Putting Out Fires

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Rotors Turning

Oh man. I had the MOST exciting day. Through work I know a pilot who took me on a helicopter ride today! We were out for an hour and a half cruising over the desert. Arizona is so beautiful and complex from the sky. We went out the Salt River, the Verde River, out by Saguaro lake, out towards Sycamore creek, and over the open desert. It was just gorgeous. The desert is so dry but you could see millions of little fingers making their way where water had run. The saguaros looked so tiny, and you could barely make out crisscrossings of animal tracks in the riverbeds. It was so thrilling!

Is it stupid that I'm having issues adjusting to my new fancy blog home? I was so used to my little grey site with the picture of the firefighters I took on top. I'm a little overwhelmed, and a little uninspired.

I don't talk about cooking much here, which is kind of silly because I'm a little obsessed. Amazingly, Ryan and I are equal in how often when cook, which is so great. He is a BBQ expert and a master of marinades. I specialize in things that are so complicated that I get flustered and stressed. But it almost always turns out alright! Besides making dinners, I love to bake. Cakes are what I seem to do most, and since I don't actually eat them myself, the firefighters always benefit. Hey! I figure they deserve it for taking such good care of my man. Yesterday I made my first chiffon cake. After it is baked, you actually take the thing out and flip it upside down and rest it on the neck of a wine bottle for an hour to cool. Isn't that weird? Homemade icing, and it was done. It got rave reviews from the station, but that doesn't mean much because they'll eat anything. ;-) I need a more discerning audience.

My trainer kicked my ass today. I've lost 5 pounds! And that's even with all the muscle I'm putting on, so I'm happy. Sadly though, the 1500 calorie thing is still a struggle. Today I got to dinner and only had 200 calories left. You know what you can eat for 200 calories? An apple and a bowl of lettuce, no dressing. Booo!

I've got photography class tonight, which means I'll have loads of free time to visit all your sites. Happy Wednesday to you!

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Ready for Retirement at 27

Ryan and I went to a retirement party today for my old boss. The man is so wealthy that his investment firm paid for the party. Open bar. Gourmet food. That's my goal: to make so much money over my working life that my investment guy pays for all of my friends to eat and drink for free. So Ryan and I signed ourselves up for a meeting with a financial advisor. Do you have one?

(side note: Ryan and I are so hardcore that we actually went to the gym after wine and food. THAT, my friends, is dedication to the bikini)

Monday, March 27, 2006

Blog Party! You're Invited!

Last night I dreamt about blogging. Should I be concerned about that? I was at a party and most of my Daily Reads were there. I don't know any of these people in real life, and for the most part I don't even know what they look like. But there we all were. With nothing to talk about. Eating Thanksgiving dinner and painfully trying to come up with something other than blogging to talk about. What do you think that means? Who would be at your blog party?

I'm having a really hard time concentrating on serious things lately. My new job start date has been moved up to April 20th (insert pot joke here). Its really hard to keep working in a job I don't love for a boss I hate when that day is floating out there. And right beyond that day... The Florida Keys!

Other than that, my life has been totally changed in the last 3 days. I am now the proud owner of Sirius satellite radio. Which means I now dread mornings when traffic is moving too fast. I'm totally obsessed. Ryan may make fun about how the radio has now taken over the house, but hey! At least the TV's off! How did I live without my Satellite before? 180 channels of bliss. I can listen to anything from Kelly Clarkson (as if I would!) to Larry the Cable Guy, to Miles Davis, to Martha Stewart, to the Eagles. I'm amazed by how many East Coast people wrote me that Satellite hasn't really caught on out there. But just this once I didn't want to be teh last person with the technology. (Ryan and I didn't get a DVD player until my brother gave us one 3 years ago!)

I'm sitting in photography class. Oh come on! Its not like there's anything to actually pay attention to! It's quarter til 9 at night and we haven't really started class yet. We were supposed to start at 7:10. Nothing new there.

Thank you everyone for visiting me at my blog-warming party yesterday! Cheers to many more posts!

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Welcome Home!

Surprise surprise! A new home for Putting Out Fires! Much thanks to Troll Baby Graphics for my great new home.

Also lots of thanks to my hubby Ryan for insisting that I bite the bullet and get a great site.

Because this is a new home, I thought I'd re-introduce myself. My name is Amanda. I'm an engineer in an industry full of men. I have a new-found love of photography and like to include pictures in my posts. I have a husband, Ryan, and I'm a DogMa to Mika and Karma. I love to travel. I live in Arizona and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

My husband is a firefighter, which makes me a Firefighter Wife. My blog is called 'Putting out Fires' because when you're married to a firefighter, you're married to the job and all that entails. When Karen at Troll Baby and I were designing this site (OK, she designed, I merely waited for her emails like a kid waiting for Christmas) I had a hard time with the fact that I'd labled myself this way. Because I'm not first, and foremost, a firefighter wife. I've got a lot to be proud of all on my own. But honestly, being married to someone with such a crazy, sometimes scary, unpredictable, ever-changing schedule job really forces you to live the life. I spend my free time trying to balance our life with his job. Putting out Fires. So while I'm a strong women with a strong sense of self all on my own, there's no denying the firefighting part of my life.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me. Take a seat and stay awhile...

about me

CLICK HERE to visit my wedding, portrait, and event business website

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Name: atpanda

Location: Mesa, Arizona, United States

I'm Amanda. I'm an engineer in an industry full of men, a professional wedding and family portrait photographer, a firefighter's wife, a traveler, and a dogMa.

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