Sorry, it's been well over a month since I last updated this blog! Well first off, Happy Thanksgiving & Merry Christmas! Past tense of course....at least I can say Happy New Year before it happens!
Well the reason probably why I was not able to update was that it was Toy Bank season, and things really get hectic for me. Its a very fast paced time of year for me and it goes by so quickly. This year we helped approx 85 families have a Christmas, that may not of had anything otherwise. New this year, we assisted 10 of those families with giving them a gift card to the local supermarket as well as a gift basket. It's truly a wonderful feeling I get when doing this program each year. Although it stresses me to the MAX, I still enjoy doing it. There were several occasions that I bite my dad's head off a bit, but who doesn't ....hehehe, my dad knows first hand all that goes on, so I am sure that he is a very understanding man.
My own holidays this year were lovely. Thanksgiving was great. Even better was the Black Friday shopping the day after with Tabs. Although there was nothing stellar out there for deals, we did manage to put a good dent in our Holiday shopping! Christmas came quickly this year, and for the first time ever I was out on the day before Christmas Eve trying to finish up my own shopping! (I worked a 24 hr shift on Christmas Eve, so I wasn't able to go out then). I spent this Christmas with my own family, and then in the afternoon made my way north to Ben's mother's house, in Maine for an afternoon Christmas and dinner there. Which was absolutely lovely there! All in all a fun holiday season!
So since early September we have been down a dispatcher at work. That means that in the past 3 months we have only had 3 people to work 24/7. I am a bit burnt out of work. On top of that HCAPS, the doctor's office that I work part time for, has wanted me more hours and at another location. So in all I am a bit burnt out, and cannot wait for the FD to hire someone so that I can use my days off as just that DAYS OFF! The new dispatcher has a start date of January 15th. And hopefully she likes it and will stay! That would mean that I get some much deserved and needed time off. See, the shifts that are open and need covering all fall on my regular 4 days off, they do not overlap one another. So when I work extra, its on my days off.
And this month was unique, in that we had a terrible ice storm early in the month. My apartment in Kingston was without power for 4 days, and without cable another 2 days. And since Hampton was hit just as hard, I was called in for extra coverage. So I practically lived at work for those first few days. When I was home, I would sleep during the day, which I typically do not do. After the ice storm, we had two back to back heavy snow storms, which left the area with about 14-16 inches of snow. Then this week, we've had warm weather, in fact on Sunday it was up near 60 degrees! Which basically got rid of all the snow. Gotta love this New England weather! lol. Then on top of that, a few days after we got power back the furnace in our apartment building went (in the middle of one of the snowstorms) and we were without heat and hot water for another 2 days! We went out and bought some space heaters though, which made it a bit more bearable.
I was sick for Christmas, Christmas Eve I was so miserable, a) I was at work for 24 hours straight, and b) I had a full blown cold and was miserable! I think I got sick because of staying in my apartment with no heat or power for several days, working too many shifts, and stressing about Toy Bank, I think the trifecta made my immune system weak that it just got sick. But I am much better now.
I am looking forward to New Year's Eve and spending the night with Ben and hopefully some of my friends. Then January is Nichole's Baby Shower, my Girl's Night In party, and a Rhode Island Christmas! And then in February I am flying down to Georgia (well Nashville, TN) to see my cousin Amy and spend a few days with her! I miss her so much and I am looking forward to seeing her. I have a lot to look forward to and a lot to be thankful for.
I wish you all the best in 2009!
