heores (tv show) 9:09 PM

I am watching all of season two before season three starts. It is an addicting show. I am glad I didn't watch it during prime time because I would not have been able to wait a week to find out what happens next. The show is good at leaving you with cliff hangers at the end of each episode - much like Alias did. Tamarin and I watched the first season, a good chunk of it, last New Years Eve (yes we are that cool) and were hooked from there. I forgot how much I liked it until I started watching season two yesterday. Since the season was cut short from the writers strike, it is going to easy to finish this long weekend.

sourdough starter 9:15 PM

The thought of Shea home growing a sourdough starter is the greatest thing. I am so excited to hear how it goes! Sourdough is the greatest bread ever. But I will save that post for after I've been home and gone to Bounin's (maker of the greatest sourdough bread ever). Shea is going to knock the socks off of Wichita with that sourdough.

Just realized I over use the words greatest and ever.

I know I over use awesome; but I am okay with that.

cucumbers 9:23 PM

Sarah: Look at the cool water drops on the cucumber. 

Me: That's really cool.

Sarah: Are you going to blog about this? Does it make you happy? (she is mocking me)

Me: Maybe it does. Maybe I will. (fully knowing that she is mocking me) 

Sarah: We need pictures. I'll go get my camera.

Okay, so that's not quite verbatim, but it's close. Needless to say we spent the next 30 minutes photographing a cucumber. We are nerds. But let me say that I do love cucumbers. They are so crispy and crunchy and taste like fresh. Yes, if fresh were a flavor it would taste like a cucumber. Have you ever slid a slice of cucumber into your water? Let it sit in the fridge for a bit and allow the water to soak up the flavor. It is refreshing. Add a drop of lemon juice for a little extra pizzaz.

live football 11:46 PM

top left: Sarah asking Chris which cheerleader is the hottest.

top right: Carson clapping for the Skins while I pose.

bottom left: He is SO ultra cute!

bottom right: The sweet view from our seats.

Yesterday at work a woman called and asked if anyone at the firehouse could use three tickets to the Redskins game tonight. I firstly made sure we could accept them, and then said YES! I had never been to a live NFL game before. It was my good fortune that none of the boys could go on the short notice so I grabbed the biggest football fan I knew, his wife and cute kid. 

The game was cool. We had seats 13 rows from the field; they were AWESOME. It is amazing how much more you can get into the game with good seats. The Jaguars killed the Redskins even though the Skins played their first string (it was the last pre-season game). Luckily I do not have strong feelings towards either team so I just enjoyed the atmosphere and cheered to make Carson cheer. It was a really fun night.

Thank you Michelle for your "charitable donation" to the Fire Department and enjoy that $300 write off on your taxes. We sure enjoyed it. 

Sarah   *   Carson   *   Chris   *   Me

AMI 3:02 PM

fair warning: this will only be interesting to medical nerds

No, the fact that a person was having an Acute Myocardial Infarction (aka: AMI, MI, heart attack) does not make me happy. But the fact that the first and second due Medic Units were all out on calls and I got to run it, that made me happy.

It was an atypical presentation. Some chest pain, no trouble breathing, felt weak for the last half hour, no diaphoresis, no n/v, no headache, he was pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. Diabetic was the only medical history. D-stick 350, ate 3o min ago and didn't take insulin. The EKG was initially the top strip, appeared to be a 3* heart block (maybe with one box of ST elevation) bradicardia. Saw that and decided to get the patient out of the house and on the Medic for a 12 lead and some interventions. note: I am the only medic on scene. I am alone. I dislike not having anyone to consult with. The 12 lead is the middle strip. In that 5 minutes between strips the ST elevation skyrocketed. And in all leads but two. Oh crap. From there you know the drill... MONA. Well O, N, no A (he was allergic), then M.

While responding I decided to warn him about what was happening, and what was about to happen. He said "Oh. I thought it might be that. My Dad died of a heart attack." without any affect, like he was asking me to pass the butter or something. Sheesh. I told him the next time he feels like this to please tell the medic "This is what it felt like last time I had a heart attack." We were only a mile from PWH so took him there instead of flying him to Fairfax.

The last EKG was taken 5 minutes after the middle one, ST elevation had gotten higher and the heart rate was now tachicardic. Thank goodness we were rolling up to the ambulance bay. By the time I was done writing my report and refilling the narc pack, they had a helicopter there to take him to the cath lab at IFH.

It was a good call. I love my job.

the temple 7:39 PM

The Washington DC temple

I love the Temple. I am glad that there is one so close. When things are really crappy or when I need a bit of peace in the midst of my crazy sometimes-stressful life, I know that I can always go to the Temple. It is always sitting there, waiting for me to come visit. It feels like home in there. You know, comfortable like home.

SLDB 10:17 PM

This picture is from when one of my best friends came to visit me out here. She was even married at the time, if that tells you how great she is. Married friends never come cross-country to visit single friends - especially without their spouses. These are the only recent pictures (2003) I have of us together (we should fix that dude) so they will have to do. 

It will be easy to rectify because last year she and her husband moved here. Which is so great. It is like having family around. There is that familiarity that comes from knowing a persons background, knowing what they went through growing up, having similar challenges and being there to lean on through those trials of growing up. Sarah and I haven't always been the best at keeping in touch but our friendship is the kind that can be picked up after a long time apart and be right back where we left off. I truly value this friendship. 

Today I asked Sarah a favor. The kind that you only ask family members because you know that they will be there unconditionally-always if you need them. And I really value that she was and is there for me if I need someone. Thanks Sarah. 

We spent like 30 minutes at least with the camera on a timer 

trying to catch a picture of us with a plane landing over our 

head at Gravely Point. We are easily entertained.

clouds 11:54 AM

Not having the greatest morning. Roommate problems, no not Ashley, we have another one. So I was feeling pretty crappy as I was driving into work. It had taken me forever to find my keys this morning and I was running late. I called Tom to warn him that I might not be there until 7am (which is technically right on time, not late. We just make it a habit of arriving 30 minutes early to relieve the prior shift) and he told me "Don't be late." Thanks Lt. That was really helpful.


I was listening to my current favorite CD (Jason Mraz) and the song Details in Fabric came on. I decided I really liked that song. As I was playing that song on repeat I remembered to look up at the clouds, because that usually helps lift my spirits. Through my front windshield I saw the scene above. The picture does not do it justice. It was whisping upwards and reflecting the sunrise. I was so intent on catching a picture of it for the blog I almost didn't look to my left to see the below.



What an awesome sunrise. It almost made me forget that I was also running late to work. Sometimes a nice present like this on a Sunday morning when you are feeling down makes you remember that there is a bigger picture. To step back, take a deep breath, and relax. Everything works itself out eventually.



Also as I was perusing the clouds I really liked the contrast of the telephone pole/lines and the birds against the sky.

Happy Sunday friends.

the deck 11:24 PM

Starting at the top left corner and going across:

How Rob started out the morning entertaining us.
Ashley pulling up the old boards.
Dave finishing the job.
(row 2)  Tom and Dave making the deck safer.
The first new piece of wood!
Showing Steph how to screw (yeah, yeah, hilarious).
(row 3)  Steph entertaining Rob.
Ashley nearly decapitating Tom.
Ryan using a power tool.
( row 4)  Me holding a board Rob used to entertain us more.
Rob making the deck all nice and pretty.
Tom and Joel putting the last two pieces in.

After some bargaining, Tom agreed to redo our (read: Ashley's) deck. The parameters were this: 1) I had to buy them beer. I know. Hilarious. But a small price to pay for a nice new deck. 2) Rob had to come. Because he is by far the most entertaining person on our shift. Some of the stuff he does... well look at the first picture there. Rob started the day out by tripping up the stairs and spilling two large coffees plus a large Dr. Pepper all over. It looked like a tiny dark waterfall. 3) They wanted to meet my hot Mormon friends. Boys. Lame. But not a problem, my friends are always up for a BBQ and I wanted to make sure the pro-bono workers finished off their hard day of work with some grubbin' food.

So Friday a ton of wood was dropped off on our driveway. Ashley and I moved some of it to the backyard. I rolled my stupid ankle. Ashley moved some more by herself. In the morning (post ice, elevation and ibuprofen) we were finishing it up when Tom came. Tom has a little construction company on the side so he pulled up with his trailer of tools. It was like a giant toy box. Ashley and I were shown how to pull up the old nails and wood with pry bars and we went at it. That old deck did not stand a chance. Meanwhile the boys were also pulling stuff and cutting the old boards down and getting stuff ready for the rebuild.

For the next phase Ashley and I were not too helpful. The boys... actaully they worked hard. They did manly stuff. I am going to upgrade them from boys to men (for now). The men then reeinforced the beams and made our deck stronger, safer and calmed Ashley's reoccuring deck nightmare. They put alot of work in. They rock. And that was just the beginning...

Next the men started putting on the top of the deck. They started from the far end and worked in. They did the first couple, because walking on those thin tight-rope boards while securing wood and using power tools was a bit precarious (especially with my history of clumsiness). And then they let us help. Dave, Ashley and I stayed up top to secure and screw in the new boards while Tom and Rob finished adding wood to the bottom the prevent the deck from swaying. Yes, our deck used to wobble a bit. Steph was the go-for and Rob's official ladder holder. Ryan joined us and helped up top with the screwing. Go ahead, giggle. You are so immature. But so are we. There was a lot of screwing to be done and an equal number of jokes to go along with the work.

The rebuild took longer than expected, so our friends were arriving to BBQ as we were still trying to finish. I begged Tom to be done and relax, but he wouldn't listen to me (which is not an unusual scenario). My poor friends were hanging out inside, food ready, patiently waiting for them to finish because they felt bad eating while the men were still outside working hard. Luckily the screws we were using required a certain drill bit, which apparently is not manufactured to last long, and the last drill bit finally broke. So the Men were forced to stop. We packed up shop, moved the chairs outside to the new fantastic deck and finally relaxed. The BBQ was great. We made kabobs (I tried two new marinades, one of which is worth sharing: chili-lime marinating them overnight was perfect) and all sorts of delicious sides. The weather was perfect. The food was great. The company was enjoyable. And the new deck was more than we could have asked for.

Thank you Men; you are the BEST.

And if you're wondering why there are no pictures of the finished deck, well, it was almost dark when the men stopped. And also, it is not quite done. Tom and Joel volunteered to come on Tuesday and make us new rails. :) Then I will take finished pictures.

organized 11:42 AM

I totally know what all these marks mean.

Thank you Brother Covey for mainstreaming organization. Buying fresh organizer pages makes me feel liberated and in control of my life. There is a clean slate in front of me, I can mark is as I please, make new color codes if I like, and know exactly what I need to prepare for in the future. It feels good. Probably because that is THE ONLY part of my life that is organized and clutter-free.

lime-garlic fingers 4:02 PM

My fingers smell good. I want to eat them. Okay not really, but I cannot stop sneaking a smell at them. I am at work and it is my night to cook. I set the chicken to marinade in a lime garlic mixture (from a bottle) and used my fingers to move it around to make sure the pieces were completely coated. And not I cannot get the lovely smell off. I have washed them at least five times. So here I sit, typing for a minute, smelling them for a minute, and then typing again.

My other favorite smell is chlorine that has permanently sunk into your skin after spending a good amount of time in the pool. So clean, so nice.

bones 10:33 PM

I love this show. I am watching it now when I should be getting ready for bed. It is a re-run, but it is such a great show that I have not gotten tired of watching episodes over and over again. "Bones" is Dr. Temperence Brennan who is a Forensic Anthropologist. She works with FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth; he nicknamed her "Bones". Their chemistry is so great and the banter that goes on between them is hilarious. Bones is ultra smart and socially inept; Booth is hot. Like every good prime-time show, the two characters are in love with each other but are oblivious and/or in denial of it. This show also has a great cast of quirky supporting actors. You should watch this show. The re-runs are on Wednesdays on Fox 8pm (season 3) and random days on TNT 11pm (season 2). We will be starting season 4 this fall, but you should really watch it from the beginning. Totally worth it.

rock paper scissors 9:20 PM

As I was looking around the Found website I went from link to link and ended up on a website with the funniest tangent about rock paper scissors. Since its language was slightly off-color I have edited it and posted it here. The original post is by Eric Karjala.

I understand that Scissors can beat Paper and I get how Rock can beat Scissors, but there’s no stinking way Paper could beat Rock. Apparently, Paper is supposed to magically “wrap around” Rock, leaving it immobile. Why the heck can’t Paper do this to Scissors? No, never mind Scissors, why can’t Paper do this to people? Why aren’t sheets of college-ruled notebook paper constantly smothering students as they attempt to take notes in class? I’ll tell you why: because Paper can’t beat anybody. A rock would tear that stuff up in about a minute.

Whenever I play Rock/Paper/Scissors, I always choose Rock. When somebody claims to have beaten me with their Paper, I punch them in the face with my already-clenched fist. I’ll say, “Oh, crap, man, I’m sorry, I thought Paper would protect you. Idiot.”

Funny right. Also as I was looking for an image to stick at the top of this post I came across this image. It is a clever right? I am a sucker for smart design. This is a t-shirt design by Jeff Garris.

baby laughter 9:31 PM

My favorite happy nephew Bryce and his beautiful mother Cathi.

sidenote: I do not usually think we look too alike, 

but in this picture we totally look alike. scary. (for her that is)

Do not ask how I got there, but somehow I found myself on YouTube watching videos of babies laughing. It started with one. I was curious, so I clicked the link. And I liked what I saw. So I had to check out another one. And another one. And another one. I could not stop! That baby laughter was like happy crack. One hit was not enough. I needed more and more. And then some more.

So for you enjoyment here are a few links to baby laughing videos. Be careful though, once you start you might not be able to stop.

*   link one   *   link two   *   link three   *

Below is Elijah (my cousins' Jarom & Kaylee's son, which makes him my second cousin I think) enjoying life at the family reunion in May. Bryce is trying to figure out what is so funny. Cathi is controlling the torture device. Elijah's laughter is contagious! 

If you are not more happy after watching those videos, then I am afraid I cannot help you. And you should probably stop reading this blog. It is, after all, about things to make you happy. 

ps, my cheeks hurt right now from smiling so much. 

swings 7:38 PM

I enjoy swinging on a swings. Tonight we were on a walk and decided to stop and swing. It was great. The good weather streak is still going. Ashley decided that swinging should be an olympic sport; Ryan practiced his half-twist dismount. 

Also fun to swing on - tire swings. 

counting crows 11:59 PM

Too much good stuff today. If there is such a thing as too much good. 

This evening Erika, Ashley, Kerstin and I went to a concert. We had lawn seats with not too bad of a view, in perfect weather, good company and live music. We got to see three bands. Sara Bareilles (best known for "Love Song", as in I'm not going to write you a...) opened it up. Next up was Maroon 5 (latest hit "If I Never See Your Face Again" duet with Rihanna) who sang really well. The highlight of the night was the Counting Crows. I love the Counting Crows. Eight month prego Erika loves the C.Crows. Little unnamed baby girl alien in Erika now loves C.Crows. The set was good, the band rocked out well, Adam Duritz was for sure high. Amazingly enough though he could still play the piano and croon "Long December". 

Erika, Me, Ashley and Kerstin enjoying the great weather and good music.

This morning we went rock climbing at Carderock. Sarah and Chris agreed to come climbing with me and a bunch of rookie climbers. It was so great. The weather was perfect. We did some easy climbs and just enjoyed being out in nature. We all agreed that it has been too long since we have enjoyed the outdoors, which is a shame, and we vowed to take more advantage of it this fall. Wish I had pictures of the perfect morning, but I forgot my camera. Sorry. 

lady bugs 9:46 AM

This little lady bug was hanging out at the door of the firehouse as I came into work today. Just sitting there, patiently, waiting to greet me good morning. That was really nice of him. Or her. I suppose it should be a her because it's a lady bug. Regardless, it was a pleasant greeting this morning. Thanks cute little lady bug for starting my day off right.

rain smell 9:05 PM

You know right before a storm starts, the wind picks up a little, you look up towards the breeze and realize that half of the sky has turned dooms-day grey. If you are lucky, the thunder starts to roll, subtly at first - building up to crack and boom. You catch a streak of lightening in the distance. A shiver of excitement runs down your spine and a smile comes to your face as you start to smell the rain coming. Ahhh, love it. 

And when the storm is overhead splatting water down in huge drops, cooling the warm pavement, the ground steaming a little. You open your window to listen to the melody, enjoy the breeze and you nostrils fill with the clean scent of fresh rain. In that moment I am sure that there is nothing better than the simple pleasure of smelling the rain. 

school supplies 3:26 PM

Big bag, rainbow gel pens, a plethora of Sharpies, 

pretty dividers, a Five Star and Post-its!

Don't you love New York in the fall? 

It makes me wanna buy school supplies. 

I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils...  

Joe Fox, You've Got Mail

What is so great about new school supplies? I don't know either. But they are great aren't they. 

So I went to Staples because I needed additional school supplies for my Paramedic class. I needed pretty color pens to color code my notes and found an awesome pack of gel pens. I was looking for pastel color highlighters but it turns out they do not exist. Lucky for me there was a gargantuan pack of Sharpies (like Crayola Big Box size) on sale (50% off!) with a bunch of pastel colors. Problem solved! Also in the mix, new lovely clear-colored dividers, clear Post-it tabs, and a fresh new Mead Five Star spiral binder. 

Hi, my name is Camille and I am a binder snob. [insert group saying "Hi, Camille." here] How lame is that. I need to have a Mead Five Star spiral binder. College ruled. I like them so much that I spent more than five minutes deliberating which Five Star I wanted. The five subject notebook because it came in a great light blue color that I loved, so consequently needed. Or the three subject notebook because, really, that was all I actually needed. I ended up going with the pretty blue one. You are not surprised are you. 

Also today I got a new book bag from that beloved store - REI. I have been needing a bigger bag to tow stuff back and forth from work, and with the added stress of text books and binders I am afraid my current bag will not survive. Okay, I know it will not survive. That makes this new big bag justified right? I'm not going to lie. I am excited. Thank you school for giving me a reason to purchase these great supplies.  

Sharpie heaven. (and my pretty new gel pens)

the olympics (part deux) 6:19 PM

Even more reasons to love the Olympics...

Peter Vanderkaay (above right). Good looking, great swimmer, 6'4", and humble to boot. Only problem is that he is too young for me (24). Birdo brought to my attention another swimmer: Aaron Piersol (below). Same height, but a year older (25). So that one could work out...

Do not judge me.

Man, I love the Olympics!

holy cow 12:18 PM

Holy Cow by Chip Simons

An approximate recollection of the phone call I received this morning from a number I didn't recognize but luckily picked up:

Me: Hello?

Him: Hi Camille. It's Sean from Associated in Emergency Care, I was just calling about the class you signed up for.

Impressed that they were giving a reminder call for a two day refresher class. 

Me: Yeah, the ACLS class at PWH tomorrow right? 

Sean: No, the Intermediate to Paramedic Bridge class at Quantico that started today.

Slight panic and a little bit of confusion.

Me: That starts NEXT Monday right? 

Knowing that was right because I had been looking forward to this last week of freedom before a torturously busy six months of class.

Sean: No, it started today. You didn't show up so I wanted to make sure you were going to be there for tomorrow's first day.

Frantically flipping through my organizer. Tears of panic starting to well up in my eyes thinking I had missed the MANDATORY first day of class. Hyperventillating thinking about starting class NOW instead of next week. I'M NOT READY FOR THIS!

Me: I must have written it down wrong, I had it starting next monday. 

Freaked out that I had already written down the entire 6 month schedule in my organizer IN PEN potentially ALL running a week behind schedule.

Sean: In the letter we sent you the start date is today. It was on the website for the 18th start date, but that was changed. 

Well that could make sense, I wrote it all down from the schedule posted online after I had been accepted. I didn't really take a second glance at the dates when I got the official acceptance letter three weeks ago. Why would they change an entire class schedule three weeks before it started? 

Me: Okay. 

So much for studying EKG rhythm strips today.

He said more here, but my mind was still reeling. 

Sean: So we will see there you tomorrow? 

I am screwed.

Me: Okay.

All I can say is okay. 

My body is in shock. 

The emotional kind. 

So. Lets turn this horrible turn of events into something happy. 

Happy thing #1. While it does start early, there is only the one day of class this week. 

Happy thing #2. Remember how the commute is going to be so much better going opposite of traffic down to Quantico instead of with traffic for two hours to Manassas like you did last time?

Happy thing #3. No worries, you can go to class monday OR tuesday and wednesday OR thursday. They're the same classes being taught. This schedule is AWESOME! You didn't miss the first day of class today, you just missed the first opportunity to go to the first day of class. 

Happy thing #4. You already had the day half of tomorrow off work for ACLS class, so you can just go to EMT-P class instead. No worries!

Happy thing #5. Now you don't have to spend today studying rhythm strips.

Okay. I feel somewhat better. I'm going to go eat Arby's. I'm going to get a French Dip and large Diet Dr. Pepper and bring it home and eat it while watching the Olympics. Now that's a happiness trifecta.

And yes Sarah, I called AND texted you to go to Arby's. 

You are going to miss out. Pick up your phone next time!

CAKE-lympics 11:00 PM

Yes, it is an apple. A gigantic green apple...cake. Today I competed in the first Cake-lympics and took home the GOLD. We competed in three areas: appearance, taste and interpretation of theme. Do not ask me what that last one means, Ryan made it up hoping it would help his team. Too bad for him it backfired.

The idea for cake-lympics was born last week when Ashley and I were deciding to make a cake for our roommate's birthday. After the covered wagon cake last month, Ryan was itching to use his Ace of Cake skills so he suggested we do what we have termed a "Duff Cake" (a 3-D cake). Our roommate is a teacher so we decided to make an apple. Too bad that when we asked her to come her party, she was already busy that night. But that did not stop us, we decided to make the cake anyhow. Then it somehow turned into a team challenge. The name came after my 8 hours of olympics watching yesterday, and of course with the name came the need for official judges to score it.

We made the cakes today, then tonight had some friends over to watch the Olympics, warm up their critiquing on the synchronized diving and then move on to the cakes. While there was no fancy numerical values assigned to the scoring, which disappointed some of our judges (we'll work on that for next time), we did have the three categories. It was blind judging, in that no one knew who made which cake. Scores were only one vote off either way for interpretation and taste (we each took one category), but in appearance I blew them away (which surprised me) they only had one vote.

There was a lot of trash talking. Even more trash texting. We both had some good ideas. Both cakes looked and tasted great. It could have gone either way. But in the end, it did not. In the end I KICKED THEIR TRASH. Maybe next time Ryan and Ashley. Maybe next time. But probably not.

The evolution of the cakes:

Mine is on the left. Ashley & Ryan's is on the right.

Me -Chocolate cake with chocolate mint frosting to glue the layers together.

Them - Apple Spice cake with cream cheese frosting between.

Me - Mint buttercream frosting colored candy apple green.

Them - Cream cheese frosting under a layer of red marshmallow rolled fondant.

Me - Tootsie roll stem, real leaves and a gummy worm.

Them - Tootsie roll stem and a white chocolate died green leaf.

Closer up. Yes, my worm has a smiley face drawn on with a sharpie.

Theirs is so shiny like a candy apple!

Inside mine had Junior Mint "seeds" hidden in the middle as an extra touch.

Theirs actually looked like an apple with a red apple peel, it was cool.

Really though, they were both so delicious. Our judges had a tough job.

Me, Ryan & Ashley.

the olympics 7:01 PM

I am not going to lie. It has been incredibly slow at the firehouse today. (As in we've run NO calls, it's driving me nuts.) I am not that upset though because it has allowed me to dedicate eight hours so far to watching the Olympics. I love the Olympics. And I now love Ryan Lochte. I believe the photo below explains it all. (He is in the white swim trunks.) He currently is in need of a haircut in a bad way. Lucky for him, I am willing to look past that.

maggie 10:59 PM

top left going clockwise: my beautiful sandwich, the Netherlands Carillon,
view of the Lincoln/Washington/Capitol from the bell tower, Maggie enjoying our picnic spot

So I was going to write about my good friend Maggie and our great picnic at the Netherlands Carillon today and our awesome view, all of which made me very happy. But that changed when I bit into my sandwich from Harris Teeter. I mean look at that thing! It is like a piece of art. And it was delicious. AND cheap! What more can you ask for in a sandwich?!? I really enjoyed that sandwich.

Okay, while my feelings for the sandwich are not an exaggeration, I did enjoy my time spent and the conversation with Maggie more than I did the food. Maggie is a dear friend who I do not get to spend enough quality time with. She is the kind of person that every second spent with her is quality. Maggie is ... [I wrote more here but deleted it. It sounded like I was in love with her. Which I am not.] I just value our friendship a lot and I am glad to have her as a part of my life. Love you Maggs. Love you like a sister.

found 9:24 PM

Found near an elevator in a public garage. Ithaca, NY

There is this cool random website, Found, that is great for killing time. It is a collection of notes and pictures found by people in miscellaneous places. Some are not all that interesting, but some are hilarious. I would love to meet the person who decided to write this note and leave it for the bum who pees in the garage they frequent. I also enjoyed this one today. Oh, and this one. It took me a second to realize that the last line and bottom picture were written by Allyssa. Awesome note passing material.

pain 8:42 PM

I eat pain for breakfast. Okay, I don't. I drink a yummy fruit shake made in my little personal blender (best $10 I ever spent at wally world).

Dave, the other Medic on our shift, is also a personal trainer. He (and Rob) are ate up with working out (we call them Hans & Franz). Luckily we are able to harness their freakish obsession and use it for good. Dave has been making workouts for our shift every day. Full turnout gear, usually breathing air (the SCBA), doing dynamic drills situational to what we might experience in a fire. They are usually relatively had. Sometimes unbelievably hard. But always good.

Today for part of the drill Dave said our spinal cord was crushed by roof falling and we had to drag ourselves out of the building using just our arms. Like an army crawl without the legs. Even with our thick turnout jackets it tore up my elbows. The above picture is of my ELBOWS. The off-colored stuff above the pink area is not potato chips, Tamarin, it is skin. A nasty, thick as a potato chip, layer of grated off skin. It was painful, especially when I tried to wash them. They have been oozing clear goo trying to make a scab all day. Even now, 12 hours later, when I rest my elbows on my legs they leave a goo mark. Gross. But I love gross. And I love Dave's painful workout ... most days.

ella 9:04 PM

Ella, camera shy Erika, Ella watching Barney, Me & Ella, Ella

Today I hung out with Erika and Ella (2.5 years old). We had fun. Ella loves her sunglasses. She loves Barney (to Erika's detriment). She loves to get tickled. And she loves to read. She is hilarious. 

Erika and Jon are expecting an Ella Jr. on September 22nd, then we will have double as much fun.

And no, her name is not really going to be Ella Jr.

tithing 5:58 PM

This picture has nothing to do with the post. It is just a picture of mine that I like.  :)

I paid my tithing today. It felt good to do it. I may have forgotten to pay it for a [long] while. With all of my bills dealt with online, I have a hard time remembering things that I have to pay by check. I wish you could pay tithing online; that would be the BEST. I was surprised and grateful to find I had the money to pay my long overdue tithing without having to dip into my savings (which is earmarked in its entirety to pay for Paramedic school at the end of this month); I didn't think I would. 

Wonder who I could talk to to get the ball of online tithing-paying rolling...

girls camp (warning: it's a long one) 11:53 AM

1. our group, 2. Ashley Hood, 3. YCL's, 4. 1st-3rd years,

5. rock climbing, 6. nature, 7. rappelling, 8. ropes,

9. leaders, 10. THE leader, 11. lunches, 12. chefs,

13. sous chefs, 14. water girls, 15. heart attack, 16. perfect

You know how the boy scouts get to go to scout camp every summer? Well our church is awesome and makes sure the girls get to go to camp too. Depending on where you live, who is in-charge, etc., the camps vary some. My camp in CA (Camp Ritchie) was THE GREATEST. We were in the Sierra Nevada's on a beautiful lake, went rappelling, canoeing, water skiing, on a 3-day hike up Half Dome, did crafts and learned the camping essentials. We slept in cabins (no a/c or electricity, just screens and wood bunks) and had the greatest "cook-ies" that made us the most delicious food. Man I miss camp. I went there 6 years as a girl and 4 years as a leader at waterfront - best job at there!

Camp here (Camp Misty Mount) was in the foothills of the Appalachians in WV. It was alot different then the camp I am used to, but was really good. We were grouped by wards, not years. I ended going up to help with the "Old King Franc" group (Franc pronounced like "honk" - because that's obviously funnier). It was all the young women from the Old Town, Franconia and Kingstown wards. Apparently zero adults from those three wards could get time off to go to camp so it was myself and two girls from other singles wards as their leaders. (pict #1) So that was fun. The groups had to make all their own meals. We helped the girls start the campfires, and they learned how to cook breakfast and dinner in the fire and on propane stoves. (pict #11, #12, #13, #14) We slept in cabins with electricity, no a/c or plugs, just lights. I would have given a million dollars for a/c up there. It was SO humid.

Humidity was the worst when hiking. The first, second and third year girls all go on hikes; starting with a short hike and by year progressively getting longer. Ashley went on the third year hike which was supposed to be a 5 mile hike, but one wrong turn ended up making it 8 miles. Oops. Before that day I judged them for having such wussy hikes, my fourth year hike was 3 days of backpacking 20+ miles to make it up to the peak of Round Top. But after that day I learned how much more taxing it was to hike in the humidity. I would have committed hari kari if I had to backpack 3 days in that. They asked me to go with the fourth years on their rock climbing "hike". Right up my alley; I was excited. I thought we would just like walk a little path to the rock faces. We did walk a little path, A LITTLE VERTICAL PATH. It was no more than 1.5 miles, probably only 1 mile, but it was at a severe angle for 2/3 of it. Carrying the climbing gear up the steep grade in the humidity, I sweated more on that little hike in then I did doing workouts in full turnout gear at the station or even on that fire. It was crazy.

We got to the rock, scouted out routes, watched and learned as the priesthood set up the rappels and climbs. (pict #8) The girls were awesome on the rock. They all overcame their fears and everyone rappelled and climbed. (pict #5 & #7) We took a break for lunch and to read scriptures for half an hour. It was amazing to be in the woods with 20 teenage girls and have complete silence as each of them sat reading and enjoying the peace and beauty of Gods creation. I may have broken the silence once or twice to take a picture from the spot I had scouted out to read at (pict #6). It was so nice. After that the priesthood set up new routes and we did some taller climbing and rappelling. The girls were worn out by the end, but it was a great day.

The next day we did archery in the morning. The priesthood set up a range and taught the girls how to shoot a bow and arrow. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, but no one took to it more naturally than Ashley. She was like a female version of Robin Hood. (pict #2) That picture was taken right before she got a bulls-eye. BTW: I don't know if I mentioned it earlier but Ashley went up as an assistant stake camp director. (pict #10) She was like the number 2 woman in-charge. She rocked! The girls loved her.

Then we all went to the lake just down the road. It was a muddy little lake. They rented canoes and paddle boats for the morning and swam. There was also a trail to hike to a waterfall, which I opted to join the girls on. By "waterfall" they meant "stream that runs down the rock face of a tall hill in a forest and happens to catch some air after going over boulders in a couple of spots and pools in a few rock divots". It was little but the girls enjoyed themselves. Have I said yet what a great group of girls we had at camp?

They were such awesome girls. It was such a diverse group, unlike any that I've ever seen at girls camp. Three girls drove up with me and two of them were excited because they had never been camping. "Ever?" I asked in disbelief. She said that they never had enough money to go camping. Which blew my mind. Growing up for us, correct me if I'm wrong Mom, camping was the affordable vacation. One of our girls had just moved here from Vietnam. She lived there her whole life with her mom, until three months ago when her mom married a LDS man and they came to VA. She is not a member, so her step sister flew out here from Utah to go to camp with her so she would know someone. They were so good together. I could go on about individual girls, but I think this is going to be a long enough post as is.

It was just so cool to see this group, that in an other setting would most likely not associate with one another, come together as friends. They all shared the same Chirst-like love that looks beyond outside appearances and social backgrounds and united them by core values, beliefs and faith. They all knew, or were somewhere in the process of coming to know, that they are all sisters and daughters of God. That they are all equal in God's eyes and that they all have an individual plan from a loving Father in Heaven. That He loves them and is looking out for each of them and will always be there for them when they just ask.

That is truly why I love girls camp. Sure the weather and the hikes and the activities are all that we talk about. They do make up part of your girls camp experience. But the most important experience any of the girls have at camp is the opportunity to gain and/or grow her own testimony of the gospel and her relationship with Heavenly Father. I am so grateful to have gone to camp as a girl and to have had that opportunity. I know that one week of the summer built up my testimony as a teenager and helped me make it through that next school year until I could get back to camp and do it again. Same thing as an adult, that's why I didn't mind taking off a week of work and flying back to CA every summer. I was sad when I had to stop. But hopefully I'll be able to go the full week next year and help out at this camp a little more. Okay, I'm done. If you made it to this point in the blog, I am impressed.

baseball live 11:08 PM

The Nats new home.

Susan, Tasha, Me, Sherlyn and Dana.

Tonight Susan got us great tickets to the Washington Nationals game. We were on row 26 - so close! The Nats got a new stadium this year and it is nice, this was my first time there. Sitting there in the middle of the park makes you forget that you are in the city and just lets you get caught up in the game. The weather was perfect. And I was able to indulge in Frito Chili Pie, something I have not had since my days in Texas.

Probably the best thing was the Presidential Race. Instead of the dot race like other stadiums, the Nats had the big-head presidents race across the field. Those are a rowdy bunch of old men. Thomas Jefferson won the race and the Nats beat the Reds 10 to 6. Thanks Susan for hooking us all up with the tickets!

The Presidents' running down the field for the half time race.

left : "Tommy" Jefferson, followed closely by George Washington

right: "Abe" Lincoln finally coming in third this evening.

cheap gas 8:16 AM

So I got really excited this morning when I saw the above sign. When I saw the sign below, I though it was just a mean trick. Conveniently I had cash on me to fill up for the discounted price! I have to be honest, I never thought gas would be down to this price again, especially in the summer. Hope it stays down here for a while. Although if it keeps dropping I am not going to argue against that either.

Other gas highlights:

Austin Texas, Costco, 2000 - $0.96

Border of Utah and Wyoming, gas station, 2004 - $1.99

I know you wanted girls camp post.

I have too many pictures and it was too fun.

I need time to compile it. Be patient.