I'll write soon..

But this just made me laugh my ass off...

On vacation

We're going to concentrate on family time...

Stay safe!

Hugs, smooches and gropes (yup!)

gone too far?

I believe they very well may have...

Life is filled with lessons...

That's how I approach it, anyway.

So I promised details about a situation I was faced with... and you're about to get PLENTY of em!

Imagine it's dusk and it's the winter. It's somewhat cold and there has just been a dusting of snow. All the street lights are on and after a long day at work dealing with a bunch of babies, I head to school to pick The Chicklet up. She's miserable and crabby and she feels warm to the touch. I just KNOW she has a fever and I want to get her home and feed her some chicken noodle soup (Campbell's... yup).

I pull into the driveway and get this sense that something's not right (apart from the usual "you ain't right" kind of thing that people tell me all the time).

I notice that the gate to the backyard is open and I distinctly remember I had left a light on in the shed and I left it that way because by the time I realized the light was on it was late, we'd had a big dump of snow and NO WAY was I trudging back there through snow up to the middle of my thighs just to shut the darn thing off.

I tell Chicklet to stand next to the car as I decide this needs to be investigated further. So I move towards the gate and stop dead in my tracks. I can feel the vein on my temple pulsate and I'm pretty certain I'm going to contribute to global warming just from the steam I'm certain is now pouring out of my ears.

I turn around and direct my daughter to the front porch, open the front door and ask her to stay inside, go lie down on the couch and "mommy will be right in".

I head back to the gate and march down the newly shoveled path (who the hell shoveled this path?) that leads to the shed at the back of the yard. I open the door and flip the switch to turn the light on. It doesn't ... what?
So I reach out and having a pretty good idea where the lightbulb should be, I feel the back of my hand touch the cold globe. I grasp it and feel it's loose in the socket. As I screw it back in, the light comes on and...

&*?/%$@!!!!!!!!!

The snowblower, dad's snowblower, it's GONE!

Burgled! We've been BURGLED!

Now, let me say this: the snowblower is old. I have a snow removal contract. And the snowblower doesn't work as it needs a tune-up...

but

&*?/%$@!!!!!!!!!

Now I'm insulted (trust me, not a good thing)! It's the principle of the thing.

I head towards the driveway after closing the light and the shed door.

I now know why a path was shoveled (with MY shovel no less!) to the shed and I'm spitting mad.

As I'm about to go back into the house my investigator instincts take over - it's one of the things I do for a living and I'm pretty good at it from having a lot of practice and training quite a few people in how to investigate incidents.

The stinking little thief picked the wrong damn house to violate.

You see.. something caught my eye and I felt myself grin like The Grinch after he's grabbed up the last can of Who-hash.



You guessed it... footprints!



But more importantly...



WHEELPRINTS! MY Snowblower's wheelprints complete with chain pattern.

Now I know how Callie Duquesne feels when she gets a break in a case!






I follow the trail down the drive to the street and figure out where it's headed.

AHA! Little bugger is in for a surprise!


I'm concerned my previous near meltdown could cause my evidence to fade and time is ticking away... there are more and more cars in the neighborhood as people make it home to dinner. I rush back into the house and I grab a flashlight and tell Chicklet I'll be right back.


And I'm off... cell phone in hand.

After quite a distance and a few turns I followed the trail as it turned into a driveway and disappeared under a fence gate into a backyard...

I jot down the address and haul butt back to the house... my fingertips are frozen but I'm about to bust this case WIDE open.

I rush into the house and announce my triumph to Chicklet who tries to muster a "yay" and I head into the kitchen to grab the cordless phone. I call 911 while getting Chicklet's dinner ready and take the thermometer back to the kitchen to take her temperature.

I can multitask -cause I'm a WOMAN! W-O-M-A-N!



I get the 911 operator and give her an explanation of what's just occurred. And she tells me she's sending a squad car right over. And oh boy... a pair of tall, dark and handsome officers (ok, so it wasn't the boys from CHiPS) show up in a jiffy. I think they were encouraged by what little work they'd actually have to do. Seems they get a lot of calls like this about stolen items but having their case all but handed over to them is rare.

I go outside with the adorable officers and show them the trail.. and they just grin. Cute officer number one asks me what I do for a living and I explain to him that investigations are one of my assigned duties and he nods his head, smiling.



So they head off towards the offenders domicile...



While I was waiting for them to show up with my snowblower I decided to do some further research and reverse look-up the address. This gives me a phone number and a name... that name is familiar... hmmmmm. As they are out apprehending the little creep I realize where I know that name from... it's one of the kids I hired to mow the lawn last summer. Little bugger cased the sheds!

I call dispatch again and share that tidbit which is then passed along to the lovely strapping young officers... I can imagine the grin THAT got.



From what the officers shared with me, when they informed the father... oh lordy!

The father had the little miscreant push the snowblower uphill a long ass way back to our house. HA!

So... what was this dilemna I was faced with?

He's a minor. And as a minor was given a "different" kind of sentence. His case worker assigned community service hours to the not-so-artful-dodger. They contacted me to ask me if I would allow him to "serve his sentence" with me. Meaning, I could put him to work as a gesture of reparation on his part. I had to decide whether I wanted him back on our property.

Would I be a part of his rehabilitation?

I said yes... I figure it would be a valuable lesson for my Chicklet... and hopefully, learning that someone he had wronged was willing to see the potentially decent human being in him might help him "straighten up and fly right" (as my father always used to say).

Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts got in the way and we never were able to make it happen... but at least I feel as though I've done the right thing. And my daughter does too.

Poppin for Travis!

GENIOUS in advertising! And Canadian ad agency came up with it. Dude, we rock! SICK!

I am not starting my vacation in the dungeon

So...

I was tagged by Mimi with this memewith a corset which she stole from some blogger who got it from... um, does it matter? Do you NEED to be subjected to the "she told two friends and so on and so on and..." blah! blah! blah!


So basically, it’s the “NEEDS” meme.


You google your name followed by the word NEEDS and you post the results.

I’m a tad scared to venture into the “googling” of my name associated with the word «NEEDS». Besides, I know what I NEED! I don’t NEED google to tell me I NEED shoes (yes Charles, NEED!).
Really, I NEED shoes - you expect me to walk around barefoot?


Actually,what I NEED is: pretty shoes... I desire and deserve beauty in my life.

Wait, what was this post supposed to be about?

Oh yeah... Anndi NEEDS to stay out of the dungeon at Bloggingham Castle (the trolls down there like to steal my shoes) so Anndi shall blog the “NEEDS” meme at the Queen’s bequest. So, without further ado... the "corset meme":



So, I googled my name... and oh boy:

Apparently I *giggle* NEED a, um... *giggle* a spanking! No comment.

I also find out I NEED three loves... Which happen to be: my Honey, my Chicklet and.... shoes! What?!

I also found out that a Raggedy Ann doll NEEDS a home. I used to read Raggedy Ann books as a child - my favourite was a book that taught Andy some manners (*sigh* boys!). In it, Andy helped Ann tie her shoe laces, or was it the other way around? Shoes... again! AHA!

So I stopped after three Google results because I NEEDED to go shoe shopping. My Google search told me I NEEDED to. *wink*

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world."
- Marilyn Monroe

til they come home

My thoughts and prayers are with the injured and missing heroes and their families. These brave souls serve with honour and dedication, they endure conditions beyond imagination and do so willingly as it is their calling.

My special thanks and appreciation go out to a fellow blogger and great guy, Gene. It's not easy for any of us in the Emergency Response community when one of our own is taken from us, much less a devastating loss such as this one.

Hugs to you Gene. I'm thinking of you and your crew especially. May God wrap you in his grace and keep you safe.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
~Holy Bible, John 15:13

"Firemen never die, they just burn forever in the hearts of the people whose lives they saved."
~Susan Diane Murphree

Creative Photography - my old friend

As much as a picture is said to be worth a thousand words, we can bring a new dimension to pictures when we share a story to go along with them. I've strived to do this with Roger's Creative Photography Contest (visit other participants HERE) and I figure this week shouldn't be any different.


Ask anyone about their most vivid childhood memories and everyone has a special moment (hopefully mostly good) that comes to mind.

One of mine involves the tree in Dad's front yard. It's been there for as long as I can remember. I'm quite saddened at the thought that by the fall I'll have to say goodbye to my old friend as it has died. 

Many upcoming winters were judged by the berries on that tree. It's been used as home base for more hide-and-seek games than I can remember. And it was my friend when I was forced to spend time in bed during my bout with chicken pox, allowing sweet feathered friends to perch on it's branches as I listened to their cheerful songs.

The most vivid of my childhood memories involving my friend the tree is one of lying in a soft and fluffy bed of freshly fallen snow under leafless branches and watching lovely lace mademoiselles flutter down from the sky. It was made all the more magical because of the Christmas lights that my father so lovingly and patiently had strung on the branches... bright colourful lights that made the snow sparkle like a priceless trove of rubies, emeralds, sapphires and canary diamonds.


I was never cold when my friend sheltered me.



I examined it closely lately and found all manner of interesting things.

Imagine my surprise when I found it was staring back at me!

Even in death it sustains life...

But it's the alien sticking out from it that gave me pause.

Which picture did you like the best?

Would you share a vivid childhood memory?

"Happiness is sharing a bowl of cherries and a book of poetry with a shade tree. He doesn't eat much and doesn't read much, but listens well and is a most gracious host."

~Astrid Alauda