When it works out...

When (mostly) everything goes just like it should, people's lives are saved. I have always said I love my job, but at about 8:10am on September 28th, 2010 I wasn't quite sure I was liking what was happening. Then I realized that this is what I signed up for. I didn't sign up for the days when nothing seems to go right, but this particular day even my harsh criticism of myself turned out to be unnecessary I realized it did go right. It could have been so much worse. At the end of the day all of my boys came home safe. If you know me, you know the term "my boys" is a term of endearment for all of the men and women I work with no matter what agency they work for. No one else was injured.

I was given a wondeful piece of advice from someone after the event about beating myself up over what I felt I could have done better. She said, "If you wouldn't say those things to your co-workers why is it ok to say those things to yourself?" This one statement changed my entire perspective. I would never tell my co-workers, my team, my friends anything near what I was telling myself. After that, I gave myself a break. I can fix what I could do better.

I was preparing myself to hear all of the negative feedback from the media, the bosses and anyone else giving their two cents. I was completely not ready for the response we did get from EVERYONE. We have had such a wonderful amount of praise, understanding and support from not only the students but the parents of students, other agencies, and the media. Today I saw a picture of a group of students on the South Mall on campus who were collecting thank you cards, coffee, money, sandwiches and pretty much anything to show appreciation to the law enforcement agencies who were involved. They had huge signs like this:

Wow. I am not sure I have ever heard of this happening. Maybe for the first time in my life I might actually be proud to wear a burnt orange shirt with a "cow head" Just don't push it and expect me to paint my truck burnt orange. :-)

Here are more pictures of My Boys in action:

People are mean and evil

I was working my way home yesterday after work and stopped at a couple of stores. After my last stop I was driving home and noticed a dent in the hood of my truck. My first thought was WTF????? My second thought was:

It looked like someone got angry and slammed their fist into the hood right on the part where it probably won't come out easily. I just started thinking about what this person could have been thinking when they did this to my innocent truck? I didn't piss anyone off on the way home, I wasn't driving aggressively. I didn't even look at anyone crossway on the way. But some asshole decided that they had the right to ball their fist and take out their childish temper tantrum on my truck. In the end I guess I will just have to suck it up and refer to this sticker:

I guess I am going to start carrying around copies of my favorite parking tickets. Stupid people piss me off. I should probably make a copy in spanish as well because stupidity has no racial boundaries.

weeeee weeeee weeeeeee

Commercials that make me smile.

Bomber Field

I went to the radio controlled air show at Bomber Field in Monaville, TX this weekend with Russel. I really enjoyed it. The B-17's were very impressive, especially their paint and detail work. They looked very real in the air. My favorite was the bi-plane with the US Air Force paint scheme. I love the name "Bomber Field" I shoulda bought a shirt.

Homecoming Mums and stuff



Juan's garter



My sister's mum

It's been a long time since I have made homecoming mums but it was fun. This Friday is Lago Vista's homecoming game so I wanted to make my nephew a special garter just from me. So, after hot gluing my fingers until I have no fingerprints left I think they turned out rather well. I am still working on some special ribbon braiding to add as accents but here is the finished products. We also made some spirit ribbons which really turned out cute.






My Spirit ribbon



Spirit ribbon by Juan

Spirit ribbon by Juan

Scary stuff

Its almost fall so out with the scary crap. This big baby decided to come out and take a look at Bella. Bella decided she would give it a sniff and I freaked out. I knew it wasn't an aggressive breed but when you see a spider the size of your palm it is an automatic reason to freak out. This isn't the best picture because I had to grab the flash light and run back out there with a cell phone. I just hope I don't dream about this bad boy.

Fond memories

I have been looking for something from my past. When I was a little girl I have very fond memories of the dishes my mother had. I remember my dad would never eat on any other plate because this was very flat and large. Being a "meat and potatoes" kinda guy he needed lots of room. Ha. I remember squeezing a lemon in the coffee cups with salt or cutting up the lemon with the rind attached on the saucers and eating them with salt. We use to have at least 5-6 settings but now they are all gone and unable to be found. So, I found them on ebay but wow, they sure want a lot of money for them. I have come to be even more fond of them because they have a green daisy pattern on the edge. Green is my favorite color and daisies just happen to be my favorite flower. Maybe one day when I am rich I will be able to bring a part of my past back into the future.

Dog paws in water

I find it very strange that my labrador retreiver, Suzy-Fraggle, loves going to the lake and chasing after pretty much anything in the water, yet when it rains outside she does everything to avoid getting her paws wet. So, I asked her the other day if it was because wet grass somehow feels different than dry grass or if it was because she was not totally submerged in water and the paws gave off some sense of impending danger. Here was her well thought out response to my question: She said, "Here is my ball. Do you want to play with my ball? It's a great ball. Can you throw it for me? I will love you forever. Here is my ball. Look, can you see my ball? Potty in the rain? Ummmm I'll go to my kennel and you won't be able to see me in there. My paws don't like to get wet. Oh look! There is another ball in my kennel. Wait, don't leave, you have to throw my ball."

So, hopefully Suzy-Fraggle won't get a bladder infection because it has been raining for 3 days and in her mind it takes at least a week for the grass to dry. Poor Suze. She's a goober and I love her.

Freedom

I can't even explain the freedom I feel with my brand new headset for work. I can keep my head completely level and type at the same time and I don't have to worry about the phone handset slipping out. I am so excited I actually volunteered to do phones today. That never happens! Kathy was happy. :-)

Football tonight

Tonight Lago Vista battles East Side Memorial High from Austin. East Side Memorial High was recently renamed after AISD decided to close Johnston High because of poor testing scores. I probably wouldnt have picked East Side Memorial High since it sounds so stereotypical of a poor school. My mother and father both went to Johnston High School and graduated in 1962. My dad was a high school drum major and a very accomplished saxaphone player. He met my mother when they were in Jr. High school at a hay ride, but he didn't get the nerve to talk to her until they were in the hall way and she was trying to hang something on the board. Mom was a very accomplished trouble maker and bad girl...or so I hear. I suppose that is where I get it from. I wish I could have been there when they started dating. I would have liked to see if my mom was really as much of a bad girl as my dad says she was. I am sure that tonight will evoke a lot of memories for him. 48 years ago he was leading the band onto the field for their exciting half time show. I bet my mom was proud to watch him conduct the band.

So, everyone is going to the football game tonight and even though there are only about 20 members of the Lago Vista Marching Band, the whole family, Russel, and I will be cheering my nephew Juan on through the show.