{partners in crime}: February 2011

RUIndy Fit Photo Contest!

In January I told you about how a bunch of us at work were participating in the RUIndy Fit Program at the University. Remember we were calling our team Arrested Development!!! Well, we are about a month into our 10,000 steps a day program and as a group we haven't won a darn thing! Obviously, some of the other groups here at UIndy are over achievers! BOO!

Well, not to worry because we have set our sights on winning the RUIndy Fit Photo contest! All the groups have the opportunity to submit a photo that demonstrates what their team is all about! With the help of Jason, our digital marketing manager, we were able to come up with a kick a$$ photo!

Remember the TV show we based our team off of???

Well, below is the UIndy version...

Pretty hilarious huh?

From left to right... Colleen, Cindy, Joe, Carrie, Lois, Heather, Jim, Me, Lora, Valesa, and Jason

(Feel free to click on the pic to enlarge)

Do you think we'll win????

Mileage Monday

Running stats for the week of February 21st - 27th... this week was not anything special. I swear, I really can't believe I even got my bum off the couch to run. This weather just does me in... have I mentioned I can't wait until springtime!

Monday, February 21st, 2011 - 1.5 miles @ a 11:02 minute per mile pace

Friday, February 25nd, 2011 - 1 mile @ a 10:00 minute per mile pace

Sunday, February 27th, 2011 - 1.5 miles @ a 10:39 minute per mile pace

Hopefully, next week I'll step it up a little!

Transitioning...

Written February 16, 2011

Surprisingly, tonight is Dan's last night working at UIndy. He has banked up almost 72 hours of holiday time and they are wanting him to use it before he starts at Lawrence. So... he will be getting 9 days off with pay!!! Can you say... JEALOUS! This isn't even counting the lump sum of money he'll get for all of his unused vacation time!!! I can't complain though because I'll be so happy to have him home with Remington and I for a while :) He needs to go and get his new uniforms and all the other odds and ends soon so he'll be more than ready for his first day. In the meantime, I'm putting together a "to do list" for him to get some stuff done around the house on his "vacation time."

Written February 17, 2011

Today, Dan went to Jenkin's (a uniform shop for public safety gear) to get the list of things he needs for Lawrence. He came home with several bags full of stuff....

New set of boots...

New holster...

All new stuff for his duty belt...

Windbreaker...

Reversible Rain Jacket...

Inside of the jacket...

Winter Alaskan Trooper Hat... haha

New uniforms...

Duty bag...

Duty belt and a curious Bear

I think he was in awe of the awesome quality of all the stuff he got :) Spending money is not a worry for this department.

Written February 18, 2011

Today Dan met the guy who is being hired on with him. His name is Brandon. They will be sworn in together, but Brandon will still have to go to the academy before he is able to start. However, he has worked as a Reserve for Lawrence for like 8 years or something. He was able to give Dan more of the inside scoop to things. There is a rumor of them being started out on seconds. That is the nightmare shift for me. This pretty much means that Dan and I will NEVER get to see each other. UHHHHGGG! The thought of it is heartbreaking. However, for Remington's sake I'm happy about this shift. If he would work firsts it would mean that Remington would be by himself all day long... so this way would work better for our sweet dog. Never in a million years did I think that I would be praying for Dan to be on thirds. Yeah, it has its ups and downs too, but it is a heck of a lot better than the others. We will just have to wait and see... I'm hoping that if he has to be on seconds, it will just be for his FTO training for 3 months. Then they could switch him back to thirds!!

Written February 20, 2011

Dan has been busy getting his things together to take back to UIndy. He has to return all his uniforms, firearm, duty belt stuff, taser, winter coat, rain coat, radio, and campaign hat. We have been slowing getting all those things together and loading them into his car. He has also been dealing with the Human Resources office at UIndy. I guess his resignation letter was never sent to them by Dan's chief so everyone is scrambling trying to figure out what is going on and what all needs to be done. It is moments like these when you get a good sense of how unorganized that school is. It's hard to know what to say when Human Resources calls me to see what's going on... I mean shouldn't they be calling Dan or his department???

Written February 21, 2011

Even though I love having Dan home, here's my one complaint. Our bed is getting pretty crowded. We have a king size bed, which would be plenty for Dan and I... but when you throw Remington into the picture it seems to shrink dramatically. Since Dan usually isn't with us at night, Remington and I enjoy our own separate sides of the bed. But since Dan has been home for the past few days and Remington insists on sleeping with us, I have not been sleeping well. I seem to be getting about a foot of bed space to sleep on while Remington and Dan get the rest. I think we may need to make some new sleeping arrangments soon if this keeps up :)

Written February 26, 2011

These past few days have been pretty quiet. I can't tell you how many times Dan has mentioned that he can't wait to start this new job. Maybe its just me, but I'm pretty sure sitting around all day relaxing is something I wouldn't be ready to give up. But of course, that isn't Dan's outlook. He absolutely loves his job and all the adventures that come with it. He's pretty lucky for that. He has been slowly but surely getting all of his stuff together for his first day. I usually can find him organizing and reorganizing all his police stuff so he can get things "just right". He has also been studying maps of Lawrence. Hopefully that will help him find things a lot easier around there, but I'm sure it will take a while. Remington and I have been enjoying our time with him as much as possible. Once he moves to seconds all that quality time will disappear.

This is where I found them today... I hate to think how much Remington will miss Dan when he goes back to work! He has definitely grown accustomed to a full 24 hours a day with him.

Next Lawrence update will be after Dan's Swearing In Ceremony!!! We are both looking forward to it :)

Mileage Monday

Running stats for the week of February 14th - 20th... can you say AWESOME! That's right... awesome runs, awesome weather, and an awesome week! This week was the first time since probably October that I have been outside to run! Even though it is still February outside I have been sporting shorts and T-shirts on my runs for most of the week. I cannot say enough about how good it feels to get outside again and breathe fresh air! Now if it would only stay this way...

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 - 1 mile @ a 10:00 minute miles pace

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 - 1.73 miles @ a no clue what pace because I didn't clock myself since I was so busy just enjoying my run!

Sadly, by the end of the week it was pretty chilly out... I retreated back to my bed to hibernate!

Busy Busy Saturday!

Most weekends in the Rhoton household are pretty quiet. We usually spend that time picking up around the house, catching up on some much needed rest from our long weeks, and doing homework. This weekend was a little different in that we actually had people come visit us and got to enjoy being out and about with them :)

Saturday morning Mom and Dad Fowler came down to Indy for the day. They haven't had the chance to come see us in a while because they have been so bogged down with work and the weather has been so crappy! I was sooo excited to see them!!! We all went out for lunch like we usually do, but then the boys split up and went their way while the girls split up and went theirs.

Mom and I went shopping at the Mall. Well, I guess I wouldn't exactly call it shopping... we didn't get anything... but mostly just browsed the stores. I did however want to get something for Dan's Swearing In Ceremony during the beginning of March, so I was on the lookout for a new shirt or something, but never found anything I REALLY wanted.

Dad and Dan went shooting... yes, I said shooting!!! LOL! Since Dan got this new job he will be switching the type of gun he carries. Because of that, he had around 200 rounds of bullets he needed to use up that he bought for his old gun. Anyways, he asked Dad if he wanted to go to the shooting range with him to get rid of them :) Surprisingly, Dad was pretty excited about going with him and I think he enjoyed himself! I'm sure he would much rather spend time with Dan than walking around the Mall with Mom and I! HEHE!

Here are the guys with their targets!!

Mom and Dad ended up leaving in the late afternoon... Hopefully, once the weather gets nicer they will be able to come see us more often :)

On Saturday evening, Dan and I were going out with a bunch of the police officers he works with and some of their wives. I guess you could kind of call it Dan's farewell dinner. We all went out to Shallo's. It is a little whole in the wall bar, but is oh so good!!!

Here's the whole group of us!

Dan and I...

The Dishman's... Jeff and Jen

The Musselman's... Matt and Jennifer

The Cutcliff's... Lindsey and Keith! And of course Lashawn!

After dinner, we all headed down to Fountain Square and did some Duck Pin Bowling. It was a pretty fun and comical!

Here's the entrance...

And our lanes...

We really enjoyed ourselves on Saturday with all the activities going on. Hopefully, we will get to do it again sometime soon! HAPPY SATURDAY!

Breaking out the Bikilas!

The temperatures hit 65 degrees today! It was awesome out! Once I got home... I grabbed the leash and off Remington and I went for a walk outside! He was sooooo happy trotting along smelling all the new smells. I even jogged with him a little bit. I'm going to try to build up his stamina so he can go running with me this summer! He is the perfect runner partner! He keeps up with me, doesn't talk, and I just enjoy his company.

After I finished with his walk, I decided to break out the Bikilas for a run outside! They haven't seen the pavement since October! I cannot tell you how good it felt to run outside! No sweaty people on treadmills or waiting for 30 minutes to get my workout in. It was all at my own pace and I got to enjoy all the sights and sounds that go along with being outside. I wish the temperatures would stay like this, but I have a feeling that it will get cold again...

Hopefully my lovely Bikilas get to see another few days of pavement!!!

Welcome to the Lawrence PD!

Written December 14, 2010

I don't know when I will officially be able to come out and tell the world this awesome news... but I know by the time I'm able to that the newness will have worn off and the excitement will have died down! So I figured that I would write this up now and post it when I can so you all can savor in how happy we are! Are you ready for the news yet????

Drum roll please......

After being in the process for almost a year and a half, Dan got a call last night from the Chief of Lawrence's Police Department letting him know that he will be hired on with them at the beginning of the new year! We are so incredibly excited! It seems like we have been waiting for this day to come for ages and now it has all paid off! Right now he still needs to go through a few more things like the MMPI, a small fitness test, etc. to be offered a conditional offer, but if that all goes smoothly there should be no problems!!! It sounds like things should move along fairly quickly. We really could not ask for a better Christmas present than this!!!

Even though I am sooooo ecstatic over this news... it does make me a little worried as well. Even though Dan has been a police officer for the past 3 years... this will be a new area for him with a lot more people and a lot more trouble for him to get into. I know this only excites him more about this job opportunity, but I can't help but pray that he stays safe out there. However, this is what he loves to do and I have to trust that God will keep him safe for me :)

Written December 21, 2010

We still have not received any updates about Lawrence. Dan is getting a bit nervous because of this I believe. However, we've heard that this isn't unusual with the holidays upon us. I guess we will just keep patiently waiting, like the patient people we are... HAHA! I mean, we have only been waiting for this job for a year and a half....

Written January 10, 2011

Dan finally heard from Lawrence today. He is scheduled for a full testing day on January 19th. While there he will do his MMPI evaluation (to make sure he isn't crazy or a serial killer) and then they will do a full blown medical exam on him. They'll do blood work, check eyes, hearing, etc. They told him they are in the process of writing a conditional offer up. YAY! Things are finally progressing!

Written January 18, 2011

Dan had to stop by the Lawrence Police Department today so he could pick up some paperwork he needs to fill out before his testing day tomorrow. While there he found some good information out! If all goes well he has an expected start date of Feb. 1st or Feb. 16th! This is very exciting news for us! He will get a take home car almost right away, which was a bit of a surprise because we thought it would be at least 6 months. And he will have 12 weeks of FOT (Field Officer Training) before he is on his own. I personally think that the biggest challenge for him will be getting to know the area, since we are not from around there. He said that I will love Lawrence. The city is right around the Ft. Harrison area... which I'm kind of obsessed with right now :) I really would love to live in that area :) More info to come as the days pass by....

Written January 19, 2011

Things went well for Dan today. It was a long day for him... he was in there at 8:30 a.m. and didn't leave until 3:30 p.m. Lots of tests and medical exams it sounds like. He should get his written test results back in 3 days and the medical ones in 10 days. They will automatically be sent to Lawrence. We will just have to see what happens. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Written January 24, 2011

Dan got a call today from Lawrence. They are making him go through a Physical Fitness test. We didn't think he was going to have to do one, but since it has been almost 2 years since his last one they thought he probably should. The good news is that he probably passed all the Psych. portions if they are continuing on with the process!

Written February 8, 2011

Dan's fitness test has been set up for this Friday at 2:00 p.m... I think we are now looking at a start date of March 1st if all goes well. This has seriously been the longest process of our lives! Let's get this thing started for heaven's sake!

Written February 11, 2011

The fitness test is today. We were in hopes that they would find a place for Dan to do it inside, but no such luck. He has to tough it out outside. BLAH! The test will include a 1.5 mile run, 300 meter sprint, 25 pushups, 29 situps in 60 seconds, and an 18 inch vertical jump. Doesn't sound too difficult, but you would be surprised just how many people don't pass it. Plus, doing those runs in the brutal cold will have a negative impact on his time I'm sure. I'll be saying a little prayer for him today at 2:00!

Written February 15, 2011

Dan passed his physical with flying colors. I guess they ended up letting him do the test inside the Lawrence Fire Station. All I can say is its better than outside in the cold and on the ice. With that out of the way there is nothing left but to wait until we hear something. Sounds familiar doesn't it. The Merit Board had a meeting on Monday night so we are hoping the phone will ring soon. Not only for our benefit, but for the benefit of this post... it is getting pretty lengthy!!!!

Written February 15, 2011 at 3:21 p.m.

It's official.... HE GOT THE JOB!!!!! Start date March 1st! Congratulations Officer Rhoton!!!! Lawrence here we come :)

Mileage Monday is BACK!

Yes, Mileage Mondays are coming back after being lost for the past 2 months! I know... you're proud of me right! I've finally decided to jump back on the "running wagon" after not doing a gosh darn thing in months. Why you ask?? Well, I recently got pulled over for speeding (don't worry I didn't get a ticket) and as I was pulling out my license to give it to the officer, something flashed before my eyes... 105 lbs... yes, this was my weight the last time I got a new license which was probably a little less than a year and a half ago!!!! I'm sad to say that this number is no longer correct! In fact it is WAY off now. I have put on probably a little over 20 lbs in that time period!!! Can you believe that!!!

Well, things are gonna start changing! My goal is to lose this weight in the next four months or so. I figure 5 lbs per month isn't too steep of a goal. I'm watching what I eat very closely and I'm gonna start working out hard core again not only to lose this extra FAT, but to get back into the shape I use to be in. It's not going to be easy... but nothing worth it ever is! So far after a week of this I've lost 4 whole pounds!

I'll keep you posted on my progress!

No Strings Attached!

There's nothing better than getting a half day off work Friday... except maybe your bestest bud getting it off too!

Seriously, how lucky are Myla and I to end up with time off work together! Well, we certainly didn't waste it that's for sure! We had a plan of attack already in place... late lunch at Bravo's and then off to see No Strings Attached!

It was okay... not as great as I was expecting, but it didn't matter cause I got some quality time with Myla! There were tons of kids at the theater excited to see Justin Beiber's Never Say Never! It was pretty crazy... I decided to get a picture with the 16 year old (or whatever his age is)!

We look good together... lol

Sadly, Myla refused this bit of childish behavior :)

Rhotwins at 7 months

My brother in-law sent us some recent pics of the twins, Blakely and Max, and of course I couldn't resist sharing them with you all!

I just can't get over what a pretty baby Blakely is...

And then there's Max... I see so much of his Dad in him.

It's funny how you can love two babies so much without ever meeting them...

We hope to see you soon Max and Blakely!!!

V-day Sushi and Necklace

For Valentine's Day Dan and I really don't do much. It's kind of one of those holidays that we think was made up just so companies could get more money. I know, we're so romantic right? The one thing we do like to do though on special occasions is get sushi! YUM!

Since our schedules are so hard to coordinate we ended up having our V-day celebration on Wednesday night. We didn't even eat in the restaurant, but instead just got take out from there. It was so good and I loved every minute of it!

A little piece of heaven...

Dan taking his first bite!

Here's me and my vegetarian sushi!

Remington was very interested in this stuff. Don't worry... it looks like he is touching it, but he is far from :)

Dan also got me a necklace that I really wanted...

It's a sideways cross necklace. You would wear it at an angle. I really love it not only because it's a cross, but because it is different :)

Something like this :)

I hope everyone else enjoys their Valentine's Day!!!

Rhoton Randomness!

Okay, I know I have been slacking on my posts lately. Personally, when it is this cold outside I don't do much, which means I don't have a lot to talk about! Today the temperature was 10 degrees when I came into work this morning! BRRRR! However, I think that I may have something to look forward to... I heard on the news we are suppose to hit 45 degrees on Sunday. This may mean that the snow will actually melt and I will be able to take my dog on a walk! Wouldn't that be nice? :) Remington thinks so.

Mostly this week has been about work, school, and running. I have been quite perturbed about all the people at the gym lately. I have had to wait for 30 minutes for a treadmill to open up recently. I'm guessing the busyness has to do with people trying to stick with their New Year's Resolutions and possibly people training for the Mini Marathon in May... but come on... I'm getting tired of running around 40 other sweaty people on treadmills! YUCK! Even when I leave, I see people circling the parking lot trying to find a spot.

Another new development in the Rhoton household is that Remington has finally claimed his spot on the couch. When we first got Remington I made a rule that he would not sleep in the bed with us and he would not be allowed on the furniture. Of course, rules are meant to be broken and at 6 months old he was sleeping in bed with us regularly. Just recently, I made the mistake of letting him up on the couch upstairs. He has now decided that he belongs there... sigh... of course I don't have the heart to tell him no.

Remington squished in between Dan and I on the couch.

And of course, here he is in his usual spot... between Dan and I in bed :)

What's a Mom to do? That's all for this edition of Rhoton Randomness!

Remington turns 2!

Today we celebrated Remington Bear's Birthday! My little boy turned 2 years old today! Can you believe it! He is growing up so fast! We had a pretty quite celebration since Dan had to work tonight. He needed to get some sleep before he went in, so we didn't have any wild parties like last year! Here is how Remington's day went...

Remington woke up with a phone call from his Grandma Fowler wishing him a Happy Birthday. It was so cute because when my mom said, "Happy Birthday Remington!" his tail started wagging like crazy!

Once we got up for the morning, Remington had received a Birthday Card in the mail from his Great Grandma Fowler! The card wished him a Happy Birthday and even had $5 in it for him to use to get a treat! Thanks Great Grandma!

Then Dan and I decided to give him his presents. We got him a new bean bag because his old one has recently ripped and all the little balls had started coming out of it! He was pretty excited to see this brand new blue one!

"I love my new bean bag!"

But that wasn't all Remington Bear got!!! Dan and I also had ordered him a gigantic antler! He loves these things and they clean his teeth really well!!!! Had to take this picture so you could see just how BIG it was!

"A new antler!! YAY!"

"YUMMY!"

Bear spent the rest of his afternoon lounging on his new bean bag and chewing on his antler!

In the evening, after dinner, it was time for Birthday Cake! We always get our cakes at Belle Dog Bakery! They do an awesome job and make them out of all natural ingredients that have been approved safe for dogs :)