Social Time With Friends And Other Stuff

Happy Hump Day!  I just have to get through my 10-hour shift and then I get tomorrow off.  WhoooHooo!  Kenyon and I have booked a massage tomorrow afternoon and I’m getting the hot stone added to mine.  Hello relaxation and time with my hubby.  I am super excited.

National Public Safety Telecommunications Week is well under way.  The administration staff cooked up hamburgers and hot dogs on Monday and they will be here cooking again today as it is a different crew on.  I worked Monday and am working overtime today so, I get two days of food.  Heck ya!

On Monday my Apple Watch switches over for the week after giving me the summary of the prior week.  I have set a goal to complete all three of my Apple Watch circles each day.

• Burn 350 active calories
• Exercise for 30 minutes
• Stand for some part of each hour for a total of 12 hours

So far Monday and Tuesday went well.  I walked on the treadmill at work Monday (45 minutes total) and made an appearance at Curves yesterday. 

 

It was a busy day at work yesterday as I was working a grant shift for our Commercial Vehicle Specialists.  I think I only stood up twice in that 5.5 hour shift.  Thankfully I was able to still get in 12 hours since I was awake until 8pm.  Whew.

 

It has been a social-outing week so far as I had plans to meet friends on Monday evening at The Counter in The Village.  They have a deal where you get a flight of four mini beers and four mini burgers all for $13.  I wasn’t super impressed with The Counter but I did end up liking two of my mini beers. 

 

My beer picks were McCall Lemon Ginger (really good), Boise Brewing Co Snowboarder Porter (sooooo good), Odell Brewing Company 90 Shillings Ale, and a Honey Blonde Ale but I don’t remember from what brewery. 

The four mini burgers were pre-selected for you.  I shared mine with Kate and forgot to snap a photo so Danielle let me snap a photo of hers (she ate one already).

I had a lunch date with my friend Jenny yesterday but then she cancelled.  I ended up getting an invite for drinks with my friend Brenda, whom I have recently reconnected with.  We met at Kona Grill in The Village and ended up with a seat at the bar.  I like watching the bartenders make drinks.  It is so much fun.  They have a great happy hour menu but the prices are a bit steep.  I decided to be adventurous and try the Sake Sangria: gekkeikan sake, fresh squeezed fruit, and seaglass gruet brut sparking.  It was only okay as it could have been sweeter. 

 

Brenda and I shared a margarita flatbed, which was really good.  Kenyon decided to join us when he got off work.  He ordered some spinach and artichoke dip and avocado egg rolls.  The flatbread was really good so we also ordered a pepperoni one to share.  Despite my better judgment I gave in to the tipsy feeling and ordered a Sam Adams seasonal beer which was the Summer Ale.  It was nice, light, and refreshing.

 

I met Kenyon for lunch yesterday after Curves and we went to Mongolian BBQ.  I haven’t been in a while and it really hit the spot.  Sadly Kenyon added curry to his bowl by mistake and his was horrible.  Poor guy.

 

The social outings continue today when I meet Phoenix at 6pm for margaritas.  This isn’t helping my weight loss efforts but I sure am enjoying the time with my friends.

Happy Wednesday!

National Public Safety Telecommunication’s Week

It’s that time again to acknowledge your favorite public safety dispatchers!!

 

The second week in April we have a weeklong celebration for National Public Safety Telecommunications where we recognize the often thankless job of being a dispatcher in emergency services.  We are the voice behind the radio that ensure our police, fire, and emergency medical men and women make it home safely to their family after each shift.

With this job come long hours, time away from your own friends and family, rotating work shifts, and an abundance of overtime.  It takes a special kind of person to be willing to put up with the demands of the job before your needs. 

I’ve been dispatching for 10 years now and while not all of those years have been sunshine and roses, I have built a different kind of family here among my fellow coworkers.

If you know somebody who dispatches for emergency services, tell them “thank you” or better yet give them a hug.

Annual Ladies Day At Duck Ranch

I had so much fun yesterday with my family at Duck Ranch.  I am thankful a coworker could switch shifts with me that allowed me to be off that day.  I would have been very sad to miss out.  We even had the pleasure of our California cousins here for a visit.  My Great Aunt Flo and her three kids, Lisa, Tina, and Simo made the trek to Idaho.  We don’t get to see them much so it was a really special treat.

 

Once everybody arrived at Duck Ranch and we all said our hellos, my Great Uncle Mike gave a presentation highlighting the new memorial that has been set up with the names of our military family members.  It was such a nice surprise.  I was able to get my Cousin Calvin and my Great Uncle Bob to pose with the memorial.  They were the only two family members in attendance with their names on there.

We loaded up and headed to Castle Butte for our annual hike.  Oh my gosh…hiking is MUCH harder with 50ish extra pounds on you.  But, I made it to the top!

 

I used Dad's walking stick.  It came in really handy on the downhill portions

Once we returned to the festivities and I had a beer in my hand, my Great Aunt Linda had a presentation for my Great Uncle Mike’s 65^th birthday.  He loves Lord of the Rings so she had a costume to go with his “Gandolf staff” and a funny story that was talked about Mike and his birthday but used the story of Lord of the Rings.  I don’t know the story so I didn’t understand it but it sure got some laughs.  Just looking at Mike in his Gandolf costume was hilarious.

 

My Cousin Linda and her friend Sandy did a song and dance for Mike about getting old and being on Medicaid.  It was pretty cleaver.

 

We made sure to get a photo of as much of the gang as we could before we all said our goodbyes.

 

On the drive in/out there is a large creek bed that you have to pass through.  If the water level is high it can make it much more difficult for smaller vehicles.  Unfortunately my Uncle JL and my Great Aunt Barb got stuck in his tiny pick up.  I got into the water along with a couple of family friends to try and push them out but it wasn’t working and he just kept sinking further.  Thankfully my Great Uncle Mike was able to pull him out with his vehicle.  That is when we saw he had a flat tire!  It was quite an adventure but eventually we all go on our way towards home.