Special Olympics

I had a fabulous time last night helping out with the Special Olympics. Partly relief of having another test finished and behind me, but mostly it was just dang fun!!! We started out with dinner, then had the welcoming ceremony with the flag, the national anthem, the lighting of the torch, and lots and lots of cheering and dancing! It was just exciting to see their excitement and happiness. Then...we danced!!!!! Now, I can't think of anything I'd rather volunteer for, than DANCING! And man, there were some pretty skilled dancers out there! Some even liked to dance with two girls at the same time....can't say I blame them! Haahaa. I danced with a kid and sang the entire time because it was "A Whole New World" he just joined right in and we sang the entire dance. Loved it. My friend Billy was official photographer, but he made it around to dance a couple dances with me, which made the night absolutely perfect. I also saw Morgan, a good friend(kinda, more like a good acquaintance that I really connect with???!?!!!) from my MCHS days was there and I had a fabulous time catching up with her and a great discussion. Oh and the mayor came and addressed us, I found that super fun and interesting, and I loved watching his kids and especially his little boy--who high-fived everyone who walked by! If only I had the time...I wish they had volunteering parties with the special olympics kids every week!

Too Much

I thought last weekend was too much, but I kept thinking "After giving my Relief Society lesson, after an 8 hour shift, after...." that things would calm down. This week has just gone from crazy hectic to, hold-on-for-your-life-cause-its-going-CRAZY hectic. It's ok though, as soon as I vent for one quick moment, I will go study for an hour, and things will feel better, right?? Okay, maybe that only happens once you've graduated. One year, Lindsay, one year, I can make it!

Lindsay's To Do List for the next 48 hours:
-attend a guest lecture that I'm really annoyed she's giving points out to attend and am seriously contemplating skipping
-studying for a perio test that I should get at least 3 more full hours of devoted study of, but probably will average more like one hour
-get my eyes checked and dilated because for the past week and a half I have had two right contacts...fine for things close up, but it wigs my eyes out when I have to look far away
-babysit for Wyatt, which is when I plan to study, so I'm not that annoyed---his kids are good, right?????
-go to the Special Olympics for the entire night of Friday, I am excited for this in and of itself, because I think it will be fun, but also because it fulfills two service hour requirements simultaneously
-study at least 5 or 6 hours for a dental hygiene test, that THANKFULLY got extended to Monday, but unfortunately, that still leaves me very little time, since I will probably be taking my perio test on Saturday, so maybe pull a 4am monday morning???
-work an 8-hr shift at JCP which will be excruciating just because I know how much I SHOULD be studying....I've seriously contemplated calling in sick. Just this once???
-And study some more...but really, I don't see any time in there for studying. ????!!!!!?!!!!?


Okay now that I have vented...I will go and study, at least for the next forty minutes until class starts. You'd think I would have been prepared previously for this test, but in my defense I worked last night, I was in school all day, I studied until I fell asleep on the couch and woke up with a crink in my neck even with eating popcorn to stay awake, and I had an oral pathology test earlier this week that I was more worried about because it was more imminent. That is my disclaimer. I know you all didn't want to listen to this rambling, and probably just want to yell at me "buck up camper, because lots worse could happen" but I just wanted to have my own pity party for a second. Thank you.

1-28-09

I did four quads of a Class II patient today plus sel pol, df, and fluoride...basically I COMPLETELY finished a Class II pt in two appointments, and I feel really good about it. That is my story. My patient told me not to get a big head...no worries about that one! I had a little stress-moment in the middle of scaling his four quads, and I had no idea what was stain, what was overhangs of restorations, and I was just feeling a little nervous about exactly what I was doing. Luckily, Kirsten gave me a little hug, boosted my confidence by coming over and telling me exactly what I could do on tooth number 27 (basically that tooth was so cariogenic and black I didn't know what I could touch) and I felt much, much, MUCH better after that. Thank you Kirsten! Clinic is going much smoother than at the beginning of the semester.

1-26-09

I had a recall class 2 pt today and I did her as an exam because I didn't finish OD last time, and she is my second class 2 pt, so I kinda had to. It was a little stressful to have her as an exam, just because it made me worry about my time a lot more. But I already knew and had scheduled her for three appointments, because we took so long going over health history her first appointment. So I full mouth probed and did ultra sonic and hand probe for UL and UR. She was bleeding like crazy and I still can't get the smell out of my nose...but I continually talked to her about why it was bleeding, and how it would be sore, but how it was really clean now, and if she kept it that way, within a couple weeks to a month, she wouldn't have bleeding when she brushed her teeth. It was amazing actually, to watch the calculus and plaque deposits fall off, and it was fun to see her feeling her teeth with her tongue and tell me how great it felt! So even though I only finished half her mouth, I had no deposits for my scale checks, and I definitely think that is worth something. All in all, I'm starting to feel okay about this----oh yeah, and charting was a pain because she had three bridges, several gold crowns, and things like that so it took awhile, but I felt like I knew what I was doing, it just took me a minute. Oh yeah, and she had two seven mm pockets!!!! Talk about being excited when I had probed those correctly!

1-21-09

Clinic was fabulous today, I was slow and I didn't accomplish nearly enough for a 1B patient. BUT....it just felt good to know what I was doing, know what came next, and be confident in what I was doing. I have done the first half of an appointment with three patients now, and starting next week I'll finish three patients(almost, some might need three appointments) which means then maybe I'll be comfortable with that half of the appointment! The only lousy thing was the digital xray machine stopped working. Just for me. The picture wouldn't show up on the computer, and no one could figure out why, so I ended up using phosphur plates...which I love. I wish we didn't have requirements on xrays and we could take what we wanted. If wishes were fishes. But I only had one retake, which was pretty good since I was a little unsure about where the plate was. My patient was fabulous, her teeth were fabulous, her gums were fabulous, and she even helped me out with charting....so why I didn't get further than OHI I really have no excuse. I could've scaled a quad, but I decided not to, in favor of getting all my paperwork done and turned in on time. So I feel good about today, just a little lax. Too bad my class 2's are coming back! haahaa

My Dad loves Me

So, on Saturday I went to breakfast with a couple of my sisters, my sister-in-law and my parents for my sister Andrea's 30th birthday!!!!! We had a fabulous time, and afterwards my parents and I went to SLC. All dad had told me was that it was a surprise for mom, and since it is her birthday I figured we were doing something fun for her. We get to A. A. Callister in SLC and walk in, and I'm thinking this is pretty cool and then dad turns to me and says "I heard you wanted some boots for your birthday, here ya go." !?!?!!?!?!?!?!!!!!! I was so INCREDIBLY excited!
I spent a couple hours trying on boots. My dilemma was the fact that I love lace-ups. I remember when I was in 2nd grade we lived in Des Lacs, North Dakota (and only about 25 people have ever heard of it, let alone lived there, so don't feel like you should know) and he took me to a leather store, and we picked out the tiniest little lace-ups they had, and I remember the smell of leather and feeling like my dad had just given me the world! I think Cowen, my nephew, has those boots now...so the legacy continues! Then, I got another pair of lace-ups in about fifth grade. I think those have been bequeathed to Megan's children now, and from there I just wore hand-me-downs, finally growing into a pair of red lace-ups that used to be my mom's. These red lace-ups and I have had some fabulous times, and I have really come to love lace-ups.

I tried on a pair of boots, and it just wasn't my comfort zone, so I went back to trying on lace-ups. There was some really cute ones, and then I tried on a pair of Ariats, and I knew I loved that pair. Then dad handed me a pair of boots to try on, and I was thinking I wouldn't like them that much because they weren't lace-ups, and I fell in love. But it was a tortured love, because I didn't really like the color. It was a pale brown leather on the bottom and the boot was a minty green. Not that you see that color with your pant legs down, but still. So I continued trying on the Ariat lace-ups and walking around.

In the meantime Dad kept putting in factors about the boot that were favorable, like the size of their heel. "Perfect heel for riding." "Perfect height for riding." "Good for walking because of the sole, but enough of a boot to be dually compatible." Etc, etc.

Then my mother, who is a genius above all geniuses, and who understood my conundrum, decided to ask if it came in any other colors. It came in RED. If you know me, you know my fixation....or rather, obsession, with red. We ordered them. And I am ECSTATIC to get them!!! As we were leaving Dad said "Every girl needs a pair of red boots." I quite agree.

So basically I feel spoiled rotten and like I'm floating on cloud nine all at the same time. My parents are phenomenal. Besides getting boots, I got to spend the entire morning with them, and it was fun and refreshing. Sometimes I forget how hilarious they are in every little minute detail of life. Love it. Love them. And love my boots. This is from a girl who is so completely satisfied with life that something terrible has to happen soon because I swear this isn't possible!

Musings

I step outside, to moments feared
Embracing life's defeating tears.
The moments fly, fear turns to calm
Freedom and faith become my balm.
Await the struggles, to me thrown
A choice is made, my courage known.
Foundation strong and sure in Christ,
Humbled, I lean on Him for might.
I know He lives, He leads me true
And with that thought, my terror flew.
A cheerful heart, a song of praise
My laughter floats, I stand amazed.
I struggle on, a human prey
What once was black, has turned to gray.
My spirit soars, even though 'tis hard
When trials come, He stands on guard.
Human frailties, god-like expound
Mistakes made in eternal round.
But always moving, forward press
And Satan's grasp I do resist.
Careworn, tired, weary soul
Is edified by God alone.
Such joy, such love, such happiness
To think-He's chosen me to bless!

Doe Eyed

So I have gotten a couple recent comments on my eyes from old men in the dental office, at JCP, and people in general, that have made me think. I've received comments about my eyes in the past.....I remember Wyatt commenting once that my eyes were "enormously massive". Thanks. I think.
Mostly though, old men tell me that I have "doe eyes". I always thought that this meant large, big, something to that effect but trying to say it nicely?!?!!! So, today, after hearing it again, I decided to look it up:

doe-eyed

  /ˈdoʊˌaɪd/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [doh-ahyd] Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective

1.	having large, innocent-looking, dark eyes.

2.	naive; too ready to believe.

Don't really know how I feel about that. But I happen to like my eyes. My best feature I think. When you put on makeup they always tell you to try and bring out your best feature, and I always try to bring out my eyes. That is my story for the day.

And Another

Once again, Class 2. I don't know why I get myself into messes like these. Class 2 are supposed to be so difficult to find, and we only need 2 1/2 mouths total of them!!!!! Oh, yeah, that means I should make her a test patient. Good thinkin.
So it went pretty well. It took an hour and forty minutes just to go through her medications....AHHHH!!!! Then I took four bitewings, and all of them were low. Had to retake them all. Yikes. Prof. Costley kindly informed me that on patients like her, with as much work as they have and as long as it has been since they have been in to see the dentist, I should've been taking verticals. Aye, Aye Cap'n! I only wish I would've known today!!!!
But even though I didn't even finish OD, I feel pretty good about today, which is competely ridiculous because that means I am behind. You have to finish a patient in at least two appointments to stay on schedule, and I know she'll take three. Ouch. I don't know why I'm not more stressed about this than I am, but maybe my patient had a calming effect on me. We had a good morning. SO HAPPY that she remembered the names of all eleven meds she's on...time consuming, but at least I could finish all that work!!!!
Next appt....Class 1B. Finally something normal in this life! Oh, I also got to see some lesions today, that was pretty fun.

A REAL pt

Somewhere between the missing teeth, the gold crowns, the porcelain crowns, the SEVEN MILLIMETER pockets, the profuse plaque, the staining, the recession, the calculus, and the panoramic xray that I was too short to use with this patient....I survived. Thats about all I can say for today. I probably made every mistake in the book, but I do think I did a decent job, and even though I felt like I didn't do ANYTHING ( all I did was tb full mouth) at least I survived. And for this Class 2, I feel like that was a real accomplishment.

Real Clinic Day 1

I had a patient. A real one. It went okay. I can't find calculus subgingivally in the lower linguals apparently...but other than that all went really well. It was helpful that my patient offered me dinner.....she is my sister-in-law, but still. haahaa! I'm done. Thats as happy as I can be. I think I have some major reviewing at the library coming up. Yay.

Day 1

Spring semester has started....and it does not feel like spring. It is snowing, and since I am in clinic right now, I've been watching it all day long. This blog will now become a dental hygiene dialogue once more, and my lovely listeners will be bored at the random things I actually find interesting. Today was the first day of clinic...they threw us right back into to working on the typodont, teaching us some new instruments, and organizing and sterilizing instruments. This is actually a good thing, because it was a good refresher to have an instrument in my hand before there's an actual patient's mouth to put it into. There ya go, clinic day one. I'll update again on Wednesday, when I finish my very first patient!

New Years Eve

So..as aggravating as not having my sweet, new pictures to post, I still want to post about my awesome New Years Eve. Started out fantabulously because Aleesha was back in Utah!!!! She was one of the fam once again, and we initiated the reunion by fire...we had her in the thick of a rook tournament. We lost. But we did make some major comebacks, at least we didn't lose in the negative numbers!!!! It was so much fun, it brought back memories of Aunt Melodies house, kids running everywhere, adults trying to get rid of as many kids as possible, older children getting up to no good....wait, I was once one of those running-wild children! Crazy how fast time flies! Luckily, there were actually NO MAJOR ILLNESSES going on in the midst of this Rasmussen chaos. I think its a first that we've had that many of us together and not caught some sort of flu. It was just a super fun night. The two-hour talk in Aleesha's car was also muchly appreciated. Amazing all the life lessons people learn and grow from! Tomorrow, I start another semester. Starting strong and happy and excited to finish it! I'm NOT AT ALL excited about the thought of having to get patients, but so far I have Lindsay Ann as my returning patient on Wednesday and I actually have two patients scheduled next week, so hey, even if I have no idea what I'm doing, I think its going okay! Haahaa...just kidding, if you're ever my patient, I know exactly what I'm doing! I think I"m excited for the end of this semester cause I feel like I might actually know a little bit about what exactly I got myself into by then! Plus, I get my braces off! There's just no downers for this semester. Kayli, you rock my socks. Kammers, thanks for the phone call, Lindsay Ann, I'm glad you joined the world of bloggers and thanks for the cookie, you're the best sister-in-law that lives in Utah ever! Good night all!

GRRR

I have all these really cool pictures from my new digital camera, and I was all excited to add them and put on a new background for my blog and everything...and dad's computer hates me right now, and nothing works. I'm quite disappointed. Plus, neither Kami or Kayli answer their phone (Kayli's at Kami's, right?) and so they are no help. Ruff.