Owning Your Business

I would like to take a quick break from all this catch-up stuff to talk about something.

Owning your own business is a lot of work.

Like ... a lot.

It's never finished; there is always something needing to be done at the office.

When we first walked in, it needing a thorough cleaning.

THOROUGH.

The poor guy who was there last didn't do much cleaning at all.  The bathroom was scary.  The carpets were smelly.  The walls were streaked with grease from the massage therapists' oils and wax from the numerous Scentsy candles.  (Sorry Scentsy, I am officially not a fan.)  There were dents and dings, chipped paint, ripped leather on the adjusting tables, and the x-ray machine?  Yikes.  I completely left that one up to Mark.  It was dripping chemicals ... appearing to be some sort of fringe-science ice formation that was taking over the entire room.  (But don't worry, I claimed bathroom cleaning duty ... which was a fringe event of its own.)

Then there was all the repainting, de-cluttering, and organizing; throwing away business cards, pamphlets, and a whole lot of random crap that just didn't fit our business goals.

It has taken quite a while.  But we have had help.

There are currently 5 of the 8 Gunn siblings in the Utah and Salt Lake valleys ... and every single one of them has been over.  And with my mama 90 minutes away?  I have been dropping off my kids for Nana-and-Bumpa-time to help get things done.  (They never want to come back.)

It really makes this place feel like a family practice.

We've had people doing reviews, sending their friends, and spreading the word ... it's just been awesome.

But it's still not done.

The place is presentable enough to warrant a slight break in the redecorating till we refill our money stores, but there's plenty more on the to-do list.  For right now, I've been all over the internet attempting to re-vamp his website (www.workswellness.com), generate great reviews, and ultimately change all the online information over from the old guy to the new one.  It's been frustrating to work against his bad name and clean up his messes, (especially when comparing this to working off of Dr. Holland's good name back in California) but we're already seeing new patients and having existing ones bring in their friends.

And what about Dr. Gunn himself?

I feel like I get to participate in this process a lot, but ... there is so much that is all on him.  I just can't help him with it.  If he wakes up at all at night, his mind immediately begins spinning and he's done.  No more sleeping.  (I kinda miss waking up with him ... because of course I can always go right back to sleep.)  He has finally gotten on all the major insurances, which was a brain-numbing process.  He has all the information switched over to his name.  All the final contracts are signed between the leasing companies, the original owner, and the poor guy who had the place for only a year and is the reason we got it so cheap.

Now there is networking.  He has joined the local chamber of commerce, two different small business owners groups, a runners' club, and most recently ... Gold's Gym.  We are in the process of making a short commercial to go up on their t.v.s, as well as dri-fit t-shirts with "The Works Chiropractic" all over them.

And there's so much more to do.

I don't think we'll ever be done.

This practice is our third baby.

Catch-Up #4 The Move

Despite my intentions of having 90% of it done before my family arrived to move us out of California, packing was a beast.

We had lived in that town home for four years, and if the time span alone wasn't enough, we also brought home two babies.  That means major stuff-overload for this sentimental hoarder.

Like these Angels posters ... Mac drew and taped them on every single door.  

How could I just throw those away??

My scramble to finish up resulted in some neglected children ... which equaled Mac playing the Wii nonstop and Belle coloring (with permanent marker) on herself, snacking constantly, and falling asleep in random places.

Luckily our Californians took the kids from time to time, and then came my family.

With Trent and Rachel on the kids, Mom and I on cleaning/organizing, and Dad fixing up little broken things around the house, it was a breeze.

And we were out too fast.

Four massive missionaries showed up on moving day.

And the Hollands.

And Zack and Ashlee ... who, ironically enough, had just moved to Southern California three weeks earlier.  We finally had familial claim on somebody down there, and we up and left them.  Shameful!

Mark had his last day at Holland Chiropractic.  The morning we were moving.  He saw, once again, over 20 patients in two hours.  He had said good bye to Dr. Holland the day before ... and did admit to me that it was a challenge to hold in the tears.  Dr. Holland became a bit of a father-figure to us out there, and Mark especially felt a real twinge at moving on.  We are so grateful to have had Holland Chiropractic as our jumping-off point.

With 20 final patients healed, Mark packed it up and jumped in the car with my dad to pick up our moving truck.  I miraculously sold the last of our big items on Craig's List that morning; paying for our move and leaving enough room in the truck for all our necessaries.

We spent the rest of the day packing and eating pizza with all our helpers, and then said goodbye to our angel of a landlord.  Hugo gave us one last, "God bless", and we were out.

And actually ...

Of all the drives to Utah I've done over the years, this was the easiest.

Mac rode with Mark and Trent in the altima.  Dad and Mom drove the moving truck.  And Rach, Belle, and I kept each other company for 12 hours snacking, singing, and telling stories about high school and boys.

We did have one adventure; Mark had a few bolts come off of his back tire, but luckily we were just outside of St. George and drove the last few miles extra slow ... making it to his mom's house safely.

When we finally did roll into Salt Lake City ... I felt giddy.  We were at the height of fall; every leaf was radiantly bright and the evening felt crisp. I missed crisp. 

I walked up to our front door:

And was met by a solid 15 family and friends here to get us moved in.

I really truly felt like I finally made it home!

They moved us in quick as could be, and my sister-in-law Katie even thought to bring a fold-up table and dinner for everyone.  Love that woman.

Every room looked like this.  Turned out this pack-rat didn't get rid of enough stuff.  Uuuugggh.

There was, however, one important member who did not make the trip.

Poor Pujols got left in the car in St. George overnight and ... shhhhhh ... he froze to death.

With the whole new house/friends thing, I just couldn't break the news to Mac.

So meet the new Pujols:

"Mom, why hims so tiny?" Mac has asked ... mysterious little guy must've shrunk over the move.  But don't worry, with plenty of food, tiny Pujols has grown back to his regular size.

And we are happy.

Really, Salt Lake City has felt like the perfect place to me so far.  The mountains, seasons, and LDS base feel like home to me, but the big city benefits and substantial amount of diversity bring just enough California to it to create the perfect blend for us.

I do feel like we're meant to be here.

Catch-Up #3: Good-Bye Party

Okay, I'm sure by now you're all tired of hearing about my family-away-from-family in California ... but I have to post about one last thing.

They threw us a good-bye party.

Ah!

I know almost every single couple in this picture will be moving on eventually.  In fact, in the time between this picture and this post, two have left already.

None of us were settled, but still.

Looking at these pictures makes me sad.

We should've taken these pictures earlier ... I'm missing a few.

The shredded beef sandwiches were fantastic.  THANK YOU LADIES.

"No, no, no, don't take my picture ... okay," *POSE*

Belle the garbage disposal.  She'd much rather eat everyone's leftovers than her dinner.
Don't worry, I did pull her away after taking this picture.

We topped off the night with a dance party.  These kids are fantastic.

And their mamas?

Oh!

Women just need women.  Guys too.  But since I'm writing this, I'll speak from my experience.  To have someone to bounce ideas off of, vent to, laugh with ... someone who understands the ups and downs of being a wife/mother/homemaker/trapped-at-home-all-day-and-wanting-it-that-way-but-still-pulling-your-hair-out-at-times lady.

These girls were it for me.

They made my California adventure.

Catch Up #2: When Friends Become Family

There is just something about those California friends ...

We went to school together.

We had babies together.

We were without family, dirt poor, on welfare, and watching each others' kids constantly.  Work, grocery shopping alone (which is so satisfying), and cheap date nights were all dependant upon each other.

I really did enjoy having other kids over; forced my kids to share their toys, and gave them someone besides Mom and Dad to talk to and learn from.

Because really, without family around ... these people were it!

And it was nice to have a slew of people around who were always looking for cheap/free things to do.

Like ... a random 80's party.

And adult holiday parties.

Popeye and Olive Oyl

Popeye and The Milk Man

A robber and Black Widow

Magic Mike's happy customer.  With her consequence.

Luisa the Bumblebee

And Luisa's flower.

Cancer-survivor Kristin came up with an award winning costume: Brittany Spears and Federline!

The crew

And of course, kid-focused holiday festivities.  Like pumpkin carving and sugar cookies.

I have absolutely loved getting to know and relying on these fantastic Californians.  I hope you people know you ALWAYS have a place to stay in Salt Lake City ....

And we just might be bombarding you once baseball season starts up again.