Birthday Wishes

August 21st is always a pretty awesome day, but yesterday was perfect.  My family and friends made it such a perfect day.  23 was such a whirlwind, crazy and wonderful year. I feel very blessed to be where I am today, and am excited for the adventures of being 24! Here's a documentation of the day... courtesy of our new and exciting camera!!!!

Omaha friends that came to my extra special birthday BBQ

I kind of love him

Although not evident through this blog... I don't eat cupcakes everyday

Proof of the camera...

My mom came all the way to Omaha just to celebrate! She's the best.

I hope everyone's August 21st was as amazing as mine!!!!

Back to CUSOD

Back to school for those of you who aren't familiar with the brilliant abbreviation for the Creighton University School of Dentistry.  It was great of course.  After my whole 2.5 week summer break I was ready to return to class and clinic.  Honestly, I can not even muster sarcasm of the subject. It is just too depressing. It could have been worse, though. I survived. Plus I had many memories of a perfect 2.5 weeks to keep my spirits up.  I'll share the highlights...

A long weekend at Wrightsville beach with just my mom and me.  We read, we ate and we shopped.  We laid in the sun, and we talked for many, many hours.  It was simply perfect.

A trip to Cheyenne.  So many highlights! Like LONG morning bike rides with my dad, and lunches with sisters.  Plus much needed time with niece and nephews! I even got breakfast made for me courtesy of the Pedo.  Banana Dogs! yup anyone who wants the recipe I can get it for ya. I gagged a little bit during my single bite.

Every bit was carefully manipulated by 5 year old hands, and only my mom was able to sacrifice her taste buds for the love of the boy.

Then I returned for much needed husband time, and postman stalking....I PASSED BOARDS!  It was the perfect 2.5 weeks to get me through my 2nd to last first day of school!

Recovery

So I took Part I Boards. I won't find out if I passed for another 2-3 weeks, but I am enjoying my ignorance.  If I didn't pass I will have to study for another three months and then sit through the torture of taking the 8 hour long test... again.  Please sent good karma my way because I have no willpower to endure the Part I pain ever again.  In case you were wondering... there is a Part II test that I am already anticipating. To celebrate the end of 9 hour study days with my 1400 notecards, Austin and I toasted our favorite Jones Bros. Cupcakes and saw the last Harry Potter movie.  It was/is such an amazing feeling to be finished... i just hope it lasts when my score comes.

We also headed to Arizona to visit my Grandma and bask in the wonderfully dry heat.  We had such an amazing time and we loved seeing all of my family.  It wasn't all rest, though. Austin and I often watch Man vs. Food, and like to visit the restaurants featured during our travels. While in Phoenix, Austin decided to try his first official eating challenge.

Yes 12 sliders and onion strings in 30 minutes. It took him 15 minutes to realize that he couldn't finish, but I'm still SO proud of his effort.  It was really fun to watch him try and I'm glad I married someone that is too polite to shove 12 sliders in their mouth in 30 minutes.  The rest of the trip was poorly documented with photographs, but we had such a great time and miss everyone!

Yeah I'll take a shot at it...

So I should be studying for boards, but I had to share the fact that I actually felt like a dentist today.  I had an assistant who I explained the procedure to and I finished the restoration (which takes real dentists about 30 min) in less than 2 hours.  Now to some this may not sound like a huge accomplishment, but it is.... I promise.  See in dental school you sit the patient in the chair, then get a start check by a professor, you anesthetize and put a rubber dam on, then get a check, you touch the tooth with a burr, then get a check, you remove the decay, then get a check, you retract tissue, then get a check, you restore, then get a check and finally you take the rubber dam off then get a check.  See the whole process is time consuming, but I was able to finish in less than 2 hours.  To top off the whole experience I was told that the shot I gave was the least painful one that she/he (to maintain HIPPA) has ever had.  I know after writing this that my schedule is going to be over-booked with those seeking my care, but I promise one two hour appointment at a time people.  For those who I have already promised dental care to... I learned how to suture last week on a board so I'm all ready to cut tongues. To prove that I am able to provide dental care under the supervision of a licensed dentist, here are pictures from my white coat ceremony.

Dental Daze

In dental school you study a lot of different diseases and abnormalities. This is great for most people, but when you suffer from bouts of hypochondria this poses problems on occasion.  Yesterday, for instance, I was studying for a test about patient management (and yes the class is as horrible as it sounds), and the subject of depression came up.  I'm generally a very happy and content person.  I have so many blessings, a wonderful family, and a pretty great husband, but somehow, I found myself relating to many of the symptoms.  This preoccupied me for long enough to procrastinate studying for the previously mentioned test, and I came to the conclusion that school is the source of symptoms.  For instance, clinic often stresses me out to the point where I toss and turn all night and wake up at 5 (AM) for good.  Symptom 1, lack of sleep... check.  Symptom 2... difficulty concentrating, remembering details or making decisions.  Check, check and check for symptom 2.  So symptom 3 has become a new little friend of mine, I call him headache.  He joins me right after school and persists until 3 episodes of How I met your Mother are watched and after a nightly bowl of ice cream is eaten. Finally, feelings of anxiety and pessimism. Since I like to believe I am of a sunny disposition...Austin can attest to symptom 4.  Ok i really am not depressed, but school, boards and clinic are stressful. I wish I could go relive summers of old.  You know when you had school off, and your best friend didn't have to work everyday.  This summer is just not that great.  Omaha has decided to only be humid and skip the sun, and boards have really hindered camping trips and really anything fun.  However, in a little over a month I will be done with boards and will have a wonderful 3 week break!!! I hope three solid weeks of sleeping is enough!
Oh yeah... and these are the summers I miss.

White Dress

The weather, the place, the people... the dress, everything about April 30, 2011 was perfect. We were married in the Omaha, NE Winter Quarters Temple, and I still smile about how wonderful it was all the time.

My sister and niece came in on Wednesday night, I finished finals on Thursday, everyone else came in that night and we were married on Saturday. To review with probably too many details, April was the most stressful month of my life.  Finals are hazy, but I'm pretty sure we had well over ten.  After I turned in the last one I have never been so relieved and excited!  Friday morning we woke up and watched the royal wedding. Although I fought sleep the whole time, it was the perfect way to get in the wedding spirit. Then that night Austin and I hosted a Omaha Steaks BBQ.  It was wonderful to just hang out with the friends and family that had traveled all the way to Omaha for us.  Then I got a very last minute pedicure from a dental school classmate and went to bed.  I woke up refreshed and recovered from waking up the night before and got my hair done.  Then fiance showed up with a Mt. Dew and we headed to the temple.

The ceremony was beautiful, simple and perfect.  We came out of the temple and took two hours of pictures (which Austin thinks are making me a little vain).  Finally, we topped the day off with a wedding brunch at Wheatfields and precious time with loved ones.  There are one billion other  moments that were perfect, but really I'm just using the post to show off the pictures...

Prophy

If you thought you had an eventful month, I'm guessing I beat you. In one month I have taken (and somehow passed) finals, gotten married, went on a honeymoon, traveled to Wyoming for our reception, flew back to Omaha the next day for my white coat ceremony and started clinic that Monday. It was a crazy, wonderful, at times stressful, and absolutely incandescently perfect month. So over the next few blogs be prepared to be bored through the documentation of the white dress, white beach and white coat.