Last one Ya'll!

Well I can’t believe it people! Another semester has come and gone in a blink of an eye. I never thought I’d see the day I was writing my blog for the 16^th week. I’ve really enjoyed making new friends in this class and reading everyone’s stories, so the end is sort of bittersweet. However, I have to admit my brain will enjoy the nice break during Christmas!

I find myself struggling to write this week as I have been fretting over finals and final wedding plans. My life has been a crazy rollercoaster. For example: being on the phone all the time with different vendors and the venue, from finishing my next to last semester of clinic for dental hygiene. As sixteen weeks has flown by I know the next two days of finals will and the wedding will be over in a flash. I just hope that I can take in and enjoy the day, unlike many brides are unable too.

Anyways…I have no specific point for this blog, but I was fresh out of ideas. I just want to take this time to thank each and every one of you who read my paper and put up with my blogs. I really appreciate your kind and generous feed back, helping me succeed in the class. I wish you all a joyous holiday season and may you be blessed in 2012!

Stick a fork in me I'm DONE!

Well we are coming down to the last week and a half of the semester and it can be over any faster! I don’t know about you guys, but I’m completely burnt out! It seems as if I am fresh out of motivation and inspiration. I keep thinking to myself it will all be over in ten days or so, but right now that seems like an eternity!

Today I had an awful quiz in my pharmacology class, I feel like it was completely ridiculous and that any one of my dental hygiene teachers couldn’t have done it, so why should we have to? Throughout this semester we have been through an entire pharmacology book, and being exposed to many different types of drugs. Well on this quiz we had to match twenty drugs, generic name with the brand name, doesn’t sound too bad right? Wrong…the kicker is there was a list of over two hundred drugs to study from, we had no hints or the slightest clue of which ones to study. As a dental hygienist, we don’t have any reason to straight up memorize drugs we can’t even pronounce, that why we have an eighty dollar drug reference book to look them up with! Good news is…quiz is over, bad news…I don’t think I did so hot! But like I said earlier…I’m so burnt out, like many of my other class mates.

There is only two more clinic days left in the semester, a couple papers, a few blogs and three finals standing between me, getting married, and the beautiful sunsets in Jamaica. I’m writing this to build up some courage and go head strong into the last couple weeks here. Also, to help any others struggling with motivation. I found this quote and thought it was really appropriate so I leave you with this: “Don’t be afraid to give your best at what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.” – Dale Carnegie

The History of Christmas Carols

Well folks, it’s that time of year again. Your trees are going up and stockings are being hung. Most every radio stations are playing those classic Christmas tunes. I love them so much I decided to do a bit of research and see where it all started.

Carols were first sung in Europe, but they weren’t really classified as Christmas carols yet. These were songs sung at the winter solstice celebrations. The winter solstice was known as the shortest day of the year; and it usually took place around December 22^nd. Actually the word carol means dance or a song of praise and joy. These old time carols were sung year round at every season, but only the Christmas carols survived the stand of time.

Today the tradition of Christmas caroling is very profound in my family. We try and do it every year, and apparently the tradition has been around for years. Before the popular custom caroling came about the carolers were called ‘Waits’. These folks were like bands, usually lead by important city leaders who had all the power of the towns and villages.  

One of my favorite Christmas carols is “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. This song was written in England to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith. This song contains hidden meanings to the teachings of faith. The “true love” mentioned in the song is referring to God himself. The “me” is referring to every person who has been saved by God. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, the son of God.  Two Turtle Doves- the Old and New Testaments. Three French hens- Faith, Hope and Charity, the theological virtues. Four Calling Birds- the four gospels and/or the four evangelists. Five Golden Rings- the first five books of the Old Testament. Six Geese A-laying- the six days of creation. Seven Swans A-swimming- the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Eight Maids a-milking- the eight beatitudes. Nine Ladies Dancing- the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. Ten Lords A-leaping- the ten commandments. Eleven Pipers Piping- the eleven faithful apostles. And Twelve Drummers Drumming- the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed. I find the history of this Carol so interesting and relative. I can see how it would have been so easy to for the young Catholics to learn this catchy tune, obviously many of us today know it by heart! I heard this on the radio and thought it was crazy so I looked it up online and Time is saying its true too! If you were to buy the items of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas” it would cost you more than $100,000!

A different kind of Thanksgiving

When I think of Thanksgiving, I always picture all of my family around my grandma’s old kitchen table; everyone carrying on, laughing and feeding their faces. Well this year is a lot different and I don’t like it! It’s Thanksgiving morning and usually we are getting ready to head to grandma and grandpa’s house, well as you can tell I’m writing this English blog instead. My grandma and grandpa are in Texas doing what retired people do I guess, “Head south for the winter.” My other grandma and grandpa went to Mississippi to visit family down there. So there won’t be a large family Thanksgiving this year. We are just going to celebrate lunch at Cracker Barrel and do a little bit of “pre-black Friday” scoping out. Then come home to a family supper of ham…no turkey. Well all prefer ham, so that’s what we’re having! But we will of course have all the sides to go along.

I can only hope that next year’s Thanksgiving is back to normal, one being because I hate Cracker Barrel; two, because I really miss all my family and the great memories that are made at holiday events. When you get 30+ family members all in the same room, something is bound to happen. I can remember one year we had a hand stand competition between all the grandkids in my grandma’s living room…bad idea when there are breakables everywhere! But it is something I will never forget!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!

Showered with Blessings

Well like I said before, this weekend was our first wedding shower! I just had to write about the shower and how amazing it was! I just want to say that it is unbelievable how generous people are! Even in the “hard times” that everyone is experiencing, it’s amazing how everyone is still giving to newlyweds like us!

First off at the shower we play the ol’ Newlywed Game, I’m sure you’ve seen it on the game show network! It was hilarious! Cole and I have been together for five years, so you think we’d know everything in the world about each other! Wrong!! Granted they came up with some pretty tough questions, we still didn’t do so hot! Everyone got a good laugh so in my eyes that’s all that matters!

Next we opened our gifts; I was just blown away by the generosity of these people. This was a church shower, so mainly our church family and friends were in attendance. When we registered, I felt awful! Stuff is so expensive these days, and I felt like we should have been asking for such pricy stuff…but people actually buy it! It made us feel so special and blessed!  I mean these people spend hundreds of dollars just to supply us with things for our new home! I even had one lady come up to me and tell me she forgot that our shower was that day…well she left immediately after church was over and drove forty-five minutes one way just to get us a gift for the shower!  She said, she wouldn’t just do that for anyone and that really touched me!

The shower was such an awesome time! We got to spend that afternoon with many people that are near and dear to our hearts. This afternoon is one that I will never forget! We made so many memories and “inside jokes”. These people really put out all of the stops to make us feel so special, like a king and queen really!

After the shower was over, we loaded up two car loads of gifts! Guess what I did last night and tonight? I wrote thank-you cards until my hand was about to fall off! But it was so worth it! I was thinking to myself about how it was so worth it just to drop a cheap card that took a minute of my time, when these folks have taken time out of their busy schedules to buy us a wonderful wedding gift!

Like I said before, this is a day I will never forget! I will cherish these memories forever! And each time I use the gifts I will remember these people and forever be grateful that they are in my life!! I hope each and every one of you have/or will one day have an experience like ours! Love and marriage is so special and I would give anything for every single person in this world to have this wonderful experience!

There’s an App for that: Medical gone Mobile

Today’s fast-paced environment requires virtually instant gratification in the search for information. An estimated 80 percent of patients today research their health condition on the Internet either before or after seeing their health care provider. Mobile health applications are on the rise, with many clinicians and allied health workers already adopting smart phones successfully in a diverse range of practices. Patients too are accessing health information, actively participating in their own care, and maintaining contact with their health care providers through smart phones.

The Internet and our cell phones will be a central part of our care support system, providing answers to our questions, storing our personal health records, helping us to connect with others who share the same problems, and linking us to our healthcare providers.  Most of us will reorder our medications, get our laboratory test results, make appointments, and consult with our doctors either online or by phone.

A few fast facts about apps for your phone: There are over 350,000 “apps” – applications for the iPhone alone. In 2010, over 295 million smart phones were sold around the world, and over 7 billion applications were downloaded to the devices. 72 percent of physicians own a smart phone, and 95 percent of them reported using their mobile device to download medical reference data and patient-related information. These are some astonishing figures that show the impact that smart phones are having in the medical field.

Now I just want to discuss a few apps that I have found that I think would be extremely beneficial for someone in the medical/dental field like myself. Keep in mind that these apps are geared toward many types of individuals. For example: there are some geared toward dentist, dental hygienist and/or the patients. A few of my favorites are as followed.

DentiApp and DDS GP. These particular apps are geared toward dentist or the owners of a private practice. Apps like these two all for patients to request an appointment with their smart phone, take a birtual tour of the office and facility, gives directions and maps to the office, and has patient education tools such as chair side presentations and treatment plans.

LexiComp and ADA MBDHE Exam Prep. These two apps are geared toward dental hygienist. LexiComp is a drug reference source at your finger tips, including: charts, images and tables for clarification. ADA MBDHE Exam Prep  is an app that contains  simulated board exam questions with detailed explanatory answers that covers all topics that are on the dental hygienist board exam.

MyQuit Coach and Toothbrush Timer. These apps are designed for the patients. MyQuit Coach is an app that helps people quit smoking by motivational tips, progress charts, and helps you set obtainable goals according to individualized needs. The toothbrush timer is a great app for any age. This timer tells when and where to brush your teeth with dentist recommend tips. It also has a tooth brush tracker alerting you when you need to get a new tooth brush.

As one can see with all of these apps that the medical field is going mobile, whether we like it or not. I think it is going to be a long process of change, but defiantly for the better.  Patients will be able to receive top of the line, precise and speedy health care.

Boulos, M. N., Wheeler, S., Tavares, C., & Jones, R. (2011). How smartphones are changing the face of mobile and participatory healthcare: an overview, with example from eCAALYX. Retrieved October 1, 2011, from BioMedical Engineering OnLine: http://www.biomedical-engineering-online.com/content/10/1/24

Brusco, J. M. (2010). Using Smartphone Applications in Perioperative Practice. AORN Journal, 503-508.

Draper, C. (2011). Health Informaiton in the Digital Age: Is There an App for That? Access, 28.

Flucke, J. (2011). Rewrite the history books...the world is flat. Chicago: Advanstar Communications, Inc.

Henderson, L. (2011). Diagnosis on the Run: There's an App for That. Applied Clinical Trials, 18.

Lawrence, D. (2010). Healthcare for Elders in 2050. American Society on Aging, 82-85.

Robertson, H. (2011). MD Consult and First Consult. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 178-179.

Black Friday....Dun Dun Dun

Well…only 15 more days til’ the biggest shopping day of the year. Or better known as black Friday! Last week I wrote about my favorite Christmas traditions, this week I’ll blog about Black Friday. When Black Friday comes around I know we are getting close to Christmas…that’s only one reason why I love it!

So you’re probably thinking I’m totally nuts, but let me explain why I love Black Friday so much!

First of all, unlike most people, I LOVE the rush. I love racing to the door, trying to beat the crowds. To me, it’s so much fun weaving in and out of people trying to get to the isle where the “prize” is located. However, before the rush…were your just waiting in line all night isn’t that great. But if you go with the right people and get in the right crowed, you can really make the time fly and make a good time of it! For example: when the iPhone 3G came out, I waited in line at the AT&T store all night long. Well ended up I got to meet Terry Fator, the winner of the hit television show, America’s Got Talent!

Second of all, I love the deals! Who on earth doesn’t! I can’t tell you all of the great savings I’ve spared each year shopping on black Friday! Even now day stores are extending their sales through “cyber Monday” you can get the same, possibly even better deal the following Monday, it just has be to be purchased online at the website. Just a tid bit here…I read somewhere last week that places like Wal-Mart and Toys R Us are starting their sales a few days early because it will reduce the rush and chaos. Apparently and obviously… I just wasn’t smart enough to think about it but, stores like these have to hire extra employees for black Friday and more stores are spending a bunch of money hiring security officers to help control the crowd. So they think if they start early and run the sales longer, this will reduce these issues, 

Lastly, I love the atmosphere! Sure there are people that are a bit crazy about it and they are the ones shoving someone to the ground to get the last TV, but for the most part people are so kind and friendly. Everyone has the holiday spirit! Jingle Bells is blaring over the store speaker system and I’m probably enjoying some Starbucks!

Well call me crazy, but I’ve already registered online at some stores to be the “first one” to get a sneak peak at their Black Friday ad! There’s only 45 shopping days left til’ Christmas, so why not brave the cold, and the folks for some burning deals and great memories!!