Has It Really Been That Long?

I have been blogging since June of 2010.  That date seems like it was yesterday.  I recently (after doing a lot of research and through trial and error) had my entire blog turned into a series of chapter books.  This was pretty costly, but the results are awesome and I'm not sorry that I made that investment.  

Upon looking at one of the books this morning, I ran across the blog entries from July of 2011 when we first opened our business.  It was a time of uncertainty, yet  a leap of faith.  

Much has happened in those five+  years.  A couple of years into the business, Gary retired and I became sole proprietor.  

Mine!  All mine!  (my thoughts at the time) 

Taking it on by myself was exciting to me!  I would be in control.  I would know exactly what goes on with every little detail.  No paperwork would be lost or misplaced.  Mistakes would be mine to make and Gary and I would not be at odds about finances or marketing ideas as we were in the past.  We had worked together for way too long.  Some space was in order....

First on the agenda, clear all Gary's stuff out and make way for mine.

Being organized is one of the most important things for me.  If I'm not organized, I become stressed.  When I'm stressed I don't do as good a job.

Hearing aids aren't what they used to be years ago.  A lot goes into testing, fitting, and adjusting for hearing aids.  They are computer programmable and more of a prescription now as opposed to amplification that at one time (years ago) basically made everything louder.  When adjusted correctly, hearing aids can give the wearer a more natural hearing experience.  When the aids come to me they first need 'put together' and then programmed according to the customer's hearing loss which I record onto the software that Siemens provides.

Then there are the accessories/parts etc.  Sometimes it takes a few tries to get a customer into the most comfortable and best fit.

I try to keep a good supply of accessories on hand.  There's that organization thing......   ha!

Keeping demo's in sight are helpful and give the customer a good look at what they can buy.

 Marketing. Sales. Adjustments. Bookkeeping. Appointments. Repairs. Testing. Etc.   There is a lot that goes into it.

There are some days when I want to scream!  

 But mostly, I am happy and extremely content with my job.

One day I said to myself...  "Self.  I do not want to work on Fridays anymore."   And just like magic, the three day weekend was created.  I eased my customers into the new schedule and they are fine with it.

All About Hearing has become very successful.  Gary and I have worked hard and prayed often.

 God has been good in giving me exactly what I need, just when I need it. (patience, strength, ideas, customers, peace, direction etc)

Cute story:  I was programming a set of hearing aids for a customer the other day.  The aids were laying on my desk.  When I finished programming them...  I handed the customer the right aid...  and went to hand him the left one and it had disappeared!

I looked everywhere!  On the floor.  Under the audiometer.  All over the desk..  what could have happened to that hearing aid!

And then...  DUH!  I found it!  My magnetic bracelet strikes again!!

Go ahead.  You can say it.  I am a Ditz!  

 haha!

Dear Diary,

Here's the thing.  I am getting sick and a little tired of my peeps coming home from Lindsey's with black dog smell on their hands and in their laps.  Now I hear that this new little addition to the family is supposed to be a good thing (for who??) but here is what I know.  she steals food from innocent children.  She pees and poops on the floor.  She rips furniture apart.  She destroys toys.  She jumps into peeps laps like whooohhh... look out!  Seriously.  Ellie is her name but my new name for her is Disaster.  Because.  That is what she is.  

Gracie.

The Dreamer In Us

I think many of us girls tend to be dreamers.  Our minds wander when reading a good book or watching a good movie.  Right? We get caught up in the moment.  We can become Jane Fonda, young, beautiful and vibrant, waiting on our equally beautiful new husband Robert Redford to come home to our petite, cold, empty third floor apartment so we can throw our arms around his neck and smother him with kisses.  Ahhhhh young love and newlyweds.  Jane Fonda even walks Barefoot in the Park in that movie and our imagination does too... is that not true?  Sounds romantic, eh?

And then there's Breakfast at Tiffany's.   You remember Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) and how she'd have her morning coffee and donuts while  window shopping at Tiffany's? I loved the dreamer in her.  The ending of that movie was a happy one.  So romantic.  After seeing that movie I always had a desire to have a piece of jewelry from there,  just as Holly Golightly did ...  and then... like Holly, I'd be living happily ever after just like she did when she rescued the cat and fell into the arms of her handsome love.

Just for fun I recently googled Tiffany's and found a really cute necklace.  'They' asked me if I wanted to let a certain someone know that I was 'interested' in the necklace.  I said sure.

And wouldn't you know it, my love surprised me on our 14th anniversary with this....

Who needs Robert Redford or George Peppard when they have Gary Phillip....

It's no wonder I love him so....

The Long, Long Day

Yesterday was quite long, as we drove to Baltimore to pick up #1 Son and then back home.  The first thing I noticed upon entering the hospital was the smell.  I'm not sure if I liked or disliked the smell but it was different.  Jack was in the old part.  The building did not lack character.  My surroundings caused my mind to wander ... I'd been swept back in time...  placed in the middle of a 50's movie of some kind.  It was interesting.  Jack wasn't ready, so it was a waiting game in his room as nurses and doctors trickled in to remove picc line, tubes, etc. and go over orders with him before going home.  Our plan was to visit the Jesus statue and to stop by the pharmacy to pick up his meds on the way out.  

Is that a thermometer taped to the door?  That's one way to remember to take a temp.  Ha!  

We did the pharmacy first.  The line was long.  So we waited.  Finally at the front of the line we found that his script was not called in.  So we contemplated on what could have possibly went wrong.  Where to go from here?  The hospital is huge!!!  We searched the hospital map and found another pharmacy in another part of the hospital.  It was the correct one.  Only one person in front of us.  This lady talked for a good twenty-five minutes to the pharmacist.  Laughing.  Asking questions.  Telling stories.  Asking more questions.  Ignoring the poor boy hunched over in pain with a bag hanging from his side, barely able to stand up.  She didn't even get a script.  

I felt horrible for Jack.  I could tell it pained him to walk and that he was really weak to stand there.  I told him to go sit and I would take care of it but he wouldn't.  All the walking and standing.  Big mess with the insurance and scripts.  After a couple of hours of trying to get his meds we ended up leaving without them and without seeing the Jesus statue.   According to my IWatch we walked a total of 2 1/2 miles inside John's Hopkins Hospital yesterday. Jack moved slowly and I could tell, he pained with each step.  The car was parked in a garage somewhere in Timbuktu.  Don't ask.  But finally we made it there and sure enough on our way out of town the pharmacy called to let us know that his prescriptions and insurance had cleared and everything was ready for pickup.   Jack told them to call the script in to Frostburg and thanked them for their trouble.  He goes back to get the drain out in 2 weeks and then he will need to gain weight and strength for surgery that is planned for early January for a resection of the intestine.  Please continue to pray.

The drive out of there was a piece of cake.  We followed the GPS and she did not disappoint.  We were easily on 70W and heading towards home.  We stopped at Golden Corral in Hagerstown.  Jack wanted bread pudding to take home and both Gary and he wanted to go inside to eat.   Jack had to tuck that drain bag inside of his pajama pants and shuffle into that overly busy restaurant through the thick crowds of people in order to stand in lines to get food and it was so busy!! He must have been pretty hungry for some real food.

After dinner, homeward bound.  It had been over two weeks in two different hospitals.  I am thanking God for getting him through this and for our safe travels and his return to home and family.  

We had left home at 10:30 AM (a 2 1/2 hour drive) and returned home at 8:00 PM.  The drive total = 5 hours.  Lots of sitting and waiting and walking.  An exhausting day.  

Jake is glad to have his dad back home.  He fell asleep in Jacks arms last night while they watched a movie together.  

Ginger, his golden girl was happy too.