so i've been told my blog is boring, and I guess that's a fair statement considering my last post was over the summer. but you want to know the truth? blogging felt like the biggest waste of time.
gasp
yes i know, i'm a horrible person, but honestly I have been so busy with work and LIVING life that I had to make the decision of either blogging or being with loved ones and being productive and up until this point the latter of the two has won out.
soooo maybe the reason i'm finally blogging is because my sister told me my blog is boring, and I just can't live with the guilt...or more likely it's because I just had a fabulous thanksgiving weekend and have a buttload of pictures to heap upon you...




































i warned you...

shooting rockets turkey day morning
taking Lucy to see the rockets
eating lots of pie
spending time with family
some football of course

traveling up to our cabin in Strawberry
enjoying the beautiful landscape
making snowflakes to hang in the windows (tradition)
fires in the fireplace
stocking the shed with wood
shooting guns
picking apples off the ground...
...to feed to the beautiful horse
more pretty landscape
sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows
more snowflake creations
eating peppermint bark snowflake pretzels and choco chip cookies..yum!
pretty grandma :)

that last picture of my grandma is my favorite. her husband, my grandpa, built the cabin over 30 years ago and we still enjoy it just as much :)

so many great memories made and fun times had this weekend...now off to work tomorrow

hopefully my posts will be more frequent, but i'm not promising anything! I want to enjoy life more than I write about it!!
loves, Kristin

(picture from recent vacay in Cali. Hopefully a post about our trip will be popping up soon...)

I GOT A JOB!!!
and can I tell you that it is seriously the best job I could have asked for?!
I have my own room, and it is HUGE. Seriously, I did a working interview at another office and it was so tiny that I knew space was a huge thing I was looking for in an office.

Also, there are three dentists that rotate through the office, which is pretty sweet because you don't get sick of having one guy all week, and it eliminates any drama:
Annoying dentist + all female staff + long work week = DRAMA
believe me.

But, you want to know what the BEST part about this new job is? I'm in charge.
Ok, well not really, but in a sense I am
I have control over how much time I need to see a patient, when I want them scheduled, what I do during the appointment, and treatment planning what they need
This is HUGE (like my room)!

I feel "seriously so blessed"
I am a new grad, working full time, in an amazing office, doing what I LOVE!
Rad, right?

my two loves

this is how I found my loves in the morning after we went camping
love that man
love that dog
we are coming home from cali today and I can't wait to see her
she's too adorable

Hello from California...

Currently I'm in this beautiful place...
I have had such a relaxing vacation here in the wonderful state of California. It has been nice to get away from the AZ heat and not worry about anything except having fun, and not getting sun burned! :)

We have been here a week and still have 3 more days left!
I took a break from the fun to make an announcement!!

I AM OFFICIALLY A RDH! (registered dental hygienist)
That means I can start working ya'll!
and speaking of working, I have a working interview this Thursday and Saturday
I will post more about the job opportunities and the things I have experienced during the interviewing process later.

Thanks to everyone who supported me through these crazy years!
I finally did it!

good newsies

So much has happened in a few short weeks.
First of all, I gradeeaated!! YEAH BOOOOY!

I was so used to being in school, having deadlines, long clinical hours into the evening, and being around the same 16 people every single day.
The break is nice, but I'm ready to get started working!!

I have already been to an interview and I have an interview next Tuesday, so I'm really thrilled! I'm going to be the sole support of our little family so I need, need, need to get a job.


In other good news....
I PASSED MY CLINICAL BOARD EXAM!!!
you mean the exam that was $960, stressful as shniz, and is only in az 2 times a year? ya that one. done.

I passed = never have to take that darned test again. celebration ya'll!!!

board exams are not very boring...

Just finished my board exam today!!
I'm so glad it's over because the whole experience was seriously SO stressful! I haven't eaten very much the past two days because I have been so nervous and I didn't sleep well last night.
Why was it so stressful, you ask?

Well...
first you have to find a patient, who not only qualifies (12 areas of large calculus deposits, in very specific areas) but who is also willing to: sit, be examined and have their teeth cleaned in a testing environment for 4 hours.

Then there is the question, Will my patient even qualify? It takes about an hour for the examiners to determine that your patient qualifies for the exam. THIS IS THE MOST STRESSFUL! There is no going back once a patient doesn't qualify. You either have to have a back up, take it in another state, or wait until November.

But mine did!!
I wanted to cry with joy when my patient came back and no one was there to tell me he didn't qualify! SOO happy!

The rest of the exam was hard, but a breeze compared to the stress of before. Overall I think I did well, and now I get to wait for the results to come in 30 days!

All I have to do now is show up to graduation :)
being done with school is pretty much the greatest thing to happen to me since Nick

Loves,
Kristin

my school family

two weeks from today....
I AM GRADUATING

I have spent the last 4 years preparing for this moment.
I have taken over 40 classes and over 120 credits


TWO YEARS AGO
I prayed and hoped to get into dental hygiene school
and then I did

The past two years have been the hardest
and the best

I have made 16 new best friends that I see everyday
they have become a part of my life, they are my school family

While I am ecstatic to graduate and move on with my life,
I am sad that I wont see my 16 best friends every day anymore...


oh well, life is all about change right?
I hope I stay in touch with every single one of them :)

loves,
Kristin