Correctional Peace Officer's Foundation Project 2000 XIX

Shawn and I went to San Francisco to be part of the Correctional Peace Officer's Foundation Project 2000 XIX. This annual weekend is set aside each year to honor correctional professionals who have been killed or died while in the line of duty. This awesome organization also honors fallen correctional professionals (CP's) who have died while supporting our current wars. As if those aren't amazing enough CP's who are assulted or are experiencing various catastraphic events in their lives are also helped and honored. There are training symposiums, gatherings, meals, bonding and healing (hopefully). One thing for sure is this is a huge extended family...Shawn and I are proud and honored to say that our friend base if not our family base has grown...tremendously...while at Project we were asked to assist escorting the family of Sgt. Stephen Anderson from the Utah Department of Corrections. Millie Anderson, Steve's wife is the most amazing woman. She is graceful and sweet, friendly and funny. We so enjoyed her company as well as the company of her son Shawn and his wife Jackie and Millie's daughter Michelle and her husband Ted. Being with this family for Project made it much more special and powerful than I already knew it would be. I will likely come back and post additional comments from this weekend, but for now I will let this little bit and the pictures speak for themselves.

The testing is over...

I have now completed both phase 1 and phase 2 of the Captain's test I have been taking since April 30th and studying for much longer. I am pleased to announce that I have passed...although not at well as Iwould have hoped. I scored an 86 which places me 31st statewide. I have no idea where that places me at my complex as they only give statewide results not geographic. I only listed myself eligible for Buena Vista. I know the other person who passed from BV is ranked 17th but there might not be anyone between he and I so I could potentially get an interview since they do the top 3 geographically. That being said...there are not any positions in BV right now either so the list could whittle down some before we have an opening. There are some potentials but there has to be some movement first. I am just glad it is all over and the experience was cool. I love what I am doing right now, so I am good either way and there is always next year as this list will only be good for a year~and I have 18 left before I can retire...so I have lots of options! Thank you to everyone who prayed for me and sent good thoughts through this process.

I probably won't be getting any scrapping done until the SWARM June 20-23. I take over Duty Officer Thursday at noon so I will be on call 24/7 until I leave for San Francisco on the morning of the 12th. I actually am supposed to still be DO on the 12th but my partner is going to cover for me! Whoo hoo! Shawn and I will return very early in the morning on the 16th and I am taking that day off too. Then it's just 3 work days until the SWARM, so I likely will get nada, zero, ziltch done! Oh well, 4 days of scrapping coming up. I can't wait!

TTFN!

New Cards!

Today I played some...tomorrow I have to clean and study. The card with the crown is for a friend at work and the rest are cards for the St. Jude challenge on the Cricut board. Thanks for looking! I had a bunch of fun making these.

Test, test, test!

I haven't gotten much scrapping done this month. Partially I am in a creative slump. I have been stuck on my Columbine Memorial pages. I really wanted these pages to be beautiful! I am beginning to decide that the beauty this time is totally in the pictures. I don't think I will try and top that.

I also have been studying for a promotional exam. I took the written section on April 30th and found out late last week that I passed the first portion! Whoo hoo! Today I found out that I will have my oral boards portion on May 29th! Pray for me. In the meantime, I probably won't be scrapping much.

TTFN!!!

Look MOM!!!

BEFORE....

AND AFTER...

BACK!!!

The pictures of me suck, but I wanted you to see the transformation...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!

And to all the wonderful Mom's that read my blog! You are all very, very special ladies!

Long time no blog & new cards!!!

This is a sympathy card I made for a dear friend. His father had just passed away. I used Jasmine for the sentiment on 2 3/4. The stamped image in heat embossed. The flower on the ribbon is also stamped and then cut out.

My nail tech (and friend) got married a couple of weeks ago. The only Cricut on the card is the diamond shape that the sentiment is on, but the background is Cuttlebug.

I have been away from my blog for a while now. Not that I wanted to but I have been so busy. Plus my life is pretty boring so...anyway, I took a bit of a break from scrappin and crafting while I prepared for a promotional exam at work. I have completed what I hope will be a first phase for me. I hope to know if I go on to an oral board phase in the next week or so. I am not as worried about this phase. Some people say I can talk! HA!!! We also had an audit at work this week which is a yearly thing, but a busy time nonetheless and if that isn't enough, it was also Correctional Employees Appreciation week. This was my last event as the Employee Council President for my facility, so I really tried to take the lead on the daily events. I will miss the Council but am ready to move on to other "extra curricular" activities. I will be submitting my application to join the CIRT team which stands for Critical Incident Response Team. If I am selected as a member of this team I will respond to incidents in our facilities that fall under the decleration of Critical Incident and for lack of a better way to put it, I will be a peer counselor. I hope this works out for me as I have wanted to do this for a long time.

Since I last posted, Shawn and I have been invited to the CPO Foundation (Correctional Peace Officer), Project 2000, in San Fransico, CA. We will go from June 12-15 to this annual event where correctional professionals who have made the untimate sacrafice are honored and memorialized. This will be my second such event as I was invited two years ago when it was held in St. Louis. We are quite excited.

School is beginning to wind down for the kids. Shelby is still struggeling with her grades and missed out on a field trip yesterday because she didn't have a C in all of her classes. She was disappointed and I hope she will learn from this consequence. She sure is exerting her independence, IE being a pain in the A**!!! For now I am dreaming that she is going through this as an almost 12 year old, so that she won't when she is 16 and 17~don't you dare take this dream away from me! Hee, hee!

Today I will be working on my cards for the Royal Gorge SWARM. I can't post them now since they are a secret but I assure you I will be having fun!