The End.

Yesterday, Day 365, I got up and headed home early. I was here by like 9. I worked on some homework then got my shower and got ready for the day. I wanted my 365 picture to be something awesome so I spent some time thinking and then went outside and took it, well, them. After I got done taking pictures I got ready and went to class. After class I worked on some homework again, read some blogs and called it a night kinda early.

I kept that short because I’m going to do a reflection:

Well, rather than just going back 365 days, I’m going to reflect back to the beginning of this blog. I remember how hated I was at that point by a lot of people and I remember saying then that Jeff would find someone who would make him happy. And from what I gather he has, after all he will be married in a few months. Congrats to him. : )

I think it is interesting how the blog came about, how I needed a way to tell the world what I did and why I did it, ironically I feel like I did that a lot in the past year. I have almost quit so many times. Right after the first blog was probably the worst, or maybe the beginning of January when Justin and I split and then I found out about him and Katie. But I am so grateful that I kept it going. I have read through it all and, man, do I have a lot to say. I’ll try to keep it short, but ya’ll know how that goes. I originally was going to link to all the posts that I am talking about, but I decided against that because, well, it would be A LOT of links and I doubt ANYONE would go back and read them all.

Over the past year I have made so many changes in my life and learned so many things. I chopped my hair off in various ways, I got bangs, I finally went back to my natural color, and in June I started growing it out. It is getting so long! I planned to move to my parents’ house, then to stay in Kalamazoo, then got stuck moving up here, and now I love it. I’ve learned how to live without a plan, and to enjoy it. I learned that being alone isn’t always a bad thing and can be pretty nice sometimes. I learned how to not overanalyze everything in my life, and everything that comes into contact with my life. I have learned to forgive, and honestly that was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Had I not stopped being a hard-ass and started forgiving people who hurt me I would have lost some amazing people in my life. I’ve discovered how to have patience. This was beyond necessary! J And, probably most importantly, I discovered my emotions and learned how to deal with them. I actually cry, and admit it. I hurt and admit it rather than getting angry and being a hard ass. I’m sure there are others but those were the most prominent.

I have definitely gone through a lot of heartache and confusion, but it has made me a stronger, and I would like to think better, person. There is a post (titled rejection, June post) that I could have posted at least three times in the last year. But I have learned to deal better and I know eventually I will look back on all of it and it will be trivial.

What else about this year? I have had some amazing times in the past year, and some rather upsetting ones as well. I’m pretty sure I single-handedly kept Cohen & Greenfield’s, aka Ben and Jerry’s in business. I spent a lot of time talking about food, man do I miss the Kalamazoo restaurants and bars. I have completed a lot of bucket list items (yay!). I spent a lot of great time with my friends. Katie and I threw some amazing parties this summer. Summer 2009 was by far the best summer ever. 409: I miss you. Fire school is even better than I expected and I’m looking forward to test day! Life up here is not what I expected, but I am enjoying it. I could still use a damn job though!

I can't believe I made it through this entire challenge without missing a day. Yes, some of my pictures were late. Yes, my blog was neglected from time to time. But I did it!! I DID IT!!!! I can't even express how exciting this is for me, yet how quick it went. I mean I remember getting excited on day 50 for making it that far. . . now that seems AGES ago in some instances, but like it was just yesterday in others. Wow. . . just wow.

During the past year I have made some amazing friends and strengthened already great bonds. Krissi, Katie and Justin, I miss you all and I don’t know what I would do without you! WB girls: You’re amazing. Thank you for all you do! J And any other loyal readers, it’s been one hell of a year and I’m impressed you’re still here. Ready for another?

Final Pictures:

Day 365 (03.22.10):

the end.

Day 365:

oh my goodness! I'm done!

♥ Sara

Random Fact of the Day:
In 1980, a Las Vegas hospital suspended workers for betting on when patients would die!

"Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there." -Josh Billings

Out.

Saturday I got up and frosted Ben's cake then did some stuff online. After a while I took a shower and got ready for lunch with Ben. We had made plans to go out to get Chinese for lunch. I met him there. I absolutely love hanging out with him, I always have. Lunch was great, the company was fantastic. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard for an hour straight. :) After lunch, I gave him his cake and we headed our separate ways.

Ironically, it turned out that Friday was one year to the day from the day Ben broke up with me and I started this challenge to do something for me. And I'm happy it happened now, well not that we split, but that I had this. That I did something for myself. I have learned so much. . . .but I'll save my reflection for today's blog. . . seeing as I am writing this on Day 365!

Anyhow, I went to the pharmacy and Walmart and picked stuff up that mom needed. I ran into Zach and his girlfriend at Walmart, nothing too exciting, just picked on him for a bit. lol. When I got home, Dad and I went down to the fire station. I ran the air station and studied and he worked on fire reports. When we got home, I finished my college and fire homework and spent some more time studying for my fire class. I know, I spend a lot of time studying for it, but it will all be worth it on May 1st when I pass.

Pictures:

Day 363 (03.20.10):

the "magic towel" my aunt got me for Christmas.

Day 363:
spending lots more time in my cave again. :)

Yesterday I got up bright and early, made cinnamon rolls and got ready to go. I met the boys (Zach and three others from class) at Inverness' fire station at 930 to study. We had a little fiasco with the coffee maker, but once we got that working and figured out how to connect the TV to my computer and make it work, we were on a roll. We studied together until a little after noon.

When I got home I finished my homework for the weekend. My sister in law had been texting me throughout the morning and asked me to come over. So I did. We spent the day hanging out (there was a rather large group of people there) and relaxing. And I enjoyed watching boys be boys and do stupid things, like jumping the shit pond with a snowmobile (no we don't have snow), fourwheeler and peddle bike. We had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and sat around it for quite a while before going inside.

Of course, when we went inside, we played beer pong. Well somehow it turns into full contact beer pong. Bah! I have so many bruises today! But I was doing really well. Nick and I played eight games together, lost one and Toad and I played three games and didn't lose any! (I usually suck, remember Katie won like 12 games against Jake and I one night this summer!) I ended up crashing there for the night.

Photos:

Day 364 (03.21.10):

nick roasting his marshmallow.

Day 364:

on my way.

♥ Sara

Random Fact of the Day:

After eating, a housefly regurgitates its food and then eats it again.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did." -Mark Twain

Housework.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wednesday I slept in for a bit, then got up and worked on some homework. Once I was satisfied with the amount of homework I got done, I started cleaning. I got all my stuff picked up throughout the house, put away some clothes, did like four loads of laundry, and put some more stuff away. I got my back bedroom looking pretty good and started on my bedroom downstairs. When I got sick of cleaning I worked on some other homework before going to bed. Yep, that's right. I didn't go out at all on St. Patrick's Day!

Pictures:

Day 360:

sam planning his escape, open window, no screen.

Day 360:

i did at least wear my St. Patty's day shirt. :)

Thursday I got up, finished my fire homework for that night and worked on some of my college homework. It seems to be piling up, and I really don't care about the classes so that makes it rather difficult to get the homework done. When I had given up working on that I worked on my cave for a bit longer. I haven't really spent much time in it since Justin and I split and, well, it showed. Stuff just got thrown in here and I didn't care enough to put it away. Until now.

Around 430, I had to start getting ready for fire school, so I did that and headed over to Jason's. He was *surprisingly* all ready and waiting in the yard for me. We went to class, which again, was not all that exciting. Spent some time talking to the guys, like always, but that's it. On my way home, I dropped Jason off at the house. No, I didn't end up staying there for once. Haha.

When I got home, I wasn't sure if I was going out at night or not, so I worked on my bedroom some more. I ended up getting it spotless and getting my laundry all done. And I didn't end up going out, which wasn't surprising or all that disappointing, I was rather tired.

Photos:

Day 361:

most of my knitting stuff.

Day 361:

in my clean room. (you can kinda see my awesome slippers too.)

Yesterday, I got up early (by alarm) and cleaned my bathroom and some of the upstairs. At the predesignated time, I hopped in the shower and got ready for the day. Thank goodness I predesignated a time because I was barely ready in time. I spent my morning and most of my afternoon hanging out and watching Lucky Number Slevin and That 70s Show.

When that ended I had all of an hour and a half to write my paper that was due at 5 for my online class. No worries, I finished it in less than 45 minutes. :) When that was done, I worked on editing pictures and finishing catching this blog up.

At six we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to visit with them and have cake and ice cream for Grandpa's birthday. He will be 83 on Monday. Grandma seems to be doing much better, she says she is at least. They still have her on oxygen, but she may be on that for life. We spent a couple hours there before heading back home.

I hung out and watched some That 70s Show, then baked Ben's triple layer red velvet checkered cake for him. Then I killed a couple hours watching more TSS and doing random stuff online. Oh and I got to talk to my cousin Dan for an hour or so, which was nice.

Pictures:

Day 362:

my ice cubes. :)

Day 362:

look, even my bed is made!

♥ Sara

Random Fact of the Day:

Corned beef is strictly an American invention, the Irish don't actually eat it to celebrate the day.

"With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Crazy, Tragic, Sometimes Almost Magic, Awful, Beautiful Life.

I love this life. . . (and that song. :) )

So, you know how I used to always refer to my life as double-i? Well now, double-i is an understatement. Hence, why I have not posted in a week again. I know, I'm horrible! Just think though, a week from now and this will all be over! My first 365 project will be completed, and I think *think* I will be continuing it and I *think* I know what I'm doing for it! Also, an FYI for those of you who have been reading since day one, you will notice I am obviously leaving aspects of my life out. I won't be answering questions about them on here, sorry, for once I have secrets from ya'll. :)

For those of you who do know what is going on, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I am a big girl and I think it's worth it. I am willing to wait to have what I want. I'm confident in saying that. I am sure everything will work out the way I'm planning and hoping. And if it doesn't, well you can line up to say I told you so. (Since there are only like 2 of you who know what I'm talking about, for the rest of you, consider this my apology.)
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Anyhow, Wednesday (the 10th) I got up in the morning and Dad and I decided to go down to the fire station, run the air station and rinse out the buckets for sap collection. Well we got to the station only to discover neither of us had thrown the buckets in the truck. Yep, we rock.

So, we headed back home, but took the long route. Dad showed me some side roads in our area that have big houses hidden on them and told me stories about various fires he's had there over the years. Then we went down to the boy scout camp and walked around and took a walk out on the ice before heading back to the house to get the buckets.

We spent a couple hours at the station. I ran the air station and read a fire magazine and helped Dad in between. We got the buckets all cleaned out (and both got soaked in the process). Then we headed back home. We were both cold and wet so we decided not to finish tapping then and came inside.

I worked on my homework for a while, then watched tv and went to bed.

Pictures:

Day 353:

dad and the lake

Day 353:

my first and last time on the ice (that wasn't for fire training).

Thursday (the 11th) I spent the day working on homework before getting ready for class. On my way to class I stopped at Jason's house and picked up his homework because he wasn't going to be able to make it to class. Once again class was class. Nothing too exciting.

After class I stopped at Jason's again to drop off his graded homework and his copied homework for the next class. I had intended on hanging out there for a bit before either going out or going home, I hadn't decided for sure what the night had in store yet. Well I ended up just hanging out there for the night. The guys had decided to have a bonfire so I stuck around for that.

Photos:

Day 354:

my new "shit happens" necklace.

Day 354:

on my way to class.

Friday (the 12th) I spent a lot of the trying to catch up on the sleep I was lacking. I had caught a cold and didn't want to keep it. I also worked on my fire homework as I had class on Saturday so I needed to get a chapter done on Friday.

Mom had to go to the Chiropractor at 5, so I took her to town for that, then we went to Cheboygan so she could get her hair cut. While we were in Cheboygan, we got Chinese. You know how much I love Chinese! Aw hell, you know how much I love food. :)

When we were done eating, I called Jason to see if he wanted me to come over and help him with his homework/study with him. And he said sure, so I headed over there. When we were done with our homework, the guys decided to play beer pong and asked me to join. Of course, I said yes, but only for a game or two. Well a game or two turned into a lot of games. I ended up staying up until, well, until Jason and I had to leave for class at 730. Oh man. . . .

Pictures of the Day:

Day 355:

necessary. not really sure who decorated my box for me though.

Day 355:

no, that room is NOT in my house.

Saturday, I checked the time and realized it was 730 so I woke Jason's ass up for class. We got ready and headed in. Luckily, class was short and sweet, I couldn't have handled a long class that morning. No sleep doesn't work for me. When we got back to the house I hung out with one of the guys for a bit before he left, then I left shortly there after. I got home and took a two hour nap before I had to get ready for the Onaway Fireman's Ball.

*sigh* Exhaustion.

Dad and I went together, even though we both had gotten tickets for dates. Mom wasn't feeling up to it, and well my boyfriend (at the time that I bought the tickets) broke up with me. I know I could have found another date, but I didn't feel like taking anyone. The party was great though. We ate, we drank, we danced, we had Jello shot competitions. Oh and did I mention that none of the people I was with were under 40?

After the Ball ended at midnight, we went out to Taylor's house (Zach, my training partner's house). Dad and I had been hanging out with his parents all night. When we got there I rolled his ass out of bed. (He skipped out on the party, loser.) We hung out there for a while, talked about fire stuff and had a couple beers before heading home.

I had a long ass phone conversation on my way home/after I got here so I didn't get to bed until 6 am. Ugh.

Pictures:

Day 356:

my best recorded time and the empty cup.

Day 356:

just got home, so tired.

Sunday I woke up at 9, got up for a bit, talked to mom, drank some water and went back to bed at like 11. I was so freaking tired! Dad woke me up at quarter after two for training. Yes, we had a fire meeting that involved training. Seriously, who plans these things? :P

I seriously considered not going because I was so freaking tired. BUT, I sucked it up, threw some pants on, changed my shirt, put my hair in a ponytail, brushed my teeth and headed to the station. Oh and grabbed a granola bar for breakfast. Thank goodness. I was starving when I got home, I couldn't have imagined what it would have been like without the granola bar.

When we got to the station we sat and talked and waited for everyone to show up. Turned out to be just Dad, Jason, Dave (my uncle), Zach and I, which actually worked out for the best. Dad had said he was going to have Zach drive 01 (the pumper) so I went to climb in (I wanted to be privy to watching this learning experience). Dad told me no and to get in 31 (the foam truck) which Jason was driving. I was kinda upset that we were going to cram three of us in the regular cab stick shift truck while two rode in the big firetruck, but whatever. So I crawled in the middle. Well Dad said something to Jason about me learning to drive a stick and told him I wasn't going to learn sitting there. So J got out and I crawled into the driver's seat. Ah!

The drive down to the dry hydrant wasn't as bad as I expected. I was kinda nervous, but I think I did ok. I know I need more practice, but that will happen again soon. :) When we got down to the dry hydrant we set up a draft to the pumper, then set up the foam line and charged it. Zach hadn't played with the foam yet, but I did at the Alverno fire. So we messed around with that for a while. And Jason spent some time instructing us. I have to admit, he is one hell of a teacher. He is calm and patient and instructs in a way we both understand. I love that firefighting stuff has brought us closer together. :)

I drove the truck back to the station in full turnout gear. Bad idea. I couldn't feel where the pedals were or how hard I was pressing on them. So, the ride back was a bit more bumpy than the ride to the hydrant. Oh well. When we got back we put our stuff away and headed home.

I had a paper due at midnight. So, I worked on it. Actually I stared at the computer until like 930, then wrote my paper. Well I had all intentions of going to sleep right after the paper was done, but I ended up staying up talking online until like 345. Yep, I'm sooooo smart sometimes! :P

Pictures:

Day 357:

this is what my knee looked like after full contact beer pong.

Day 357:

the shirt said it all: this sucks!

Monday I slept in to make up for some of the lack of sleep I had been getting. And by slept in I mean I didn't get up until like 230. Yep. It was fabulous. Then I did some homework, got ready for class and headed to Jason's to pick him up for class. My homework wasn't completely done so I intended on doing it on the way. . . .well that was until I got there and realized that he didn't have his done either. Ah! So we rushed through our homework together then headed to class.

Class was not all that exciting again. Same as always. When I got back to Jason's I ended up going in and hanging out with him and Shawnia and talking. The next thing I knew we were having a bonfire. Everyone slowly ended up in bed and I headed home.

Photos:

Day 358:

my purse. yes, shoes, book, hat, vitamin water, skittles, rope, you name it.

Day 358:

happily tired.

Yesterday I slept until three or so. Yep, I know I'm lazy, er super tired. When I got up, I ate, put together the list of donors for our party, got a shower and had to get ready to go to the Fire Fighter's Association Meeting. It was actually much better than I expected, usually the damn men act like teenage girls. They seem to be getting shit figured out, finally. And our party did well. Next year will be even better. :) After the meeting one of the Wolverine guys showed me around their station and told me all about their trucks. It was pretty cool. I love it when the guys treat me like one of them rather than that girl in their meetings. Dad, Dan and I headed back home. It did end up being another late night, but whatever, I'm getting used to it.

Photos:

Day 359:

Eliza yelling at me for coming in late. . . or yawning because I woke her up! :)

Day 359:

just got home, ready to go to bed.

♥ Sara

Random Fact of the Day:

Tablecloths were originally meant to be served as towels with which dinner guests could wipe their hands and faces after eating!

"If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for. If it is worth attaining, it is worth fighting for. If it is worth experiencing, it is worth putting aside time for." -Susan Jeffers

Going Out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, delayed posting, crazy life, no sleep, what can I say?

Tuesday I spent my entire day working on homework, and got all of the regular assignments done plus finished my fire homework for Thursday. I know, amazingly shocking, right? I was rather proud of myself for finishing all of it. And I did it because I knew that my week was going to be busy and I didn't want to have to worry about it.

Pictures:

Day 345:

my nails, oh and my grandma hands.

Day 345:

yay for another day with no makeup. lol.

Wednesday I got up at a halfway-decent time because I knew my favorite girl would be coming to visit me for lunch. So I got ready and took my picture of the day and then watched TV and worked on homework until she called to say she was on her way. We met at Burger King and decided to go to the Trout for lunch. I'm pretty sure we spent at least twice the amount of time talking as we did eating. I hadn't seen her since just after Christmas and missed her so much!!!

After we were done eating we decided to go to McDonald's and get some coffee. We used to go to coffee shops all the time in Kalamazoo, but coffee shops are kinda lacking up here (as in they are non-existent). So we drank coffee, ate brownie melts, talked, took a bunch of pictures, talked some more and then realized that it was almost five. She had to drive back to Kalamazoo so we reluctantly said goodbye and she headed home.

It was so great having time to catch up with her! And we have plans to get together Easter weekend, not too far away! :) I'm so happy that I made the decision to put all that stuff behind me and not let any of it ruin our friendship. I can honestly say I am happy for her and that I am even happier that we made it though all that stuff.

After saying goodbye I headed back to my house. On my way, I stopped at the fire station. I needed to do the weekly air station run and I still needed to clean up my mess from when I made Jello shots. Oh man, it was a mess, and I waited to clean it up so there was hardened Jello stains on the counter. Ugh. At least I left it cleaner than it was when I started making stuff.

When I got home I watched some TV, finished my fire homework and went to bed.

Photos:

Day 346:

our coffees and brownies.

Day 346:

different lip ring, so I could try the new lip gloss. :)

Thursday I got up and got ready. I had told Jason (my brother, that's who you can assume Jason is unless I specify otherwise) that I would go over to his house and help him with his homework and help him study for our HazMat exam. I got over there around two. He worked on his homework while I studied, then we studied some more for the exam before heading to class.

We had our lecture, then we had our HazMat exam. Thank goodness it was open book! That stupid thing sucked. I mean, I think I would have passed even without the open book. But knowing that I had the right answers made me feel much better, especially since we probably won't have the results for, well, FOREVER! When I was done taking my exam I hung out with the guys and talked while I waited for Jason to finish his. Then we went to his house and I talked to him and my sister-in-law for a while before heading to the Trout. I had decided it was time for me to go out and have some fun again. And I did. :)

Here are the pictures:

Day 347:

all the homework from the first half of the class, minus the first three chapters.

Day 347:

yep.

Friday I got up to realize I lost my wallet somewhere the night before. Ugh. So the hunt for it began. I went back to the Trout, I called people that worked at the Trout, I talked to some people I had seen the night before, all without luck. So frustrating! I gave up, went home and wrote the paper that was due at five. While I was working on my paper one of my friends texted me to let me know that they had gotten a hold of my wallet. I guess I had left it at the bar and another friend had picked it up for me. Then I took a nap before heading back out.

I picked up my wallet, then I had to run a couple errands. When I was done, I texted one of my friends to find out how long it would be before they got to the Breakers. He said soon, so I went there and just planned on waiting. Thankfully, when I got there one of the guys from class and his wife were there so I hung out with them while I waited. They left just before the group I was waiting for got there (two hours after they said soon, lol.). We were celebrating a couple birthdays and had a blast doing so.

Pictures:

Day 348:

sam and my latest knitting project.

Day 348:

you can't tell just how late it was in this picture, surprisingly.

Saturday I headed home in the late morning, on my way I stopped at Jason and Shawnia's house and picked up the kids. I told Jason and Shawnia a while ago that I would go out with them Saturday night, so my parents were going to babysit the kids for the night. When I got home, I went to bed. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open and I knew that if I didn't get some sleep it was going to be a bad night.

Luckily, I slept for about five hours! When I got up I had reset my alarm while half asleep, therefore cutting down on my get-ready time. So I hurried up and got ready to go. I was not late getting to Jason and Shawnia's house (for once!). We all rode in the van (they had other friends with them as well) and headed up to Breaker's. The Darwin Project was playing there (the band that Jason manages). So, since we were with the band, we got there around 8 and left after 2. After the bar closed we headed out to an after-party, which was also a lot of fun. We didn't get back to their place until like 530 but we, or at least I, had a lot of fun.

Pictures:

Day 349:

the missing wallet.

Day 349:

nap time.

Sunday I got up and was hanging out at Jason and Shawnia's when it was demanded I make breakfast. Well, demanding that I do something doesn't get you very far, and when that was discovered I was nicely asked to make breakfast. I started to make french toast and bacon, thankfully Megan took over the french toast for me. Something about being up past five in the morning three nights in a row just doesn't lead to a good attention span or thought process. (I was up by eleven every day!)

After I made breakfast (it took a while, there were a lot of people there!), we ate and I watched Accepted with them before heading home. I had a five page paper due at midnight. When I got here I was so tired I couldn't even read. So I decided to take a nap before even attempting my paper. My nap was unfortunately really short, and when I got up I was still really out of it. I didn't ACTUALLY start my paper until like 10, yes 10 pm. I know I'm a huge procrastinator. I finished my paper around 1130. Then I worked on some fire homework and went to bed.

Photos:

Day 350:

my lotion.

Day 350:

when i got out of the shower i put pajamas on and called it a day.

Monday I slept in as late as possible, which wasn't late enough. I woke up feeling like crap (bad cough and sore throat mainly). So I spent the day hanging out on the couch and working on my fire homework and studying. I have started working on studying for the big exam because it is roughly six weeks away and I want to make sure that I have NO problems with it. (And no, I don't USUALLY study ahead of time, I'm more of an "I'll worry about it the night (or morning) before" type of girl.)

I got a shower and headed to class around 530. Class was not all that exciting, it was enjoyable but nothing too special. Then after class I took pop bottles back and did some shopping at Walmart for stuff we needed at the house. After I got home I worked on homework for a bit before calling it a night. (I know, exciting day!)

Photos:

Day 351:

my cough drops.

Day 351:

leaving for class.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I woke up feeling even worse than I did the day before. I started my day by working on some homework. Then Dad got a call from our neighbor to go check his maple sap taps. So, we went over and I drove the tractor out and we checked out his taps. They weren't very full, so we decided to just leave them for another day or two (he's in Florida).

When we got back home I got a shower and got ready to go out to the Dentist. I got my teeth cleaned. :) I love going to the dentist, I love how my teeth feel afterwards. Then again, one of my favorite things to do when getting ready is brushing my teeth. (I know, I'm weird.)

After I was done at the dentist office, I went to Ken's and got some groceries. Then on my way home I stopped at Jason's and dropped off his homework for him. When I got home Dad and I started tapping our trees for making syrup. I'm excited for this season. It is one of the things that I am most excited for now that I'm living up here. :)

When we were done tapping for the day (we ran out of sunlight) we came in the house and I worked on homework. I had an econ exam to take and I also finished my econ homework. And I got my fire homework for Thursday done. Then I spent some time studying while watching Biggest Loser and Parenthood (I have to say I like Parenthood, a lot.) before heading to bed.

Pictures of the Day:

Day 352:

one of the trees we tapped has barbed wire in it.

Day 352:

don't you love my awesome gloves??

♥ Sara

Random Fact of the Day:

Tourists visiting Iceland should know that tipping at a restaurant is considered an insult!

"There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good." -Edwin Denby

Recovered.

Sunday I got up around 9. Yes, 9 in the morning. Ugh. I really needed my sleep but I couldn't sleep and when I was sleeping I was having weird dreams, so I was content giving up on my sleep at 9. I was half out of it through the entire day, but I had to get my homework done because I had neglected it, all of it, the entire week. I had too much stuff going on with the party and fire stuff that I didn't even bother trying to mess with it. And I had been dreading Sunday all week because of it.

I didn't even bother getting dressed Sunday. I spent the entire day sitting in front of my computer working on my homework. Well I did take a couple breaks to do stuff online (like blogging) or watch a little TV (read: take a short nap, ya'll know I don't really watch TV much). I did get my homework all done by like 9. Then I wasn't so tired, just out of it. So I did stuff online and edited some pictures and all that fun stuff. I finally gave in around midnight and went to bed.

Pictures:

Day 343:

delicious.

Day 343:

man, I can't wait until I can have a day where I don't shower AND don't have to take pictures.

Yesterday I finally got some sleep. I slept in past 11, yes, I took sleep aids. It was necessary. I was exhausted. My feet still hurt like crazy. I spent my afternoon not doing a whole lot of anything. I picked up some of my stuff, took a nap, then got ready for class. I was ready WAY early, so I actually left on time. I took all the cans from the party with me so after class I could take them back.

When I got to class I talked with the guys, it seemed most of them had a comment to make about the Jello shots. I guess I was responsible for a few hangovers, lol. It was weird, Firefighter 2 class started so there were an extra ten or so people there. It was like we were being invaded, lol. Oh well. After class, I talked to the guys for a while, then headed to Walmart.

I told Dad I would return the cans from the Fireman's Ball. We had decided to collect them to enhance our fundraising, I mean that's an extra however much for us. It took me about an hour to return them all. All 804 of them. Walking in was crazy, I'm not good at balancing stuff, and I had SEVEN garbage bags of cans. One of the guys from class and his wife walked in at the same time I did and he was giving me shit about all my cans, the sad part was they did their grocery shopping and left and I still had half of my cans left! Oh well, I think I am officially done with the Fireman's Ball stuff. Until next year! :) And I think I'm pretty much recovered, still a little tired, but my feet don't hurt as bad anymore. Thank goodness.

When I got home, I worked on my fire homework for a few hours before calling it a night and going to bed.

On a side note, I CANNOT believe it is March already. My 365 challenge will be done in 20 days. You can expect the longest blog ever on that day. I will be reading all my old blogs and reflecting on the past year. I can promise that it will be entertaining though. :) And if you haven't yet voted in my poll, do so now, I think there are still a couple days left.

Here are the pictures:

Day 344:

you can't see all of the bags, there are two where kids sit and one more behind the cart.

Day 344:

on the porch before I left for class.

♥ Sara

Random Fact of the Day:

Lemons ripen after you pick them, but oranges do not.

"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute." -Gil Stern

Fireman's Dinner Dance and Auction.

Friday I was supposed to be at the hall at noon to set up for the party but Mom had a doctor's appointment and Dad had to take her in the car, so I was a couple hours late. Which wasn't a big deal because I had homework that was due Thursday night that I had to finish and turn in AND the guys didn't need me that bad, or so I thought.

Dad and I got up to the hall around 2 or 230ish to find out the guys had been freaking out about where I was. My bad, didn't realize I was that important. So I wrote my number down on one of the boxes in case they needed me again and I was missing. We set up tables and chairs, got stuff set up for the raffles, got a final list of business for the thank you posters, sorted out the door prizes and stuff for the auctions, decorated the tables (minus balloons), set up the mystery box, spent some time hanging out and bullshitting, ate pizza and called it a night around 830. (Dad was missing for most of that time because Mom had to go back to the doctor. But I'm perfectly comfortable dealing with the guys on my own.)

We had to run to Walmart to pick up some more poster boards so I could make all the posters that needed to be made for yesterday, so we didn't get home til close to 930. When we got home, I started the posters. I made a total of 15 posters before I was done. Then I needed to make a gift certificate for the mystery box.Once that was done I took my pictures and headed to bed, this was at 145, ugh. Dan called me on my way to bed, so I talked to him for a half hour or so before calling it a night.

Pictures:

Day 341:

the posters for the party.

Day 341:

can you tell I was exhausted?

Yesterday I got up at 6. Yes, 6 in the morning. I didn't sleep well the night before, so at most I was running on 2.5 hours sleep. I got a shower, threw my hair in a ponytail, gathered my stuff to take to the hall and Dad and I headed out. We stopped at our station and loaded the Jello Shots into boxes, then stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's to drop some stuff off. When we got to Indian River, Dad stopped at the Trading Post so I could get a couple energy drinks. Then he dropped me off at class.

Class was class, nothing too exciting. Afterwards, Zach gave me a ride to the K of C Hall so I could help set stuff up. While I was there, the guys filled the balloons, I put out the confetti, hung up my signs, filled out all the sheets for the silent auction, ripped off starter tickets and just generally made sure everything was in order.

When everything was set, Dad and I headed home so we could get ready for the party. I gathered a couple things I needed to take back for the evening, got my shower, fixed my hair and makeup, found a cute outfit and headed back up to the hall.

The entire week my hair has been in a ponytail, I've been dressed in holey jeans and t-shirts, and yesterday morning I didn't even wear makeup, so when I walked in there were a couple comments about what happened to me and how good I looked. I appreciated hearing that from the guys, you have to understand how they usually treat me to understand, lol. For the hour and a half or so we had until people started showing up we set up some more stuff and just hung out and talked to people.

Before the people started showing up, I got an apron on and got ready to sell tickets and I stood and talked to the bartender until I needed to work. Jason, my brother, was one of the first people to show up so Dad got him working selling tickets as well. The cocktail hour was CRAZY for ticket sales. We were so busy! Thankfully, one of the guys from my class was there and happened to be hanging out talking to me, so I asked him pretty please to help me and promised him he could continue to drink while he was helping, so he agreed. I would have been in trouble without him!

Once dinner started it was much better. Dad took a break and ate, then Jason did, then I finally did, just before they put the food away. I think I tasted a couple bites. Then I went back to work. I ran the raffle tickets until they did the final drawings, turned in my money then got change so I could start selling Jello Shots. I went to the back and started setting up my trays. The bartender came back and helped me set them up and offered to keep them full for me through the night. I ended up not taking him up on that offer because I really liked one tray more than the rest and enjoyed the two minute break in the cooler while filling them up. But I did appreciate his help.

When the auction started, I started selling the Jello Shots. And this is where my night got fun. I mean, really, if you know me, you know how much I love talking to people, how much I love giving them shit. So, walking around talking to people and trying to sell them alcohol was perfect for me. Plus, I got a few confidence boosts throughout the night, which after my week, was good for me. It seemed to be the tables that were my repeat customers really liked me and I ended up doing a bunch of Jello Shots with them, thankfully Dad was driving. I sold the majority of the Jello Shots by 1130. The band ended at 12, so I started marking them down severely and selling them to my repeat customers, the ones that I thoroughly enjoyed throughout the night. And I ended up dancing with one of the guys at one of the tables because he was the only one without a date and his friends were heckling us while I was trying to cut a deal. Once I quit selling, I still had about a half of box left (I'm guessing under 100 of them) so I started handing them out and talking and bullshitting.

When I was out of Jello shots I stood at the bar and talked to the bartender for a while while Dad picked up the cans and packed up our hoses. I had worked all effing day and was not cleaning up as well. We didn't have to clean up but we had to take our stuff with us, ya know? The guys all left to go to the bar, Dad wasn't interested in going, so we didn't. We came home and as soon as I took my shoes off I knew I was in trouble. My feet hurt so bad. I talked to Mom for a minute or two before heading to bed. I was, and am, SO tired.

I was so happy the party went so well. I know we made quite a bit of money, which was the point of it. Everything I did went smoothly. I loved hanging out with all the people that were there and I got to meet some awesome people as well. Between the way the party went and the fire earlier in the week, my week has been going great, which is the exact opposite as I was expecting. :)

Photos:

Day 342:

before the party started.

Day 342:

also before the party started.

♥ Sara
Random Fact of the Day:
One acre of peanuts will make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.

"At every party there are two kinds of people - those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other." -Ann Landers