Quilting like crazy!

I have been quilting like a madwoman for the past 7 months! I can’t wait to be able to post pics of all the different things I have made. But it will have to wait until after Christmas! I’m wearing down but I know it will all be worth it when I finally get to give them away.

I went to the Quilt Festival in Houston with my friend Kate November 2-4. It was the first time for both of us and we had that “deer in the headlight” look for three days! It was fantastic and expensive! I have no impulse control so I’ve been working lots of details and overtime trying to pay off what I spent. But I got a lot of neat new tools and techniques to try out, books, and a couple of quilt kits. It will finally be time to make something for myself in January!

Where have I been?

I have been away for quite a while! Of course, I don’t think anyone has been looking for me here! Hahaha. It seems that Facebook has taken the place of a lot of blogs out there, mine included. Not on purpose, I just can’t seem to find time for it all!

I haven’t stitched in quite awhile as I have taken up quilting. I never thought I would be doing this but I’m loving it! I learned to sew a straight line on a sewing machine in late April and I’ve been non-stop ever since. I’m almost finished with quilt #8! It’s been fun and quite hard on the old bank account but I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I’ve made new friends and some have become even closer. I joined a quilt guild and am learning new things with each new project. I’ve even made a couple of bags and have many ideas for future projects.

The shoulder never got better on it’s own so I had surgery on March 9th. Only four months later and it feels great! Luckily I healed well and worked hard in therapy. It seems that the other shoulder will have to be done as well but I’m going to put that off for a good while.

I finally got promoted to Lieutenant after “holding the billet” for almost a year and a half. All of my guys minus one came out on their day off in uniform in the rain to share the moment with me. It made the day just super! Last night we went to Hooters in Denham Springs and had a little celebration. I just love my guys and they make going to work fun even after 25 years.

I have so many things I want to do as I get older and I’m looking forward to retirement in about six and a half years. There’s just not enough time to do all that I want to do and work, too. But I’m working hard at getting debt free and bumping my retirement as high as I can so I will be able to enjoy my later years. Of course as I get older life presents more and more challenges. I don’t think it’s just me, but I swear I get so frustrated with problems getting older brings. I can’t see as well, I can’t hear, and I’m always forgetting stuff. Although better than the alternative, getting older is not much fun! The fun part is that you get to act weird and wear what you want because you’re old and people just expect you to be silly. That part I do like!

Well, I guess that’s it for now. If I can remember, I’ll try to get back to regular posting. I don’t have all-timers yet but this some-timers is kicking my butt!

Back on track

After a horrible week 2, I’m back on track. They always talk about the dreaded week two on Biggest Loser, and I have always scoffed. However, I had such a terrible week that I think I may be a believer now! I just couldn’t get enough to eat, didn’t want to work out, and was quite pissy about all of it!

I’m starting a plan that I’m calling the “Beach Body Boogie”. Each day I will try to do a workout from one of the Beach Body programs I have. Maybe a workout from P90X, Insanity, Turbo Fire, Chalene Xtreme, Power 90, 10-minute Trainer, Tony Horton One on One, etc. I have so many programs that I could go MONTHS without ever doing the same workout!

On the shoulder front, it’s not going so well. It felt better a few days last week but it’s now hurting all the time like before. I go back for my next therapy visit in the morning and I will see what Beau has to say about it. It’s looking like there will be an MRI in my future. Why oh why didn’t I do this last December before I had a flippin’ $500 deductible!?!?!?!?

On the stitching front, I have been working on an old round robin we did at the LNS in 2005. Yes, you read it right, 2005! I didn’t realize how close it was to being finished so it’s project #1 until it’s done. I want Jan Humphreys to stitch on it before she moves to Georgia so I will work on it until I get it to her and then finish it when it gets back. In the meantime, I’m still working on Anniversaries of the Heart, Quaker Gone Tropic, and I just saw the new series from Mirabilia, the Snow Globe series. The first one is out, the Blue Snowy Church, and it’s beautiful! I’ll be getting the pattern and waiting to see if it might work out to do the series on one piece as if on a street. If they are as pretty as the first one I’m in big trouble!

I finished my first crochet baby blanket for a friend’s baby shower and it came out rather cute! I’ll post pics of it after I have given it to her. I have also done a scarf for Daphne, and a dishcloth. Several of us got “bitten” in November by the crochet bug and just started crocheting like crazy! I am still doing it a little, but back to stitching for me!

Can’t think of a title…

Kind of a dull week and quiet weekend. Nothing exciting at work, which is a good thing. I went to work Tuesday morning as usual and by 1:00 pm, I couldn’t turn my head to the right! I finally gave in and went to the ortho as it is all related to my shoulder. Got a cortisone shot in the joint which helped some for about two days then went right back to hurting. Started physical therapy on it yesterday and got a lot of massage work to the scapula area. The therapist says it’s definitely all rotator cuff with no muscle involvement. The work was fairly painful but should lead to a better end…until I woke up today. Wow, it hurts worse than before and kept me up most of the night again. He said it would take 7-10 days before he can make an assessment on how the therapy is going and to see if I will need an MRI.

On the stitching front, I finally finished the fourth installment of Anniversaries of the Heart, which means the top row is completely finished…names, dates, everything! I also finished a crochet baby blanket, worked on Quaker Gone Tropic, and started the next Anniversaries. I didn’t leave the house from Saturday afternoon until Monday after lunch so I did a lot of stitching and “resting”.

On the fitness front, I lost about 7 pounds this first week. Realizing some of that is water and simple cleansing from the probiotics, my pants feel better and so do I. I joined the YMCA and I am trying to take advantage of being able to work out on duty and save my personal time for me or for additional workouts. I’ve tried to stay around 1400 calories daily, and although I had a few off days, most of the time I was within range or within 100 calories of it.

Like I said, fairly uneventful week but I got some stuff done!

BRPD Biggest Loser 2011

Today I weighed in for the BRPD Biggest Loser contest for 2011. It lasts for 60 days, highest percentage of loss wins $500! I’m not in it to win it, but it’s gonna be fun to hear all the smack-talk on Facebook! I lost six pounds before weighing in and didn’t water-load like a lot of people did. That’s why I say I’m not in it to win it as the odds are stacked against me. But I will give them a run for the money! We are also doing one at Cross Stitch Corner for 12 weeks and I’m shooting to win the pot there!

After a lingering shoulder injury for over a year from P90X, I’ll have to do it another way. I joined the YMCA and I’ll be able to workout at work since there is one very close to my district. I’m also watching what I eat closely, trying to stay well-hydrated, and taking my Advocare supplements and vitamins again. I’m going to do the treadmill, elliptical, stairmaster, Tony Horton One on One DVDs, and maybe even some Turbo Fire workouts. Insanity is out with so many pushups but I will incorporate interval training in some of my workouts along the same lines.

I know what to do and how, now I just have to commit and do it!

Christmas 2010

Christmas was kind of a sad event this year. Since the family all went to Pigeon Forge for Thanksgiving, most of them went to the in-laws for Christmas. Cordelia and Chris were in Shreveport with Boston, Jeremy and Carol were in Boaz, Alabama with Madison and Ashlyn, I was working my 8 straight in Baton Rouge, Marlin and Stephanie were in Richton, Mississippi with William and Blake, Chance was in Mississippi with his dad Robert, and Tyler and Ashley went to Indiana with Skyler. It was the first time in 28 years (my freshman year in college at LSU when my family lived in San Diego) that I didn’t see ANYONE in my immediate family on Christmas! My Mom and Dad were pretty sad, too. Daddy was funny, as he said it was fun while we were all together in the cabin but when he woke up Christmas morning to an empty house and no presents it really sucked! I missed seeing my nieces and nephews and seeing them open their gifts from me. My love language is definitely gifts, so I didn’t feel a whole lotta love on Christmas! Mom and Dad did get to see the Goodnight crew but still not the usual big event. Mama and Cordelia and Daddy did a “Twelve Days of Christmas” for me and it was really fun. They gave me lots of fun, tasty, and interesting things and it was very special that they took the time to do something so sweet for me!

The new year is approaching fast and as usual, I will not be making any resolutions. I always cut back on the eating and ramp up the exercise after the holidays in the never-ending battle of the bulge. But I don’t think it will be as crazy as it was last year. There’s a biggest loser contest at work but I don’t even know if I will be playing that game. It’s really kind of futile to work that hard to lose a lot of weight just to gain it back. I can’t keep that kind of workout pace forever, so it stands to reason that the weight will come back. I wouldn’t mind losing 10-15 pounds just so my clothes will fit better, but I don’t have to be crazy to do that. The older I get the less concerned I become about being a little overweight. My heart is fine, I feel pretty good, and I’m pretty happy with my life. I’ll never be skinny and I’m tired of wasting all that time wishing I was and plotting a plan to get there. As long as I feel good and I’m healthy, some love handles and a little cellulite is okay.

I am hoping the new year is as good as 2010 was. I did lose a friend and co-worker, but from that I grew and made a new friend. I also got to welcome his son Blaize into our family in blue and he is a precious child. I had great times with friends, went on two dive trips, walked 25 miles in two days at the COPS Walk, had a great trip to the mountains with my family, finished remodeling the inside of the house, got new furniture in the living room, Daphne’s bedroom, and the office, took a stitching class in Houston, got promoted to Acting Lieutenant and have my own squad, made it back to my favorite precinct, got a year closer to being out of debt, got a good friend back that I thought I had lost, found my best friend from college on Facebook, got a year closer to retirement, got a new bike and started riding again, got a maid, went to the beach several times and had a blast, met new friends, didn’t suffer any injuries or major illness, and many other wonderful things.

I’m so thankful that God has blessed me with a loving family, a truly wonderful best friend, several really good close friends, my health, my home, my job, and my salvation. What more could I want? Here’s to 2011 and all that God has in store for me!

Thanksgiving Week

I went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for the week of Thanksgiving with my parents, my siblings/spouses and all of my nieces/nephews/great nephew. We had a great time! We rented an 8 bed/bathroom cabin called “The Loose Moose” and it was really cool. Pool table, fooseball, air hockey, each bedroom had a private bath, and a nice den area and kitchen for group games and gatherings.

The first day was pretty hectic getting everyone unpacked and situated in rooms. But after that it went pretty smooth. Although we had 17 people (and 20 for the first day/night), we didn’t have any fights and very few grumblings! Various groups did different things. I went to the local cross stitch store one day with my mom, some went to Dollywood park, some went to Gatlinburg for ice skating and rides at Ober Gatlinburg. We all went to the Incredible Christmas Store which is always fun and I got a new nutcracker.

Thanksgiving day we had all planned to eat out. Mom had called two different restaurants and were assured both would be open and no reservations required. We actually got all 17 people dressed and out the door in five vehicles and made it to the restaurant at 11:00 on the dot. Guess what? They weren’t open!! Okay, no problem, restaurant number two is just down the street. Guess what? Reservations only and they couldn’t take us until 7:00! Everyone got aggravated and my mom was really sad because she really wanted everyone to eat together and have a nice Thanksgiving meal. We headed back to the cabin but then found Tony Roma’s open and ready to seat us all! It was a great meal with great service and we had a great time!

We all managed to get repacked to leave and were out of the cabin at 10:00 on the dot on Friday. On the way home to Laurel, we (me, mom, dad) stopped and toured Ruby Falls outside of Chattanooga. We lolly-gagged around, ate and shopped at Cracker Barrel, and finally got back to Laurel at 11:00 pm. About 2:00 am I woke up with a horrible stomach bug that lasted for three days! It was a rough three-hour drive home to Baton Rouge and then two days in bed.

I had a really good time and am thankful for so many things! Mainly for my family, my job, my friends, and my salvation. I have a really good life and I’m thankful for my parents who raised me to be a responsible, God-fearing, hard-working adult that is faithful to my friends and a dependable employee. I’m thankful I have wonderful siblings that love me, nieces and nephews that I adore, and a God that gave his all for me so that life will be even better in the hereafter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and remembered to be thankful for all that God has given you!

The “why” just doesn’t matter

It has taken me a long time to learn that I really do wear my heart on my sleeve and I must take responsibility for my own feelings. I’ve often heard that other people can’t make you “feel” guilty or hurt or angry, it’s the way we allow ourselves to feel when others wrong us. Although I know it in my head, it’s a whole ‘nother thing to make it happen in your heart.

After almost 25 years working as a law enforcement officer, a field obviously dominated by men, one would think I would have a handle on that by now. Although I try, I just don’t have a grasp on that concept. What I have learned and am much better able to put into practice is that the “why” just doesn’t matter. It seems that if I could figure out the “why” I could “fix” it. But there just ain’t no fixing some people. And while I might allow myself to feel hurt or guilty, I can’t hold myself responsible for figuring out why other people do things to hurt me.

Maybe they are so low that the only way they can feel better about themselves is to mess with other people. Maybe they don’t know any better, and maybe they don’t even realize how the things they say and do affect others. No matter the reason, I can’t change them or their personality. What I can do is change the situation and correct my perception of the event. And realize that over time the hurt will fade, I’ll recover, and I’ll be okay.

So, the “why” just doesn’t matter and MEAN PEOPLE SUCK!

Where does the time go?

My dad sent me an email yesterday asking me how to find his blog he used to keep. Amazingly I was able to find it, which got me to thinking about mine. I figured I’d see how long it’s been since I wrote on mine and my oh my! I think a lot of us have counted Facebook as our blogging time, but it’s really not the same. Not everyone uses Facebook and every time you turn around, something changes where half the people don’t see your stuff anyway!

I haven’t posted since this summer, so here goes. I’m still at 2nd District and loving it, working the LSU football games as usual, went to the 2010 COPS Walk (raised $13,430), went diving in Cozumel in October, worked the Gulf Coast Motorcycle Skills Championship again, went to Houston for a stitching class from Alma of Blackbird Designs, and next week I’m off to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with my family for Thanksgiving.

Whew! The last few months have been a blur, especially October. I think I was only at work for 3 days that whole month! After Thanksgiving though it will slow down completely, with nothing scheduled after that at all. Like, I mean, at ALL! No trips to look forward to, no big events, nothing. It will be a good time to save up some vacation time, catch up on some stitching, and just spend time with friends at home.

Chief Leduff is leaving so they appointed Charlie Mondrick as the interim until a new chief is appointed. In the meeting yesterday, a few items were handed down from the commander’s meeting earlier in the week. This department is in shambles, morale is as low as I have ever seen it in 25 years, and the city is ridden with crime with the second highest murder rate in the country. What came out of the meeting? Make sure their units are clean, their brass is shiny, that my door is closed to them, and they have to start wearing their hats. Yeah, the big cab hats. Dear Lord, can anyone help us?

Until next time…

COPS Walk 2010

It’s time again for me to honor officers killed in the line of duty and walk the 25 miles in the COPS Walk 2010. I need sponsors and I need a bunch of them! My goal is to raise $5000 this year and I really want to make that happen! Please help me by clicking on the link below:

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