Mooo

My mom sent me an email today.

(Mom) Hi Carrie, I am buying a half of a quarter of a cow. I am sure it will not fit in my freezer. Can you help me out?
Polly will be getting some huge cow bones! I need some freezer room, unless you want to buy the other half.

(Me) So how much does 1/8 of a cow cost? I think we have freezer room.

(Mom) She doesn't know until the butcher is done. It was a state fair cow, and it ate clover. The tongue and liver are free. So are the bones free. hamburger comes 1 1/2 LBS. She said it is comparable to what the stores sell it for.

The State Fair Cows will never look the same to me again.

Citizen Police Academy

My first night of "training". The Chief did an introduction and then Lt. Mark Bruley went over training and requirements. Lt. Bruley was a very interesting guy and has been in a lot of different areas of the department. Currently he is in charge of all the training of newbies. He also works on SWAT. So the requirements of a police officer:

Minimum of 2 year AS degree - check. I have an AS in Criminal Justice
Go through 9 month Skills Program - I could do that.
Take POST board test - possible.
Apply to a city that is hiring - no one is hiring.
Ex of applying to Brooklyn Park-written test, pass/fail; personality essay/stress test; physical fitness test; interview process/background check. This all takes around 10 months.
If hired, see psychologist and have medical screening. If both docs say you are ok you move onto a 5-6 week Academy that is similar to Skills Program but much harder.

I am quite happy with my job now and have a new appreciation for how my cousins got to where they are. I know I have congratulated them, but I really think what they do is awesome and wish I had the determination to get there. Great job John, Cory and Chad!

This class meets every Tuesday from 6:30-9. Some of the topics they will cover:
9/8-Police Training Overview
9/15-Use of Force
9/22-Patrol and CSO
9/29-Special Operations and City Attorney
10/6-Investigations and Gangs
10/13-Crime Analysis and Drug Investigations
10/20-Firearms/Shooting Simulator and Squad Car Tour/Crime Prevention
10/27-Evidence Processing and Detention Center
11/3-SWAT and Canine
11/10-Round table wrap up with Chief.

I am looking forward to getting info on the other departments within the police. It's possible with my degree that I may still qualify for a different position...that doesn't involve a physical fitness test.

Guilty

I have been having the worst week of work and it is only Wednesday. All I wanted to do when I got home was veg out. The dads came over to work on the deck again. I feel so guilty not being out there. It's our deck, but all I'm doing if I am out there is stand around. In the beginning and last week I was actually helpful because I was holding up beams, ripping up boards, or drilling in screws. Now they are a two man team and the rest of us stand around thinking we should be doing something but really just getting in the way. If Jon stays inside when they come over its a big deal that he isn't helping. Why isn't it a deal for me to be helping? I love the progress of the deck and am very thankful for everything they are doing, but I am also hoping it will be done soon. I think the more people that are there to help the faster it will get done, not true.

3-day recap

What a great experience. I feel so blessed to have been apart of this event. The training was brutal, but soo worth it. I knew I wouldn't be able to walk the full 60 miles. Everyone (at the 3-day) told me not to even try because too many people end up injured for the closing ceremony. My goal for the actual 3 days was to walk each day. I accomplished this. 15 the first day, 10 on day 2, and 10 on day 3. That alone was huge, because even during training, on the weekends where we had back to back big walks I always did Saturday and said screw Sunday. This time I got up the next morning and was ready to go at it again.

There were a lot of pictures so I will try and keep this short, but if you want the full details of all the pictures - go to facebook.

Day 1: Rained in the morning

Preschool that came out with signs and wore the Energizer bunny ears.

Awesome group of men on Harleys that followed us everywhere. Their wives were walking.

Neighborhoods were really creative with their signs along the route.


Jody's Couch with the Capitol in sight!

We made it!

It was all so worth it.
That same day...I signed up to do it again next year.

My other family

Sometimes you really don't like your job. I have those days. It's all worth it when you have friends so close at work they are like family. In honor of Tamara and I walking in the Breast Cancer 3-day all our co-workers dressed in pink and brought us flowers and cards.

You guys are the best!

Project update

We are making progress!!

We have grass!

Deck extension is up - steps were moved to make room for extension. A platform deck will go in level with the door to the left in the photo.

Rained out

We had a 17.5 mile walk scheduled for Saturday. It sprinkled through to 8 miles, then down poured from 8-10. Decided to head back to the cars - of course, by the time we got there the rain stopped.