I miss my big brother.
My favorite part is when I see him now he tries really hard not to smile. But he loves me so he can't help it which just makes me all sorts of warm and fuzzy in the ol' ticker of mine.
It's his 30th birthday tomorrow. Pretty monumental indeed and I'm 16 hours away.
In an effort to make up for missing it, I need to call in a favor. A big, huge favor... see he likes to collect and wear as many fire department shirts as possible. Does anyone want to help me out? I'd love to pay for and send him as many as possible.
Of course this starts blurring the lines of being anonymous but hell, I'll do it for him. So, shoot me an email if you are interested in helping. I will owe you BIG time.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The Thing About Florida
So I was born and raised in Wisconsin. True cheese head through and through. My dad worked at a cheese plant for 16+ years, hell I even worked there for a few summers. We won’t mention the toxic chemicals I used to do my job or the hours I spent in a warehouse alone checking jars of cheese, because well then I would be bitter and not just sayin. That is not the point. The point is that in Wisconsin we have animals that are gross and scary and make you do the icky-icky dance that is required to get the goose bumps off of you. Don't laugh at me! You know exactly what I'm talking about! I guess when you grow up around mosquitoes the size of humming birds, ticks that are just dying to burrow deep into your skin and get all fat and stretchy from feasting on your delicious O+ blood, you just kind of get used to them. It's the way it is. Sure once in a while you find one of the little mongrels and you do the shudder shake like it's going out of style but for the most part, they aren't that terrifying.
Then one day, you fall in love and you pack up your stuff and move to Florida. Talk about culture shock here people. Eh's have become Ya'lls and everyone talks like they have a mouthful of cow poop and they have the nerve to look at me funny because they assume I come from the land of wood chippers and brats (the food, not the spoiled child). Of course I come from the land of sauerkraut laden goodness but I have never once operated a wood chipper, although I'm sure I could figure it out easy enough...
Right... my point. Peeps are weird down here but what is even stranger is the wildlife. Oh I have spent a good amount of time gazing wistfully and the pelicans and boobies (the birds not the body parts) thinking how lovely the wildlife is. JB was kind enough to remove the palmetto bugs (as they like to call them) before I came down. Unfortunately there are more than 8 of them in this world and for the record they are no palmetto bugs they are friggin ROACHES people. It's like calling an alligator a hungry little lizard. I think I made it four days until it happened.
Do you know I now have to wear shoes whenever I leave my house? The garage is a war zone and as I found out, so is my front walk. I went outside to get the beast her dinner and the first step I took into the garage narrowly avoided tromping on a giant, black bug that was almost big enough to put a saddle on. This wouldn't have been quite so traumatizing if I hadn't been barefoot. I'm sure you are laughing at me now saying, Silly Bernice. It's just a little bug. Come on people! These ain't your regular ol' household roaches. They are the size of Nantucket! Blechk.
Fast forward to last night. It is garbage day today so of course the entire neighborhood has their garbage out to the curb by 3:30pm sharp. It's a little creepy actually, but that is all for another post. I had gone grocery shopping to feed the two teenage boys that will soon be cohabitating here and needed to make room for the new food. Of course this means the two-week old box of Little Ceaser's Hot N' Ready pizza had to go. I skipped out the door giddy and oblivious. What once was my boring old leaf-laden front steps was now a party for geckos. I repeat... blehck. Sure they are cute in pictures and in Geico commercials but they aren't so cute when you are doing the two-step barefoot through a moving gecko minefield. They mostly blend in with the concrete so it was even harder to locate the little buggers before stepping on them. And now my toes are all curled up at the thought of squishing a little creepy crawly between my toes. You know yours are too! If not, you are a freak.
Thankfully on the way back they had all mostly gone into hiding so my path was relatively clear of lounging lizards.
So what is my point? My point is that I have learned several things.
1. Always wear something on your feet when leaving the house. Tis better to squish something with at least a sandal barrier.
2. When going outside at night, turn the light on, count to 10 and send the hound out first. She doesn't seem to mind the little critters at all.
3. If all else fails, have the man do it. Situation avoided completely.
4. We aint' in 'Sconsin anymore Toto
5. I am a giant weenie.
So there you have it folks. This big ol' tough-girl squirms at the sight of "icky" things. But if you tell anyone my secret, I will kick your ass.
Then one day, you fall in love and you pack up your stuff and move to Florida. Talk about culture shock here people. Eh's have become Ya'lls and everyone talks like they have a mouthful of cow poop and they have the nerve to look at me funny because they assume I come from the land of wood chippers and brats (the food, not the spoiled child). Of course I come from the land of sauerkraut laden goodness but I have never once operated a wood chipper, although I'm sure I could figure it out easy enough...
Right... my point. Peeps are weird down here but what is even stranger is the wildlife. Oh I have spent a good amount of time gazing wistfully and the pelicans and boobies (the birds not the body parts) thinking how lovely the wildlife is. JB was kind enough to remove the palmetto bugs (as they like to call them) before I came down. Unfortunately there are more than 8 of them in this world and for the record they are no palmetto bugs they are friggin ROACHES people. It's like calling an alligator a hungry little lizard. I think I made it four days until it happened.
Do you know I now have to wear shoes whenever I leave my house? The garage is a war zone and as I found out, so is my front walk. I went outside to get the beast her dinner and the first step I took into the garage narrowly avoided tromping on a giant, black bug that was almost big enough to put a saddle on. This wouldn't have been quite so traumatizing if I hadn't been barefoot. I'm sure you are laughing at me now saying, Silly Bernice. It's just a little bug. Come on people! These ain't your regular ol' household roaches. They are the size of Nantucket! Blechk.
Fast forward to last night. It is garbage day today so of course the entire neighborhood has their garbage out to the curb by 3:30pm sharp. It's a little creepy actually, but that is all for another post. I had gone grocery shopping to feed the two teenage boys that will soon be cohabitating here and needed to make room for the new food. Of course this means the two-week old box of Little Ceaser's Hot N' Ready pizza had to go. I skipped out the door giddy and oblivious. What once was my boring old leaf-laden front steps was now a party for geckos. I repeat... blehck. Sure they are cute in pictures and in Geico commercials but they aren't so cute when you are doing the two-step barefoot through a moving gecko minefield. They mostly blend in with the concrete so it was even harder to locate the little buggers before stepping on them. And now my toes are all curled up at the thought of squishing a little creepy crawly between my toes. You know yours are too! If not, you are a freak.
Thankfully on the way back they had all mostly gone into hiding so my path was relatively clear of lounging lizards.
So what is my point? My point is that I have learned several things.
1. Always wear something on your feet when leaving the house. Tis better to squish something with at least a sandal barrier.
2. When going outside at night, turn the light on, count to 10 and send the hound out first. She doesn't seem to mind the little critters at all.
3. If all else fails, have the man do it. Situation avoided completely.
4. We aint' in 'Sconsin anymore Toto
5. I am a giant weenie.
So there you have it folks. This big ol' tough-girl squirms at the sight of "icky" things. But if you tell anyone my secret, I will kick your ass.
Oh hi! Just me again...
There have been a few road blocks in this whole Renew Bernice's License Quest. The awesome part is, renewing my WI license is step one to getting my FL license. Somewhere in there is a stepping stone on my National Registry and of course applications with the State.
It is a bit overwhelming right now, but darnit I am going to see this through.
It is a bit overwhelming right now, but darnit I am going to see this through.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Liar liar pants on fire!
The hunt is on. I am doing the research for getting my license down here in the great state of Florida. I requested letters of recommendation from my Chief and Assistant Chief, I'm tracking down my renewal for my Wisconsin license (woohoo for doing the refresher anyway!) and I printed out the application.
I don't know where or what I'm going to do with this, but we shall see. It seems that the local FD only has fire and EMS type peeps so I'm not sure what to do there. Let's face it, I have no business doing FFI because well, there's no way I can drag anyone above 150# out of a burning building. Heck, I don't even know if I can drag a 150# person around. And I haven't talked to JB about it. Maybe I just need another project to occupy my time. Maybe I miss going on calls. Maybe I'm mental.
Ack. Someone hold me.
I don't know where or what I'm going to do with this, but we shall see. It seems that the local FD only has fire and EMS type peeps so I'm not sure what to do there. Let's face it, I have no business doing FFI because well, there's no way I can drag anyone above 150# out of a burning building. Heck, I don't even know if I can drag a 150# person around. And I haven't talked to JB about it. Maybe I just need another project to occupy my time. Maybe I miss going on calls. Maybe I'm mental.
Ack. Someone hold me.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The hunt is on.
With my recent change in status and demographics, I am finding I have a lot of time on my hands. It has been quite the switch from 2 jobs and a the fire department to one job that starts and ends at the end of my hallway. I spend a good portion of every day absolutely amazed at how blessed I am to have what I have and be where I am. I have a husband that loves me more than words can describe, a beach of beautiful white sand and blue water 10 minutes away and a job that allows me to live comfortably and telecommute every day. There truly isn't much more I could ask for though I wont deny the list of wants is still present.
I am very happy to say that both JB and I have started working out every day. He has gone back to training every week day and also finds time to get on the treadmill on the weekends. I have had a few days here and there that I haven't done much of anything, but our eating habits have been better and less frequent as well as our water consumption has increased. Before, daily exercise was a dream and if I did take the time to do it, it took away from my dreams quite literally. Most days this just wasn't an option when I was lucky to get 5 or 6 hours of sleep at night as it was.
So here I sit... dare I say it? Bored! I have crocheted several baby blankets for friends. I am maintaining a household daily, working out daily and yet I still have time on my hands. I swear I have entered another dimension!
What do I do with myself? I'm trying to write more but as you can see, I'm finding subject matter to be a bit of a challenge. I mean, you people can only hear about my freakishly long spans of sleep before you sharpen your pitch forks and light the torches.
What is a girl to do? Perhaps it's time to visit the local community center. I wonder if they have anything to do there...
I am very happy to say that both JB and I have started working out every day. He has gone back to training every week day and also finds time to get on the treadmill on the weekends. I have had a few days here and there that I haven't done much of anything, but our eating habits have been better and less frequent as well as our water consumption has increased. Before, daily exercise was a dream and if I did take the time to do it, it took away from my dreams quite literally. Most days this just wasn't an option when I was lucky to get 5 or 6 hours of sleep at night as it was.
So here I sit... dare I say it? Bored! I have crocheted several baby blankets for friends. I am maintaining a household daily, working out daily and yet I still have time on my hands. I swear I have entered another dimension!
What do I do with myself? I'm trying to write more but as you can see, I'm finding subject matter to be a bit of a challenge. I mean, you people can only hear about my freakishly long spans of sleep before you sharpen your pitch forks and light the torches.
What is a girl to do? Perhaps it's time to visit the local community center. I wonder if they have anything to do there...
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