Catching Up

You may be wondering what happened to me. I recognize that it has now been over a quarter of a year since my last post. I am living a fairytale life. I am trapped inside a tower and can't get out. My prince has come, but he supports me in staying in that tower, Moos tower, until I can learn all of the magical things it takes to become a dentist.

School is fine, it's not as bad as last year but I think that has more to do with the fact that I'm getting used to being beaten down everyday. I'm still trying to pace myself with twelve hour days but I'm really getting burned out. I suppose 30 credits in a semester will do that to you. There is a very good reason that interviewees only talk to fourth year students and not first and second years. I think if they did, no one would ever come to school; they would be terrified. I'm told it does get better ...it'll just get worse first with next semester and our first national boards exam. I'm shooting for next August; I've heard things get much better then.

After much pondering I've decided that my frustration cannot be avoided. Everyday I have to show up at school to learn about something I've never done before. Then we go up to lab and are expected to create the ideal of that principle. This is no exaggeration, on the first try we are shooting for something that is perfect. Day after day I come to the tower to attempt a new complicated process. Our instructors then come around, grade our product and tell us everything that we could have done better. Really though, my class has come a remarkable way in the last year. I'm looking forward to clinic when I have more than one opportunity to do each of these procedures. Granted, everything will always have a new element to it, but the entire concept won't be foreign.

I've discovered that I like running. Some days I feel like a slug, but others I find it quite satisfying. After sitting all day I crave being able to get out and move. When I was preparing for Officer Basic Camp we bought an ipod with a nike sensor. It's been a great way to run; it tracks my pace, distance and calories burned. I can then record them all on the nike website and track my progress. Like Brian, I have made great strides in my progress. I can run two miles with no problem and went for a six mile run this weekend. (My farthest run to date.) My favorite runs are those where Jason comes along and rides his bike beside me. Once the snow hits I'll probably switch back to swimming more regularly. (I'm afraid of slipping on the ice and doing something to my wrists.)

In other news we are enjoying our new home. Jason did a wonderful job picking it out. Our neighborhood is quiet and we have some great neighbors. We enjoy our new ward/congregation and are 95% settled. I figure the last 5% will probably take at least a year. I don't recommend moving in the middle of the semester, especially when you move in and the weather drops to 40 degrees. Trying to study while not knowing where your textbooks are is less than effective. This was our first year passing out candy together, we were a little concerned no one would show up but between 6:30 and 9 approximately 70 ninjas, fairies, hobos, dragons and what not came by. I'm looking forward to decorating the place for Christmas and hosting my family for Thanksgiving. The latter will probably involve somebody sitting on the floor since we should probably invest in a larger dining table. Perhaps something we didn't find next to the dumpster. (This was pre-craigslist though, it's essentially the same process.)

In other news, the crockpot has become my new best friend. Now that I definitely don't get home before seven or eight we are relying heavily on leftovers. I try and cook a few large crockpot recipes on the weekend while I'm studying and then we eat that the rest of the week for lunch and dinner. My goal is to cook a fair amount of Thanksgiving dinner that way as well so we spend less time in the kitchen and more time with family. We'll see how it goes. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Holidays don't get any better than family and food.

Visiting South Carolina

So I'm exceptionally glad I was able to visit the South. Not only because it was a wonderful opportunity to visit with family but we are also being cheated of a summer out here. I just drilled at Camp Ripley and it was about 50 degrees the entire time I was there - in the middle of July!

We drove down from Virginia to South Carolina early Tuesday and went straight to visit Grandpa and Grandma Floyd. Grandpa took us out walking along Congaree River. The city has created a beautiful walking path several miles long on both sides of the river. My Grandpa bikes and walks there almost daily - in the 100 degree weather I must admit he nearly out walked Rachel and I. I really enjoyed visiting with him and learning things I hadn't know about his past. He told us how they would make boats out of scrap wood when he was little and seal the holes with tar then float down the Congaree River.

Grandpa and Grandma took us out for some fantastic fried chicken and ice cream. Grandpa told us about his trip to see Washington DC with other World War II vets and Grandma reminded me how witty and sassy she can me. I really enjoyed her spunk.



I spent Wednesday with the Doolittles. I enjoyed seeing Brian and how excited he is to be part of the military. I was very impressed with how much he has learned and changed in the last few months. Harry, Dianne and I saw an interesting display of some of their skills at family day. The program started with a bang - literally. All of a sudden there were things being shot and lots of smoke as the troops showed how to secure an area with insurgents. I thought it was super cool to see the graduates run out of the forest and through the smoke to formation.

We met up with Brian later for some bowling and touring of Fort Jackson. I'm not so good at bowling.



Thursday Rachel and I headed over to Congaree Swamp National Park. We loaded up with bug spray and sunscreen then went exploring. It's an incredibly diverse area. The mosquitoes weren't nearly as bad as the ones in my parents' yard in Wisconsin. However, you can't hold still because there are numerous other large insects that buzz loudly in your ear. I highly recommend visiting the area, there are all sorts of lizards to see, turtles swam up to our pier from the river and the plant life is extraordinary. Some parts look like a prehistoric jungle, others appear to be scenes out of a Lord of the Rings adventure. Rachel found what we believe is a wolf spider - it was at least the size of my palm with its legs. We kept trying to get a close of picture but were very nervous since we couldn't remember if they jumped or not. All we could imagine was it jumping onto one of us so we warily photographed it and continued on. We made about a 3 mile hike along a boardwalk as well as a regular trail that led out to the Cedar Creek and Wise Lake.

Following our outdoor adventure we met up with our Uncle Joe to go visit historic homes. Uncle Joe was a career fireman so visiting homes with him is more interesting since he brings insight to the fire history of the history and is very observant of construction. We toured the Robert Mills House which was built in 1823 by Robert Mills for the Halls family. Robert Mills was one of the first US trained architects and built many public buildings and monuments including the Washington monument. Symmetry was huge during his time period. So there were fake doorways in some areas to compliment the doorway in the hall on the opposite side. I really enjoyed the order and little details in the design.

They didn't allow pictures inside the building so this site can give a little more detail if you are interested.

After our tour of the home and Columbia as narrated by Uncle Joe we met up with our cousins Sally and Jaimie for dinner. They have this fabulous tradition of eating about once a week at a delicious Vietnamese restaurant. Rachel and I enjoyed coming along and catching up. I hadn't seen Sally since I was nine and it's been about 5 years since I saw Jaimie. We also got to meet Jaimie's beautiful baby boy Preston and his father Timmy who we also enjoyed.



Friday we headed out to see Grandma Pat. We really enjoyed talking with Grandma, checking out her beautiful garden and catching up. Grandma planned a day out on the lake with our cousin Ryan and my Uncle Donny we even saw my cousin Drew with his two girls briefly. I was really excited to see Ryan since we didn't expect to coordinate schedules with him. He and his wife recently bought a boat and he graciously took us out on it. I tried water skiing as well as Rachel. We are going to blame our lack of getting up on small feet that wouldn't stay in the skis. We ate on the boat and spent the day on the water. The temperature of the air and water were both perfect. Here's a shout out again to Ryan for sharing his boat with us and to Grandma for planning it.

It's a good thing I have Jason to go back to and Rachel had military training, I'm not sure we would have returned otherwise. Thanks to everyone who hosted us and to Harry, Brian and Dianne for your time. I hope you all get to enjoy summer days full of the ones we had on our trip.

Don't Stop Until You Reach The Ocean

Sunday the 28th, Rachel and I geared up to drive to Virginia Beach. We received plenty of conflicting advice from our cousins on which way to take to get there. Essentially, we were told if we valued our guts to back track, get on the freeway and avoid the mountains. I'm thinking to myself "wait a minute, I'm on a road trip and haven't seen mountains in way too long." So after leaving, Rachel and I took our chances with motion sickness and went for the mountain pass. I must say it was some of the nicest driving of the entire trip. There were certainly some hairpin turns but it wasn't like Colorado where all you see as you take that hair pin turn is a 2000 foot drop off. Plus, I was driving which meant it was more entertaining and kept me more alert compared to hours of flat countryside and straight roads.

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

Since we drove through a few state parks along the way we made some spontaneous stops to take in the sights and some history. I didn't realize the split between WV and VA came during the civil war when West Virginia sided with the union.

Here are some markers we found on the border of the states:

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

We were fortunate enough to take in a million wildflowers along our trip. I was surprised at how much was in bloom all over the country.

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

Along our drive in the south there were a few opportunities to get out and see some civil war sights. Once in Virginia, we came to an area that had an interpretive trail. It told the story of civil ward soldiers through letters by Lieutenant Pryor to his family in Georgia. It was called the Confederate Breastworks and consisted of a mile long trench that had been built to fortify Fort Edward Johnson in the Shenandoah Valley during 1862. The area was beautiful and it was nice to get out and stretch. We saw our only snake of the trip there. Right at the start of the trail Rachel squealed and I just caught what looked like a black, striped garden snake slithering into the bushes from underneath Rachel's hovering foot.

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

This is what remains of the trenches:

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

Since I drove most of the way and took a nap when I wasn't, the trip went by pretty rapidly and then we arrived in beautiful Virginia Beach. I fell in love with the area and can definitely see why people choose to vacation and live there. Apparently it's a great place to be stationed as well since most of the residents are pro military. Woohoo for military discounts!

The first night we got there we went with Rachel's friend Misty (who hosted us) and looked at all of the battleships in port and then went over to check out retired airplanes.



After a good night's rest we set out for one of the highlights of the road trip - the beach! I can't even start to explain how I feel about going to the beach. All growing up we lived very close to the ocean and whenever I smell sunscreen it makes me happy inside and I just want to find some sand to walk in. There are "beaches" here in the midwest, but it just isn't the same without the salt and the unknown creatures of the deep lurking beside you.

We brought books, blankets, food and our sunscreen for a relaxed day in the sun. Like most days on the trip the weather was perfect - hot enough to enjoy cooling off in the water and cool enough to not worry about heat stroke. One of the advantages of staying with the locals is getting the in on where to go. Misty told us how to get to Chesapeake Beach which is typically known to only the people in the neighborhood there. Hence, we avoided all of the tourists and had a quiet day. (It was also close enough where I got my run in when I realized I had to return to the apartment for my camera battery.)

I loved the entrance to the beach - right in between some spectacular beach front homes.

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

So there is a time of year when all of the jellyfish start spawning on the east coast. I remember some pretty horrible images of all of the ones I found on the shore as a kid. Fortunately, despite the fact that the season is near, we didn't see a single one all day.

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

Hooray for sunscreen!

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

After Misty got off of work we met up with her to check out another beach where we went bodysurfing. We then went out for some great seafood. The restaurant we went to served what they caught. Rachel and I tried crab, scallops, tilappia, clams etc. We really enjoyed visiting with Misty and wish her well while she is stationed there.



Next Installment: South Carolina

Road Trip To the East Coast

I've been wanting to visit family in the South for quite awhile now. When we found out Brian's graduation date it sealed the deal for a visit. Since Jason couldn't get time off of work to fly down I was able to devote more time to the trip in the form of a road trip. Fortunately, Rachel was able to go with me as well. I left Minnesota on June 25th and drove the six and half hours to Rachel's place in Milwaukee.

The goals for the trip were simple: see as much family as we possibly could, visit Rachel's friend Misty from Medical Corp school in Virginia, hit the beach and meet up with the Doolittle's to see Brian in Fort Jackson. Additionally we committed to running as much as possible on the trip so I could train for officer basic camp and we could control the damage the we knew good southern food would cause.

I thought I would try and do the trip in installments so it isn't too overwhelming.

Rachel and I went running Friday morning and on our way out Wisconsin stopped at the Jelly Belly factory to get the rejects, aka belly flops they sell.

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

We then had what was supposed to be an eleven hour drive to our cousin Ami's house in West Virginia. We hit about $40 worth of toll roads. I had no idea it was going to be that bad in the midwest. We drove through Chicago, across the top of Indiana, Ohio and through Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was much different from the others and very pretty. I hope to go back sometime with Jason and do some camping as well as historical tours. I didn't realize we were going to be driving right next to Pittsburgh. If I had found that out earlier I wonder if we would have been able to get a hold of Nate and Ellie. It would have been nice to see them to since were that close.

Unfortunately the toll road in Pennsylvania was under major construction and our exit was not labeled. We were about 40 miles past our exit when we realized we were probably off track. At that point in rural Pennsylvania you have to go about 20 miles until the next exit. When we got off this is what we found at the gas station:

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

I'd never seen anything like it. The owner called it the widower and he had custom designed it to be a Harley Davidson/stage coach/car type of piece that apparently was going to be in a parade the next day.

So we got back on track to our cousins at about eleven pm and as we were driving along passed signs welcoming us to Maryland. Maryland? That certainly wasn't part of the plan, we just passed through the tip though as we were back tracking. If we had enough time on the trip Washington DC was only 3 hours away - maybe next time.

So we finally arrived at Ami and Anna's house around midnight. The next morning we went running true to our word. The hills were definitely different and I was sore the next day. We then went to lunch to meet up with my cousin Matt and his new wife Nicki. We were fortunate to catch Matt since he will be deployed with the National Guard soon and was only home for the weekend. We had lunch along the Ohio river? Regardless, the weather was perfect and the scenery was nice. I had some crab cakes which were fabulous. My plan was to eat as much seafood as I could stand on the trip so I was well on my well.

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

We then drove over to my Uncle Lewis and Aunt Becky's where we enjoyed conversation and food. It was really great to see them again.

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

Anna and Ami were great hosts. We enjoyed staying with them and getting to know their daugher Evelynn. Evelynn was one of the sweetest babies ever - she only cried when her Uncle Matt took off his hat. We're assuming she thought he was removing body parts, or she's afraid of bald men.

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

From SC Road Trip Summer 2009

Wendi, sorry we couldn't make it any further North. There is so much to see out East and so little time, I'm hoping we can come and visit you someday.

New Bri Tri

So I completed the New Bri Tri today. Jason just got home from work and won't let me tell him about it until I blog. Unfortunately he has a valid point. If I tell the story too many times I'll never get around to writing it down.

Back in January one of my classmates Maria and I started swimming at school to survive the winter. She is an amazing swimmer who has competed heavily in the past. With all of the overachievers in dentistry it wasn't hard to find encouragement or suggestions to do a triathlon. So Maria and I decided we would set a goal and start training for the summer for our first ever triathlon. Conveniently, our suburb has a triathlon which is near by and at a time we could both go - today.

The day started at 5:30am (actually earlier if you count that I couldn't sleep last night because I was so nervous I wouldn't get up.) I went to go pick Maria up and arrived at the park at 6:45.

Although it is June we finally got some rain. So while it's been beautiful all week it was cold and rainy today. The temp outside was in the neighborhood of 50 degrees and I'm guessing the water was about 67 degrees.

We set up our transition area. (FYI this apparently is a motivating factor for the intense athletes to arrive at 5am and take the spots nearest the exit. We are not that motivated.) This involved putting out our bike and laying our towel, helmet and running clothes out. One of my friends from school let me borrow a road bike his mom had for the race - it was awesome - super fast and red.

Maria and I were in the fourth wave - after the elite athletes and men. I'm assuming this is so small people like me don't drown in the rush for the water. (They were set at 3 minute intervals.) There were probably 100 people in each of the 5 waves. Despite the cold weather, with our wetsuits it was actually pleasant to stand in the water and easy to transition to swimming.

The biggest mistake I probably made preparing for this triathlon was not swimming in my wetsuit before hand or swimming in a lake. I got caught in the middle of what is referred to as "the washing machine." There is such a mob of people that you are being grabbed from everywhere and hitting others in the process. The water already has zero visibility but now is also being agitated. I've been practicing in a pool where I can see the bottom and track where I am going. It took me almost half of the swim course to figure out what my game plan was. I couldn't swim normal freestyle because of the mass of people and I couldn't see where I was going. My goggles had fogged up a bit so even with my head out of water it was tough to see. I tried breast stroke for awhile but there wasn't the leg room and the wetsuit was too restrictive for the kicks. A ridiculous amount of energy and time was spent just trying to stay afloat. We were supposed to swim out along the buoys and then come back in an elongated U. I was finally starting to get into the groove of just pulling in freestyle (which worked well with the buoyancy of the swim suit) when I realized I was drastically off course. I'm convinced I lost at least seven minutes in my detour - I didn't make the turn and kept heading for the other shore. I'm still not entirely sure how to get into a rhythm and be able to see where you are going - next year. The good news is that there was no one for me to run into way out there. I finished and walked out of the lake to my transition site where my friends Katie and Erin from school were cheering me on. I was so disoriented from the swim it was a good thing they were there to coach me through the change. I could barely stand and kept forgetting things like drying off before getting dressed.

I then walked my bike to the mounting area and was on my way. I think I did best in this part. I ended up pacing a guy for the entire 14 miles and fortunately wasn't passed by too many people. (I know this wasn't the point - I was competing with myself. However, you know I like a little competition to keep motivated.) It started to sprinkle during the bike ride but fortunately wasn't too bad and the roads weren't wet enough to have splash from the tires. (I absolutely hate that.)

Moving from biking to running is just weird. If you've ever been on a trampoline and then tried to start jumping on the ground or running you'll know what I'm talking about. It took me at least a mile to feel like I was moving normally. I kept a slow but steady pace and met my goal of running the 3 miles without walking. It rained the entire run but it didn't bother me too much. Fortunately it only started pouring while we were driving home.

The group that did the triathlon did a nice job. All the participants were well marked and we wore chips on our ankles to record our times. (I was number 85.) The data on the chip let them know who was coming so I crossed the finish line with the announcer bellowing my name to the crowd. My time was one hour and fifty-five minutes, next year will be faster as I improve the swim. The entire experience was a lot of fun. All of the volunteers and workers were awesome, lots of encouragement from everyone along the way. (Except the swim - that's all about survival. There are kayakers out there if people need to rest on something or be saved.)

How am I feeling you may ask? Pretty good. Each event works fairly different muscle groups so it wasn't too bad to start something new and carry through with it. I have a feeling I'm going to be a little sore tomorrow, but nothing terrible. Maria and I have decided we definitely want to make this an annual event. Thanks for every one's support along the way!


Here are my stats: I came in as 289 out of 359 and 80 out of 120 females in my age group. (Like I said - next year will be better once I figure out the swim.)
Swim: 17min 48 sec
Transition one: 3 minutes 53 seconds (I thought for sure it took longer than that)
Bike: 51:28
Transition two: one minute 4 seconds
Run: 32 minutes
Total according to the posted data: one hour, forty-two minutes and twenty seconds (the clock said 1:55:33 so I don't know where the discrepancy is)

School is over... oh wait

So I finished my finals on Friday. It was five finals in five days plus three more the week before. I enjoyed being done and have spent the last few days cleaning up and taking care of normal life stuff that gets put off for months at a time. Now I feel ready to relax and rejuvenate before the next semester, small problem though - school starts tomorrow at 7:30am. At first I thought two days off would be enough, currently I'm still feeling fried. On the bright side I'm hoping this semester will be less intensive. What I mean is that hopefully when I leave school I will be done for the day. Classes go from 7:30am until 5pm most days; however, they are mostly clinical so I'm hoping there won't be as much late night bookwork. If nothing else, it's only seven weeks.

It's been so long since I posted I'm not sure what I filled people in on last. In January a fellow classmate and I accepted the challenge to train for a triathlon. I have sent in my check and should be participating in the "New Bri Tri" on June 6th. It will involve a 1/2 mile swim in a lake, 13 mile bike ride and 3 mile run. I've been swimming about 3 times a week since January, the weather just got better so I've been biking to school which is about 13 miles a day. The running has been more challenging to improve in. Jason has been biking while I run to encourage me and I invested in a nike + ipod sensor which tracks my pace, runs and distance. I can at least run the distance I need to, we'll see if I can after swimming and biking too. If nothing else, I should be well prepared for my physical tests for the National Guard when I go for Officer Basic Camp in August.

This past semester has been an interesting one. While my social life and Jason's have pretty much died, we have still managed to accomplish much. My friend and classmate Priya taught me how to make some awesome indian food which has been fun. Let me just say that chili powder from the indian store is much stronger than anything you normally get at the grocery store. I have survived school for another semester and have done a few other enjoyable things. I won't put all of the details here but I learned a lot more than I expected to about making dental crowns. They are much more complicated than you can imagine. We had a simulated patient we have been working on all semester and will get to see what my lab results will be when the next semester begins.

I've spent far too much time at a desk and in front of a computer this semester. Hence, I would love to tell you more but I can't stare at this screen anymore.

Cruising Through Winter

It's hard to believe that it's February.  I'm not going to complain though, I'm in the middle of my first round of exams for the semester.  Additionally, we finally broke out of a couple of weeks of double-digit, negative-degree weather with the wind-chill.  Wearing three layers of clothing everywhere you go gets really old.  I get really excited when I kind start shedding the accessory/necessities like scarves, hats and gloves.  Unfortunately, it's usually April before those can be given up without worrying about frostbite.

My parents were kind enough to help us get out and enjoy the winter weather a bit more this year.  Jason and I were gifted with cross-country skiing gear.  I'm pretty sure more enchanted with the idea than Jason is, but at least it helps us get out in the winter.  So far I've been out a few times and Jason is working on it.  It was kind of awkward starting out but I feel like I'm getting it more. 

We have classical skis which is a lot slower than the skate skis.  Hence, it's been intimidating to go out and be smoked by the college and high school racing teams.  I like it though, it's  a fantastic workout which helps with the staying warm bit.  In fact, regardless of the temperature I'm usually roasting by the time we are done.  I still prefer going up hill and get nervous about wiping out going down hill but progress is being made.  For the most part we are sticking to nearby golf courses that have been groomed until we work up the endurance to go for some longer trails that are worth the drive.

School is school.  I will try and post some of the projects that we have been working on in lab.  I find our new lab course less relaxing than our waxing in oral anatomy but I am certainly learning new things.  So far the semester hasn't been as bad as fall was I"m sure that will change.  The material is less flashy however.  I don't have as many aha moments or run across information that is new and really interesting.  I suppose it just feels a little on the tedious side right now.  Some of that is because I'm basically taking four classes that I've been exposed to before.  Granted, that still leaves eight that I haven't taken but like I said it seems to be a little on the busywork side of education at the moment.  I also think it is kind of sterile and hard to be motivated without patient interaction.  I would tell people I worked with that the best thing about dentistry is the people.  Of course it is also the worst part of it too, but I still miss it.  Oh well... next year.

Jason and I have had more time to spend together which has been nice.  We went to see the Russian National Ballet perform Sleeping Beauty on Friday Night.  Let me just say that I love student tickets.  The performance was lovely, although I must admit the last two scenes were much better than the first.  The music was written by Tchaikovsky so how could you go wrong?  Several of my friends from school went as well, I enjoy sharing experiences like that with others.  I'm beginning to side with the arts camp that pre-recorded music is just wrong.  While the dancing was wonderful I think it lacked a certain depth without live music to adjust to the swells of the moment.

Oh, in other exciting news a friend and I are committing to doing a triathlon this summer.  I haven't put my money down yet but I've started training.  I am now swimming three times a week at the school (definitely not in the Mississippi).  The event is a 1/2 mile swim, 13 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run.  The run will take the most work for me to prepare for but the rest should be just fine.  My big goal is to finish and not do something ridiculous like drown or crash my bike.  It should be fun.  It's June 6th if any one out there is interested in joining us.

memories

So I was driving tonight and I heard this song and it reminded me of freshman year. Or maybe it was sophomore year. I don't know. For your listening enjoyment:

Happy New Year from Minnesota

Someday I'm going to enjoy these holidays at the end of the year again. Over the past few years I have both dreaded and looked forward to Christmas. I think it has something to do with the fact that nine of the last ten years I have had finals in December. These usually are close to the nineteenth leaving me precious few days to do what I hate most - go shopping for gifts. (I normally hate shopping, but even more so when the freeway is backed up because everyone is going to the mall.) So I spend the first part of my break preparing for Christmas and the rest trying to catch up on everything else that has been neglected during school. It's a good thing Ting and Murphy are such good kids otherwise we'd really be in trouble. I finally got my grades back on Friday - there is room for improvement but I am quite happy with them.

School starts tomorrow and while I've had a really nice week and a half....I'm still fried. I'm usually excited and ready for new classes, right now I'm not ready to start over again. Clearly I survived last semester but it was kind of painful. Jason keeps reminding me to take it just a day at a time which is really excellent advice. Jason has been a wonderful support to me through dental school, I can't imagine going through this without him.

I spent Christmas day with my family in Madison and went cross country skiing while Jason worked at the referral clinic. Jason and I should both have skis in a couple of weeks which I am very excited about. The key to surviving the winter is to find some redeeming qualities about it. For me, I'm hoping it will be cross country skiing.

The 26th I drove back and Jason and I flew to San Antonio, Texas on the 27th. We had a wonderful Doolittle family reunion and celebrated Jason's dad's 65th birthday. I have a bunch of very sweet nieces and nephews who are definitely all boy. We went to see the Alamo, look at some missions from the 1700s and of course gorge ourselves on barbecue and tex mex. I also had the chance to see two of my good friends from my BYU days which was a real treat. One of course being the fabulous red head Stephanie. I know you are all jealous that we got to hang out. We were discussing possibilities for our Crown 9er reunion. I make it down to San Antonio everyonce in awhile due to Jason's family. So that already puts two of our members in close proximity. Otherwise the state farm in Minnesota is probably the best in the country. Would could all hang out and drink lots of milk, enjoy butter sculptures eat things on a stick. It would be lots of fun.

Now that we have seen a little bit of sun and remembered what life is like without coats we are back in MN and bracing ourselves for at least three more months of snow. I'm hoping 2009 will be a good year. I'm grateful to have a husband who loves me, a happy and healthy extended family and the opportunity to further my education. If I can keep in mind that those are more important than the challenges I foresee in the next year - life will continue to be good.

Getting My Money's Worth

So when we began dental school one of our instructors told us that if we weren't being challenged we weren't getting our money's worth.  Rest assured, I am definitely feeling challenged.  For the last two or three weeks we have had something big due everyday.  It's either been a midterm, oral anatomy test or project, a paper, written or oral quiz and/or a dissection in anatomy.  I get up around 6 each morning and if I have time - do a little studying before class.  I'm in class until five most days and try to study and eat over lunch.  I then come home and push through some more studying until about 10pm.  At that point I just have to accept that I can't do anymore that day, go to sleep and then start all over again.

I usually get between 4-8 hours of studying in on Saturdays to stay afloat.  I think the worst of it is over now for this semester.  I have part one and two of a final tomorrow and Wednesday.  After that I should have at least five more hours a week to study and focus on my remaining classes.  So with my first drill weekend I think it was a solid two weeks without any sort of a break.  Trust me, this Saturday was very welcome.  I don't know if I've ever looked forward to Thanksgiving so hopefully before.

Last weekend I went up to Camp Ripley for my first National Guard drill weekend.  It went very well.  So well in fact that I think if all of my experiences are like this one, my military experience will be quite positive.  I even got paid when I was supposed to, it's amazing.  A fellow classmate who I also know from church was commissioned on the same day.  It was really nice to have another dental student to carpool and be new at everything with.  (There are so many acronyms and bits of information coming at you it was good to have someone to conquer and divide the info with.)  Coming in as an officer you start drilling without any formal training.  So it was pretty awkward to be saluted while walking around and called Ma'am (I didn't learn what I was supposed to do in response until 24 hours after it started.)  Being the daughter of an enlisted Marine I am well aware that there are plenty of enlisted people who resent the fact that I came in at a higher rank and know nothing about the military.  So I tread lightly and will certainly not flaunt my officer status.

Minnesota isn't exactly a military hub, so buying uniforms was a bit challenging.  There was a small place here in the cities where I didn't get any help picking out what I needed and they had limited supplies.  I had to guess the rest of the things I needed and order them online.  So Saturday morning at 4am I am trying to put my uniform on the way I think it might go.  We arrived at the base at 6:30am and I think it took maybe two minutes before people in my new unit stopped me and told me that I needed to be fixed.  Apparently my boots are all wrong, my top uniform too small (they don't come any smaller) I was either missing or had the wrong patches and my hair wasn't up properly.  They were very helpful in correcting how to wear my uniform, but they didn't hold back that they were thinking it was a good thing I wasn't part of their unit because I would have embarrassed them.  It didn't phase me too much though.  I figured I would have at least one event like that and everyone was more than happy to help.

I am in a program with medical and PA students so I got to meet a few other new officers as well.  Most of them were prior service so they helped fill me in a bit more in the ways of the military.  I think my general responsibilities each weekend will be helping with the dental examinations.  This will involve taking health histories, going through paperwork to determine radiograph and exam need as well as exposing radiographs.  Since I have a hygiene background I started taking bitewings on Sunday.  In a shorter day I took 119 bitewings.  (Thank goodness for digital radiography.)  I can only imagine what that total will be in future weekends.  (Our dental unit does an average of 350-500 dental exams a weekend.)  The people in my unit are great and I am looking forward to working with them.  My favorite part of the weekend was attending a continuing medical education seminar on cold weather injuries.  It was an hour presentation over breakfast with the MDs and other students.  I really hope to keep going to those even if they aren't directly related to the care I give.

The days are a little long, I was wiped out for the rest of the week but it was definitely worth it.  So far everything I've heard about the officer basic course is that it is fun.  It sounds a lot like camping with my family - orienteering, navigation, tents etc.  We will see.

One last note to this long post.  Tuesday was the Anatomy Memorial Service.  It was a service held to show appreciation to the families whose loved ones donated their bodies to be used in anatomy.   I sang in the choir with the med students and enjoyed my associations with them and utilizing my talents.  It was an emotional experience being able to talk to the families who came.  I may dislike the formaldehyde but the learning experience we gain is essential to training our hands and minds.  I feel recommitted to learning in that class when I remember the gift that people have offered to enable me to do so.

Teeth and Stuff

It's hard to believe that it's been several weeks since my last post. The weeks are just flying by. Dental school is going well. I am currently dealing with a few adjustments. In the last two weeks I've had 13 credits added to my schedule. That currently brings me to 22 credits with a total of 24 to be completed by the end of the semester. The time consuming classes right now are histology, gross anatomy and biochemistry. I know you are all jealous and wish you could be in class eight hours a day with lots of studying afterward. I'm sure you will get by. My favorite class is oral anatomy. We learn about all of the tiny details of each tooth and then in lab, work on creating them from wax to internalize the information.







I've also started using the new dental simulation clinic at the school. The University of Minnesota has one of the only simulation clinics this advanced. It uses GPS technology to teach students proper ergonomics and appropriate tooth preparations for restorations. The GPS detects where the handpiece is placed and what plastic tooth material has been removed. The preparation is then simulated into a 3-D image on a computer screen which can be compared to an ideal preparation. It also offers objective grading. The experience has been pretty good. I find the computer feedback to be helpful - I just wish the handpiece wasn't so heavy.

Here is a link to a video to see what I'm talking about:

http://www.dentistry.umn.edu/news/tvspot/home.html

We started gross anatomy this past week. Yes, we do work with cadavers. We are very fortunate to have people who have been kind enough to donate their bodies to allow us to learn. It's tough work though and there is a lot of preparation involved and ridiculous amount of information learn. I'm also practicing with a choir that will perform for the memorial surface to honor the families of those who donated their bodies.

In other news I have found a wonderful opportunity for school. I will most likely be joining the National Guard later this month. It's a very family friendly and flexible option to fund school and serve the country. I will be working specifically in dentistry and the tuition benefits are good. There are a lot of details; but the basic idea is that I will be drilling once a month for the next eight years. (Four before graduation and four as a licensed dentist.) Following graduation I will continue drilling but have the option (or need) to be deployed as a dentist with the Army. If that were the case it would only be for 90 days and I can't be deployed for 18 months after that. I've put a lot of thought into it and Jason and I feel this is the best option for us. I look at it this way: I will owe my soul to somebody in order to pay for school. It's either the military for eight or the bank for much, much longer.

Jason and I had a wonderful anniversary. Autumn this year has been amazing. It is an unusally warm fall and the leaves are changing colors at a reasonable rate. (Some years they start and drop leaves within three weeks.) Life is good, albeit busy.

School Is Great!

I know that some of my posts have some sarcastic undertones. However, when I say that school is going great I really mean it. I have completed two weeks thus far and am having a blast. I have met some great people in my class. One of my classmates lives a block away and I have a fantastic group of girls to carpool with. I know it's early and our class is still in the honeymoon stage of school but I think there are some really sincere and good people in it. School feels very much like home to me. Between seeing old friends and faculty and being surrounded by a bunch of super geeks like me I couldn't be happier.

Our school schedule has started out pretty light with tomorrow being our first day of class from 7:45am until 5pm. (With an hour lunch break.) By October most of our days will be like that and the material will probably start to get overwhelming. As for right now the highlight of the weeks has been waxing up teeth. we are given a stump of plastic and with wax and carving tools create an ideal tooth. The idea is that by creating these teeth we may better understand the anatomy of each individual tooth. Needless to say some people are a bit frustrated considering this is quite different than typical classes.

In other great news I finished my first 5K run yesterday. I was definitely one of the slowest runners but I finished and walked only a small bit of the route. My main goal was to finish and run most of it. I feel like I ran farther than I expected to and fortunately finished far ahead of the walkers. It was the first annual Mouths in Motion walk/run put on by the dental school student association. (ASDA) All proceeds went to oral cancer research at the U. It was great to be out for a good cause and the weather couldn't have been better. The environment was extremely positive with plenty of cheering from fellow classmates, other dental students and faculty. Our dental anatomy professor Dr. Madden pledged to contribute up to a million dollars - a dollar for each dental student that finished ahead of him. Sadly, I didn't beat him - maybe next year.

Mini Golf and the Sculpture Garden

Friday night Jason and I made it to the Walker Art Museum for their summer exhibit: Walker Inside Out, Art Goes Outdoors.  They are doing a miniature golf set up.  Each hole was designed by an artist used an environmental theme.  Materials used were either eco-friendly or made a statement about recycling, water conservation etc.  We played fairly decently - no holes in one, but I did win by two strokes.

Can you find Jason?

 

Following our round of miniature golf we walked over to the sculpture gardens.  After five years of living out here I finally got to see it all.  That means another check on the list of things to enjoy out here.

 

Yes, that is a giant cherry on a spoon.

 

I think this swing/sculpture would be really cool in my backyard to be.  What do you think?

 

As a side I'm expanding my list of things I can do.  This week I successfully used a power drill without any mishaps.  (Now all I have to do is learn how to use a much smaller one on teeth.)  Additionally, Jason and I received a painting in a classy but battered frame when we bought our furniture.  On Dianne's suggestion I found some wood putty and using my paints and skills from my art class have made it look like new.

 

School orientation begins in three days - I can't wait!

Back In Minnesota

So, it's been a little while since I last blogged.  I am going to blame  that on moving and Murphy.  Each time I have sat down to blog this past week Murphy came and sat on the keyboard or right in front of it.  Currently, I am resting my left arm on his body and he is licking my right arm as I struggle to type over him.  If you push him off he just keeps coming back.

 

 

We were able to do a few fun things before leaving Milwaukee.  Here are some pictures of going out to dinner with one of the dental offices I worked at - Quinn Dental.  I also added some views of my operatory.  I'm really going to miss the great people I worked with at both offices and of course the windows.  There are no windows in the clinics and classrooms I will be in for the next four years.

 

 

Jason and I also made it out camping.  It's something we hope to do more of now that Jason actually has Saturdays off.  We went to Big Foot Beach State Park.  We met our goals of breaking in our new huge tent, eating smores and having a fire.  We even went biking and cooled off swimming in Lake Geneva.  (It's on the border of Wisconsin and Illinois.)  Unfortunately it was really hot and muggy and the mosquitos were unbearable; so we bailed a night early.  For car camping I thought it was a pretty lame site.  There wasn't any separation from one camp site to the next.  We might as well have been on a parade ground.  I don't mind roughing it but I hate pit toilets.  I can't help but think that something is alive down in them just waiting for me to sit down in the dark.  Jason thought I was nuts, but while he was sleeping I saw the sewage guy come to clean out the pit toilet. As I was watching he pulled out his tube from the pit then took a shovel and hit it a few times.  He then picked up some kind of large rodent (maybe a possum?) and dropped it off in a bucket.  I'm not crazy, these things do happen and apparently often enough if he's got a bucket for it.  To make things more exciting we had a woman stop at 10pm and yell at us while we were in our tents.  Apparently she is a professional storm spotter (she may have been drunk or just out there) and was concerned that we were going to have torrential storms that night.  (It rained but wasn't bad.)  We told the rangers about in the morning, I guess we just attract some odd ducks.

 

 

We've been in Minnesota for two weeks now.  It didn't take long to feel right at home.  There were certainly good things that happened to us while we were in Milwaukee; however we are much happier and more comfortable here.  (At least until the snow hits.)  Our move went well and we had some great people help us both loading and unloading.  It only took 80 minutes to unload everything from our truck and the U-Haul with the muscle we had helping us.  

 

 

 

Our location is great.  I went exploring this week and biked all the way to campus and back.  It will be a bit of a haul - seven miles one way I think.  I'm going to give it a go in good weather.  I doubt that I will make it through the entire winter this year.  The cities are a great place to bike - they keep adding all of these fantastic bike routes within the city so you can bike almost anywhere you want if you are willing.  It takes Jason six minutes to bike to work and we've been able to spend lunches together before I start school.

 

I had a great time sharing the fabulous cities with Jason's parents: Harry and Dianne.  We were able to do a fair amount.  Harry was super helpful putting up some artwork and other handyman sorts of things.  We did all sorts of things like furniture shopping on Monday and checking out the restaurant The Rainforest Cafe at the Mall of America.  Jason started his job on Wednesday so Harry and Dianne and I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, took a mini tour of my school and enjoyed a bit of antiquing in Stillwater. 

 

 

 

I'm really looking forward to starting school in the next week and a half.  The weather has been nice and I'm enjoying some down time before things get busy.  I had an enjoyable birthday with plenty of cake, ice cream and friends we haven't seen in a year.  I am also sporting a new bike helmet that I am super pumped about thanks to Harry and Dianne.  I now feel that if I were to really need to use it would actually do something for me.                                                                                                                                                                     

Happy Birthday Becca!

(I wanted to just post this cute video here but I couldn't figure out how...later, later I will. For now follow the link, watch and enjoy!) ...yeah I figured it out...I'm so savvy ;)

Happy Birthday wishes to you!

Love ya!

Memories....

Colette posted this on her blog:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you!

I figure hey, lets run with this and post some fun reminiscences of the good ol' days in Crown Niner and in good ol' E. Richards.

Summer Happenings

Summer has finally arrived in Wisconsin.  During the last month of Jason's internship he started to get weekend days off.  Hence, we've been able to take advantage of many more things to do together here in the area.

 

Jason and I went to Polish festival on June 21st.  During the summer time Milwaukee comes alive and there is a different festival every weekend at the festival grounds which are on Lake Michigan in the third ward district downtown   These include major ethnic festivals like Summerfest, German, Irish and Polish festival among others.  We went and watched some traditional polish dancing and of course ate pierogies, polish sausage and saurkraut.  (Mmmm, I like saurkraut.)  Here are pictures from the dancing, Jason couldn't get over how tall one of the dancers was.  Later on in the show people from the audience got to dance a bit and I ended up dancing with the super tall guy - there must have been almost a two foot difference between us.  The group was made of some pretty good and very nice dancers who came from Michigan to perform.

 

 

While Jason was at one of his last Saturday shifts Rachel and I hit the Strawberry festival in one of the local towns.  There were surprisingly few strawberries at the festival.  I saw an occasional booth for strawberry shortcake and I two that sold pints of strawberries for outrageous prices.  Otherwise it has turned into a gigantic craft fair of sorts with music, fair food and entertainment.  It was huge, there must have been well over a hundred tents with everything from homemade soap to handcrafted wood toys, purses, etc.  We didn't buy much but we had fun looking at all of the artwork and just being outside.

 

July 4th I went out to be with my family while Jason saved lives at AEC.  We went canoeing at a place a couple hours north of Madison.  It's a popular spot where you start canoeing on a small river and get picked up by the dock a few miles down the river.  All in all it's close to a "three hour tour" that actually only takes that long.  Rachel was the skipper and through our fabulous team work we managed to avoid getting tipped out in the rapidly moving parts amongst large boulders and low overhanging branches.  (Trust me, not very many people in the group could say that.)  Following the trip we returned for a BBQ and fireworks that my brother Curtis made.  (He also "modified" a few other fireworks.)  That went pretty well, no one was harmed which was important, although we had to run and get out of the way of a few of the fireworks.  Mostly it was fun to see Curtis light things and then scream like a little girl as he ran to cover. 

 

The next day my family participated in the Sun Prairie Flags of Freedom parade.  My Mom entered us for her studio and we had a fun little group going along.  Rachel and I were pretending to sit for a portrait in the back of our "float"  (a red pick up truck)  One of the photographers had an antique camera he was using to pretend to take pictures.  My sister Emily walked along as well with an empty framed around her face as a living portrait.  My mom and another photographer took pictures of the crowd and later posted them on her studio website for people to come and check out.  (My dad passed out flyers w/ promotionals and the website:  www.suburbanstudio.com You can go under special events and type in the password "fun" to see photos.  We did it to get some more exposure for the studio, and I think it was a big success.  The site has gotten several hits since then and people have been calling the studio to ask about the pictures.  It was also great to be out as a family supporting my mom in her new endeavors as a small business owner.

 

Immediately following the parade (which was at 2pm - who does that?) my parents, Emily and I drove to Milwaukee to catch the Brewers baseball game.  Rachel went too but had seats with someone whe knew from the Navy.  Jason was able to join us for that and we were able to watch the game from the nosebleed section.  It was perfect, the length of the game was good, we got to see some good plays and we won in the bottom of the ninth against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

 

Yesterday  Jason and I went out for a fifteen mile bike ride which was quite pleasant.  The weather was perfect and the trail we used is great.  We had planned on going camping but with the thunderstorms lately we bailed at the last minute.  So we have plans to get out before we move.

Elder Sweetpea Home!

So I posted this on my redhead blog but wanted to put it up here special too...with a picture.


Today my younger brother returned home from serving a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As he came striding down the terminal, my mom and I began gleefully jumping up and down (yes, also clapping and screaming) while grandma stood on the sidelines shaking her head - apparently she doesn't want to claim us. Anyway, I saw coming down the escalator, a man I had never seen before, a man who had just accomplished something spectacular and he was glowing to prove it.

Just hearing him speak, you can tell how much he has grown. I'm sure he could go on for hours listing all the things he learned on his mission and how many ways he's changed physically, emotionally, spiritually not to mention all the lives he has touched. Of all the many wonderful things a mission does, changing the missionary is one of the most impressive. I myself have never served a full time mission and have often wondered what this kind of selfless sacrifice might have done for me. It takes a certain type of person to accept the intense commitment a mission requires and I never really had faith enough in myself for it. But there he is, standing with pure confidence in front of me, my little brother demonstrating what willingness to give in pure service is, and with that sparkling smile everyone knows he served well.

I recently had a discussion with a good friend about what it means to be a man. Despite my continual protests and shameless jabs, I walked away with an understanding that only the individual can decide when he truly is a man. Other people can sternly tell you, "you are now a man," but it is only when the boy himself walks the bridge to claim his manhood that it becomes real. Without question, a mission is one of the most difficult bridges but my brother crossed it, and he is now a man.

This is not the first of my family to serve a mission and it will certainly not be the last, but with each experience comes even more respect and appreciation for both my family and my church. Two years ago we sent off a 19 year old boy with a brand new suit and an eager heart and today he came home with 30 more pounds and an overflowing spirit of new wisdom and love. I stand in awe of him today, for who he is, for what he has done and for standing strong in faith. Even more, I stand in awe for his ability to do it all with such grace and then to still walk with the humility to ask what more he can do.

I love my brother. I often tell people he is the male version of me (minus the red hair), which I have always felt to be true and certainly explains our great relationship. Today, he is more than that - he is also a man and for his extraordinary example of strength I could not be more grateful.

Rubin and Ed

The other day "you've got to admit that... (I don't remember what had to be admitted)" was said and it made me think of Stephanie's favorite movie, Rubin and Ed. :) "You've got to admit that your cat's dead. You have to admit that." I even looked it up online, and apparently it's a cult classic. On imdb.com someone from Milwaukee, or Minnesota, or one of those "M" places somewhere east of where I live had put a comment on there saying it was a must see movie and great if you have a quirky sense of humor, and some other stuff. It also had some of the famous quotes, so I thought I'd share this lovely memory with y'all so you could go back and watch it whenever you happen to come across a copy of Rubin and Ed.
"My cat can eat a whole watermelon!"

Traveling

So with the weather warming up to the sixties on a good day I've been getting out a bit more.  On May tenth I got up bright and early and drove to Madison to meet up with my parents and Rachel.  We all piled into one car and made our way to Northern Iowa.  Over the last few years my dad has been working on finishing his bachelor's degree at one of Upper Iowa University's satellite schools.  His graduation ceremony was held on the original campus, hence our commute.  It was a lovely school and the ceremony was nice.  There was an emphasis on encouraging students to be global citizens, I thought it was an appropriate topic.  It's been nice to live close enough to take part in special experiences with my family.  Here's a collage my mom put together of the day. 

 

 

Jason worked Memorial Day so I headed out to Madison again and went kayaking with my mom and sister Emily.  We didn't take cameras due to the whole water thing, but it was a blast.  We saw frogs, turtles and lots of fish while out on the lakes.  We worked our way through a chain of lakes and had a good time.  The wind in the middle of the lakes reminded Emily and I of our Boundary waters experience.  It reinforced my affinity for kayaks though, they really are fun to be in. 

 

On Saturday of Memorial weekend Jason actually had the day off so we hiked and picnicked at a beach along Lake Michigan and then went on a tour of the Sprecher brewery.  They are a microbrewery in Glendale that makes fantastic root beer soda and several other sodas.

 

Jason and I just got back from an overnight trip to the Twin Cities to look for apartments.  We kind of covered everything from old and dumpy college apartments to "luxury" living, that wasn't really luxury.  In the end we found a modest apartment we both like that will be quiet, warm and a 5-10 minute walk to Jason's work and the grocery store.  I'll be busing or driving to school, but it's not impossibly far and fortunately the bridge collapse will not impact the exit I need to take to get to school.

 

In other news, my painting class is over.  I really enjoyed it and feel like I learned much more than I expected to.  In the realm of arts I also made a music connection with one of my patients.  He has two pianos and invited me over for four-handed, two piano duets.  (I got to play on their baby grand Steinway - yes I was loving it!)  We got together at the end of May and had a great time playing various duets including some great Brahms waltzes I was not familiar with.  He and his wife are really great people I have enjoyed getting to know.  Playing duets on two pianos was a new experience for me, it really changes the type of music that can be played.  We're hoping to get together at least once more before I move.