Snarky Bloggers 30 Day Blog Challenge

Who knew three kids would keep me so busy??? I have missed blogging so much. I have been working behind the scenes to hone my skills and be able to revamp Life Between the Tones. I love to write and share my experiences as a fire wife, and I'm eager to get started here again.

Have you thought about starting your own blog? Or do you have your own blog currently but want to up your game?

Why not join me for the Snarky Bloggers 30 Day Blog Challenge? 

What will you gain from this 30 Day Challenge?

*Kickass Habits
*Lots of blog post ideas
*Grow your reach
*Become a better writer by writing more

Each day you will get an email link to a private blog post and an email with action steps to take. You will also be part of a private Facebook group just for those participating in the challenge!

Personal email coaching is included as well. From 8-4 PST Mon-Fri coaching will be available through email. Top notch blogging advice available at the tip of your fingers!

Lastly there is a webinar scheduled for July 26th. 

This is going to be great for anyone who wants to get serious about their blog or to brush up on skills. I know I am very eager to get started and want to share this journey with you! Let's push ourselves to see just how great our blogs can be!

What are you waiting for???

 

The challenge will begin on Sunday June 24th

The first FIVE people to sign up for the challenge get a price break at $75 for the full 30 Day Challenge. What a deal! 

Don't let those five spots fill up without you! The price will increase after the first five are filled. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment!

Sign up NOW to push yourself forward in the blogging world!

Young Boy With Cancer Will Get the Honor of a Lifetime

There has been a story circulating the web for a few weeks now about a little boy named Trucker Dukes. He is a little boy from Hawaii who is receiving cancer treatment in a New York hospital. The family is a fire family, dad is at home in Hawaii working as a fireman and caring for their other children while mom is with Trucker.

Three fire stations in the area have gone above and beyond - welcoming Trucker and his family in for dinners, hosting a birthday party and offering their support during such a rough time for the family. He has touched many hearts not only around the New York fire houses, but around the country.

This story hits home with me and is so magical because Trucker is down right in love with anything fire related. The pictures going around Facebook that show his excitement over fire trucks and firefighters reminds me so much of our little Sister Bear. Trucker has made many friends at three fire stations in New York during his stay, but on May 31st the New York Fire Commissioner is going to go above and beyond and make this little boy's dreams come true! It's such a touching story, memories that are making his journey a little brighter.

Bombero Designs No Shave Movember Tee Exclusive Look!

Life Between the Tones has partnered with Bombero Designs! I am always excited to work with firefighter owned companies, and couldn't be more happy with this partnership! Bombero Designs offers unique firefighter and ems shirts printed on high quality tees. These shirts are lightweight and SOFT. 374 loves to wear them.

I have an exclusive look at the brand new, not yet released No Shave Movember shirt. Bombero Designs and Leatherhead Mustache Co. are bringing you this awesome shirt just in time for November! I've never gotten 374 to join in the 'no shave' festivities, but I'm hoping this shirt will do the trick! This shirt is printed on a 100% cotton American Apparel tee. As soon as this shirt hits their website, I will be sure to post it's availability!

I know as a fire wife, I get tired of seeing the baby face clean shaved look. 374's station is a stickler for shaving. No Shave November is a fun way to get him to sport that scruff I so badly miss! This is a fun shirt that I'm sure every firefighter can appreciate.

I have a separate post dedicated to another staple Bombero Designs tee that will be up shortly with a little more info about the company. I can't say enough good stuff about these shirts! You will be hearing a lot more about them in the future. They have a lot of things planned that I can't wait to share with you! In the mean time follow them on their FACEBOOK page and TWITTER to stay up to date on sales and new product availability!

Giveaway: Leatherhead Moustache Co Father's Day Giveaway

Father's Day is just around the corner. It sneaks up on me EVERY year. I always anticipate it, but somewhere between Mother's Day and the kids getting out of school someone hits fast forward and before I know it I'm scrambling.

374 still loves to receive anything fire related, as most firefighters do. This is why I am very excited to bring you this giveaway. YES! I said GIVEAWAY!

Recently I came across an up and coming firefighter owned company - Leatherhead Moustache Co who offers a line of men's grooming products. Among the products currently offered are beard oil, moutsache wax, shave soap, aftershave, body wash and bar soap. There are many more exciting products in the works as well.

What do these firemen have to say about their products?

"At Leatherhead Moustache Co. we offer high quality hand made products at reasonable prices. Our products are firefighter inspired and firefighter created. All products are tested by active firefighters. We know, being firefighters ourselves, what punishment we put our skin through on a daily basis. So, now there are products that have been engineered with the conditions of our job in mind."

Leatherhead Moustache Co and Life Between the Tones are teaming up to offer you a customized Father's Day Giveaway! One lucky winner will be chosen to win THEIR choice of not one, but FOUR products from the current line. We realize not everyone has the same grooming needs so this prize will be catered to you!

So how do you win? A few simple steps will get you in the running. We are asking that you share a picture of your firefighter father, firefighter husband, or whichever firefighter you celebrate Father's Day with. You can enter on either Twitter or Instagram, but please only use one platform. You MUST follow both Life Between the Tones and LeatherheadMoustache Co on whichever site you are entering. Accounts will be verified before the winner is announced. Use the hashtag #LHMoustacheDadGiveaway when posting your photo and tag both Life Between the Tones and LeatherHeadMoustacheCo. Contest info can also be found on my Instagram. Winner will be announced on Father's Day (June 21st) at 8pm Easter. OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY.

Life Between the Tones on Twitter: @374sWife
Leatherhead Moustache Co on Twitter: @LHMoustache

Life Between the Tones on Instagram: @lifebetweenthetones
Leatherhead Moustache Co on Instagram: @leatherheadmoustache

Also be on the lookout for a review of their full current line in the next few weeks. I am very excited about these products. I love supporting firefighter owned businesses and sharing them with my readers!

What Really Makes a Holiday

In the week leading up to Easter, I saw a lot of posts from women in the Fire Wife groups I frequent expressing their concern and sadness over their firefighters being on duty on Easter Sunday. Whether it's Easter Sunday, Christmas, a birthday or a big family event, it can be a hard pill to swallow the first few times your firefighter works on a holiday.

Career firefighter families and volunteer families' experiences are a bit different when it comes to holidays. Each lifestyle presents it's own challenges. One lifestyle is not easier than the other. What matters is how your family learns to adapt.

 Career families know their firefighter's schedule. They typically plan celebrations around a duty day that falls on a holiday or event. A lot of times families are allowed and encouraged to come visit the station for holidays and share a meal with the firefighters on duty. It's nice to be able to have a chance to have a meal together - if you're lucky and the tones don't go off, or spend what time you can together while they are at the station. It is sometimes difficult to adjust to having to celebrate on a different day,

Volunteer families typically celebrate their holidays and events on the same day if their firefighter is at an on call/volunteer department. What makes volunteer life difficult is the pager could go off mid birthday party, or right in the middle of opening presents Christmas morning. It could be a quick run, or he could be gone all day or night. Learning to adjust to him running out the door at any moment is tough. Sometimes it's something we still struggle with five years in.

One of the most important lessons you can learn as a fire wife is to appreciate the time you do have. If you have to move a Christmas dinner and gift exchange to the next day, if Easter dinner is celebrated the following weekend, or if you have to put the birthday cake away mid party and sing happy birthday when your firefighter is back home in a few hours it's ok. A holiday or celebration is not about the date on the calendar. It's about the family and friends you share it with. Don't sweat the small stuff. When you can celebrate, do - fire life can be stressful enough.

Are You Keeping Up With My Life Between the Tones?

Review: Get Hosed Apparel Recycled Fire Hose Belt

Like most firefighters, 374 appreciates a good fire themed gift for any gift giving holiday or birthday. I've done the normal t shirts, patches, and other various novelties. I wanted something a little different for Valentine's Day this year. I wanted to get him something that was useful and different from anything else he's been gifted in the past. Valentine's Day came and went, I had to make up a small excuse for why his present was not here on Valentine's Day - telling him I couldn't make up my mind wasn't going to cut it.

I wracked my brain trying to figure out what I could get him that he would love and use often. I was scrolling through my Instagram feed one day, and there it was. A belt. He needs a new belt badly. He only had one and he wore it for everything. It was cracked, peeling and at the end of it's road. This wasn't just any belt, this belt was made from recycled fire hose. JACKPOT. It's fire related, useful, and he needed one badly.

I had seen fire hose belts in the past from other companies. They were usually colorful and had wording on them. 374 is pretty simple. He doesn't wear a lot of color and would appreciate something more subtle. When I saw the picture of the Get Hosed Apparel belt in my feed, I knew it would be perfect. I ordered the black rubber hose belt with the wide buckle for him. I also added white stitching which is available for a small up charge, but definitely worth it in my opinion. I chose black because it would go with anything in his wardrobe - he wears a lot of grays, blues and black. The belt is available in two buckle styles and various other colors as well.

The shipped quickly after I ordered. When I pulled it out of the package, I knew I had made the perfect choice. This belt is high quality and durable, but most of all it looks great. I knew 374 was going to love it, and he did. His face lit up like a kid at Christmas when I told him what the belt was made of. He ripped off the old belt and this one was put on in a flash.

He wore it to work the next day and showed it off to his coworkers. He works a somewhat physical job, and many of his friends are volunteer firefighters as well. They all were very impressed with the belt. He got the same reaction at the station for work night - as soon as he told them it was made from recycled fire hose, everyone's interest was piqued.

What I love most about this belt is it looks good with whatever he wears - a pair of work jeans for work, a nice pair of jeans for a night out, and he's even tried it on with his dress uniform and it looks nice on those pants as well. It is very well made and has stood up nicely. After about a week's worth of wear to work and at home it still looks brand new.

Get Hosed Apparel sells more than these recycled hose belts, they also sell radio straps, glove straps, and wristbands made from hose, they also features bags made from purposed bunker gear. You will also find all these and  lots of other items including a clothing line on their Get Hosed Apparel website. Jay's website, Instagram (@get_hosed_apparel) and Facebook are well worth a visit and bookmark. Get Hosed Apparel has excellent customer service and we will definitely be repeat customers!