Ice rinks, rodeos and too much dessert

Wow, today has been a pretty fun day. It was full but fun nonetheless. I was pretty tired when I got home this morning, as I had worked a 36 hour shift(s). I took a few hour nap, and my faithful Shadow rested quietly beside me. I think she was rather glad that I was home again. :-)

The "original" plan for today had been to go skiing at Cataloochee, but the weather was not really cooperating...50 degree weather is not really good for skiing.

Instead, I went ice skating with a couple of friends from work. That was a lot of fun and we decided that we needed to do it more often.

Then we met more friends at Carson's Steakhouse in Anderson. The food there was really good...though Stewart would not recommend getting your steak medium/rare...as it still was mooing. ;-)

Next we headed to the rodeo at Clemson. That was a lot of fun, though I still think I would enjoy participating more than watching. :-D (Sorry, no pictures, as they weren't turning out...)




Lana, Stewart, Nate, Jennifer, Kendra & Holli





Afterwards we wanted dessert, so ended up at Ruby Tuesday's in Clemson. Stewart was worried that his dessert wouldn't be large enough, even though it was called "tallcake". However, after they arrived, he decided that it was not only a "tallcake" but a "widecake" as evidenced by Holli's here below.


Holli and her "tallcake"













Stewart had almost no difficulty finishing his off, as shown by his satisfied grin.



A "no longer hungry" Stewart












That finished off our night, leaving the 2 people with "normal" working hours, somewhat exhausted by the antics of the "night shifters" they were hanging out with. :-) What can I say? as that would be why I am posting this at 0330... :-)

Collapsed buildings and Tennis balls

Well, yesterday was an interesting day. :-) I started out the day...well, first I had to drop Shadow off at PetSmart, as I was not going to be home all day and she needed to run and play...

THEN I had USAR training. For those who do not know, I am one of the medics assigned to the Regional Response Team - 1 for South Carolina Urban Search & Rescue. This month's training was focused on shoring up collapsed/collapsing structures. So, I spent the day hammering nails etc. :-) It was interesting to learn different ways to help support collapsed structures.

In the evening I had tennis lessons. :-) Holli and I decided to learn to play tennis. We are taking it through the BJU TOPS program. We are taking an 8 week class that will teach us the basics. After that, we will see. ;-) Last night we worked on our grip and our forehand...which were made slightly more difficult since I had just finished up 8 hours of hammering nails... :-)

Holli and I had great intentions to go to the LifeCenter and work out after tennis, but I had not really eaten all day and was famished, so we decided to have dinner at IHOP instead. Who needs a fitness center when you can eat instead? :-)

Tonight I am at work, nothing too exciting yet. Matt predicted a fire earlier, but when it didn't happen before his "bedtime" he decided they (the FD) were "closed" and fires were no longer allowed. :-) Ha! if that were only true!

Whew, a busy week...

Well, it has been a busy week for me. It is our "long" week to work, and then we had IST (or CE, whichever you want to call it) on Monday BEFORE we went in to work. Then I had training for several things on my few days off. I actually did not get to make it to the one training...as I was too exhausted to safely drive there...and the last time I overextended myself that badly...I ended up with a migraine that lasted 7 days. Yikes, no fun!!! I did mostly enjoy the training on Wednesday. We did some "compass work" at Paris Mountain. So it was fun to actually hike and not just walk on the trails! :-) My greatest mishap was the time I misjudged an area at the base of a fallen tree...and consequently fell into the hole caused by the displaced roots. My biggest concern was not whether I had broken any bones, but rather... What lived in the hole!?!? I was very relieved to extricate myself without any extremities being the beginning of a hungry animal's mid-winter snack! :-) It was an added blessing that I did not break any bones either. :-)

My friend Holli and I went to look at a house earlier this week. I don't think we will be getting it...it wasn't in the best of shape (you know how ads can make stuff sound much nicer) and I am not too keen on the neighborhood. While it may be an okay location...I have had some dealings with the general area d/t my job...and am not sure that is where I want to live if I have the option. There are some definite advantages to working my type of job. Knowing the reality on housing areas is one. :-) So we are still looking for a reasonalbly priced 3 bedroom house to rent. (Hopefully we will have one more friend join us, and that will help with rent even more.) If you know of any...let me know. :-)

Well, since I just got off work...sleep calls...and I have to work yet tonight. I was going to post some more pics...but can't think of anything extremely interesting at the moment.

:-)

hmmm

Well, the link is on the post...only it is "under" the title...

An experiment

Okay, I have changed a few settings on my "site"...(not that I have ANY clue what I am doing!) and I want to see if I have enabled adding a link to my post. (Not that I am sure where in this post it will end up...if it even shows up...but hey, this is a learning experience.) :-)

Birthday Pic

A few days after my birthday (I had the great privilege of not only working on my birthday, but having to attend training all afternoon BEFORE working on my birthday) my friends Holli and Johanna took me out to Olive Garden. Yummm!!! :-P We had a good time enjoying each others company and eating yummy food! Thanks girls!!! :-)

Feb. 9th

Well, I have not updated for a while. I really need to be cleaning my house, but wanted to drop a few quick notes...

This week has been pretty "normal"...work, etc...though I did have a dentist appointment today. I guess that was not "normal"...scrape, poke, prod...ouch! Good report though, no cavities. I did get a referral to an orthodontist. My teeth have made some recent attempts to return to their erring ways, so hopefully we will be able to correct it with minimal effort. :-)

Here are some recent pictures of Shadow. She is quite the cutie...not that I am biased. ;-) She just got groomed yesterday and looks all prettied up, decked out in her hairbows and all...









Tonight Holli and I walked 3 miles. :-) We have been walking 2 miles several times a week, but tonight we had "extra" time, so we went ahead and went a 3rd mile. :-) It has been good.

I am off work tonight, as someone needed yesterDAY off, so I worked for them and they are working for me tonight.

Tomorrow I have a class to renew one of my EMS certifications. I hope it goes quickly. Actually, I think I am the only one signed up for the class. :-)

Well, my munchkin is trying sleep...and I need to go vacuum the living room. Still no decisions on a new place to live. Made some phone calls today about places, but didn't get any helpful answers. :-)