better than tv

Between baby feedings and HF's active dreaming, I probably averaged 3 hours of sleep last night. HF took the night off to catch up on some much needed sleep. About 3:30 am I was startled by HF suddenly grabbing me and yelling, "GET HIM! GET HIM! GET HIM!" Then his body went limp and he was snoring again. I finished feeding the baby and put him in his crib. I get back in bed and HF hugs me close to him. I thought he woke up briefly because he was saying he loved me, etc. etc., But no. It was a dream. He then says happily, "I got promoted" and he's hugging me really tight. Then the same thing. He goes limp and is in deep sleep, snoring away. Some time later, he grabbed my hand and was shaking it. WEIRD. I asked him this morning if he remembered dreaming about anything in particular. He said he remembers shaking someone's hand, but that's it. He has no idea.

First of Four

HF had the first of four shooting qualifications. Passing is 200. Perfect is 250. What's the verdict?


He got 247.


The Chief talked to him this morning and wants to start FTOing him now before he graduates. He's going to have him fitted for his uniforms this week. He will graduate in the department's uniform, not the academy uniform.

Also, the instructors at the academy told HF last week that they are impressed with him. They said he is a natural leader, and has excellent natural instincts among other things. They split into two groups at the academy. HF is the class leader over one of these groups. Come to find out, HF has been taking control. He has his group show up extra early so they can help each other out. They help each other look the right way, stand in formation, if one of the guys forgot to bring a notebook, he has everyone take out a few papers from each of their notebooks and share with the forgetful one so that he doesn't get disciplined. If one person messes up, the whole group is punished. Also, there have been days when the instructors don't show up, and HF takes over and leads a PT class or a discussion. His classmates love him and respect him and let him lead. They affectionately call him Chief ______ (our last name).

I'm just impressed with him. That's all I can say. He's such a good person and he always knows what to do. He's a leader in his family (parents and a brother and a sister) and he's an excellent partner/leader/father/friend in our own little family. He'll go far. I love him and could never say enough good about him. It sort of makes the fact that he never rinses off his dishes seem insignificant. Sort of.

eat, breathe, and sleep the academy

HF is totally consumed in the academy, which is a good thing. He said that he feels like his senses are heightened and he hears the shouting commands of the instructors constantly in his head. I've heard that is normal. He also looks like he's been beaten up. He has permanent dark circles under his eyes and looks like he could pass out any second, which he very well could. In the mornings when he gets home from working graves, he staggers into the house, makes his way up the stairs, and falls face down on the bed and is asleep almost immediately. A few hours later he is up and at it again. I'm so proud and grateful for all his hard work. And I am trying to do my best to take care of him and not be too much of a nusiance. There have been the ocassional eager, "HI! I'M WAKING YOU UP NOW BECAUSE I CAN'T BE ALONE WITH THE KIDS FOR ONE MORE SECOND OR I'LL LOSE MY MIND!" But that's not very often.

Anyway. HF has always been an active sleeper. He'll talk, laugh, jerk around or kick--VERY active sleeper. Once, after being married just a few weeks, I woke up to HF leaning over me. It seemed like he was poking at my face. I started slapping his hands away and trying to shove him away from me. Finally, after one unsuccessful attempt after another, he plopped back onto his back and then rolled over and away from me. In the morning, I asked him what he had dreamed of the previous night. He got all excited and said, "It was the weirdest dream! I dreamed that I was bowling, but instead of bowling balls, it was skulls!" So then I knew that he was indeed trying to stick his fingers up my nose and bowl my head in his sleep. I told him what he had done and we laughed about it.

I only sleep with HF on Friday and Saturday nights. The other nights he is working and then sleeping in during the day time. When I go into our bedroom in the late afternoon, the sheets and blankets are all balled up, and the pillows are mangled. Well, last night I found out why. I'm spooning him when suddenly he crunches into a ball and starts elbowing and kicking his legs. He was fighting with someone in his sleep! I backed off and let him finish his fight dream and then I spooned him again when it was over and went back to sleep.

While I'm amused right now with HF's active sleep, I really don't want to punched or strangled. Maybe this will become normal like everything else. Hopefully it won't escalate to more than the occasional scuffle.

gift for my graduate

These are the Ozone Men's Back Up Socks. I thought an ankle holster would be a nice graduation gift (I actually don't know if he wants one of the real ones or not, but I saw these and thought they were hilarious).

what i found in the dryer

I'm used to the occasional chapstick, folded up paper, or even a knife. But, today I found an earplug and a bullet. My first thought was, "OMG! Our house could've blown up!" While I'm not sure this is true of ammunition in a dryer, I'm sure it's not a very good idea to test out that theory. I don't know, maybe it's been on Mythbusters before, or maybe one of you can fill me in. Can bullets in a dryer go off?

My second thought made me smile. I realized that I am going to find things like this throughout the years. I'll probably have to check pockets better than I have been, AND I've never seen so many pockets in my life! All of HF's clothes seems to have pockets and more pockets, and secret hidden pockets. I think I'll start a list of things I find in the dryer. Other than these 2 items, the last "freaky" thing I found in there was a giant pocket knife. I heard "Ka-thunk! Ka-thunk! Ka-thunk!" When I went to check it out, not only was it the biggest pocket knife I'd ever seen in my life inside, but it was OPEN. I checked for slashed clothes. I'm pretty sure that if there weren't so many pockets and hidden pockets on his pants, I would've discovered it.

HF has just finished reading On Combat by Dave Grossman and has asked me to read it. I didn't want to, but he said it was really important to him that I do, so I guess I'll go git to it. While I'm away reading, answer this for me: What have you accidentally washed or dried?

family

My grandmother passed away last week and I went out of state to attend her funeral. Honestly, it wasn't very sad. There was a lot of nostalgia. My grandpa died 22 years ago of Lou Gehrig's disease, and she's wanted to join him ever since. I haven't been to her home and the homes of my relatives that live in this little rural farm town since I was probably 10 years old, so it was fun to be flooded with memories of running around the farms as a little girl. I'm once again reminded of my rich family heritage. I forget. I always assume that I'm just a gal born and raised in California and that's pretty much it, but both parents are from 2 separate states, born and raised on farms themselves, and they are the only ones that left. We visited their families at least once a year every year, but once I got to be a teenager, that pretty much ended for some reason. Busy lives I guess.

Anyway, that's where I've been. Now I'm home, but my sister that lives in Denver has been visiting, and my brother Dan the Policeman has been visiting with his wife from California. I love when family visits. We are all in different states throughout the US and I miss them terribly. I am definitely one of those people that can live near family and thrive. I actually have this fantasy that my parents, my brothers and sisters, and I, will buy property in Montana or Oregon and build our own homes on the property, plant our own food, etc. etc. They've always laughed at my idea, probably because I'm the youngest and youngests always get laughed at, but with the current economic crisis, they have mentioned that maybe there is something to my idea.

To me, that's what this life is all about. Family. I miss 'em. And my heart longs to go back to the country. Back to my roots. Even if California is all I've ever really known, my parents did a good job of keeping us connected to our past.

more ridiculous calls

A woman that has recently moved here from India has been calling 911 lately. The first time it was to get a police officer to come over and change her lightbulbs in the kitchen. She thought it was a necessary emergency because she was reading in that room and could not go into another room to read. Since the building's maintenance guy was not available after hours for some reason, she figured the police was the next best thing.

A week later she calls and says, "Please send an ambulance right away!" When HF was finding out what was the problem, she said, "I touched the hotness! I touched the hotness!" It took a little while, but HF discovered that the "hotness" was the stove top. Based on her story and her cries of pain, he dispatched the paramedics and when they got there, she showed them her finger and they couldn't see anything wrong whatsoever. There was not even any redness. She insisted on an ambulance ride to the ER, and trying to help her out they explained that she didn't need one and what they would do when she got there and how it would cost her all kinds of money, etc. She insisted that they take her in the ambulance. Finally, one of the paramedics told her he had some special burn cream that they would use on her at the ER. It was essentially some Neosporin and a band aid. But it pleased her and they did her a favor by not transporting her.

I have an appreciation for the paramedics. In February of 2006 I got in a car accident with my then 3 year old. Miraculously, we weren't injured at all, but the car was totaled. I remember how amazing the fire fighters and paramedics were with us, especially my daughter. They were so kind, gentle, and knew exactly what to do and how to make my daughter feel safe and happy.

This past July, when I was 6 months pregnant, I fell down the stairs in our home, thanks to a certain 2 year old boy and his toys. I still get the shivers when I think about it. How it looked, how it sounded. I remember the pain. I would consider myself to have a high pain tolerance. I don't like attention, and I don't like drama. As I was lying there crumpled up at the bottom of the stairs, I remember thinking, "Just breathe. The pain will subside in a second. No biggie". But no. It didn't go away and when I tried to walk, I couldn't. I began sweating profusely, and my voice was shaking so bad when I would talk. Even crawling was difficult, but I crawled to my phone and called HF, who was currently at work answering 911 calls, and who was also finishing up an EMT course. When I called him I said, "Hi. I think I broke my ankle." Since I was home alone with the kids, pregnant, and not able to walk, he said that until he could get home and take me to an urgent care clinic, that he would send the paramedics to assess the situation. I did NOT want that to happen at all. I also come from a hillbilly family that did not go to the doctor for ANYTHING (It's a wonder we are all still alive). I think HF sent them for his own comfort mostly. I made him promise me that they would come without lights and sirens. "It's not an emergency! It's just a broken ankle", I said. "We'll just go get it x-rayed when you get home", I said in a shaky voice, wiping sweat from my face. Of course, they came with all the bells and whistles. Even though they didn't really need to come, I was very impressed with how they did everything and how calm and secure they made me feel. Of course, when HF walked in, he knew some of the guys. Then it was a party. "HEY MAN! WHAT'S UP!" They start shooting the breeze, talking about who knows what because they are all BFF's, and I had to remind them that, hello! I was the damsel in distress with the need for medical attention.

Anyway, Hooray for EMTs, paramedics, firefighters, and the like!

not your typical drive by

A lot of the 911 calls HF takes are from college students attending the local university. Mostly college freshmen away from home for the first time. This is one of my favorites. HF took a call from a hysterical freshman. (FG= Freshman Girl)

HF: 911 What's the address of your emergency?

FG: I was walking, and these guys in a pickup truck wearing ski masks, drove up next to me and threw raw hot dogs at me and started yelling WEINER! I feel so dirty!

Once, a dad from out of state called because he was concerned that his son overslept and didn't hear his alarm and probably didn't get to class on time. He wanted a police officer to go and wake him up at his apartment. HF asked him if he thought that his son might be hurt, but the dad said that his son has always slept through his alarm, and he was positive that that was the case. HF said, "This is the police. We don't do wake up calls. Call us back if there is an emergency."

While I understand why the hot dog girl would be upset, after the initial shock wears off, and you realize that no harm was intended, and you are living in the dorms where people do stupid things all the time, wouldn't you kind of think it was funny? It reminds me of an experience I had when I was a teenager. I was walking home from school and some guys pulled up in the bike lane on their scooter and acted like they were stopping to meet me. I didn't mind because I thought they were cute, but then the guy on the back pulled from behind him a fire extinguisher and sprayed me with it at close range. I think because it happened so fast I got scared and upset because I didn't really know what was going on. Once they drove off and I was left there soaking, I was laughing really hard. I thought it was hilarious. But I'm a prankster and I appreciate a good prank.

I'm Back

Sorry I haven't posted this past week. Our computer has been on the fritz but we've managed to fix it, thanks to one of HF's academy friends. He's a nerd. I call him my foster child because he's always around and he's been around for the past 6 years. I don't think he'll go away anytime soon and now he's going to be a cop just like HF so there's that whole bonding thing, great.

HF had his first official day of scenario practicals. He was introduced to yet another group of instructors all of which could best be described as “super cops.” They were intimidating to say the least. Basically HF and his classmates had to divide up into little squads and rotate through 4 stations, each containing a different scenario they had to deal with. By the end of the day all of the students felt miserable. HF said that everyone’s brains shut down on them and they totally forgot what little law they knew. The instructors said that this was normal for the first day and “encouraged,” everyone to study up on their law. HF felt pretty dejected when he came home but he did have this one realization: The day wasn’t a failure. The instructors told them that even though they screwed up a lot, it was only day 1 of that training and that if they learned something at each station, then the training was a win for them. The instructors want them to make their mistakes in training so they learn from them and don’t make the same mistakes again in the real world.

CJ update:

In the last two weeks CJ has made it clear to the instructors that she doesn’t like it when they use the “F word,” which causes them to use it more and direct it at her, much to everyone else’s amusement. I don't like "the F word," either, but that's what happens in the academy and in the real world, right?

That’s all I got for now.

guns n things

Last week, Mr. Fuzz started the firearms portion of the academy. I would say he is the most physically drained now than ever before. On the first day of shooting (at the academy), he was getting ready to go, and I noticed how sweaty he was. I said, "You're sweating! Are you nervous?" He said he was actually. I was surprised, but when I asked him why it made perfect sense why he was sweating. I would be too. Turns out, the poor guy was a little nervous about being shot by CJ, or someone like her. Up until now, he has been shooting at the range with a few people from the police department, and he was a little apprehensive about shooting with the whole group. When he came home he said that CJ had 3 instructors on her pretty much the whole time. They aren't aware of her shenanigans from the weekly department shooting, but I think they could just tell how she might be with a gun just from what she has already displayed in the academy.

The gun scenarios have been physically grueling in that the instructors had the cadets stand holding their gun on target as long as possible. Additionally, the instructors made the cadets do sprints, pushups, and situps in gravel followed by combat breathing excercises. They did this for four hours straight amid the instructors screaming at them. The other scenario based training they have done is a fire fight simulation called "laser shot," where the cadets face a video projection and interact with suspects while an instructor manipulates the reactions of the people on the screen. The cadets are equipped with a fake glock or 1911 with a laser inside it that they can use to engage suspects should they need to.

Here's where I brag. The laser shot instructor said that he has good natural instincts. The shoot, don't shoot scenario he passed the first time and he said that no one ever does that. He has also been told that he has really good verbal and communication skills and that he establishes command and control immediately.

He's going to be a good cop.

More CJ updates tomorrow.

this is killing me right now. just killing me.

I'm sure most of you have seen this from Reno 911.
via videosift.com

fuzz food

I have a food and recipe blog that I've been working on. It's called Fuzz Food. It's basically all the food related posts and recipes from our old family blog compiled into this new food blog. I'll be archiving our recipes, menu plans, and other family and food related things there. It's still a work in progress, but you are welcome to check it out and share your recipes with me as I'm always looking for new ideas.

thinking like a cop?

It's that time I guess? Lately, whenever we go somewhere, HF is looking over his shoulder, parking strategically, spotting trouble left and right. . .

HF has always been very protective of me and our family and aware of our surroundings. While he makes me feel safe and secure, I've often wondered if he is just a tad paranoid or he really is beginning to have that sixth sense that cops get about people and their surroundings. Still, no matter what, I think he has and always will be a little over the top about a lot of things, despite his growing cop sense. Here's an example.

We live in a 3-story townhouse. The main floor consists of a living room, bathroom, and kitchen. Upstairs is 2 bedrooms and a bathroom, and the basement as 2 bedrooms, a laundry room, and storage space. Our kids are too scared to be in the basement by themselves so everyone sleeps upstairs. That's been fine, but I mentioned to HF that I would like he and I to move our bedroom to the basement and what did he think the pros and cons were of that setup.

HF then told me that if someone were to shoot a gun into our home, it would be more likely to hit someone in the basement than someone in a room that was way above ground.

Crickets.

Trying not to laugh, I said I was thinking cons as in, there are more spiders down there, it's freezing in the winter, the possibility of mice, etc. NOT MURDER.

While the statistics of shooting and hitting someone in a basement rather than an upper floor may be more true than not, who thinks that way?! I'm the one with the anxiety issues, but even I think that the chances of that happening are pretty much slim to none.

On second thought, he probably told me that so that he would get out of moving a bunch of stuff up and down 3 flights of stairs.

poll results

Thanks for taking my poll. I was asking cops, "Do you have a mustache?" These are the results.

YES 6 (31%)
NO 13 (68%)

I have to say I'm pretty disappointed in the poll results. I was hoping for a lot more mustaches. Oh well. What can you do? Obviously this is on a very small scale, but I still believe that most cops have mustaches. In fact, did you know that there is an American Mustache Institute? It's a pretty funny website. If you scroll down on their site, they have a little box called "The 7 Spot: The Top Professions for Mustached Men", and Police Officer holds the #1 spot. It seems to be another one of those cop cliches along with donuts.

And speaking of mustaches and donuts, I forgot to mention one of the games we will be playing at HF's graduation party. Pin the mustache on the cop. It may or may not be one of the games intended just for kids. Now I just need to find a photo or a drawing of a cop that I can enlarge. I think I might do one of Mr. Fuzz.