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!