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!!

T minus 43 days until the BIG day!

Well my wedding day is quickly approaching, and this weekend is our first wedding shower. I feel like this is the start of all the wedding celebrations. I got to thinking today about how much stuff there is that’s associated with a wedding. Let’s add it up...these figures I’m using are just for my wedding, I would say it’s your “average” wedding. Okay… we are having three wedding showers, I’m having a personal shower, and we are both having bachelor/bachelorette parties, and the rehearsal dinner. This is six events before the big day even comes! It’s literally something every weekend, until the day arrives. So after pondering all of this, I decided to look up some stats on weddings in today’s world.

I found this website cost of a wedding.com, basically you type in your zip code and it gives you average figures of what a wedding would cost in your area of residence.  So I did it…the figures are freighting, and unfortunately fairly accurate. Here are some of the figures it gave me. On average, couples that live in my town spend anywhere from $16,000 to $27,000 on their weddings. Let me remind you that I live in a town with a population of 4,000 people, that’s not very many and a wedding is still this expensive! Also, these totals were figured with an approximated 105-119 guest. And they averaged per guest anywhere between $174-213 per guest…that’s a bit frightening!

The Wedding Report had some interesting stats. They claim there were 2.8 million weddings in 2009 alone. And the average cost of each wedding in 2009 was 19,500 dollars…YIKES!! And if you think that’s bad, just a year later in 2010 the average wedding cost 24,000 dollars. Over the course of time from 1945 till today, the average cost of a wedding has only increased. Guess what? I have a notion its only going to get higher! That’s scary to think about…

Well not to change the subject, but this tid bit I found was too good to not share, and totally appropriate for tomorrow! So tomorrow is 11/11/11, right? Well this date only comes around once in one hundred years and apparently most brides think it must be lucky! According to David’s Bridal, the nation’s largest bridal retailer who has more than three hundred stores, they approximate 57,000 couples to marry tomorrow, 11/11/11!

Well now that I’m depressed about all these wedding stats, I think I’ll call it a blog! Until next time J

Pinterest

If you haven’t heard of it already I’m sure you will soon. Pinterest is a new and upcoming website. It is a virtual cork board where you can “pin” your favorite recipes, DIY crafts and many other categories. To mention a few more of the categories’: travel, photography, weddings, home décor, pets, and outdoor.

Each user creates an account, once you have an account you have your on pinboard, which displays stuff that you like or have made. “Organized and share things you love.” Is the slogan for Pinterest.

The idea of Pinterest has been tried before, but never taken off quite like Pinterest has. With the easy “Pin it” button that Pinterest has that makes the idea so easy, a kindergartener could do it!

Times magazine has given Pinterest a spot in the 50 best websites of 2011, and personally I believe it’s deserving!

Another thing that I absolutely love about Pintrest is that there is an app for my iPhone, so I can get on Pintrest anytime and anywhere!!!

Lately I have been spending wayyy to much time on Pinterest…just an FYI its addicting! I mostly have been looking at all of the wedding ideas for my upcoming wedding. I have gotten so many ideas from Pinterset. People are so creative and crafty it’s not even funny! I wish I was that good!!

So if you’re crafty, or even interested in trying…I would totally recommend you checking out Pinterest! Heck you can just brose around and get an idea for whatever you need!  I’m totally obsessed and more than likely you’ll become that way if you already haven’t J

50 more days til' Christmas!!!!

That’s right folks, only 50 more days! I don’t know about you all, but I’m catching the spirit! Actually as I type I’m watching Christmas with the Kranks! Such a good movie, you should see it if you haven’t! Anyways, I just wanted to take this time to write about my favorite holiday memories and traditions.

Even though this year’s Christmas will be different the all the other 20 I’ve had in my live, I couldn’t be more excited! This year I’ll get to celebrate Christmas in a new home with my new husband!

One of the things I love about Christmas is setting up our tree. The weekend after Thanksgiving is when ours goes up each and every year. We crank up the Christmas tunes, make hot chocolate and decorate the tree. It is such a memorable time with my mom and brother, so I hope to continue this tradition with Cole and our family!

Another favorite tradition of mine is Hallmark Christmas ornaments! I loved collecting these wonderful works of arts. I have been collecting ever since I was a little girl, I just didn’t know it at the time. But one thing I love about Hallmark is they have special series, and they come out with a new ornament in each series each Christmas. Over time these collections become very valuable and great keepsakes. But my favorite ornament isn’t a series ornament. It is one that was given to me a few years ago by my grandma. It was made in 1990, which was the year I was born. It is a popcorn popper that actually makes noise and pops the corn inside when it is plugged in to a strand of lights! It’s sooooo cute!

Another family tradition we have is watching our favorite Christmas movies the entire week before Christmas. To name a few of our favorites: The Polar Express, The Santa Clause, The Santa Clause 2, and Christmas with the Kranks. And that’s just to name a few! The ABC 25 days of Christmas is great too, they play Christmas movies every day, starting 25 days before Christmas.

Also around this time of year I LOVE going to the shopping malls that are decorated in light and garland blaring their Christmas music. I just love the hustle and bustle and the atmosphere that fills the air! Oh and the smell of that Starbucks peppermint latte linger throughout the halls! Mmmm I can imagine it now!

Well ready or not, Christmas is coming. Personally this is my favorite time of year, friends, family, great food and traditions. It really doesn’t get much better; especially this year…getting married on Christmas Eve, spending Christmas day with my new husband and then leaving for Jamaica a few days after. I am so blessed and I hope everyone else has a blessed holiday season this year!