....and a not so good wednesday

Tuesday was good. Wednesday not so much.

I was doing good until I got to work and around 4 pm I started having a really intense pain way down low in my stomach and I've experienced this kind of pain before and I know that there is no finding relief until it decides to stop on its own. So...I tried curling up into as much of a ball as I could sitting at my position. That didn't work so well. I tried walking down the hallway to another bathroom and once I got in there everything started going white and my hearing was fading and I felt like I was in an never ending tunnel. I broke out into a cold sweat and was finally able to shrug off my jacket and made my way back to dispatch and by the time I got back into the room I was white as a ghost and collapsed down into the chair and my whole body tensed up. My fingers seized up and I couldn't move. What made it even worse was the fact that I was the third person in the room and I was working police ch 2 and the officers were all talking on the radio and the phones were ringing and Teresa, Cory, and Jamie (a new girl) were all scurring around trying to figure out what was wrong with me and toning out the ambulance to come check me out. It was absolutely chaotic and I couldn't do anything to help.

Sgt. Kirmer came running upstairs to me and was able to get me to just focus on him and slow my breathing. That helped and then the medics got there and checked my vitals and everything was fine. I started to come out of it finally, except my hands still being seized up and tingling. Luckily Stacy was on her way in to give us lunch relief and she got there right after the medics left and took over my position. Teresa had called Gene and he came and got me. Kirmer waited upstairs with us until Gene got there.

I came home and ate some dinner, which made me feel better, and sat outside on the porch while the kids played in the yard. I still had some cramps and was a little sick to my stomach and somewhat light headed, but Grace went to bed at 9 and I laid down just before 10:30. I slept pretty good last night and feel better today. I'm hoping it stays that way.

I've had 3 episodes like this before and the pain causes my body to tense up and then I start hyperventilating. I think last night was probably the worst just because I knew I was at work and I couldn't leave my people high and dry but I wasn't able to do anything to help either. Plus it's incredibly embarassing.

Luckily my co-workers are like my 2nd family and they took extremely good care of me!! Hopefully today is a better day and I'm able to work my whole shift!

A Really Good Tuesday!!

Yesterday was a fabulous day!! It started out a little early since I had to be at the Jones Center at 9 am to set up for our annual Awards Banquet for the pd. The doors opened at 11:30, we ate lunch at noon, and then began presenting awards at 12:45. Several awards were given out including a supervisory excellence award, several meritorious awards, a life saving award, dispatcher of the year, and officer of the year, among others!

I have to say I am the VERY proud wife of Officer Gene Johnson, the recipient of this year's Officer of the Year Award!!!!!! I was so excited when I found out he had won and so so proud of him. He is such an excellent officer and goes to work everyday with the intention of arresting as many "bad guys" as possible!! He doesn't let anybody walk all over him, he holds his own, and promises to come home to our family each and everday!!! I love him so much and can't believe I'm so lucky to be married to him!!!

I am also very proud of Crystal, who won Dispatcher of the Year this year!! As I stated in my previous post Crystal and I have become really good friends and she really is one of the best dispatchers we have. She so earned it and it was really cool because her fiance Dustin was able to be there with some of the other firefighters he works with because he had to work the station yesterday. She was a little confused when she got there yesterday and saw that her mom and Dustin were there!! She soon figured it out though! Congrats Crystal and I love ya!!

Now I'm switching gears just a tad! Remember the "dispatch boyfriend" I was telling you about? Hank? Well, this is him!! He is so going to hurt me if he finds out I posted this on here! Ha! He had just finished eating dinner and came up to visit while eating his yogurt and I caught him mid-bite! Too funny! We just love Hank!

Big smile from Cystal!! Yesterday was a great day for her too because not only did she win the award and Dustin and Dustin's dad (the assistant fire chief) were both there to cheer her on but it was also her last day to work as a single lady!! She is now off the rest of the week to prepare for the wedding and then next week also for her honeymoon so when she comes back she will be Mrs. McDonald!!!

Here's Jill! She also works on my shift and is a little bit crazy! Ha! She drives me crazy every now and then (don't worry..I've told her that!) but we usually have a really fun time at work! We are a lot of like in some areas and there is very rarely a dull moment when we are both working! We have a good time!

And me and Crystal again. After the awards banquet we both ended up changing into our IAFF (International Association of Firefighters) shirts so we matched all night. Great minds think alike!! Ha!

I only have 2 more work days this week then I'm going to enjoy a wonderful 3 day weekend!! I'm also incredibly excited about the beautiful weather and am hoping that maybe this time spring is here to stay!!!! PTL!!!!

Busy Weekend!

I had a super busy weekend and I can't believe it's already time to go back to work. It started off early on Friday because I had to go up to the pd to have my picture taken for our employee board downstairs and the one that's up right now of me is horrible so I wanted to get a new one. After Capt. Peters did mine he let Grace get up there with me and he took some really cute ones of us together! He said he's going to get them to me so I'll post them when I can.

After that I got the oil changed in my car and met another really good friend, Brittni, for lunch at Guido's out in Tontitown! We had a good visit and she's going through some rough times right now so it was good to spend some time together. Brittni and I have been really really good friends since 9th grade and until I got moved into a Science class and forced to sit by her we didn't even like each other!! That didn't last long though and she's one of my closest friends now. She has a little boy, Jace, who is only one month younger than Grace so we're gonna try to meet up and take them to the park on Sunday to play!!

Friday night I went to dinner at TGI Friday's with some girls from work and we had such a great time! I don't ever get to spend any time with them outside of work so it was a nice change of pace. I had fully intended on getting home and being in bed early but after dinner we sat outside talking for 2 hours! Needless to say I didn't get home very early. Oh well, we had fun!

Saturday I shopped literally all day with Allie and Teresa! Gene left to ride his motorcycle so I dropped Grace off at her Nana and Papa's house to spend some time with them. I met the girls around noon and I didn't get home until almost 7 and had to take a super quick shower and turn around and leave again to meet back up with them to head to Crystal's bachelorette party!!

Here's me and the beautiful bride!! Crystal and I have worked together for over 4 years, but didn't talk or work on the same shift until about 2 and a half years ago when she moved to evenings with me. We pretty much hit it off and she's one of my best friends now!! I actually had a hand in hooking her up with her future husband. He's a firefighter in Springdale and she met him while she was doing the Citizen's Fire Academy. She came into work one day and told me she had a crush! Of course then she told me all about him and come to find out I had already met him when he did his 4 hour observation in dispatch during rookie school! So....I called over to the fire station to see what shift he worked and I was just going to talk to the Batallion Chief. Well, that didn't exactly work out because Dustin was the one who answered!! Ahhh! It was so funny cause I didn't know what to say then. I kept asking Crystal what to do but she was trying to give CPR instructions to a caller so she wasn't any help!! I finally just had to wing it and he ended up asking her out the next week! Here we are almost 2 years later and they're getting married Saturday!! Crystal also has an absolutely adorable little girl, Abby, who turns 3 in July!

Here's me and Allie while we were waiting for Teresa to meet us! I went to high school with Allie and we were NEVER friends and then when I started at the pd she was a dispatcher already and then 2 years ago she tested for patrol and is now an officer! We have become really good friends over the last year!! I just love that girl!!!

Here's my girls, Allie and Teresa! Teresa is my shift supervisor but we've also become really good friends! She actually was my first trainer 4 years ago when I started at the pd and we pretty much just hit it off from the very beginning! I adore her!

This is the cute cute cake her hostesses bought her with their soon to be initials on it!! Her wedding colors are blue and yellow so of course it was very fitting!!

And here's the bachelorette with her panty tu-tu on! Ha! It was a really fun game we played where every attendee had to buy and bring a pair of panties that they would wear and then Crystal had to pull them one at a time out of the bag and try and guess who brought them. If she got one wrong she had to wear it safety pinned to her the whole night! Needless to say she didn't get any right considering you don't typically see your girlfriends' panties! It was too funny though!!

I had a blast and enjoyed some awesome girl time with friends I don't usually get to hang out with! I'm so excited about Crystal's wedding this weekend and Teresa and I have already been promised to help with set up and decorating. Yea like I was upset about that. NOT!! Ha!

Hope everyone has a great week!!!!

i'll just make a list

For whatever reason I haven't much felt like blogging recently. Partly because I don't ever seem to have any time I guess. So, I'm just gonna jot down a list of recent activities!

1. I've still been working out! Last night after work Teresa and I did some strength training for about 25 minutes and then we walked outside around the block the pd sits on for about an hour and 15 minutes. I bet we walked 2 miles. It was awesome!

2. Grace's face is sunburnt from playing outside yesterday with her Papa Johnson. He has a trike (3 wheel motorcycle) and we live up on the top of a hill on a dead end dirt road so he got it out yesterday and was taking her for rides up and down the road. She loved it!

3. I'm frustrated with several things at work. Obviously this is not the place to get into it, but there are so many times that I wish there was somewhere else I could go that paid as much and had all the benefits. Not only that but I already have over 4 years in at the pd and it would really stink to start over somewhere else. I absolutely LOVE what I do as a dispatcher and being able to help people but sometimes everything that goes with it is incredibly overwhelming.

4. I still have baby fever. A few of my friends are pregnant and Grace is getting so big and I just want another pregnancy and another baby.

5. A couple of really really good friends are separated right now from their husbands and are having some rough times. I hate hate hate to see people go through divorce and I'm hating it even more when it's people that I love. Please pray for them.

6. However, another one of my really good friends is getting married next weekend and I'm so excited for them!!

7. I got a really really cute new purse and matching wallet!

8. I've been tanning and finally getting some color!!

9. I'm super proud of my hubby and the daddy/husband/officer/man that he is.

10. My trainee at work is pleasantly surprising me and is doing really great in training! Yay for trainer and trainee!!

11. I have something super fun planned for May but I can't talk about it yet because it's a surprise to a certain someone!

12. I am so ready for the stinking weather to make up its mind. And when I say make up its mind I mean stay warm!!!

13. My 2 year old absolutely amazes me with her vocabulary and ability to communicate. I swear she acts like she's 4 already. Smart girl...just like her Mama!! ha!

14. This week is National Telecommunicator's Week so we've received really nice gifts from Washington County Sheriff's Office, Central EMS, and Fayetteville PD's dispatch centers!! It's been nice! The officers typically don't acknowledge dispatch until something goes wrong and they're looking for somewhere to place the blame. Whole other story.

15. I've had to work 2 12 hour shifts this week. One of them was Tuesday night and I had my buttons pushed by one of the midnight shift officers and I'm pretty sure he'll remember next time to follow through a little more!

I think that's it. I'm worn out from a long work week but today is my Friday!! I've got a busy weekend this week and next week I'll be helping Crystal with her wedding so the rest of April is busy busy busy!! I'm just ready for summer to be here already!

blog title

I know you're probably thinking I'm crazy because I can't think of a good blog title so I keep changing it around till I find something I like. Bear with me....

Where to start....

I'm just gonna go ahead and say this is probably going to be a lengthy post because it's the first opportunity I've had to get on and a lot is going on right now! So, either click that little x now or sit back and enjoy (maybe :))

I've posted some pictures in not really any particular order and I'm just gonna start with the fact that Gene and I bought a home gym last weekend that is now set up in the upstairs living room for us to work out any time we want. And yes, before you ask, we've both used it. More than once! I think I've said before that I've started working out after work on Tues, Wed, and Thurs with Crystal and Teresa at the pd and this was our third week! I've also worked out at home in the mornings doing weight lifting and strength training and mostly cardio and abs at night at the pd. I'm proud of myself for having drive and discipline. I'm hoping to stick with it for at least another 3 weeks then I'm going to start doing P90X. If you've never heard of it, it's a very intense 90 day home workout training system. I've read ALOT about it and watched a million and a half infommercials on it and Gene and I are both excited about doing it! However, since it is so intense I'm going to continue with my current workout routine for about the next 3 or 4 weeks to build up my strength and endurance so I don't get discouraged right off the bat with P90X when it kicks my butt! Ha!

We have just the right amount of room upstairs for the gym and the bench folds up and the sides fold in to where it's only about a foot wide when it's all folded up. Very handy. It does pretty much anything and everything. It's got several different attachments to do legs, arms, shoulders, back, abs, you name it and you can probably do it on this thing. I love it and the best part is that Grace can sit in the bean bag in the corner and watch her cartoons while I work out. There's a tv right beside where I was standing to take the picture. Oh, and by the way....we lost Biggest Loser! No big surprise there, but 4 other officers who were on a team together lost a combined weight of like 118 lbs. It was crazy and they blew everyone else out of the water! Oh well, I'm still trying to eat better. Especially now that I'm working out so much!

Ok, moving on from all of that. Two weekends ago, during one of those sparse nice days we've had this spring, Gene and I went to Lowe's and bought 12 Rhododendron shrubs and 2 hanging plants for the porch!! I was so excited! We have covered porches on the front and both sides of our house and the ground slants down fom the back to the front of the house so in the front there is about 3 ft space between the ground the the porch. I was not happy with the way it looks because it's so hard to get under there and flatten the ground and make it look nice. So, I told Gene that I wanted to get some kind of flowery shrub to plant along the front to hide all of that! Good idea huh?! Haha! Ahem. Gene agreed with me. Yay! So, we bought 6 bright red Rhododendrons and 6 purpley colored ones. Yes, I know purpley is not actually a word, but we'll just pretend it is!

Gene and Colt planted the little plants and they look kinda puney right now because obviously it will take a while for them to grow and expand but they already have blooms that are about to blossom! I can't wait to see how it looks!

Gene also built a garden in front of the house out of railroad ties and he's going to plant vegetables in it and he sectioned off a row in the very front of it for me to put flowers in that can be seen from the road. I've been a little aggravated though because this stinking weather can't make up it's mind. I guess that's Arkansas though! Hopefully someday soon it will get warm and STAY warm so we do all of our planting. Who knows.

So, I'm working on a landscape and body makeover and I'm keeping the faith that both go well.

Seriously, is my daughter not cute or what?! I just love that kid! I made cupcakes last weekend and she (of course) started asking for one the minute I started making them! She kind of likes to eat. No clue where THAT came from. Ha! We've, or she's, been doing better on the whole "I'm 2 years old and I like to throw tantrums and not do what I'm told and scream and yell when I don't get my way and potty in my panties and then look at mommy and smile!" issue. Most days anyways. It's a work in progress right? Or so I'm told. We'll see! I still love her. Even in her 2 year old moments.

Colt had solo and ensemble yesterday at school and they got a one and two twos which is really good and he was super excited!! He plays the saxophone in the band. That boy loves music like no other! I'm gonna have to record him playing the piano this weekend so I can post it on here. Corey stays busy going to the movies or the mall or here or there and is absolutely crazy about his sister! Well they both are! I love that Grace has 2 big brothers that love her so much!

Gene has been working interdiction full time out on the bypass and has some crazy hours right now but they're hoping to get all the sheduling issues ironed out soon and get on somewhat of a regular routine. Right now it's been good because he's off on the weekends and he loves that so he's home with us. He's been really wanting some warm weather to get out and ride the bike. Truth be told so have I!!

I've also been keeping up with sweet Stellan and praying for his little heart to be healed. I've come across so many new blogs recently where people have suffered such loss and are hurting and it just breaks my heart. However, everyone of them I've read is such an inspiration too because they are so strong in their faith and trust in God and it's amazing to me. I'm a Christian woman and have been lacking majorly in my walk with Christ and have prayed so much lately that God would help me get back on track and back into church and to be a light to my family and reading these blogs help me with that because I see what amazing things He does for so many and if you have a spare moment and happen to be thinking about me would you just pray for me? I would so much appreciate it and I'm hoping that Gene will go to church me and Grace this Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior!

I hope that everyone is doing well and if you've hung in there with me for this then you rock!!!

Happy Birthday Gene & Steph!!

This post is actually a day late but I didn't have time yesterday to get on! Two very special people in my life share a birthday....my husband and my best friend! Oh yes, double whammy for me! Haha, only kidding!

When Gene and I first got together and we were sharing about ourselves and I found out that his birthday was March 31st, the very same day as Steph's I couldn't hardly believe it! What a coincidence! So, yesterday was the day and I had bought Gene a coffee grinder and some new Gucci cologne! I know, coffee grinder seems kind of weird but he/we have become quite the coffee drinkers and the other day we were talking about a grinder and how good fresh coffee would be so....I went to Target and bought him one! He also doesn't like to be without cologne and he'd been out for a couple of months so the boys and I went to Dillard's and I picked out Gucci by Gucci! Oh yum, it smells sooooo good! He likes to keep it in his patrol car so he doesn't smell like dog! I had them all wrapped and sitting on our dresser when he woke up yesterday.

Grace kept telling him over and over "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!" It was too cute!

I didn't get to see Steph yesterday because she had to work then I had to work and I can't tell you yet what I'm getting her because obviously that would give it away cause she reads my blog! I talked to her last night though and I'm pretty sure Grace and I are going to try and make it to Springdale Friday to take her to lunch and give her her present! Steph and I have been best friends since 8th grade and that lady seriously knows more about me than I probably do!!!! We've been through it ALL together and I could not have been blessed with a better best friend. She's the best person I've ever met!!!!

I love you guys!!!!!