Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
More Pics
Brandi has a couple of cousins down in St. George who do a little photography as a hobby. Brandi took the kids down a while back and had them do a bunch of photos of them. Here are the results:
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Why is it?
1) Why is it that no matter how eternally long the pharmacy is open, even if we were open 23 hours per day, someone would show up 3 minutes to closing time, and want their prescription?
2) Why is it that a person who shows up 3 minutes to closing time ALWAYS has some issue...usually they have a new insurance card, and of course they didn't bring the new card, and then they look at me like I'm the idiot, as though their new insurance card should have been mailed to me at the pharmacy?
3) Why is it that people think every pharmacy in the known universe is interconnected, where they think they can give me the prescription number from their prescription filled at "Bob and Daryl's Pharmacy and Lawn Tractor Repair" and I should somehow automatically know what the drug is, dose, dr., etc. and be able to fill it?
4) Why is it that people never claim to "lose", "dog ate it", "girlfriend snuck up behind me and scared me and I dumped it down the sink" with their blood pressure medications, but always do with their Lortab, Xanax, Percocet, Ativan, Valium, Oxycontin, and Tylenol #3?
5) Why is it that doctors sign their presciptions as though they are a major league baseball player signing a jersey to be put on display rather than in some legible manner where a pharmacist might actually be able to tell who the doctor was that wrote the prescription?
6) Why is it that some people get the same look on their face when you hand them their narcotics as you see on the face of people at Chuck-O-Rama's dessert bar...the look that says, "Woo hoo, I'm about to get fed"?
7) Why is it that people wait until late on Friday night, or the weekend, or on a holiday when you couldn't find a doctor with a gps tracking device, to suddenly realize they have no medication left and no refills, and it's our job to fix it?
8) Why is it that when a patient's doctor doesn't call in a prescription like they said they would, the patient acts like the doctor really did and we're just sitting on it and don't want to fill it, as though we're in business to NOT fill prescriptions?
9) Why is it that the prescriptions you couldn't decipher even with the use of the Urim and Thummim is always missing the doctor's phone number, clinic address, and often times, the doctor's signature itself?
10) Why is it that some days I feel like the people who come to get their prescriptions are the enemy?
2) Why is it that a person who shows up 3 minutes to closing time ALWAYS has some issue...usually they have a new insurance card, and of course they didn't bring the new card, and then they look at me like I'm the idiot, as though their new insurance card should have been mailed to me at the pharmacy?
3) Why is it that people think every pharmacy in the known universe is interconnected, where they think they can give me the prescription number from their prescription filled at "Bob and Daryl's Pharmacy and Lawn Tractor Repair" and I should somehow automatically know what the drug is, dose, dr., etc. and be able to fill it?
4) Why is it that people never claim to "lose", "dog ate it", "girlfriend snuck up behind me and scared me and I dumped it down the sink" with their blood pressure medications, but always do with their Lortab, Xanax, Percocet, Ativan, Valium, Oxycontin, and Tylenol #3?
5) Why is it that doctors sign their presciptions as though they are a major league baseball player signing a jersey to be put on display rather than in some legible manner where a pharmacist might actually be able to tell who the doctor was that wrote the prescription?
6) Why is it that some people get the same look on their face when you hand them their narcotics as you see on the face of people at Chuck-O-Rama's dessert bar...the look that says, "Woo hoo, I'm about to get fed"?
7) Why is it that people wait until late on Friday night, or the weekend, or on a holiday when you couldn't find a doctor with a gps tracking device, to suddenly realize they have no medication left and no refills, and it's our job to fix it?
8) Why is it that when a patient's doctor doesn't call in a prescription like they said they would, the patient acts like the doctor really did and we're just sitting on it and don't want to fill it, as though we're in business to NOT fill prescriptions?
9) Why is it that the prescriptions you couldn't decipher even with the use of the Urim and Thummim is always missing the doctor's phone number, clinic address, and often times, the doctor's signature itself?
10) Why is it that some days I feel like the people who come to get their prescriptions are the enemy?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Worst Ever

Okay...I was willing to give our new computer system at the pharmacy the benefit of the doubt. But, after 10 days of hell, I'm ready to officially call it the worst pharmacy system EVER. I think it was built/designed for small independent pharmacies that fill about 30-50 prescriptions per day. It is too labor intensive and nonuser friendly for a pharmacy that does 250-300 prescriptions per day. We've been coming in early and staying until nearly midnight in an attempt to stay on top of things, but to no avail. Prescriptions keep piling up and people keep getting more and more angry. There have been a few people who it's taken us 2-3 days before we could even process their prescription because we just couldn't get to it.
I want to believe it will get better, but I'm not so sure. I'm sure we will get a bit quicker at working the system, but the system will always be inherently flawed and slow. I'm not loving my job so much right now, but I guess I should just be grateful to still have a job in these economic times...at least that's what my corporate managers keep saying in an attempt to make us feel better about the cesspool we're stuck in.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Take-Over Woes

Let me just start by saying I'm grateful to have a job. In this economy, with jobs and businesses dropping like flies, having a paycheck is a great thing.
That being said, the transition from Albertson's to Associated Foods is not going as planned. Well, at least it's nothing like I planned. Maybe they planned to make every one of my patients angry. If so, they didn't inform me.
Just to bring everyone up to speed, at the end of July, I was asked (told) to join a conference call where SuperValu (owners of Albertson's) announced they had sold all Utah Albertson's to Associated Foods. So many things became instantly clear. Since coming on as the pharmacy manager, I had to install safety handles on my behind so management could safely ride me over everything...labor hours, inventory, warehouse utilization, etc. The minute SuperValu announced the sale, I saw the past 6-7 months with striking clarity...essentially I was an auto-detail boy. I was polishing up the hubcaps and shining the hood...getting this baby ready for sale. I am certain SuperValu has been courting buyers for sometime now, and all I was doing was making it look more profitable to potential buyers.
I tried to approach the sale with optimism. Associated agreed to hire virtually 100% of Albertson's employees, and keep our payrates the same. We would also retain our seniority and vacation time. So far, so good...
Then, we learned of the new computer system with which we would be throttled. I had a little personal experience with it from working at IHC. I was employed with them when they transitioned to this computer system, and I witnessed the pharmacy lose about 1/4-1/3 of it's business over about a year. Of course, decisions about which computer system to use is never posed to the people in the trenches. Those decisions are made by accountants and people who don't work in the pharmacy.
Regardless, I chose to try to remain optimistic. Associated sent us to some (4 hours) of training for the new system in August, assuming the transition would occur soon after. Anyone familiar with corporate buy-outs knows what happened next...it got delayed. Then, it got delayed again, and again, and again....
In the mean time, 3 new computers got delivered to my pharmacy to replace my 7 I currently had. I'm no math whiz, but I immediately fired off e-mails informing them that 3 computers would not sufficiently replace 7 computers. I was assured more computers would be installed before we went live. About 2 weeks before we went live, I e-mailed again stating I still only had 3 computers and was assured I would get more. After much delay, the transition began last Sunday. They picked the first Monday of the month (busiest day of the month) to go live with all 34 stores at once. We closed on Sunday while inventory was taken and the new computers were installed. If you're a student of foreshadowing, you know what happened. In their defense, they did install 3 additional computers for a total of 6...not quite an even swap, but 6 isn't bad.
Come Monday morning, 2+ months since our 4 hours of training for the new system, we fired up the system and...we had 3 computers working. The other 3 didn't even have the software installed on them. We were supposed to be open and running by noon. I didn't even try to open my doors until 4 p.m. Talk about a mess...Where was the voice of reason in all of this? Where was the rational individual to stand up in their planning meetings and tell them the first Monday of the month is the worst possible day they could have picked even if they weren't trying to do all 34 stores at once?
We are now 3 days into the new computer system. Things are getting a little better. We now have 6 computers working. We are actually better off than many of the other pharmacies. We had a trainer on site who was suppose to be with us through Thursday. He had to leave us on Tuesday and go to Salt Lake to a pharmacy that still couldn't open as of Tuesday evening. Right now, we have cookies and punch in front of the pharmacy in the hopes it will apease a few people. It's not uncommon for folks to wait an hour or so for their prescriptions. I just hope people will give us another chance after we learn the system, although I'm not sure they will. I fear the choice to open before all these bugs were worked out will result in losing a lot of customers.
The worst part is that none of this is mine our my techs fault. Nobody asked our opinion about when to go live or what system to choose. But, it is us who gets yelled at and is spending 2+ hours after closing time just trying to get caught up.
I want/have to believe that eventually things will get better. From a management standpoint, I think working for Associated will be VASTLY better than it was for SuperValu. They are much more laid-back and don't seem to ride their middle-management like SuperValu did. I think it will be a great thing for the grocery end of things...prices are already dropping. I just hope we still have any customers at the pharmacy once this all gets worked out.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Clean Blood
Good news....got my blood work back today after the needle stick incident (see below). My blood work came back fine (which I knew it would). More importantly, the patient's (who I'd used the needle on) blood work came back clean as well. So, needless to say, I'm pretty relieved.
Monday, October 5, 2009
PhotoShop Fun
Saturday, October 3, 2009
A Few New Pics
I got Brandi a new camera for her birthday. She took it out the other day and got some pics of the kids. I think they turned out really nice. Here are a few.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Needle Stick Fun
So, I thought I went to pharmacy school. Apparently, my bosses think I am an R.N. For the past few weeks, I've been giving flu shots fast and furious. I especially love how my bosses shroud it with this whole "providing a valuable public health program to increase health" rather than calling it what it is...basically a way to make A LOT more money. And, of course, I don't get paid any more. I just get to do more work and make them more money. Can you tell I don't care for giving flu shots all that much?
Well, I REALLY hate them after today. I gave a patient a flu shot. We have these special syringes where the needle is suppose to retract up into the body of syringe after giving the shot to prevent a needle-stick injury. Well, it didn't retract and I didn't notice it. So, when I went to clean up, I accidentally got stuck with the needle.
So, I got to shut down the pharmacy for about an hour while I took a trip to the hospital to get my blood drawn. The patient who I had given the shot to also had to get her blood drawn. They'll check us both out for Hep B, Hep C, and HIV, and I'll get the results on Monday. Assuming she doesn't have it, then they'll recheck me in about 6 months just to make sure. Kind of scary, but this patient is 100% positive that they don't have any of those infections. But, we have to go through the protocol/testing to make sure.
Lots of fun...I just want to be a pharmacist. I don't need to give immunizations to feel important.
Well, I REALLY hate them after today. I gave a patient a flu shot. We have these special syringes where the needle is suppose to retract up into the body of syringe after giving the shot to prevent a needle-stick injury. Well, it didn't retract and I didn't notice it. So, when I went to clean up, I accidentally got stuck with the needle.
So, I got to shut down the pharmacy for about an hour while I took a trip to the hospital to get my blood drawn. The patient who I had given the shot to also had to get her blood drawn. They'll check us both out for Hep B, Hep C, and HIV, and I'll get the results on Monday. Assuming she doesn't have it, then they'll recheck me in about 6 months just to make sure. Kind of scary, but this patient is 100% positive that they don't have any of those infections. But, we have to go through the protocol/testing to make sure.
Lots of fun...I just want to be a pharmacist. I don't need to give immunizations to feel important.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
At Least He Has Medicare
These healthcare reform protests are turning ugly. Now they're biting off fingers.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
ATV Adventure

Brandi's family has planned an annual ATV trip for the past 3 years. This year was my first chance to join them, and what a blast!!! Pacie and Gavin were able to come along, and we had a great time together. Total, we had about 15 people who went. There were 2 side x side wheelers, 7 four-wheelers, and 1 motorcycle. Brandi was such a big sport and a HUGE help to all of us. Each night, she pulled our trailer with her Dad's truck and met us at our planned camp spots. She hauled everyone's tents, sleeping bags, dutch oven cookers, gas, etc. It was particularly nice for me since it meant I had a trailer to sleep in and and I got to see Brandi.

We started out driving the ATVs right out of Richfield into the west mountains. We then turned south and traveled along the mountain eventually dropping down by Fremont Indian State Park and then further south up into the mountains known as "Kimberly". After riding about 53 miles the first day, we met up with Brandi and camped the first night.




On the second day, we took a side-trail that took us up onto some of the highest peaks in the area. Known as "the baldies", they are named that because they are above the tree line. It was an awesome trail and had great scenery from the top. After returning to the main trail, we continued our ride which took us up over the top of the Tushar Mountains and down to Puffer Lake where Brandi met us for the night. As we were going over the top of the Tushars, we saw a heard of mountain goats which was very cool. Puffer Lake sits high up in the mountains above Beaver near Elk Meadows ski resort. Having traveled about 45 miles for the day, we camped there for the 2nd night.

On Saturday morning, it was time to head for home. Pacie headed home with Brandi and Seth while Gavin and I carried on. We dropped back down the mountain to the town of Junction. We then headed north and back to the east up onto the Monroe mountains, across the top, down Cove Mountain and back to Richfield. It was a killer day...when it was all done, we rode 100 miles that day bringing the grand total for the trip at almost exactly 200 miles.

We had an amazing time. Gavin and Pacie were troopers and they had a blast. In fact, Pacie may have had more fun than anyone. There were many times when we were driving along in the Teryx and I'd look over to see Pacie singing away and waving her hands. It only took 3 showers and a box of q-tips to get all the dirt out of my ears. It was the first time in my life that I actually had to follow the directions on the shampoo bottle that says "lather, rinse, and repeat"...I actually had to repeat.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Marijuana-Smoking No Good Pharmacist

I can't tell you just how "rewarding" working with the public is. When I say "rewarding", what I really mean is there are times I'd sooner have bamboo shoots driven under my fingernails. Case in point....
For a long time we've had a couple of chairs in front of the pharmacy where people sit and wait for their prescriptions. Problem is that the chairs block an end-cap display that a vendor has paid good money for. In addition, it makes privacy difficult. So, we decided to move the chairs approximately 10 feet into our little waiting area. You'd think the world had tilted off its axis. You should see people throw a fit when they can't sit right in front of the pharmacy.
A lady came in the other night and starts tearing into my tech about it. My tech patiently tries to explain to her that there is a privacy issue and we can't have people sitting right in front of the pharmacy listening and seeing what meds everyone is getting. But, this lady won't hear any of it and just keeps ranting about it.
Finally, I walk down and ask her if she'd like a bunch of people sitting there listening to everything she is taking. She replies, "Well, I don't care. I don't have anything to hide." I replied, "Well, if I were taking a bunch of medications, I wouldn't be comfortable with a bunch of people sitting here listening and seeing what I'm taking." She then replies, "Why? Are you on that marijuana?"
I just had to walk away. It was such an asinine comment that I couldn't even reply. Even after I walked away, she kept saying things like, "Well, I don't care if you're on marijuana. It doesn't bother me if you're doing that kind of stuff."
Apparently, people get their marijuana from the pharmacy...at least according to this lady. Of course, this might be possible in California in the near future.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Reflections on the 4th



We had a great 4th of July this year despite Gavin showing me up...more on that later.
The day started with my masochistic brother-in-law making a tee-time for 6:30 a.m. Of course I like golf just enough to drag my sorry butt out of bed at that hour to go. I'm glad I did...I played the round of my life. I actually had a legit birdy and a few pars.
Following golf, we headed to the parade to absorb solar radiation and get pelted with candy. After the parade, we headed to the park. Richfield has a tradition called the "fish grab". They set up three pools each about 25' x 25' big and about 1' deep. They release a bunch of fish into them and let kids go for them with their hands. It was a mad house. I couldn't even see Gavin. I knew he went in, and pretty soon here he comes packing this huge fish through the crowd. He was so proud and is happy to remind me that it's bigger than any fish he's ever caught with me.

We then went to Brandi's parents' house for the traditional picnic/barbeque/drenching. They have a huge water fight every year. At one point, there we people on the roof of the house with hoses. They take their water fights serious.
After the water fight, it was home to change and then to Brandi's grandparents' house for fireworks. The live right by where Richfield City sets off their fireworks, so the whole family converges on their lawn come night fall. They put on a good show this year.
We decided to wait until the following night to light off our own fireworks because then the neighbors wouldn't be expecting loud bangs and screams at 11 p.m. We even had one neighbor join in with the illegal stuff. We had dogs howling and things shooting in the air and exploding up until well after 11 p.m. It was sweet, although our other neighbors may not speak to us again.
Anyway, we had a great 4th this year.
New Tunes
Figured it was about time to update a few songs. I left a lot of them the same, but added a few new ones I like. Enjoy...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Long Time, No Blog...

Wow...It's been a while. I've been thinking about updating my blog nearly every night. Procrastinators unite!
Just shy of eternity, my fellow pharmacist retired at the end of June. He was a decent guy, but it was time for him to retire. His heart/mind hadn't been in the job for a while now. In the interim, they have been sending me float pharmacists. This has worked out perfect for me. I can basically work whenever I want and they send the float pharmacists for the other days. So, for the past few weeks, I've had every weekend off.
Alas, all good things must come to an end. I was informed this week that a pharmacist who works at the Albertson's in Price is transferring to Richfield. Now I have to go back to being fair with the schedule. It sucks...
Determining that we weren't in quite enough debt, Brandi and I decided to buy a trailer. It's been a blast! It's a hybrid...something of a cross between a regular trailer and a tent trailer. It's light enough to pull with the Pathfinder, so that makes it nice. We've taken a couple of quick trips up to Fish Lake with it and have had a blast. We're looking forward to many more fun family trips.
Otherwise, family is doing well. Seth is getting big and Gavin and Pacie love having a little brother. Brandi continues to amaze me. She redid our entire loft upstairs and turned it into a kid's dream. She painted big multi-colored squares on the walls, made a chalk board table, had me build a stage, and many other things. I'll have to post some pics of it.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
You Never Know...
Do you ever look back on your day and think, "Wow! I would never have expected THAT to happen today?"
I had to work at the pharmacy today. Kind of sucked with it being Fathers' Day, but oh well. It was my weekend to work. No big deal really. That is until a lady came in with diagnosed swine flu for a prescription. Luckily she was wearing a mask and taking precautions. Regardless, it was a moment of truth. While I whole-heartedly believe the media has blown this WAY out of proportion, there was still that moment when I wanted to handle her prescription with barbeque tongs. I actually did go into the bathroom and scrub immediately after helping her...better safe than sorry, right? I keep coughing in my wife's general direction just for fun.
Then, I received a phone call from my Dad informing me that my oldest sister was in the hospital and wasn't expected to live through the day. My sister has had an incredible amount of health problems and multiple surgeries throughout her life. So, while I was initially shocked, it was not completely unexpected. For the past few years, she has been living in a nursing home and has been in/out of hospitals for sometime now. It's hard to know what to feel. Given her quality of life, this is a blessing in one regard. On the other hand, I still feel sadness over the loss of a sister.
I had to work at the pharmacy today. Kind of sucked with it being Fathers' Day, but oh well. It was my weekend to work. No big deal really. That is until a lady came in with diagnosed swine flu for a prescription. Luckily she was wearing a mask and taking precautions. Regardless, it was a moment of truth. While I whole-heartedly believe the media has blown this WAY out of proportion, there was still that moment when I wanted to handle her prescription with barbeque tongs. I actually did go into the bathroom and scrub immediately after helping her...better safe than sorry, right? I keep coughing in my wife's general direction just for fun.
Then, I received a phone call from my Dad informing me that my oldest sister was in the hospital and wasn't expected to live through the day. My sister has had an incredible amount of health problems and multiple surgeries throughout her life. So, while I was initially shocked, it was not completely unexpected. For the past few years, she has been living in a nursing home and has been in/out of hospitals for sometime now. It's hard to know what to feel. Given her quality of life, this is a blessing in one regard. On the other hand, I still feel sadness over the loss of a sister.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Turkey Lurkey Do


I drew out for a turkey tag along with my bro-in-law, Rocky, this year. Neither of us had ever hunted turkeys before and really had no clue what we were doing. But, we read and talked to people and tried to gain some clue into how to do it before the hunt started.
Friday morning we headed out for the hunt. We spent most of the day scouting a few areas. About sun-down, we heard some gobbling down in a canyon we were watching. We started to move down the canyon towards the sound, calling every so often so we could hear where they were. As it turned out, the turkeys were moving up the canyon towards us.
At one point, they gobble and I'm almost right on top of them, but I can't see them. I quickly sat down right in the trail to give myself some cover in the hopes I could see them before they saw me. As it turned out, where I sat down just happened to be under a huge Ponderosa Pine tree...the largest one in the entire canyon. Turkeys like to roost in the tops of large trees for the night for protection. So, I'm sitting there and I finally see some movement in the bushes. I get a quick glimpse of the turkeys and they were about 50 yards away. They moved back into the bushes, then I hear wings flapping and they fly into the top of the tree I'm sitting under.
Now I'm stuck. I can't shoot them out of the tree and I can't just get up and walk away because they'll see me and we'll lose our chance of getting them. I sat there for a while, with 3 male turkeys (toms) gobbling in the tree directly above me, trying to decide what to do. Eventually, I rolled over onto my belly and tried to crawl away as stealthily as possible. It took about 2 hours for my adrenaline to burn off.
We headed back to the area before daylight the next morning, and they were still in the tree. We set up our decoys and started calling. They are gobbling back, but then they fly out of the tree in nearly the opposite direction of where we were. Either they saw us, or they had probably seen me the night before and were a little nervous. Regardless, we had to start stalking them again.
We started working up the sidehill they'd flown to. I was working up the hill from underneath them, and Rocky worked his way from the side. We were getting close, but I still couldn't see them. Finally, I was crawling on my hands and knees up the hill for aobut the last 75 yards. Finally, I could see movement in the bushes. Then, a tom walks out about 30 yards away and looks at me and then walks back into the bushes. I'm in my camo, but I'm not sure whether he saw me or not. I was kind of waiting to see if Rocky was going to shoot because he was even a little closer than I was. The tom walked out again and looked at me and started moving down the hill a little bit towards me. I decided that if one of us didn't shoot that they were going to see me and take off. The tom moved behind a bush and I raised my shotgun while he couldn't see the movement. When he walked out again, I shot and got my first turkey!
It was one of the funnest hunts I've ever done. I can see how guys get addicted to turkey hunting.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
I Could Have Sworn It Was Mothers' Day


So, a few days ago Brandi calls me at the pharmacy and says, "I have your Fathers' Day present and I'm not sure how to hide it. Should I just give it to you now?" I replied that it would be fun, but that whatever it is, she should wait.
Then, today, as I'm leaving for work, she says, "Well, I have a surprise for you this afternoon."
After I get off work, we head to Brandi's mom's house for Mothers' Day dinner. My brother-in-law pulls up and has a new Kawasaki Teryx on a trailer. This didn't strike me as terribly odd because he works at the dealership that sells them. I just assumed he must be delivering one or demoing it or something. Brandi and I had looked at them a few times and had talked about how much fun one would be. I saw it on the trailer and jokingly told my brother-in-law that he could drop that off at my house if he wanted.
Well, a few minutes later Gavin and Pacie come running up and say, "Dad, come look at your new wheeler!" I laughed and said, "Yeah, wouldn't that be fun." And then I notice everyone is staring at me and Brandi has her camera out taking pictures.
Needless to say, I love it and have the most wonderful wife in the world...and not just because she surprised me with a new Teryx. Now, I've just got to figure out what I'm going to get her for Fathers' Day.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Will The Mud Ever End?
So, I woke up this morning and laid in bed planning out my day in my mind. Construction on our fence is supposed to start on Thursday, so I had a few things I needed to get finished for that. I get dressed and head outside to dig part of the footing and:
"Surprise"!!!
There's a huge sink hole in the front of our house. I walk out of our garage and the first thing I see is one of our big landscaping rocks sitting on a 45-degree angle. I then notice that a bunch of my paving stones have disappeared along with one of our bushes. There's a huge hole right next to our sidewalk where our sprinkler system ties into our water main. I step out onto our lawn and it completely caves in. Holy crap...Or I said some other choice words along those lines.
So, I begin tearing our edging, raking back decorative rock, pulling up paving stones, etc. I finally get everything uncovered and what a mess. All the dirt has washed away and left this huge cavern under a big chunk of our lawn and flower bed. I mean BIG...I could stick my entire shovel down into it and still not reach the bottom.
I then start shoveling down to the water main. Luckily my father-in-law showed up about that time and we dug and dug. Shoveling dirt is one thing, but mud is a whole other fun ball game. My neighbor came over and helped. We finally reached the main and discovered that the pipe to our sprinkling system had slipped out of the elbow where it connects to the water main. I guess not enough glue was used or maybe the joint was a little dirty or something. Regardless, basically a 1" pipe was running full-bore for probably 12 hours.
So, we got it fixed. I then proceed to transplant the sod I tore out to our backyard, figuring that we might as well use it for something. My father-in-law then starts pounding away on our lawn with the bucket of his backhoe to cave in the sink hole.
And, that's where we sit tonight. The cavern has been caved in and the pipe is fixed. We've got to get more dirt to fill the hole back in. Then we'll compact it, put edging back in, rebuild flower beds, place decorative rock back in them, relay paving stones, and lay sod. Yee haw....
I can't tell you how good watering my lawn with a hose and sprinkler sounded today when I was staring into this abyss that used to be my front yard. We were finally just getting our front yard about where we wanted it...bushes were growing and I actually had to mow our lawn for the first time last week.
Oh well....guess it could have been worse.
"Surprise"!!!
There's a huge sink hole in the front of our house. I walk out of our garage and the first thing I see is one of our big landscaping rocks sitting on a 45-degree angle. I then notice that a bunch of my paving stones have disappeared along with one of our bushes. There's a huge hole right next to our sidewalk where our sprinkler system ties into our water main. I step out onto our lawn and it completely caves in. Holy crap...Or I said some other choice words along those lines.
So, I begin tearing our edging, raking back decorative rock, pulling up paving stones, etc. I finally get everything uncovered and what a mess. All the dirt has washed away and left this huge cavern under a big chunk of our lawn and flower bed. I mean BIG...I could stick my entire shovel down into it and still not reach the bottom.
I then start shoveling down to the water main. Luckily my father-in-law showed up about that time and we dug and dug. Shoveling dirt is one thing, but mud is a whole other fun ball game. My neighbor came over and helped. We finally reached the main and discovered that the pipe to our sprinkling system had slipped out of the elbow where it connects to the water main. I guess not enough glue was used or maybe the joint was a little dirty or something. Regardless, basically a 1" pipe was running full-bore for probably 12 hours.
So, we got it fixed. I then proceed to transplant the sod I tore out to our backyard, figuring that we might as well use it for something. My father-in-law then starts pounding away on our lawn with the bucket of his backhoe to cave in the sink hole.
And, that's where we sit tonight. The cavern has been caved in and the pipe is fixed. We've got to get more dirt to fill the hole back in. Then we'll compact it, put edging back in, rebuild flower beds, place decorative rock back in them, relay paving stones, and lay sod. Yee haw....
I can't tell you how good watering my lawn with a hose and sprinkler sounded today when I was staring into this abyss that used to be my front yard. We were finally just getting our front yard about where we wanted it...bushes were growing and I actually had to mow our lawn for the first time last week.
Oh well....guess it could have been worse.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Meet Seth



So, Seth it is....Seth Craig Olsen. Craig is Brandi's Dad, so we thought we'd give him that middle name. Here are a few pics.
Brandi is doing well and is getting more mobile as her c-section heals. We had pretty bad weather for the first few days we were home, and I was about ready to chew my own arm off. But, the last couple of days have been a lot of fun. I got Pacie and Gavin out of the house on Friday and we went rock hunting out by Capital Reef. Yesterday, we went down to the farm and helped with the calves. Gavin and I then went golfing. And then Gavin, Pacie and I went on a picnic and did some fishing in the evening. We would have liked for Brandi and Seth to be there, but we both agreed that having the kids out of the house and letting Brandi relax was the best thing...particularly since Brandi doesn't have the stomach right now to clean up the mess if I chewed my arm off.
Monday, April 13, 2009
It's a Boy!
It's a boy. He was born at 7:36 a.m. this morning. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 21 inches long. The c-section went really smoothly and Brandi and baby are doing great. We are leaning towards Seth for his name, but it's not set in stone yet. I'll post pics and more info later.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Mistaken Identity
Quote: "With my daughter at the airport I was startled by a paparazzo, who I quite understandably mistook for a zombie," he said.
Well, sure...I can totally see how you'd mistake a photographer for a zombie.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Babies, Viruses, and Fences...Oh My
Man...I've been a slacker at posting lately. We're just getting ready for the baby by cleaning everything in sight. Brandi has even taken to giving the kids Clorox wipes and setting them loose on the house. If DCFS stops by, they're going to think we're running a sweatshop in our home. We are down to less than 2 weeks to the c-section, and we are still not discussing names because we can't agree on anything. What was once one of my wife's favorite boy names 4 years ago, has now become the most horrible, awful name she's ever heard...a name she wouldn't dream of calling her most despised enemy. I happen to still really like the name. I keep telling her that I'll have the last say when I bless the baby. I'll omit here what her response to that is. Pacie told us the other day that we can name the new baby Pacie because when she turns 5, she is turning into a boy and her name will be Austin (Backyardigans character for those who are wondering why).
Besides that, we've had a few other things going on.
With the help of my brother, I had to wipe Brandi's laptop clean. I would just like to pause here and state that I hope there is a special place in HELL for people who create malware/spyware/viruses. What a friggin' nightmare that was. I tried every piece of software I could to remove it from Brandi's computer with no luck. Ultimately, we had to wipe out and reinstall windows. Yee haw.
We were hoping to get a block fence built around our place in the next few weeks, but we've now decided that we want to sell our house and move someplace remote...possibly the moon...to get away from neighbors. Basically, our neighbors want to pitch in on the fence, but they don't have the $$$ right now. We told them fine, that we'll cover it for now, and they can pay us if/when they can. However, this hasn't stopped them from forming an opinion on everything and thinking they should be the ones to decide who will build it, how, and when. Ahhh...gotta love having neighbors.
Besides that, we've had a few other things going on.
With the help of my brother, I had to wipe Brandi's laptop clean. I would just like to pause here and state that I hope there is a special place in HELL for people who create malware/spyware/viruses. What a friggin' nightmare that was. I tried every piece of software I could to remove it from Brandi's computer with no luck. Ultimately, we had to wipe out and reinstall windows. Yee haw.
We were hoping to get a block fence built around our place in the next few weeks, but we've now decided that we want to sell our house and move someplace remote...possibly the moon...to get away from neighbors. Basically, our neighbors want to pitch in on the fence, but they don't have the $$$ right now. We told them fine, that we'll cover it for now, and they can pay us if/when they can. However, this hasn't stopped them from forming an opinion on everything and thinking they should be the ones to decide who will build it, how, and when. Ahhh...gotta love having neighbors.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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