Flour Power

What happens when you have pieces of unwrapped gum, a bowl of flour and a big brother and little sister standing next to eachother? ... Someone with big brothers can probably see where this is going..

The fam was at Collier Park today enjoying the beautiful summer weather with some family from Arizona. We were celebrating my cousin Bethany's birthday. Her mom, Willow, is on the ball and had some "fun" games planned for everyone. She greatly encouraged the adults to get involved. Mom, Jimmy, Katie and I were the brave ones... until Willow explained what the game was.

There were four bowls of flour lined up and each one had unwrapped pieces of bubble gum in it. Without using our hands ( shouts of protest erupted from the adults that were suckered into the game) we had to dig through the flour, find a piece of gum, chew it, blow a bubble and tag our next teammate to do the same. At this point the adults looked at eachother and agreed " we're so screwed".

Jeremy(Katies little brother) was on my team and he went first. He plunged his entire face into the flour and dug like a champ. He emerged looking like Bozo the clown with a stark white face.. sans the funny red nose. But he had a piece of gum.. which quickly got spit out due to the enormous amount of flour that joined that piece of gum as it enetered his little mouth. He spit it out and ran for water. I think " yes! my team is disqualified, Im not gonna have to do it". Unfortunately I had my ambitious 10 yr old niece on my team that was all gun-ho on doing this game. Meanwhile I hear Jimmy next to me plotting to blow all of the flour in my direction. "Bring it on big brother".

Jimmy and I race to our bowls and I start blowing flour out of the way.. (I didn't stick my face in the bowl because I refused to look like a clown myself...) as a cloud of flour dust surrounds me.

I've always said Jimmy was full of hot air and today my point was proven as more and more flour gets blown my way. Finally I say forget the "no hands" rule. I grab a hand full of flour and toss it on Jimmy. Bad move little sis... he grabs his ENTIRE bowl of flour and dumps it on me. Lucky for me he is getting slow in his old age and I was able to grab my bowl and successfully dump it on him! He must have forgotten I have cat-like reflexes! Unfortunately innocent family members were floured during this incident (no injuries though). As I am sitting at home I can still feel the gritty flour all over me. I am finding flour in places flour should never be! Some people just never grow up.. Geez Jimmy.. way to set an example for the little ones! ;)

Always a Bridesmaid..

"You're in ANOTHER wedding" seems to be the latest catch-phrase people say to me. That and " you need a man in your life" or " why aren't you dating someone"..

Sometimes I wonder if little elves have stapled a sign to my back that says " single". Why do people feel the need to constantly comment on the fact that I am not dating someone? Don't get me wrong, Im not mad or irritated. I actually find it somewhat amusing most of the time. I just wish I could charge a couple bucks each time someone says it. It would take care of my fuel expenses for the whole month! Have you seen the movie "27 Dresses"? GREAT movie. I love it.. and it is the story of my life. Im not even kidding. As I sat in the theater watching I thought "Oh my gosh.. that is totally me and what I go through". I don't have quite so many dresses though. Give me a couple more years!

To answer your question.. yes, I am in another wedding. My oldest brother,Jimmy, is marrying a wonderful woman named Jessica in september. All of us bridesmaids went dress shopping a couple weeks ago. It was so fun meeting the other girls and trying on all sorts of dresses. In a moment of positive thinking I said " we could even wear these dresses again".. yah, not likely. I have never worn a bridesmaid dress more than once. It is a nice thought though.

Over the last few months I have realized how blessed I am by my sister-in-laws. Katie and Jessica are amazing women. I love having our "sister" days. They may be few and far between but definitely priceless. When you take a moment to stop and look around at what you have, reality hits and shows you life is actually pretty good. I may not have a guy in my life right now but I have two sister in laws and a best friend that have made my life so rich and fulfilling.

Whew! That was a little sappy.. but true.

Work has been tremendously busy. Our friends in Northern California are getting hammered with fires caused by lightning. All of us down South are doing what we can to help them. The weather has been CRAZY hot! After 2 minutes outside, it feels as though you didn't even shower that morning. People are still pretty nervous at the first smell of smoke. Here's my latest:
"Fire and Medical Emergency"
" Is there a fire somewhere in ramona? I smell smoke"
"No maam, there's no fires reported in ramona. Do you see smoke"
" Well no, I just smell it. Should I evacuate?"
" At this time that wont be needed. What address are you calling from?"
" Are you going to activate the reverse 911? should i start packing?"
" Not at this time. I will send an engine out to take a look around the area though."
... come to find out her neighbor was having a BBQ.

We treat every call seriously but we still sometimes joke about it when it is all over. It is only June and it has been a busy fire season. My night shift partner is in Alaska on vacation so I am working some 24 nights straight.. I may be insane. Or I will be after I am done working all those nights. The light at the end of the tunnel is going to see "Phantom of the Opera" on July 20th at the Civic. I am SOOO excited! It will be my reward for working so much.

Last week I was robbed of a couple of my days off. I had a case of the 24 hr flu or food poisoning. how lame! I was puking my guts out at work and finally called my Captain over because I couldnt continue working. The next 2 days were aweful. I am never ever sick. I dont think I moved from the couch at all on thursday. Friday I was finally feeling better so I spent the day with Jess Latour and her boys. There's nothing like sitting on the couch with your best bud watching "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". The last couple weeks have been pretty chill. Nothing too exciting going on. Of course with my life that is subject to change at a moments notice.. one slip in the flip flop, one trip on thin air and we have more stories! Stay tuned..

Memory Lane

The last couple weeks have been super busy with baby showers, work, birthdays and Father's Day. I am happy to report that I finished both baby blankets for the baby showers! They turned out beautiful and both mommies loved them. There were a couple ladies at Kristina's shower that I haven't seen since high school. Reality hit that my 10 year high school reunion will be next year. Yikes! Where has the time gone?!

I think one of my favorite things is to look back to when times were a little more simple. I know the farther back we look, the more simple life seemed. Obviously I didn't grow up in the 50's, 60's or even the 70's.. but you have to admit that the 80's were pretty fabulous. Well, fashion aside they were. I sat at work last night chatting with my friend Ashley when the subject of 80's shows/cartoons came up. Sorry to break it to the current generation but your tv shows don't even compare! The shows these days are so high tech and full of violence and sarcasm. What happened to fun "moral building" shows like Punky Brewster, Kids Incorporated and the Mickey Mouse Club. Or the friday night line up.. aka "TGIF" with Full House, Step by Step and Family Matters. I mean seriously.. how can you been that little kid with nasally voice, big glasses and suspenders saying " did I do that?" Hello! let's do the "Urkel". Remember that dance?

Then there are the cartoons. REAL cartoons like Muppet Babies, GI Joe, Transformers, TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for those of you who are not aware), Rainbow Brite, GEM, Barbie and the Rockers, Camp Candy, Dumbo's Circus, My Little Pony.. And of course the popular but usually over looked shows like Fraggle Rock, Wuzzles and Zoobilee Zoo.

I realized that many people have not heard of Zoobilee Zoo. I loved that show. Adults that dressed up like animals and they lived on some planet and they could all sing and dance. I loved walking down memory lane last night. My brother's and I would lay on our stomachs and watch the cartoons together. Friday nights mom and dad would be in their recliners and us kids would be on the floor while we watched the friday night line up. Such good times. I hope we, as adults, can build fond memories like this for our kids, nieces and nephews.

The man of my ..uh..dreams???!

I've found him! Life has now changed forever! Here's how it happened:

On Friday I was helping out at a Senior Health Fair. I was at the Burn Institute booth with 2 other volunteers(Judy and Tim). It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day in the fabulous city of Santee. I was sitting at the booth handing out sunscreen, pencils, brochures and telling our older generation about our free Smoke Detector Installation program when I saw him...

Tall, about 6'2 or so, mid 40's, brown hair, blue eyes. He looked very dapper in his outfit: A Brown shirt tucked into his jeans and a pair of greenish-brown sweat pants worn hap-hazardly over those said pair of jeans.

He walked by and stopped by our table. Here was my fatal mistake.. I smiled and said hello. All of a sudden his eyes got really big, a goofy grin on his face and he said hello back. He asked a couple questions and then moved on. That was that.. right? hahahaha NOPE! For the next 2 hours he came by our table every 10 minutes (literally). Even the guys at the table next to us were commenting about is frequent stops. At first I tried to make myself believe he was very interested in the Burn Institute and the work we do. I told myself he was staring at the brochures that were on the table in front of me. My hopes were dashed quickly when I suddenly saw a hand shoved in my face proceeded by a "Hi , my name is Brian". I hear snickers from my other two volunteers(thanks for the support guys). I can't just ignore the guy so I shake his hand and tell him my name. I introduced the other two volunteers but in his eyes they were non-existent. I let go of his hand and he just stood there.. uh awkward! I avoid all eye contact and he finally moves on.

A few minutes later I hear Tim say "Here comes your boyfriend!" and started laughing. Sure enough.. here he comes. He stops by and just stands there.. again. At this point this same scenario has happened about 10 or so times. You know when you can "feel" someone staring at you. I could feel it but I could also SEE it. I think that is even more creepy!

We had about 15 minutes left when my little friend walks past and says (very loudly) "Bye Shannon, it was nice to meet you". Fan-frickin-tastic! Now everyone is staring at me. Judy and Tim burst into laughter. I finshed packing up and was getting ready to take everything to my car when I turned around and saw him coming out of starbucks. I ran to my car..

Training: Week 1/Day 1

This has got to be the hardest day in training right? The first day... going from nothing to running/walking was tougher than I thought. I figured: 5 minute warm up, alternating 60 seconds running, 90 seconds walking for 20 minutes then a 5 minute cool down, piece of cake! Reality check.. not as easy as it sounds. The first couple minutes was easy and I thought " wow, see I can do this!" Then I keep going for a few minutes " whew.. this is getting a little harder". About 3/4 of the way through it I thought " what in the world was I thinking!?" I was so far into that I absolutely refused to give up. And I didn't! I finished 1.92 miles. Not too shabby for a rookie. I feel good about it. I feel like it was a good work out and I didn't over do it.

I am making great progress on the second baby blanket! I am over half way done. I have about 10 days to get it done. I can't lose momentum now.

I have a couple days left in a 5 day shift at work. So many people ask me if it is a stressful job. I guess it can be but there are quite a few calls that end up being funny and a great story. Here's one from early this morning:
Me: "Fire, Medical Emergency"
Reporting Party (RP): Hello?
Me: Hi this is the fire department, what is your emergency
RP: Hello?
Me: Sir, this is the fire department, what is your emergency
RP: Hello?
Me: Sir, can your hear me?
RP: well, yes!
Me: Ok, what is the emergency?
RP: well, Im clammy
Me: Clammy?
RP: yes! and I have pain in my chest. I suffer from Ang.. uh ang.. you know.. that thing in your chest
Me: Angina? (pronounced an-j-i-na)
RP: ya! that's it! and I took one of those pills. those little ones.
Me: Nitro?
RP: Yes!
Me: Did it help?
RP: Well, no. Should I take another one?
Me: probably not. What is your address?
RP: Im getting to that.
Me: Ok..

It is a never ending guessing game being a dispatcher. But it keeps life fun and entertaining. I really do love my job! Non stop fun.

Going the Distance

I've been learning that weight loss is a lot of hard work. I want results now but I know that isn't the answer. I am stoked that I have lost 8 pounds so far. It has taken about 5-6 weeks. I fear I have hit a plateau of sorts. I know weight can fluctuate with water weight gain and such. People have given me plenty of advice. My biggest struggle is sticking with it. I have slacked on going to the gym lately. Im going to get back into it though. Someone told me it is best to measure your waist. It makes sense. Afterall, the goal is to feel better and look better. Weight is just a number.

In an attempt to increase calorie burn and strength training, I have decided to take up running. Crazy huh? Never in my life have I been a runner. I mean, ask my dad.. When I played soccer as a kid I spent more time chatting with Shannon Brown than I did actually running up and down the field playing the game. I did try a little bit harder with basketball. The only time I some-what enjoyed running was my freshman year of high school when I was on the track team. Brian and I did our warm up laps together. That was the extent of the enjoyment. I hated "running" the mile in high school. Why did they put us through that kind of torture? How mean! I walked most of it. Leasurely walked that is.. It was more of a social time and bonding with my friends though. Freshman P.E. was the beginning of a long, beautiful friendship with Jessica. A couple friends of mine back east have started running and gave me websites that have beginner training routines. 5 min warm-up, run 60 sec, walk 90 sec. Do that for 20 minutes 3 times a week. Not too bad right? My goal is to eventually run 5k (3 miles). So monday is the beginning of training.

Atleast I can go to the gym and run on the tredmill and I don't have to worry about this crazy weather! It is absolutely pouring right now. Isn't it usually africa hot during Memorial Day? I can't complain too much. It is a great day for sitting on the couch, crocheting baby blankets and watching reruns of old family favorites like Full House, Saved By the Bell, and Gilmore Girls. Brings back the memory of watching "TGIF" every friday night with the whole family. Full House, Step by Step, Family Matters. ahhh memories... They may be somewhat cheesy with their tender music and life lesson at the end but I still love them.

The Sweet Taste of Victory

Yesterday was a full day of anticipation. What would happen on American Idol? I joined the LaTour's and Kristina for dinner and dessert. Jess made the yummiest Enchiladas! I savored each and every bite. She had me pick up some Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream. I wont lie, it was to die for. I still have about half the carton sitting in my freezer for a little treat tonight.

Being the smart one that she is, Jessica, had saved the audition episodes. While we were waiting for the show to start we walked down memory lane and watched the auditions. We laughed at those that thought they were something but honestly..my cat could sing better. Then the the others that were actually pretty good, made it to hollywood and then mysteriously got beat out by the not very talented Kristy Lee Cook. I honestly was not looking forward to the long 2 hour Finale show. I just wanted the results. I have been waiting all season for this moment. Speed it along people! However impatient I may have been, I did enjoy the show. I really loved both Davids. Their version of "hero" was awesome. It gave me chills and it was so fun seeing the top 12 again.

Of course there was plenty of trash talking going on from my paramedic friend. The ever sweet victory came at around 9:57pm when Ryan Seacrest said the most wonderful words I have heard all year " The 2008 American Idol is.. (dramatic pause) David (another pause) Cook". In a matter of 1 second I went from 27 yr old woman to 15 yr old high school girl. I leaped off the couch screaming and jumping around. I looked over and jess was jumping up and down on the couch screaming. I had a short flash back to the days me, jessica and our other high school friends had a "small" obsession with NSYNC. Then the text messages started to come in from brian.. "Jeff is sheepishly awaiting your text..." I relished the feeling of victory. Heck, i am STILL relishing the feeling of victory. You would think I won american idol. I know my 150-160 votes made a very very small dent in the 97 1/2 million votes that were cast tuesday night. Being the nice person I am, I told Jeff I would still make him his peach pie. His response: "You're the greatest. And I will be eating the humble pie in your greatness". Let's just hope he remembers that when I wake them up in the middle of the night for calls.

On the pie front... we will see how they taste. Out of all the goodies I have made, I have never made a pie from scratch. I bought the crust but everything else was fresh. Did you know it is a little difficult to peel a peach? I mean really, they are juicy, squishy, slippery and those little peels just want to hang on for dear life. I also made a caramel apple pie. I think that one turned out a little better. What a great day to make pies! It is a little cold and raining like crazy. The smell of cinnamon, brown sugar and warm desserts is filling my little apartment. Pictures: Peach Pie on the left, Caramel Apple on the right

It is the perfect time for a nap. I never have to nap alone though. As soon as I bring out a blanket some kind of sensor goes off that wakes Hunny up and she makes her way to the living room (meowing) and she hops up to join me. She cannot ,however, just lay down and go to sleep, she has to do "happy paws" for a good 5 minutes before she decides the spot is comfy enough to lay down. I just want to say " for the love, just lay down already" but if you disturb her it is like she starts all over. Its best to just suffer through and let her do her thing.

This evening I am off to the fire station to deliver their beloved pies then going to join Katie for a movie night. I love spending time with my sister in laws. They are both incredible people. I am so thankful that we are close and truly like sisters. It will be fun to kick back, play with my niece and watch a movie that I swear was based on my life story... 27 Dresses. A great movie about a woman that has been a bridesmaid 27 times. She runs around like a chicken with her head cut off to help out her soon to be married friends. A bunch of us girls saw it in the theater and I haven't watched it since. I can't wait! yay!

A case of insanity? nah..

Some people call it insanity.. I call it dedication! I voted my heart out last night for David Cook! I sent somewhere around 150-175 text votes. He better win! I think Simon was on drugs last night when he wasn't loving DC's songs! He did an incredible job. David A. was good though. The originality was lacking from David Archuleta. I just think David Cook has such an original sound. And let's be honest... that raspy voice is super hot!!!

As the hour of 8pm approached I was getting pounded with 911 calls. I was just praying everything would settle down by show time. Things finally slowed down around 830 or so. Didn't miss too much. I was trash talking to Station 81. One of the medics said from day 1 that David A. was going to win. I did create a little jealousy with the wonderful american idol star cookies. I told my brother,Brian, I would make " David Cook Rocks" cookies WHEN he wins and deliver them to our medic friend at the station on thursday. If David A. wins however, I may have to make humble pie or maybe some crow.

On the crocheting front I made some good progress. I can't lose momentum now. I have 17 days to finish. That should be plenty of time. I must commit to doing atleast 2 sections a day and I am good to go.

This was my first shift back to work after 3 weeks out of the office. Most nights I am consistently busy through out the night and there is little time for TV. Last night was fairly slow. My newest late night discovery is the food network. I know it has always been there and I have been know to watch "Ace of Cakes" but there are SO many more good shows to watch. "Drive Ins, Diners and Dives" for example. The food at the places the host went looked amazing. It made me want to hop in my car and try some of it. You better believe my DVR will now have scheduled recordings from the food network.

It's Time!

Here we go.. "D" day in essence. The final performances on American Idol. I can't wait! Just over 2 hrs until the festivities begin. It is always a challenge to watch it at work but hopefully the night will start out slow. My co-worker and I are having a little "American Idol Final performance" party. I made taco 7 layer dip, "american idol" star cookies and we are having ice cream "microphone" cones. Call me a dork but I am SO excited.

Tomorrow night is the 2 hr finale. Im headed to the LaTours for a Finale Party. I am just slightly annoyed that the final show is 2 hrs long. My little heart just can't take all of the anticipation. Just tell me already!

I desperately want David Cook to win. My gut says David A. has a good chance because he has the teeny-bopper following. Hopefully the rest of our votes will over power the 12 yrs olds! My cell phone is charged, fired up and ready to text "vote" for David Cook. The voting lines should be open for a couple hours. You better believe I will texting my little heart out. Thank God for unlimited texting AND that AI uses AT&T. I sometimes I wish life came equipt with DVR so I could fast forward to the performances, watch them, then fast forward to the results.

While being distracted by the ending of American Idol, I realized I have two baby showers to go to on the same day in june. Luckily they are at different times so I can make it to both. It is crunch time however.. 2 babies means 2 baby blankets need to be made. I finished one and am am crocheting like crazy to finish the second. The second one has had a shakey start. It just wasn't looking right. I unraveled it atleast 3 times to start over. I think I finally got the pattern down last night. Time to kick it in high gear and get it done. I can't wait to go shopping for these little ones. I am even more excited to meet them. Just about 6 wks to go!

Is it any wonder..

I have often wondered what it would be like to get married and have so many parts of your life come together in one day. Each of these parts have built you up to who you are today. Being a bridesmaid and involved in wedding festivities this past weekend made me think of it even more. Watching Shelli walk down the aisle was a surreal and overwhelming momnent. Realizing all of us standing up there as her attendants have played a role in who she is today. And on this day she was finally marrying the love of her life.

Had I not met her at Vanguard, I would have never been around to support her after a car accident, hug her when she was down, pray for her when she was sick, fall into her lap crying because someone had broken my heart, ran down the hallway from her as she was trying to grab my butt, sitting for hours in the outreach ministry office just talking, dressing up to represent and compete for the "west tower spirit cup". All of these things helped her become this wonderful person she is today. Wow.. I was part of it..

Meeting the other bridesmaids this weekend, I could see how she was friends with each of them. They are all amazing people. I loved hanging out by the pool just chatting with Natalie and Tabby, sharing a toast, joking around with Hiromi,chatting with Marleen at the spa, laughing with Tabby, navigating through the streets of Long Beach trying to find Chili's. In some ways these girls have changed my life. More little pieces in the puzzle of my life. It was a great weekend and I am so thankful I was part of it.