Wednesday, September 30, 2009
No Signal
Montages are always funny and I love seeing work related stuff like this. I particularly like the clip from Joy Ride: Dead Ahead for some reason.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Random Oddness
I have no explanation on this, nor will I try to find out what's going on. All I know is people say "Only in America..." quite a bit when it could be turned around quite easily to any other country, especially Japan.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
One night, One find...
Wendy and I went out to attempt the Homeworld cache series last night but it proved itself to be a winter only cache such as the descriptions read. We thought there was a chance that we'd be able to follow the overgrown snowmobile trail but there was just too much water out there to get to them. We got within 450 feet before realizing that this just wasn't going to be possible. It was quite a 1/4 trek as on the way out, we didn't have the ability to really see the trail to follow so we were bushwacking through grass and bushes that were more than waist deep most of the way. I was really hoping we'd get to at least the first one as it was close to this nesting site and I wanted to get some close shots of the Osprey that called it home. No such luck. 
We turned around and headed out to try from the other side to see if we'd have any more luck but ended up stopping in the Nature preserve for a newer cache that neither of us had been to as well as one that Wendy hadn't gotten yet. After getting a premium members only cache that showed up last week, we walked to the other side of the pond to get the Fields Pond Picnic cache. Wendy signed the log as she hadn't been to it yet and I took a couple quick photos.
On the way out, we ran into a pretty big doe. She looked at us and took off but not far enough where we couldn't still see her. I was able to get this shot but she didn't allow much any more. On our way out she spooked us once as she was walking towards the trail and turned around quickly and jumped off in the opposite direction. The picture is hard to see but kind of cool that the eyes glow like a cats in the flash. 
We turned around and headed out to try from the other side to see if we'd have any more luck but ended up stopping in the Nature preserve for a newer cache that neither of us had been to as well as one that Wendy hadn't gotten yet. After getting a premium members only cache that showed up last week, we walked to the other side of the pond to get the Fields Pond Picnic cache. Wendy signed the log as she hadn't been to it yet and I took a couple quick photos.
On the way out, we ran into a pretty big doe. She looked at us and took off but not far enough where we couldn't still see her. I was able to get this shot but she didn't allow much any more. On our way out she spooked us once as she was walking towards the trail and turned around quickly and jumped off in the opposite direction. The picture is hard to see but kind of cool that the eyes glow like a cats in the flash. 
Monday, September 21, 2009
Trewergy's Orchard
I had to make a decision this weekend as to go to Trewergy's Orchard with friends or to go to a Geocaching event to hang out with other cachers. The decision was simple as the event was going to have low attendace and I wanted to experience the orchard with Coop as he's going this week with school and I don't think I'll be able to get time off from work to attend. While waiting for the others to get there, I handed over my quarters to Cooper so he could do a little goat feeding, petting, and hugging. 
After the goats, we walked around towards the first row of trees where the kids began chasing some chickens that were daring enough to come close. Cooper came pretty close to one but spooked it at the last minute. 
After grabbing a delicious Cortland, it was time to head down to the Corn maze. This years was shaped like a butterfly. 
The kids kept running ahead and then the group got split into two. Cooper was amazed at how tall the corn was and what it looked like right off the plant. I broke off an ear for him and he shucked it to reveal what turned into a corn sword.
Cosmo had done some reaching out to try to touch the goats earlier but when it came to bouncing around in the backpack through the maze, the constant rocking motion of walking put him to sleep and he was out for almost the whole maze and walk back to the barn.
After hitting up station 4 and punching out tickets, we quickly founds station 5 and made it out to the Wall of Fame. Cooper wrote his name on the wall and might get to see it later on in the week if they do the maze.
YAY! We did it. We found all 5 stations and only got turned around in the wrong direction once. 
For Cooper, I think feeding the horses was just as much of a reward as the ice cream he got. He gave them some clover and a couple ears of corn for a snack. 
Ice cream is pretty good, even on a blustry cold day. 
I took like 10 pictures in a row of him sitting with the pumpkins and this was the only one that he didn't stick his tongue out or make a crazy face for. 
After riding on this tractor for a bit, we all took a quick hay ride on a working tractor and then headed out. This was a lot of fun and we may come back just the two of us so we can slow down a bit and enjoy it even more. 
After the goats, we walked around towards the first row of trees where the kids began chasing some chickens that were daring enough to come close. Cooper came pretty close to one but spooked it at the last minute. 
After grabbing a delicious Cortland, it was time to head down to the Corn maze. This years was shaped like a butterfly. 
The kids kept running ahead and then the group got split into two. Cooper was amazed at how tall the corn was and what it looked like right off the plant. I broke off an ear for him and he shucked it to reveal what turned into a corn sword. 
Cosmo had done some reaching out to try to touch the goats earlier but when it came to bouncing around in the backpack through the maze, the constant rocking motion of walking put him to sleep and he was out for almost the whole maze and walk back to the barn.
After hitting up station 4 and punching out tickets, we quickly founds station 5 and made it out to the Wall of Fame. Cooper wrote his name on the wall and might get to see it later on in the week if they do the maze.
YAY! We did it. We found all 5 stations and only got turned around in the wrong direction once. 
For Cooper, I think feeding the horses was just as much of a reward as the ice cream he got. He gave them some clover and a couple ears of corn for a snack. 
Ice cream is pretty good, even on a blustry cold day. 
I took like 10 pictures in a row of him sitting with the pumpkins and this was the only one that he didn't stick his tongue out or make a crazy face for. 
After riding on this tractor for a bit, we all took a quick hay ride on a working tractor and then headed out. This was a lot of fun and we may come back just the two of us so we can slow down a bit and enjoy it even more. 
Brewer Days
While I wasn't able to be there for the first part of Saturday's Brewer Days due to a scheduling conflict, I caught up with Meredith and the boys for the tail end of it. Cooper wanted to do the massive slip and slide they were using a fire house and dish soap on but needed a little help. They shut the water off for him as they thought he was too young to go as fast as some of the big kids but it ended up being to dry and slow. They ended up helping him all the way down because his shorts were dry and wouldn't slide like the bigger kids. Afterwards, he and Brock just had fun running around and rough housing a bit. 
After taking him home, he wanted to play a bit on the computer while Cosmo got fed and changed and this was the end result. Poor guy was just too tuckered out to do much... 
After taking him home, he wanted to play a bit on the computer while Cosmo got fed and changed and this was the end result. Poor guy was just too tuckered out to do much... 
Raaawrrr!
I can honestly say I've never been in this place but I always find his decorating funny. Cooper asks where the T-Rex is now every time we go for a ride. Maybe I shouldn't have pointed it out but it'll be years before he realizes what this place is...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Flight Center
Training pays
I completed a bunch of online trainings at WindowsMobileTraining.com at the end of August and accumulated enough points to earn some free stuff. While most of the rewards on the site are geared towards those with an X-Box, there are a few PC items that you can use your points towards. The trainings themselves all in all took 3-4 steady hours of chugging through but were designed well and I feel I retained quite a bit of the information that was provided. Once I accumulated enough, I threw an order in on September 1st and just received it today. It sure would be nice if you could cash in your points for something like an actual Windows Mobile phone but beggars can't be choosers when it comes to free stuff. Now if only Blackberry had a site to earn stuff...Their training you actually have to pay something like $150 for and the only reward is the knowledge. What to order next?
Thursday, September 10, 2009
First Time
Meredith and I took Cooper and Cosmo to the park Sunday night. While Cooper was swinging, I looked at Cosmo in the stroller and then at the baby swing. I figured if he can hold his head up to sit up ok, he should be fine to sit in the baby swing. I immediately got the "bad idea" look from Meredith but wanted to try it anyway. You never know until you try, right? I put him in and he leaned all the way back which allowed him to have his back all the way up against the back of the swing. Once I was sure he was ok to actually swing and that it wouldn't flip from him leaning or anything, I drew him up to me and let go....Talk about your excited look...
He had a blast. You'd actually think that he was a two or three year old as he actually cried and screamed when I took him out of it to go home. Another day...
He had a blast. You'd actually think that he was a two or three year old as he actually cried and screamed when I took him out of it to go home. Another day...
Long Week (Probably TMI)
This has been the longest week and it's still not anywhere near over. Starting last Wednesday, I felt some pain in my side and pelvic area after getting ready for work but decidied it was nothing to worry about and went to work. After work and some play time with the kids, I took a long shower to prepare for the following days vasectomy procedure. I did what I needed to and still had some slight discomfort but again, thought it was nothing more than just a stomach ache and that it would pass. Thursday came and went and the procedure went nice and quickly. The only thing I felt was the first couple pin pricks of novacain and in a matter of 25 minutes or so, the doctor was done doing his thing. I had some slight discomfort in the next couple days but it wasn't anything some vicodin and ice coulnd't take care of. All day Sunday I was fine without pain meds and was even ok without having to use ice until around 8pm. I started to feel some pain coming on so I took two of the vicodin and then ate a little something so I'd go to bed with a full stomach. I couldn't sleep with the pain so I ended up sitting up until a little after 1am playing Wii and trying to wait it out. Finally, at 1:15ish laid in bed because I was so tired and thought I could sleep through it. I dozed off a little but immediately woke up at around 1:40ish with so much unbareable pain and ran to the bathroom. I had this extreme feeling like I needed to pee but could absolutely not make anything come out. I waited until 2:30am to try and deal with the pain and made several trips back and forth to the bathroom trying to force something out. No dice.
The Emergency Room is one of my most hated places. It feels so bad having to take someone there because you know you are going to sit in pain and just wait until your name is called, all the while, looking at the dismay on other peoples faces and wondering what is wrong with them and if they are going to get called before you. I ended up driving myself there because I just couldn't deal with the pain anymore and I was scared to take more Vicodin. Meredith called my brother and he came over to watch the kids so she could join me in ER incase something serious was going on. While I was waiting for her, two nurses took 4 attempts at getting an IV in giving me some wonderfully nice bruises today. The first nurse appeared to be fairly new and commented on how nice it was that she could see my veins and it should be easy to get the IV needle in. I should have known. She poked the needle in and was fishing around with it trying to actually stab the vein, all the while doing this nervous kind of laugh to try and blow off the fact that she couldn't accomplish what she was doing. I moved a little because of the discomfort of what she was doing and it bent the needle. Scrap that one. She tried again with a new one and just plain couldn't get a vein. Enter nurses two and three. They gave up on my right arm and went to the left. Nurse two couldn't get a vein either but only tried once. Nurse three finally got the needle into a vein and taped the thing off but the location sucked. It was right in the crook of my elbow so I couldn't bend my arm at all.
Now that they got the IV in, they wanted a catheter to drain my bladder and get a urine sample whereas I couldn't pee. This was the first time I've ever had one and I hope I never have to have one again. They put it in and not even enough urine came out to run tests on, but did they take the thing out? No...I was left to sit and feel like I had to pee for the remainder of my time there. Mere finally showed up around 4am but by that time, I believe I was out with whatever pain meds they had injected into me. They took me off to do a CT scan of my kidney and bladder area and said it was definitely a kidney stone. Once back to the room, we played the waiting game and I was given some other pain meds that helped a bit. The final thing that happened before I got my discharge papers was the catheter removal. Now I have to tell you, if I ever recognize Aaron or Raymond or whatever the guys name was the removed it, I'm going to run up and kick him in the balls. He came into the room and told me that it was time to remove it. Great. I see him get the hose all coiled up and I tell him to let me know before he slides it out so I can take a deep breath and brace myself. He says ok, but then doesn't tell me. Not only does he not tell me, he grabbed a hold of the tube and freaking yanked like he was starting a lawn mower. All I could think of was Tom Hanks crippled over on the floor like in the Green Mile. I could feel his pain. Had I had the strength, I would have gotten up and shoved him but all I could do was sit there and wait for the burn to go away. The nurse finally came in and gave me my discharge papers and another prescription for vicodin and something called flomax to help try and break up the stone.
Around 5:15, I called my mom to come up and help out so that Scott could leave go. She came up and watched the kids which was a huge help and allowed me to drug up and just about pass out. The kids were good for her and once Mere got home, everyone was just about asleep. The next day, Mere took the kids to school so it was just me amd mom. I had taken some vicodin around 4am and was trying to wait to take more so we could go pick up my car. We finally went to get it around 10:30ish and when we got back, I ate a Tim Bit (equivalent of a DD munchkin) and swallowed a couple pills. With it I drank a full large glass of water. Within 3 minutes, I had to run to the bathroom and had vomited up all the water. We sat in the living room and mom my and I kind of took turns drifting off as we were both pretty tired.
Yesterday, I tried coming back to work to just deal with the pain. I waited until I got here to take my pain meds so I wasn't going to drive with that drowsy drunk feeling. Luckily, while there are things going on at work, it isn't full boar like its supposed to be towards the end of the month. I sat her and talked to a couple co-workers about what I was feeling and whatnot and then when everyone had left, I sat here, looked at my computer and dozed off. Had it not been for the weight of my head and neck muscles finally letting go, I probably would have slept longer but I think I was out for close to 30 minutes. One hand on the keyboard, one hand on the mouse, and facing my monitor, I looked just like everyone else here in cubbyland if you were to just walk by. Due to the vomiting and nausea I was feeling and both of those things being on the "return to the ER if..." part of my discharge paperwork, I decided to leave work and go back. I ended up sitting in the ER from 12:30 to 5:40 before getting seen. This again, is the exact reason I hate waiting in the ER. There were so many people there that looked like they were in less pain than I, and all I could do was sit there and question why the hell they kept getting called before me. Meredith had taken the day off to sit with me but had to leave finally to get the kids once it got towards the end of what would have been a normal day. I finally got taken in after a couple complaints and the nurse from Sunday night remembered waiting on me. She took a urine sample and had an x-ray done and then I laid there in the room for over an hour for someone to come back. I knew something like that was going to happen because one of the other nurses came in and showed me how the TV remote worked. I asked for a time frame and she said she really couldn't give me one. Great. Around 7, the nurse finally came in and told me that the stone was still there but couldn't answer how big it was or really why the pain had moved up higher into my kidneys. She gave me a new prescription and told me basically to wait it out and keep up with the flomax so hopefully the stone would drop into my bladder.
Today is Thursday again. There is a busy weekend coming up with Brewer Days and a geocaching picnic event and I just want this stupid stone to drop so I can enjoy the weekend with the kids.
The Emergency Room is one of my most hated places. It feels so bad having to take someone there because you know you are going to sit in pain and just wait until your name is called, all the while, looking at the dismay on other peoples faces and wondering what is wrong with them and if they are going to get called before you. I ended up driving myself there because I just couldn't deal with the pain anymore and I was scared to take more Vicodin. Meredith called my brother and he came over to watch the kids so she could join me in ER incase something serious was going on. While I was waiting for her, two nurses took 4 attempts at getting an IV in giving me some wonderfully nice bruises today. The first nurse appeared to be fairly new and commented on how nice it was that she could see my veins and it should be easy to get the IV needle in. I should have known. She poked the needle in and was fishing around with it trying to actually stab the vein, all the while doing this nervous kind of laugh to try and blow off the fact that she couldn't accomplish what she was doing. I moved a little because of the discomfort of what she was doing and it bent the needle. Scrap that one. She tried again with a new one and just plain couldn't get a vein. Enter nurses two and three. They gave up on my right arm and went to the left. Nurse two couldn't get a vein either but only tried once. Nurse three finally got the needle into a vein and taped the thing off but the location sucked. It was right in the crook of my elbow so I couldn't bend my arm at all.
Now that they got the IV in, they wanted a catheter to drain my bladder and get a urine sample whereas I couldn't pee. This was the first time I've ever had one and I hope I never have to have one again. They put it in and not even enough urine came out to run tests on, but did they take the thing out? No...I was left to sit and feel like I had to pee for the remainder of my time there. Mere finally showed up around 4am but by that time, I believe I was out with whatever pain meds they had injected into me. They took me off to do a CT scan of my kidney and bladder area and said it was definitely a kidney stone. Once back to the room, we played the waiting game and I was given some other pain meds that helped a bit. The final thing that happened before I got my discharge papers was the catheter removal. Now I have to tell you, if I ever recognize Aaron or Raymond or whatever the guys name was the removed it, I'm going to run up and kick him in the balls. He came into the room and told me that it was time to remove it. Great. I see him get the hose all coiled up and I tell him to let me know before he slides it out so I can take a deep breath and brace myself. He says ok, but then doesn't tell me. Not only does he not tell me, he grabbed a hold of the tube and freaking yanked like he was starting a lawn mower. All I could think of was Tom Hanks crippled over on the floor like in the Green Mile. I could feel his pain. Had I had the strength, I would have gotten up and shoved him but all I could do was sit there and wait for the burn to go away. The nurse finally came in and gave me my discharge papers and another prescription for vicodin and something called flomax to help try and break up the stone.
Around 5:15, I called my mom to come up and help out so that Scott could leave go. She came up and watched the kids which was a huge help and allowed me to drug up and just about pass out. The kids were good for her and once Mere got home, everyone was just about asleep. The next day, Mere took the kids to school so it was just me amd mom. I had taken some vicodin around 4am and was trying to wait to take more so we could go pick up my car. We finally went to get it around 10:30ish and when we got back, I ate a Tim Bit (equivalent of a DD munchkin) and swallowed a couple pills. With it I drank a full large glass of water. Within 3 minutes, I had to run to the bathroom and had vomited up all the water. We sat in the living room and mom my and I kind of took turns drifting off as we were both pretty tired.
Yesterday, I tried coming back to work to just deal with the pain. I waited until I got here to take my pain meds so I wasn't going to drive with that drowsy drunk feeling. Luckily, while there are things going on at work, it isn't full boar like its supposed to be towards the end of the month. I sat her and talked to a couple co-workers about what I was feeling and whatnot and then when everyone had left, I sat here, looked at my computer and dozed off. Had it not been for the weight of my head and neck muscles finally letting go, I probably would have slept longer but I think I was out for close to 30 minutes. One hand on the keyboard, one hand on the mouse, and facing my monitor, I looked just like everyone else here in cubbyland if you were to just walk by. Due to the vomiting and nausea I was feeling and both of those things being on the "return to the ER if..." part of my discharge paperwork, I decided to leave work and go back. I ended up sitting in the ER from 12:30 to 5:40 before getting seen. This again, is the exact reason I hate waiting in the ER. There were so many people there that looked like they were in less pain than I, and all I could do was sit there and question why the hell they kept getting called before me. Meredith had taken the day off to sit with me but had to leave finally to get the kids once it got towards the end of what would have been a normal day. I finally got taken in after a couple complaints and the nurse from Sunday night remembered waiting on me. She took a urine sample and had an x-ray done and then I laid there in the room for over an hour for someone to come back. I knew something like that was going to happen because one of the other nurses came in and showed me how the TV remote worked. I asked for a time frame and she said she really couldn't give me one. Great. Around 7, the nurse finally came in and told me that the stone was still there but couldn't answer how big it was or really why the pain had moved up higher into my kidneys. She gave me a new prescription and told me basically to wait it out and keep up with the flomax so hopefully the stone would drop into my bladder.
Today is Thursday again. There is a busy weekend coming up with Brewer Days and a geocaching picnic event and I just want this stupid stone to drop so I can enjoy the weekend with the kids.
They're Everywhere!
For some reason, these have taken over the house again this summer and are all over the outside of it and all through the hedges. 
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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