I have found that my little girl is quite the expressive one. She goes through a myriad of emotions in her sleep as well as a number of expressions while we experience the world together. Here are a few of her "moments".
This was taken when Katie and I walked into a store. I would love to say that she was taking in the sights, but honestly I think she was taking care of business. Notice the red face :P
This must have been a happy dream.
Kiya smiles. I took this as I was blogging. She was sitting on my lap smiling at me when I would look at her.
Peaceful Sleeper
Furrowed Brow
I can't remember what I did here. I think I stopped breastfeeding for a moment.
Sweet Angel
Unhappy Camper. She was hungry, I was tired and NO ONE was getting any sleep.
About Me
- Mel
- California, United States
- I'm the wife of a firefighter, a mother of two wonderful kids and a full time employee with a crazy busy life. But hey, at least I'm not bored :)
From that time on we spent every moment together until she moved to Santa Monica :( I was heartbroken, but of course we kept in touch and continue to throughout our life courses. It's funny as we have a lot of similarities. We both have the same first and middle name. Our parents both have the same names, and when we met our mom's drove the same car, same year, just different colors. We are both left handed, and have quirky senses of humor.
I guess that's where most of the similarities stop...she is a lot more outgoing than I am, has a lot more confidence and is worldly (she's traveled a lot more than I have and even lived for a few years in another country to absorb the language). Of course, Melissa is MUCH shorter than me (probably 5'2 or 5'3), petite, she has dark hair and looks like an Estee Lauder model. She is super intelligent, and has that New York Chic thing going on. She is the Godmother to my son, and I am the Godmother to hers. I love Melissa! It's funny because every time we call each other we always say. "Hey, It's the other Melissa." Or "Hey Melissa, it's the other one".
Anyways, Melissa, her husband Mark and my Godson Gabe came over a few weeks ago. It was GREAT seeing them, and hanging out the whole day. Gabe has gotten so big now and is the spitting image of Mark, but with facial expressions and nuances of Melissa. The perfect combo. :)
Caiden and Gabriel in the jeep
Cade and Gabe in the jeep. Gabe loved it!!
Taking a quick H20 break after some bike riding
Kiya all bundled up :)
Since I was pregnant with Kiya my back has been killing me. In fact, around Christmas when I decorated the house, I couldn't move for two days. No lying...couldn't move. I could barely get off the bed to go to the bathroom.
Well, I thought that post baby, my back problems would be gone. Unfortunately this was not the case as this past weekend proved. Again, I was struck down in pain and was unable to move for two days. This time I didn't have any strenuous activity that preceded this latest episode. I was in so much pain that I nearly cried, and if you know me you know I was raised NOT to cry. One should not show weakness, but "man up".
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I drove to Huntington Beach and went to my chiropractor. I ended up hitting traffic, and was probably not the most pleasant person (just ask Michael Chapman as he was on the phone with me as I was driving there). Every time I hit the brakes my back KILLED. Finally I made it!
Five to ten minutes after I arrived at the Chiropractor's office I was able to move. He told me that my pelvis expanded in preparation for childbirth, but did not go back to the correct station or place. *Of course it didn't* He said that because it didn't go back properly it caused inflammation of the tissues which is why I was laid up for a few days. He cheerfully popped me back in place and even though it hurt for the brief moment that he popped it back in, it was like instant relief. I could actually stand up whereas I was walking around a bit hunched because I couldn't quite stand all of the way up. He then told me I needed to go walk around for a bit before I got back in the car. Since I was at the beach, he said to just walk down to the beach for a bit and then walk back. I have to say walking helped make it feel better too. :)
I was so happy to be able to move, I went home and mowed my lawn and my neighbor's lawn. I was able to do loads of laundry and clean up the house a bit. Towards the end of the night, I realized I may had overdone it a bit, so I had to slow down and sit with a heating pad. But, hey it felt really good to move. You can take that for granted sometimes.
The chiropractor did tell me that I should not be driving long distances as it is really bad for my back. He was referring to me driving out to see him, but I didn't even tell him what my drive was going to be like when I returned to work.
When I went to my doctor's she told me I needed physical therapy, but I think I am going to stick with the chiropractor as I felt MUCH better after 5-10 minutes. Now of course your body goes back to status quo after some time, and if status quo was bad then that's what you will feel. I will need to go back to the chiropractor for a bit, but I'm fine with that. Until then I am lovin' the chiropractor and using a heating pad at night to loosen up my muscles.
Is the grass really greener on the other side of the fence, or in this case, the street (as they are my neighbors). Well, I can officially answer this question now.
My answer: It WAS greener, but now with the help of the special fertilizer that I used it is no longer greener. Take a look :)
This was my grass before Triple Fifteen. This was a few weeks back:
Yellow and Ugly
This is my grass this past Monday right after I mowed it:
Getting greener
This is my grass today:
Green!!!!!!
I even had a neighbor comment on how green my grass is looking!!! Ha!!!
To get these results I had to put the Triple 15 on twice, so I basically did it once every two weeks, but it seemed to really help out!
I am so excited! It is that time of year again. The time of year that I anxiously await with a strange combination of dread and excitement. (Excitement because I love this time of year and what it brings. Dread because I know I am going to have to work out after Easter passes as I am cursed with an absolute lack of Willpower). What time is it you ask? It is CADBURY CREME EGG TIME!!!!
Once a year, these remarkable candies come out (only at Easter), and I cannot help myself. Much like the Valentine Cupcake fiasco, the Cadbury creme eggs Easter timeframe is MUCH worse. I LOVE THEM!!!!!! I would eat them non-stop if my budget and hips would allow. Well, I think that my hips WOULD allow it, but remember, I am still trying to fit into those work clothes of mine.
If I may digress a little here. I have to tout my newfound willpower (for those of you who know me, I have NO willpower). You would be proud of me...I resisted the Chinese food place with the cursed fortune cookies for wheat tortillas stuffed with Spinach leaves, 95% fat free smoked turkey and cheese. I made it myself. :) And of course 2 Cadbury crème eggs, but I spaced them out throughout the day, so they don't count that much right? (Plus I'm breastfeeding...isn't that supposed to speed up your metabolism or something?)
Anyways, back to the Cadbury Eggs. I am addicted. I wait ALL year for this moment. For the moment when I can walk down the aisles of Target or any grocery store *insert cheesy triumphant music here* and see the Easter candy section where they will have a myriad of Cadbury crème eggs. Now I KNOW that they have different kinds of Crème Eggs, and even Imposter crème eggs like Reeses and Snickers. Cadbury themselves have branched out to have Orange, or Caramel, but I am an old fashioned kind of gal. I like the original Crème egg with the hard chocolate outer shell, the egg-like white and yellow center. Who can resist? Not me, I tell you.
In fact, I even went digging through the trash for one today. I had picked it up off the table, so the dogs wouldn't eat it and couldn't find where I put it. I remember cleaning off the table and thought maybe I had thrown it in the trash on accident. Dave laughed at me as I frantically searched through our trash. Thankfully, I did not find it there, but I probably would have just dusted it off and eaten it if I HAD found it in the trash. Hey they have a wrapper and all...don't looked so shocked!!
You know, I am not alone in my addiction. In fact, Cadbury Crème Eggs are quite the household name in the UK. Did you know that in the UK these things are like staples from January through Easter? They categorize roughly 70% of Easter Candy bar sales with a value of about $88.6 million!!! See I am not the only one hooked on Cadbury eggs. The UK knows what I'm talking about because Cadbury makes about 300 million Crème Eggs (about 5 for every person in the UK) a year. Someone even referred to them as Chocolate sushi. I don't know about that, but I LOVE THEM!!! Hopefully, I can make it through this Easter season without gaining too many pounds. If you haven't tried one, you must put it on your things to do list this Easter.
Hello Old Friend:) Remember me? The girl who became a bit obsessed with you? The one that was sad to say goodbye if only for a little while. Well, it's almost that time again - to get reacquainted.
Today I dusted off the pole, and gave it a bit of a spin. Ok, so I realized very quickly that I should have stretched first, and maybe I will, but I don't want to overdo it. Plus it's really cold in my house, and I don't want to have to take off my comfy warm sweats and ugg boots. :) For those of you who don't know. You can't do very many tricks in pants as your legs can't grip onto the pole with pants...you just slide right off. Ok, let's be honest. I am afraid I am going to suck. It's been awhile. Plus I have a hamstring or something that has been hurting me for the past year. I really should go see someone about it, but that would require me to go to a doctor and I'm not good with doctors.
Not only do I miss dancing and doing the tricks, but this is how I ended up losing the baby weight from Caiden. :) I will be happy to get my body back, and I am hoping that I will be able to take classes again (although that part remains to be seen still...not sure how I could swing that). I miss all the girls in class too. :( I have been so looking forward to this. I have even gone on Itunes and downloaded some new dancing music :) I was becoming a bit bored with the music I already have, and needed some inspiration.
So far I downloaded the following:
Low (featuring T.Pain) by Flo Rida
Sorry by Buckcherry
Apologize (featuring One Republic) by Timbaland
Unbroken by Jessica Sierra ( I heard her sing this on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew)
Glory Box by Portishead
Dip It Low by Christina Milian
Fighter; Dirrty; and Nasty Naughty Boy by Christina Aguilera
Building a Mystery by Sarah McLachlan
Thank you for loving me by BonJovi
So I am building up a good playlist to inspire me. Now I just need to work on my confidence. I was getting pretty good before I stopped, and I think I may be a little rusty. I mean, I haven't danced like this since I was 4 months preggers with Kiya. I am afraid I will be terrible and it will be a blow to my ego. :( I guess I won't know until I do it, and I have to start somewhere right?
So if anyone knows of some good music for me, I'm all ears :) The songs have to be longer than 3 minutes though. I like all music except techno/industrial and that screaming rock stuff. I can't get into that stuff, and like any dance (listen to me talk like I actually know anything about other styles of dance) you need to be able to "feel" the music so that you can get lost in the rhythm of it. That's when your dancing becomes amazing because you start dancing from your heart and soul rather than your head. I have not yet mastered the art of getting "out of my head" consistently. I can only do it every once in a while.
As for me, I will work on not psyching myself out, and realizing that I may have taken a few steps back, but with some hard work I can get myself back to where I was, and who knows...maybe even better. Maybe I can loose that whole self conscience thing that has always plagued me and I can just get lost in the music and dance. If I can do that, I can do anything. What a way to rid myself of the stress of life...oh and yes, the stress of those crappy fortune cookies :P
My Godmother Karen was in town to hang out with us and the family. We celebrated her birthday last Sunday at my sister's house. It was great to see both her and my cousin, who recently relocated from North Carolina. It has been such a long time since I have seen him, and really talked to him. He looks great, and I am very happy that he is home!
My Cousin Jonathon...fresh from North Carolina. He looks great and we are so happy to have him home.
Ben, Nan (with Kiya) and Jonathon
We had a nice lunch, and then it was on to the dessert...Caiden and I shared as he doesn't really eat a lot of sweets and I'm not a big chocolate fan - plus I'm trying to loose some of this baby weight.
Caiden is on hand to help Karen blow out her candles
And the best part is that he got to lick the chocolate frosting off the candles :)
We then played with the Naffin twins, and opened gifts. We then took the opportunity to snap a few pictures while we had the gang together. Karen then came to stay with Dave and I for a few days. It was wonderful to see her and have her stay with us for a few days. We can't wait to see her again. :)
Karen opened some gifts :)
Me with Caiden and Kiya
My mom with Kiya, Lindsay, Caiden, Karen and Kyle
Karen and the Naffin twins Lindsay and Kyle
Kyle sporting the hat I made him. He liked it. 
Lindsay sporting the hat I made her. Of course she couldn't get it off fast enough...here she is in mid grab.
I don't know how many frogs, toads or princes I have to kiss to break this curse of the crappy fortune cookies but this is getting ridiculous. I mean, what does a girl need to do to get some good fortune around here. Some legitimate good fortune. Do I have to eat a poisoned apple, fall into a coma and wait for a handsome yet melodic knight in shining armor to come rescue me?
Honestly. What is with this run of bad luck and the crappy fortune cookies. Dave gets fortune cookies that say "people admire your social and physical appearance" and nothing bad happens to him. He doesn't grow a third arm, or break out in hives. NOTHING!!! Not that I am saying that I want anything bad to happen to him, but really...where is the fairness. The universe is out to get me!!! Well, maybe not the universe, but the fortune cookie guy or gal sure is.
What is with the ranting you ask? Well, Dave convinces me that it is actually cheaper to go get Chinese food at the amazing place rather than go to the grocery store, so we go. Caiden and I get our usuals and share. At the end of the meal Dave asks me if I am going to eat my fortune cookie, or at least read it. (Dave doesn't like to eat fortune cookies, but he likes to read them. I like to eat and read them). I smiled and told him no. They're cursed. I didn't even touch mine for fear of absorbing the bad fortune.
Dave takes my fortune cookie and says " Well, I'll open your fortune cookie then". He then starts laughing and holds the fortune to him.
"What?" I say. He then shows me my fortune. "Your Financial Outlook is excellent". Yea, right...of course it is. And to make matters worse it is all ripped and torn up. And that's the way it was in the cookie. Dave didn't break it!!! I'm cursed I tell you. Absolutely cursed.
Well, since we are so strapped for cash, I asked Dave if I could buy a Starbucks - a treat for me. He says yes, and then proceeds to go on and on about what a waste of money it is. Now mind you, I RARELY buy something for myself, but whatever.
We are all getting back in the car to go home. I put my Starbucks on top of the car to buckle in Caiden (and I am sure you know where this is going). When I get home, I am looking for my starbucks...yep...the one that I left on the roof of the car that I will never see again. Yeah...I can really see how my financial outlook is excellent. I just wasted $4. :(
Dave and I had been searching for a good Chinese food place around our house. There is not a lack of Chinese food places, just a lack of GOOD Chinese food places. In fact, they are all quite gross around us...that is until now!
Thank God for construction. With the building of new shopping centers (we happen to live in the boondocks where there is NOTHING) came a wonderful new Chinese food place. The orange chicken is crispy, the teriyaki chicken is really good and not fatty at all, and the fried rice is exceptional (and I don't even like fried rice). The people there HEAP on the food, rather than the Panda Expresses of the world that put about a tablespoon of whatever you order on your plate and then do the old spread-it-around-on-the-plate trick to make it appear that they are generous and you are getting a good deal for your money. Ha! They haven't fooled me. My first job was working at Haagen Daz where they TRAINED us how to give the customers less while making it appear like they got more. (Of course I never did that...I was always being asked to weigh the ice cream I dished out to ensure that I was cheating the customers appropriately).
Needless to say, I have been frequenting this wonderful Chinese food place as I can get multiple meals out of them and that's even WITH sharing with Caiden. Not to mention it is a nice change of pace from the rotisserie chickens that I keep buying at the grocery store.
Well, as you know along with a Chinese food meal one tends to get a fortune cookie. This is where my amazing Chinese food restaurant starts to cheapen it up a bit. Either these fortune cookies are totally bogus or they only subscribe to happy fortunes which bear no resemblance on what your true fortune would really be. Lately, I have been getting these really good fortune cookies that say something to the affect of "something wonderful is going to happen to you", or "you are about to receive some good news", or "good financial news is headed your way". While I don't typically subscribe to these types of "fortunes" it is always nice to believe that things are going to get better especially with the present economy and economic situation. So of course, I become cautiously optimistic about these good fortunes.
However, upon receipt of each of these fortunes something terrible happens...not good. They are tainted...they are bogus, or they are just CURSED!! This is so my luck. After the first one, a friend told me some terrible news that was unsettling to me. Then I received a few more "good fortunes" which resulted in financial news (so they were right about that) but not GOOD news. I recently found out that my mortgage lender had "miscalculated" my county taxes and now I have to pay an exorbitant amount of money to be received by said lender by April 1st. Mind you, I JUST got the statement for this yesterday. I called the lender and the county to see if there was some error, but of course that blasted fortune cookie has lied to me once again. There was no error and now I need to figure out a way to come up with this money by April 1st.
As I sit here and ponder my misguided fortune cookies, I am realizing that I am cursed with bad fortune cookie luck that is disguised as good fortunes. (And then people wonder why I have trust issues) :P
Now my earlier theory has been proved wrong as I was eating Chinese food with someone else and they did receive a poor fortune. I wonder if that means that they will have good luck. Either way, some Fortune Cookie maker is sitting there having a good ol' laugh as they send out tainted and cursed fortunes. I guess you can never have it good. Either you get a lousy Chinese food place or you get cursed fortune cookies. How's that for a silver lining? :(
I can only hope that my luck will soon change.
My friend Katie came over the other day and hung out with Kiya and myself (as Dave was working). She ended up staying the night because we were having so much fun.
Godmother Katie with Kiya
The first day she was here, we went to a few stores and went out to lunch. She convinced me (didn't take much as I have no will power) to split a shake at Ruby's with her. The deal was that we had to go on a walk to counteract the calories we were putting on. Unfortunately we got sidetracked and the walk never happened.
The next day was Valentine's Day and we decided that we still needed to take that walk. Better late than never. We also wanted to see the movie "No Reservations" and had tried the day before but they were all checked out. Since Dave was home, we left Kiya with him and set out to Blockbuster to walk to get the movie. Of course I unknowingly took the long way, and it started raining, frigid rain. Rain so cold that my ears started hurting. The cold wind didn't help much. We were both wearing jackets and scarves, but I forgot a hat. :( I ended up wrapping my scarf around my ears and head (my ears felt better when they were warmer). I looked like a post operative person from one of those reality shows where they makeover your whole face and then make you wear one of contraption things to keep your face from falling. :)
We finally made it to Blockbuster, got the video and headed out. We took the short cut back to the house, but then decided to walk to the supermarket as I had to get a few things, as well as fax over something to my work. It wasn't a strenuous walk, and I don't think it was that far or long, but sadly enough this is the most exercise I have had as of late and my legs are KILLING me. Pathetic I know. I have aches and pains from walking. I am actually surprised that a little walk could cause my legs to have such a reaction. They are probably in shock from my lack of activity as of late. That's it. I am going to make it a goal to do something active every day. :P
My sister and my mom came over last Monday as it was a holiday, and we thought it a good time to go to the outlets by my house. We had a lot of fun, although we carried SO MUCH stuff as my sister has the twins who are now 9 months old, and I had of course baby Kiya.
We walked around the outlets and got some really good deals...we also got a lot of stares as we had a double stroller and then my stroller. Finally a gentleman came up and asked if they were "all in the same family". We explained that they were the same family, but cousins so not the same parents. He just looked at us, shook his head and said "You sure do have your hands full". I thought "and we don't even have Caiden with us right now".
We had to stop often to attend to the various baby needs. As you can see here, Lindsay really enjoyed her lunch...getting orange ALL over herself and everything around her. Lunch was interesting with three kids as we had to take turns eating. I fed Lindsay while my mom fed Kyle, while Stephanie went to make sure that the food we ordered was coming. When my food came out first we did a bit of a musical rotation of children until Kiya demanded to be fed, then we rotated again. Quite comical. I had a lot of fun, but had to run as I had a meeting for dinner with my new boss who was in town. It was nice to have my sister and mom come out, and I hope they do it again soon.
Me trying to feed Lindsay
As you can see she is really enjoying spreading her food around
Our family is sure expanding. In a few months, we will have 4 kids in the family under the age of 1, with my sister's twins, Kiya, and then Pam and Jacob's new bundle of joy. The family is continuing to grow, but I am loving every second of it.
As you know, Caiden was visiting Grammie Sue and Papa Jim on Valentine's Day which left Dave and I to be with our new little monkey, Kiya. When Caiden came home this morning he had a wonderful surprise for Dave and I that he made. He was so excited to give it to me too.
He made us a Valentine's day card and even wrote "Mommy", "Daddy" and "Caiden" on it. He cut out hearts (with help) and glued them on. It is so cute, and I love it! These are the types of things that I will cherish for years to come.
The neighbor's grass
Now I'm not one for keeping up with the Jones's and all. I mean, I like to have a nice house, a car that works, and not wear the same clothes every day, but I don't NEED to have the best of everything.
Everyone has heard the old saying, "The grass is greener on the other side". People tend to have somewhat philosophical discussions about this saying and counter with is the grass REALLY greener or is it about perspective. Even the cartoons that my son watches take on this debate, but sometimes the grass REALLY is greener, don't you think?
Now I am not here to bore you with a discussion of any kind of higher thinking...no sir. Frankly, to be honest, my current position is anti-higher thinking while I am on break from work. I have decided NOT to do any kind of higher thinking and instead just kind of live life as it comes at me right now - something I do not believe I have EVER done in my life, but that I am quite enjoying. Worrying about and pursuing higher goals at this point is and will only cause me to be stressed or uppity and spark a desire of doing something else instead of enjoying this wonderful reprieve from work and much needed time with my family. You may disagree, and of course this reprieve from regular life is going to be short lived as I must return back to work soon, but allow me time to bask in the sun and glory of a life that is not planned to the utmost.
Today I woke up late (at 8am) after being up only 3 times last night, Caiden came home from his trip with Grammie Sue and Papa Jim in Big Bear (which he had a blast by the way), he rested while I fed Kiya and then donned our jackets, scarves and hats and ventured outside. It is VERY cold right now, and even snowed at Dave's work, but I digress.
We walk outside and I look around. It is a beautiful day, the neighborhood looks peaceful, Caiden is enjoying riding his bike and jeep, but I can't help but notice that my neighbor's grass is greener than mine. No REALLY greener. While my grass looks a little like straw and hay with a yellowish-I'm-dying kind of tinge, their grass is flourishing and beautiful and green. You almost want to run over there and run your hands through it. It looks inviting. My grass on the other hand, looks dead and sad and you almost feel sorry for it.
My grass
Of course I have not put in the effort to maintain the grass at this point, and I know that the neighbor lady is out everyday doing SOMETHING to her grass, but when I ask I don't get the answers to how her grass is so green. FINALLY, I ask the neighbor next to hers (whose grass has also started to turn very nice and green). Interestingly, those neighbors have become very close as she is a stay at home mom, and he is a stay at home dad. He tells me the secret. Fertilizer called Triple 15.
I promptly go to Home Depot and buy it, and Caiden and I put it on my lawn, and the neighbors to my left (as they are always helpful in mowing our lawn, and frankly their grass looks as pathetic and sorry as mine). Well, I JUST put it on, so I hoping that in a few days to a few weeks my grass will be just as green. No need to envy the neighbor's grass any longer. I can now be satisfied with what I have. :) So again I leave you with this thought. Is the grass always greener on the other side? The answer: Maybe, but if you have Triple 15 it won't be for long :P
Since I have been home I thought I would try out a new hobby. I got it into my head that I wanted to learn to knit a hat, so at 6pm I went out to JoAnn's fabric store and got some yarn and supplies to take on my new project.
Now I wasn't sure how it would turn out, as the people at the store were none to helpful. Every question I had seemed to be met with "I don't know" or an answer that I think they dreamed up from out of nowhere. I was determined to start my new project immediately, so I rushed home and began working on it. A few hours later, a new hat for Kiya was born!
Getting comfy with her new hat
Contemplating what this new hat really means
Can't you tell she is THRILLED about her new hat?
Now I am on a mission. I have just finished my second hat (one for Caiden) which I actually like better (but I think it just because I like the colors better). I wish I had more time to branch out and truly explore what kind of creativity that has been stifled in me due to the pressures of work and life.
Caiden's hat
I LOVE being home and being able to have the energy and the time to explore other aspects of myself.
Dave recently underwent a bid change which means that for the next two years he will have a new crew (that he got in the bid) and new station. This crew and station will stick for the next two years.
Since I have been off, and seriously tired as Caiden has LOADS of energy and is awake during the day, and Kiya is awake during the night, Dave thought it might be a good idea for us to come down to see his new fire station. This way, he could help me burn off some of the endless amounts of energy that Caiden seems to have, and I can get a bit of a break.
Of course when I told Caiden of course he was thrilled as he loves going to see daddy at the fire station, and he promptly got into his fire gear. I loaded everyone up in the car and off we went.
Caiden and Dave in the USAR Rig
Firefighter Caiden on the headset :)
Caiden waving hello to me. He had so much fun
Dave's new fire station is nice, and his crew is even nicer. They were very gracious and let us spend a few hours there. Dave showed us some of the new toys they got. It was pretty cool. They got something that senses where people are if they are under rubble, and then they have a heat sensor camera (of course they are not the real names for it. They are the names that I am giving them). Cade had a great time playing on the rigs and checking out the new station, equipment and chatting with the crew. BOY DID HE CHAT! They were great conversationalists and were wonderful with Caiden - even when he followed the captain around asking questions :P He is a talker after all.
Caiden chatting up a storm with the Captain. 
This is another captain - he was showing Caiden the thermal imaging equipment
Caiden testing it out - the captain had placed his hand on the lockers and Caiden was looking at the heat left over from the hand print.
Dave's new station is a USAR station (Urban Search And Rescue), which is actually really cool. Dave is enrolled in the necessary classes he needs to take to become certified in this. Hopefully, I can get him to either take a camera, or let me tag along so I can get some pictures of him in action :) I find this all very fascinating. I would LOVE to do this kind of stuff. :)