LAPD Wife

Great Idea for Old Cards

Just a quick note about this great option I found for recycling Christmas cards. St. Jude's Ranch for Children, an organization for abused, abandoned and neglected children takes old cards, removes the front that is unwritten upon and makes new ones from them to be sold in packets for the next season. Cards are accepted through Feb 28 and you can find more information here at St. Jude's Ranch.

Merry Christmas everyone. Much love to all! - Renee

Gifts for Guns

Deputies from the sheriff's Lennox Station are conducting a "Gift for Guns" program until 3:30 p.m. today, Friday Dec 4, where residents can safely and anonymously surrender firearms in exchange for gift cards. The event, which will be repeated from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec 5, is being held at the Food 4 Less parking lot, 11407 Western Ave. For more information, contact: Lt. Jeff Adams or Deputy Wayne Brown at (323) 242-8784.

Trees for Troops

Still filled with gratitude and thanksgiving as the holidays swoop down on us? Here's another great cause I recently discovered for supporting the military during the Christmas season - Trees for Troops. This non-profit organization delivers Christmas trees to families of military personnel who can't afford them and who have family members currently deployed.

Last year, Trees for Troops delivered over 17,000 trees to 53 bases (2 overseas). The organization is supported by donations, voluteers, farms and businesses who give time, trees, money and more to make sure that the families of our active military have a bit more cheer in their homes every Christmas.

Veterans Day - Support Our Soldiers

Flags are flying everywhere today and our thoughts turn to both those who have served our country in the past and in the present. I have two nephews who are in the Marines, my brother-in-law recently retired from the 101st Airborne, my father-in-law served in the Korean war and there many more I could mention. I am thankful, very very thankful for their sacrifices, their love of country and all that they do to keep our country safe and give us the chance to continue to thrive in this great country.

Today is a good day to also think about how we can show our support beyond just a few words on the internet. Cop the Truth has a good post about sending care packages during the holidays. Think about this early, folks, you can't wait til Dec 23 to get it there in time.

I've also listed a few other organizations I'm familiar with that give us opportunities to show our support for the troops. If you would like to recommend any others, please leave their info in the comments section. Thank you.

Cop the Truth: Support Our Troops this Christmas

Cell Phones For Soldiers: Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the non-profit has raised almost $2 million in donations and distributed more than 500,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.

Operation Gratitude: This organization seeks to lift morale and put smiles on faces by sending care packages addressed to individual Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed overseas. Operation Gratitude care packages contain food, hygiene products, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation, all wrapped with good wishes of love and support.

Santa Barbara Fire

Mother's Day weekend plans are now up in the air. Jake and several of his Narco buddies are answering the call for mutual aid from Santa Barbara County. He's dusting off the Sam Brown and pulling out the uniform. (He works plain clothes right now) They are heading up tonight or tomorrow, I think, he's still on the phone a lot. 

SB Cty Sheriff's isn't as big a force as LAPD or LA County Sheriffs. They are probably getting a bit overwhelmed therefore they've put out a call for assistance from surrounding law enforcement agencies for help with things like evacuations and keeping idiots from looting the gorgeous mansions and other homes that are threatened by the fires as I type. 

Ok, he says he's going early in the morning. He's stacking everything up by the door and loading his car to be ready. I have no idea what to expect - he's never done anything like this while we've been married. I've been through him being on the front line at riots and demonstrations, early morning search warrants, car chases, etc., but this is a new one for me. I'm sure he won't be too near the fires, but can't help but worry.

Thank goodness for cell phones.  I'll let you know as I hear updates. Watch my Twitter account, I might do short, easy updates there, too. Right now the numbers are around 30,000 people evacuated, 11 firefighters injured, over 20 homes burned with more threatened and the evening "sundowners" hitting soon (those twilight winds through the canyons that turn a small fire into a raging firestorm). Photos are dramatic, stories even more so.

Read more about the Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara here and here.  

Officers Need Help

This call for help was sent out from the Police Protective League today:

RAMPART POLICE STATION AND LIFESTREAM BLOOD BANK ARE HOSTING A BLOOD DONATION AND REPLENISHMENT FOR NATALIE ELISE GARCIA, DAUGHTER OF RAMPART GED OFFICER DANNY GARCIA AND OLYMPIC PATROL OFFICER GLORYACELLA DE LA SIERRA.

NATALIE WAS BORN ON APRIL 02, 2009. HER BIRTH WEIGHT WAS ONE POUND FOURTEEN OUNCES. SHE UNDERWENT HEART SURGERY ON 04/27/09 AND WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS. SHE IS CURRENTLY IN STABLE CONDITION.

YOUR HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. BLOOD DONATIONS THAT ARE A MATCH DURING THIS DRIVE WILL GO DIRECTLY TO BABY NATALIE. ALL OTHER BLOOD WILL GIVE HOPE AND LIFE TO SOMEONE IN NEED.

MONDAY, MAY 4TH, 2009 10:00 AM TO 4:00 PM
COMMUNITY ROOM RAMPART COMMUNITY POLICE STATION
1401 W. 6TH ST, LOS ANGELES

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO SCHEDULE YOUR DONATION, CONTACT: SENIOR LEAD OFFICER BRAENDLE 213 793-0777 or SENIOR LEAD OFFICER GRAS 213 793-0769

• Please be in good health
• Bring valid photo ID
• No tattoos within the last 12 months
• Drink plenty of fluids

Blogathon Today

Ok, I'm getting a late start, I know. Go figure, Saturdays are kind of hectic for me. Jake is working, the kids have their assorted practices to get to and oh, yeah, there needs to be food in the kitchen and toilet paper in the bathrooms, right? It's a day of running errands, but I'm going to post as much as I can in between running in and out to participate in the Police Wives Online Blogathon today. It's a 24-hour extravaganza of posting, posting, posting and fun, fun, fun. So join in, read all about my life and other police wives who are joining in.

I'll be posting sporadically throughout today and into the late evening. The coordinator is giving us writing "challenges" from the main blog, so I'll try to follow along with them. They are a few hours ahead of me, time-zone wise, but I'll try to catch up.

For more information about the Police Wives Online Blogathon and to learn about how the monies raised during the event will be distributed, check out the official Blogathon Blog here.

Police Wives Online Blogathon

I am excited to announce that I plan to participate as a blogathon author during the 2nd annual Police Wives Online blogathon scheduled for April 25. It's a 24-hour blog-o-rama held from 9 a.m. Sat morning until 9 a.m. Sunday morning and will benefit several of the programs that the Police Wives Online organization sponsors.

The blogothon will consist of many police wives and really anyone else interested in participating. As we all write and answer challenges from the hostess MJ, readers and supporters can make donations through the main blogathon web site or through the main donation page on Police Wives Online. I'm pretty sure they are using Paypal, so if you have an account, cool. If not, set up one ahead of time, then come on by and join in the action!

Donations will benefit the many programs at Police Wives Online including the H.U.G.S. (Helping Uplift Grieving Survivors) program and a newly created scholarship fund for law enforcement families. I'll post updates and reminders here - and if anyone is online that day, be sure to come by and give me props as I write myself silly for this great cause.

Earth Hour Tonight (Sat, March 28)

You know that Earth Day is next month, but have you heard about Earth HOUR? I've seen some bits and twitters around the net on this. Check out the full details at earthhour.org.

Basically, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch to "vote" against global warmiong. – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

From the earthhour.org website: Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

So be a part of something worthwhile that only involves flipping a switch. Join in by blogging, twittering or uploading photos or pics to the main website. I'm getting my candles out now.

The Gratitude Campaign

Check out this site: http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/. A lot of people are thinking of our soldiers at this time of year, here's a neat way to say "thanks" next time you pass some by when they are on their holiday break.