well hello there

My lack of presence is due to the fact that I have been horribly sick. It was the worst cold I have ever had. Why? Because it came Christmas eve, was VERY present on Christmas day, and just barely decided to leave yesterday. I still have a hard time getting enough sleep because I cough half the night…

Anyway, that is what I have been dealing with. I might have had time to write something short like "merry Christmas" or "look at the awesome presents I got" but it was one of those sicknesses where you feel the need to get up and do something but you end up wandering the house and eventually need to sit back down because your energy is drained. Then you have nothing to do but stare at the television for hours because even though it can't entertain you, nothing else can. = miserable

I actually grew a deeper fondness for Singing in the Rain and Fiddler on the Roof. I LOVE those movies. The humor in Fiddler is just amazing. I guess it means more to me than most since I was actually in the play, once upon a time, but the movie is still amazing.

you know what was the cure for me? the new Rascal Flatts CD. LOVE THEM. I think I shall turn it on right now...

It's quite sad that I was so sick because I didn't take ANY pictures on Christmas, come to think of it, even if I wasn't sick I wouldn't have taken pictures because we seem to have misplaced our camera in the move…so I'll keep looking

Christmas was great, what else can I say? You have to take my word for it since I was foolish enough to not document it with pictures to prove how awesome it was. I guess I will leave the surprises for when I find my camera.

So today I actually get to tackle my list of to-do's that I have been writing up for the past week I have been sick. It does bring satisfaction to finally feel good enough to be productive. It starts to drive you crazy after a while. You might think I'm crazy {and maybe I am} but I've already started coming up with study guides for that huge test I have coming up…oh what's it called? THE BOARD EXAM. Ya, it's in March, like 1 ½ months away. And our board review book is like 1,000 something pages long. So I'm not TOO crazy for getting started…over zealous maybe.

Random thought: I've always been the kind of person where big words don't intimidate me. If I hear a word I don't understand I can usually figure it out based on the context of the sentence. Well, I was watching an episode of "the making of Seinfeld" and the man who was speaking said a literal string of the craziest words I have ever heard. I'm sure he made them up because I have never heard anything like the words that spewed out from his mouth. Has this ever happened to anyone?

Haha I remember this one time I used the word "ruminate" in front of one of Nick's friends and he was like "What does that mean? Speak English!" O_O who doesn't know what that means?! Maybe lots of people, but I think you can figure it out when you use it in context…

Happy Thursday! {get outside and enjoy the frigid weather we're having for once! It won't stay for long!}

Loves, Kristin

so blessed

Nick and I have been so blessed in the last week and I know Heavenly Father has been looking out for us.

"Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."

Loves,

Kristin

true spirit of christmas

Have I ever told you how great of a family I married into? I mean, I seriously love Nick's family.

Well last night I got a better understanding of why they are such an inspiration to me and everyone else they know.

We had the cousin Christmas party last night and we had a blast making ornaments, cupcake decorating, making scarfs, and eating lots and lots of food {of course!}

We also went caroling, to three places specifically. The first house that we hit up was a jewish family. Apparently my mother-in-law's aunt and uncle went walking in the neighborhood and met them one Sunday and invited them to have dinner with the family. They have loved the Shumways ever since and greeted everyone with hugs and love. We sang carols and they told the amazing story about the oil lasting for seven more days than it was supposed to. It was amazing to share love and faith between two religions. I was especially amazed at how the people we talked to centered Hanukah on their faith, and not on the presents. I wish Christmas was more like that. Only a few simple presents and with the major focus on faith and the birth of our savior Jesus Christ.

The next place we caroled was to the house of an elderly couple. They smiled and shed tears of joy as we entered their home singing carols of Christmas. The joy that we put on their faces was priceless to me.

The last place we caroled was Basha's. For Thanksgiving the Shumways invited this lady who works at Basha's to come and eat dinner with us, and now she loves the whole Shumway clan too. She said she even turned down Trey Basha {the owner of Basha's} to come eat dinner with our family. So we sang to her in Basha's and she cried and cried and hugged and was so happy. It made me feel good that we had spread some Christmas cheer to this lady with no family.

This Christmas I want to focus on making people happy and giving love to those in need. It's not about presents, even though we say that a lot, it's really not. It's about remembering the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and doing the things he would be doing if he lived on the earth right now.

Merry CHRISTmas

Loves,

Kristin

That one time we celebrated thanksgiving…

I never got around to actually putting together this post because school hit hard with assignments and tests and now that it's all finally over, I have the time to post all these pictures

After thanksgiving we went with my family up to my grandmothers cabin in Strawberry.

We hit up the payson walmart for the black Friday deals

Then enjoyed a magnificent weekend with

Family

Lucy

Nature

And SNOW

I loved every second of it! My sisters and I squealed for joy when we woke up Sunday morning to white snowflakes falling outside the huge window. It was fun to feel Christmas-y, and get cozy by the fire and appreciate the beauty of snow. I'm just glad that I don't have to live with it all the time!

Loves, Kristin

busy

I can't tell you how good it feels to finally be done with everything!
NO school for an entire month is like the most heavenly thing on earth to me right now.
You know what almost killed me though?
Moving into our new apartment the weekend BEFORE finals.
Thank goodness I have such a wonderful mother, mother-in-law, and good friends to help me put together my kitchen because it would have been disaster in here if that hadn't been taken care of.

I have also been busy with this cutie

She has actually been quite a stinker, but I think she's learning that Nick and I are the boss man, and we don't take no smack
Oh, what can she do that is so terrible? -you might ask-

well...

she chews on everything
barks at everything
poops on everything

BUT she has been such a joy to us
I think everyone who knows me should make her the reason to come see our new apartment. She is too cute and very funny.
We discovered that she LOVES frozen grapes. She likes to throw them and then chase after them.
We are teaching her not to bite and bark, but it's a long process. She has been doing really well with the potty training, but there are always accidents. I'm just grateful that her poops come out hard so all you have to do is pick it up to clean it up!

So now that finals are FINALLY over, I actually have time to:

Make dinner

Do laundry

Finish nick's afghan

Decorate for Christmas

Just chill

And I'm sure you will see more of me around here due to my suddenly light schedule J

Loves, Kristin

Sleeping puppy :-)

surprise, surprise

it's late
I should be doing homework or even better...sleeping, but pandora keeps playing good songs so I'm keeping myself busy writing lists and writing blog posts to keep myself awake :)

What am I writing lists about? Well we had quite an eventful weekend, and I have a lot to do now!

First of all, we finally got an apartment! YAY! We have been living at Casa de la Grandma for a year and a half now, and we decided we have saved enough money, and it is time for us to move out. We are so GRATEFUL for everything grandma has done for us, and for her willingness to have two crazy young people take over her upstairs for so long. She is the BEST, and we love her!

I absolutely can't wait until we move into our own place! I'm itching to put the wood-burning fire place to use, have many jolly holiday parties, FINALLY get to use all of my wedding gifts that have been sitting in boxes for months (sometimes I get them out to play, just so they don't get too lonely), and decorate, decorate, decorate. Most importantly, I think this Christmas will feel more Christmas-y with a Christmas tree properly placed in an actual "living room" area instead of crammed into our bedroom :)

Second of all, we're getting a puppy! haha I know, this is all very sudden, but she is kind of the reason why we felt a push to finally move out. We fell in love with her and had to have her!
Here's the story:
It's veterans day and I'm at the park having a picnic with my family while Nick is at work. My mom started talking to this lady whose humungo-ginormo dog helped himself to our salsa. It turns out she is like a "foster mom" for dogs at this shelter. She takes care of them, sets their appointments to have shots, and helps them get to a good home. Well she was saying that she has some puppies..."blah, blah, blah"...
well, it took some time to convince my mom that we had to see the puppy. I called Nick and he came over.......and the rest is history!
She is absolutely adorable! She is all white with a few spots on her ears and a spot on her side.
we call her Lucy! I had to post a picture wth Nick, because all of her pictures with me were ridonculous. She kept snuggling into my arm pit so you couldn't see her face. Cute, but ridonculous...


So I have been busy getting things clean and ready to be packed {not really}. I have been mostly doing what I do best, writing lists of things I need to do. Nick already laughed at me tonight, so don't bother teasing me about it OK? :)

Ok, I should really go to bed now...

BUT, I was thinking {dangerous}, wouldn't it be so sweet and fun if Nick and I {and maybe our families and some friends} went to an old folk's home and Christmas carolled around to their rooms around the 25th of December sometime? Even better, we could take Lucy {because old people LOVE puppies} and she could totally wear a santa hat! Don't you love it?

OK, you think about that, and I'mma gonna get some sleep :)

loves,
K

Funniest thing you will see this week...

"and they're still beautiful"

"In Nature nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful"

"In order to go on living, one must try to escape the death involved in perfectionism"

"perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor"

I have been getting frustrated lately because of my own imperfections. I don't say the right things, or I act in a foolish way that makes me worried what people think of me.

I love looking up quotes of inspiration when I get down on myself. I especially found it interesting how the last one says that perfectionism is the voice of the "oppressor". Yes, we strive to one day become like our Savior Jesus Christ; perfect in all things, but the voice of the oppressor whispers our imperfections in our ear and tells us we're not good enough. He displays our imperfections in front of us and tries to makes us feel worthless and he hopes we will give up.

And what is our own definition of perfection? Is it the world's definition? Are we trying to be skinny, funny, charming, athletic, fashionable? I LOVE the first quote. Although the trees are different, they are BEAUTIFUL, and they are their own form of perfect.

I am my own tree. There are lots of beautiful "perfect-looking" trees, but I might be a little crooked or fallen over. Maybe my branches are twisty or my roots are starting to show, but I'm still beautiful and there is no definition of the PERFECT tree.

I'm trying to be less focused on my imperfections, and just try every day to do my best and to become what I want to be - more like my Savior, who loves me for me - imperfections and all.

life is so much more enjoyable when you accept the fact that you aren't perfect

loves, K

Our favorite place to go on Friday nights. Everything tastes better RA

ghost of hallows-eve past

Halloween...
not my MOST favorite holiday, but still fun

Two years ago: first halloweeen with Nick
actually, the night before, we had our first kiss
I remember thinking how creepy his unibrow was...
I think my face explains it all

last year: first halloween as a married couple

sometimes last minute costumes are the best

I love that people had to take a close look to figure out who I was

it's always more fun to be something dead
so what will we be this year?
I guess you'll have to wait a couple of days to find out!
What are you going to be?

loves,
k

This is what we do...

when we're bored at state dental hygiene meetings
{maybe if they want us to pay attention, they shouldn't put play doh and candy at each table}

my DH BFF Katie modeling her beautiful creation

school is bearable when we have fun and goof off...which all the time,
except for midterm week...

Kristin

I can jump {yay me!}

In my scrubs. Ready to save the world one tooth at a time :)

I feel like I work so hard just to get the approval of my instructors
They are great women. Smart and confident. Helpful and skilled at what they do.
but everyday is a battle to impress them, to show them that I have progressed

I feel like some days they focus on the negative
which is understandable since we are there to learn and my instructors are there to facilitate that learning,
but day after day of hearing what you need to improve, and not hearing what you're actually doing well at can be very draining.

Yesterday one of my instructors came to watch me scale my patient's teeth for a kind of competency exam for this semester
I was happy {of course} when she told me I passed and that I did very well. Then she told me the things that she thought needed some improvement.
I walked away feeling happy that I was able to do well on the exam
My instructor came up to me a little while later and said, "I got so caught up in telling you what you needed to improve, I didn't tell you what you did really well!"
She proceeded to tell me all of the things that I did well in detail.

I felt more than just happy that I had gained her approval at the job that I had done, but it made me feel good to have someone finally tell me the GOOD things that I can do rather than only focus on the things that need improvement.

It made me think about how often in the day I am hard on myself because I'm not perfect
I focus so much on the things I need to improve, rather than focusing on all the positive things about my life, and all the good things about myself.

this picture is gross, but funny, so I heart it

I had a patient come in the other day who had a prosthetic leg from the knee down. She said that she had gone in to have knee replacement surgery and, due to the mistake of her doctor, had to have her leg amputated as well.
She is so depressed. She is only in her early 60's and is healthy. She was excited to get her knee replaced so she could play golf, but now she can't even walk.

It made me think about how ungrateful I can be for my healthy body. Grateful that I can run, walk, sit Indian style, stand, dance, JUMP, kick and all the other things my legs can do.

So this week I have been more grateful. Grateful for the things that I have, and for the things that I can do well.
So here's to loving life and focusing on the positive things :)

...like how rad this picture is, because I took it :)

Loves,
Kristin

school = robot brain

I hate the feeling of being so in my own world that I don't stop to think about others
This is what school does to me

I am constantly thinking about my patients.
** I have to reschedule her for that day**
** I have to get the paper work for him by this day or Mrs. So and so will kick me...**
** I don't have a patient for Thursday, What if no one comes and I have an empty night?**
** I hope Mr. what's-his-face is harder than a level 2, or I'm not going to pass this semester**
** She's not going to be happy about coming back for another appointment, but it's not my fault she didn't take of her teeth and now I have more work to do...**
** I have a new patient. I hope their nice. Not like the patient who screamed at Roxy the other day and then left the clinic**
** I'm starting to get overbooked! What if they put too many people in my schedule that I won't have enough room for my returning patients?**

These thoughts and others are always on my mind. Not to mention the fact that I'm constantly thinking about projects coming up, quizzes I need to study for, and oh ya the all important Board Exam in March that I've already started studying my brains out for...
oh ya, and all of this costs money!
anesthesia board -$260
board review - $350
actual board exam - $945
(...the learning experience...priceless?)
UHG!
not to mention the fact that I want, {no NEED} loupes! (magnifying lenses that help you see the crap on peoples teeth. If you don't have them, you need super vision to see or else you are hunched over to see it)
which can range in price from $800-1200 or more!

So now you understand why I have been MIA.
but the interesting thing is, I have been entertaining myself in odd ways for a busy person


i found the time to {FINALLY} pick up the "Hunger Games" books.
Can I just say WOW. So good! I have been forcing myself to only read on the weekends so that it doesn't interfere with school, so I am so excited to start the 2nd book tonight!
At first when I started to read the book, I did think the plot seemed a little dark in the first one, but it's SO good. Trust me.

Also, I have found the most WONDERFUL internet show! It's called "The Girls with Glasses Show". It has Brooke White from American Idol {whom I adore} and it is so cute and clever! It's so wholesome and good.
Click HERE to go to their homepage
and click HERE to see my favorite episode :)
and click HERE to see their theme song music video! it's to die for!

Also, you need to see this you tube video. it's my favorite!
Its Julian Smith - Malk


So that's what I have been doing when i haven't been thinking about school yuckiness.

My point being, is that I need to take the time to think about other things in my day.
Like what kinds of happy things I can do for Nick
What friends might need an uplifting phone call or hug if I see them
I can even think about my needs other than school. Like I really need to paint my toenails {looking a bit rasty}

so anyway, Have a good weekend! I hope you spend it thinking about others, and watching all the wonderful videos I suggested :)
Then I KNOW you will have a good weekend

loves,
K

Sandy-Lego

boogie boards


overcast skies



sand castles




family trips to the pier

it was cold every day...until the very last day

but we still had lots of fun




and then there was this magical place :)


performers in the middle of the street
so fun!



family :)



ready for church


picking strawberries
probably my favorite part
{besides Disneyland :}

We went like, almost 4 weeks ago, but I'm so BUSY I'm just barely being able to post about the trip, but we had a blast. Can't wait to go again!

Kristin