"C" is for Conference Calls

Since I work at home, I spend a significant amount of time on conference calls each week.  Today's conference call really took the cake though.  Here are some tips on how not to run a meeting:


1.  Notify participants less than 24 hours in advance.
2.  Make the meeting mandatory for ALL employees.
3.  Do not set up a conference line for employees working remotely.
4.  After staff begs and pleads, set up the conference line and distribute it to employees about 1 hour before the meeting.
5.  Do not email PowerPoint slides or handouts in advance but reference them extensively during your presentation.
6.  Allow people on the phone to type, cough, and shuffle papers while you're trying to conduct the meeting.  Under no circumstances should you ask employees to use the mute function on their phone so that others can hear.
7.  Allow people who are attending the meeting in person to ask questions that cannot be heard over the phone and answer them as if everyone knows what you're talking about.
8.  Do not ask if anyone on the phone has any questions.
9.  Abruptly end the meeting and do not indicate if employees on the line are free to hang up.

Happy conferencing!

Tweet

"C" is for Competition (Part II)

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!

The Dead Horses scored their first soccer goal last weekend.   The guys only had one sub, but they played a great game.  Several players took shots at the goal, and one of John's actually went in!  I'm sure the guys were happy to be playing a little more offense this time.  See "C" is for Competition for a recap of the last three weeks.

Here are some photos Cayla has taken of the boys in action.   Her shots turn out way better than mine--I've got a few more years learning how to use the camera.

Chris

John

Juan

Justen

Kyle

Tweet

"C" is for Competition

Some of the guys from the kickball team decided to join an indoor soccer league this summer. They're playing soccer under the Dead Horses name, but apparently kickball skills do not translate well into soccer.  The major difference is that there's no alcohol involved, and they spend way too much time running.  The guys forfeited the first soccer game three weeks ago because our kickball team was floating the river.  (Read about the float trip here.) The second game the score was 0-10.  The third game was also 0-10.  Thank goodness they stop keeping score after 10.

John

Juan

For a minute yesterday, I thought one of our guys had confused fútbol with American football.  I didn't get a photo of Ryan tackling the opponent, but this was his face about two seconds after. 

The opponent very obviously hit Ryan in the head with his fist, but the ref didn't call anything.  This wasn't the first time, and Ryan had had enough, hence the tackle.  Here's where the guy jumped up after being tackled and started swinging again.  Ryan and the rest of our team steered clear of his flailing arms while his teammate held him back.  We have no idea why the he was such a jerk--they were up 10+ goals.

Cayne

Erwin

John calls for a sub

I wish we were the home team

Sweaty boys after the game

Tweet

"C" is for Camping

We recently floated the Illinois River and camped with friends from our kickball team, the Dead Horses. We started the trip bright and early around 6:00 am on Saturday morning.  A few people met at our house to pile in the Tahoe, so we could caravan to Tahlequah.

Our coolers and camping stuff ready to go in the car.

We arrived in Tahlequah with plenty of time to set up our tents and get rafts.  After an hour or so of waiting, we finally loaded the buses with our coolers for the 6 mile trip upstream.  For those familiar with floating the Guadalupe in TX, it's the same concept in OK except we use rafts instead of tubes.

We rode full size buses, but I saw this setup when we arrived, so I snapped a shot before we drove down to the campsite.

We found the perfect campsite and unloaded our stuff.

The boys discussed the game plan/stood around and threw the football.

Campsite all set up.

Chris and his pup, Lexi

The group

We didn't take the camera on the river for several reasons, so fast forward seven hours, and we're back at the campsite.  Some of the guys collected fire wood to make a huge fire.  We ate BBQ, hotdogs, and smores.  Some crazy biker gang was camping near us with classic rock blaring most the night.  They came over to our site several times to invite us to their party and make sure we were having a good time.  Late that night we heard yelling and a loud commotion from their area.  Next we see flash lights chasing a naked guy and someone screaming about someone's nephew.  Then we heard the frisbee golf hole clang as the naked guy ran into it at full speed.  Apparently he got up and ran away, but it must have hurt badly.  It made for some good entertainment and conversation from our side of the camp.

Michael tended to the fire.  It was HUGE!

The fire was almost too hot to roast marshmallows.

Tweet

"C" is for Calls

Somehow I got on the calling list for solicitations from LOOKS Health and Wellness.  I remember getting my hair cut at LOOKS Salon last year, so I guess they shared my info with their Health and Wellness center.  Anywho, LOOKS H&W keeps bugging me about buying their weight loss program, which is starting to feel insulting.

LOOKS: "Really?! You don't want to lose weight?"
Me: "Um, no...I mentioned I didn't the first three times you called."

It's not like I'm a size 0 or anything, but I feel pretty good about my body.  I mean, yes, I'm guilty of smushing my thighs back where you can't see the sides in the mirror and thinking, "Now THIS would look great!" but I'm pretty sure a balanced diet and regular exercise are my best bets for maintaining a healthy weight. 

Tweet

"C" is for Ceramic

I like to hang save-a-dates and baby announcements on our refrigerator, but the magnets we had were never strong enough to hold the heavy paper or photos.  I knew I could find "industrial" ones to do the job, so I stopped by Lowe's to pick up a package of ceramic magnets over the weekend.

These magnets are strong!  They go flying across the counter to stick to each other, and they are definitely not going to fall off my refrigerator.  They aren't the prettiest things I've ever seen, but they do serve a purpose.  Maybe I'll glue some cute buttons to the front, so they don't look so plain.  Here's the progress I've made so far.  I need to add a few more save-a-dates, but you get the idea. 

On a different note, I put the flowers John brought me home yesterday in a ceramic vase.  It's actually a ceramic pitcher, but I thought it made a pretty vase with a country feel.  It totally made my day when he came home with these.  I'm not a big flower person, but it's always a nice surprise when I do get them.  The yellow roses look great in the kitchen, and they make me think of Texas!

Tweet

"C" is for Camera

We got a new camera!  It's the Canon EOS Rebel T2i.

Since neither John nor I know anything about digital SLRs, bear with us while we learn the ropes.  Below are some of the first photos we took.  Zach and Logan were troopers for the endless photo shoots.  I thought the continuous shooting feature would be really useful, but I realize now that it causes me to spend hours debating which photo turned out best when they all look the same. Also, my apologies in advance for almost every photo being so close.  We're limited by the 18-55mm lens that came with the camera.  The 55-250mm lens is on the way, and we'll take some photos that aren't at our house!

Ants in the backyard

The frog that holds the sponges in the kitchen

John's creepy stalker pic of the neighbor's house at night.  Pretty good for pitch black outside.

Tweet