Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Politicaly Un-Correct - but still kinda funny

If you were to build a clinic for amputee patients, can you think of a type of cartoonish character that is just wrong to put on the sign out front? I think the clinic is part of the hospital because it is right next door. So it's not some privately owned office. I drive by this sign every time I go to my Dr. appointment and wonder how it makes other people feel.

Did you guess some characters yet?

It's called Amputee Clinic and there is a three foot picture of a Pirate on there. Seriously...a full fledge , eye patch, hook hand, and peg legged pirate....he's got it all. Is it just me or is that wrong?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Last one.....

The kitchen was one of the last areas that we finished.


Here are my favorite pictures....



Thanks Mom for coming to visit and working so hard on cleaning and decorating!!!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

More decorating

This is our entertainment center - pretty empty. (Sorry about the ironing board and laundry basket...must have been cleaning day when I took this picture)



Here it is with 'dustables'.


This is our fireplace before.....


And here it is with pictures. (My favorite is the rod iron candle holder we got for 25 cents at a garage sale.)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Decorating our house

A few months ago my mom came over to Georgia and helped me decorate our house. I'll be posting a few before and after pictures on the next few posts.

This is the entrance-way 'before'. When we moved in, I did not put a single nail in the wall. When I took the picture out of a box, I would hang it on the wall if a nail was close by and figured I would move them later. The sad part is that I never moved anything because Life happened.


Thanks to my mom coming to visit it forced us into a two day shopping spree and lots of hanging for Bob:)

These were the floral curtians that I could not wait to get rid of when I first moved in. I have them in a box if anyone wants them...I think they are hand made...



I know the mirrors below are not quite high enough, that's the last thing I need Bob to help hang.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Another belly picture


This is a picture of week 23...I am at 25 now....and growing....
I tried on two pair of pants this weekend before going to church and they did not fit :( Does not make a prego feel good. I got them from friends and tried them on a few months ago and they fit....now they don't. I guess there was not enough elastic, yeah...it's the pants fault, not my tummy. I guess I need to prepare myself for when I am really big....I'll have to break down and buy a few more things.
I'll also try to take some in regular clothes so you can see me in something more stylish than my pj's.

Bag number 2




You thought I was joking.....didnt you. This is bag number 2!!!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Ear plugs and chips

Have you ever eaten your lunch with earplugs in? It's quite funny. It sounds like you are a 10 foot tall giant snacking on a small house.

Now those of you who don't know me and my job are asking 'Why on earth is she wearing earplugs while eating lunch?' I work in manufacturing and am out on the floor today and forgot to take them out when I walked into the office to eat. I thought I broke something on the first chomp before I relaized my ear plugs were still in:)

Silly me.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Guess what time it is???

I have a problem....I admit it...more of an addiction than a problem. To the average joe, I look like a normal person who has her head on straight, knows where she is going in life, and generally well rounded. (In more than one way at the moment...Janice joke!) Anyway....My problem only comes around once a year. Which I realize is odd because the item I am addicted to is available year round, but it is freshest during Fall and Halloween. Anyone guessed yet?

CANDY CORN!!!!
The standard yellow, orange, and white decadent Halloween treat. Not the stuff with the Brown on the bottom, and they really need to be Brachs.

Yep, It's that time of year again. I have been known to eat an entire bag in one day. (And that was before I was eating for two!) I don't know what it is...the consistency of the pieces in my mouth, the taste, the sugar rush....all of the above. I will eat until I feel sick and think, Oh...put the bag away. But 5 min later I find myself with my hand in the bag for 'just a few more'. And don't get me started on the Pumpkins! Those are more dangerous because each one is like two or three corn pieces....I just get sick faster.

The past two years, my husband has been helping me with the addiction. Don't laugh...but here's what we do, and so far it's worked. We buy a bag and as soon as we get home, he rations them for me. He'll put a days worth in little containers for the week. Then hides the bag. I actually don't go looking for the bag (at least not yet) and I only eat one container a day. So far this year, I actually forgot about it and skipped a day!

I am excited because we started early this year, so that means I get to buy more than one bag!! And he was very generous on the portion sizes of his rationing. don't tell him, but the containers we used last year were smaller and in a different drawer so he didnt see them. He used bigger containers this year :)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

How to fix the Dr. Office

Sorry for the delay. I ended up doing a lot of things around the house this weekend and never posted.

First - Collect Data! It's not that hard. Just add a sheet to the patient file. Everyone who talks to the patient always has that in their hand and looks at it. Each person jots down their name, what time they pick up the file, and what time they leave the patient. Start with the person who calls you into the office and end with the person who checks you out. The office now has all the information you need to find average wait time for your patients and to see if they are waiting for Dr. or Nurses. You can even add a spot for their original appointment time, and what time they signed in at the front desk so you can capture their wait time in the waiting room. (and if your patients are on time or early for their appointments) You can find out a lot by looking at this information that is collected over a few short days and make some easy changes to reduce wait time.

Second - Schedule better and make those in your office value the patients time. The office should be managed so that you start the day on time. You need to assume that your patient will be on time, so be ready for them! If the first appointment is for 8:30...then you should be calling them back withing 5 min of that time. Prep ahead of time and have files already pulled,etc.

What really bothered me when I was at the Dr. last time was that the Dr. was not even there one hour into my appointment. He was not delivering a baby, just making rounds. That is fine....he needs to do that, but....don't schedule a patient appointment if you know that the Dr. will not be there by the time the lab and nurse 'stuff' is done! Make the first appointment closer to when the Dr. actually arrives at the office.

That is my two cents worth. Thanks for letting me rant and rave.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Dr. Office Help

I found my next job. I am going to work at my Dr.s office and fix their scheduling system. Uhg.....
I had an 8:15 appointment this morning (First one of the day!) I figured that would help get me in and out faster. I had been going around lunch time to avoid missing so much work. Unfortunately, I was not called back into the office until 8:35.

That means they are already running 20 min behind schedule, yet i was the first one there? To me, that = problem.

I sat in the exam room for a good 20 min before the nurse came into see me. Again, I am her first patient of the day. I was called back 20 min late and then had to wait another 20 min meaning a total of 40 min after my scheduled appointment. Was I a surprise? Did they not know I would be there around 8:15?

Then...I wait again for the Dr. He comes in around 9:50. Yikes. For about 15 min worth of face time, I spent 2 hours at their office. Now, I understand that some waiting will be involved. I generally expect a Dr. visit to take about one hour. 15 min face time and 45 min waiting. I don't think that is too much to ask. I also understand that unexpected things come up, especially for an OB (like delivering a baby) that will cause them to run behind. But I also feel that there are ways to schedule efficiently so that it does not happen everyday.

Now most people, complain to complain...I will do one step better and give you some hints on how to address these problems in my next post. For now, my lunch time is over. And the little guy inside me is moving around a lot so either he likes doritos, or I am working him up too by stressing about this.