I had to search for these pictures way back in a post a LONG time ago... I had fun going thru the pictures...some of them had me trying to remember why I posted them...others brought back memories... like the Hugh Jackman photo..I totally remember why I posted that one...but Sarah Jessica Parker...

anyway....

These pictures are from around 2002...I was a police reserve for Prairie City Police Department which is a smaller town in the sw part of our county.

This is Rod Eilander - Rod is a jailer with the county and one of my best friends...those of you over on Facebook will recognize Rod as my forked tongue friend ...but actually we really like each other.

GHOG...yes..they carry guns and handcuffs, etc...they can arrest..I think the only thing they can't do is the implied consent for a drunk driving arrest..that has to be a certified police officer.  Reserve in Iowa now have to take training and certify with the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy but they have the same police powers as a "real" cop.  Reserves are utilized for traffic enforcement and security at school functions as well as the "second" officer in squad cars although a certified reserve can and do patrol. 

So there you go....now back to figure out why I have Sarah Jessica Parker's picture in my xanga pictures...I vaguely remember it might have been something about weight???

Until next time....

It's a Wednesday - I just wonder how my friends are doing...all of my friends .... but especially those of you who have been struggling...

Last night, I watched Oprah's interview with Whitney Houston's family that I had recorded.  The thought that kept going thru my mind is that we never know what demons someone close to you might be fighting.  It is very personal, it may or may not be visible to others, but most importantly...we must fight our own demons..no one can do it for us and money and success is not an insulator.

I have talked before about the incredible men and women who volunteer their lives for volunteer fire departments.  They are heros living right next to you that are willing to risk their lives and screw up their family Christmas to help you.  I have not previously mentioned the men and women who volunteer to be reserve police officers - these are the folks who are willing to train on their own time, work on their own time and risk their lives on their own time to backup professional police officers.  I would say it is a more thankless job than being a volunteer firefighter...I've been there - I've done it...I cannot tell you what the draw is...but thankfully there are men and women willing to do it.  I taught a computer certification class to several of them last night - they should have received more than a little piece of paper acknowledging their huge accomplishment. 

That's about all I have to talk about today...

Until next time....

I think one of the things I enjoy about age - the things I can talk about publicly anyway - is the wisdom...hahahahaha
.....and at this age, everyone is eager to hear your opinions...hahahahaha

This bolt of lightening thought came to me as I was responding to a post @atticusfin where I was stating my opinions about huge expensive weddings...  Contrary to popular belief, I do not expound on every opinion that I have - just the ones that I give a lot of thought to...like prepositions...what has happened to me - I loved english and I knew and know that you are absolutely not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition...in fact my grammar is just a screamin' outrage...grammar?  What about my spelling...I used to be the go to person for spelling - now I have to ask people how to spell words...words that I type out and they don't look right - yet, sometimes they are....they are what?  They are right...another huge issue I have is dropping sentences...I find myself not finishing sentences when I know that the person being talked to knows what I'm talking about...in some situations, it is because some of the people I talk to regularly can just finish my sentences for me......... what has happened to punctuation or the overabundance of punctuation???? know what I mean....I write like I talk ,........   ..........is the ending of my sentences or thought.  Why do we use emoticons...I used to think it was the hazard of not being a good writer ..... you know....you have to emoticon what you are feeling or the reader doesn't figure it out...well then perhaps you need to change the way you write...but then who needs more descriptions...I'm so used to email language - short, sweet no salutations - no adorable sign-offs...I at least like to sign off with N....

Now, what was I talking about?

56....closer to 60 than 50..... What this means to me is I cannot waste another minute of this life on the past...

On a disturbing note, I just read that my ortho doc, whom is not in Newton anymore, is going before the disciplinary board because of sexual misconduct with 4 women....my first thought was....I was his patient during that time and he didn't make any inappropriate moves on me....HEY...nothing like a self esteem UNboost....sorry to anyone who may be a victim of a perverted doctor, but who are these doctors...they are supposed to be professionals for crying out loud. They have prepared for this career for years. Why would they throw it all away for copping a feel. This doc had a great bedside manner (she said tongue-in-cheek) and was very nice looking. WTH?

We are going to go swimming in the hotel pool. Don't think he is over excited about it but he said he would go down there with me. We are shopping with Jenny this afternoon then who knows. Told them I want Chicago style pizza for my birthday supper, but no one wants to drive to Chicago....ya, I know...a corner Brown joke BOO

Until next time........

I haven't been to therapy for a couple of months - I"m trying to go it alone and slow this "driven" mind down by just using the equipment I have been given.  I think I understand why some people are driven to accomplish at all costs and some people do what is necessary and then relax and enjoy life.  It has to do with what drives your anxiety.  I happen to be one of those people who doesn't sit down and relax because there are things to do and the whirlwind, constant do-this-do-that is more relaxing to me than the anxiety of my body sitting down while my mind continues the constant whirlwind of what I need to get done.  It's kind of an ugly place to be.  It has been suggested that this is something I need to work on one day at a time with some self talk but when I do that I"m just miserable.  Intellectually, I can't figure out why getting this stuff done is so important.  I'm talking about things that in 10 years,  actually in 10 months, won't make a difference.

While I"m up descaling the Tassimo, putting bills and paperwork away, cleaning the kitchen, putting a load of laundry in the washer and taking a load out, he's calmly sitting on the couch surrounded by the critters watching tv without a thought in the world...totally relaxed...at least I think so.  This used to totally piss me off...totally, to the irrational rage stage...THERE ARE THINGS TO BE DONE WHY ARE YOU JUST SITTING THERE AND LETTING ME DO EVERYTHING.  Then it occurred to me that him sitting on the couch is his right and choice, just as I am making the choice to do whatever it is I"m doing.  It's not like he is a lump that doesn't do anything because he certainly does more housework than most husbands I've heard about - as well as doing the cooking and grocery shopping.  So I am not complaining about him.  I'm totally frustrated with this nut and bolt that I need to adjust in my own life.

That's it.

I had to laugh when I read @Tracy this morning - Mr @Tracy just returned from a month away and had so many shows to watch that he had recorded.  He and I did that too...even after just over a week, I'm still trying to get caught up on Housewives of Orange County, the Mentalist and Young and the Restless.  Most of the time I retire at 2000 hours and watch an hour of my soap or one of the shows that he hates..But sometimes when I do that, I miss one of the 9:00 shows that we watch together - like last night - Castle.  We have a few things we can watch together but for the most part, we hate each other's TV shows.  That's why the DVR connection in our bedroom worked wonders...kind of a marriage saver like the king size bed and ear plugs.

We have a day off together...I have an insane number of books to put on amazon today

Siding people are coming at 1400 to give us an estimate.

I'm giving serious thought to raising chickens.

Ate at Pizza Ranch last night to support the Jasper County Animal Rescue League...talked to a volunteer about fostering cats.  He was asking a lot of questions...Trying not to read too much into it...he's working on the basement...perhaps he could make me a cat room too...is he reading this?

Until next time....

Middle of the World - Mitad del Mundo

This is one of those touristy things I just had to do..and I'm glad we did. 

ya...I'm a dork with my camera and purse cris-crossing my body...guess I didn't know I would look like this   Of course, just the fact that I thought it would be fun to have one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere proves that I'm a tourist!!!

He poses and is quite handsome

I'm not sure what this mountain is but we loved the look of the clouds and the mountain from the ecuator.

Interesting thing about this area...by the way this is where the restaurant and the delicacy were located...it also had lots of shops and was an obvious touristy place but shockingly there was no toilet paper in the bathrooms, nor hand soap.  When traveling to Ecuador tourist locations, you must carry your own wipes...although interestingly enough - we paid 15 cents for about 9 squares of t/p at a public restroom at Independence Square in Quito.

Currency in Ecuador is the American Dollar but they also use the sucre within the country so there is not currency exchange required.  They also use the Sacagawea dollar coin rather than the dollar bill.

Along the coastal highway between Manta and Salinas there were many speed bumps..mostly as you left/entered small villages or when they wanted you to slow down to look at their produce.  These speed bumps could be made from concrete or heavy rope layed across the road.  Some had alert signs and most didn't.

During a trip to Otavalo for the Indian markets and Cotacachi for leather shopping, we noticed many of the hills, bluffs and mountains were quilted with crops...it was quite beautiful and a total culture shock thinking about farming in Iowa/United States..  These crops - some across the mountain and some vertical were obviously planted and harvested by hand.

The American Disabilities Act is for North Americans...things like wheelchair ramps and handicap accessible sidewalks, etc were not existent...in fact some curbs were a challenge for my short legs.

That is it for stuff that has flittered thru my mind this morning.

Until next time...

Teleferiqo

Up the side of the mountain to volcano Pichincha - 14,000 feet by cable car...incredible...

yes...cows..

...and the reason we went...wonderful dessert and I've developed a love for sugar in my Ecuadorian coffee ...thanks for getting us both while we are chewing.

Here's the write up I copied from a tourism site.

Quito's latest attraction, the Teleferiqo takes visitors almost to the top of the Volcano Pichincha. It is worth putting aside a few hours for the trip, and day or nightime is equally interesting. The cable cars will take you up to almost 14,000 feet and the views are stunning. Just remember that at this altitude the air is thin and it can be extremely cold and windy. Ideally you should not do it unless in good health and you have already acclimatised to Quito's altitude. Wrap up well too. Once at the top there is a range of restaurants, and you can also hire ponies for treks around the summit.

This was on the menu at our first restaurant.  Seriously;, I was rather hesitant to eat meat while in the country.

Tomorrow....the middle of the World...separated by the equator....

Here's the toilet lid and cover - they are throughout the complex...Chairs are also made like this...such a quaint touch.

Look at this awesome picture of a storm far off...not that far off...wasn't long before we were taking down hammocks and heading for the butterfly suite.

Some random pictures of Quito.  First the home where we stayed....3rd floor.

Views of residential Quito from various windows

Checkout the dog on the roof ... not uncommon

auto-rickshaw aka taxi which you will see all over the beach/village areas.  There were always several waiting around the Mandala Hosteria in the mornings.  Although we didn't - this is the way to travel over to Machalilaa State Park - Los Frailes beach - a beautiful horseshoe beach surrounded on both sides by cliffs...actually just on the other side of the cliffs north of the Mandala.  Machalila National Park is the place to do whale watching Mid-June to October.  From this area, you also can board your boat rides to the Galapagos and/or poor man's Galapagos - Isla de la Plata.....

Fritz is on the beach at Hosteria Mandala

The theme of the Hosteria Mandala is Save the Whales - many signs like this lining the long lane into the Hosteria Mandala

...and the one picture Christa asked me to take was very common while walking along the beach

snails, snails, snails...lots of rocks and an unbelievable amount of sand dollars.  I started with a huge collection of sand dollars - only about 10 made it home.  They are very fragile. 

Moving on...meanwhile...back in Quito...the very first night, we walked into the master bedroom of the Andrade home to this view

there is absolutely no way this does the view justice...it is just amazing.  Not to infringe on their privacy, but this chair in the formal living room of the Andrade home

I love it!  Admired it throughout the visit.

Real - very real and fragrant.  Ecuador grows roses and exports them.  Two of these huge bouquets greeted us as we entered immigration at the Quito airport.  This is in the lobby of the beautiful restaurant which drew us in on our visit to Quito and Independence Square.  The next few pictures are random pictures of  Independence Square...I hope to get on line and read up on this area.  Adjacent to the square in all directions was shopping, steep streets and culture that I didn't have time to let my senses take it all in.  It's on the list for next time.

First and foremost - our travel mates - two of the best people I've ever known - and we are related
Lee and Christa

Plaza Indepencia

Until next time.....