Tuesday, August 31, 2010
More Visitors
The trees welcoming you to our home (see here) have had another visitor or two. Sadly the visitors aren't nearly as cute as our previous one (and here)...I've noticed some spiders and spider webs in the decorations and trees, sparing us the pictures this time. I'm not looking forward to dealing with them when changing decorations which is part of the reason the trees have looked like this all summer long:
Saturday, August 28, 2010
A Return Visit
My little friend came back for a visit, at least I think it was the same friend.
I'd thrown some pieces of hamburger bun out under the trees a few times...
...but this day I watched and captured pictures of the hungry visitors eating what I shared.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Road Trip Insanity
Dan's 30th High School reunion started Friday, August 6th. When we first received information about the reunion we marked our calendars and started talking about how great it would be to attend. As the dates for his audit were announced we still discussed attending the reunion too. Dan even talked to his boss about taking off as soon as the audit ended and then using PTO the first part of the following week for us to take a vacation and visit our families.
As the audit drew closer, Dan decided we couldn't make it to the reunion. For several weeks we settled on the idea of not attending. I was surprised since Dan often talks about how important and helpful his 20th reunion was for him.
On the Thursday night of his audit he said he really would like to go and left the decision up to me. I woke up Friday morning knowing that we'd be driving to Pocatello over the weekend. Since we hadn't planned on going until the last minute both of us had to be back for work on Monday so it would be a very quick trip. While Dan was at work I packed everything up that we'd need and only forgot the checkbook.
When he came out on his lunch break I asked him what he wanted me to wear to his reunion. He asked, "We're going then?" And I said we were and that I'd already started packing for us.
He was home only a few minutes before we headed out the door and drove 5-1/2 hours to Boise for the night arriving shortly before midnight. Andy (Dan's brother) was still up so we had a few minutes visit with him before all turning in for the night.
The next morning we had a few minutes with Angela (Dan's sister-in-law) before she left to attend the tournament their oldest was playing in. They had a babysitter there for the younger children and we had more time with the children than their parents.
Saturday morning we left Boise and headed to Pocatello and arrived there about 4:00 in the afternoon. We visited with Ann (Dan's sister not to be confused with my sister Ann) and some of her children before it was time to leave for the reunion.
What a shock when we walked in! No one expected us to show up, since we'd said we couldn't come, and everyone was thrilled that Danny Horrocks was able to make it.
It was a late night. Before we left our nephew Matt (blogged about here-his pictures at Mark and Amy's house on this same trip) asked what time we'd be home Saturday night. Dan answered it most likely wouldn't be Saturday night but early Sunday morning. (We almost always play a game or two with Matt and Neal when we visit and he was hoping this trip wasn't an exception. Sadly it was.) We strolled in between 12:00 and 1:00 am. Several who attended the reunion Friday night didn't make it in until 3:00 am!
Sunday we enjoyed breakfast with the Lovelands then got ready for church.
Before we left we found out that Mark and Amy's (Dan's brother and sister-in-law) son was being ordained a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood at 2:00 pm Sunday. We discussed it and decided to stay for the ordination and attend church meetings with Mark, Amy, and their family; however, we didn't tell them we were in town. It was so great when Amy looked over and saw the 4 of us (Matt and Neal joined us at church) in the pew next to them. She couldn't believe her eyes and made sure Mark and Gideon knew we were there. Amy and Mark both said they didn't let us know about Gideon's ordination because they figured we wouldn't be able to make it. We sure surprised them! And we're both glad we were able to be there in support of Gideon.
(After Amy saw us and gave us both hugs Matt said he thought Amy was more excited to see me than to see Dan. Did I mention that I love Matt?)
After church ended we went to Mark and Amy's house for a little visiting and something to eat before heading home. The kids all ran their separate ways. Suddenly their youngest, Aidan, came upstairs announcing, "I'm Big Foot."
I couldn't believe it! That's my maiden name and I've never seen anything along these lines before. I guess somewhere there's a Broadbent family who grow corn. I even asked the employee if she knew where they found the sign, sadly she didn't.
Of course I had to make sure there was a picture with me and the sign:
A new sight for me.
Unfortunately the stop in Boise was for dinner only and we had to get back on the road. Further down the road I became anxious to be out of the car and be done driving but we still had 2-3 hours to go! Thankfully we were chasing the sunset so I was able to focus on that for awhile.
We finally arrived home around 11:00 pm. Not too bad but we were both exhausted!
It was a whirlwind trip. We are glad to be home but hope our next trip will permit longer visits with our family members.
As the audit drew closer, Dan decided we couldn't make it to the reunion. For several weeks we settled on the idea of not attending. I was surprised since Dan often talks about how important and helpful his 20th reunion was for him.
On the Thursday night of his audit he said he really would like to go and left the decision up to me. I woke up Friday morning knowing that we'd be driving to Pocatello over the weekend. Since we hadn't planned on going until the last minute both of us had to be back for work on Monday so it would be a very quick trip. While Dan was at work I packed everything up that we'd need and only forgot the checkbook.
When he came out on his lunch break I asked him what he wanted me to wear to his reunion. He asked, "We're going then?" And I said we were and that I'd already started packing for us.
He was home only a few minutes before we headed out the door and drove 5-1/2 hours to Boise for the night arriving shortly before midnight. Andy (Dan's brother) was still up so we had a few minutes visit with him before all turning in for the night.
The next morning we had a few minutes with Angela (Dan's sister-in-law) before she left to attend the tournament their oldest was playing in. They had a babysitter there for the younger children and we had more time with the children than their parents.
Saturday morning we left Boise and headed to Pocatello and arrived there about 4:00 in the afternoon. We visited with Ann (Dan's sister not to be confused with my sister Ann) and some of her children before it was time to leave for the reunion.
What a shock when we walked in! No one expected us to show up, since we'd said we couldn't come, and everyone was thrilled that Danny Horrocks was able to make it.
Sunday we enjoyed breakfast with the Lovelands then got ready for church.
Before we left we found out that Mark and Amy's (Dan's brother and sister-in-law) son was being ordained a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood at 2:00 pm Sunday. We discussed it and decided to stay for the ordination and attend church meetings with Mark, Amy, and their family; however, we didn't tell them we were in town. It was so great when Amy looked over and saw the 4 of us (Matt and Neal joined us at church) in the pew next to them. She couldn't believe her eyes and made sure Mark and Gideon knew we were there. Amy and Mark both said they didn't let us know about Gideon's ordination because they figured we wouldn't be able to make it. We sure surprised them! And we're both glad we were able to be there in support of Gideon.
(After Amy saw us and gave us both hugs Matt said he thought Amy was more excited to see me than to see Dan. Did I mention that I love Matt?)
After church ended we went to Mark and Amy's house for a little visiting and something to eat before heading home. The kids all ran their separate ways. Suddenly their youngest, Aidan, came upstairs announcing, "I'm Big Foot."
We left Mark and Amy's to begin our 8-1/2 hour drive home. By the time we reached Boise we were hungry again and ready for dinner. We stopped at Cracker Barrel. Neither of us had been there before so we thought we'd give it a try. It seemed like a good place to stop for a Sunday meal. As we were paying I looked over and saw this sign:
I couldn't believe it! That's my maiden name and I've never seen anything along these lines before. I guess somewhere there's a Broadbent family who grow corn. I even asked the employee if she knew where they found the sign, sadly she didn't.
Of course I had to make sure there was a picture with me and the sign:
Unfortunately the stop in Boise was for dinner only and we had to get back on the road. Further down the road I became anxious to be out of the car and be done driving but we still had 2-3 hours to go! Thankfully we were chasing the sunset so I was able to focus on that for awhile.
 |
| I discovered a sunset setting on my camera. I have to remember that setting in the future. |
It was a whirlwind trip. We are glad to be home but hope our next trip will permit longer visits with our family members.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
We Lived to Tell About It!!!!!
Dan's center had a HUGE audit by the European equivalent of the American Medical Association on August 5 & 6. We've known for several months that this audit would be coming and the center actively spent the previous 7 or so weeks preparing; cleaning, organizing, straightening, repairing, etc. If the audit didn't go well, it's serious enough the auditors could close down the center and the manager could possibly lose his/her job.
The stress levels at work, and home, were high. Dan was constantly focused on work related concerns even on his days off. Because of these concerns he spent more than one of his days off working anywhere from 4-8+ hours at the center. His scheduled days were rarely less than 10 hours and often he had 10+ hour days with no lunch break.
I did what I could to help. The end of June I used some scrap paper and made a paper chain for him to take to work. I tried to pick up the slack at home so that things were organized and tidy. Most importantly I tried very hard to not complain about the situation. We both knew it was temporary but we also understood how important it was. I can't say I was perfect at not murmuring but thankfully those days were infrequent. When Dan would call me saying he wouldn't be home for another 1-2 hours after his scheduled time off he'd usually hear a sigh but that would be it.
As the audit drew nearer, tensions at the center began to rise. Everyone was beyond their breaking point. To try to reduce the stresses and help the employees feel appreciated we did a variation on "The Twelve days of Christmas." The first couple days were:
On the 12th day till audit the big boss gave to me...
A handful of penny candy.
On the 11th day till audit the big boss gave to me…
A pencil to write my SOP’s.
(SOPs are the Standard Operating Procedures the employees MUST follow for what they do.)
On the 10th day till audit the big boss gave to me...
A glass full of ShastaTiki
(Tiki Punch Soda, can you say sugar rush?!)
After the first day, Dan came home saying everyone at work tried to guess what they would receive on the 11th day; "What rhymed with eleven that Dan would give us?" We had things most of the days. Unfortunately we skipped a day and the complaints immediately rolled in...."Somehow I feel like something's missing..." Dan assured them that they weren't forgotten and that the missed days would be covered.
The Tuesday before the audit they scheduled their monthly staff meeting. To make up for the missed days and to carry them through the remainder of the days till the audit, we made Biomat Audit Survival Kits for everyone. (The true definition of we: Dan ok'd my ideas, I shopped for stuff, and put everything together.) Since we were giving the kits to the employees on Tuesday morning, I had Monday to buy everything and put them together.
Here are the "ingredients" to the Biomat Audit Survival Kits:
(See if you can guess what they are for, I'll give the answers towards the end of the post.)
The stress levels at work, and home, were high. Dan was constantly focused on work related concerns even on his days off. Because of these concerns he spent more than one of his days off working anywhere from 4-8+ hours at the center. His scheduled days were rarely less than 10 hours and often he had 10+ hour days with no lunch break.
I did what I could to help. The end of June I used some scrap paper and made a paper chain for him to take to work. I tried to pick up the slack at home so that things were organized and tidy. Most importantly I tried very hard to not complain about the situation. We both knew it was temporary but we also understood how important it was. I can't say I was perfect at not murmuring but thankfully those days were infrequent. When Dan would call me saying he wouldn't be home for another 1-2 hours after his scheduled time off he'd usually hear a sigh but that would be it.
As the audit drew nearer, tensions at the center began to rise. Everyone was beyond their breaking point. To try to reduce the stresses and help the employees feel appreciated we did a variation on "The Twelve days of Christmas." The first couple days were:
On the 12th day till audit the big boss gave to me...
A handful of penny candy.
On the 11th day till audit the big boss gave to me…
A pencil to write my SOP’s.
(SOPs are the Standard Operating Procedures the employees MUST follow for what they do.)
On the 10th day till audit the big boss gave to me...
A glass full of ShastaTiki
(Tiki Punch Soda, can you say sugar rush?!)
After the first day, Dan came home saying everyone at work tried to guess what they would receive on the 11th day; "What rhymed with eleven that Dan would give us?" We had things most of the days. Unfortunately we skipped a day and the complaints immediately rolled in...."Somehow I feel like something's missing..." Dan assured them that they weren't forgotten and that the missed days would be covered.
The Tuesday before the audit they scheduled their monthly staff meeting. To make up for the missed days and to carry them through the remainder of the days till the audit, we made Biomat Audit Survival Kits for everyone. (The true definition of we: Dan ok'd my ideas, I shopped for stuff, and put everything together.) Since we were giving the kits to the employees on Tuesday morning, I had Monday to buy everything and put them together.
Here are the "ingredients" to the Biomat Audit Survival Kits:
(See if you can guess what they are for, I'll give the answers towards the end of the post.)
Everything was laid out for collating:
Within a few minutes there were 29 Biomat Survival Kits.
So....here's what each item was for....
The colors were done so the wording was matchy-matchy with the item. (I'm a girl and we do those types of things.)
(The candles are to "not blow your top" and I didn't see the error until doing this post...I hate it when that happens!)
Thankfully the employees appreciated the efforts we'd I'd made on their behalf. They all seemed to like their survival kits. Dan received several words of gratitude from the employees and I did too on Thursday and Friday while I was at the center with lunch for them.
Dan's assistant manager was there on Friday afternoon when, during his lunch break, he came out and saw me (he was "off limits" while in his audit so I just had to stress and be supportive without any connection during the day). She said it made her day to see him "light up" when he saw me and as such she would gladly work late so he could get off early and we could get on the road sooner....(Yes, another post is coming...)
Did you guess the items correctly? If so, you think like us! Doesn't that just make you want to celebrate or something?!?! :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Alive and Well
Not much has really happened lately. It's been a fairly quiet end to the month. But we've been wondering where the month has gone?!?!
Dan's big audit at work is this week!!! It's been a long 7 weeks preparing and we'll both be glad when it's done and over with. Just a few more days....just a few more days....we can make it. Thankfully he'll get the results right away so we don't have to sweat it out waiting for the "grade."
He's scheduled off on Saturday and I think we'll take the day and get out of Dodge to celebrate. Anything to reward us for the crazy hours, sleepless nights, stress, anxiety, and such that has been going on these past several weeks.
If we do our adventure on Saturday then we'll have pictures to post and stories to tell....hey, that sounds like a great reason to drive of into the sunshine this weekend. :)
Dan's big audit at work is this week!!! It's been a long 7 weeks preparing and we'll both be glad when it's done and over with. Just a few more days....just a few more days....we can make it. Thankfully he'll get the results right away so we don't have to sweat it out waiting for the "grade."
He's scheduled off on Saturday and I think we'll take the day and get out of Dodge to celebrate. Anything to reward us for the crazy hours, sleepless nights, stress, anxiety, and such that has been going on these past several weeks.
If we do our adventure on Saturday then we'll have pictures to post and stories to tell....hey, that sounds like a great reason to drive of into the sunshine this weekend. :)
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