so many compliments on them. Here are some pics from the day:

Official

Back in my last blog I mentioned the ideas of everyone at work getting together and makng bunches of cookies for our fire stations. I was so fired up at the idea I couldn't even sleep that day! I am still super fired up! The best part is that everyone at work is totally on board for it! so the "official" name is (another drum roll please)

(1st annual) "MVICC Christmas Cookie Capers"

I will be the Caper Commander for North county and I designated my friend Staci as the Caper Commander of South county. Before I could make a sign up sheet people were asking where they could sign up to help! So I developed this: ( see if you can actually read what the cartoon says! funny stuff)

The excitement of everyone else makes me want to run out into a green field with my arms wide open bursting into song singing " the hills are alive with the sound of cookies"... ok so it doesn't have as much ring to it as the original version but you get the point. :)