The D.L. on Tony & Kel

Office Remodel 2009

2009-04-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

While finally getting some free time on the computer today, I realized that we have not posted to our blog in a LONG time. Tragic! So I have taken it upon myself to rectify this situation.

Below is a slideshow of photos showing the remodeling we've recently done at the office. Things had gotten to the point that in order for us to continue helping more people, changes had to be made. The feedback so far has been very positive, and we were thrilled about how it turned out.

The custom wood pieces were made for us by Boonie from Sugar Valley Iron. The material in the framing is called Lumicor. It is actual reed-looking grass impregnated in resin. It looks really cool!

Wisdom Removed

2008-09-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

We took the day off today so that I could have my wisdom tooth out.

Yes, tooth, singular. Evidently, I was only granted one tooth's worth of wisdom in life.

As of 9:45 a.m. this morning I am several grams lighter and perhaps a little more dim than before.

The oral surgeon did a great job of getting it out and I am happy with my decision to just have local anthesia and some laughing gas. The laughing gas wore off in about 5 minutes and I was happy to be able to understand the instructions I was given--that's a surgery first for me! It only took about 4 hours for my face to regain feeling.

While waiting for the numbness to wear off, laziness struck. I really was not enjoying having to hold a cloth-wrapped ice pack on my head. It required laying down and freezing my digits. Not fun. So I decided to make my first request of Tony. I asked for the grey yarn and a crochet hook. Two hours later I had my very own ice pack cozy, as modeled in the photo below.

As you can see, the cozy is very functional, but the model is not. To that end, I plan to spend the remainder of the afternoon watching the first Lord of the Rings movie and wait for my face to start swelling as promised.

I feel very fortunate to have a six-pack of chocolate Ensure (turns out that opening my craw is not pleasant, so the popsicles, yogurt and alphabet soup will have to wait a day or two) and a loving Tony who brings me ice, pills, and Ensure before I even think to ask.

Summer Summary

2008-07-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

Ok. I got a comment that prompted me to actually publish a post. There's a whole lotta little stuff going on, but none of it has been all that interesting. But at last there have been enough events to roll into a summer summary. Here's the haps in no particular order:

WORK
As you all know, a good deal of our existence revolves around our work. We are currently in the process of hiring an exam assistant. We are very excited to have a little extra help around the office!

In addition to the new hire, we have changed up our hours. We start seeing patients later in the day and finish later in the evening. The difference is that we'll be able to leave when we've seen our last patient for the day...which will be much earlier than what we experienced previously.

OUTINGS
We had occasion to go a friend's wedding at a winery just outside of Ames. The winery was lovely, the bride was beautiful, and a good time was had by all. The food was spectacular and there was lots of dancing (which we both enjoy). We also enjoyed the chance to spend some time with friends from California and Minnesota.

There was also a trip to Kansas City to visit a college friend of Tony's. His friend and his wife were hosting an open house and we took the opportunity to get out of town and see their new diggs. Lovely place and lovely party. Also lovely to spend some time in our favorite city and eat at our favorite places.

HOME
I was holding out for photos, but laziness took over and so you just get a plain wordy report. Sorry! So a big THANKS goes out to Ma & Pa Hocker for all of the accomplishments about to be listed.

As is usual with a Hocker-based event, there was a lot of planning. The execution went well and everyone was quite happy with the results at the end of the weekend.

The work started on Friday. Ma & Pa arrived and got to work before we even made it home. Saturday there was a whole lotta driving as we made a trip to IKEA for office related stuff and to visit the household things we plan to buy someday. Tony managed to get a couple boxes of dubblachocolateflarn (sp?) cookies into the cart. IKEA knows what they are doing by having several jars around the store for you to sample. Yum!

By Monday morning, there were 8 or so stumps removed, which involved a whole lotta grubbing. The screened in portch received a thorough scrubbing and some fresh paint. To top it off, we installed some plastic tiles to help with wear and tear on the not-so-new decking. Looks a whole lot better!

There was also a whole lotta cleaning. Floors were scoured, trim was cleaned, and the biggest surprise of all was to come home from work on Monday and find that Ma & Pa had tidied the garage and shop (which were a complete disaster)! I still marvel at how tidy it is!

Meanwhile, Ma & Pa solved the mystery of the gnome spilling. Turns out it was indeed the lettercarrier who was assaulting Gnomey...who then falls over and assaults a hosta. Mystery solved!

Finding this out made me resolve to move the mailbox. We are very happy with our new mailbox and it's location at the bottom of our front steps on the opposite side from Gnomey.

We also have a new critter that hangs around our house. I remember the first sighting disctinctly because I was napping when it happened. I was awakened by a very excited Tony telling me to hurry up and get down here (to the family room). I promptly got up an ran around like an idiot. I couldn't find my glasses and they were very necessary to identify what kind of new critter had just been spotted. I was momentarily thrown off by the length of the tail...but a groundhog it was and is. We promptly named him Coolige Drive Calvin.

We've watched him all summer long trying to decide what to do with him. He's kinda neat. This past weekend we found out from our neighbor across the back yard that he also hangs out at her place. We hadn't seen him in a couple weeks and then he turned up again on Tony's birthday. He's a busy little critter and has munched and dug his way under the screened in portch deck as well as at least one of our other decks. He's gotten a little destructive and it's time for him to enter the Davis Animal Relocation Program.

So, we set the have-a-heart trap with some grapes and left it out overnight--so did our neighbor. When I got up to go on my run the next morning it was too dark to see what we'd caught, but I could see the flaps were down. I woke up Tony so he could investigate.

When I got home I went out to see for myself and to check out the neighbor's trap. The neighbor's trap had been sprung and knocked over. In our trap was a small (not a baby, but not full grown either) raccoon. It had started to rain right as I'd started my run and I felt really bad for the little guy. We moved him under the eaves to keep him dry until he could be picked up by Tony's dad and set free.

We have decided we can't leave the trap out overnight anymore. It will be interesting to see how long it takes us to catch the groundhog...and how many other things we catch instead.

Hope that you all have enjoyed your summer! We'll try to do something interesting soon.

Technically Tech Support

2008-05-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

Friends, I'm having a bit of a time with the folks in our software's Tech Support. And the use of the term "support" is accurate only in the most technical part of the definition...as in technically they've fulfilled their supportive role by sending a response to my question.

It must be the only industry where you can automatically (and politely) assume that your customer is an idiot...maybe not impaired to the point of drooling on oneself, but close.

If the situation wasn't so frustrating it would really be hilarious...or at least funny in a British humor kind of way.

What was the exchange, you ask? Well, for fun, let's change it to something other than Medicare claims.

Me: Help! I lost my keys, I had them at your house--have you seen them?

Support Staff Simon: I have looked in your purse and your keys are not there. You should put your keys in your purse.

Me: Yes, thank you, but have you looked at your house?

Support Staff Sally: As Simon told you, your keys should be in your purse.

Me: You are correct that putting my keys in my purse would keep them from being lost. But, have you taken a look around to see if they might be at your house?

Support Staff Sally: If your keys were placed in your purse then everything is great on our end.

Me: Why is my shirt wet? Oh, I've started to drool.

HA!

Seriously, hope that you are able to get outside a bit today. The weather here is beautiful. I for one, am going to take a nice long walk when I get home.

Big Birthday Weekend...the preparation

2008-04-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

The time has come for Big Birthday Weekend. We depart this afternoon for the hills of Southeast Iowa to begin the celebration.

What is Big Birthday Weekend? Well, it started as the celebration of three birthdays and then expanded to cover Mother's Day as well. A few years ago, it expanded to include a several more birthdays. The grand total is now five (six when the extended family can come) birthdays and several mothers worth of Mother's Day.

It is a pretty quiet and low key celebration that takes place over the course of the weekend. There is usually some cake (angel food--one with nuts, one without, or half-n-half), and the food is never the same but always good.

We also tend to spend some time hunting mushrooms. Some years we spend more time than others. The last two years the ticks have been so bad that we didn't go as far or as long (note: ticks like dark colored clothing--especially black sweatpants...I'd always worn jeans before and will NEVER make that mistake again).

If it is warm enough we sometimes go to the local ice cream shop. It's super good and super cheap! Having grown up with such places I'm still in sticker shock at a Dairy Queen. Also the local ice cream shop would never tell a customer that they couldn't make a dip cone out of anything larger than a medium...and they make sure the coating covers ALL the way down and over the top ledge of the cone so you don't have any leaks (VERY important for customers of all ages--especially this one).

No matter what we actually end up doing this weekend, it will be a good time. It isn't anything that some folks would find exciting, but I enjoy the good, clean, relaxing fun of doing all the spring things I enjoyed as a kid in one family-filled weekend.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

When it rains, it pours...

2008-02-17T17:24:00.001-08:00

Valentines Day 2008 and it's subsequent weekend will not be fondly remembered. Soon after the previous post things went rapidly downhill. Here's the synopsis:

Tony's Grandpa Charlie passed away on Valentine's Day. His health had been poor, but this was certainly sooner than anyone anticipated.

After slogging through the rest of our Valentine's work day, we head home and try and decide what to eat. While making our decision, I eat a cookie and drink some milk. (Insert Ron Burgandy: "Milk was a bad choice!") I instantly feel as though someone bashed my stomach with a shovel. Mercifully, the abusers let up for a bit and allowed me to sleep until 4 a.m. at which time they proceded to go for an uptempo second round.

At 4:30 a.m. Tony decided to take me to the ER because the pain level was high (8 of 10) and it didn't make any sense--no fever, didn't hurt worse to touch, etc. Three hours later the ER didn't know what was going on either, but discharged me because they guessed it wasn't going to kill me. Tony had to leave me for a bit to shut down the office. Luckily, Tony's sister (who is CMA in Des Moines) was able to get me an appointment in the very early afternoon. The diagnosis: 90% sure it was gastritis (raw stomach lining due to stress and too much stomach acid), 10% possibility it was something gallbladder related thanks to incriminating family history. Because I hadn't eaten anything, they sent me for an ultrasound to help rule in/out the gallbladder problem later that afternoon. (Side note: my kidney looks like an alien life form.) Dr.'s orders at this point are to exist on a very bland fat-free diet, so I'm currently fueled by chicken broth, rice, Toasty-Os, and Krisped Rice. As hungry as I am, I'm not taking any chances until after the funeral (I've been asked to sing during the service and it's usually assumed the singer can stand).

Fast forward to today: The weather in central Iowa goes from bad to worse while we are in church. The Highway Patrol deems that highway 30 is unsuitable for travel, meaning we couldn't make it to the visitation this afteroon, which was upsetting. In addition, our sister-in-law was making her way back from Omaha when she was majorly rear-ended outside of Des Moines, totalling her less than 3 week old car. She was already nursing a knee problem (her knee is the size of a grapefruit) and had an allergic reaction to the pain meds they gave her for it. Now, she's added whiplash to her list of pains.

To close, the funeral is tomorrow. Thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Debbie Downer

PS: At least the Cyclones won on Saturday, although we did have to witness the ugliest first half of basketball ever. It seemed rather fitting at the time considering everything else that had gone on. An awesome second half was a pleasant diversion from the insanity.

My Funny Valentine

2008-02-12T13:31:00.000-08:00

In addition to being one of my favorite songs, "My Funny Valentine" also seems to fit the general theme of the day as well.

"What are you doing for Valentine's Day?" has been my leadoff question for the week (when appropriate). The stories patients tell about their plans for the day are in turn sweet, bitter, silly, and sometimes even sensible--e.g., waiting for the weekend.

My Valentine IS funny. Yesterday we were looking for handwriting fonts and he found the following little diddy. We laugh everytime we think of it and hope you enjoy it too.

Ready?

"If you're not part of the solution, you're a precipitate."

(insert nerdy giggle here)

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Herd of Piggies

2008-02-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

Iowa is known for producing hogs and you are probably aware of several sayings involving them. This morning at about 7:50 a.m. a whole herd of cars did their best impression of hogs on ice.

It was a sad and frustrating display. The cars even did their best squeeling impressions by slamming on the footfeed and then their brakes as they went in every direction other than forward. I belive "grunting" would be a nice way to interpret the sounds inside the cars as people made faces and gestures of frustration.

We were stopped near the crest of the hill by the stoplight and when it turned green again the huge passenger van in front of us started moving--but not in the correct direction. It slid backwards, sideways, nearly into the next lane, etc., all without bothering to turn on its hazards. An attempt to go around the large van ended up with us taking a rather uncomfortable slide to the side. Thanks to a minivan that was a little to close behind me I gave up trying to move. The lane to the right continued to move through three or so more lights and then a little black Toyota gummed it up.

A cop showed up asked each car if we could move and then left to take care of some accidents. Ten minutes or so ticked by along with several Cy-Ride buses along a route that runs right by our office (tried to get Tony to walk up and catch a bus, but he wouldn't). Frustrated, I called 911 and they said that the city had a load of salt and sand on the way. Passing along information seemed to calm the driver of the little black Toyota (he wanted us to try and turn around so he could get out).

Meanwhile the traffic continued to pile up down the hill. We collected several compact cars, a school bus, and other miscellanious vehicles all the way to the bottom of the very long hill. Every now and then someone would make a well calculated run and go around us all when there was a green light.

After waiting for about 20 minutes a city truck lurched around the corner and drove VERY close to us flinging sand and salt. Figuring it was a now or never moment, I slid the shifter into drive and putted right on up the hill.

To think, just a little sand and salt thrown out would have saved so many piggies--I mean, people--so much time.

A New Year

2008-01-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since our last post. Thanksgiving has come and gone as well as Christmas and the end of 2007. We've put in some road miles and visited a lot of family since our last post. In all it was great!

In addition to the holiday festivities we've been attending ISU men's basketball games and working a lot (thanks to having to switch software at work). The new software is up and running and we are beginning to make our way through the backlog of other work. We are excited to see how much time this new software frees up in the long run (once everything is at 100%).

As you can see, we haven't been very interesting so you really haven't missed out on much by our not posting anything...unless you count dealing with our new software at work...there really hasn't been anything too exciting that has happened yet this year--and we are perfectly happy with that!

I believe a picture is worth a million words or at least a few multiple choice options. It does capture best what my day to day life is like as I struggle to get our new software at 100%. You can choose your own caption to the photo below...

Is it the last thing I see clearly as I:
A)Pass out from extreme exhaustion
B)Lean over to throw up a little
C)Start to get blurred vision
D)All of the above

Weekend in Chicago

2007-10-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Kel and I were in Chicago so I could attend a seminar. It was taught by Jeff Spencer, D.C., who is a chiropractor to elite athletes such as Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. Dr. Spencer was actually with Lance during all 7 of his Tour victories and was on the staff for this year's winner, Alberto Contador. Needless to say, the class was excellent.

We got to Chicago at a decent time on Friday night, got checked into our hotel, and headed out for some yummy authentic "Chicago-Style" pizza at Lou Malnati's. We had eaten there before and we'd highly recommend it should your travels ever take you to the Chicagoland area.

It was also great to see my cousin, Jake, his wife, Marivelle, and Marivelle's little sister, Jasmine. They live in Schaumburg, which was not too far from where my seminar was taking place. Jake and Marivelle met up with Kel for some shopping on Saturday while I was in class, and we all went out to dinner that night.

Unfortunately, we left the camera at home, so this boring, pictureless post will have to suffice.

Our New View

2007-10-17T07:10:00.001-07:00

It used to be that all you ever saw of the windows in our lower level were the mini blinds behind a layer of winterizing plastic that we left up year round. The mini blinds shielded us from the sight of our warped and drafty windows. The plastic slowed down the wind and the bugs from infiltrating our lower level.

There was no hiding the door that leads to the back yard with its lack of threshold and doggie door. We covered it with plastic too, but it did little to stop the cold and nothing to stop the bugs.

Two weekends ago that all changed; thanks to my brother, Mark, and parents we now have a new view in the lower level. The mini blinds are gone, the new windows and a new door are in. It is now the warmest level of the house. We need to put up some curtains, but for now we're enjoying the view.

That weekend was very productive. Two light fixtures were installed on Friday evening (the last of the work left to be done after the great leak of March 2007--no more dining in the dark!). Mark and Dad got up and made the first trip to Lowes and were back by 8:30 or so. Then the window removal and installations got started. Mark and Tony had four of the six windows put in by lunch time. After lunch they finished up the other two windows, made an additional run to Lowes for door installation materials and then put in two exterior doors. One door in the lower level and one in the kitchen (the former owner, Captain Handy, had put an interior door on the entry between the kitchen and the garage). Then there was putting up the final light fixture over the sink. Mark was all done and on the road by 6 p.m.

All that was left was putting up some trim and painting the newly exposed cement around the new windows. Mom and Dad took care of that in short order.

Also, during the course of the weekend Dad spent a good deal of time using our new gift of a small chipper/shredder to reduce our pile of sticks and tree trimmings to a little bit of nothing. The back corner looks so much better now. Mom spent a good deal of time doing prep and finish painting work for the new light fixtures as well as making sure there were good things to eat. She also kept all the waste picked up and organized.

Tony spent his time helping Mark with the windows and doors. I was the go-fer and also spent a lot of time trying to cover things that could be moved and cleaning up.

Deuce, my brother's dog, was also very busy. He enjoyed roaming our back yard and we hoped that his presents would help with our raccoon problem. He split his time between monitoring the window/door work and keeping and eye on The Angry Squirrel. We have a photo of him checking out a window opening as well as a photo of the staredown between him and The Angry Squirrel (he's on the wire directly above Deuce). There were many stares exchanged on Saturday. We're pretty sure Deuce won.

(In case you were wondering, The Angry Squirrel is the squirrel's offical title. If you happen to be outside, this squirrel becomes very angry. He chatters and chatters and will not move or be quiet until you go away. The Angry Squirrel also buries all his treasures in our back yard--as evidenced by all the little ripped up bits of grass.)

We want to say thank you again to Mark, Mom, and Dad for all your hard work! We really appreciate your generosity!

Below is a slideshow of some photos from the weekend. Enjoy!

Time to Retreat

2007-09-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

We realized that we couldn't remember when we took our last actual vacation. This coupled with my lack of ideas for Tony's birthday resulted in a little mini retreat to St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota.

The abbey is home to about 150 monks who hold prayer services in the morning and evening as well as a mid-day mass. They are open to people of all faiths and actually allow visitors to participate in the prayer services, sitting right up front with them. The services were so peaceful that we ended up making it a point to attend them.

The guesthouse itself is just under a year old. The rooms were spartan, but quite comfortable. The monks hand-crafted all the furniture and prepare the food for the guests. Wow, can they cook! The meals were great, but the kicker was all the different artisan breads. They were wonderful.

We spent the weekend exploring the trails in the game reserve and sitting on a bench overlooking one of the lakes. There were an inordinate amount of baby squirrels. They were everywhere and very brave. Heading out into the northern part of the grounds mid-day Saturday was not a good plan. We had to beat a hasty retreat after facing an onslaught of mosquitoes. Next time, bug repellent will be on the packing list. We also took advantage of the opportunity to talk with a monk. It was a very rewarding experience for both of us. The monk we spoke with was very thoughtful and wise--like a benevolent professor.

All in all, it was a great little retreat for us. It's amazing what a little time out in nature coupled with time reflecting can do for the soul.

The front of the Abbey Church

The view from our room in the guesthouse

Thursday Night Lights

2007-08-31T06:25:00.000-07:00

Hope was running high in Ames last night. The weather was beautiful. ISU has a new coach, new systems, new players, new attitude. The tailgating was in full effect. Reports were coming in from patients that traffic was snarled up all over town. We hurriedly bolted out of the office with my brother and sister-in-law so that we could get to the game before kickoff. The team emerged from the smoke filled tunnel to 47,000+ people cheering. They teed it up and proceeded to...

STINK IT UP!

They were terrible. On both sides of the ball. It was very difficult to watch. If not for a couple of fortunate turnovers deep in ISU territory, we could have very well lost by another 10-14 points. My expectations for this season were fairly low anyway, but this game was one I thought was going to be a notch in the "Win" column. It's hard to believe, but we may actually be worse than last year.

It's going to be a looooooooong season in Cloneville.

Marching Out

2007-08-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

Either the 409 was so toxic that the ants couldn't go near the sprayed areas or Tony scared them away with the vacuum. Regardless, they have marched themselves out of our house.

Tony & Kel: 1
Ants: 0

We take victory where we can.

Marching In

2007-08-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

The ants are marching in. I always wish I could prevent it, but each spring and summer, the little tiny ants invade (my mom calls them "sweet ants", but there's nothing sweet about them infesting our kitchen).

This morning Tony pried himself out of bed first and ventured down for some water. My enjoyable minutes of being a bed-bug were cut short by the sound of the vacuum. He had the attachments out and was going after the ants. I decided to join in on the attack with some 409. Folks, it's scary how quickly 409 kills ants. Makes you wonder if you should be spraying it on something your food could touch.

The ants feasted well overnight as two of the four traps we set out yesterday were licked clean. We set out more traps before we left for work. Hopefully they will decide that our home is not a hospitable environment and march themselves out.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair...

2007-08-19T15:30:00.001-07:00

Kel and I are big fans of the State Fair. We try and go down for at least one day each year to soak in all the sights, sounds and "fair-omas."

We finally had our chance to go on Saturday. It was a nearly perfect day weather-wise for fairgoing. We got there at around 9 and were able to take in all the major sights very quickly without having to wait around in line. That gave us plenty of time to mosey through the animal barns, the 4-H Building and the commercial exhibits.

In total our State Fair experience was complete. Kel got to pet a baby pig. We saw the butter cow, the Super Bull, the Biggest Boar and the Biggest Ram. We counsumed our annual four-course fair lunch (details below) and ran into some friends that we hadn't seen in awhile.

This year's four-course fair lunch included:

Appetizer: Cheese-on-a-Stick
Main Course: Kel- Pork Chop-on-a-Stick; Tony- Footlong Corn Dog
Side Dish: Sweet Potato Fries- This was our "new" thing to try this year. They were really good!
Dessert: Deep Fat Fried Twinkie (on a stick, naturally)

Attached is slide show of some pictures we took at the fair. Enjoy!

Spring has Sprung into Summer

2007-08-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

After three years of driving quickly into our garage to avoid looking at our weed infested flowerbeds, this past spring we finally did something to improve them.

Many thanks to Tony's mom and dad for their help in choosing plants and preparing the beds as well as helping to plant everything. Thanks to Nicki for the lovely book carrying gnome. He contributes mightily to the ISU red and gold theme.

The hostas and day lilies have survived our care very well. As it has been so hot, they've kinda given up blooming, but the coreopsis in the front bed have kept blooming regardless of weather. Now that summer is in full swing the hibiscus and their lovely mammoth blooms are in their glory. And yes, we are aware that the hibiscus do not fall into the red and gold theme. The seeds were from red plants, but these particular plants seemed to have a different color in mind. As most of you are aware, pink is not a color I would ever choose for anything...but the blooms are so pretty I forget that every time I look at them.

Lusty Leland Day Lilies

We tried to come up with a better name, but he's known as "Gnomie" and you better not have a problem with that or he'll throw his little black book at you. He takes guarding the front flower bed very seriously--and you can tell by his attire that he is a huge Iowa State fan.

Here is the "so dark pink you think I might be red" hibiscus stretching out a morning bloom.

We Came to the Conclusion...

2007-08-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

that we have been doing a really crummy job of keeping in touch with everyone. Some of you may be surprised to know that we are indeed still alive.

In brainstorming ideas of how to do a better job of communicating, we thought, "Why not start a blog?" Apparently that's what all the cool kids are doing. So, here it is!

Kel and I will be posting pictures and stories here to help keep everyone up to date on the goings on in our lives. Add us to your favorite aggregator (Google Reader, Bloglines, etc.) or add us to your favorites folder for exciting updates. Ok, not all of them will be exciting, but they will be updates. In addition, we'd love to read your comments!

Here's a picture of us, just in case it has been so long that you've forgotten what we look like (plus, we've heard that blog posts are more interesting with pictures):